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The department shall have the following powers and duties:
a. to stimulate community interest in the problems of the aging;
b. to promote public awareness of resources available for the aging, and to refer the public to appropriate departments and agencies of the city, state and federal governments for advice, assistance and available services in connection with particular problems;
c. to cooperate with and assist local neighborhoods in the development of programs and the establishment of local offices;
d. to serve as a clearing house for information relating to the needs of the aging;
e. to disburse available city, state and federal funds to programs throughout the city and, when practical, coordinate such funds with available funding from the private sector;
f. to provide regular guidance and support to the center for older workforce development;
g. to promulgate rules and regulations for the operation of facilities, services and programs under its jurisdiction; and
h. to maintain, operate and control such programs and facilities as may be necessary or required for the proper administration of the department.
(Am. L.L. 2020/122, 12/20/2020, eff. 4/19/2021)
a. There shall be in the department an advisory council consisting of thirty-one members at least sixteen of whom shall be recipients of services rendered to older adults. Beginning in December 2021, these members shall include representatives from the areas of social service, health care, business, legal services, the academic community and local neighborhoods.
b. It shall be the duty of the council to advise the commissioner and make recommendations. The council shall submit an annual report of its activities to the mayor and the speaker of the council. Beginning with the report due in December 2021 and biennially thereafter, the council's report shall include recommendations for how to eliminate age discrimination in the workplace and how to develop the older adult workforce. These recommendations shall also be submitted to the center for older workforce development and should be developed while considering the following:
1. Data and reports of age discrimination in the workplace, nationally and within the state, including any trends in different industries, demographic differences, age ranges, reporting statistics and any successful remedies;
2. The development and use of new technologies and systems in combating age discrimination in the employment process and during employment;
3. Existing policies across city agencies, guidelines and resources related to age discrimination and reporting by victims thereof; and
4. Existing methods and procedures for reporting and responding to allegations of age discrimination in the workplace, within city agencies and across the city.
c. The members of the council shall be appointed by the mayor. Ten of said members, two residents from each of the five boroughs of the city, shall be recommended for appointment by a majority vote of the city council members of the respective boroughs.
d. The terms of office of the thirty-one members of the council first appointed shall be as follows: eleven appointees, five of whom shall be recommended for appointment by the city council members of the respective boroughs, one from each borough, shall serve for a term ending the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred eighty-one; ten appointees shall serve for a term ending the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred eighty-two; and ten appointees, five of whom shall be recommended for appointment by the city council members of the respective boroughs, one from each borough, shall serve for a term ending the thirty-first day of March, nineteen hundred eighty-three. Upon the expiration of such terms, the terms of office of their successors shall be three years. Vacancies occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as regular appointments.
e. The mayor shall designate one of the members of the council to be chairman and one to be vice-chairman.
f. The members of the council shall serve without compensation.
(Am. L.L. 2020/122, 12/20/2020, eff. 4/19/2021)
There shall be in the department the position of public housing liaison whose duties shall include, but not be limited to the following:
a. Establishing a system to receive and process complaints regarding senior center facilities located on property owned by the New York city housing authority, including assisting senior center participants with concerns about repairs at such facilities;
b. Conducting outreach to participants of senior centers located on property owned by the New York city housing authority about the existence of such liaison, how to contact such liaison, and about any existing system for filing complaints or grievances about senior centers with the department;
c. Making recommendations to the commissioner with respect to how programs and facilities that receive funding from the department can better serve older adult public housing residents; and
d. Coordinating with the New York city housing authority, as necessary, about facilities and any other matters impacting older adults in public housing.
(L.L. 2021/075, 6/27/2021, eff. 12/24/2021)
a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Mayor’s office for people with disabilities. The term “mayor’s office for people with disabilities” means the office established under executive order number 17 for the year 1990.
Mayor’s office of talent and workforce development. The term “mayor’s office of talent and workforce development” means the office established under executive order number 22 for the year 2022.
NYC service. The term “NYC service” means the division of the office of the mayor focused on volunteerism and service in New York city established in the year 2009.
b. The entities defined in subdivision a of this section shall include any successor office or other agency that carries out the same or substantially similar functions as such entities.
c. Cabinet. There shall be a cabinet for older New Yorkers. The cabinet shall meet at least once quarterly.
d. Duties. The cabinet shall facilitate coordination across agencies to further the elimination of age-related barriers and inequities in the provision of services to older adults and review current and future initiatives to ensure that such initiatives are inclusive of older adults.
e. Members. The cabinet shall be composed of the following members, or their designees:
1. Commissioner for the aging, who shall serve as chair;
2. Chair of the civic engagement commission;
3. Commissioner of information technology and telecommunications;
4. Commissioner of equity;
5. Chair of the commission on human rights;
6. Commissioner of consumer and worker protection;
7. Commissioner of cultural affairs;
8. Commissioner of health and mental hygiene;
9. Commissioner of housing preservation and development;
10. Commissioner of parks and recreation;
11. Police commissioner;
12. Commissioner of small business services;
13. Commissioner of social services;
14. Commissioner of transportation;
15. Commissioner of veterans’ services;
16. Commissioner of youth and community development;
17. Chief service officer of NYC service;
18. Director of the office of community mental health;
19. Director of the office of criminal justice;
20. Director of the office of food policy;
21. Director of the office of immigrant affairs;
22. Commissioner of the mayor's office for people with disabilities;
23. Director of the office of talent and workforce development; and
24. Director of the office of urban agriculture.
f. Required invitations. The commissioner shall also invite to participate in the work of the cabinet the following persons, or their designees:
1. Chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York;
2. Chief executive officer of the New York city health and hospitals corporation;
3. Chief executive officer of the New York city housing authority;
4. President of the Brooklyn public library;
5. President of the New York public library; and
6. President of the Queens public library.
g. Optional invitations. The commissioner may invite representatives of any relevant federal, state, or local entity to participate in the work of the cabinet.
h. Report. One year after the effective date of the local law that added this section and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall submit to the speaker of the council, the public advocate, the comptroller, and the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island borough presidents, and post on the website of the department a report on the work of the cabinet. Such report shall include, but need not be limited to:
1. Actions taken or proposed as a result of the meeting of such cabinet;
2. Attendance at cabinet meetings; and
3. Minutes of cabinet meetings.
(L.L. 2024/064, 5/18/2024, eff. 8/16/2024)