New York Senate and Assembly Democrats,

It is clear that both Democrats and progressive ideals won overwhelmingly in the New York State Legislature this November. After absentee ballot counts, Democrats will control at least 43 seats in the State Senate, representing a supermajority and a three seat gain for Democrats. State Senate Democrats overcame large Election Day vote deficits and nearly 6 million dollars in outside spending to win the largest majority for the party in over a century, giving the party the legitimacy it needs to push forward a bold agenda in a time where political courage is more urgent than ever. While we are incredibly thankful that the Legislature took action to repeal the Walking While Trans Ban, we know New York needs to pass more legislation to become a truly progressive state.

We demand that the State Legislature uses their power to pass these 21 progressive priorities in the 2021 session:

1. New York Health Act: During a global pandemic, the need for universal, single payer healthcare has become more obvious than ever. It is past time to pass this legislation to truly make healthcare a human right in New York.

2. Housing Justice For All Package: We need to pass Housing Justice for All’s three bill package to ensure that no New Yorker is left unhoused by the pandemic.

1. Cancel Rent: Tenants have been suffering throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and many are unable to afford basics such as food and medicine, let alone rent. Passing Cancel Rent would ensure that all rent and mortgage payments are CANCELLED ENTIRELY from March 2020 until the end of this crisis, while also creating a relief fund for small landlords. This would ensure that tenants would not face eviction or retaliation for non-payment of rent during this time period.

2. #EvictionFreeNY: This bill would extend the lapsed eviction moratorium in New York for a full year to ensure that people can stay safely in their homes during this crisis.

3. #HouseTheHomeless: Passing House the Homeless would create a program that would provide housing vouchers to homeless and housing-insecure New Yorkers, allowing them to access stable housing.

3. Good Cause Eviction: Good Cause Eviction requires landlords to have “good cause” to evict a tenant, preventing landlords from being able to legally evict tenants for unfair rent increases, amongst other reasons.

4. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA): This bill, which is currently being drafted, would provide tenants with the opportunity to buy their building from their landlord if their landlord was putting the building on the market

5. Invest In Our New York Act: Revenue raisers are sorely needed in New York State to ensure that CUNY and public schools are fully funded, to guarantee that money is allocated towards repairing NYCHA, and to secure funding for social services that provide vital resources to our communities across New York State. The Invest in Our New York Act, which is made up of six bills: a progressive income tax, a capital gains tax, an heir’s tax, a billionaire’s tax, a corporate tax, and a tax on Wall Street, would tax the rich in New York while also raising 50 billion dollars to close the budget deficit and fund our communities!

6. #PublicPower: We demand that the NYS Legislature passes a series of bills to establish public ownership of utilities, and demand 100% renewable energy generation for those utilities.

7. Climate and Community Investment Act: This bill would expand on the work of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that was passed in 2019 by fighting for a just transition from fossil fuels that invests in our most vulnerable communities.

8. Legalize Recreational Marijuana: Legalizing recreational weed and redirecting profits the state makes from the taxation of weed to communities that have been disproportionately impacted by criminalization and incarceration is vital in 2021.

9. #HaltSolitary: It is well documented that solitary confinement is a form of torture. This inhumane practice MUST be ended in our state, and this bill would be a good starting point.

10. Parole Bills: We need to pass parole reform to ensure that people are not unjustly incarcerated in our state for long periods of time.

1. Elder Parole: No one should be incarcerated for life. Legislation to free our elders from prisons and jails will facilitate community healing, and prevent our elders from spending their entire lives incarcerated in unjust “correctional facilities”

2. Fair and Timely Parole: Parole is frequently an inequitable process for many incarcerated folks. This legislation would ensure that the Parole Board’s release decisions are based on who people are today and not singularly focused on the nature of their crimes.

3. #LessIsMore: This bill would modify the way parole is currently carried out to make life livable for those currently under community supervision.

11. End Predatory Court Fees Act: This bill would help the State prevent individuals from facing incarceration due to a simple inability to pay fines.

12. Decriminalize Sex Work: Sex workers have been brutalized by police officers and have been stripped of the basic rights many other workers receive. Decriminalizing sex work would allow sex workers to actually live with dignity, making this legislation vital to pass as soon as possible.

13. SWEAT Bill: The SWEAT bill, which protects workers from wage theft, was vetoed by Governor Andrew Cuomo last year. The State Legislature should use its likely power to override vetoes and pass this commonsense legislation.

14. NY Is Home Act: This crucial bill would establish citizenship in New York State, allowing many currently undocumented New Yorkers to vote and access key social services.

15. Authorizing voting by incarcerated people: Thousands of New Yorkers lose their rights to engage with the civic process when incarcerated in prisons. This important bill would allow incarcerated New Yorkers to vote, making our democracy more participatory for all New Yorkers.

16. Budget Justice Bill: Cuomo has a disproportionate amount of power in budgeting processes, which leaves an unjust power balance between the governor and the legislature. Passing this vital bill would allow state legislators to actually push for their own priorities in the budget process, which is central to a democratic budget process.

17. Safe and Supportive Schools Act: This bill would work towards dismantling the school to prison pipeline by providing supports for students across our state.

18. Safe Injection Sites Act: This bill would establish a safe injection site program to prevent overdoses amongst New Yorkers who use drugs.

19. Provide New Yorkers with Interpretation at Poll Sites: With the City’s introduction of ranked choice voting, ensuring that all individuals have language access at their poll site is more important than ever. Language interpreters should be made available at poll sites across New York City and State to help voters who are not English speaking navigate their ballots.

20. Limiting Information Access for Immigration Enforcement Agencies: This bill would ensure that immigration enforcement agencies do not receive identifying information about undocumented communities from the state government.

21. Gender Recognition Act: This key bill would make it easier for individuals to request more gender responsive language on licenses and other important documents, such as birth certificates.

COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement have brought so many of the pervasive inequalities that have existed across our state for years to light in a new and concerning way. 1.4 million New Yorkers can’t afford to pay rent, forcing these families to cope with the threat of eviction. Funding for public hospitals that serve our most vulnerable communities has been slashed in the middle of a global pandemic. Millions of New Yorkers cannot afford to pay for their healthcare costs, as a deadly global pandemic continues to highlight the need for universal healthcare. COVID cases continue to rise in our jails and prisons, as incarcerated people face unjust, unsanitary, and inhumane living conditions across our state. Hundreds of thousands of workers who are providing care and services to communities across the state have been excluded from COVID relief funds and programming. National Grid is taking advantage of the pandemic to jam through a fracked gas pipeline that impacts Black and brown communities in North Brooklyn.

And while so many communities are suffering, police brutality has persisted, as NYPD members have brutally attacked protestors fighting for racial justice, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, and Assembly Member Diana Richardson. To make matters even worse, billionaires across our state have been profiting off of this pandemic, as billionaires’ wealth has increased by almost 25 percent over the past several months, while many of our neighbors have to decide whether they will buy food for their families or pay rent.

The gaps between wealthy white communities and working class communities of color have never been more clear, and so many of our neighbors are suffering. Thus, we demand that the mandate progressive voters gave Democratic majorities in both the State Assembly and the State Senate to govern boldly and act on our shared progressive values is mobilized to provide material relief to our communities during this time of crisis. We can no longer accept moderation to “protect a majority” when Democrats have captured a supermajority in the State Senate. Instead, we demand that the State Assembly and the State Senate are bold, brave, and unapologetic in passing progressive legislation that is popular with the majority of New Yorkers.

These 21 bills are not the only things we need to get done, but they are an important starting point to make our state work better for everyone. We hope you take action.