Committee on Public Safety meeting
June 10, 2026, 10:00 AM
The Committee on Public Safety held hearings on seven police-related bills. They included Int 0935, requiring weekly reporting on confirmed firearm discharges, Int 0929, a plan for security perimeters next to schools, and Int 0843, a public notification program for school emergencies. The committee also heard measures on towed vehicles (Int 0489 and Int 0552), a ban on fraudulent license plates (Int 0551), and raising the maximum age to take the police officer civil service exam (Int 0913).
What was discussed
- Chair and Speaker open a hearing on seven police-related bills Chairperson Oswald J. Feliz gaveled in the Committee on Public Safety and framed the agenda of seven NYPD bills, and Speaker Julie Menin delivered opening remarks thanking the chair and the bill sponsors.
- Bill sponsors introduce their measures Council Member Elsie Encarnación spoke to her security-perimeter bill (Int 0929), Council Member Amanda C. Farías introduced her measure to raise the maximum police-exam age (Int 0913), and Council Member Inna Vernikov spoke to the fraudulent-license-plate bill (Int 0551).
- Swearing in the NYPD witnesses The Committee Counsel administered the oath to the NYPD panel before testimony.
- NYPD opening testimony on the police-bill package Deputy Commissioner Michael Gerber, joined by Chief of Transportation Olufunmilola Obe, testified on behalf of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on the bills before the committee.
- How much space do NYPD tow pounds have, and how many cars go unclaimed? Pressed by Chairperson Feliz on tow-pound capacity, Chief Obe said the NYPD runs three pounds citywide after losing the Manhattan pound in 2021, described the Bronx pound's turnover, and said fewer than about three percent of towed vehicles go unclaimed because most owners retrieve cars within a day
- How can New Yorkers find out where their towed car is? Chairperson Feliz and Council Member Kamillah Hanks asked how owners locate towed vehicles; Chief Obe and Deputy Commissioner Gerber said NYPD tows flow into CTOPS and the 311/NYC Serve system (which also pulls Sheriff and Marshal tows), but acknowledged the data is not a complete picture because
- Does the NYPD systematically track confirmed shots fired? Chairperson Feliz asked whether the NYPD keeps confirmed shots-fired data; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said the department does not track confirmed firearm discharges in any systematic, CompStat-style way today, but said the reporting the bill seeks is doable and the NYPD is prepared to do it.
- Would raising the exam age actually widen the NYPD's applicant pool? Council Members Amanda C. Farías and Kamillah Hanks asked how the current age-35 cap affects recruitment; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said the NYPD strongly supports raising the age, calling it 'only upside,' and noted a recent reduction in required college credits has already expanded the applicant
- What does the NYPD weigh when setting a security perimeter around a school? Chairperson Feliz asked how the NYPD decides on frozen zones near schools; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said the determination is highly context-specific and made content- and viewpoint-neutral under the First Amendment, is not measured in feet, and that he could not recall recent incidents of
- Does the security-perimeter bill risk more NYPD contact with students? Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez questioned whether the bill would create more police interaction with young people; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said the bill changes nothing operationally and only requires the NYPD to put its existing practices on paper.
- How reliable is ShotSpotter, and can its accuracy be verified? Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez (and Chairperson Feliz) questioned ShotSpotter's utility; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said the current contract runs through the end of 2027 and that the NYPD has no systematic tracking to confirm what share of alerts are actual gunfire, though patrol responds to
- Will the city ever restore a Manhattan tow pound? Council Member Gale A. Brewer pressed on the loss of the Manhattan tow pound; Assistant Commissioner Seth Severino said the NYPD has surveyed as many as 10 Manhattan sites with OMB and DCAS but nothing has come to fruition, and Chief Obe noted Manhattan accounted for about half of the city's 105,000
- Can precincts simply post where to find a towed car? Council Member Darlene Mealy urged the NYPD to post tow-pound contact information in precincts; Chief Obe said constituents can walk into any precinct for help, and Deputy Commissioner Gerber pointed to expanding the single 311/NYC Serve system, while acknowledging private tows remain a gap.
- How does the NYPD handle a school walkout? Council Member Darlene Mealy asked how the NYPD responds to an unannounced high-school walkout; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said community affairs officers respond and accompany peaceful walkouts, that advance coordination makes it easier, and that some groups decline to talk to police as is their
- Why require a new plan for something the NYPD says it already does? Council Member Rita C. Joseph repeatedly challenged the need for the security-perimeter bill given existing NYPD practice and its MOU with the schools; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said the bill would not change operations and only requires the department to memorialize in writing what it already
- Where would the NYPD post confirmed shots-fired data? In a second round, Chairperson Feliz asked where firearm-discharge data would live; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said it would be posted publicly on a quarterly basis but not on the CompStat sheet.
- How often do private tow operators fail to report tows? Chairperson Feliz asked how well private tow companies comply with the requirement to notify the NYPD; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said it is an imperfect, 'hit or miss' system and declined to guess a compliance rate.
- How do 311 reports lead to a car being towed? Council Member Justin E. Sanchez asked about the 311-driven process behind a tow; Chief Obe said the bills concern department-violation tows and Deputy Commissioner Gerber said the NYPD could readily provide data on how complaints escalate to a tow.
- What are the penalties for selling fake paper plates? Chairperson Feliz asked about consequences for selling fraudulent license plates; Deputy Commissioner Gerber cited the existing VTL 392-a criminal offense and agreed that ghost cars are sometimes tied to violent criminal activity.
- Can the NYPD cite a case where a student protest blocked school access? In a second round on the perimeter bill, Council Member Rita C. Joseph asked for any example of a student-led assembly blocking a school; Deputy Commissioner Gerber said nothing came to mind, reiterated that the NYPD does not systematically track protest locations, and described safeguards such as
Agenda
7 items
- Int 0935-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to quarterly reporting on confirmed firearm discharges Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- Int 0929-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a transparency report regarding New York city police department security perimeters adjacent to educational facilities Hearing on P-C Item by Comm
- Int 0913-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to raising the maximum age for taking a civil service examination to become a police officer Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0843-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing a program to provide public notification of school emergencies Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0552-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to police department tow pound capacity Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0551-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting the sale or distribution of fraudulent license plates Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0489-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the creation of a publicly accessible online database and notification system for towed vehicles Hearing Held by Committee