The City Council is trying to pass legislation that would repeal a policy by Mayor Eric Adams that requires them to fill out a form in order to meet with department heads in his administration.
The bill, introduced Thursday, marks the latest round in the ongoing power struggle between the two branches.
Councilman Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn), who is sponsoring legislation to repeal Adams' policy, argued that it only serves to politicize government operations.
“In order for elected officials to work with city agencies to solve neighborhood problems and address critical and emerging health and safety concerns, we must fill out forms so the mayor’s political operation can decide who they want to help and why,” Restler said at a council hearing Thursday.
The bill would also clarify that the city charter “fully empowers agencies to advise and assist elected officials without any prior approval,” Restler said.
He added that 37 council members have joined together to co-sponsor his bill, giving him a “veto-proof supermajority.”
“I think this is a first in the council's history,” Restler said during the Government Operations Committee's State and Federal Legislation hearing.
Council members were angry when the City Council implemented the requirement to complete the form in April, calling it “bureaucratic nonsense.”
The Adams administration said the policy would help streamline applications and communication and improve efficiency in city government.
A spokesman for the mayor's office said Thursday that Restler's bill was too broad and said it would end up banning many written requests, including those submitted under the Freedom of Information Act.
“No one wants government to exist in a vacuum, which is why the Elected Officials Engagement Form has been so successful in coordinating agency responses and establishing collaboration between government agencies and representatives at all levels of government,” the representative said.
So far, council members and their staff have completed nearly 450 applications, which equates to about 1.5 applications per citizen per month, according to the City.
But Restler argued that number doesn't reflect the number of times the 51 council members actually spoke with city agencies, meaning the form is meaningless.
“I'm bothering city agencies and needing information from them one and a half times every 15 minutes, right? That means nobody is filling out this form, it's not working,” Restler said.
“What is clear is that some elected officials who have a close relationship with the administration do not need to file the form and other elected officials have been ordered to file it,” he added.
The two-page Google form asks elected officials 14 questions, including the purpose of the request, their office address and phone number, before they can speak with city agencies.
When the form was announced, the mayor's office was at odds with the council over legislation and the city's budget.
Tiffany Raspberry, Adams’ director of intergovernmental affairs, said in written testimony presented at Thursday’s hearing that the “Elected Official Participation Request Form” was intended solely for “efficiency” and not a power grab, as some on the council suggested.
His absence came after he dramatically walked out of another council hearing in June on a bill to give lawmakers more oversight over mayoral appointments.
“Maybe she's fed up with us,” Restler joked, calling Raspberry's claims of increased efficiency “false.”
“This form has simply been a hindrance. Any claim of efficiency is misleading and false,” Restler said.
