CITY LEVEL:
Community Boards: Community boards (CBs) are local representative bodies appointed by the Borough President and City Council. CBs play an advisory role on issues that directly affect their neighborhood, such as land use, budgeting, traffic, and housing. CBs meet monthly and their meetings are open to everyone. You could contact your CB if you see a specific need or problem in your community that you’d like to see addressed.
City Council: The City Council is the legislative body of NYC, elected by district. Their primary responsibility is approving the city’s budget every year. They also monitor city agencies, make land use decisions, and pass legislation on a limited range of issues. Council Members have district offices where they often provide constituent services – such as acting as a liaison between a person living in their district and a city agency, or directing people to public or non-profit resources. You could contact your City Council Member if you have a landlord/tenant dispute, or if you have an opinion about a piece of legislation or the budget before the City Council, or to propose legislation.
Mayor: The Mayor is the elected chief executive of NYC. They are responsible for overseeing the administration of all city agencies such as the New York Police Department. A full list of New York City agencies is here. The Mayor is also responsible for approving (or vetoing) legislation from the City Council, and proposing the budget for the city each year. You could contact the mayor if you have a recommendation for the budget, see an issue in the city that you’d like them to address, or have an opinion about a state or federal policy that could affect NYC.
Public Advocate: The Public Advocate is an elected city-wide official whose primary job is to look out for the people of NYC by overseeing city agencies and investigating complaints about city services. You could contact the Public Advocate if you’re experiencing a problem with a city agency or service, or if you think your employer, landlord, or business is violating the city’s laws (such as nondiscrimination).
STATE LEVEL:
State Assembly: The New York State Assembly is an elected, representative legislative body for the state. Their primary responsibilities are to pass legislation on a range of issues and approve the state budget. You could contact your representative in the Assembly with your opinion about legislation they are considering, or your own ideas about legislation to be introduced. The Assembly also has a paid internship program for undergraduate and graduate students (http://assembly.state.ny.us/internship/).
State Senate: The New York State Senate is an elected, representative legislative body for the state. Their primary responsibilities are to pass legislation on a range of issues, approve the state budget, and approve the Governor’s appointment of non-elected state officials and judicial appointments. You could contact your representative in the Senate with your opinion about legislation they are considering, your own ideas about legislation to be introduced, or your opinions about proposed appointments by the Governor. The Senate also has a paid internship program for undergraduate and graduate students (https://www.nysenate.gov/student-programs).
Governor: The Governor is the elected chief executive of the state of New York. They are responsible for approving (or vetoing) all legislation from the state Senate and Assembly, for appointing non-elected state officials and judges, and overseeing all state agencies. You could contact the Governor if you want to voice your opinion about legislation before them to sign or veto, on the state budget (including funding for the MTA), or on judicial or official appointments.
NATIONAL LEVEL
House of Representatives: The House of Representatives is an elected, representative body of the U.S. national government. They are responsible for passing legislation and approving the federal budget. You could contact your Representative if you want to voice your opinion about the budget or legislation.
Senate: The Senate is an elected, representative body of the U.S. national government. They are responsible for passing legislation, approving the federal budget, and approving the president’s appointment of non-elected federal officials and judges – including the Supreme Court. You could contact your Senator if you want to voice your opinion about the budget, legislation, or their consideration of presidential appointees.
President: The President of the United States is the elected chief executive of the federal government. They are responsible for proposing a federal budget each year, approving (or vetoing) legislation passed by Congress, appointing non-elected federal officials and judges, and directing U.S. foreign and military policy. You could contact the President if you have opinions about legislation before them, the federal budget, judicial appointees, foreign or military policy, or how they are leading the country.
