Sidahmed explains second pillar and MOECM's core duties

The second pillar is sustaining the journalists and publications that keep our communities informed and our institutions accountable.

These publications are key to our civic infrastructure.

We need them to attend local community board hearings, ask their local electeds tough questions, and critically, uplift the issues that are most pressing for their communities.

Local Law 83 recognizes that supporting these outlets and connecting New Yorkers with public information are not competing goals.

They reinforce one another.

When community media is stronger, New Yorkers are better informed.

And when New Yorkers are better informed, our democracy is stronger.

That leads us to the creation and role of this office.

It is the first and only of its kind nationwide.

My responsibility is to serve as an advocate for this community of publishers across New York City government and help ensure that Local Law 83 delivers on its promise to have agencies spend marketing dollars with community and ethnic media.

My core responsibility is to help the community.

are to one, train all the New York City agencies on their obligations under Local Law 83 and how to comply with the law,

to manage the citywide marketing directory, which identifies the publications city agencies can work with to meet their obligations, and three, publish an annual report assessing the government's progress towards the law's 50% advertising spending goal.

These responsibilities may sound administrative, but their consequences are real.

The way we implement this law determines whether public dollars reach the outlets that need them, whether agencies effectively communicate with New Yorkers, and whether the city delivers on the commitments it has made.