[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC ADVOCATE LETITIA (TISH) JAMES

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 6, 2017

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, this past February, we all celebrated Black 
History Month. As part of that celebration, I was honored to hold my 
annual Black History Month event, and to take time to recognize and pay 
tribute to outstanding members of the New York City community. I was 
proud to pay tribute to my friend, New York City Public Advocate 
Letitia ``Tish'' James. She has been a public servant for many years, 
and worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all New Yorkers.
  Ms. James is the first African-American Woman to serve as the New 
York City Public Advocate and the first woman of color to hold city 
wide office. This position is vital to New Yorkers, as she acts to 
ensure that New York City's government is responsive, efficient, and 
promoting policies that help all New Yorkers. Her office investigates 
problems at city agencies and pushes solutions both through our court 
system and through the New York City Council.
  Since her election in 2013, Public Advocate James has worked on 
numerous issues important to Bronxites, including criminal justice 
reform, paid family leave, and protecting tenants and affordable 
housing. She has helped lead the push for police accountability, 
including the use of body-worn cameras by the New York Police 
Department. She has also worked to ensure that special prosecutors are 
used in all cases of police misconduct.
  She has also worked to hold landlords accountable to ensure that New 
Yorkers have safe and affordable housing. Through the development of 
the `Worst Landlords' list and her active legal strategy to ensure that 
landlords are held to account for unsafe living conditions, she has 
made a difference in the lives of many Bronxites and New Yorkers.
  Prior to being elected Public Advocate, Letitia James represented 
Brooklyn as a Member of the New York City Council from 2004 to 2013. As 
a City Council Member, she fought for Paid Sick Leave, and passed the 
Safe Housing Act, which ensured that thousands of families in rental 
buildings receive prompt and full repairs to their apartments. She was 
also an early critic on the Council of the Office of Payroll 
Administration's CityTime contract, a payroll system later found to be 
overly costly and difficult to manage. As a result, she worked to pass 
legislation addressing oversight of high-cost service contracts with 
the City of New York. While Chair to the Council's Sanitation 
Committee, she pushed-through a revolutionary recycling package that 
included expanding plastic recycling, a new clothing and textile 
recycling program, and improved public space recycling.
  Public Advocate James is a graduate of CUNY's Lehman College and 
Howard University Law School. She previously served as an Assistant 
Attorney General, and a public defender. She currently resides in 
Brooklyn.
  Tish James has helped many of my constituents, and many residents of 
New York City. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully ask that you and my 
distinguished colleagues join me in honoring Public Advocate Letitia 
James for her perseverance and dedication to fighting for all New 
Yorkers.

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