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The Week Ahead in New York Politics, September 12


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week Sunday was the 15th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Mayor Bill de Blasio, his predecessors, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and many others remembered the victims, honored the first responders, and commemorated the day at the September 11 Commemoration Ceremony at the World Trade Center. De Blasio, Cuomo, and others also participated in other commemorative events, with Cuomo announcing that “a monument honoring the first responders who took action on 9/11 will be built in New York City.” Cuomo also rode in the annual 9/11 Memorial Motorcycle Ride. De Blasio spent the evening at the Staten Island September 11 Postcards Memorial.

As the week begins, many eyes are on the state and local party primary elections taking place on Tuesday. There are many state Assembly and state Senate contests on the ballot, but you can only vote if you’re registered with the Democratic or Republican Party - find information about races to watch here; look up who will be on your ballot through the Gotham Gazette-WNYC radio election guide here. Find your poll site here.

On Monday morning at 10:30 a.m., listen to Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show to preview Tuesday’s voting.

This is New York’s third primary day this election season, after the presidential party primaries in April and the congressional party primaries in June. It is expected to be a low turnout day of voting, where candidates can win important primary elections with just a couple of thousand votes.

Highlights of our Gotham Gazette election coverage thus far:

Meanwhile, there are other things to watch for this week in New York politics, including a busy week for the City Council, highlighted by a full-body Stated meeting on Wednesday, along with a variety of committee hearings, one of which will be a Thursday hearing on a bill mandating that the NYPD patrol guide is published online and updated.

Speaking of the NYPD, this week is NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton's last week on the job. He retires from the NYPD on Friday, to be replaced by current Chief of Department James O'Neill.

Mayor de Blasio starts his week with two public events Monday - see below for details. There's a lot happening all over the city this week, with many events to be aware of - see our day-by-day rundown below.

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The run of the week in detail:

Monday
On Monday morning at 8 a.m. at the Jamaica Educational Campus Football Field in Queens, "Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at the Jamaica Muslim Center's Eid ul Adha prayer service." At 3p.m., "the Mayor will visit a firehouse with FDNY Commissioner Nigro and UFA President Steve Cassidy, and host a press conference on accidental disability benefits."

At 9 a.m. Monday, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will speak at the Jamaican Muslim Center Eid Prayer with Council Member Daneek Miller, Jamaica High School in Queens. Read Mark-Viverito and Miller's joint Gotham Gazette op-ed on fighting Islamophobia.

At 11 a.m., Mark-Viverito will be at Queensborough Community College to announce $50 million in capital funding for the City University of New York.

Monday and Tuesday in Albany, there will be New York Board of Regents meetings.

At 10 a.m. Monday, New York City Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland and New York City Department of Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha will begin "Forgiving Fines: The New York City Amnesty Program." This program “will forgive penalties and interest on violations received by individuals and business owners from the Department of Sanitation, Department of Buildings and other City agencies.” The program runs until December 12. The launch is set for Angelo's Pizza on 103 Street in Queens.

At 10:30 a.m. Monday, Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max and WNYC’s Kat Aaron will join The Brian Lehrer Show to discuss contested races for judge positions and seats in the state Senate and Assembly. This discussion is ahead of Tuesday’s primary elections.

At 11 a.m. Monday, the state Senate Standing Committee on Health, Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, and Assembly Standing Committee on Health will host a public hearing on water quality and contamination. The venue for this third water contamination hearing is the Legislative Auditorium of the William H. Rogers Building in Smithtown, Long Island. (The other hearings were in Hoosick Falls and Albany.)

At 11 a.m. Monday, there will be a rally at the Capitol in Albany for “Higher Ground Moral Day of Action” calling on legislators across the country to support issues such as racial justice and union rights, as part of a “moral policy agenda.”

On Monday evening at CUNY Graduate Center, government reform organization Citizens Union is hosting a "civic conversation" on "Winning back our democracy by voting in 2017 to hold a state constitutional convention." Panelists will include Richard Briffault of Columbia Law School, Gerald Benjamin of SUNY New Paltz, and Patricia Salkin of Touro Law Center.

Tuesday
Primary elections for local and state races will happen on Tuesday, September 13.
Races to Watch
Interactive Gotham Gazette-WNYC election guide

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, there will be a New York City Board of Corrections meeting.

