Tech Committee Holds Webcasting Hearing – Council Plans to Expand Digital Live and VOD

City Hall – On Wednesday, October 29, 2008, Council Member Gale A. Brewer (D-Manhattan), Chair of the Technology in Government Committee, will hold a hearing regarding Introduction 533-A which amends the City Charter to require that all public meetings be webcast.

The Council Technology in Government Committee will hold the hearing regarding webcasting on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 10 AM in the 14th Floor Hearing Room of 250 Broadway, New York. This is a public meeting and all are welcome to attend. Photo id required.

Council Member Brewer has been examining the benefits of webcasting since
2006, but efforts to require the City to move forward with webcasting of
public meetings gathered new attention after former Governor Spitzer
issued his Executive Order 3 in 2007, “Promotion of Public Access to
Government Decisionmaking.” The Executive Order requires all state
agencies and authorities to webcast their public meetings.

Nearly six years ago, the Council developed a pilot program to stream and
archive stated Council meetings with the goal of creating a more open,
efficient, and effective government. Currently, one can only view Council
proceedings through NYC-TV’s Channel 74 (Council 51). While Channel 74
covers certain City Council hearings and meetings, it does not offer the
flexibility and accessibility that web enabled ‘on demand’ video would
provide.

Intro 533-A has been revisited to analyze the benefits of webcasting and
archiving Council meetings in order for New York City residents and all
other interested parties to watch the proceedings. Intro 533-A requires
all New York City Council committee hearings, stated meetings, and public
meetings of city agencies and their committees to be broadcast digitally
on the web. Furthermore, the broadcasts shall be archived and made
accessible to the public on the city’s website for not less than one year
from the date of the original broadcast.

For further information or to sign up to speak, contact Kunal Malhotra,
Director of Budget and Legislation, at (212) 788-6975 or
kmalhotra@council.nyc.gov.