Condemned to Repeat It

DCAS Swallowing DORIS

Would Slight City History

Councilmember Gale Brewer, who chairs the Council's Committee on Government Operations, held a public hearing this afternoon on an Administration proposal to fold the Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) into the much larger Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS).

DORIS was created in 1977 by a local law championed by former Council President Paul O'Dwyer, adopted by the Council and signed by Mayor Beame in his last year in office. The agency's first commissioner, who served through the administration of Mayor Koch, was Eugene J. Bockman, who had been the Municipal Reference Librarian.

The records agency was always small, and has shrunk by half in the last decade. DCAS is a conglomerate of service functions, with many relatively unrelated municipal housekeeping duties. The records function would be about one percent of its activities.

The Adminstration witnesses supported the merger, the bill having been introduced at the request of the mayor. The independent witnesses generally opposed the bill, although some would accept it if there were written safeguards against cannibalization of the smaller agency. The problem is that, no matter what the words in the bill may say, the surviving agency in these circumstances is likely to do as it pleases. It can always plead financial exigencies, complaining of externally imposed budget reductions. These are real, but can usefully serve as an excuse for noncompliance with statutory requirements. Rule 18-X-6: "The Devil [OMB] made me do it."

As a co-sponsor of the Local Law 49 of 1977, adopted while I was a City Councilman-at-Large (Liberal-Manhattan) and as a member of the Archives advisory board created pursuant to that law, I have taken a long-term interest in the municipal history and the city library and reference services. This area has been degraded by persistent underfunding, making it almost impossible to perform its statutory duties. There is no obligation in the 2011 proposal to increase personnel or funding in the event of a merger. Although there could be minor efficiencies through cross-performance of duties, they are dwarfed by the impending tasks of digitilization of records.

My testimony was that the merger came out of a green eyeshade (stereotype for myopic city employee or consultant) looking for an agency to eliminate to save nickels and give the impression that government was being streamlined. In this case, the agency to be abolished is very small and no specific cost savings are anticipated. Among the public witnesses today were Christine Ward, the New York State archivist, Prof. Richard Lieberman, head of the LaGuardia and Wagner archives at the City University, and Brian Andersson, former commissioner (2002-10) of DORIS. The administration was capably represented by DCAS commissioner Edna Wells Handy and Eileen Flannelly, who is deputy commissioner of DORIS. Ms. Flannelly is a grand-niece of Paul O'Dwyer, younger brother of William O'Dwyer, 100th mayor of the City of New York (1946-50). She has a background interest in municipal history. The DCAS commissioner for the first eight years of the Bloomberg era was Martha K. Hirst.

Ironically, when we called DORIS this afternoon for historic information on the advisory boards, we were referred to Mark Daly, who is a public relations officer for DCAS. We had spoken with Mr. Daly a few weeks ago in connection with the non-publication of the Green Book, a city directory published annually since 1918, but not issued for the last several years. Sadly, Mr. Daly was unable to assist us with all of our questions, although DORIS staff is instructed to direct press inquiries to him, as the press officer for the anticipated agency. This is what happens when a big fish swallows a smaller one. It is a law of nature.

What really happened here was that DORIS was regarded as "low hanging fruit", an agency that could be made to disappear without public concern, and with an existing agency assuming its functions. It is true that savings were minimal, but it would appear in the media as if government were being streamlined, which is legitimately desired by the public. Twice at the hearing an Administration spokeswoman referred to "firemen and teachers being fired" as a reason funds were difficult to find for records preservation.

The chair of the Council committee, Ms. Brewer, was patient throughout the hearing. Over the years, she has shown considerable interest in records preservation, the municipal library, making information available to the public, and transparency in city government. She chaired a task force on technology.

The fate of this bill will reflect the views of Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and the extent to which Ms. Brewer will be able to influence the Speaker. This is not an issue of the political left versus the right, or the poor versus the rich, or one borough or interest group against another. It is simply a question of open government, citizen access to data and public records, and who has responsibility for preserving the historic heritage of city government.

That task does require money, and for years funding has been woefully inadequate for the purpose. Whether abolishing the agency in charge while imposing no standards or requirements for anyone else to do the work, remains to be seen. We believe it will never be seen because it is impossible. The genesis of and rationale for this bill is that someone saw a box on an organization chart he thought he could eliminate without anyone caring.

The Council's disposition of this bill will show if anyone, in fact, does care about the city's history. No one can support it who is not taking the king's shilling, not that there is anything wrong with that, should it be proffered. But no one should be foolish enough to believe promises that have never been kept.

The Council should specify and expand the duties of DORIS, rather than consign it to limbo as a minor subsidiary of the agency that buys shoe polish, toilet paper and other necessities. It should stand up for history, if it wishes to be remembered by anyone.

Live 19 Months Longer

Mayoral Bill Bans Smoking

In City Parks and Beaches

Mayor Bloomberg this afternoon signed a local law that would prohibit smoking in city parks and beaches.

The bill was approved by the City Council on February 2, twenty days ago. The Council vote was 36 in favor and 12 opposed. 3 members were excused. In the municipal legislature, that is considered a close vote on a controversial issue. On most questions put before the Council, fewer than a handful of members differ from the majority, which usually represents the views of the Speaker (Christine Quinn). Many bills are approved without dissent, any problems either having been resolved in committee or vanishing in thin air.

None of the naysayers on the Council appeared at the public hearing and signing ceremony, nor did any tobacco lobbyists or libertarians, although all were welcome to attend. Speaker Quinn was not present either, although she often attends hearings on legislation. She deserves credit for its passage, although she may not want to dwell on it. Nonetheless, some people will live longer because of this legislation.

