8es no

8esoluLlon ln supporL of Lhe peaceful and vlbranL exerclse of llrsL AmendmenL rlghLs belng
carrled ouL by Lhe Cccupy Wall SLreeL proLesLers and ln supporL of Lhelr goal of endlng
economlc lnequallLy ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes
8y Councll Members 8odrlguez Wllllams and !ames
Whereas SepLember 17 2011 marked Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe Cccupy Wall SLreeL"
movemenL (CWS) aL ZuccoLLl ark also known as LlberLy laza locaLed ln Lhe hearL of new
?ork ClLy's flnanclal dlsLrlcL and
Whereas 1he Cccupy Wall SLreeL movemenL ls fueled by dlshearLened new ?orkers
and oLher clLlzens from all walks of llfe who have come LogeLher Lo presenL a growlng
demonsLraLlon of solldarlLy among Lhose selfldenLlfled as Lhe 99" who sLarLed Lhe lnlLlal
Cccupy Wall SLreeL by calllng for a falr dlsLrlbuLlon of wealLh and
Whereas CWS has demonsLraLed a commlLmenL Lo Lhe prlnclples of nonvlolence as a
means of proLesL and
Whereas 1he llrsL AmendmenL Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes ConsLlLuLlon proLecLs Lhe rlghL Lo
freedom of expresslon from governmenL lnLerference lncludlng Lhe rlghLs Lo freedom of
speech press assembly and Lo peLlLlon Lhe governmenL for a redress of grlevances and
Whereas Cver 70 relaLed Cccupy" proLesLs have Laken rooL across Lhe counLry from
large demonsLraLlons ln 8osLon and San lranclsco Lo dozens of smaller ones ln oLher clLles as
well as a largescale Cccupy College" movemenL on college campuses across Lhe unlLed SLaLes
and
Whereas 1oday large corporaLlons hold undue lnfluence and power ln our counLry and
Whereas Cur economlc sysLem can only be descrlbed as broken when one conslders
LhaL Lhe unlLed SLaLes ueparLmenL of Labor's 8ureau of Labor SLaLlsLlcs reporLed for CcLober
2011 LhaL Lhere were 139 mllllon unemployed persons ln Amerlca LhaL more Lhan 30 mllllon
Amerlcans are forced Lo llve wlLhouL healLh lnsurance and even uslng our currenL poverLy
measure LhaL ls wldely recognlzed Lo be lnadequaLe and ouLdaLed and uslng Lhe Amerlcan
communlLy survey flve year daLa on houslng cosLs from 2008 more Lhan one ln flve Amerlcan
chlldren are growlng up poor ln households LhaL lack access Lo such baslc survlval needs as
food cloLhlng and shelLer and
Whereas Accordlng Lo a recenL reporL of Lhe unlLed SLaLes Census 8ureau 2010
Amerlcan CommunlLy Survey" more Lhan one ln flve new ?ork ClLy resldenLs llve below Lhe
federal poverLy llne and
Whereas 1he unlLed SLaLes CenLers for ulsease ConLrol (CuC) released a CuC PealLh
ulsparlLles lnequallLles 8eporL unlLed SLaLes 2011 whlch reveals LhaL lncome lnequallLy ln
Lhe unlLed SLaLes ls Lhe hlghesL among any advanced lndusLrlallzed naLlon wlLh wldespread
lnequlLles ln healLh ouLcomes by lncome race and gender and
Whereas 1hls unforLunaLe reallLy ls also supporLed by Lhe CenLral lnLelllgence Agency
World lacL 8ook ln lLs presenLaLlon of Clnl coefflclenLs a measure of economlc lnequallLy for
143 dlfferenL counLrles and
Whereas 8esearch conducLed by Lhe lnsLlLuLe for ollcy SLudles lndlcaLes LhaL Lhe Lop
one percenL of Amerlcans own half of Lhe counLrys sLocks bonds and muLual funds and
Whereas Accordlng Lo Lhe new ?ork SLaLe ueparLmenL of Labor as of SepLember 2011
Lhe unemploymenL raLe ln new ?ork ClLy was 87 percenL and
Whereas Accordlng Lo daLa released by Lhe unlLed PosplLal lund ln 2008 nearly 13
mllllon new ?ork ClLy chlldren and adulLs are unlnsured and
Whereas Measures should be underLaken wlLhln Lhe CommunlLy 8elnvesLmenL AcL LhaL
would aL Lhe very leasL address Lhe key credlL and flnanclal servlces needs of small buslnesses ln
order Lo creaLe much needed [obs and work wlLh borrowers Lo resLrucLure Lhelr dellnquenL or
Lroubled home morLgage loans and
Whereas Amerlcans musL resolve Lhe dlvlslve economlc and soclal reallLles faclng our
naLlon ln a peaceful way Lo avold Lhe furLher deLerloraLlon of our greaLesL asseL our human
caplLal now Lherefore be lL
8esolved 1haL Lhe Councll of Lhe ClLy of new ?ork supporLs Lhe peaceful and vlbranL
exerclse of llrsL AmendmenL rlghLs belng carrled ouL by Cccupy Wall SLreeL proLesLers and
supporLs Lhelr goal of endlng economlc lnequallLy ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes
8C
LS 2911 2912 2937 and 2941
11/21/11