City Council meeting
January 29, 2026, 1:30 PM
In its first Stated Meeting of 2026, the Council voted to override 17 mayoral vetoes, enacting laws on topics including creating a city land bank (Int 0570-2024), reforming the tax lien system (Int 1407-2025, Int 1419-2025, Int 1420-2025), restricting police DNA collection from minors (Int 0125-2024), updating the gender-motivated violence protection law (Int 1297-2025), and barring federal immigration authorities from maintaining offices at city correction facilities (Int 1412-2025). The meeting also introduced and referred hundreds of new bills and resolutions spanning child care, housing, transportation, and immigration, launching the legislative agenda for the new Council term.
What was discussed
- Stated Meeting called to order; pledge and roll call Majority Leader Shaun Abreu gaveled in the Stated Meeting of January 29, 2026—the Council's first Stated Meeting of the year—led the Pledge of Allegiance, and the clerk called the roll of members.
- Invocation by Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Council tribute Cardinal Timothy Dolan, retiring Archbishop of New York, delivered the invocation, and Council Member Joann Ariola offered a tribute recognizing his years of service and upcoming birthday.
- Speaker Menin frames a record veto-override day and confronts anti-Semitism Speaker Julie Menin thanked Cardinal Dolan, then framed the day's business: overriding a slate of late-term vetoes by former Mayor Eric Adams that she said blocked worker, street-vendor, and taxi-driver protections, and she raised the surge in anti-Semitism, citing 73 swastikas graffitied at a
- Members hail the street-vendor reform overrides Speaking to the street-vendor package (Int 0408-2024, Int 0431-2024, and Int 1251-2025), Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez—credited by colleagues as the package's lead—said Int 0431 replaces decades of dysfunction with a system fairer to vendors and predictable for brick-and-mortar businesses, and
- Security-guard pay override honored as the 'Aland Etienne Act' Council Member Shirley Aldebol, a former 32BJ organizer, spoke in support of overriding the veto of Int 1391-2025, which sets compensation standards for security guards, and Council Members Crystal Hudson and Mercedes Narcisse invoked the bill in honor of slain 32BJ member Aland Etienne; Council
- Tax-lien reform and the new city Land Bank Council Member Gale A. Brewer described the Land Bank override (Int 0570-2024) as replacing the city's private, high-bidder tax-lien sales with a Land Bank Board, and Council Member Sandy Nurse detailed her tax-lien package (Int 1407-2025, Int 1419-2025, Int 1420-2025) developed with the Coalition
- Safer Sanctuary Act override bars ICE from city jails Council Member Tiffany L. Cabán, lead sponsor of the Safer Sanctuary Act (Int 1412-2025), urged colleagues to override former Mayor Adams's veto, saying the bill strengthens sanctuary protections and ensures no future mayor can bring ICE operations back onto Rikers Island; Council Member Alexa
- Gender-Motivated Violence Act override restores survivor protections Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers said overriding the veto of Int 1297-2025 restores the Gender-Motivated Violence Act after an appellate ruling and the veto threatened survivors' access to the courts, and Council Member Farah N. Louis spoke in support of standing with survivors.
- For-hire driver deactivation protections championed Council Member Shekar Krishnan hailed the override of bills reining in Uber and Lyft, and Council Member Oswald J. Feliz praised the measure protecting for-hire drivers from arbitrary deactivation, describing drivers as essential workers; a Council legislative officer explained the bill would bar
- Members lament the failure to override the COPA and CCRB vetoes Several members—including Lincoln Restler, Shahana K. Hanif, Chi A. Ossé, Crystal Hudson, Lynn C. Schulman, and Althea V. Stevens—expressed disappointment that the Council did not override vetoes of the COPA (community opportunity to purchase) and CCRB-related bills, with Ossé noting an override
- Council overrides 17 mayoral vetoes Presiding officer Shaun Abreu put the reconsidered bills to a vote 'the objections of the Mayor notwithstanding,' and the Council overrode all 17 vetoes—the most in over a decade—with tallies read into the record (for example, Int 0408-2024 passed 51-0 and Int 0431-2024 passed 41-7); Public Advocate
- General Orders roll-call vote At Speaker Menin's request, the clerk took a coupled roll-call vote on the remaining items on the day's General Orders Calendar.
