New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
This week starts with a bang: the lone Public Advocate debate on Monday night and the lone Comptroller debate on Tuesday night -- see below for more details.
The mayoral race will continue to chug along this week, of course, though the next and final debate in that contest is not until November 1.
As he has been of late, Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to hold two evening town hall events this week -- see details below.
The City Council has a very busy Monday of hearings and has a full "Stated" meeting on Tuesday, where bills will be voted through and new legislation introduced. Many of the bills will move through committee ahead of time. There are ther committee hearings on Wednesday and Thursday.
There are a variety of other events to be aware of this week -- see the day-by-day rundown below.
***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***
The run of the week in detail:
Monday
At 12:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, "Mayor de Blasio will hold public hearings and sign eleven pieces of legislation—Intro. 139-C adds non-tobacco shisha to the City’s Smoke-Free Air Act; Intro. 1075-A requires hookah bars to post signage warning of the dangers of hookah smoking; Intro. 1076-A raises the minimum age for purchasing shisha; Intro.1031-A requires DOT to study specific traffic congestion; Intro. 1292-A requires all city agencies, to accept electronic invoices; Intro. 1375-A requires DOT to notify certain stakeholders when it issues a permit to open any street or intersection that has been reconstructed or resurfaced within the previous 5 years; Intro. 1539-A establishes additional rights and protections for customers who are purchasing second-hand automobiles; Intro. 1540-A requires second-hand automobile dealers to display and provide consumers with a bill of rights; Intro. 934-A, which creates a real-time enforcement unit within DOB; Intro. 1359-A requires HPD to audit buildings receiving tax-exemptions to ensure compliance with affordability requirements; and Intro. 1366-A requires HPD to audit certain buildings receiving tax-emptions to ensure compliance with rent-registration requirements." At 1:15 p.m., "the Mayor will hold a public hearing for and sign Intro. 1447-C, which increases safety training requirements for construction workers."
At 7:30 p.m. in Jamaica, Queens, "the Mayor and State Senator James Sanders, U.S. Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and Assembly Member Vivian E. Cook. will participate in a town hall meeting with residents of Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica and South Ozone Park."
At the City Council on Monday:
--The Committee on Women’s Issues will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a proposed law “amending the Real Property Law to allow victims of domestic violence to terminate leases upon written notice to landlords.”
--The Committee on Courts and Legal Services will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing “examining low wage workers and legal service needs.”
--The Committee on Youth Services will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing regarding the Summer Youth Employment Program.
--The Committee on General Welfare will meet at 10:30 a.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to homeless services.
--The Committee on Public Safety will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss several proposed laws relating to police reporting requirements, as well as resolutions calling on the governor to sign a law in relation to gravity knives and for Congress to oppose proposed laws relating to firearm silencers and concealed carry.
--The Committee on Technology will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “automated processing of data for the purposes of targeting services, penalties, or policing to persons.”
--The Committee on Recovery and Resiliency will meet at 1:30 p.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to the creation of a Hurricane Sandy recovery task force.
--The Committee on Governmental Operations will meet at 1:30 p.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “the timing of a disclosure report for candidates for public office.”
--The Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet at 2 p.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to inclusionary housing programs and safety codes.
--The Committee on Higher Education will meet at 2:30 p.m. to discuss a proposed law to “establish a private student loan refinance task force.”
--The Committee on Immigration will meet at 3 p.m. to discuss a resolution “authorizing the Speaker to file or join amicus briefs on behalf of the Council in litigation challenging the rescission or modification of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary immigration relief to certain undocumented youth.”
The New York State Board of Regents will meet on Monday and Tuesday in Albany.
All day Monday, the Municipal Arts Society will host its eighth “Summit for New York City,” featuring “expert sessions exploring the challenges of promoting resilience and absorbing density.” Speakers will include Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, New York City Economic Development Corporation President James Patchett, City Council Member Donovan Richards, and others. The event will take place at the Morgan Library and Museum in Murray Hill.
At 9:20 Monday morning at City Hall, before a City Council hearing at 10 a.m., "Council Member Rory I. Lancman, Chair of the Committee on Courts & Legal Services, and representatives from legal services providers and labor unions will hold a press conference to call for increased city funding to support legal services for low-wage workers facing wage-theft, discrimination, and other workplace violations." Participants will include representatives from The Legal Aid Society, Legal Services NYC, Urban Justice Project, Make the Road New York, and representatives from labor unions.
At 10 a.m. Monday, City Council Members Ydanis Rodriguez and Helen Rosenthal will be joined other Council members and the Transit Center at a City Hall press conference calling for an independent commission to study “runaway MTA costs.”
On Monday at 11 a.m. on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show, a debate, “Should New York Hold a Convention to Amend the State Constitution?” Arguing in favor will be Gerald Benjamin, a constitutional scholar from SUNY New Paltz and New York State Senator Liz Krueger, and arguing against will be Adriene Holder, of The Legal Aid Society, and Henry Garrido, of District Council 37.
At 12:30 p.m. Monday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will make a College Access for All announcement at Pace High School in Manhattan.
At 6 p.m. Monday, NYCLU will hold a “ballot briefing” on the Constitution Convention at Albany Law School.
At 6 p.m. Monday, Comptroller Scott Stringer will delivers remarks at District Council 9 New York Apprentice Class of 2017 Graduation, at the USS Intrepid.
At 6 p.m. Monday, "First Lady Chirlane McCray and the Gracie Mansion Conservancy will launch the second season of the Gracie Book Club with a discussion of Ann Petry’s “The Street” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture-New York Public Library. The First Lady will deliver remarks preceding a panel discussion moderated by the Schomburg’s Director Kevin Young, featuring distinguished panelists: Columbia University Professor Dr. Farah Griffin and novelist Dr. LaShonda Barnett. This year’s theme is “New York 1942: Cultural Crossroads and New Opportunities,” which commemorates the 75th anniversary of Gracie Mansion serving as the City’s mayoral residence."
