In an unusual move, Mayor de Blasio is replacing the head of the city's Commission on Human Rights — one day after getting a strongly worded letter from Public Advocate Letitia James attacking her and demanding she be fired.
James charged in a letter dated Wednesday that Patricia Gatling was overseeing a "moribund" operation that hasn't been aggressive in rooting out discrimination.
Just 24 hours later, the mayor's office pronounced Gatling a goner.
"This administration is unequivocally committed to fighting discrimination in any form and safeguarding the dignity of every New Yorker," a mayoral spokesman said Thursday when asked for a response to James' letter.
"CCHR plays an essential role in enforcing the city's Human Rights Law, and we will name a new commissioner in the near future."
Gatling, a former assistant district attorney in Brooklyn, has kept a relatively low profile since being named human-rights chief by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2002, and has never been called out before for her performance.
While in office, Bloomberg dismissed demands that he fire a commissioner — his child-welfare chief, John Mattingly.
"You can rest assured he'll be around for the next 1,121 days," Bloomberg had declared in December 2010.
In her letter to de Blasio, James described the human-rights agency as a disaster — a stinging charge against an administration that has positioned itself as a defender of minorities and the poor.
"By failing to act on the complaints it receives and aggressively pursue its own investigations, the New York City Commission on Human Rights is hurting the most vulnerable among us," she wrote.
"We respectfully request that you act immediately to appoint a new commissioner with an aggressive vision."
The letter, first reported by the New York Observer, was co-signed by eight groups, including the Legal Aid Society, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Bronx Defenders.
James accused Gatling of being ineffective, saying that of the 4,763 inquiries the Commission on Human Rights received in 2013, probable cause for discrimination was found in only 428 cases.
James also said that despite its power to levy fines of up to $250,000, it assessed total fines of only $193,500 in the entire year.
Betsy Herzog, a spokeswoman for the commission, insisted Gatling had been planning to go long before James demanded her head.
"She was notified a little over a month ago," Herzog said. "She's continued to serve faithfully."
The letter came as de Blasio was facing criticism from black elected officials and law-enforcement leaders over the abrupt resignation of Chief of Department Philip Banks III, who was the force's highest-ranking black official.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Human Rights chief fired after Letitia James demands new head
Dengan url
http://susuvirus.blogspot.com/2014/11/human-rights-chief-fired-after-letitia.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Human Rights chief fired after Letitia James demands new head
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Human Rights chief fired after Letitia James demands new head
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar