GIS Legislative Advocacy

Proposal To Amend the NYC Charter

Table of Contents:

  • Update #7 (December 15, 2021) City Council Stated Meeting to vote on GIS Legislation (Int. No. 2158-A)
  • Update #6 (December 14, 2021): Committee on Technology votes on GIS Legislation (Int. No. 2158-A)
  • Update #5 (September 21, 2021): City Council hearing on GIS Legislation scheduled for 9/24
  • Update #4 (November 19, 2020): DOITT GIS Legislation to be presented at New York City Council Meeting
  • Update #3 (May 28, 2019): Written and oral presentations made to the NYC 2019 Charter Revision Commission
  • Update #2 (April 21, 2019): GIS Advocates needed to testify at 4/30 – 5/14 Borough Charter meetings
  • Introduce GIS amendments to GIS Community
  • GISMO’s “Guiding Principles and Policies for New York City’s Geospatial Architecture” document

Sincerely,
Alan Leidner, GISMO President on behalf of the GISMO Board and Officers including: Jack Eichenbaum, Wendy Dorf, Noreen Whysel, Doug Williamson, Jiin Wen, Juliana Maantay, Dara Mendeloff, Amy Jeu, Wai Ming Chan, Camille Stewart

UPDATE #7 (December 15, 2021)

City Council Stated Meeting:
Wednesday, December 15, 2021 at 12:30pm, hybrid hearing

Meeting Details from City Council website
Outcome: Intro. 2158A passed unanimously by City Council

Summary: The proposed legislation would create a Chief Geospatial Information Officer (CGIO) within the Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT) and require DOITT to maintain and implement a special data interoperability strategy, including the development and maintenance of a strategic plan for the City’s use of geospatial information systems (GIS). The legislation would also mandate regular meetings of agency GIS managers and other geospatial experts.

Text:

Int. No. 2158-A

By Council Members Levin, Holden, Kallos, Cornegy, Gjonaj, Rosenthal, Menchaca, Ampry-Samuel, Louis, Gennaro, Rose and Ulrich (by request of the Manhattan Borough President)

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to designating a geospatial information officer

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Subdivisions g and h of section 1072 of the New York city charter are amended to read as follows:

g. to participate in developing, maintaining and implementing a long-range computer systems strategy, [and] data communications strategy, spatial data interoperability strategy for the city of New York and plan for the use of geospatial information systems by city agencies;

h. to assist in providing interagency coordination on matters related to data communications activities and interfacing of computers, including convening, under the direction of the chief geospatial information officer, annual interagency meetings of agency personnel responsible for supervising the collection, management or use of geospatial data and, when appropriate, other geospatial experts, to enable citywide coordination and collaboration in areas including application development, data sharing and data interoperability;

§ 2. Chapter 48 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new section 1076 to read as follows:

§ 1076. Chief geospatial information officer. The commissioner shall designate an employee to serve as the chief geospatial information officer.

§ 3. This local law takes effect 90 days after it becomes law.

UPDATE #6 (December 14, 2021)

Vote on Intro. 2158A, Committee on Technology:
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 at 3:00pm, on Zoom

Meeting Details from City Council website
Outcome: Intro. 2158A passed by Committee on Technology

UPDATE #5 (September 21, 2021)

Video Recap

Dear GIS Community,

I am happy to report that a City Council legislative proposal sponsored by GISMO to provide for a Citywide GIO, a GIS Steering Committee, and a GIS Strategic Plan will receive a hearing on September 24th between 4pm and 6pm. You are invited to attend the hearing, to speak at the hearing if you wish, and/or to write a letter of support. This is a big moment for GIS in NYC. We thank Council Members Levin, Holden, and Kallo; and Manhattan Borough President Brewer for supporting and helping to advance this legislation. Special thanks to Elizabeth Adams, Chief of Staff for Council Member Levin for all her work to make this happen. Below are instructions provided by Elizabeth about how to participate. Please email me at leidnera@nyc.rr.com if you are having difficulty navigating the Council’s public hearing application or have any questions.