At 6:30 p.m. Monday, Riders Alliance will host its 2017 Gala at Slate NYC in the Flatiron District. Riders Alliance will honor Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz and former Traffic Commissioner Sam Schwartz.
At 7 p.m. Monday, there will be a debate in the race for Public Advocate between incumbent Letitia James, a Democrat, and Juan Carlos Polanco, a Republican. It will air on NY1 television and WNYC radio, moderated by NY1’s Errol Louis and WNYC’s Brian Lehrer.
Tuesday
Governor Cuomo has three events Tuesday: at 10:30 a.m. he'll make an announcement at John R. Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo; at 12:30 p.m. he'll make an announcement at Syracuse Hancock International Airport; and at 2:45 p.m. he'll make an announcement at Norsk Titanium USA in Plattsburgh.
On Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Legal Services NYC, "Mayor de Blasio will make an announcement about protecting tenants and participate in a discussion with a tenant helped by City programs."
The full City Council will hold a stated meeting at 1:30 p.m., prefaced by a press conference led by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito at 12:30 p.m.
Also at the City Council on Tuesday: the Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “authorizing an increase in the amount to be expended annually in eleven business improvement districts,” as well as a resolution “concerning the establishment of the Morris Park Business Improvement District in the Borough of the Bronx and setting the date, time and place for the public hearing to hear all persons interested in the establishment of such district.”
At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, City & State will host “Front Page Roundtable Series: Technology” at the NYIT Auditorium on the Upper West Side, discussing topics including the Internet of Things, cybersecurity, shared services, the “latest and greatest in NY’s technology initiatives, and wireless network upgrades.” City & State Editor-in-Chief Jon Lentz and NY Tech Alliance Chairman Andrew Rasiej will moderate a panel consisting of New York City CTO Miguel Gamino; Cordell Schachter, CTO of the Department of Transportation; and Archana Jayaram, Deputy Commissioner of Strategic Planning and Policy at the Department of Buildings.
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute will host “Urban Food Policy Forum: Food Systems Issues & Challenges in the US and China,” featuring Occidental College professor Richard Gottlieb and AppCoda founder Simon Ng.
At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will visit a physical education class at PS 112 Lefferts Park School in Brooklyn. At 6:30 p.m., she will attend a town hall meeting of District 26’s Community Education Council at MS 67 in Queens.
On Tuesday at 11 a.m. at P.S. 83 in Manhattan, "First Lady Chirlane McCray, Chair of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC, will join the Parks Department, NYC Football Club, U.S. Soccer Foundation, adidas and Etihad Airways for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and inaugural soccer match, marking the first of 50 soccer fields to be opened throughout the City. Partners will activate other sites this day with soccer festivals in all five boroughs. The NYC Soccer Initiative pairs youth from underserved communities with professional coaches and mentors from the NYC Football Club."
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Bar Association will host “The First Amendment:
From Skokie to Charlottesville & Beyond,” discussing the “legal issues relating to the First Amendment and Hate Speech.” Columbia Law professor Jamal Greene will moderate a panel consisting of New York City Human Rights Commissioner Carmelyn Malalis; Alex Abdo, of the Knight First Amendment Institute; Floyd Abrams, of Cahill Gordon & Reindel, Daniel Kornstein, of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady; and Nadine Strossen, of New York Law School.
At 7 p.m. Tuesday there will be a debate in the race for Comptroller between incumbent Scott Stringer, a Democrat, and Republican Michel Faulkner. The debate will air on NY1 television and WNYC radio. NY1’s Errol Louis will moderate, with questions also coming from NY1’s Bobby Cuza and WNYC’s Brigid Bergin.
Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday:
--The Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “notice of the recording of certain real estate instruments,” as well as a resolution “calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation to require all real property conveyances to be memorialized by a deed recorded in the office of the clerk of the county where such real property is situated.”
--The Committee on Governmental Operations will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding the Mayor’s 2017 Management Report.
--The Committee on Parks and Recreation will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding an “update on the development of Fresh Kills Park.”
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Assembly Standing Committee on Social Services will meet in Albany to discuss “New York State’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) funding for Education and Training Programs.”
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the City Planning Commission will hold a public board meeting at Spector Hall.
At 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Campaign Finance Board’s Voter Assistance Advisory Committee will meet at 100 Church Street.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio will hold a town hall meeting at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights with Council Member Steve Levin, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, U.S. Rep Nydia Velazquez, and Assemblymember JoAnne Simon.
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries will hold a town hall meeting on “potential ownership change at Spring Creek” at the Brooklyn Sports Club Gymnasium in East New York.
Thursday
At the City Council on Thursday:
--The Committees on Housing & Buildings and Immigration will meet jointly at 10 a.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to “the creation of regulatory agreements with community land trusts” and “amending the definition of harassment to include discriminatory threats and requests for proof of citizenship status.”
--The Committees on Transportation, Economic Development, and Waterfronts will meet jointly at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “The Economic Impact of NYC Ferry and the New Ferry Transport Routes.”
At 10 a.m. Thursday, the Assembly Standing Committee on Education will meet at 10 a.m. in Albany to discuss “School infrastructure and facilities.”
Friday and the weekend
At 2 p.m. Sunday, the Museum of the City of New York will host “City of Rising Waters: A Symposium,” “examining how New York City can survive and embrace its future as a coastal city surrounded by rising waters.”
At 3 p.m. Sunday, NYCLU will host a “ballot briefing” on the Constitutional Convention at Hudson Lodge in Hudson, Columbia County.
***
Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).
***
by Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette
