Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

CITY

City

LISTEN: The Candidates for Speaker on Their City Council Work and Pitch to Colleagues


Top (l-r) Adrienne Adams, Diana Ayala, Justin Brannan, Gale Brewer Bottom (l-r) Francisco Moya, Keith Powers, Carlina Rivera

(l-r) Top: Adrienne Adams, Diana Ayala, Justin Brannan, Gale Brewer; Bottom: Francisco Moya, Keith Powers, Carlina Rivera


The seven candidates to be the next City Council Speaker, all Democrats, have in recent months joined the Max Politics podcast from Gotham Gazette, discussing their government work and Speaker campaigns with host Ben Max. The candidates — Adrienne Adams, Diana Ayala, Justin Brannan, Gale Brewer, Francisco Moya, Keith Powers, and Carlina Rivera — are all returning to the Council (though Brewer is doing so after an eight-year tenure as Manhattan Borough President) and mostly represent Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn, though Ayala's district includes parts of Manhattan and the Bronx. They have chaired varied committees in the Council and had different legislative focus areas.

In the interviews, each candidate discusses in detail key aspects of their oversight, legislative, and/or other recent work in government and outlines the pitch they've been making to Council colleagues as to why they should be the next Speaker.

The City Council Speaker is in essence the second most powerful elected official in city government, but not chosen by voters across the city, instead selected by the 51 members of the City Council in an internal vote influenced by many outside entities, including other elected and appointed officials, labor unions, and others. The Council Speaker has significant sway in negotiating the city budget, allocating tens of millions of dollars in discrentionary spending, making committee appointments, controlling the flow of legislation, otherwise setting a legislative agenda, and more.

Find all seven of the interviews embedded below or at Max Politics wherever you get podcasts.

Read more: LISTEN: The Candidates for Speaker on Their City Council Work and Pitch to Colleagues

In Certified 2021 Election Results, Adams Wins Mayoralty with 66% of the Vote Amid 20.5% Turnout


psjrobinson

Voters voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


With the New York City general election results certified Tuesday, Democratic Mayor-elect Eric Adams’ tally finished at 754,000 votes, leaving him with close to 66% of the vote-share compared to Republican Curtis Sliwa’s 27%, or 312,000 total votes.

In total, the New York City Board of Elections counted the ballots of about 1,150,000 New Yorkers, bringing the turnout rate to 20.5% of the 5.6 million registered voters across the five boroughs. That included 85,000 absentee voters and 7,000 affidavit ballots. Several other candidates on the ballot as well as write-in choices accounted for the rest of the votes beyond those for Adams and Sliwa, about 83,000 in total.

The turnout percentage is the lowest it has been in at least the past three decades.

In terms of vote-share, Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, fared roughly as well as Mayor Bill de Blasio did in his 2017 reelection win against Republican Nicole Malliotakis. Overall voter turnout that year was 23%. But Adams’ vote-share was about six-and-a-half points lower than de Blasio’s 2013 showing of 72%, in his first bid for mayor, then an open seat, against Republican Joe Lhota.

The highest turnout was on Staten Island, where 31% of registered voters voted, distantly followed by Manhattan with 22% and Brooklyn with 21%. Queens and the Bronx each had turnout rates below the citywide rate, with 20% and just 15%, respectively.

Adams was the victor in all but Staten Island, where Sliwa got 65% of the vote to his 28%. He did best in Manhattan and the Bronx where he got 78% and 74%, respectively. He received 69% of the vote in Brooklyn and 59% of the Queens vote, below his citywide rate.

About a third of the absentee ballots came from Manhattan, where about one in ten votes counted were mailed in.

Of the nearly 1.1 million in-person voters, about 170,000 cast ballots during the early voting period, according to unofficial city data reported at the end of that eight-day period. More than half came from Manhattan and Brooklyn combined.

Overall, Adams received 441,000 more votes than Sliwa, a margin of victory on par with de Blasio’s in 2017 but far lower than his 530,000 margin in 2013.

Adams’ campaign has spent $18.1 million in 2021 across the primary and general elections, according to the latest filings with the Campaign Finance Board, more than half of which came via the city’s public matching fund program. That number, which is likely to grow when the final filings are reported in January, is more than the $13.6 million de Blasio spent in 2013 and $10.2 million he spent in 2017. Adams was also supported by millions in independent expenditures, mostly during the primary campaign, which he narrowly won over a dozen competitors. Sliwa, who did not qualify for public funds until the final stretch of the campaign, spent about $6 million.

In the comptroller’s race, City Council Member Brad Lander, a Brooklyn Democrat, beat Republican Daby Carreras with 66% of the vote, roughly the same number of votes Adams received in the mayor’s race. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, another Brooklyn Democrat, was reelected to his first full term over Devi Nampiaparampil, the Republican nominee, with 65% of the vote.

***
by Ethan Geringer-Sameth, reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

De Blasio Releases Final City Budget Update as Mayor, Setting Fiscal Stage for Adams


mbdb issues exec

Mayor de Blasio giving a budget briefing (photo: Rob Bennett/Office of Mayor Bill de Blasio)


New York City’s budget for the 2022 fiscal year, which began July 1, has increased to a record $102.8 billion, a $4.1 billion uptick since it was first adopted, according to the latest financial update released by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday. The increase in spending, driven by federal relief and stimulus aid, was accompanied by new savings in agency spending, reduced debt and pension costs, and lower projected budget gaps for the future than previously anticipated.

It is the final budget documentation of de Blasio’s nearly eight-year tenure as he prepares to leave office at the end of the month and turn city government over to Mayor-elect Eric Adams, a fellow Brooklyn Democrat who will then be responsible for the city’s finances.

