Climate emergency rally (photo: @BenKallos)
The likely future of devastation caused by climate change is one of several reasons activist Becca Trabin said New York City needs to declare a climate emergency.
“You look out at this beautiful cityscape. You don’t just see these tall buildings that are standing here today, you see what this space will look like if we continue on our current trajectory,” Trabin said. “I see devastation all around, I see death. And I see that there is still time to avert that trajectory.”
Trabin was surrounded by about 90 activists in front of City Hall on Monday – including City Council Members Ben Kallos, Costa Constantinides, and Rafael Espinal – who rallied ahead of a hearing of the Council’s Committee of Environmental Protection that included discussion of a resolution to declare a climate emergency in New York City.
The resolution, sponsored by Kallos, declares a climate emergency and calls for immediate emergency mobilization to restore a safe climate. It would not have the force of law, but would be a symbolic step toward pushing climate-change deniers to finally do what must be done to save the planet, as Kallos put it. New York City would be the largest city in the world to declare a climate emergency, according to Kallos, and join London, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.
Including the resolution, eight proposals (all focused on renewable energy and its implementation) were discussed at the Council environment committee meeting, which was also billed as an oversight hearing on the city’s efforts to move to renewables.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has goals for the implementation of renewable energy through his “New York City Green New Deal,” which aims to have city government commit to carbon neutrality by 2050 and 100% clean electricity by 2040.
The city plans to meet these goals through a variety of measures and programs, including the use of solar and wind energy, transitioning the extensive city vehicle fleet toward electric cars, and more.
One of the bills discussed at the Council hearing, Intro. 49, sponsored by Constantinides, requires the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to conduct a study on the installation of utility-scaled battery storage systems on city buildings.
A battery storage system is a “set of methods and technologizes utilizing a range of electrochemical storage solutions, including advanced chemistry batteries and capacitators, for the purpose of storing energy,” according to the bill. Battery storage systems store the energy from wind and solar power, and work to ensure electricity is uninterrupted, even if wind and solar assets are minimal.
The city’s renewable energy goals would be accomplished in part through battery storage systems in the city. Representatives of the mayor’s office testified in general support of the bills in front of the committee Monday. Susanne DesRoches, Christopher Diamond, and Anthony Fiore spoke on behalf of the de Blasio administration and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services about the goals for battery storage and the progress on achieving that goal.
“We expect growth in this sector to accelerate by a combination of the city’s commitment to expediting permitting for small and medium lithium battery installations,” said DesRoches, Deputy Director of Infrastructure and Energy at the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability.
Currently, there is one battery operated system at Jacobi Hospital and three additional systems being installed across the city, said Fiore, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Energy Management Officer for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
The goal for battery storage is 500 Megawatts by 2025 citywide. The city presently has about 18,000 kilowatt hours (or 18 Megawatts) in battery storage. However, this amount is expected to significantly increase with a state-incentivized program.
“There is a program that will be rolled out between now and 2023 where there’ll be 300 Megawatts of utility scale storage that’s incentivized by the state and procured by ConEdison,” DesRoches said.
A combination of Megawatts from the ConEdison program, public, and private storage facilities is expected to make up the 500 Megawatts goal by 2025. In terms of battery storage goals for city buildings, Fiore said that the city’s goals are consistent with the overall goal, but didn’t lay out specific figures on how city buildings would work to meet it.
Among the bills related to battery storage and geothermal technologies, several people testified about Intro. 140, which would require the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct a feasibility study on the implementation of a community choice aggregation program.
Community choice aggregation allows local governments to purchase energy for entire communities as an alternative supplier to existing utility providers. CCAs often promote renewable energy, and those who testified about the program highlighted how CCAs could help the city meet its goal of 500 Megawatts by 2050.
“Existing Community Choice Aggregation Programs have been a resounding success in eight states thus far, and a similar program in New York City would likely be no exception. In 2017, over 750 CCAs provided 42 million megawatt hours of energy to an estimated 5 million consumers,” Michael Gersho, a Green Building Worldwide Research Fellow, said during his testimony.
Most of the testimonies about CCAs were in favor of the program but varied in implementation methods. Some said New Yorkers should be able to opt-in to the program while others said a better strategy would be letting people opt-out, meaning all citizens of a community would be automatically enrolled and could choose not to participate.
If the bill passes, and the proposed study finds that CCAs would be feasible in the city, the program would start March 1, 2020.
