Getting back to business, City Council will hold first-ever remote meeting next week

Next week, the New York City Council will do what seemingly every other major company is doing in the time of coronavirus: Meeting digitally.

On April 22, the City Council will hold its first-ever remote stated meeting where councilmembers vote on proposed legislation.

“It isn’t easy to get an 82-year-old legislative body up and running remotely for the first time in its history, but I am proud of the work that the staff put in to make this happen in a secure and publicly accessible fashion,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson in a statement. “The coming weeks and months will not be easy for us as a city, but I can guarantee that the Council will do everything in its power to help us weather this difficult time.”

A month ago, the City Council suspended all in-person hearings, budget-related and Uniform Land Review Process votes due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and shuttered its office doors at 250 Broadway.

“Our legislating, our representing the needs of our shared communities is a key part of our work to protect the vulnerable and meet urgent,” said Councilmember Robert Cornegy. With this remote Stated meeting, our work takes on a new form, but the values of protecting our communities and lifting up their well-being remain. This remote Stated meeting is symbolic of the amazing resilience of New Yorkers in this difficult moment”