Best, Alan

Hearing on Intro. 2158, Committee on Technology:
Friday, September 24, 2021 at 3:00pm, on Zoom

Here is the livestream: https://council.nyc.gov/livestream/
Register  here to testify: https://council.nyc.gov/testify/


Notes on testifying:

  • They will call your name when it’s your turn to speak.
  • Each speaker will have 3 minutes to speak. There will be a count-down clock in the corner of the screen showing how much time you have left.
  • You can read from written testimony or just speak from the heart. Even if you don’t read testimony, you should think about the things you want to say in advance.
  • Structure: Introduce yourself; Introduce your organization/affiliation; explain why you support Intro. 2158; end by saying: Please pass Intro 2158.
  • Email your written testimony to Testimony@council.nyc.gov & Council Member Stephen Levin’s Legislative Director, Elizabeth Adams, EAdams@council.nyc.gov

If you email your testimony but don’t join the hearing:

  • Use the same template outline as above.
  • Email your testimony to Testimony@council.nyc.gov & Council Member Stephen Levin’s Legislative Director, EAdams@council.nyc.gov
  • You have up to 72 hours after the hearing to email in your written testimony: by Wednesday, September 29th.

Elizabeth Adams
Co-Legislative Director
NYC Council Member Stephen Levin
250 Broadway, Room 1747

UPDATE #4 (November 19, 2020)

Video Recap

Dear GIS Community,

I hope this message finds you well in these challenging times.

I am writing with a brief update on the DOITT GIS legislation. During The New York City Council Stated Meeting scheduled for today, November 19th, Council Member Stephen Levin will introduce our legislation. More specifically, a local law to amend the NYC charter, in relation to designating a geospatial information officer. Council Member Levin is expected to give brief remarks about GIS somewhere between 2:30 and 3:00 PM. The legislation also has the support of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; Council Member Robert Holden, IT Committee Chair; and Council Member Ben Kallos.

We would like to invite and strongly encourage you to virtually attend the City Council meeting today. Details below:

STATED MEETING
The New York City Council
Thursday, November 19, 2020
1:30 PM (2:30 – 3:00 PM for GIS)

VIRTUAL ROOM 1
https://council.nyc.gov/livestream/

Legislation Details
https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Legislation.aspx
Search for LS #10865, 10866, 10867

Sincerely,
Alan Leidner, GISMO President on behalf of the GISMO Board and Officers including: Jack Eichenbaum, Wendy Dorf, Noreen Whysel, Doug Williamson, Jiin Wen, Juliana Maantay, Dara Mendeloff, Amy Jeu, Wai Ming Chan, Camille Stewart

UPDATE #3 (May 28, 2019)

Dear GIS Community,

Written and oral presentations were made to the NYC 2019 Charter Revision Commission. My thanks go to speakers and submitters who advocated for the GIS Charter Amendment. Our proposed charter amendment came out of our work last year on a Principles and Policy statement currently posted to our website. The GIS Charter Amendment calls for the hiring of a Chief Geospatial Information Officer (CGIO), a GIS steering committee, a GIS strategic plan and improvements to open data and underground infrastructure data interoperability. Particular thanks goes to GISMO Board member Amy Jeu for suggesting this public approach.

Through this Charter initiative we have advanced the cause of GIS in NYC by bringing our demands for better governance into the public forum. GIS saves lives, protects infrastructure, supports planning, improves City services, increases tax collections, and enhances economic development. We estimate that GIS at least doubles the analytic powers of traditional IT. We call on City government to recognize these facts and act accordingly.

Whether through a Charter Amendment or by Legislation GISMO will continue to push forward to ensure that the City takes the steps necessary to enable the benefits of GIS to be fully realized and made available to all New Yorkers.

Recap:

Charter Hearing, Date Name Video times Written Testimony
Queens,
April 30		 Charter Justification Proposal   submitted
  Alan Leidner, NYC GISMO President 17m:30s to 23m:40s submitted
  Jack Eichenbaum, NYC GISMO Founder & Board   submitted
Brooklyn,
May 2		 Robert Dorf 9m:45s to 13m:40s submitted
  Wendy Dorf, NYC GISMO Board 13m:40s to 17m:15s submitted
  Richard Grady, President AppGeo   submitted
Bronx,
May 7		 Professor Elia Machado 0m:00s to 1m:10s
(initial portion of statement not recorded)		 submitted
  Brian Morgan 1m:10s to 3m:25s submitted
Manhattan,
May 9		 Professor Sean Ahearn 2h:06m:40s to 2h:15m:39s
(includes questions from Commission members)		 submitted
  Amy Jeu, NYC GISMO Board 2h:18m:00 to 2h:21m:45s submitted
  Noreen Whysel, NYC GISMO Board 2h:25m:15s to 2h:28m:00s submitted

Sincerely,
Alan Leidner, President, NYC GISMO on behalf of the GISMO Board of Directors

UPDATE #2 (April 21, 2019)

Dear GIS Advocates,

There currently exists a City Charter Revision Commission https://www.charter2019.nyc identifying amendments to the City Charter to place on the upcoming November 2019 ballot for voter approval.

