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New York

Rita C. Joseph

Council member, District 40, New York City Council

Raised shelters and homelessness at eight meetings.

9 of 15transcribed meetings with their voice identified

0.8min a meeting at the New York City Council, at least

58questions at the Committee on Education

20 of 23present at roll calls, from the clerk

Chairs the Committee on Higher Education; sits on 5 more committees

See all

Next New York City Council meeting: Thu, Nov 12, 1:30 pm · Agenda

Three clips, newest first

ICE and immigration enforcementRita C. JosephChair · Committee on Education · Oct 30, 2025 · 2:04:53We currently have 2 students from transfer schools that are in ICE custody. What kind of support are you providing to students when it comes around immigration?Open the meeting at 2:04:53

ICE and immigration enforcementRita C. JosephChair · Committee on Education · Oct 30, 2025 · 2:04:53We currently have 2 students from transfer schools that are in ICE custody. What kind of support are you providing to students when it comes around immigration?Open the meeting at 2:04:53

ICE and immigration enforcement“When HPD go on site and they find, let’s say, ICE agent, what is the protocol?”Rita C. JosephMember · Committee on Housing and Buildings · Apr 20, 2026 · 1:02:20 “…are you taking in consideration when you deploy AI tools? How are parents made aware? How are you using parents’ voices?”Rita C. JosephMember · Committee on Education · Jun 24, 2026 · 1:06:12

Officials only. Public speakers are counted, never named.

Issues Joseph raised, by number of meetings

Shelters and homelessness8 meetings
ICE and immigration enforcement6 meetings

We count who raised an issue, not which side they took.

Every roll call, and Joseph’s other bodies

Present at 20 of 23 roll calls at the New York City Council

From the clerk’s own record. We don’t compare members on it.

PresentExcusedAbsentOldest first, 1 square per roll call

Absent 3. Oct 29, 2025 to Oct 22, 2026.

Official roll call, from the clerk →

Committee on Education: 2.2 min of speech a meeting, range 0.8–5.0. In the same range as 10 other members.
Committee on Higher Education: talk time not compared. Presides over its meetings, so isn’t compared with the members.
Committee on Children and Youth: talk time not compared. Fewer than four members can be compared fairly.
Committee on Immigration: talk time not compared. Seated for only 6 meetings in 12 months.
Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education: talk time not compared. Seated for only 6 meetings in 12 months.
Committee on Housing and Buildings: talk time not compared. Fewer than four members can be compared fairly.
Committee on Public Safety: talk time not compared. Seated for only 2 meetings in 12 months.
Committee on Oversight and Investigations: talk time not compared. Seated for only 2 meetings in 12 months.
Committee on Higher Education: present at 5 of 5 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Committee on Education: present at 17 of 18 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Committee on Immigration: present at 10 of 10 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education: present at 7 of 7 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Committee on Housing and Buildings: present at 9 of 11 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Committee on Public Safety: present at 1 of 2 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Committee on Oversight and Investigations: present at 1 of 2 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Committee on Civil and Human Rights: present at 1 of 2 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk
Committee on Disabilities: present at 3 of 4 roll calls. Official roll call, from the clerk

Questions

Joseph asked 58 questions at the seven Committee on Education meetings where we identified them

At least this many: direct questions only.

As it’s updating the adaptive technology, how does CUNY ensure accessibility at campuses, especially in older buildings?Committee on Education · Jun 8, 2026 · Play at 38:41

Of Joseph’s 27 questions to city departments at the Committee on Education, 24 went to schools / school district.

Who they question: 27 questions to a department, 1 body · Oct 24, 2025 – Oct 8, 2026.

Committee on Education27 questions to city departments

Committee on Education: questions by department
Department	Share	Questions
Schools / school district		2489%
Police		311%

Meetings

Every meeting where we identified Joseph’s voice

48, newest first. The date opens the meeting; the time plays the video at Joseph’s first remark.

