Letitia James Quotes

No NYCHA resident should have to worry about the walk home at night through their neighborhood after they finish work. Yet for some NYCHA residents, worrying is a part of daily life.

I just try to fight for the underdog, and try to fight for those who are locked out of the sunshine of opportunity.

A comfortable retirement should not only be a luxury for the wealthy, but a reality for every New Yorker.

Though few hiring managers would deliberately choose to offer women less money than their male counterparts, when using salary history to determine compensation, they unintentionally preserve the status quo. Too often, women will have a lower salary history, and, therefore get a lower offer.

Wage violations are tantamount to theft.

It’s clear that the NYPD has prioritized creating a force as diverse as the vibrant city it protects.

New Yorkers would be shocked to learn of the conditions some construction workers in our city toil under.

While New York City cannot prevent other jurisdictions from selling firearms, it has taken a powerful stance against guns by divesting pension funds from gun manufacturers.

Americans hate Congress but can’t help ourselves from re-electing its members over and over again.

All of my life and particularly throughout of my public career, I have been talking about the feminization of poverty. And one of the manifestations of the feminization of poverty is the issue of pay inequality in our society.

Our system of government works best when there are checks and balances led by independent entities that are empowered to conduct fair and rigorous oversight. These are the same principles enshrined in the founding document of our country – our Constitution.

Putting cops on streets is the most effective way to combat crime.

New Yorkers want to be compassionate, and they want to live in a city where homeless people aren’t stuffed into shelters, spilling out onto the streets. They also want a support system that works.

I come from humble beginnings myself.

We may not be able to make working at the airport stress-free, but we can at least give these workers the security of knowing they will be paid their due.

The workers who get hurt by corner-cutting often do not realize they are being wronged. Even when they do, they do not have the support and resources to fight back. Without a union to stand behind them, these workers are forced to stay in bad jobs, or face no job at all.

In today‘s world, access to the Internet is inarguably critical to function in informal and formal spaces – and the costs to digital segregation are rising.

What’s historically been referred to as ‘gerrymandering’ can more aptly be labeled an incumbent protection program.

Gunfire tracking technology is improving every day and has been successful in many jurisdictions around the country.

New York’s buildings must be cleaner and more energy-efficient.

Human induced climate change is real, and the evidence is right in front of us. It threatens our shores. It promises to bring intense heat waves and powerful storms. It has the power to disrupt our economy, endanger our food supply, and imperil global stability. We must take action to stop it.

I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth.

We must ensure that we are hiring and retaining qualified, diverse candidates not only to teach in our classrooms, but to work at the DOE overseeing our students‘ education.

I am proud of the advances we have made in New York where we have continued a legacy of substantive HIV/AIDS policy, but we must continue the fight to end the epidemic and ensure an AIDS-free generation.

Our justice system allows district attorneys to be charged with the great responsibility of prosecuting the very same police officers they work side-by-side with every day and whose union support they seek when running for reelection.

The scales of justice often, in my head, are unbalanced. And so my job is to try to balance out those scales.

Establishing the two Eids as official holidays will carry important practical and symbolic significance.

New York is celebrated as a leader in our nation‘s quest for progress because ours is a city built by the labor of a thousand different shades and accents.

During my campaign for Public Advocate, and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign for mayor, we committed to making Eid school holidays a reality.

We must simply do every single thing in our power to protect our children from abuse and help them live healthy, prosperous lives.

As Public Advocate for the City of New York, I have a duty to speak truth to power and do what is best for our City and its residents.

Within New York City and state, families in need face a confusing hodgepodge of supplemental rental assistance programs, many of which are ineffective individually and all of which are clearly ineffective in the aggregate.

I come from a family of eight on public assistance, my parents were separated. My mother struggled, my father struggled.

In light of the documented benefits of urban trees, we must also ensure that we increase green spaces in underserved communities throughout the city that lack adequate parks and other green spaces.

Home Stability Support is our best shot at creating an all-encompassing and effective system to ensure that our at-risk children and families can remain in the homes they deserve.

The reality is that I’ve been counted out for a very long time and people continue to underestimate me and I continue to overperform.

World Aids Day is both a day of remembrance and a day of hope.

Voting is a fundamental right in our democracy.

Increases in stabilized rents impact rent stabilized tenants directly, but they also affect the affordability of all New Yorkers’ rents.

The status quo is clearly broken, and we must strive for bigger, bolder solutions that will provide New Yorkers with the support they need to remain in their homes.

For all the manufactured ‘Republican versus Democrat‘ drama that dominates today’s cable news and political rhetoric, the most striking feature of our present-day democracy is not partisan divide – it’s a corrupt system that protects incumbents from the consequences that real democracy brings.

Wage discrimination lasts forever. The disparity haunts women beyond their years in the labor force, impacting how much they save for retirement and ultimately receive in Social Security benefits.

Any district attorney knows that an endorsement from law enforcement unions is vital to earning voters‘ trust. As a result, police unions play an outsized role in district attorney elections.

As Public Advocate for the City of New York, I will be working with the Administration for Children’s Services and others to bring about necessary reforms – and ensure that our city meets its most solemn responsibility – protecting the welfare of our children.

I’ve been independent all of my life.

Each day, millions of police officers do the selfless work of putting their lives on the line to protect civilians, frequently responding to or preventing crises completely with no recognition.

The NYPD has taken steps to engage marginalized communities and attempts to bridge gaps between these neighborhoods and those sworn to protect and serve them.

Under the not-so-watchful eye of ACS, children continue to die avoidable deaths. This is beyond unacceptable and betrays our moral conscience.

New York City must divest the hundreds of millions of dollars we have invested in Walmart for far too long, dollars that are only fueling violence and undermining the greater public interest. Once our nation’s largest city does so, I know other states and municipalities will follow suit.

Some contractors force workers to provide paybacks to keep their jobs. Others intentionally misclassify workers in order to underpay them – by, for example, paying a skilled construction worker as a general laborer.

I have never had doubts about the courage of the young men and women we sent overseas wearing the uniform.

We have these events, ‘Talk to Tish.’ They’re basically kitchen-roundtable discussions about issues in the City of New York, because you can learn more by listening.

The Office of Attorney General should be independent and the Office of Attorney General should have the power to investigate without the approval of the governor of the state of New York. It’s absolutely critically important.

Brown v. Board of Education was arguably the most important decision of the Supreme Court in the 20th century.

New York should be a place where everyone can afford to live.