GISMO has decided to participate in this process and so far Robert Dorf, Amy Jeu and myself have submitted amendments. These proposals all provide – in somewhat different language – for the following:

  • The appointment of a City Chief Geospatial Information Officer (CGIO)
  • The development of a GIS strategic plan
  • The formation of a GIS Steering Committee
  • The standardization of spatial data in City open data sets
  • The formation of an underground infrastructure data committee comprising all utility organizations.

If adopted these proposals will have a positive impact on the way GIS is used in NYC, and will likely be beneficial to your careers.

We urge you to appear at one of the Borough Charter meetings and speak on behalf of the GIS Charter Amendment. There will be GISMO appointed leaders at each hearing who will coordinate your efforts, and will be the first to speak on behalf of our Amendment. Contact info for these borough leaders follows. If you expect to speak or appear at your borough meeting please let them know in advance. Attached is material that you can use to craft your own statement. You will likely be given no more than 2 minutes to speak.

Following the hearings we may be asking you to express your support for the GIS Charter Amendment in writing and through petitions. As the November election approaches we may ask you to actively promote our Amendment to your friends and neighbors, colleagues and organizations. On election day, we may also ask you to hand out “palm cards” at high volume voting sites in your boroughs urging voters coming to the polls, to support our Amendment.

If you have any questions please contact me at leidnera@nyc.rr.com.

Thanks for your support for this important effort.

Best regards, Alan

Alan Leidner, President, NYC GISMO

At the present time your contact by borough is:

Upcoming Hearings and Meetings (6 PM) 
(Source: https://www.charter2019.nyc/upcoming-meetings)

The New York City Charter Revision Commission 2019 will holds public hearings in each borough beginning at 6:00 pm. The New York City Charter serves as the local constitution and provides the structure of City government. The public hearings are part of a series of hearings across the five boroughs to provide the an opportunity for the public to respond to the Preliminary Staff Report, which is available on the Commission’s website at www.charter2019.nyc/report, and for the Commission to conduct any other business that may be necessary.

The hearings are open to the public and the public will have the opportunity to testify in person before the Commission about the Preliminary Staff Report and on any aspect of the Charter. Written testimony is also encouraged and may be submitted in person at the public hearing, and through the Commission website at www.charter2019.nyc/contact. Note: Written testimonies can also be sent to Alan Leidner – leidnera@nyc.rr.com for submission to the NYC Charter Revision Commission 2019.

If you are not able to attend, but wish to watch the hearing, all public hearings and meetings will be livestreamed at the Commission’s website found here: www.charter2019.nyc/watchlive

Introduce GIS Charter Amendments

Dear GIS Community,

An effort is currently underway to amend the NYC Charter (https://www.charter2019.nyc) Attached is Chapter 48 of the City Charter, which pertains to the NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT). The edits appearing in red constitute proposals, submitted to the Charter Commission, which if adopted would improve the way City government manages geospatial information systems. The proposed changes reflect language in GISMO’s Principles and Policies Statement (https://www.gismonyc.org/news/nyc-geospatial-arch/).

To quickly summarize, GISMO’s proposed GIS amendments provide for:

  • The appointment of a Deputy Commissioner for Geospatial Information Systems
  • The formation of a GIS steering committee composed of City agency GIS managers and outside experts
  • A requirement for the development and maintenance of a GIS strategic plan
  • Responsibility for ensuring that spatially enabled open data is interoperable and easy to use
  • The formation of an underground utility data interoperability steering committee composed of representatives of public and private utility companies and agencies

While, in the past, New York City government has been a great champion of geospatial information systems, we believe that current management of spatial data, systems and technology does not fully leverage the power of GIS for more efficient and effective public services and improved public safety.

We welcome any comments you have about these proposed amendments and any recommendations you might have to improve them. At the appropriate time we will ask for your participation in actions in support of the GIS Amendments such as appearing and speaking at public hearings of the 2019 City Charter Commission (https://www.charter2019.nyc/upcoming-meetings); and sending emails and signing petitions in support. Since Charter amendments are expected to be put on the ballot in November, 2019, should our GIS amendments come up for a citywide vote, we will ask you to work politically for their passage.

This effort represents a new level of public engagement for GISMO and for the NYC GIS Community. We are excited to be entering this new phase of our evolution as an organization. We feel obliged to take these steps because we feel it is the only way to ensure that the benefits of GIS are fully realized by City government and by the City as a whole. We also feel that these Charter changes will enhance the careers of GIS professionals working in NYC and create new opportunities for GIS students.

Best regards, Alan

Alan Leidner, President
NYC GISMO
917-455-2834
leidnera@nyc.rr.com