Transcript: Mayor Adams Holds Public Hearing for Intro. 0991-C

November 4, 2024

Mayor Eric Adams: Good to see you all, congratulations, Julie, you worked hard on this. So today, I'm holding a bill signing on a bill that creates safer hotels for employees and visitors and bolsters the city tourism industry. New York City offers the experience of a lifetime for New Yorkers and tourists, and our hotels are real indicators on how well we're doing as a city and our economy.

Our numbers are high, tourism is back, 62 million tourists last year, we believe we're going to exceed those numbers, not only in Times Square, but throughout the entire city. Hotels play a major role, everything from employment to ensuring that the experience here people can enjoy all that New York has to offer. And they employ great union workers, particularly the members from HTC.

It all starts with a good hotel and the proper hospitality that we all offer. That is what makes our city a global destination, and it's critical for our economy, it bolsters this economy and [infuses] billions of dollars into our ability to keep our police officers, our teachers, our firefighters, and all of our city employees. Employees and visitors should feel safe working and staying in the greatest city in the world.

So today, we're making our hotels safer so everyone can enjoy the magic of New York City. The Safe Hotels Act, or Intro. 991, sets new, stronger standards around safety, staffing, and cleaning in our city's hotels, as well as licensing requirements to help enforce worker and guest protections. So I want to thank City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Councilmember Julie Menin, and the entire City Councilmembers who participated, including Councilwoman Hudson, who was one of the first to sign on to the bill.

And of course, a staunch advocate for his members, but really for all New Yorkers, the president of HTC, Rich Maroko. And now I want to invite the public to comment, and members of the public have an opportunity to speak on this bill. Oh, that's a rarity. All New Yorkers agree with us, you know? And so we'll be signing the bill shortly. We're going to transition to the rotunda to sign the bill and get comments from the bill's sponsor.

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