Along with Intros. 49 and 140, and Kallos’s resolution, the committee heard Intro. 51, which would establish a pilot program for a district-scale geothermal system and Intro. 269, which would require the Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability establish a residential renewable energy pilot utilizing solar thermal district heating systems and photovoltaic systems.
The committee also heard Intro. 426, which would require the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to conduct a study on the costs of installing solar and thermal energy and heating systems in city-owned buildings; Intro. 1076, which requires the Department of Environmental Planning to study areas most suitable for geothermal mini-grids or district heating; and Intro. 1375, which calls for the creation of a database of geothermal energy systems in the city.
As expected, none of the bills or the resolution was voted on at Monday’s hearing. Negotiations around the legislation may continue internally at the Council or between the Council and the de Blasio administration before any of it moves ahead to a committee vote.
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by Caitlyn Rosen, Gotham Gazette
@RosenCaitlyn @GothamGazette
New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
Tuesday is primary election day in New York. In the city, the two most high-profile races are Democratic primaries for Queens District Attorney and City Council District 45 in Brooklyn, the second special election for that seat in two months. There are also a number of judicial elections and party position votes. [READ: Upcoming Elections: What's on the June 25 Ballot in New York City]
Mayor Bill de Blasio will appear in the first Democratic presidential primary debate on Wednesday night in Miami, Florida. De Blasio was in South Carolina campaigning this weekend. The mayor, who has been polling at zero or one percent in the crowded 20-plus candidate field, will get a chance to introduce himself to many Democratic voters tuning in, as well as to make some additional waves, as he has been in criticizing former Vice President and early polling leader Joe Biden.
Closer to home, it's a busy week in New York politics, as we continue to dissect the recently-completed state legislative session, and there's a long list of events on the docket, including a variety of hearings at the City Council, MTA Board meetings, LGBTQ Pride celebrations, and more -- see our day-by-day rundown below.
And further from home: Governor Cuomo said Monday he'll be heading to Israel on Wednesday for a trip that includes solidarity and trade aspects.
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The run of the week in detail:
Monday, June 23
At the City Council on Monday:
-At 10 a.m., the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Oversight and Investigations will jointly hold an oversight hearing on the Taxi and Limousine Commission’s role in the taxi medallion debt crisis. Four new bills will also be heard, three of which concern increased regulation of medallion sales and lenders, while a fourth would mandate the creation of an Office of Financial Stability within the TLC to prevent future debt crises. [READ: Council to Examine City Role in 'Taxi Medallion Crisis']
-At 1 p.m., the Committee on Women and Gender Equity will conduct an oversight hearing on the annual report on domestic violence initiatives, indicators, & factors, and will also discuss a resolution from new Council Member Farah Louis reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.
-Also at 1 p.m., the Committee on Hospitals will meet to hold an oversight hearing on safe staffing ratios in hospitals. Additionally, several bills and resolutions will be discussed, including two bills from Council Member Mark Gjonaj to conduct a study on prolonged hospital wait times and to require the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene to better inform New York City residents of the emergency care facilities available to them.
-Also at 1 p.m., the Committee on Environmental Protection will conduct an oversight hearing on renewable energy. Several bills concerning renewable energy usage in the city will also be discussed, including two proposed pilot programs to power select districts using exclusively solar and geothermal energy.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will be attending the RFK Human Rights Compass 2019 in Massachusetts from Monday until Wednesday.
Starting at 8:30 a.m. Monday, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) will hold a series of committee and division meetings.
At 9 a.m. Monday, city schools Chancellor Richard Carranza will attend a pre-K stepping up ceremony and delivers brief remarks, at PS 68 Port Richmond School for Visionary Learning on Staten Island.
At 11 a.m. Monday in Harlem, City Comptroller Scott Stringer will host a press conference at NYC Mission Society.
At 11 a.m. Monday, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will deliver a commencement address at Urban Assembly School for Criminal Justice, The New School University Center in Manhattan. At 12:15 p.m., Hochul will celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month with a visit to the recently-opened NYC WorldPride Welcome Center in Manhattan.
At 5:30 p.m. Monday, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will speak at the Spring Creek Community School Graduation in Brooklyn, giving "the keynote speech at the graduation ceremony on themes of perseverance and overcoming obstacles."