On Tuesday in Albany, there will be a New York Board of Regents meeting.

Starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs will host “Open House Training Series: NYC's Paid Sick Leave Law.” This event is meant to help employers understand how to stay in-line with New York City’s law on Paid Sick Leave. At 11 a.m., DCA will host “Open House Training Series: NYC's Commuter Benefits Law.” This event is meant to help employers understand how to stay in line with New York City’s law on Consumer Benefits.

At 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Manhattan, "Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman will announce the results of an ongoing investigation into illegal online tracking of children at dozens of the nation’s most recognizable kids’ websites."

On Tuesday evening, Mayor de Blasio "will participate in a tele-town hall with New York City parents to discuss Equity and Excellence for All initiatives to improve education across the five boroughs."

Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday:

  • The Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet at 9:30 a.m. to discuss three proposed laws on bicycle access in different types of buildings.
  • The Committee on Transportation will meet at 9:30 a.m. and discuss a bill “to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to pedestrian countdown signals.”
  • The Committee on Rules, Privileges, and Elections will meet at 10 a.m.
  • The Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to vote on "submitting the name of Hari Savitala to the Council for its advice and consent regarding his appointment to the Environmental Control Board.”
  • The Committee on Contracts will meet at 11 a.m. This committee will discuss amending a number of administrative codes, as well as a “resolution condemning all efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel and the global movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the people of Israel.”
  • There will be a Stated Meeting of the full Council at 1:30 p.m. Beforehand, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will host a pre-Stated press conference.

On Wednesday at 11 a.m., "New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli will be joined by elected officials and representatives of the Sunset Park business and civic community on Wednesday to release a report on the neighborhood’s economy, highlighting the growth of jobs and businesses in the area."

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy will host “Curricula and Student Success” at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. David Steiner, Executive Director, Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, will moderate Thomas Kane of the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Matthew Chingos of the Urban Institute; and Rebecca Kockler of the Louisiana Department of Education in discussion about the fact that few school districts seem to put an emphasis on curriculum quality over other methods of improving schools, and it will examine case studies of school districts which emphasized the improvement of curricula.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board will have a meeting.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Manhattan, Civic Hall will host a forum focused on the question, “Do current Election Systems serve our best interests?” Panelists Include: Ann Ravel, FEC Commissioner; James Bopp, Plaintiff’s Attorney for Citizens United Supreme Court case; Trevor Potter, former FEC Chairman and Commissioner, advisor to Stephen Colbert’s Presidential Campaign / Super PAC; Amy Loprest, Executive Director, NYC Campaign Finance Board; Senator Gustavo Rivera from the Bronx; Richard Briffault, Columbia Law School Professor on Campaigns and Elections; Jon Reznick, Consultant on Campaign Finance and Spending; Matt Mahan, CEO of Brigade – the world’s first network for voters. “Some topics you can expect to cover in Impact Elections: Does money predict elections? How will technology shape voting in the future? Does the current voting system fundamentally fail certain segments of our country’s population? What can voting systems from other nations tell us about options for change?”

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, New York City Council Members Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams, in conjunction with the Brooklyn Movement Center, and Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), are co-hosting a community town hall: “Confronting Racism, Privilege, and What it Means to be an Ally to People of Color in Work for Racial Justice.” The town hall will include a discussion on privilege, racism, and resources for achieving racial justice in Brooklyn.

Thursday
At 8 a.m., the New York City Bar Association is hosting Zoning at 100: A Symposium for the Future. This event will bring together experts and professionals from the legal and design fields to discuss the history of New York City’s zoning resolutions and whether a new resolution is needed in order to address the modern-day challenges New York City faces. Director of the New York Department of City Planning and Chair of the New York City Planning Commission Carl Weisbrod and Jerold S. Kayden, Professor of Urban Planning and Design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, will co-chair the event. Mayor Bill de Blasio will give opening remarks at the event, and Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen will moderate a panel discussion.

At 8:30 a.m. Thursday, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will hold “Brooklyn Newsmakers.” The special guest is Polly Trottenberg, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation.

