Executive

Whereas, the "freedom to marry" is, in the words of the United States Supreme Court, "one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free people."

Whereas, civil marriage grants special rights and privileges in such areas as property ownership, inheritance, health care, hospital visitation, taxation, insurance coverage, child custody, pension benefits and testimonial privileges, married couples receive important safeguards against the loss or injury of a spouse, and crucial assurances against legal intrusion into their marital privacy.

Whereas, civil marriage is the means by which the State defines a couple's place in society.

Whereas, same gender couples are denied access to the institution of civil marriage.

Whereas, those who are excluded from its rubric are told by the institutions of the State, in essence, that their solemn commitment to one another has no legal weight.

Therefore be it resolved that the Manhattan Borough Board urges the Governor and the New York State Legislature to immediately amend the domestic relations law, in relation to the ability to marry, to read as follows:

A MARRIAGE THAT IS OTHERWISE VALID SHALL BE VALID REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE
PARTIES TO THE MARRIAGE ARE OF THE SAME OR DIFFERENT SEX (S4440).

This amendment, Bill S440, provides same-sex couples the same opportunity to enter into civil marriages as opposite-sex couples. The bill also provides that no member of the clergy may be compelled to perform any marriage ceremony.

Whereas, America is a nation of immigrants and New York City is sustained by our immigrant past, present and future; and

Whereas, New York City is home to the largest population of immigrants of any city in the U.S.; well over 3 million foreign-born residents comprise nearly 40 percent of New York City's total population; and immigrants compose over 40 percent of the city's workforce and are essential to our economic output and stability; and

Whereas, over 30 percent of Manhattan's residents are foreign-born and a number of the borough's community districts are majority foreign-born; and

Whereas, the City of New York and the nation as a whole could benefit from comprehensive immigration reform that does not divide families or create a climate of fear in immigrant neighborhoods; and

Whereas, immigration reform is an issue that transcends party affiliation and requires input from all elected officials; and

Whereas, an enforcement-only approach to immigration is ineffective, cruel and wasteful of Federal and State resources; and

Whereas, the Governor of Arizona, on April 23, 2010, signed into law Senate Bill 1070 which requires Arizona law enforcement to question and arrest individuals if there is a "reasonable suspicion" that they are in the country undocumented; and

Whereas, Arizona's new law promotes a policy of profiling and infringes on individual civil rights; and

Whereas, any such law in the State of New York would violate our basic notions of fairness, decency and justice; and

Whereas, such laws create a significant chilling effect on many communities' willingness to report crimes and cooperate with police and government overall, and criminals will be more free to prey on immigrant communities, diminishing public safety for citizens as well as non-citizens; and

Whereas, the New York State Senate adopted a resolution denouncing any policy of profiling in New York State and urging the federal government to denounce any similar state sanctioned immigration policy; and

Whereas, the New York State Assembly adopted a resolution denouncing Arizona's new immigration law;

Therefore be it resolved that the Manhattan Borough Board denounces the passage and signing into law of Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 and urges Arizona not to implement the law; and

Therefore be it further resolved that the Manhattan Borough Board applauds the passage of Senate Bill J5081 and Assembly Bill K01282 by the New York State Legislatures and encourages the adoption of federal comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens the family immigration system, protects human and civil rights and provides a meaningful path to citizenship.

WHEREAS: Several Manhattan Community Boards in 2008 opposed the City
Council's Intro 650 which would have implemented a proposed New York
City Police Department (NYPD) permitting system for biological,
chemical and radiological detectors; and

WHEREAS: An essentially similar bill was recently introduced as Intro 58 in the
current session of the Council by the Committee on Public Safety to
amend the Administrative Code of the City of New York, in relation to
biological, chemical and radiological detectors; and

WHEREAS: In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks on September 11,
2001, residents and workers were repeatedly lied to by government
agencies about the quality of the air they breathed, and therefore, it is
important to maintain the right of individuals to maintaining the right to
independently test the air, water, and soil; and

WHEREAS: Residents should be empowered to hold the government accountable and
confirm for themselves, in a timely fashion, that their air is free of
hazardous chemicals, and

WHEREAS: We believe that this law would be the first time anyone would have to be
"permitted" to monitor the environment; and

WHEREAS: Intro 58 is overly broad and although it ostensibly is aimed at detectors of
weaponized chemical, biological and radioactive agents, it is written in a manner that will impact chemical, biological, radiological detectors in general;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Manhattan Borough Board supports the concept that anyone or any community
should have the right to monitor the air, water, soil, etc., and that the Manhattan Borough
Board opposes Intro 58.

Whereas, the Department of Education, in June 2009, enacted a policy to ban all bake sales in city schools; and

Whereas, bake sales are an important fundraising component of many schools, providing significant assistance to many extracurricular programs that would otherwise not exist; and

Whereas, bake sales provide a vital social component, offering individuals an opportunity to share cultural heritage, sample family recipes, and showcase individual skills; and

Whereas, in the fall of 2009, DOE modified its policy to allow bake sales on the condition that only pre-packaged products that are manufactured by DOE's contracted vendors are sold, and which are currently available in school vending machines, such as Hydrox, Pop Tarts, Frito-Lay, Doritos, and Snapple, among others, all of which contain high fructose corn syrup and/or other unhealthy industrial food additives; and

Whereas, home bakers use healthier ingredients, having little or no access to industrial food additives; and

Whereas, under these new rules there is little or no incentive for students to buy products that are readily available elsewhere in the school building every day, and which have no unique personal appeal; and

Whereas, the key to making children and teenagers healthier is to educate them to make healthier choices, not to impose bans; and

Whereas, common sense dictates that there is no correlation between occasional bake sales, which have been a regular feature of school support since the early part of the 20^th Century, and the threefold increase in childhood obesity in the United States that has occurred since the 1960's when schools began offering less healthy food options in lunch rooms and vending machines; and

Whereas, the main reasons cited for the increase in childhood obesity are:

• less physical activity among youth
• more fast food, commercial foods and additives (such as corn syrup)
• fewer home-cooked meals and less family time; and

Whereas, decreasing and preventing childhood obesity will also lead to a decrease in heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and many other serious problems; now

Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Manhattan Borough Board urges the Department of Education to repeal its ban on selling home baked foods at bake sales, and calls upon our elected officials to review this DOE policy and seek its repeal; and

Therefore, Be It Further Resolved that the Manhattan Borough Board supports efforts to increase school-based opportunities for physical activity among youth, and to decrease their consumption of industrially prepared foods and beverages.

Whereas, the Mayor of the City of New York has convened a charter Revision Commission to review "the entire City Charter" and propose "changes that will improve the lives of New Yorkers;" and

Whereas, Charter Revision presents a significant opportunity to engage New Yorkers in a substantive conversation about their government; and

Whereas, history has shown that the most inclusive and reform-minded commissions, such as the 1989 Ravitch/Schwarz Commission appointed by Mayor Koch, require significant time for public debate and vetting of ideas; and

Whereas, proposing initiatives for the November 2010 ballot would unnecessarily limit the Commission's timeframe for conducting a thorough analysis and considering public input; and

Whereas, waiting to propose initiatives until 2011 and 2012 would likely have little effect on voter turnout.  As evidenced by the vote totals for the 2002 and 2003 Charter amendments, where 24,000 more votes were cast in the 2003 off-year election, voter turnout depends upon the degree to which the public has been engaged;

Therefore, Be It Resolved that the Manhattan Borough Board calls on the City Charter Commission to forgo placing any proposals on the 2010 ballot, and instead, first engage in a comprehensive public debate about City government before considering any proposals.