Ira Daneek Miller (born November 6, 1960) is an American politician who served as the Council Member for the 27th district of the New York City Council in Queens. He is a Democrat. Miller was a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus driver for 19 years, and was a union leader.
Daneek Miller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 27th district | |
| In office January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Leroy Comrie |
| Succeeded by | Nantasha Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 6, 1960[1] Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | certificate from New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University[1] |
| Website | Official website |
Early life
editMiller was born in Brooklyn, New York, and is Muslim.[1][2] He has a certificate from New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.[1]
Career
editMiller was a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus driver for 19 years.[3][4]
He was also a union leader, as he is a former co-chair of the MTA Labor Coalition, which represents 54,000 workers in 29 unions, and President of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local No. 1056, representing 2,000 drivers and mechanics who work for the MTA Queens Bus Division.[1][5]
New York City Council
edit2013–17
editMiller was elected with 24% of the vote in the 2013 New York City Council elections for the 27th district of the New York City Council which included Cambria Heights, Hollis, Jamaica, Jamaica Estates, Laurelton, Queens Village, Springfield Gardens, and St. Albans in Queens, securing the Democratic nomination in a field of six candidates and then winning the general election with 97% of the vote. Miller was the only Muslim on the Council at this point.[6]
He was appointed chair of the City Council Committee on Civil Service and Labor. Miller also became a member of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus and the Progressive Caucus. In March 2014, Miller was named to the council's new Policy Working Group.[7]
In May 2015, after Miller proposed a bill that would exempt MTA bus drivers from a key law in the New York City Vision Zero road traffic safety program, relatives of people who were killed in traffic crashes confronted him to express their disapproval.[8] He sought to exempt MTA bus drivers from a "right of way" law that creates a misdemeanor for crashes that injure or kill pedestrians and bicyclists when the driver fails to "exercise due care."[8]
In March 2016, Miller was arrested for disorderly conduct with Council Member Inez Barron and 39 others during a union protest as he and the others formed a human chain and blocked pedestrian traffic in front of Governor Cuomo's Midtown office building demanding a state budget that included what they said was "adequate funding for CUNY and a fair contract for its Professional Staff Congress".[9] In September 2016, he was one of four council members who voted against a resolution condemning boycotts of Israel; the resolution passed 40-4, with six abstentions.[10]
In March 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed two measures introduced by Miller aimed at reining in so-called dollar vans that are either unlicensed or break city laws while operating legally.[11] In partnership with Council Member Donovan Richards, Miller also helped bring $426 million in capital investments to expand access to the New York City sewer system over several years starting in 2014.[12] Following the September 2017 Hurricane Maria, Miller joined NYC Council colleagues to Puerto Rico to survey the damage caused by the hurricane.[13]
2017–19
editIn September 2017, Miller was re-elected to the New York City Council over his Democratic Primary challenger Anthony Rivers and Sondra Peeden.[14][15] After his re-election, he continued to serve as Chairman of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor. Miller was appointed to other new committees under the new Speakership of Council Member Corey Johnson and elected co-chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus.[16] Miller was an opponent of the Governor's proposed congestion pricing in New York City, writing an October 2017 op-ed condemning the idea.[17]
In December 2017, after years of intensive lobbying by the local waste industry, efforts to pass Intro 495-C, a transfer station capacity reduction bill, were unsuccessful in the New York City Council.[18] Miller was one of three original three sponsors of the bill, but his support suddenly evaporated.[18] Labor and environmental organizations released a joint press release condemning Miller, and making veiled accusations of industry influence on him.[18] Campaign finance records reflected that Miller received six successive contributions on September 19, 2017, from employees or family members involved with area company Royal Waste Services.[18] In addition, from August 2017 through 2019, Royal Waste employed Miller's son.[19][20]
In September 2018, Miller and Corey Johnson, announcing what Miller noted was a "commitment to stand squarely with our Muslim brothers and sisters," announced at the Islamic Circle of North America mosque their collaboration to allocate $250,000 in 2019 for a "Muslim Empowerment Initiative" to benefit 14 organizations, including the mosque, that served the city’s Muslim population.[21][22]
2020–21
editIn July 2020, Miller said he supported cutting a billion dollars from the police budget.[23]