At 9 a.m. Thursday, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Policing Project are co-hosting “Policing and Accountability in the Digital Age,” a symposium focused on the intersection between new technologies, social media, and police work as well as the ways in which digital advancements have affected different racial and minority groups within the United States. New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton will deliver the keynote address. There will be several panel discussions throughout the conference.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board will hold a board meeting and public hearing on proposed rules.

At the City Council on Thursday:

  • The Committee on Higher Education will meet at 10 a.m. for oversight of the City University of New York (CUNY) Master Plan from 2012 to 2016.
  • The Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss the amending of several administrative codes.
  • The Committee on Public Safety will meet at 10 a.m. The committee will hold a hearing on a bill to mandate publication of the NYPD patrol guide.
  • The Committee on Civil Service and Labor will meet at 1 p.m. for oversight of the Murphy Institute’s “State of the Unions” report.

At 3 p.m. Thursday, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism will hold a question and answer session with New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Lorelei Salas.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, the Working Families Party will host its 18th Annual Gala at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in Manhattan. Former presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders will be the keynote speaker.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, the New York City Economic Development Corporation will host “Open House: East 126th Harlem African Burial Ground Memorial and Mixed-Use Project.” This event will discuss plans for the former East 126 Street MTA Bus Depot.

On Thursday at 6 p.m., City Council Member Ben Kallos will hold his annual town hall event, where constituents can "learn and ask questions about Pre-Kindergarten seats in the district, the completion of the Second Avenue Subway, Bus Service, Parks Improvements and Bike Safety." Representatives will be there from the Department of Education; MTA Transit; MTA Capital Construction; Department of Parks and Recreation; and Department of Transportation.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, City & State is hosting its “Staten Island Power 50 and Borough Series” event. Speakers will include various prominent Staten Island community members and Staten Island Borough President James Oddo.

Friday and the weekend
Friday is retiring NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton’s last day on the job. He is being replaced by current NYPD Chief of Department James O’Neill.

At 8 a.m. on Friday, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce will host a Chairman’s Breakfast with Alejandro Mayorkas, the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

At 8:15 a.m. on Friday, the CityLaw Breakfast Series at New York Law School continues: “Reform at Rikers: Creating a Culture of Safety at the NYC Department of Correction.” Commissioner of the Department of Correction Joseph Ponte will speak.

On Friday morning, Brooklyn Eagle will release its annual "BK Politics Report" at a breakfast event featuring Public Advocate Letitia James, Comptroller Scott Stringer, Borough President Eric Adams, and others. "A comprehensive print report and analysis of government and politics in Brooklyn launching at a must-attend breakfast event that will host some of the most influential folks across NYC. Join us at BRIC in the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn to get your copy of the report and enjoy the speakers and festivities." 

At 8:30 a.m. on Friday, The Murphy Institute will hold “The Left-Wing of the Possible: How Can the Sanders’ Phenomenon Transform American Politics?” This event will explore how the unorthodox campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders, and the appeal of his socialism, could have a lasting impact on politics in the United States. Among others, the event will feature Mark Winston Griffith of the Brooklyn Movement Center and Bob Master of the Communications Workers of America.

At 10 a.m. Friday, the Bronx Youth Empowerment Program and City Council Member Andy King will host the “2016 Reading Is Cool Back To School Rally.” This event will be held on the Evander Childs High School Campus Field; speakers will include current New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña as well as her predecessor, Dennis Walcott, now head of the Queens Public Library; New York Public Library President and CEO Tony Marx; Brooklyn Public  Library President and CEO Linda Johnson; and others.

Starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, “Another Chance” is being hosted by the office of Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. New Yorkers from all five boroughs can have arrest warrants for outstanding summonses cleared and those summonses adjudicated.

***
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 Brendan Birth and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Initial Movement on Private Prison Divestment by City Pension Funds


Stringer town hall

Comptroller Stringer (photo: @scottmstringer)


New York City’s pension funds have faced criticism in the past for owning a stake, however small, in two for-profit private prison operators. On Thursday, one of the funds took the first significant step to recognize the issue by announcing a study of divestment from the controversial industry.

Comptroller Scott Stringer and the trustees of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), one of the city’s five pension funds, voted unanimously to pass a resolution on Thursday to explore how divestment from private prisons would affect the fund’s investment portfolio. The decision came three weeks after an announcement by the federal government that it would phase out its dependence on private prisons to house a decreasing number of federal inmates. A Department of Justice report, which formed the basis of that announcement, cited dangerous conditions at private prisons, increased costs, and inefficiency.

