Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation

NYC Admin. Code tit. 34, ch. 2

in effect

NYC Admin. Code § 34-201 Truth, healing, and reconciliation process established.

§ 34-201 Truth, healing, and reconciliation process established. a. Objectives. CORE shall establish a truth and reconciliation process with the following objectives: 1. Establishing historical facts about slavery and its legacies in or in connection with the city of New York, including those that remain disputed or denied; identifying the historical and social contexts that gave rise to them; and making recommendations as to whether further investigation is appropriate; 2. Protecting and acknowledging affected persons and communities before, during, and after the process; and 3. Recommending and encouraging policy and social changes for government and community institutions in order to prevent the recurrence or perpetuation of harms and injustices caused by and associated with slavery and its legacies. b. Plan required. Not later than June 19, 2027, CORE shall deliver to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and shall post publicly on its website, a plan describing the scope and implementation for a truth and reconciliation process, including but not limited to a plan for a public outreach and information campaign; a description of sites, including space and accessibility features, that are to be designated as public forums; the specific topics to be addressed through a truth and reconciliation process; terms and guidelines for public participation in proceedings; a plan to support and protect the physical and psychological health of participants; an implementation timeline; measures to ensure the preservation and memorialization of the proceedings and findings in accordance with section 34-207; and any other steps CORE deems necessary to achieve broad-based public awareness, engagement, and participation before, during, and after the truth and reconciliation process. The plan shall incorporate a start date for truth and reconciliation proceedings no later than June 19, 2028. c. Participatory and transparent process. In creating a plan, selecting topics, and otherwise carrying out its duties in relation to a truth and reconciliation process pursuant to this chapter, CORE shall consult extensively with community stakeholders and persons with expertise in truth and reconciliation, and publish 2 reports on its progress. Specifically: 1. CORE shall, at a minimum, consult with community stakeholders who represent each of the 5 boroughs and who: (a) Have relevant personal experience or expertise regarding harms and injustices related to slavery or its legacies in or in connection with the city of New York, which experience may include having descended from enslaved persons; (b) Represent institutions, organizations, corporations, or associations that are organized or operated primarily for historical, cultural, educational, religious, or charitable purposes and that are connected to African American or indigenous American heritage, history, or culture; or (c) Have relevant personal experience or expertise in promoting racial justice and equity in the city of New York; 2. No later than January 15, 2026, CORE shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and post publicly on its website, a written update on its selection, and terms of engagement with, community stakeholders and persons with expertise in truth and reconciliation; and 3. No later than January 15, 2027, and in consultation with community stakeholders and persons with expertise in truth and reconciliation, CORE shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and post publicly on its website, a progress report on CORE’s research process and preliminary findings in preparing the plan required by subdivision b of this section. d. Coordination. In undertaking work pursuant to this chapter, the chair shall coordinate with the New York state community commission on reparation remedies established pursuant to section 3 of chapter 729 of the laws of 2023. (L.L. 2024/091, 10/12/2024, eff. 10/12/2024)

NYC Admin. Code § 34-202 Truth and reconciliation topics and proceedings.

§ 34-202 Truth and reconciliation topics and proceedings. a. Topics to be addressed. The truth and reconciliation process shall address topics relating to the history and effects of slavery and its legacies in or in connection with the territory that is now the city of New York, as defined in section 34-102. In selecting topics to be addressed, CORE shall consider, at minimum, rights violations, events, practices, systems, and consequences in relation to the following: 1. Topics prioritized by community stakeholders, especially those relating to harms and injustices experienced by descendants and family members of persons who were enslaved in or in connection with the city of New York; 2. Historical or ongoing civil and political injustices and inequities, which may include but need not be limited to the physical and psychological abuses, sexual violence, torture, and death, including by lynching, of enslaved persons and their descendants; race-based, legal and extralegal barriers to voting and other forms of political participation; racially discriminatory police violence and over-criminalization; and other forms of racially discriminatory violence and oppression; 3. Historical or ongoing economic, social, and cultural injustices and inequities, which may include but need not be limited to enslaved persons’ abduction from their homelands and communities; deprivation of economic autonomy; forced family separations; cultural oppression and erasure; segregation and “Jim Crow” laws; community displacement; redlining and other forms of discriminatory zoning and development; environmental injustice; mental, physical, and reproductive health inequities; pay and employment disparities; and other psychological and social repercussions of racial discrimination and trauma; 4. Differentiated experiences of harms and injustices associated with race-based discrimination and violence as they may have varied or vary on the basis of sex, gender, religion, ethnic and cultural origin, language, educational attainment, socioeconomic status, ability, or other personal characteristic; 5. The involvement of government, corporate, financial, educational, religious and community-based entities in perpetrating or supporting slavery and its legacies; 6. Time periods, practices, or events of particular relevance to the physical site of a public forum or to nearby residents and affected communities; 7. Systemic and lived connections between various racial injustices or inequities; and 8. Past and present contributions of New Yorkers to addressing, repairing, and fighting against slavery and its legacies. b. Opening date. The truth and reconciliation proceedings required by this chapter shall commence, in accordance with the plan required by subdivision b of section 34-201 no later than June 19, 2028. (L.L. 2024/091, 10/12/2024, eff. 10/12/2024)

NYC Admin. Code § 34-203 Public forums.

