Councilman Jumaane Williams Talks About Haitian Relief Efforts

It was two weeks ago today that a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti and changed the lives of millions in an instant. City Councilman Jumaane Williams was here to talk about the devastation that was also felt here directly and indirectly in the New York Haitian community.

Working with the City's Office of Payroll Administration, the Council and the Mayor new citywide payroll deduction program will begin on the paychecks and direct deposits on February 5, 2010.

All City employees who wish to participate can elect to donate a specified amount of money from each paycheck earmarked to further Haitian Relief Efforts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. These tax-deductible deductions will run for two months spread over four pay periods. There are 300,000 City employees. If each one of them earmarked just $1 per paycheck for the four pay periods for Haiti, we would raise $1.2 million for the relief effort just from this simple program alone.

City Employees can participate by visiting the action center on the City Council home page at http://council.nyc.gov and find a link for the NYC Payroll Deduction Program for Haitian Relief Effort.