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Welcome back to Power in Politics. I'm Heather Fordham. New data from the NYPD shows hate crimes are surging, up nearly 12% compared to last year, and more than half of those confirmed cases are anti-Jewish incidents. In response, the city council just pushed through a slate of bills aimed at protecting religious communities and schools. Joining me now is council member Lincoln W Ressler from Brooklyn's 33rd District. Council member, thank you so much for joining us here. Thanks so much for having me. It's a real pleasure. So I just want to start off. One of the bills that was introduced by you, just passed by your colleagues, creates an anti-hate hotline. What does this hotline actually do and how will New Yorkers be able to use it? Well, I, I really appreciate you highlighting this important issue. You know, we have seen an alarming increase in anti-Semitic incidents in New York City and beyond over the last number of years, and we have an enormous amount of work to do to Reduce and mitigate and fight back against the hate that is existing in our communities. We created a hotline at the City Human Rights Commission because not every hate-related incident rises to the level of a hate crime. For example, if somebody at a restaurant doesn't want to serve you because, you know, makes a comment about your religion, or if you're yelled at on the bus because of your race, it may not. rise to the incident of a crime that can be investigated by the NYPD, but it is a serious issue all the same, and we need to track that information carefully so that we can devise the right interventions and responses to keep our community safe. And the buffer zone legislation that would require the NYPD to publicly outline how it handles protests that pose risks of intimidation outside houses of worship and schools, you voted in favor for this legislation except for that bill that would include schools. Could you explain why that was? Absolutely, I. It's critically important that every New Yorker. It is safe walking into their house of worship, walking into their school, whether that be an elementary school, a university campus, uh, and everything in between, uh. I think that the legislation that Speaker Mennon sponsored on the houses of worship was a reasonable approach that ensures that people have a right to protest if they have something that they're protesting over, but it doesn't, but we can guarantee the safety of individuals by creating a, you know, reasonable. approach for people to be able to get in and out of their house of worship. You know, right now the NYPD's policy is that protesters have the right, the constitutionally protected right to be within the sight and sound of the thing they're protesting so they can see what they're protesting and the people they're protesting can hear them so that we protect that fundamental constitutional right to protest. I was worried, however, about the the educational campuses that we might be undermining the ability of university students to protest. It's, of course, important that people be able to get on and off the campus, in and out of their classes, but We also want to give students the right to express themselves and do so freely, you know, I think over the course of our nation's history, student protest has pushed us to be a better, more just nation and has advanced social justice in important ways. And so I really, you know, felt that the houses of worship policy was a reasonable one where we could protect people's constitutional right to protest while ensuring people's ability to safely get in and out of their, the places that they pray, but I was worried that the language on the Restricting protests at university campuses in particular could have some unintended and harmful consequences. And to follow up on that, critics say the bill is aimed at preventing intimidation, not shutting down legitimate demonstration. Where do you think the line is drawn in your view and how do we protect students' right to protest without creating loopholes that could leave schools vulnerable? Well, it's important that schools have, you know, thoughtful policies in place that determine. Where people can protest and what protest is permitted, so that Students can express themselves and do so passionately without undermining the ability for other students to get into their classroom or to live their lives. I think that this legislation didn't. Specifically navigate that balance that is needed, and it was too vague in my opinion, and as a result, I wasn't comfortable supporting it. All right, thank you. And then quickly switching gears, outdoor dining returned this week, but you are pushing to make alfresco dining year round, not just seasonal. Where does that effort currently stand in the city council? Well, we've got a lot of support to making outdoor dining year-round. I'm thrilled that Mayor Zoran Mamdani and Speaker Julie Mennon are both champions of restoring outdoor dining. You know this week as outdoor dining returned for the spring and summer, about 600 restaurants and cafes have permits in place for outdoor dining. Just 5 or so years ago during the pandemic, there were between 7 and 8000 restaurants that had Outdoor dining permits. So we've seen well over 90% of the restaurants that used to participate in this program no longer do. And that is bad for the restaurants, it's bad for the workforce and the hospitality industry, and it's bad for all of us who enjoy getting to eat a meal outside. And we've talked to a lot of restaurants about why they are no longer participating in the program, and they've explained that the seasonal nature of the outdoor dining is just too costly for them. It's very expensive to set up these structures and to dig down these structures and to store these structures, and it no longer is worth it. Uh, so, our legislation cuts the red tape, makes it easier for businesses to apply, and makes the program year-round. And I think as a result, we're going to see thousands of new businesses and new restaurants and cafes around our neighborhoods participate in outdoor dining again, which is great for our local economy. Um, and, and I'm excited to help make it happen. All right, council member, thank you so much for joining us here on Power and Politics. We appreciate your insight and conversation. Thanks for having me. All right. Coming up next, severe storms keep flooding New York City, but the city says major sewer upgrades are finally on the way. The big investment just announced this week. That's up next.

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teamed up with rapper Cardi B to announce that applications for the city's first 2K program will open June 2nd and run through June 26th. The administration is launching a citywide 2K application jingle competition, inviting New Yorkers to submit original 15 or 32nd jingles. Encouraging families to apply this fall we're starting to deliver universal 2K, which is just like pre-K, just like 3K, but 2K for two year olds, free childcare, 2000 seats in the fall, and they're gonna be seats in the Bronx starting it up. Shout out to the BX and enrollment actually starts in June. A cop we couldn't imagine. We're told the panel of special guest judges will review submissions before New Yorkers vote to select a winner. The winning entry will become the official 2K theme for New York City and play on the radio. Cardi B will also be a guest judge with severe storms and flash flooding hitting harder each year, the city is moving forward. With long overdue sewer upgrades, the goal to modernize the system and prevent life threatening floods from leaving neighborhoods underwater. Mayor Johnny was in Sunset Park, Brooklyn this week, an area that's been flooded out more than once. It's where he announced a big chunk of money to get these repairs underway to prevent this from happening in the future. Drenching rain in clogged catch basins, it's a recipe for disaster. It's certainly affected a lot of homes and businesses around here. Sunset Park, Brooklyn is an area prone to flooding. People who live here say if you live at the bottom of the hill, you're bound to be washed out during a heavy rainstorm. In the outer boroughs, in particular, the issues of flooding that we saw so acutely during Sandy remains a real ongoing issue. And in some ways it's getting worse. So whatever they can do to fix the address those issues, particularly for people at the bottom of the hill. It's why Mayor Mamdani chose the neighborhood as a backdrop to announce a $108 million investment to replace the city's first line of defense against flooding, the outdated sewer drains. Our sewerage system was built for the rainfall that was anticipated about. More than a century ago, and as we know, that rainfall now is of a very different scale in this city. 40 new catch basin cleaning trucks were added to the Department of Environmental Protection's fleet recently, allowing them to improve their response time to 311 calls for sewer issues from 8 days to 3. The commissioner says they have a head start on hurricane and flood season in an effort to prevent disasters before they happen. We can't control the weather. We can't control many things, but we can control how we prepare. The work will begin this July. They'll be starting in Queens, then making their way to Brooklyn and the Bronx, and that's all we have this week on Power and Politics here on News 12. Thanks for joining us.

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Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani and Council Member Lincoln Restler join the show this week.

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