De Blasio makes a school appearance (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)
The New York State Senate announced on Thursday afternoon that it has scheduled two hearings on mayoral control of New York City schools. Republicans who control the chamber have questioned Mayor Bill de Blasio's education policies, which are far different from his predecessor's, and only agreed to a one-year extension last year.
Mayoral control is set to expire June 30, and the two hearings - one in Albany and one in New York City - will occur in May. In his Executive Budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo called for a three-year extension, while the Democrat-controlled Assembly called for seven years in its one-house budget. The Senate included no extension in its and appears to have concluded that mayoral control will be dealt with in the post-budget legislative session. The fiscal year 2017 state budget is due by the end of this month. The two hearings, at which de Blasio and his school chancellor Carmen Fariña are expected to appear, are scheduled for May 4 in Albany and May 19 in New York City.
State Senator Carl Marcellino, a Republican from Syosset, is chair of the education committee and will preside over the hearings. Marcellino replaced Senator John Flanagan as education chair when Flanagan became Majority Leader last year in the wake of former Senator Dean Skelos' corruption scandal. Flanagan has publicly questioned de Blasio's stewardship of the city's schools and said he expected to hold hearings on mayoral control.
"These hearings will provide an excellent opportunity to hear directly from Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Fariña, and a variety of education professionals on the merits and pitfalls of mayoral control," Marcellino said in a statement announcing the hearings. "Without a detailed and thoughtful exchange, it is difficult to craft an extension that is in the best interests of New York City's students and teachers. I look forward to gathering testimony on the current state of the Mayor's education policy, where it is and its future."
Asked for reaction and whether de Blasio will appear at the hearings, a mayoral spokesperson did not indicate if the mayor will participate in both, but did send a statement implying that he will. "Mayoral Control has empowered parents to hold their mayor accountable for success in our schools," wrote Amy Spitalnick of the mayor's office. "There's broad consensus across educators, business leaders, and the political spectrum that Mayoral Control works. Mayor de Blasio looks forward to presenting his vision for equity and excellence in our public schools, and articulating why Mayoral Control is the governance model that will make it a reality."
When the Senate released its one-house budget earlier this month without an extension of mayoral control of schools, Gotham Gazette asked Mayor de Blasio for his reaction at an unrelated press conference, saying that it looked like the Senate Republicans planned to pursue hearings on the subject after the budget.
"Which I've told Leader Flanagan I would welcome," de Blasio said of hearings, "and I would participate in personally. I made that very clear to him this year and last year."
"I welcome that dialogue," de Blasio added. "We have the highest graduation rate that we've ever had in New York City – over 70 percent. We have full-day pre-k for all. We have after-school for all middle school kids. We're making unprecedented investments in education – computer science for all is going to be online more and more. I welcome that discussion, and I think we have a lot of evidence to show, and I can certainly say there's a real broad cross-section of New Yorkers, including in the business community, the labor community, obviously educators who believe in mayoral control. That's a discussion I would be happy to participate in."
When he was seeking an extension of mayoral control of city schools last year, de Blasio rolled out a number of supporters from a variety of parties, including business leaders who have often been supportive of charter schools, which the mayor has been cool, if not hostile, toward and represent a key issue for Senate Republicans.
In announcing the hearings, Flanagan said in a statement, "Mayoral control hearings are necessary to provide transparency, accountability, and a better understanding of the long-term vision for educating all of New York City's students. Senator Marcellino and the members of the education committee will seek information about what is being done to fix underperforming schools and other specific plans to improve and strengthen the city school system so that the state's examination of mayoral control is as comprehensive as possible."
Asked earlier this month if he had reached out to Flanagan, de Blasio referenced his meeting with the Senate leader during a January visit to Albany for Gov. Cuomo's State of the State address. "I've already sat down with him, obviously, and talked to him about this," de Blasio said. "I've certainly made my case to him. It was a very good, respectful meeting. I think he heard my points. I'm not saying he agreed with all of them, but he heard them. He knows a lot about education, obviously, from his own work on the education committee in the Senate. And I welcome a dialogue – I told him I would happily appear at a hearing any time he needs."