- Members introduce an anti-Semitism legislative package Council Members David M. Carr, Inna Vernikov, Eric Dinowitz, and Virginia Maloney spoke to a new anti-Semitism package tied to Speaker Menin's five-point agenda and a bipartisan Jewish Caucus task force (co-chaired by Vernikov and Dinowitz); Maloney introduced her first bill, Int 0297-2026 with
- Members introduce and reintroduce legislation for the new term During General Discussion, members introduced priority bills: Chris Banks's Int 0061-2026 for a NYCHA tenant-owned business directory; Shahana K. Hanif's Int 0171-2026 ('Ban the Scan') on biometric surveillance and Int 0169-2026 on fertility-access information; Linda Lee's bill to raise pay for CBO
- Farewells, staff recognitions, and thanks to snow crews Council Member Erik Bottcher bade farewell to departing staff, including his longtime chief of staff Carl Wilson; Council Member Gale A. Brewer recognized her office interns and fellows; and Council Member Justin E. Sanchez, Chair of the Sanitation Committee, thanked DSNY crews for working around
- Stated Meeting adjourned Majority Leader Abreu called on Speaker Julie Menin to close, and the Speaker adjourned the Stated Meeting of January 29, 2026.
Agenda
727 items
- LU 0033-2026 Application number C 240334 ZMQ (33-01 11th Street Rezoning) submitted by Catholic Medical Mission Board, pursuant to Sections 197-c and 201 of the New York City Charter for an amendment of the Zoning Map, Section No. 9a, changing from an R5 District to an M1-4/R7A District, and establishing a Referred to Comm by Council
- LU 0034-2026 Application number N 240335 ZRQ (33-01 11th Street Rezoning) submitted by Catholic Medical Mission Board, pursuant to Section 201 of the New York City Charter, for an amendment of the Zoning Resolution of the City of New York, modifying APPENDIX F for the purpose of establishing a Mandatory Referred to Comm by Council
- LU 0031-2026 Application No. N 260209 HKK (DL 547, LP 2692) (Beverley Square West Historic District) submitted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, pursuant to Section 3020 of the New York City Charter, for the historic district designation of the Beverley Square West Historic District, consisting of Referred to Comm by Council
- LU 0032-2026 Application No. N 260210 HKK (DL 547, LP 2693) (Ditmas Park West Historic District) submitted by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, pursuant to Section 3020 of the New York City Charter, for the historic district designation of the Ditmas Park West Historic District, consisting of properties Referred to Comm by Council
- Res 0141-2026 Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the New York State Governor to sign, A.5440, which imposes owner liability for failure of an operator to comply with traffic control indicators within the city of New York Referred to Comm by Council
- Int 0060-2026 Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign H.R. 3899, the American Family Act, which would expand the Child Tax Credit Referred to Comm by Council
- Res 0119-2026 Resolution calling upon the New York Power Authority to increase planned capacity targets to at least 15 gigawatts of new, publicly-owned renewables by 2030, to redirect funds from its economic incentive awards program toward the buildout of distributed renewable energy generation and storage and Referred to Comm by Council
- Int 0408-2024 A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to creating a division within the department of small business services to assist street vendors and reporting regarding such assistance efforts Overridden by Council
- M 0005-2026 Communication from the Mayor – Veto and disapproval of Introductory Number 408-A of 2024 - A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to creating a division within the department of small business services to assist street vendors and reporting regarding such assistance efforts Filed by Council
- Int 0431-2024 A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to expanding business licensing and regulatory compliance of all mobile food and general vendors Overridden by Council
- M 0006-2026 Communication from the Mayor – Veto and disapproval of Introductory Number 431-B of 2024 - A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to expanding business licensing and regulatory compliance of all mobile food and general vendors Filed by Council
- Int 1251-2025 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to issuing licenses to mobile food and general vendors Overridden by Council
- M 0012-2026 Communication from the Mayor – Veto and disapproval of Introductory Number 1251-A of 2025 - A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to issuing licenses to mobile food and general vendors Filed by Council
- Int 1391-2025 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the establishment of compensation standards for security guards Overridden by Council
- M 0015-2026 Communication from the Mayor – Veto and disapproval of Introductory Number 1391-A of 2025 - A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the establishment of compensation standards for security guards Filed by Council
- Int 0479-2024 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the establishment of standards and procedures to determine the existence of conflicts of interest and other misconduct concerning city contracts Overridden by Council
- M 0007-2026 Communication from the Mayor – Veto and disapproval of Introductory Number 479-A of 2024 - A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the establishment of standards and procedures to determine the existence of conflicts of interest and other Filed by Council
- Int 0570-2024 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating a land bank Overridden by Council
- M 0008-2026 Communication from the Mayor – Veto and disapproval of Introductory Number 570-B of 2024 - A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to creating a land bank Filed by Council
- Int 1407-2025 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the sale of tax liens Overridden by Council