Oct 7, 2026Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education4.2 min53:44
Sep 29, 2026Committee on Higher Education14.8 min0:26
Sep 22, 2026Committee on Education0.1 min41:06
Sep 22, 2026Committee on Immigration3.6 min36:51
Sep 9, 2026Committee on Education2.7 min3:17
Sep 9, 2026Committee on Housing and Buildings1.0 min1:31:40
Jun 24, 2026Committee on Education2.3 min1:04:48
Jun 23, 2026Committee on Children and Youth2.1 min57:56
Jun 17, 2026Committee on Higher Education25.9 min4:33
Jun 11, 2026New York City Council1.0 min1:34:24

Show all 48Show fewer

Jun 8, 2026Committee on Higher Education12.6 min3:14
Jun 8, 2026Committee on Education12.6 min3:14
May 28, 2026Committee on Children and Youth3.9 min1:24:33
May 28, 2026Committee on Immigration3.9 min1:24:33
Apr 30, 2026New York City Council1.5 min31:43
Apr 29, 2026Committee on Education2.3 min1:23:19
Apr 29, 2026Committee on Public Safety2.3 min1:23:19
Apr 28, 2026Committee on Higher Education20.5 min0:13
Apr 28, 2026Committee on Children and Youth20.5 min0:13
Apr 21, 2026Committee on Children and Youth1.3 min1:23:36
Apr 21, 2026Committee on Oversight and Investigations1.3 min1:23:36
Apr 20, 2026Committee on Immigration1.6 min59:23
Apr 20, 2026Committee on Housing and Buildings1.6 min59:23
Apr 16, 2026New York City Council1.5 min1:11:04
Apr 15, 2026Committee on Higher Education13.2 min14:20
Apr 15, 2026Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education13.2 min14:20
Mar 24, 2026Committee on Housing and Buildings1.6 min1:18:54
Mar 23, 2026Committee on Education4.3 min1:43:46
Mar 20, 2026Committee on Higher Education33.5 min0:06
Mar 16, 2026Committee on Children and Youth11.7 min1:15:32
Mar 10, 2026New York City Council0.1 min37:46
Mar 9, 2026Committee on Immigration1.0 min1:16:33
Mar 2, 2026Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education2.2 min1:19:33
Feb 27, 2026Committee on Higher Education20.0 min0:39
Feb 26, 2026Committee on Children and Youth3.1 min1:13:23
Feb 24, 2026New York City Council1.3 min32:29
Feb 12, 2026New York City Council0.1 min34:08
Feb 10, 2026Committee on Education1.7 min37:52
Jan 29, 2026New York City Council2.3 min1:33:54
Dec 18, 2025New York City Council3.5 min1:17:16
Dec 4, 2025Committee on Education3.3 min0:23
Nov 17, 2025Committee on Education14.1 min5:51
Nov 17, 2025Committee on Children and Youth14.1 min5:51
Oct 30, 2025Committee on Education36.8 min44:49
Oct 30, 2025Committee on Children and Youth2.1 min48:29
Oct 29, 2025Committee on Education1.9 min0:21
Oct 29, 2025New York City Council1.1 min12:27
Oct 28, 2025Committee on Immigration0.7 min1:17:26

How we identify who is speaking · blind check, pooled across five cities: of 410 council lines drawn, 352 right, 0 wrong, 1 unclear, 57 couldn’t be judged

We identified Joseph’s voice at 48 meetings across nine bodies. A meeting missing here means we couldn’t attribute the voice, not that Joseph was absent. Claude and Gemini each read every transcript with that day’s roster. A voice gets Rita C. Joseph’s name only when both agree and a code check finds the name said on, or just before, their turn. Voices our transcripts merge with someone else’s are never attributed, so every count here undercounts what Joseph said. For councils and their committees, of 410 lines drawn, 352 were right, 0 wrong and 1 unclear, and the checkers couldn’t judge 57. We have since removed the voices behind 110 of those lines (0 wrong, 1 unclear, the rest we had already held for other reasons). Of the 300 lines we still publish, the checkers could judge 268: all 268 right (90% lower bound 0.99). They couldn’t judge the other 32. The check is one sample pooled across the five cities, not of Joseph or of New York alone.