Elected officials and advocates rally outside City Hall (photo: @bradlander)
New York City is trying to do something about plastic bags, but my state Assemblymember is attempting to undermine the city’s ability to do so. He, along with many of his NYC-based colleagues, are acting against their own constituents’ interests. This is a normal New York State versus City story, but in a moment where the stakes of politics are high because the federal government’s threats are real, this battle between city and state feels more offensive and disheartening than ever.
The story today is that New York City passed a law last year that requires most shops to charge a five cent fee for each carryout bag a person takes when shopping. However, in January, the state Senate passed a bill to say, “Sorry New York City, we don’t like that bill so we’re going to kill it.” The state Assembly, rather than deny the Senate outright, chose to punt and delay the implementation of the city’s law for one year. As of publication, Albany’s compromise would require a new City Council to vote on the carryout bag fee a second time, after different Council members are elected for a 2018 term.
The state Legislature's actions are a structural problem, a political problem, and a problem of spirit in these times.
Structural problem: The state constitution has a problem, because it does not stop the state Legislature from having so much influence over the way the city governs itself. Even though the state constitution provides us the right to make our own laws through the so-called home rule provision, the Legislature is very good at getting around it. Lawmakers often use the language, “In cities with a population of more than one million...” as the preamble to a law intended to impact one city. There is only one city in this state that falls into the category of more than a million people. Although this current block of the bag bill might not be constitutional, the state Legislature knows they have a lot of precedent telling them that they might be able to do this. We could change the state constitution to protect the city’s home rule powers, but not with the Legislature guarding this power so jealously.
Political problem: The state Senate is very confusing. There are more Democrats than Republicans, by one senator. That senator, a Democrat named Simcha Felder, spends his time with the Republicans and does not work with the Democrats. He is proud to be a Democrat in name only. There are also a group of eight Democrats called the Independent Democratic Caucus (IDC) who work with the Republicans, giving the Republicans an effective supermajority. They appear to hate this bag bill, and so they easily gave the Republicans in the Senate the power to undermine New York City’s desire to take another step toward a better environment. Most of the IDC is made of Senators who represent the city.
Spirit of resistance problem: We need to take every stand we can to resist the current White House. This means that our state should be standing proud and together to show the federal government that we care about better environmental law and policy. Seeing Assembly members from the city fighting with the City Council by effectively wagging their legislative finger is not the message we should send right now. I want to see my state legislators prioritizing their energy by improving our healthcare laws here, our worker protections here, and our environmental laws here. All of these policies are under threat or attack from the federal government.
This is why I can’t understand why my Brooklyn Assemblymember, Walter T. Mosley has not publicly stated his opposition to this bill. The state Legislature should support New York City and work together right now for the good of us all. Every environmental advocacy group in the city supports this bill. And most of the time, my Assemblymember supports the progressive legislation that his constituents expect of him. Every New York City-based state Legislator should be with their constituents on this right now and show their spirit of resistance in all forms.
***
Richard Semegram is a tenant lawyer, his Twitter handle is @richagram
***
Have an op-ed idea or submission for Gotham Gazette? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Gov. Cuomo and the NYC REDC (photo: The Governor’s Office)
If we learned one thing from Donald Trump’s election it’s that our country expects its leaders to prioritize job creation and strengthening the middle class. Earlier this month Governor Cuomo outlined a new budget that invests in just that by prioritizing infrastructure, education, and entrepreneurship in a way that is both positive and forward thinking. For New York City, this is the strongest budget we have seen from Albany in decades.
In New York and across the country, high-quality education was always the great equalizer. Access to a good school, regardless of your zip code, provided a pathway to higher learning and a gateway to opportunity. With an additional $1 billion in new funding for schools statewide, including a $294 million increase in in New York City alone, the governor’s budget will improve academic institutions across the five borough for millions of students.
From increased support for vital pre-kindergarten programs, especially for those in high-needs districts, to increasing access to Community Schools, which are transforming high-needs schools into community hubs, and expanding the Empire State After-School Program by more than a third, New York State is ensuring all our students have the skills they need to grow and succeed.
But we must also ensure students are able to climb the next rung on the ladder of economic opportunity. By 2020, New York City is projected to gain 284,000 jobs that require a Bachelor’s Degree or more, and an additional 201,000 jobs will require an Associate’s Degree.
For the jobs of tomorrow, a college degree will help provide the ticket of admission – and the governor’s new Excelsior Scholarship program will make this attainable for all New Yorkers.
Governor Cuomo has put forward an innovative plan to provide families earning $125,000 or less free college tuition at New York’s prized public institutions, CUNY and SUNY. Phased in over three years, the program will significantly expand college access for more than 940,000 families in New York.
To lead in today’s hyper-competitive global economy, we must have the best-educated workforce in the world. The life sciences sector in New York is poised for unparalleled growth and with a $650 million investment from the state, we will leverage research and laboratory space to create high-paying jobs, stay ahead of the cancer curve, and develop new technologies and treatments to combat all forms of disease.
The jobs of tomorrow also include a high-skilled workforce capable of building the new New York. Under Governor Cuomo’s $100 billion plan to transform our infrastructure, the Second Avenue subway has opened, and work continues on a new airport to replace LaGuardia and an expansion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center. The state is also rebuilding 33 subway stations and will be expanding Metro North Service to four new stations.
