Name of Council Candidate: Gary Lyles Name and Title of Person Completing Questionnaire: Campaign Website:

2013 CITY COUNCIL HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Many in the United States think of international affairs when they think of human rights. Our work emphasizes the applicability of the human rights framework here in the United States. Please share your thoughts on the domestic applicability of human rights, and discuss why human rights are important to you in the context of New York City and the City Council. It is quite simple. the family is the developmental structure of human rights here at home, thus the rights of our families is threatened by a market system demanding higher production while paying lower wages to our families who are below the median income scale, with a schedule dictated by the consummates of slave labor. The human rights violation of this cooperative action leaves our families at the mercy of a wayward gangsta pop culture that encourages X Rated lyrics inculcated into the language of our children; this harms the mental development of our children, erasing the moral code that is suppose to be inducted by our parents. Although, this reaches a different scale of human rights, the human rights violation of our Capitalism is its unconcern, warranted by a market system being treated asconsumers and not citizens of our Republic. Mental, emotional and spiritual poverty is a human rights violation of the worse kind in a land as progressive as our Nation and city as well. To have a population with this as the backdrop of progress ushers into existence the almagest of disrespect. This further provocation of a Nation-State sanctioning of arrest, harassment and blatant disrespect of its citizenry, putting officers on the streets, who are often family men themselves, who are not supported in curating the human decency of fostering the communities they police to be able to know the difference between the good and bad seeds. A police officer introduced Muhammad Ali into boxing. This is the relationship of promise, not daily quotas to meet budgetary shortfalls. As a City Councilman; my responsibility to my constituency, my neighbors and to the officers who are our extended family is to know them, yet to be open to knowing more with constant communicative engagement; hearing their concerns and experiences. 2. How have you used current or previous professional positions to advance human rights? I grew up on the streets of Harlem as a fifteen year old child where I learned from my neighbors based upon who they were not so much where they were from. Local businesses in support of our families through understanding of our economic circumstances, keeping a mutual integrity of this exchange. This being my experience; from 1986 forward that world changed in that our communities became flooded with illegal substances, before that joblessness, as idleness softened the defenses against malfeasance. I was 15 years old; This should not have been a choice for a child my age. The inhumanity of being surrounded by poverty in a materially rich nation devoid of moral decency culminated into the violent disgrace of our families, dismantling families to a blind statistical truth prompted me to use the talent of my youth to encourage and inspire young people toward a higher vision. I worked for Harlem Childrens Zone in 1997 t0 2004 as a Music Director for their after school program in the elementary school where I graduated, P.S. 194.

It was called the Inspirational Chorus and that is what we did, inspire. I amassed an attendance of about 25-60 children a day, teaching them voice, music theory and scales. Our first performance was for Susan L. Taylor, the former Editor -N- Chief of Essence Magazine. They tore the house down. These are children who would have otherwise been involved in something or influenced by circumstances that would have harmed their lives. I was fortunate to inspire them and fortunate to be inspired by them. My life has become the better for this. We went on to perform for Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson, Late Dr. John Henrick Carke, Author, Walter Mosely and the Poet Nikki Giovanni. This is the elevation of our children, our families and our communities humanity. 3. What will your top 3 legislative priorities be in your first term as Council Member? 1. Juvenile Justice 2. High School Drop Out Rate 3. Elder Protections 4. What will your top 3 budget priorities be in your first term as Council Member? 1. Increase funding for after-school 2. Youth re-entry from incarceration 3. Jobs & training 5. Do you plan to use participatory budgeting to allocate your discretionary funds? Why or why not? Participatory budgeting is a unique way and frankly a necessary way to allocate funds to the communitys we represent in that the people understand the daily grind of the communitys needs. Having young people, elders, students and professionals use their voice is an awesome step toward cooperative government for the people, of the people and by the people. This process empowers ordinary people to represent and awesome city like New York with understanding of its complication in simplifying their participation in the process of governing better outcomes in their particular neighborhoods. 6. Please provide examples of recent legislation in Council that you believe promotes human rights. The increase of the minimum wage was a good legislative stance by City Council. However, this comes on the heels of increased rents, luxury development, food price increases and so on. So, therefore the legislative stance may seem to dignify the rights of a living wage, yet it deforms the process of governing our communities in its deception of cause because it was done to afford the new higher cost of living when it should have been done in a timely manner to cushion our citizens from these increases, allowing them to budget their personal lives to build an economic bridge

to support their families. This increase is still leaving the families budget as an obligatory payment to landlords increase rents, so there really wasnt a wage increase. The idea of Human Rights is a contextual circumstance that becomes a legislative circumvent by our political process to subvert and undermine our citizens. i cant support the collaring of any particular legislation due to the fact it always comes on the heels of either a private equity violation and/or a state sanctioned violation of human rights, case and point, stop and frisk. The Beacon schools were a great concept of human rights activity, giving our young people an outlet, yet due to cuts in the nineties these programs decreased and or were concentrated to a few agencies whose monopoly of youth services blocked the creative flow of ingenuity and entrepreneurship. I would like to see a concerted effort to create legislation based on the dignity of human rights apart from the aftermath of violence, poverty and underserving our neighbors. 7. Legislation is only one of many ways in which Council Members can work to advance human rights. What ways other than through legislation will you advance the human rights of New Yorkers as a City Council Member? Considering the work I have done. This has given me insight into the lives of my neighbors, their concerns with youth violence, unemployment and the necessary engagement of the patriarchs of our educational system, which are our universities...these are the elements of surprise often enlisted in the uplift of communities in cities like New York. I will work with my neighbors to advance an agenda of engagement to support our youth from idleness, involving them in the process of their city to emancipate themselves through a variety of networks; churches, community based organizations, universities, police athletic leagues and extra ordinary citizens concerned about their lives and tho lives of one another. 8. Some advocates contend that the position of the Council Speaker has too much power over the progression of legislation. Please use this space to respond to that critique. Their should be an augmented transition network process of cooperation among the City Council to speak to the City Council Speakers disagreement of any legislation put forth onto the floor of the Council. The checks and balance of this network allows the voice of the people to be heard through its representatives. Which, would be a valued tool of conservative cooperation, meaning the process would then be streamlined in a timely manner.