At 6 p.m. on Monday, Civic Hall and the Participatory Budgeting Project will host “Democracy Beyond Elections: A New Deal for Our Broken Democracy.” Representatives from Ireland, Scotland, Madrid, and New York City will be in attendance to discuss “their experience with expanding or engaging with participatory democracy practices...Be inspired by how community and government leaders from these programs have used participatory democracy to equitably reshape government policy and spending on issues such as abortion, climate change, and transportation.”
At 6:30 p.m. Monday, State Senator John Liu, Chair of the Committee on New York City Education, will hold a community forum on school diversity and specialized high school admissions at the office of the Staten Island Borough President in conjunction with BP James Oddo.
At 6:30 p.m. Monday, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson will deliver remarks at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center’s Garden Party in Manhattan.
Mayor de Blasio will make his weekly appearance on NY1's Inside City Hall on Monday in the 7 and 11 p.m. hours.
Tuesday, June 25
Tuesday is primary election day! Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. for primary elections across the city, including the Democratic primaries for Queens District Attorney and City Council District 45 in Brooklyn, among other mostly judicial elections. [READ: Upcoming Elections: What's on the June 25 Ballot in New York City]
At the City Council on Tuesday:
-At 10 a.m., the Committee on General Welfare will hold an oversight hearing on the Nicholas Scoppetta Children’s Center, as well as discuss a bill from Council Member Stephen Levin to require the Administration for Children’s Services to study the use of psychiatric medication for youth in foster care.
-At 1 p.m., the Committees on Education and Higher Education will hold a joint oversight hearing on teacher preparation and training.
-At 2 p.m., the Committee on Civil Service and Labor will hold an oversight hearing on pay inequity issues within the New York City Probation Department and the New York City Fire Department.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday at the New York Athletic Club, Crain’s Business Breakfast will host members of the City Council to “discuss how the council’s powers should change in the city charter revision, whether the council will take on a greater role in light of the mayor’s presidential campaigning and how they see the next race for speaker shaping up.” Council Members in attendance will be Joseph Borelli, Justin Brannan, Keith Powers, and Carlina Rivera. This event has been cancelled!
At 9 a.m. Tuesday at Baruch College, the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice will host the panel discussion “After Rikers: Course Change for People with Serious Mental Illness, Substance Abuse Disorders and Other Disabilities.” The discussion, hosted by Cheryl Roberts, will feature State Senator Brian Benjamin, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, Arizona State Representative Nancy Barto, Judges Steven Leifman and Matthew D’Emic, and author and columnist D.J. Jaffe.
Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza has four events Tuesday: he'll attend the Mott Hall graduation and deliver commencement address; join City Council Member Daneek Miller for a visit to PS 360 in Queens; attend the Academy of Innovative Technology graduation and deliver commencement address; and attend the Stonewall Scholars celebration and delivers brief remarks, at Yankee Stadium.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals will hold a public hearing to discuss projects all five boroughs.
At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Albany, the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics will hold an open meeting on regulating lobbying and ethics in New York, and will discuss annual financial disclosure statements and provide an update on lobbying applications.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Association for a Better New York will host “What’s on Tap?” with State Senator Andrew Gounardes to discuss “his path to office, experiences in government, and vision for New York City.”
Also at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Commission on Gender Equity will host its Bronx Gender Equity Summit. “Summit participants [will] join small group discussions to help CGE identify ways to involve men and youth in the fight to advance gender equity; ensure greater gender diversity at all levels of public service; and prevent, reduce, eliminate gender based violence in all communities.”
Also at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Manhattan GOP, in conjunction with Log Cabin Republicans of New York, will host “Pride Right: The biggest Pride celebration of LGBT + Ally conservatives in New York.” In attendance will be Andrea Catsimatidis, Chair of the Manhattan GOP; Jerri Ann Henry, National Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans; and other elected officials.
Also at 6 p.m. Tuesday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer will host a celebration of World Pride and Stonewall’s 50th anniversary.
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at at the New York Yankees Legacy of Pride Game at Yankee Stadium.
At 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Great Hall at Cooper Union, the Rent Guidelines Board will hold a public meeting to take its final vote on rent increases.
Wednesday, June 26
Governor Cuomo will head to Israel on Wednesday.
At the City Council on Wednesday:
-At 10 a.m., the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet.
-At 10:15 a.m., the Committee on Land Use will meet.