In 2021, after the New York City Council passed a Waste Equity Law in 2018 -- over industry opposition -- sharply reducing trash trucked to waste transfer stations in environmentally hard-hit neighborhoods, and Southeast Queens waste station Royal Waste Services paid a lobbyist to target and lobby Miller, he sought to roll back the change in his own district.[24][25][26] Miller was the sole sponsor of a bill that would lift the restrictions for transfer stations that intended to ship out trash by rail ... at some point over the following four years.[24] Among the trash station operators in the area were Royal Waste Services, its affiliate Regal Recycling Company, and American Recycling Co.[24] Miller's effort to roll back the law led constituents of his who had advocated for the Waste Equity Law to protest outside Miller's office, saying that it led to environmental racism, with garbage trucks constantly rumbling down the streets and exhaust leaving them gasping for air.[24] The protesters presented a petition signed by community residents that said the bill only: "benefits the elected official that gets funding from these organizations at the expense of the district they represent."[24] The bill’s trajectory was atypical, given that the committee chair Antonio Reynoso was out of the country, and that the bill had only one sponsor, Miller.[24] Reynoso’s chief of staff, Jennifer Gutiérrez, described Miller’s bill as "wildly irresponsible and disappointing," saying further "this bill that could potentially negate the progress we made."[24]
In 2021 Miller said that foreclosure prevention funding and the development of new affordable housing in Jamaica, Queens, the creation of Atlantic Ticket and its discounted Long Island Railroad fares, and public funding for Roy Wilkins Park were among the highlights of his work in office.[27]
In 2021, term limits kept him from running for another term.[28]
Election history
edit| Election history | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Year | Election | Results |
| NYC Council District 27 |
2013 | Democratic Primary | √ Daneek Miller 24.35% Clyde Vanel 21.53% Joan Flowers 21.18% Manuel Caughman 17.72% Gregory Mays 11.28% Sondra H. Peeden 3.94% |
| NYC Council District 27 |
2013 | General | √ Daneek Miller (D) 96.71% Sondra H. Peeden (I) 3.15% |
| NYC Council District 27 |
2017 | Democratic Primary | √ Daneek Miller 77.95% Anthony Rivers 21.43% Write-Ins 0.06% |
| NYC Council District 27 |
2017 | General | √ Daneek Miller (D) 94.85% Rupert Green (R) 3.23% Frank Francois (G) 1.80% Write-Ins 0.13% |
Personal life
editMiller has a son, Coron Miller.[3] In April 2015, Coron Miller, who at the time had a record of 14 arrests (including for assault, and some sealed), was arrested in Queens and charged with assault, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, harassment, and menacing, and had an order of protection lodged against him in Queens Criminal Court, after an alleged road rage incident.[29][30][3][31] Daneek Miller said: "Some of the facts are disputable. My advice would be to take the higher road and work things out."[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Meet the City Council’s New Members: Daneek Miller," City & State, January 28, 2014.
- ^ "Miller announces Muslim Empowerment Initiative," QNS.
- ^ a b c d Sadef Ali Kully (April 17, 2015). "Councilman responds to son’s arrest and charges," QNS.
- ^ "Should Bus Drivers Be Arrested For Failing To Yield?," Gothamist.
- ^ "Daneek Miller Prepared to Politick," Labor Press.
- ^ "District 27". I. Daneek Miller. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
- ^ Barkan, Ross (March 27, 2014). "City Council Chooses Members of New Policy Working Group". New York Observer. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
- ^ a b "Pol slammed by victims’ families over Vision Zero bill," AM NY.
- ^ "Two Council Members among 41 arrested at CUNY protest". New York Post. March 25, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ "Council OKs resolution condemning boycotts of Israel with some objections and abstentions," PoliticoPro.
- ^ "Mayor signs Miller's dollar van legislation". Queens Chronicle. March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ "A $400M flood of relief for Southeast Queens". Queens Chronicle. July 10, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ "On the Ground in Puerto Rico". Queens Chronicle. November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ "Adrienne Adams Wins Democratic Primary in Tight Race to Replace Ruben Wills". DNA INfo. September 13, 2017. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Here's a recap of 2017 Queens general election". Queens Courier. November 8, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Miller gets new term as chairman of Civil Service and Labor Committee". TimesLedger. November 8, 2017. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Congestion pricing is taxation without representation". Crain's New York Business. October 27, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "NYC transfer station reduction bill dies in last-minute negotiations," Waste Dive.
- ^ "Trash hauler won coveted garbage pickup rights after donating to Mayor Adams' campaign," Gothamist.
- ^ "Jumaania: Let the primary talk begin," Politico.
- ^ "Miller announces Muslim Empowerment Initiative," QNS.
- ^ "New York’s Disastrous Grant for Organizations Linked to Islamic Extremism," The Daily Caller.
- ^ Michael Schwirtz and Ali Watkins (July 1, 2020). "Why the $6 Billion N.Y.P.D. Is Now a Target of ‘Defund the Police," The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e f g Christine Chung (July 28, 2021). "Council Fast-Tracks Exceptions From Landmark Waste Equity Law, Enraging Queens Residents; Councilmember Daneek Miller sprints for votes on a bill sought by waste transfer companies to lift restrictions on how many tons of trash they can haul in, while the committee’s chair is out of the country. Neighbors of facilities are crying foul," The City.
- ^ "2021 Amended P1 Client Periodic Report; Lobbyist Name: Connective Strategies Associates Inc.; Client Name: Royal Waste Services, Inc.", nyc.gov, March 13, 2021.
- ^ "2021 P3 Client Periodic Report; Lobbyist Name: Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP; Client Name: American Recycling Management, LLC,", nyc.gov, July 13, 2021.
- ^ "Miller looks back at councilship in D27". Queens Chronicle. December 9, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ "The 2021 New York City Labor Power 100," City & State NY.
- ^ Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska (April 14, 2015). "Councilman Daneek Miller's Son Attacked Driver Near JFK, Police Say," DNA Info.
- ^ "Councilman’s son arrested," Queens Chronicle, April 16, 2015.
- ^ Jennifer Fermino (April 14, 2015). "Exclusive: City Councilman's son charged with assault during road rage attack," The New York Daily News.