NEW YORK - Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered city agencies Tuesday to offer services in six of the most common foreign languages spoken in New York City: Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Italian and French Creole.
While many services have been available for years in foreign languages, the order marks the first uniform, citywide policy requiring agencies to provide assistance and translation in additional languages.
Bloomberg said the 1.8 million New Yorkers who struggle with speaking English should be able to interact more easily with government.
“No other place on earth can claim such incredible diversity - it is New York City's greatest historic strength - but it can also create significant challenges,” the mayor said.
Each city agency must now designate its own language coordinator who will develop a plan for ensuring that all the agency's services will be available in the six languages. That could mean forms, documents, informational brochures or inspection reports.
New Yorkers who speak languages other than those six will continue to be served as they now are, on a case-by-case basis. In most situations, that would mean getting a translator.
Immigrant advocates applauded the new order, saying it was something they had been asking the city to do for many years.
“Never again will we have to ask our children and grandchildren to translate complicated government forms for us,” said Yorelis Vidal, of Make the Road New York, an advocacy group.
Some said the city had a lot of work to do. Councilman John Liu said the Bloomberg administration had done a “lackluster” job adhering to a 2003 law he worked to get passed that mandates on-demand language services in the city's social services agencies.
“The administration is finally getting serious ... and ensuring that New York City becomes the true capital of the world,” Liu said in a statement.
For his part, Bloomberg, who speaks Spanish at a conversational level, takes credit for expanding the city's language translation services during his six years in office.
The 311 city-run telephone hot line through which residents can access all aspects of government offers information in 170 different languages, and the school system's translation unit has been expanded to eight languages.
AP-ES-07-22-08 1849EDT
Bloomberg said the 1.8 million New Yorkers who struggle with speaking English should be able to interact more easily with government.
“No other place on earth can claim such incredible diversity - it is New York City's greatest historic strength - but it can also create significant challenges,” the mayor said.
Each city agency must now designate its own language coordinator who will develop a plan for ensuring that all the agency's services will be available in the six languages. That could mean forms, documents, informational brochures or inspection reports.
New Yorkers who speak languages other than those six will continue to be served as they now are, on a case-by-case basis. In most situations, that would mean getting a translator.
Immigrant advocates applauded the new order, saying it was something they had been asking the city to do for many years.
“Never again will we have to ask our children and grandchildren to translate complicated government forms for us,” said Yorelis Vidal, of Make the Road New York, an advocacy group.
Some said the city had a lot of work to do. Councilman John Liu said the Bloomberg administration had done a “lackluster” job adhering to a 2003 law he worked to get passed that mandates on-demand language services in the city's social services agencies.
“The administration is finally getting serious ... and ensuring that New York City becomes the true capital of the world,” Liu said in a statement.
For his part, Bloomberg, who speaks Spanish at a conversational level, takes credit for expanding the city's language translation services during his six years in office.
The 311 city-run telephone hot line through which residents can access all aspects of government offers information in 170 different languages, and the school system's translation unit has been expanded to eight languages.
AP-ES-07-22-08 1849EDT
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