-At 1:30 p.m., the City Council will hold a stated meeting in the Council Chambers at which bills that have been voted through committee are passed by the full Council and new bills are introduced. Council Speaker Corey Johnson will hold a pre-stated meeting at about 12:30 p.m.
At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Association for a Better New York will host a Boardroom Breakfast with Bradley Tusk, founder of Tusk Strategies and former campaign manager to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to “discuss his career path, approach to political change, and the evolving political landscape in New York City.”
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) will hold its monthly board meeting, preceded at 8:30 a.m. by an audit meeting.
At 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Community Service Society will hold a roundtable discussion on the most recent legislative session and its effects on individuals with conviction histories.
At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the New York City Board of Elections will hold a commissioners meeting.
On Wednesday at 5 p.m., this week’s Max & Murphy show will air on WBAI radio, 99.5 FM or wbai.org, and will feature reflections on the recently-completed state legislative year with State Senators Zellnor Myrie and Liz Krueger.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Roosevelt House and Hunter College’s LGBTQ Policy Center will host “Fifty Years After Stonewall Where Are We Now? Where Do We Go from Here?” “Four of the queer movement's outstanding thinkers, writers, and activists – Ann Pellegrini, Rich Benjamin, Chase Strangio, and Edmund White – will assess the movement's extraordinary accomplishments since 1969 and pinpoint its policy goals for the coming decade.”
Wednesday at 9 p.m. is the first of the two-night first Democratic presidential primary debates of the 2020 election cycle. Mayor Bill de Blasio will appear on Wednesday night, along with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, and others.
Thursday, June 27
At the City Council on Thursday:
-At 10 a.m., the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing will meet to discuss three bills aiming to limit the use of single-use utensils and beverage containers in restaurants.
-Also at 10 a.m., the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management will meet to discuss several bills relating to waste hauling and the trade waste industry.
-Also at 10 a.m., the Committee on Public Safety will meet to discuss six bills on disparate subjects. One bill aims to provide safe locations for internet-arranged purchase exchanges to take place; another bans the sending of sexually explicit images as a means of harassment; a third prohibits law enforcement from staging “perp walks;” two concern stricter laws and increased reporting on 3D-printed guns and “ghost guns;” and a final bill would provide notice to minors included in the criminal groups database.
-At 1 p.m., the Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet to discuss several new pieces of legislation concerning tenant protections, including bills to limit fees and increasing regulation of security deposits.
-Also at 1 p.m., the Committee on Small Business will hold an oversight hearing on the changing market for food delivery.
-Also at 1 p.m., the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations will hold an oversight hearing on “New York City’s LGBTQ+ Community and the Arts: Resources, Opportunities and Support.”
At 8 a.m. Thursday, the Citizens Budget Commission will host its Trustee Breakfast at the Yale Club, with City Comptroller Scott Stringer as guest speaker. “At the breakfast, Comptroller Stringer will discuss City fiscal policy, including the Comptroller’s Agency Watch List and the need for rainy day reserves, and how to promote New York City’s competitiveness, among other topics.”
At 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall, "Over 100 environmental justice, safe streets, and small business advocates, sanitation workers, and City Council members will rally on the steps of City Hall before a hearing on legislation to reform the private carting industry. The Commercial Waste Zones Bill, sponsored by City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, would overhaul an industry that is responsible for more than two dozen traffic and workplace deaths in the last decade. The legislation will cut commercial garbage truck traffic in the city by 60% by limiting one private sanitation company to each zone of the city. The Department of Sanitation will select waste haulers for each zone through a competitive bidding process that prioritizes fair prices for small businesses, good environmental practices, and high safety standards. The rally will be followed by a hearing on the legislation in the City Council Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management."
At 9 a.m. Thursday, the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute will host “Charting the Future of Urban Agriculture in New York City,” an Urban Food Policy Forum. “As the City Council considers requiring a comprehensive urban agriculture plan, this forum will explore what such a plan should include and how the city should go about crafting it.” The forum will be moderated by Nevin Cohen, Research Director at the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute. Speakers will include Raymond Figueroa, Jr., Taconic Faculty Fellow at the Pratt Center for Community Development; Aziz Dekhan, Executive Director of NYC Community Garden Coalition; Onika Abraham, Director of Farm School NYC; and Ricky Stephens, Co-Founder at AgTech X.
At 10:45 a.m. in Utica, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will attend a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Doyle Building.