Soon after, Gotham Gazette reported on the city pension funds’ holdings in private prison companies and that the DOJ announcement gave a boost to some who have called for divestment from private prisons for years.

The comptroller, who is on the board of trustees of four of the five city pension funds, said he will introduce similar resolutions to the three other boards he sits on in the coming weeks and will encourage the last remaining fund to follow suit. All the pension funds together are worth about $160 billion, and their total investment in the two private prison firms, the GEO Group and the Corrections Corporation of America, is about $20 million.

Within an hour of the the federal announcement, the value of GEO and CCA stocks nosedived, dropping about 40 percent by the end of the day, which meant that the the fund likely lost $8 million in value. Since then, GEO stocks have recovered by about 10.4 percent while CCA’s value fell another 11.4 percent. Individual stocks are part of larger holdings, which makes divesting a more complicated process than it might otherwise be.

“As trustees, we have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that we are acting in the best interests of our members while investing in ways that are consistent with our values as New Yorkers,” said Comptroller Stringer in a statement on Thursday. “We believe the time has come to study whether our holdings in private prisons meet both our fiduciary standard as well as our standard to invest responsibly. My fellow trustees and I will carefully review these findings and take action accordingly.” Besides Stringer, a number of elected officials sit on the board of trustees, including the public advocate and the five borough presidents.

While the announcement doesn’t state with certainty that the fund will divest, it’s more than likely given the decreased profitability of the investment and the growing resentment for an industry that many believe values profit over human lives.

“Prisons should not be profitable at the expense of humane conditions and safety,” said John Adler, director of the Mayor’s Office of Pensions and Investments and chair of the NYCERS Board, in Thursday’s announcement. “If NYCERS can responsibly divest from corporations that run private prisons, the City is eager to do its part in working to eliminate private prisons.”

While the resolution appears to be a direct response to the federal government’s announcement, pressure had been building on the comptroller and the pension funds for some time. Activists have been calling for divestment from private prison holdings and appealing to Stringer to use the leverage at his disposal, as he has successfully done to encourage values-based investment and decision-making by companies, including an effort to diversify corporate boardrooms.

On August 31, Gotham Gazette reported on the push by activists for divestment from private prisons, which was bolstered by the federal decision. One activist, perhaps the most pleased to hear Thursday’s news, is Randy Credico, a comedian, regular political candidate, and WBAI radio host. Credico has been a thorn in Stringer’s side for well over a year, targeting him directly, at times personally, to push the divestment issue. Credico, who has been a decades-long activist fighting against war and for criminal justice reform, and his allies have promoted online petitions and held protests outside Stringer’s office dressed in inmate clothing. Although Stringer is the financial advisor to the five pension funds, he does not have final say over investments.

Credico welcomed Stringer’s announcement but at the same time criticized him for taking too long to address the issue. “The difference between a statesman and a politician is, a statesman acts and a politician reacts,” Credico said. “[Stringer] is a politician and he reacted late to this....[H]e should’ve read the tea leaves a year ago.”

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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

James Wins Battle in Long War Over Public Advocate's Legal Standing


Tish James presser vets

Public Advocate Letitia James (photo via @TishJames)


The Public Advocate’s office was created in 1993 to give a voice to everyday New Yorkers and act as checks on the authority of the Mayor and the function of city agencies. Letitia James, the fourth New York City Public Advocate, has made litigation a major tool in her attempt to fulfill the office’s mandates. James, who has a background as an attorney and has hired several lawyers to her staff since taking office in 2014, has fought the city and its agencies in the courts with mixed success. James’ aggressive use of litigation has raised the question of what legal standing the Public Advocate has on behalf of all New Yorkers.

After multiple occasions where she was either bumped from lawsuits for lack of standing or she withdrew, within the last few weeks James declared victory in two cases where judges recognized her capacity to sue the city. The decisions have served to embolden James in her commitment to legal action and also possibly set a precedent for the powers of her office.

The debate and the proceedings over the legal powers of the Public Advocate are far from over, though, as the de Blasio administration plans its appeals and is likely to move to dismiss legal action from James in the future. Mayor Bill de Blasio, a political ally of James and James’ predecessor as Public Advocate, is also not ready to accept the Public Advocate’s blanket ability to sue the city.

