Council hears CCHR testimony on vacancies, backlogs and need for funding

Commissioner Christine Clark told the Councils Committee on Civil and Human Rights that the New York City Commission on Human Rights is understaffed and stretched thin as it seeks to enforce the citys broad human-rights law.

"I am privileged to work with a small but dedicated team at the Commission on Human Rights," Clark said in opening testimony, and later described a gap between the budgeted headcount and current staffing: the agency recorded a budgeted headcount near 141 but actual active staff were around 103 earlier this year. Clark and deputy staff described roughly 32 current vacancies and an agency-wide vacancy rate approaching the high 20s percent.

The committee pressed the administration on how a two-for-one hiring policy and OMB approval timelines lengthen recruitment. Deputy Commissioner Mariela Salazar said the hiring pipeline can be slowed by a three- to four-month OMB approval step after an offer is made, and that prior hiring freezes contributed to candidates taking other jobs. Salazar gave the most recent active-staff figure as about 109 with 32 vacancies and said additional hires are pending OMB clearance.

Council members focused on enforcement capacity and delays. Committee chair Sandy Nurse and Council members noted the Mayors preliminary plan provided no new investments for the Commissions non-personnel services and questioned whether cuts to vacancy lines would harm core enforcement work. Clark emphasized the commissions combination of enforcement and outreach, describing programs such as early intervention and Project Equal Access that aim to resolve discrimination claims before litigation is needed.

Council members and deputy commissioners also discussed metrics that show strain on enforcement: the Mayors management report indicated an average case age of roughly 629 days for complaints in the first four months of FY26; Deputy Commissioner Catherine Carroll told the committee that while some complex pattern-and-practice cases remain open for longer periods because of their scope, the agency has prioritized intake responsiveness and early interventions that averaged about 25 days when they are used.

Advocates who testified during public comment urged a substantially larger FY27 appropriation. Representatives of Legal Services NYC, Legal Aid, the Fair Housing Justice Center, Enterprise Community Partners and others told the committee that the proposed cuts would make it harder for voucher holders, people with disabilities and tenants and workers to get timely relief. Several witnesses called on the mayor and council to fund the commission at $25 million in FY27 and to exempt it from allotment and hiring-pegs that slow hiring.

The committee requested follow-up data on items including precise breakdowns of vacancy reductions by unit, numbers of disability-related complaints and outcomes for the commissions Project Equal Access. Clark and deputies said they would provide additional details and noted that more staff would allow expanded investigation capacity, faster decision-and-order production and greater outreach to communities that face language or access barriers.

The committee did not take any formal vote during the hearing; members said they would continue to press the mayors office on the agencys FY27 funding and the mechanics of hiring approvals.