Under the City Charter, a public hearing is required before the Mayor signs or vetoes a bill. As a result of the opponents' failure to show up, the hearing was more a pep rally for the bill than an argument over its merits. The mayor spoke first, followed by the two relevant commissioners, Dr. Thomas M. Farley of Health and Mental Health, and Adrian Benepe of Parks. Then came the lead sponsor of the bill, Councilmember Gale Brewer, followed by the chairs of the Health Committee, Maria del Carmen Arroyo, and the Parks Committee, Melissa Mark-Viverito.

The Council vote was as follows, for those of you who know some of them as individuals:

Yes: Quinn, Carmen Arroyo, Brewer, Cabrera, Chin, Comrie, Crowley, Dickens, Dromm, Eugene, Ferreras, Foster, Garodnick, Gennaro, Gentile, Gonzalez, Greenfield, James, Koo, Koppell, Koslowitz, Lappin, Levin, Mark-Viverito, Nelson, Recchia, Reyna, Rodriguez, Rose, Seabrook, Vacca, Vallone, Van Bramer, Vann, Weprin, Wills

No: Dilan, Fidler, Halloran, Ignizio, Jackson, Lander, Mealy, Mendez, Oddo, Sanders, Ulrich, Williams

Excused: Barron, Palma, Rivera

Four of the twelve No votes came from the five Republicans on the Council, with Peter Koo of Flushing the sole Republican supporter of the bill.

This blogger attended the hearing in support of the bill, but that was hardly necessary. The first local law to restrict smoking was adopted by the Council in 1988, although it had been introduced by a number of sponsors, including the Councilmember-at-large from Manhattan, more than five years earlier. It was written to complement the Clean Indoor Air Act which Assemblyman Pete Grannis carried for many years in the State Legislature until it passed in 1989. After thirty-two years in the Assembly, Grannis was appointed State Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, serving in the Spitzer and Paterson terms. He was recently appointed First Deputy Comptroller under Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

The principal argument for the bill is that it will prolong people's lives if they are not exposed to the toxic brew of second-hand smoke. That is smoke which has already passed through someone else’s respiratory tract and is being recycled just for you. It is now considered scientific fact that the tar and nicotine in smoke is poisonous, and especially damaging to children, asthmatics or people with weak lungs. Both Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Farley said smoking was the largest preventable cause of death in the City of New York, and presumably our city is not alone.

When this witness pointed out that smoking killed many more people than gunshot wounds (now simply listed as GSW by local hospitals), but deaths from smoking were quiet and often not reported on or attributed to tobacco, Mayor Bloomberg added that smoking deaths (often from lung cancer) were usually far more painful and prolonged than deaths from gunfire.

Commissioner Benepe spoke of park employees' unpleasant and repetitive labors of picking cigarette butts out of beach sand, where the smokers have hidden them for aesthetic reasons. A child (or even an adult) should be able to run his fingers through sand without having to deal with burnt tobacco, paper and ashes.

As to woodlands, how many acres of forest land out west have been destroyed by fires started by carelessly discarded cigarettes landing in piles of leaves and eventually setting them ablaze? Those fires kill people as well as animals.

Popular parks like Central Park contain rows of benches, and people sit in relative proximity. The closer people are to each other, the greater the likelihood of their involuntarily breathing someone else's second-hand smoke.

The new law will go into effect ninety days from today, which is May 23. Enforcement will be left to the Parks Enforcement Patrol, in addition to posted signs and social pressures, since it is not likely to be considered a police priority. That should not stop cops, at least, from issuing warnings to violators. Fines will start at $50, which is modest compared to the $115 cost of a ticket for double parking in much of Manhattan. The bill is not intended primarily as a revenue raiser, but as an effort at behavior modification.

Another bill dealing with the conduct of park users was the Leichter-Lehner Pooper Scooper Law of 1978, which requires dog owners (or walkers) to clean up after their pets poop in the park. People now carry plastic bags, which they deftly fill with their dogs' waste. Not everyone is compliant, but many people do obey the law, and the problem has been substantially reduced, at least in some neighborhoods.

The Clean Outdoor Air Act, as the Brewer bill might be called, will probably have a salutary effect on public health. The life expectancy of New Yorkers has increased by 19 months during the Bloomberg era, which is noted for public health initiatives (e.g. campaigns against salt, smoking and trans fats). There may be fewer guilty pleasures, but if cleaner air keeps you or a loved one from the ravages of lung cancer or other tobacco-related diseases, it is probably worth it.

DIGRESSION: If what you are looking for is assisted suicide, Dr. Jack Kevorkian was released in 2007 at the age of 78, but the rigid terms of his parole prevent him from treating senior citizens, the disabled, or advocating euthanasia. Kevorkian was allowed to run for Congress in Michigan, which he did in 2008, receiving 2.6% of the vote. Last year, he was portrayed in the HBO film "You Don't Know Jack" by Al Pacino, who won Golden Globe and Emmy awards for his portrayal of the beleaguered physician. When you smoke, you are doing to yourself what Dr. Kevorkian is now forbidden to do. END

In reality, other measures to influence behavior, originally regarded as unenforceable, have had success. The requirement to wear seat belts in cars, helmets when riding motorcycles, the bans on cell-phone use while driving - all encountered skepticism but gradually gained public acceptance with the passage of time, public service announcements and the coming of age of a new generation. Some of these changes are works in progress.

The tired argument - "You can't change human behavior" - was used against laws prohibiting racism and promoting gay rights too. But persistent effort does result in behavioral change, not always and not completely. But if it saves lives and promotes public health and well being, it's worth trying, and to its credit, New York City has become a leader in public health.

Our last Health Commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, is now head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Federal agency based in Atlanta, GA. Mayor Bloomberg's first Housing Commissioner, Sean Donovan, is now secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. We have probably contributed more Federal officials than any other city except Chicago. Rule 10 - "I wonder why."