Affects DC 37
Council May Amend Residency Measure

By REUVEN BLAU

An amended version of the proposed bill to relax residency requirements for District Council 37's members is moving closer to a City Council hearing, sources said last week.

JOSEPH P. ADDABBO: Bill's prospects iffy.

"The issue is: what hearing are we doing?" said Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., who heads the Civil Service and Labor Committee. "Are we doing a hearing on the existing bill or on an amended bill?"

Call for Alternative

Key Council Members have said they will not back the current legislation, citing concerns that the bill will limit job opportunities for their constituents. Some have suggested giving city residents five points' credit on job exams, just as cop, Firefighter, and Sanitation Worker candidates currently receive, as part of any legislation easing residency rules.

The Bloomberg administration, however, has said that it is against implementing such a bonus for city-dwellers. DC 37 has also opposed changing its negotiated agreement.

But even a city resident bonus may not be enough, Manhattan Councilman Robert Jackson and several others have indicated. "I am pretty adamant for not opening jobs for people outside New York City," Mr. Jackson has asserted.

ROBERT JACKSON: A key opponent.

Some have also recommended that extra points be granted only to individuals who have graduated from high schools in the city. Capt. Paul Washington, the former president of the Vulcan Society, an organization of black firefighters, has supported that idea, which he contends will ensure that individuals have knowledge of the city.

Mr. Washington and others have contended that many police and Firefighter candidates lie about where they live in order to get the credit.

'Doesn't Have the Votes'

The DC 37 residency measure affects several other civilian unions that negotiated the same easement in their deals this past summer. But the legislation has so far stalled in the Council, which has also argued the issue should be handled by the State Legislature.

Citing the latest developments, Mr. Addabbo said, "At least we are moving in a forward direction." But he quickly added that the current measure "still doesn't have enough votes."

The Queens lawmaker said his Council colleagues have many questions about the legislation, which will be addressed in a hearing sometime in the near future. "We want to make sure that there are no misconceptions and address the concerns that my colleagues have had," Mr. Addabbo said.

Intro. 452 would amend the present law to allow DC 37 members to live in the six counties surrounding New York City - Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester.

Limited Impact?

By all accounts, the measure would affect only a small number of DC 37 members who can afford to move to those neighboring state counties, where real estate can be just as costly as it is in much of the city.

The issue, however, has been a legislative priority for DC 37 for a long time. Ms. Roberts and Mayor Bloomberg highlighted changing the residency requirement at a press conference announcing the contract last July. They noted that the old residency rule was signed into law in 1986 during the Koch administration, and was designed to add employment opportunities for local residents, bolster the city economy, and increase accountability for city workers.

Since that time, the union had argued, the cost of real estate has made it practically impossible for its members to purchase houses in the five boroughs. "I have plagued the Mayor to death about housing," Ms. Roberts said last summer.

Relaxing the residency requirement for DC 37 members would place those civilian employees on the same residency footing as their uniformed counterparts who can live in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Nassau or Suffolk counties.