The New York City Council overwhelmingly approved on Tuesday legislation to restore sex abuse survivors’ ability to bring civil claims under city law and reopen a one-year “lookback” window for people whose cases were dismissed after a restrictive court ruling earlier this year.

Intro 1297, which had more than 41 co-sponsors and passed on Nov. 25 with 48 votes in the affirmative, will clarify that survivors may bring claims under City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA) not only against individual abusers but also against institutions that enabled sexual violence, even when the abuse occurred decades ago.

If signed by outgoing Mayor Eric Adams before the end of this year, the new filing window is scheduled to run from March 2026 to March 2027, providing survivors with another opportun

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