Public Employee Press

Residency relief passes 50-1

City Council has votes to override Mayor’s last-minute veto

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

After more than two years of demonstrations and lobbying at City Hall, District Council 37 achieved a major legislative triumph Dec. 18 as the City Council voted 50-to-1 to pass Intro. 837, which eases residency requirements for 45,000 members.

“This is a tremendous victory for thousands of dedicated city workers,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. In a show of solidarity, Roberts and dozens of DC 37 presidents, union members, retirees and staff packed the balcony of the City Council chamber as the legislators voiced their overwhelming support for the legislation.

“We fought for the right of these workers to enjoy the same freedom of choice as other city employees who are free to live outside New York City,” Roberts said. “This huge vote of support by the City Council is a significant victory in DC 37’s battle for fairness and justice.”

The mayor vetoed Intro. 837 on Jan. 18. DC 37 has enough support in the City Council to override a veto, said Political Director Wanda Williams. The override vote is expected on Feb. 11.

Throughout the long battle, DC 37 steadfastly maintained that its fight to give city workers the option to live where they choose is about equity. Intro. 837, which was sponsored by Council member Robert Jackson and 44 others, allows DC 37 members to live in the six surrounding counties — Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange and Putnam — and maintain their city jobs. This compromise legislation differs slightly from the original Intro. 452 that was sponsored by former Council member Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. by requiring new city employees to live in the city’s five boroughs for their first two years of employment, said Williams. As support for the measure grew, Speaker Christine Quinn was able to move the bill from the Civil Service Committee to the floor.

More than 85 percent of DC 37 members currently live in the city; while the new law gives them the option to move to the surrounding counties, that number is not likely to change much.

The residency restriction posed a hardship for workers searching for affordable housing in one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg agreed in DC 37’s 2006-2008 contract to support expanding residency rules.

“Lifting the residency restrictions offers members a viable option,” said Roberts. Now the City Council has taken a critical step toward making it happen.”