At 6 p.m. on Thursday, the New York City Commission on Gender Equity will host its Staten Island Gender Equity Summit. “Summit participants [will] join small group discussions to help CGE identify ways to involve men and youth in the fight to advance gender equity; ensure greater gender diversity at all levels of public service; and prevent, reduce, eliminate gender based violence in all communities.”
Also at 6 p.m. Thursday, City Council Member Diana Ayala, in collaboration with U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat, will host a Census 2020 Information Session.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, City & State NY will host its 2019 Pride Power 100 celebrating the LGBTQ community, “gathering top brass from advocacy, academia, media, business and beyond for a networking opportunity you do not want to miss.” Speakers will include Corey Johnson, Speaker of the City Council; Emma Wolfe, chief of staff to Mayor Bill de Blasio; Alphonso David, counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo; and Thomas Duane, former state senator.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, the Museum of the City of New York will host “Whose Streets? Reclaiming NYC for Cyclists,” a panel discussion with “urban planners, biking advocates and experts about how New York City could achieve a shared “right to the road” for everyone, on two wheels or otherwise.” Speakers will include Ydanis Rodriguez, City Council Member; Judi Desire, founder of Uptown & Boogie Bicycle Advocacy; Helen Ho, co-founder of the Biking Public Project; and Adam Mansky of Transportation Alternatives. The discussion will be moderated by Streetsblog editor-in-chief Gersh Kuntzman.
Thursday at 9 p.m. is the second of the two-night first Democratic presidential primary debate of the 2020 election cycle. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will appear on Thursday night, along with former Vice President Joe Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, and others.
Friday, June 28
At 8 a.m. Friday, Be Social Change will host “Women’s Leadership Breakfast – Reshaping America’s Political Landscape by Elevating Women Leaders,” featuring speaker Erin Vilardi, founder and CEO of VoteRunLead.
At 10 a.m. on Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show.
Sunday will mark the official New York City Pride March, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The march begins at noon; many elected officials from around the city and state are expected to attend.
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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 Joey Fox and Ben Max
@GothamGazette
Melinda Katz (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)
“If it’s good for families, it’s good for Queens,” Melinda Katz likes to say. It’s a line she used in her first State of the Borough speech as borough president, a position she has held for six years and she now hopes will propel her to the office of Queens District Attorney.
Katz is one of six Democratic candidates running to be the top prosecutor in Queens, home to more than 2 million people, 48% of whom are foreign-born. About 190 nationalities are represented across the borough’s population, with more than 200 languages spoken by its residents.
Though she is the perceived frontrunner due to her borough-wide position, name recognition, and support from labor unions, elected officials, and others, Katz is the only candidate in the race who lacks courtroom experience. She hasn’t shown much interest in criminal justice reform in well over a decade, and she’s been accused of being most interested in figuring out her next political job than in any particular mission to help the people of Queens. Yet she has served the people of Queens in some form or another for much of the last 25 years, including as a state legislator, City Council member, attorney, real estate lobbyist, and borough president.
Seen by many, including her opponents, as the most likely to win, Katz has won many endorsements from officials and groups, but they credit her mostly with simply having been around -- holding office, developing good relationships, and showing an interest in community concerns -- while the editorial boards of the three major New York City daily newspapers (The New York Times, Daily News, and Post) all deemed her unqualified for the position of district attorney and endorsed other candidates.
Besides Katz, on the ballot for the June 25 primary election are former State Supreme Court Justice and Assistant District Attorney Greg Lasak, who was endorsed by the News and the Post; Tiffany Cabán, a public defender in Manhattan endorsed by the Times; Betty Lugo, a former Nassau County assistant district attorney; Mina Malik, a Harvard professor and former prosecutor; Jose Nieves, formerly deputy chief in the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit at the Office of the New York State Attorney General; and City Council Member Rory Lancman, who dropped out of the race Friday and threw his support behind Katz.
Running for District Attorney, Katz has promised, like most of the other candidates, to pursue broad progressive reforms that break with the tough-on-crime reputation that the Queens DA’s office fostered for decades under the late DA Richard Brown, who recently passed away just shy of his planned retirement after nearly 28 years in the position. Katz has both leaned into the notion that she has “establishment” support, claiming many ties to communities in the borough, and distanced herself from the traditional power structures that she is aligned with.
