COUNCIL MEMBER VAN BRAMER’S STATEMENT ON BECOMING NEW MAJORITY LEADER OF THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER JIMMY VAN BRAMER

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***STATEMENT***

COUNCIL MEMBER VAN BRAMER’S STATEMENT ON BECOMING NEW MAJORITY LEADER OF THE NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

I am deeply honored to have been elected by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and my colleagues to be the new Majority Leader of the New York City Council. It has always been my goal to play a meaningful leadership role in this new, Progressive Council. The opportunity to serve in the second highest position in the Council — with the concomitant strengthened portfolio  and added responsibilities — is one I relish and am truly humbled by.

As part of my duties as Majority Leader, I have been appointed by the Speaker to co-chair the newly constituted Budget Negotiating Team (BNT) which plays an integral role in formulating the City’s budget process to fund critical programs, projects and organizations citywide. I look forward to working with all my colleagues to ensure the adoption of budgets that reflect our progressive agenda.

I am also thrilled to be reappointed to chair the Council’s Cultural Affairs and Libraries Committee. With direct oversight over our City’s over 200 libraries and thousands of Cultural organizations, institutions and programs, this committee matters to all New Yorkers. Before I was elected in 2009, I worked for the Queens Library for 11 years as a community organizer. And during that time I also served as President of the Queens Council on the Arts. Libraries and the arts are not just the focus of my committee, they have become a big part of my life’s work. I will always be proud to lead the fight on their behalf.

As Majority Leader, Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries, and Co-Chair of the Council’s Budget Negotiating Team, I look forward to working with Speaker Mark-Viverito, our leadership team, my City Council colleagues and Mayor Bill de Blasio to advance a progressive agenda that will improve the lives of New Yorkers in the 26th Council District and across this great city.