§ 34-203 Public forums. a. Site selection. CORE, in consultation with community stakeholders, shall select a minimum of 5 sites on which to establish public forums for truth and reconciliation proceedings, as follows: 1. CORE shall select a minimum of 1 site in each borough. 2. CORE shall give priority consideration to sites that are: (a) Suitable for public hearings, exhibitions, and other relevant proceedings, including those that would support remote viewing and participation, such as through interactive livestream, and are otherwise accessible; (b) Easily accessed by multiple forms of transportation and otherwise conducive to maximizing public participation, including by ensuring adequate capacity for reasonably foreseeable attendance levels, with particular consideration for affected persons and communities; and (c) Of particular relevance to the topic or topics to be addressed at that site or generally. 3. CORE may dedicate each public forum to addressing 1 or more specific topics, or CORE may determine that any topic may be raised at multiple or all public forums. b. Public access to meetings. CORE shall list the location, schedule of meetings, and topic or topics to be addressed at each public forum on its website, and to the extent feasible publish materials, video recordings, public testimony, and other research from each public forum on its website as they become available. c. Special sites. At any time during the course of the truth and reconciliation process required by this chapter, CORE may establish a temporary site dedicated to a specific event, performance, exhibition, or other proceeding which is especially or solely suited to such site. (L.L. 2024/091, 10/12/2024, eff. 10/12/2024)

NYC Admin. Code § 34-204 Public engagement.

§ 34-204 Public engagement. a. Public information campaign. Beginning no later than July 1, 2025, and ending no earlier than 365 days after the conclusion of the truth and reconciliation process required by this chapter, CORE, in consultation with the civic engagement commission, the commission on human rights, and the office of ethnic and community media, shall conduct a public outreach and information campaign designed to encourage awareness of, engagement with, and participation in the truth and reconciliation process and findings. Such information campaign shall at a minimum include: 1. Creating educational materials tailored to persons of different ages, backgrounds, and community leadership and education roles; 2. Identifying community outreach partners, stakeholders, and opportunities for engagement; and 3. Distributing and publicizing materials and resources through the use of print, radio, internet, and public space, as practicable. b. Terms and guidelines for participation. CORE shall issue terms and guidelines for the creation and safeguarding of a physically and psychologically secure space and process for truth and reconciliation. CORE shall describe these terms and guidelines, as well as any relevant training needs, in the plan required pursuant to subdivision b of section 34-201 of this chapter. In creating these terms and guidelines, CORE shall take into particular consideration the interests and needs of affected persons and communities. c. Public notice of proceedings. CORE shall post public notice of the time and place of meetings, hearings, and other proceedings of CORE in which it is planned to address matters relating to truth and reconciliation. Wherever practicable, such proceedings shall be scheduled and publicly noticed at least 30 days in advance, or within 2 days of when the meeting was scheduled, whichever is earlier. If videoconferencing is used to conduct a meeting, the public notice for the meeting shall inform the public that videoconferencing will be used, identify the locations for the meeting, and state that the public has the right to attend the meeting at any of the locations. The public notice provided for by this section shall not be construed to require publication as a legal notice. Public notice shall include: 1. Giving notice to the news media; 2. Conspicuously posting notice in 1 or more designated public locations at a reasonable time, preferably at least 2 weeks before a scheduled proceeding; and 3. Conspicuously posting notice on the website of CORE. d. Language access. Publicly available materials distributed pursuant to this section shall be made available in the designated citywide languages, as defined in section 23-1101 of the administrative code of the city of New York. (L.L. 2024/091, 10/12/2024, eff. 10/12/2024)

NYC Admin. Code § 34-205 Special inquiries.

§ 34-205 Special inquiries. a. Special inquiries authorized. In carrying out their duties pursuant to this chapter, the chair or CORE may conduct or cause to be conducted relevant research on public and non-public city records, including retrieval of relevant historical documents or interviews with persons with relevant knowledge or experience. b. Support for special inquiries. Pursuant to request by the chair or CORE, city agencies shall provide appropriate staff and resources to facilitate and support any reasonably defined inquiry authorized by this section. (L.L. 2024/091, 10/12/2024, eff. 10/12/2024)

NYC Admin. Code § 34-206 Narrative report and recommendations.

§ 34-206 Narrative report and recommendations. No later than 1 year following the conclusion of the truth and reconciliation process required by this chapter, CORE shall publish a report on the history and legacies of slavery in the city of New York, including but not limited to the legacies and badges of such slavery, if any, that continue to undermine racial equity in the city of New York in the present day. The report shall, at a minimum: a. Document the findings of the truth and reconciliation process, including the experiences and recommendations shared by participants, including those affected by slavery and its legacies in or in connection with the city of New York; and b. Recommend steps that the city can take to address, repair, and combat race-based discrimination and injustice in the present and future, which may include but need not be limited to proposed steps toward memorialization, as described in section 34-207; recommendations regarding specific cases for referral to any local, state, or national reparations mechanism that exists or may exist in future, or to any other tribunal, as appropriate; and identification of other grave injustices raised during the truth and reconciliation process but outside the scope of this chapter that may benefit from a separate, dedicated truth and reconciliation process. (L.L. 2024/091, 10/12/2024, eff. 10/12/2024)

NYC Admin. Code § 34-207 Preservation and memorialization.

§ 34-207 Preservation and memorialization. CORE shall preserve its working documents, videos, transcripts, and operational and administrative records and shall recommend, as part of the report required by section 34-206, a means of memorializing and making available to the public its records and findings for the purpose of public education and engagement in perpetuity. Such means may include but need not be limited to making some or all documents, exhibits, and other materials permanently available online; establishing a museum of truth, healing, and reconciliation; creating physical markers such as a map, monument, or permanent or temporary art installation; commissioning works of artistic expression such as a theatrical performance, film, poetry, or essay; establishing future forums or processes for truth-telling, healing, and community engagement; and proposing other measures for the promotion of racial healing, understanding, and equity. (L.L. 2024/091, 10/12/2024, eff. 10/12/2024)

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-228870Fetched: 10/24/2026