To her critics and opponents, Katz is a career politician looking for her next gig, eyeing the term-limitless district attorney post as she faces term limits on her borough presidency at the end of 2021. To her supporters, she is a dedicated public servant searching for her next assignment on behalf of the people. But to both, she is not easily characterized. Katz does not appear to have had one or more clear focus areas as an elected official, and, particularly germane to the position she’s seeking, she has not appeared especially interested in criminal justice reform.
Katz’s list of projects and accomplishments is long, and varied, and there aren’t easy associations with her public image, unlike some of the other borough presidents -- indicative of her lack of clear issue focus, but also the fact that she has often sat out debates over some of the most pressing issues in the city.
“My biggest pride comes from knowing that every day that I have been in public service, I have stood up to powerful interests but I’ve also been a voice for people who didn’t have one,” Katz said in a phone interview, just a few days before the primary election. “And at every level that I’ve served, I have brought justice to people.”
Katz was clear that she believes she alone has the experience and the trust of Queens communities that would make for a successful next district attorney. She has spent years on the ground, she says, across the borough, face-to-face with the very people whose lives will be affected by the decisions she will make if elected.
“She’s hard to define,” said City Council Member Daniel Dromm, a Queens Democrat who has not made an endorsement in the district attorney race. “She’s got a finger in everything.”
Broadly seen as the frontrunner in the race, with a slew of endorsements from prominent labor unions, community leaders, and elected officials, and a hefty campaign war chest, Katz is banking on her resume and wide name recognition in the borough to take her to victory on June 25. The winner of the Democratic primary is all but assured to win in the November general in the overwhelmingly Democratic borough, with only nominal opposition from the Republican candidate, attorney Daniel Kogan.
A Queens native and graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Katz earned a law degree at St. John’s School of Law. She was an intern at the Legal Aid Society representing tenants in forcible eviction cases and later interned in the Organized Crime Unit for the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and for U.S. District Court judge Michael Mukasey. After law school, Katz worked in securities litigation for the white-shoe firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges.
Katz first won elected office in 1994, in a special election to the New York State Assembly, running as an outsider candidate on the Liberal and Good Government Party lines. She defeated local Democratic district leader Michael Cohen by just 420 votes in a low-turnout election and filled the seat vacated by Alan Hevesi, who had been elected comptroller. Hevesi supported Katz’s bid to be his successor.
Over her first five years in office, Katz was successful in passing 16 bills, including several related to the legal system and criminal justice reform, such as Kendall’s Law, which allows prosecutors to pursue cases of long-term child abuse by extending the statute of limitations for victims to report child sexual abuse.
“I had to stand up to the Catholic Church,” Katz said on Thursday. “It was not easy 25 years ago. Nobody wanted to talk about sexual abuse as a child, it was not an open conversation by anybody in the church and I had to pass this bill against a very powerful interest.”
Her other bills included giving women direct access to gynecological care, increasing penalties for domestic violence, and adding sexual orientation as a protected class under the state hate crimes law. In 1995, just a year into office, the New York Daily News named her “one of the one hundred up-and-coming young leaders for the 21st Century.”
But Katz would soon face defeat at the ballot box when she attempted to run for Congress, seeking the Democratic nomination for the 9th Congressional District, formerly held by now U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. She lost by 285 votes to Anthony Weiner, a former aide to Schumer. The Queens Democratic Party, which was on the opposing side when she first ran for Assembly, was in her corner. Even the New York Times editorial board endorsed Katz, writing at the time that she “has only been in office four years, but she has distinguished herself as an advocate of health and women's issues and for her constituent services.”
Following her stint in the Assembly, Katz took a role under then-Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, as director of community boards. She served there for three years before being elected to the New York City Council.
It was perhaps on the Council, where she served from 2002 through 2009, that Katz made her most significant mark on the city, as chair of the powerful land use committee. Her campaign says she helped secure private-sector partnerships that created 15,000 units of affordable housing and that she fought to protect communities from overdevelopment. Most importantly, she says, she changed the culture of the land use process: “changed the discussion from ‘how many units’ to ‘how we’re going to build’ as well. Whether or not we’re going to use union labor, the importance of union labor to make sure we had safe work sites and the importance of hiring from the community.”
Her push for safety protections at construction sites, she says, cost developers hundreds of millions of dollars. She insists that’s one of her major accomplishments and one that undercuts her opponents’ claims that she is far too allied with real estate interests, a critique that has dogged her since her time on the Council and persists to her current race for district attorney.