Residents of Queens and Long Island will particularly benefit from the work that will soon begin on the expansion of the Long Island Railroad and the new Penn Farley train station. The new JFK will dramatically improve the travel experience, and by expanding service on the AirTrain and eliminating traffic bottlenecks on the Van Wyck Expressway and at the Kew Gardens Interchange, it will be much easier to get to and from the airport.
In the Bronx, the state is allocating funds to transform the Kingsbridge Armory into the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, and to completely rebuild Orchard Beach's historic pavilion at Pelham Bay Park, adding a performance space and concessions. The state will also invest $50 Million to expand affordable healthcare in the Montefiore Health System, a leader in the governor's health care delivery transformation strategy.
In Brooklyn, Governor Cuomo has proposed a series of initiatives to address health and wellness, including increasing access to healthy foods; more nutritional programs; planting new community gardens and creating pop-up parks; and developing a community-based healthcare delivery-system which focuses on ambulatory and primary care. And in a step that will help address the city’s housing needs, the state will build up to 3,000 units of new affordable and supportive housing that will incorporate wellness-related features such as exercise rooms, rooftop gardens, and health clinics.
On Staten Island, the governor proposes to make permanent the toll reductions on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that the state temporarily enacted in 2014. Governor Cuomo will also take steps to explore transitioning the Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, which is operated by a state agency, to CUNY, which should help ensure the long-term viability of that institution.
All in all, New York City will see all of these investments and over $400 million of net funding benefit from the state, dedicated to growing economic opportunity and leveling the playing field on behalf of all New Yorkers. Governor Cuomo’s is a budget that will help us build a better tomorrow, and deserves everyone’s support.
***
Winston Fisher is Co-Chair of New York City Regional Economic Development Council & Partner at Fisher Brothers.
***
Have an op-ed idea or submission for Gotham Gazette? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Seeking state budget changes (photo: Human Services Council)
Today -- Thursday, February 2 -- at 1 p.m., Urban Pathways, human services leaders, workers, and clients from downstate New York will gather at our Ivan Shapiro House, a supportive housing residence in Manhattan, to call on Governor Cuomo, the Assembly and Senate to strengthen the human services sector through cost-effective investment. We will also respond to an Executive Budget released by Gov. Cuomo that is devoid of this investment.
In the Executive Budget, Gov. Cuomo laid out laudable proposals, including expansion of pre-kindergarten and afterschool programming, and addressing homelessness and the opioid epidemic. All have a worthy goal of increasing opportunity for individuals and families. However, the $152 billion budget plan invests little in the sector responsible for executing this vision: nonprofit human services.
For example, to address homelessness, the budget appropriates $950 million for the construction of 6,000 supportive housing units throughout the state. Yet, an assessment of how the governor’s budget invests in compensating those who provide the support in supportive housing - human services case managers, security, maintenance, and administrative assistants - shows glaring shortcomings.
The fiscal year 2018 Executive Budget briefing book put out by the Cuomo administration acknowledges our “nonprofit labor force includes a large number of low- wage workers.” However, the budget is devoid of a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for our workers, freezing their income as their housing costs only rise. The governor has recognized the increasing costs of housing, but his budget does not reflect how hard it is for some of the state’s most important workers to afford their own places to live.
The governor’s budget also eliminates the planned 0.8 percent human services COLA. It also discontinues the COLA enacted in 2015 to certain direct care workers and direct service providers.
The State did enact a phase-in plan for a $15 minimum wage last year, which we appreciate. Our workers should not live in poverty. However, the governor has yet to fund the minimum wage increase for human services workers under contract with the state, leaving our sector to absorb the cost. He acknowledged the economic hardship that the increase imposes, suggesting his budget division could grant organizations a state reimbursement based on hardship. The governor should provide the necessary budget dollars instead of requiring us to demonstrate hardship. This is about organizations doing the most important work being able to pay their workforce without having to lay off employees.
The budget fails to consider the long-term success of its proposals, shortchanging all New Yorkers. For example, the staff of the new supportive housing units works years without a cost of living adjustment, ultimately leaving to work for a sector with COLAs. This means another new case manager for our clients. This interrupts the continuity in the clients’ care and jeopardizes their path to self-sufficiency. It also costs the supportive housing provider to hire and train new staff, which impedes the delivery of services for the client.
Currently, over 340 human services organizations across New York State are coming together for the Restore Opportunity Campaign. The campaign asks for increased investment in our sector to ensure we can continue to effectively serve our communities. The campaign recommends Gov. Cuomo do the following:
1. reverse the trend of defunding human services programs;
2. fund the cost of the minimum wage increase for human services workers; and
3. continue to invest in the Nonprofit Infrastructure Capital Improvement Program.
Across the state, the Restore Opportunity Campaign is holding press conferences to stress that the state can do better for its communities. This past week, the Human Services Leadership Council of Central NY and the Southern Tier Independence Center held press conferences in Syracuse and Binghamton, two of several cities in the state with child poverty rates above 50 percent. The campaign has also held a press conference in Albany where one-third of households are rent-burdened, paying 30 percent of their income on rent.
This is the year to enact a state budget that restores opportunity for all New Yorkers. We urge Gov. Cuomo and the State Legislature to stand with us and communities by investing in the organizations that strengthen our state and people every day.
***
Nicole Bramstedt is Policy Director at Urban Pathways. On Twitter: @UrbanPathwaysNY.
***
Have an op-ed idea or submission for Gotham Gazette? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.