“I think it’s case by case, that’s my understanding,” de Blasio said Sept. 6 when asked by Gotham Gazette at a news conference about the most recent decision. “That was not a blanket assessment, that was about that case,” he added.

James doesn’t agree with de Blasio though. "By its very nature, a judge's ruling sets precedent for the future and this most recent decision affirms the Public Advocate's capacity to sue to protect the rights of New Yorkers,” the public advocate said in a statement to Gotham Gazette.

Future cases will either cement the litigious powers of the office or not. Meanwhile, former office holders and legal experts are mixed on the extent to which the Public Advocate can litigate against the City.

The two court rulings that have bolstered James, though, were delivered in August in separate lawsuits initiated by James against the New York City Department of Education and the City of New York. They affirmed and reinforced the legal capacity of the Public Advocate to sue the city.

The most recent decision came on August 30 when a New York County Supreme Court judge issued a ruling on the viability of a lawsuit brought by James against the Department of Education over the lack of air-conditioning on school buses for students with disabilities. The court found that the Public Advocate’s mandate “would include an obligation to explore a serious health problem affecting disabled children of the City and attempt, with the help of the Court, to remedy that problem.” It held that the case could move forward since James had the legal capacity to sue, which the de Blasio administration had argued against in seeking to dismiss the case.

A Law Department spokesperson confirmed that the City will appeal the court’s decision that favored the Public Advocate’s right to sue on behalf of New Yorkers and in conducting the office’s duties. “The DOE is committed to ensuring air-conditioned buses to all students who require them and that any concerns are immediately addressed," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Earlier, on August 11, James hailed another court decision that found her office could compel the DOE to respond to her concerns over its failure to effectively track the needs of students with disabilities in the city’s school system.

These are only the latest in a number of judicial decisions over the years that have in turns enhanced the powers of the Public Advocate and also defined the limits of the office’s jurisdiction in certain cases. James’ litigation, largely aimed at the de Blasio administration, puts the mayor and former public advocate in the unique position of regularly opposing his successor’s claims and even right to sue. The current dynamic is also the first time in the history of the Public Advocate office that the Mayor and Public Advocate are of the same party -- de Blasio and James are both Democrats.

Public Advocates have often used litigation as a tool to take the city and its many agencies to task, and in doing so have managed to expand the jurisdiction of the office, which remains unchanged in the City Charter. The charter does not expressly give the public advocate the right to bring a lawsuit, but it does not forbid it either.

Mark Green, the city’s first Public Advocate, depended on his experience as a lawyer to bring suits against the City. During his tenure, he won two major victories that established precedent for the Public Advocate’s capacity to bring legal action. James has cited these rulings in court to push back against the City’s attempts to dismiss her cases.

The first was Green v. Safir in 1997, in which Green sued then-NYPD Commissioner Howard Safir for access to the police department’s disciplinary case files for officers with substantiated complaints against them. An appellate court that ruled in Green’s favor held that he had standing to do so to further an investigation.

In the second case, Green v. Giuliani in 2000, the public advocate sought a judicial inquiry into then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for disclosing information from the sealed juvenile record of an unarmed African-American man who was shot dead by an NYPD officer. The New York County Supreme court stated in that case that the Public Advocate is an independently elected official with the capacity to sue.

“Those two cases, especially, confirmed that the Public Advocate could bring lawsuits in order to exercise its power as the city’s ombudsman,” said Green, in a phone interview with Gotham Gazette. “That doesn’t mean the Public Advocate can sue anybody for anything, but can, as we did in the Green v. Safir case, compel the city government to disclose information that should be in the public arena.”

In a later case involving Long Island College Hospital, which was initiated by de Blasio when he was Public Advocate, the Kings County Supreme Court ruled that the Public Advocate had the right to intervene and help choose the next operator of the facility since it was in the community’s interest. The case was inherited by James. 

Over the course of several public advocates, the office has, however, hit walls in certain instances, showing the limits of its power. When former Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum sought to intervene in a legal dispute involving the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a court ruled that she did not have the capacity to challenge decisions made by a state entity. And when Public Advocate James tried to compel the release of grand jury transcripts in the Eric Garner case by suing then-Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, she was denied on the grounds that her charter duties do not extend to criminal investigations. There have been other lawsuits that James has been involved in that were also unsuccessful, wherein she either withdrew or was dismissed.