Her work after the Council gives those criticisms credence. In 2009, Katz gave up her Council seat and ran for city comptroller, aided by hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from real estate firms, according to the New York Times. She ran on a platform of “common sense and accountability” amid the financial crisis that was roiling the city, pledging to audit city agencies to eliminate wasteful spending, expand effective programs and ensure federal stimulus money was creating jobs. Katz lost that election to John Liu, also of Queens, and went on to work for the law firm of Greenberg Traurig for the next three years, lobbying on behalf of real estate clients.
In each race since then, including two for borough president and now for district attorney, Katz has continued to gather large donations from prominent real estate firms. (She notes that several of her opponents are throwing stones from glass houses, having also received large contributions from corporate donors.)
“Melinda Katz has an expansive resume and her relationships are very, very deep. I don’t really buy into that critique,” said Queens City Council Member Adrienne Adams, who has endorsed her, of the real estate ties.
In 2013, Katz was elected borough president and handily won reelection in 2017 for a second and final term. Katz has also cemented her ties to the Queens Democratic Party, which is often criticized as one of the last bastions of calcified political power in the city. The Party protects and promotes its own and, in any race, brings to bear a large cadre of local, state, and national elected officials that originated from its ranks or owe it some allegiance, as well as the allies of those officials, other local party officials like members of the state committee, political club members, and others.
The Queens Democratic Party was previously headed by Congressional representative-turned-lobbyist Joe Crowley, who lost to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and has been fundraising for Katz. (Ocasio-Cortez is backing Caban.) The current county party chair, Congressional Rep. Gregory Meeks, has rallied the party behind Katz, who has also been endorsed by the likes of Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx, and others. It’s what makes Katz the establishment candidate, a moniker with connotations akin to party nepotism and one that her opponents have employed as a cudgel. She pushes back against it.
“My campaign started with 300 people standing in a park that were not elected officials,” she said. (There were indeed local elected officials present, according to a Queens Daily Eagle report.) “They were civic leaders, they were Cure Violence groups, they were immigration groups, who said to the city of New York and the borough of Queens, ‘We trust Melinda Katz to make the decisions as the district attorney of Queens County.’ That’s how my campaign started.”
The office of borough president, though far less powerful now than in the past and lacking the policy clout of an elected legislator, is nonetheless a prominent position in which officials have wielded significant influence. Borough presidents can sponsor legislation in the City Council. They are advocates and cheerleaders for their boroughs, figureheads of sorts who are supposed to keep a finger on the pulse of their many constituents and neighborhoods. They have a strong voice (though not a binding one) in land use applications.
The office also controls millions of dollars in discretionary capital and expense funding each year, to distribute to pet causes, nonprofits, schools and cultural institutions, and the politically-potent power to name hundreds of members of community boards.
Katz has embraced the various aspects of the role, lending her visibility across the borough. “I believe that she’s the strongest candidate,” said Council Member Adams. “Melinda has a scope that reaches far beyond any of her opponents as far as I’m concerned. Her experience as far as managing the entire borough of Queens along with her experience as an attorney to me, again, put her as a very strong frontrunner for this race. A lot of people talk about experience in the courtroom, but no one has managed the number of people that Melinda Katz has.”
Caban and others, including the three editorial boards and good government group Citizens Union, which backed Lasak, have been particularly critical of Katz’s lack of time in court, but the borough president has parried by touting her managerial experience, insisting that it sets her up to lead the large complement of attorney that comprise the DA’s office.
Among the accomplishments Katz touts are her creation of an Immigration Task Force, which works with nearly 100 nonprofits and city agencies to provide services to immigrants. She secured funding for the Queens Family Justice Center, which serves domestic violence and human trafficking victims. She launched the Jamaica Now Action Plan, a $153-million city funded revitalization project for Jamaica Center.
She has advocated for Hurricane Sandy victims, for veterans, for public housing residents. And she’s channelled nearly $200 million in investments towards schools, hospitals, NYCHA, and parks in the borough. And she led a campaign to restore the New York State Pavilion, including putting $11.5 million in capital funds towards the project.
Katz’s opponents and critics, however, say her record on criminal justice issues has been lacklustre at best, and harmful at worst. They point to her past votes as a legislator: as an Assembly member in 1995, she voted to reinstate the death penalty, while as a Council member she voted against it. In the Council, she voted to increase penalties for low-level offenses, voted to create a new category of crime (gang recruitment), and in favor of increased police surveillance in city schools.
