Morano opens public testimony, outlines rules, and calls first panel
Morano says public testimony is the most important part, outlines decorum rules and five-minute speaking limits, notes written testimony is accepted, and calls Jody Rudin, Leroy Belton, and Anne-Marie Foster.
In a moment, we are going to open the hearing for public testimony.
As far as I'm concerned, this is the absolute most important part of the hearing.
As interested as I am in hearing from the administration, I'm much more interested in hearing from the public.
I want to begin by...
thanking everybody for their patience in waiting here, whether they're waiting to testify in Zoom or especially everybody that made their way here in person.
But a lot of my colleagues and I have a lot of questions, and we wanted to make sure we asked them, and hopefully that will inform your testimony as well.
For anybody that can't testify, that can't stick around, feel free to submit testimony in writing as well.
As far as, you know, Chair Hudson mentioned earlier the tradition of council members grandstanding on occasion.
As somebody that's been accused of grandstanding more than once myself, I can promise you that I will stay and listen to.
Every last person from the public that has made their way to testify here today, and that everybody that can't stay, that submits testimony and writing, I can promise you I'll be reviewing every single person's testimony and writing as well.
With that...
I will remind members of the public that this is a formal government proceeding and that decorum shall be observed at all times.
As such, members of the public shall remain silent at all times.
The witness takes, see, I apologize to that gentleman for not reading that earlier.
Sorry to him.
The witness table is reserved for people who wish to testify.
No video recording or photography is allowed from the witness table.
Further, members of the public may not present audio.
or video recordings as testimony, but may submit transcripts of such recordings to the Sergeant at Arms for inclusion in the hearing record.
If you wish to speak at today's hearing, please fill out an appearance card with the Sergeant at Arms and wait to be recognized.
When recognized, you will have five minutes to speak.
A lot of other committees only give you three.
We are giving you five to make sure you have as much time as the council members have.
And please keep your testimony focused on today's topic, veteran homelessness in New York City, or on the legislation that we're hearing today.
We'll hear all in-person testimony first, then turn to Zoom.
If you have a written statement or additional written testimony you wish to submit for the record, please provide a copy of that testimony to the Sergeant at Arms.
We'll now call the first panel.
I want to welcome Jody Rudin, the president of ICL, Leroy Belton, a former ICL client, and Anne-Marie Foster, the president and CEO of Phoenix House.
Please come on down, be seated, and we will get started.
We have about five, just everybody's aware, we have about five panels from the public that are going to be testifying, which I think is great.
I hope we get 25 panels of people coming to testify.
I hope I'm here until midnight tonight listening to concerns, questions, thoughts, opinions from the public.
Are we going to have Mr.
Belton and Ms.
Foster?
Great.
Hi.
All right.
Ms.
Ruden, if you want to begin, please do so.