This is a chronic problem that daily impacts all New Yorkers, especially communities of color. It disproportionately impacts the African American and Latino communities.

Instead of addressing the real problem, which is enforcement, the City Council has chosen to enact an overly broad bill that criminalizes a cultural activity. We live in a city that is the cultural capital of the world, yet it is a crime for a young adult to carry a magic marker. What's next -- watercolors or crayons?

Events like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy were unlike any weather disasters before. They showed the world who suffers the most from the impacts of extreme weather: low-income families and communities of color.

Our most polluted neighborhoods are disproportionately home to Latinos, African Americans, and other communities of color.

That is what chronic illness is . . . a disconnect between what our souls can do and what our bodies can do.

A lot of it is clutter. It's basically blight in our communities.