“This budget is an investment in working families and our recovery,” de Blasio said in a statement. “The November Plan recognizes crucial help from the federal government which has allowed New York City to rebound strong and invest in our future, from fighting COVID-19 to climate change.”

Having lowered the projected budget gaps and somewhat rebuilding reserves that were nearly depleted during last year’s pandemic-caused recession, de Blasio said he is “leaving the next administration with a strong foundation to continue New York City’s recovery.”

The financial update recognized $895 million in additional revenue since the budget was adopted, including $750 million in FEMA aid. It also found $262 million in savings for expense costs, reduced pension costs by $104 million, and cut debt service (paid for borrowing of funds for infrastructure projects) by $238 million. The revenue and savings together helped the city offset $534 million in new agency spending and left a surplus of $965 million that was used to reduce the budget gap for the next fiscal year.

With additional steps taken to reduce outyear spending, the administration estimates that the gap for the 2023 fiscal year falls from $4.1 billion to $2.9 billion; the gap for fiscal year 2024 from $3.8 billion to $2.7 billion and for fiscal year 2025 from $4.1 billion to $2.1 billion. Adams will be tasked with closing those gaps beginning in January, when he will present his first budget outline for the next fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022, a spending plan that will then be scrutinized by and negotiated with the new City Council, new city comptroller, and others.

De Blasio had originally promised to find $1 billion in labor savings in future years without specifying how his administration would achieve that sum. The update reduced that amount to $500 million but still does not include any concrete details about reaching that goal. That may be one of the bigger challenges inherited by Adams, as municipal contracts are set to expire next year and Adams will have to reach collective bargaining agreements while maintaining fiscal restraint as he has pledged.

The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit fiscal watchdog, acknowledged that there is “some good news” in the financial update, but noted that budget gaps going forward are likely about $750 million higher than stated “because the plan includes illusionary labor and attrition savings.”

“The budget essentially does not include money to pay for the next round of raises for City employees,” said CBC President Andrew Rein, in a statement. Hundreds of millions of dollars more will be needed per year if Adams comes to agreements with modest annual raises for municipal employees, as expected. Adams, a former police captain still part of a city union, received significant municipal and private sector labor support in his campaign.

Rein also noted that some ongoing programs are being funded with non-recurring funding sources, including the one-time infusion of cash from the federal government and the improved pension returns, therefore “creating both near- and mid-term fiscal cliffs.”

“Mayor de Blasio did not take the opportunity to use extraordinary levels of federal aid to help restructure the City’s budget and workforce to be fiscally sustainable with recurring City revenues,” Rein said. “Mayor-Elect Adams should proactively take steps to do so.”

The city’s update did not include additional funds for reserves, which currently stand at $5.1 billion, after a pre-pandemic high of $6.1 billion was nearly exhausted to respond to COVID-19 and make up for revenue shortfalls amid a city shutdown and economic crash. The reserves include $3.8 billion in the Retiree Health Benefits Trust Fund, $1 billion in the newly-created Rainy Day Fund, and $300 million in general reserves. 

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued a cautious initial assessment of the city’s financial update, saying it “indicates that the recovery is underway, but that its trajectory is uncertain” because of an expected slowdown in the commercial real estate market. “The city needs to find ways to balance its budget while maintaining service levels to smooth its path to recovery while navigating a difficult economic environment,” he said.

DiNapoli noted that the strong performance of Wall Street has had a “positive impact” on city revenues and pension returns, but may not be sustainable as other sectors such as tourism continue to recover slowly. He urged the city to continue aiding residents in accessing state relief programs and called on the federal government to provide greater rent relief aid.

And he warned that the city tax revenues may not keep apace and that operational savings should be more aggressively identified in the budget.

In his own statement, City Comptroller Scott Stringer touted pension returns and said, “Today's financial plan improves the fiscal outlook—but with federal aid eventually depleting, there are economic uncertainties and substantial challenges ahead.”

According to the mayor’s office, the financial update includes new spending to continue the fight against covid and other crises:
-$57 million for the Emergency Rikers Relief Plan
-$50 million for debt relief for taxi medallion owners
-$29 million for reentry housing for people leaving the justice system
-$15 million to extend the city’s Emergency Food Distribution program
-$14 million through the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice for an employment program to reduce recidivism
-$10 million for vaccine canvassing programs
-$4.4 million for expanded street homeless outreach
-$7 million to increase Test & Trace outreach 
-$5 million for expanded mental health services at domestic violence shelters 
-$6 million to provide a $500 vaccine incentive to city workers

It also includes new spending to limit the impact of climate change, in the wake of several extreme weather events that hit New York City in quick succession in July, August, and September. In response, the adding is spending $36 million on critical infrastructure needs and $2 million to support offshore wind energy development. An additional $15 million in capital funds is being allocated to help implement the city’s “The New Normal: Combatting Storm-Related Extreme Weather in New York City” report, which is already funded with $2.4 billion.

***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.



Print Friendly and PDF

Editor's Choice


Gotham Gazette: New York Voters Approve $4.2 Billion Environmental Bond Act
New York Voters Approve $4.2 Billion Environmental Bond Act
Gotham Gazette: 
New York City Voters Approve Racial Justice Ballot Measures
New York City Voters Approve Racial Justice Ballot Measures
Gotham Gazette: 
Housing Development in New York City Slows to a Crawl as Officials Debate Tax Incentives
Housing Development in New York City Slows to a Crawl as Officials Debate Tax Incentives
Gotham Gazette: 
City Council Examines Low Voter Turnout, Moving Local Elections to Even Years City Council Examines Low Voter Turnout, Moving Local Elections to Even Years