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**For Immediate Release**
December 19, 2008
Contact: Sarah Krauss
212.669.4193; 917.541.0936
Release #: 047-2008
Public Advocate Gotbaum Releases 2008 Annual Report
- Report shows a 60 percent increase in Department of Education complaints, 31 percent increase in NYCHA complaints -
Read the Annual Report
MANHATTAN - Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum today released her office’s Fiscal Year 2008 annual report, which shows a sixty percent increase in the number of constituent complaints regarding the Department of Education. The calls regarding problems with the New York City Housing Authority also increased by 31 percent, and calls with Section 8 specific complaints increased by 88 percent.
The report shows an increase in constituent call complaints from last fiscal year for almost all city agencies, including the Department for the Aging, Department of Buildings, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York City Housing Authority, Department of Education, Human Resources Administration, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and the Department of Environmental Protection. Further details on constituent call break down are available in the report.
In addition to a constituent call break-down by New York City agency, the report highlights firsthand stories of constituents who were helped by the office in the past year, summaries of the policy and research reports issued and legislation introduced and co-sponsored. In the fiscal year 2008, the office closed eighty-two percent of its 12,014 cases favorably. A case is considered closed favorably when a caseworker is able to achieve the desired results of the constituent.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “New York is the greatest city in the world. But sometimes city government can be more of an obstacle than a tool to help New Yorkers. Our job is to help New Yorkers cut through the city’s red tape, so they can access social services, housing and quality education that they deserve. I want to thank and congratulate my staff for all of their hard work and dedication this year.”
This past year, among other accomplishments, the Office of the Public Advocate:
* Improved access to emergency contraception and birth control in clinics;
* Pushed for the clean-up of environmental hazards at parks and schools;
* Provided about 10,000 low-income New Yorkers with basic and important information on banking;
* Exposed the Department of Education’s (DOE) failure to meet state requirements for physical education and arts instruction;
* Introduced legislation to protect residents’ health by forcing landlords to remediate mold and pest infestations in city apartments.
* Initiated, in partnership with the mayor’s office, the largest survey ever conducted to assess New
Yorkers’ satisfaction with city services; and
* Convened an independent commission at the request of the state legislature to make recommendations on reauthorizing mayoral control of schools.
Click here for the report.
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