Throughout its history, Citizens Union has weighed in on issues involving political reform and those of good and effective government. It also has on occasion offered its views on issues that rise to a level of significant citywide importance.
Civil Service Reform
Citizens Union engaged a team of NYU Wagner Graduate Students to develop a Capstone Report on the New York City civil service system and possible reforms. Their report also provided a primer on the history of the city’s civil service system, and was completed after conducting stakeholder interviews.
- April 2012 — Capstone Report; Tensions, Trends and Trade-offs: Recommendations Toward an Equitable, Efficient and Effective New York City Civil Service System
Public Oversight of Police Misconduct
Citizens Union, beginning in 2007, reviewed New York City’s policies and procedures governing the handling of alleged police misconduct and the subsequent internal disciplinary action. Members of CU, its board of directors, and staff have participated in meetings with over two dozen key individual stakeholders, including the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), City Council Members, the Police Commissioner, police officers, district attorneys, representatives of the Mayors Office, among others, to better understand and evaluate the issue. The culmination of the research and discussions was the development of a series of policy recommendation designed to improve public confidence and support for the New York Police Department (NYPD) by strengthening public oversight of police misconduct and ensuring a fairer and more independent procedure for handling complaints of misconduct.
Ultimately, in 2012 the city announced an agreement to implement one of Citizens Union’s recommendations through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allow the CCRB to prosecute cases of misconduct which it substantiates, which was largely driven by Citizens Union’s advocacy efforts. Citizens Union plans to continue to advocate for additional necessary changes to the civilian oversight process.
- July 2013 — Issue Brief and Position Statement on Stop, Question and Frisk
- March 28, 2012 — Citizens Union Commends Police Department, Mayor, and Council on Agreement to Allow the CCRB to Prosecute Cases it Substantiates
- March 2012 — Citizens Union Report on Diminished Accountability: NYPD Downgrading of Instances of Police Misconduct
- December 11, 2009 — CU Testimony in favor of Intro 1025, to require quarterly reporting of civil claims filed against the New York City Police Department
- September 23, 2009 — Huffington Post Op-ed by Citizens Union and Councilmember Dan Garodnick
- July 29, 2009 — Citizens Union and City Councilmembers Announce Introduction of Legislation to Reform the Civilian Complaint Review Board
- January 29, 2009 — Testimony to the City Council Committee on Public Safety re: the CCRB’s 2007 Annual Report
- May 2008 — Issue Brief and Position Statement on Public Oversight of Police Misconduct
- April 15, 2008 — Press Release on Recommendations to Strengthen Public Oversight of Police Misconduct
Further Resources and Websites of Interest:
- City News Release Announcing MoU Allowing CCRB to Prosecute Cases of Misconduct, 2012
- New York Times Article on October 5, 2009 re: Reforming CCRB
- Citizens Union and Councilmember Garodnick CCRB Fact Sheet
- Transcript from January 29, 2009 City Council Oversight Hearing on CCRB’s 2007 Annual Report
- Hearing Testimony from January 29, 2009 City Council Oversight Hearing on CCRB’s 2007 Annual Report
- 9/10/08 New York Times Article re: CCRB Lawyers Assisting the NYPD in Complaint Prosecution
- 2001 Memorandum of Understanding between the CCRB and NYPD to Transfer Prosecutorial Power to the CCRB
- Civilian Complaint Review Board
- Commission to Combat Police Corruption (CCPC)
- Vera Institute of Justice
- New York Civil Liberties Union
2010 Charter Revision Commission – Comprehensive Review of the City Charter
Citizens Union in 2010 conducted a comprehensive review of the City Charter, producing a report for the 2010 Charter Revision Commission providing a comprehensive framework for improving governance, elections, and civic participation in New York City. Ultimately, many measures supported by Citizens Union were approved by the voters. See our 2010 Voters Directory for more information on the measures ultimately adopted by the voters.
- June 30, 2010 — Citizens Union Report to the 2010 Charter Revision Commission: Increasing Avenues for Participation in Governing and Elections in NYC
- January 17, 2008 — Statement on Mayor Bloomberg’s Announced Formation of a Charter Revision Commission
Further Resources and Websites of Interest:
New Funding Sources for MTA Operations
Citizens Union announced its support for many of the recommendations recently put forward by Metropolitan Transportation Authority Financing Commission (Commission), headed by former Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) chief Richard Ravitch, to address the MTAs dire need for new sources of revenue.
- February 18, 2009 — Issue Brief and Position Statement on MTA Funding
- February 18, 2009 — Testimony to the Senate Transportation and Corporations Committees on MTA Funding
- February 18, 2009 — News Release on Citizens Union Support for New MTA Funding Sources
Further Resources and Websites of Interest:
- December 2, 2008 — Report of the Commission on Metropolitan Transportation Authority Financing (Ravitch Commission)
- November 23, 2008 — Comptroller Thompson’s Weight-Based Registration Fee Proposal MTA Budget Documents Website
- MTA Budget Documents Website
- NYS Senate MTA Budget Proposal Website
Congestion Pricing
Citizens Union released a position statement on implementation of congestion pricing in New York City. The proposals put forth by Mayor Bloomberg and the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission had the potential to expand the role of government in both mitigating traffic congestion and raising funds for new public transportation projects. Citizens Union offered its recommendations to ensure that the proposals would meet their intended goals. Citizens Union offered its support for congestion pricing, and made a series of recommendations to improve the proposal submitted by the commission. Chief among the recommendations was the call for establishment an independent expert panel to conduct ongoing review of the program and the modification of the plans toll offset structure. Additional support was given for the creation of a dedicated fund for mass transit and the expansion of Bus Rapid Transit.