June 19, 1967 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Page 13 Session 868, Minutes June 19~ 1967 it permissive rather than mandatory. Mr. Alan Kohn, 561 Bedford, upon being recognized, said that he has read the proposed ordinance and has heard the amendments and his question is this: does the Bill as amended permit the City ~rosecuting Attorney to directly enforce its provisions in case there has been a violation, or is it up to the Human Relations Commission to enforce this ordinance and the Human Relations Commission only. Mayor Kaufman asked the City or to answer this. The City Counselor said this would be oovered in Section 3 and he took it to read that the City Prosecutor would have at least co-extensive juris- diction with the Human Relations Commission - the ordinance reads in effect that the Human Relations Commission may initiate complaints, etc., but he said he thinks anytime there is a prosecution to be undertaken the City Prosecutor could undertake it without necessarily having the approval of the Commission. He added that this would be the same, of course, with any ordinance. At this Juncture, Councilman Bamburg said that while I~. Kohn is at the microphone, he would like to say that he has prepared for introduction to- night a Bill at ~. Kohn's request and Councilman Bamburg said he is going to introduce it and Mr. Kohn can speak to that Bill, too, as long as he is here -- it deals with the same subject. Councilman Bamburg called attention to the fact that copies of the Bill had been distributed to all members of the Council. Mayor Kaufman suggested that he has no objection about speak- ing of the Bill, but he thinks its continuity would be better if it were introduced in its proper order, and Councilman Bamburg observed that it is rather lengthy to be read, whereupon the Mayor invited Mr. Kohn to comment on the Bill. ~. Kohn expressed disappointment that the Bill before the Council last week (introduced by Councilman Woods) had been defeated by a tie vote. Mr. Kohn reviewed the background of the Bill he is proposing tonight (to be introduced by Councilman Bamburg) pointing out he had the cooperation of a friend, Professor Norman Dorson, a professor of law at the ~Iew York University School of Law. Discussion followed. Councilman Woods commended Mr. Kohn for the time and effort he put into the preparation of the Bill and she said that in comparing the two Bills she finds there are a number of areas that the Council wants to cover explicitlywhich are not covered in his Bill, but which are covered in the other Bill. She said she would like to see the Council get the matter disposed of very promptly. It seems to her, she continued, that the Council's obligation is to try to draw up a law which provides the proper procedure and she said !~. Kohn raised a very legiti- mate point about getting prompt attention to complaints by citizens and their feeling that they will, in fact, be able to bring to account the people who are in their concept abusing the City's laws. She said it seems to her then that the Council must address itself to seeing that it actually gets proper implementation - it doesn't matter in this sense which of the laws is passed because either one provides a procedure which can work expeditiously and while it may sound much simpler to say the Prosecuting Attorney will handle it in the courts, it isn't always true that that is so very fast either. She said the fact is that the Council has to see that this is given priority and that the citizens who do have