They also see her as moving with the political winds and shifting her positions, even during the current race -- for instance, she has taken a more expansive position on ending cash bail in recent weeks compared to most of her first several months on the trail.
“Melinda Katz could never be a champion of the policies that the people of Queens, specifically black and brown residents, need and have been calling out for,” said Milan Taylor of the Rockaway Youth Action Fund, which endorsed Lancman but moved to Caban upon his departure from the race. “[Katz] embraces the establishment’s tradition of lackluster reform and discriminatory practices. Katz has done an unsatisfactory job on criminal justice reform as Borough President and will do the same as District Attorney.”
Alyssa Aguilera, executive director of VOCAL-NY Action Fund, which endorsed Cabán’s insurgent campaign, said her organization has worked on criminal justice reforms in all aspects -- policing, bail reform, access to jobs and reentry -- and “Melinda Katz is not somebody that we ever interact with. She’s not somebody who’s known as standing behind organizations, community members in these big fights to, for instance, end stop-and-frisk, or when Eric Garner was killed, or the fight to close Rikers. She was a nonplayer in all of those efforts.”
Over the course of the race and more so in the last few weeks, Lancman levelled direct criticism at Katz, running an ad blasting her vote for the death penalty, and confronting her at a May forum for a lack of interest in criminal justice reform both as a Council member and borough president.
But, on Friday Lancman said he feared splitting the vote of Southeast Queens residents, who are predominantly African-American, and withdrew from the race. He endorsed Katz “because she has made the effort to successfully garner support within every community in our borough, the experience as a public official to see essential criminal justice reforms through to completion, and the relationships with the civic and community organizations and institutions throughout Queens necessary to effect real change.”
On Wednesday, Katz rejected four city-led land use applications related to building a 1,500-bed jail in Kew Gardens, Queens that is meant to help speed up the closure of Rikers Island jails. She said that closing Rikers is “a moral imperative” but raised concerns that the community did not have sufficient buy-in on the Kew Gardens jail plan and that large borough facilities would replicate the problems on Rikers.
Council Members I. Daneek Miller and Donovan Richards, fellow Queens Democrats, in an interview defended Katz from charges that she is a political climber. “For you to get up there every day, that your charge and your mission is to serve others, is noble,” said Miller, standing with Richards at City Hall. “And anyone who would speak against that, I would question their motives.”
“It’s called a sacrifice,” Richards said. Katz has “delivered” for Queens, he said. “Between our districts, you look at infrastructure, you look at investments in parks, investments in healthcare...there’s been no shortage of equitable things she’s done to work with us to shift resources into communities that were sorely missing the investment that they needed.”
Miller said Katz has successfully raised the issue of predatory real estate practices in Southeast Queens and has worked with him on labor issues and workers rights. “She’s been an excellent partner who really understands the needs and values of Southeast Queens.” Hector Figueroa, president of 32BJ, the property services union, similarly praised Katz in a statement announcing his union’s endorsement. “Her plan to protect Queens residents from wage theft, unsafe workplaces, and hostile work environments will make New York a better, safer place for working families.”
Katz has carefully sought to counter critiques of her record. Her campaign points to her work in sponsoring warrant forgiveness and conviction sealing programs, hate crime forums, and gun violence town halls.
“Those are real-life instances of standing up for criminal justice reform,” she said in the interview. She also pushed for the creation of a new police precinct in the borough. And she cites her managerial experience, noting the other candidates’ lack thereof.
“If you’re going to get meaningful criminal justice reform, it also requires having the skill-set to run a $59 million budget with 530 employees. As the borough president, I run an enormous office that’s borough-wide and have answered to the community voter by voter, constituent by constituent, every single day for the last six years across a huge and vast borough,” she said.
She has also lamented her original death penalty vote. “I would say that is my deepest regret,” she said.
And she believes that her record makes her the one candidate with the strongest chance of bringing about the reforms that have taken centerplace in the race. “I don’t know how many people that are running for this race have had to actually answer to their constituents in the borough of Queens, who have had to take a lot of heat for the decisions that they’ve made and the policies they’ve stood up for,” she said. “But I always stand up strong for the things that I believe in.”
Aguilera said, nonetheless, Katz’s bid raises one key question. “Are you doing this because you’re a true believer, you’re really down for the issues that we care about, or is this just your next political move?”
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette