NYC bill would make non-English language access required at public meetings

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Kimi Wei <kimi () thewei com>
Date: Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 2:22 PM
Subject: NYC bill would make non-English language access required at public
meetings
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>


https://www.amny.com/news/translators-city-meeting-spanish-1.16427188

Translators may be required at all public meetings, according to a City
Council bill

By Ivan Pereira  January 29, 2018

City agencies may soon be required to offer translation services during
public meetings and presentations, according to a City Council bill slated
to be introduced Wednesday.

City Councilman Ritchie Torres, who is co-sponsoring the bill with council
members Margaret Chin and Mark Treyger, said too many residents have been
left in the dark at community gatherings, due to their lack of proficiency
in English.

He recalled an instance a few months ago where the NYPD held a meeting
regarding a gang takedown in the predominantly Spanish-speaking Fordham
section.

“None of the representatives from the mayor’s office or NYPD spoke Spanish
and there was no translation service offered,” he said. “It wasn’t good.”

The bill would set thresholds based on city data on the languages spoken in
various neighborhoods.

If an event is in an area where 10 percent of the neighborhood speaks a
language other than English, the agency needs to provide translation
services in that language during the meeting. For neighborhoods where 35
percent speak a language other than English, the agency must also provide
handouts and other pertinent materials in that language as well.

Although translators are occasionally already available, there is no set
rule or mandate for the service, according to Treyger.

“The failure to translate critical civic information has resulted in many
New Yorkers being shortchanged in a variety of ways, from being unaware of
opportunities to participate in disaster recovery programs to being unable
to understand vital notices from the health department,” he said in a
statement.

Torres said the agencies would either use staff from their departments or
outsource volunteers to be translators.

Betsy Plum, the vice president of policy for the non-profit group New York
Immigration Coalition, said the bill is a good step forward for improving
government engagement with the city’s immigrants. She cautioned, however,
that if the bill does pass, the city needs come up with a comprehensive
strategy to make sure the translations are handled with little errors.

“We want to make sure if this done, it is done well,” she said.


Kimi Wei
kimi () thewei com  @kimiwei
facebook.com/thekimiwei
862-203-8814



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