The Public Advocate office over the years has been defined by its holder and each has opted to use litigation as a tool, to varying degrees. The office has a relatively small budget, which was actually cut under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and partially restored since de Blasio has been Mayor. Some have called for the office to receive so-called independent budgeting wherein it receives a set percentage of the overall city budget and is therefore not susceptible to an unfriendly mayor or City Council.

“The office of the public advocate almost always reflects the personality and priorities of the incumbent,” said Green. “So I did turn it into a sort of Nader’s Raiders public interest organization reflecting my history,” he said, referring to his role in a volunteer activist group of law students created by former independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader. But Green insisted that litigation was not necessarily the “major tool” of the office. “The ability to bring lawsuits is important but not the core function of the Public Advocate’s office, which is monitoring city agencies, answering complaints on city government and proposing new laws and ideas to make city government more accountable.”

James has been more active in her use of litigation. Now in the third year of her first term, she has been a plaintiff in 11 lawsuits so far and filed numerous amicus briefs in other cases. In contrast, de Blasio initiated only three suits while he held the post for one term, according to a spokesperson for the public advocate.

James has brought to bear her experience as an assistant attorney general and public interest litigator, initiating action on the behalf of members of the public to challenge the performance of city agencies. She said she has redesigned the office of the Public Advocate, raising awareness of its role and capacity in advocating for New Yorkers through a three-pronged approach.

“When I was elected, my vision was advocacy work, litigation and investigatory work,” James told Gotham Gazette. Feeling good about the advocacy and litigation efforts thus far, she said, “In my next term, I want to advance the investigative power of the office including forensic audits to determine the effective of city agencies and programs.” James is up for reelection in 2017.

She points to the victories won by Green and de Blasio as affirmation of her office’s broader ambit, and is bolstered by the recent decisions in her favor as evidence of the effectiveness of litigation. Following the August 11 decision, she told Gotham Gazette, her office is better placed to bring legal action that could also be recognized by higher courts. “I would imagine that a lot of judges will look to that as paramount to our ability to bring lawsuits,” she said.

The de Blasio administration has attempted to stymie many of James’ lawsuits by arguing that cases be dismissed because they are out of the Public Advocate’s purview. It was the same tactic that de Blasio was on the other side of in the Long Island College Hospital case.

Judicial decisions show that the office’s charter-mandated authority is open to interpretation even if its architects did not intend for it to be so. The City Charter establishes the role of the public advocate in monitoring city agencies and their response to complaints from the public; proposing means of improving response to complaints; and fielding, investigating, and redressing individual complaints as well.

One expert on the City Charter said the language in the section that states the Public Advocate’s duties could construe broader authority for the office and that legal standing for lawsuits would exist in cases involving those core powers. “Tish James has been very structured in her approach,” said the expert, who requested anonymity to remain out of public legal and political disputes. “Her view and interpretation of her office’s role includes legal advocacy and impact litigation.” (This legal expert also noted a peculiar conflict in the way the Public Advocate’s office relates to the city’s Corporation Counsel, the head of the Law Department, pointing out that the Corporation Counsel is the attorney on record for both the City of New York and the Public Advocate, and is often on the opposing side of litigation brought by the Public Advocate.)

But Eric Lane, dean of Hofstra Law School, doesn’t believe the Public Advocate’s duties can be interpreted broadly. Lane was executive director and counsel to the New York City Charter Revision Commission between 1986 and 1989 and oversaw the very provisions that established the powers of the public advocate.

Lane said the Public Advocate’s job should be to oversee and report on the system, to be the “public critic” who should only use legal action to further the completion of his or her duties. “I agree that [James] has the right to sue to gain access to information to allow her to fulfill her oversight obligations under the Charter, but I don't believe that Charter provides the Public Advocate with the authority to sue ‘to protect the rights of all New Yorkers,’” Lane told Gotham Gazette, referring to a statement put out by the public advocate’s office after the August 30 ruling. “I think this is inconsistent with the Charter scope of her job and problematic,” he said.

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

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