Committee on Finance meeting
May 27, 2026, 10:00 AM
Jointly with the Committee on Civil and Human Rights and the Committee on Parks and Recreation*.
The Committee on Finance held FY2027 executive budget hearings on the City Commission on Human Rights (jointly with the Committee on Civil and Human Rights) and the Department of Parks and Recreation (jointly with the Committee on Parks and Recreation). The committee took testimony and recorded no votes.
What was discussed
- Opening and swearing in of the Human Rights Commission panel The Sergeant-at-Arms opened the joint FY2027 Executive Budget hearing of the Committee on Finance with the Committees on Civil and Human Rights and Parks and Recreation. Chair Linda Lee opened day two of the executive budget hearings and Chair Sandy Nurse gave a committee statement flagging cuts to
- Commission on Human Rights FY2027 budget testimony Commissioner Christine Clarke testified on the Commission on Human Rights' annual budget, describing the agency's enforcement mandate under the Mamdani administration and the impact of the Executive Plan's reductions.
- How will the OTPS and PS reductions affect the Commission's work? Chair Linda Lee pressed on the reductions and the Chief Savings Officer exercise; Chief of Staff Rios Lua said one savings was canceling a consultant contract on AI topics, and Commissioner Christine Clarke said the Commission fully intends to meet its mandate but could do more outreach with
- Which new positions does CCHR most urgently need in its $10 million, 100-position request? Chair Linda Lee asked about the budget request for 100 new positions and which titles are most urgent; Commissioner Christine Clarke said every title is urgently needed and that the Commission remains in regular contact with OMB.
- Does CCHR need new office space and a new case-management system? Chair Linda Lee asked about capital funding for office space and a case-management system; Commissioner Christine Clarke said the current system is essentially a database that was never built for case management, and that consolidating staff into shared space would improve the work environment.
- Will the gender-based rights campaign continue beyond FY2026? Chair Linda Lee asked about the one-time intracity funding for the gender-based (TGNCNBI) rights campaign; Chief of Staff Rios Lua traced the program to Council legislation (Intro 1200) directing a rights-and-resources campaign.
- Why are source-of-income discrimination complaints rising? Chair Linda Lee asked about the trend in source-of-income cases; Commissioner Christine Clarke said such complaints have been increasing over time rather than spiking in any single year.
- What is CCHR doing to recruit and retain attorneys at competitive pay? Chair Sandy Nurse pressed on attorney recruitment, retention, and the four agency-attorney title levels; Commissioner Christine Clarke and Chief of Staff Rios Lua described the attorney progression starting at Agency Attorney Intern and said roughly 20-plus attorney lines are funded.
- How will the budget affect the Commission's Racial Equity Plan goals? Chair Sandy Nurse asked how CCHR would continue outreach and commission-initiated investigations under its Racial Equity Plan's short-, medium-, and long-term goals; Chief of Staff Rios Lua and Commissioner Christine Clarke discussed the plan's targets and a train-the-trainers approach.
- Will CCHR receive the $20 million the Mayor pledged, and will salaries meet the cost of living? Deputy Speaker Nantasha M. Williams cited then-candidate Mamdani's pledge to fund CCHR at $20 million and asked about staff salaries; Commissioner Christine Clarke spoke to sustaining the agency's work across administrations, and Chief of Staff Rios Lua said the majority of staff earn over $70,000.
- How does CCHR coordinate with HRA on source-of-income discrimination? Council Member Crystal Hudson asked how the Commission works with HRA on source-of-income complaints from voucher holders; Commissioner Christine Clarke said CCHR works with landlords and coordinates with HRA much as an advocate would.
- How will the $2 million cut affect capacity to handle rising anti-Semitic complaints? Council Member Phil Wong asked how CCHR would keep up with discrimination and anti-Semitic complaints under the proposed $2 million cut; Commissioner Christine Clarke said the agency reorganized to get more enforcement from available resources, that CCHR handles civil-rights matters, and that it
- What is the average caseload per staffer, and how will the cut change it? Chair Linda Lee asked about caseload per worker and the effect of the overall budget reduction; Commissioner Christine Clarke said a high-level average is about 40 cases per person.
- How is the mediation team and new Director of Mediation role being structured? Chair Sandy Nurse asked about the pre-mediation team, the new Director of Mediation role, and the restructuring; Commissioner Christine Clarke said the six-person team is increasing by one and that staff are keeping their civil-service titles.
- Council urges CCHR to attach dollar figures to its savings Chair Sandy Nurse and Chair Linda Lee closed the Human Rights Commission portion by urging the agency to quantify, in dollar terms, what the budget reductions mean for services so the public can understand the tradeoffs.
- Reconvening and swearing in for the Parks and Recreation hearing After a recess, Chair Linda Lee reopened the afternoon session on the Department of Parks and Recreation FY2027 Executive Budget and Chair Ty Hankerson gave the Parks Committee's opening; Commissioner Tricia Shimamura and Parks Department staff were sworn in.
- Department of Parks and Recreation FY2027 budget testimony Commissioner Tricia Shimamura testified as head of the Department of Parks and Recreation on the agency's FY2027 Executive Budget, framing it as a difficult budget year for the administration.
- Why weren't Parks Enforcement Patrol positions restored in the Executive Plan? Chair Linda Lee pressed on the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) positions left unfunded; Commissioner Tricia Shimamura called it an incredibly difficult budget year and said the agency is in ongoing conversations with OMB.
- How did Parks meet its savings-program targets? Chair Linda Lee asked how the agency met the savings targets; Commissioner Tricia Shimamura said the administration's goal was to review all operations closely, and Executive Financial Officer Stark explained how planting and other funds are delivered and staffed.
- What happens to the 40 positions cut in the vacancy reduction? Chair Linda Lee asked about the vacancy reduction of 40 positions saving $9.2 million in FY26 and $27.6 million in FY27; Commissioner Tricia Shimamura said the agency would try to move affected staff into other open or grant-funded lines, naming PEP, Green Thumb, and other one-shot-funded buckets.
Agenda
1 item
- T2026-1882 NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL FISCAL YEAR 2027 EXECUTIVE BUDGET HEARINGS *10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Commission on Human Rights ** 12:00 p.m. Department of Parks and Recreation *Jointly with the Committee on Civil and Human Rights **Jointly with the Committee on Parks and Recreation Hearing Held by Committee