Posted on January 8, 2014 by Patrick Markee Coalition for the Homeless applauds the election of Melissa Mark-Viverito as the new Speaker of the New York City Council. Mark-Viverito, the first Latina to lead the Council, is a longtime fighter for low-income and homeless New Yorkers. As co-chair of the City Council’s Progressive Caucus and as representative of a district that encompasses some of the lowest-income neighborhoods in New York City – from East Harlem in Manhattan to the South Bronx – Melissa Mark-Viverito has worked hard for years to protect vital services for poor New Yorkers and to fight for social justice. As the result of worsening affordability problems and the failures of Bloomberg policies, the new de Blasio administration and the new and returning members of the New York City Council are confronting a homelessness crisis of historic proportions. But there are effective solutions that the City Council, in partnership with the new administration, can embrace to begin reducing NYC’s record-high homeless population. We look forward to working with Speaker Mark-Viverito and her City Council colleagues to implement proven, housing-based solutions to address New York City’s homelessness crisis.