Mayoral control of city schools was first granted to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2002 and then extended. According to the state Senate, when it was renewed for six years in 2009, that decision came after "five hearings with more than 45 hours of testimony."
The Senate announcement sent out Thursday says that topics for the hearing will include "New York City's record of student performance, graduation rates, levels of college and career readiness; the effectiveness of having a single person accountable for the public school system as compared to the previous community board system; the implementation and performance of the pre-K system; coordination and cooperation with other public schools and private schools; and identifying educational issues in need of improvement. The hearing details are currently being finalized and once complete, the Committee will extend invitations to provide testimony."
De Blasio is sure to be asked about his approach to charter schools, as well as his Renewal Schools program that puts major investment of resources into the most struggling schools, seeking to avoid closing schools, which was a favored approach under Bloomberg. De Blasio is much more closely aligned with the teachers union than Bloomberg was - and Gov. Cuomo has largely been more in the Bloomberg camp on education policy, though he has shifted some over the last several months. De Blasio will certainly put his establishment of pre-kindergarten at the forefront.
The old system of education was under local school boards, which has been replaced by a centralized mayoral control, with the mayor appointing a chancellor and a majority of members to the Panel for Educational Policy, a decision-making board largely seen as a rubber stamp for the mayor and chancellor.
[Related: What is Flanagan Looking for From De Blasio on Mayoral Control?]
[Related: Flanked by Business Leaders, De Blasio Continues Mayoral Control Push]
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette
Council Member Van Bramer leads a library funding rally (photo: William Alatriste)
Funding for New York City’s three public library systems is still $22 million short of the $65 million in city funding libraries received before the recession, despite increased demand for the services libraries provide, the presidents of the New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Public Library said at a March 23 City Council preliminary budget hearing.
Hundreds of orange-clad librarians and library advocates filled the Council chambers at City Hall to support the three library heads in calling for the entire $43 million in funding that was restored in last year’s budget to be baselined by Mayor de Blasio, and for the additional $22 million in funding that was cut from libraries in 2008 to be restored.
A greater investment in libraries is necessary, the three library presidents argue, to expand access to vital programs libraries provide, such as English Speakers of Other Languages classes, early literacy programs, after school programs, adult-learning classes, and job training. Not to mention more basic library services providing books, space, and internet.
With last year’s added funding, the Queens Library system “increased its ESOL seats by 6.6 percent,” said Dennis Walcott, the new president of the Queens Public Library and former schools chancellor. “However, we still turned away more than 1,100 students due to the lack of capacity. The 2016 investment was historic, but too many needs remain unmet.”
Though the Mayor and the City Council restored $43 million in funding in last year’s budget, Mayor de Blasio has baselined $21 million in his preliminary fiscal year 2017 budget.
“This year, we have taken the unprecedented step in the preliminary FY 2017 budget of baselining the additional mayoral operating funds provided last year,” Amy Spitalnick, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in a statement to Gotham Gazette.
The $21 million that de Blasio has baselined is the share of the funding that the administration contributed last year, and the remaining $22 million that has not been baselined was the Council’s share of the funding, yet it seems the three library heads and Council members want the mayor to baseline the entire $43 million.
“We have been fighting for several years, as all of you know, to restore the funding that was cut from the libraries beginning in 2008,” said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who chaired the hearing, in his opening remarks. “We have continued to urge the administration to baseline all of that funding, and were very pleased when the mayor baselined roughly half of that in the preliminary budget. But it is equally important that the remainder be baselined in the executive budget.”
De Blasio unveiled an $82 billion preliminary FY17 budget in late January. His executive budget will be released in late April or early May and after the Council has presented its official preliminary budget response. In a year with little drama around the budget, funding for libraries and summer school programming appear to be among the few discrepancies between the administration and the Council.
It is unusual for the administration’s presence to be somewhat absent at a City Council budget hearing, and though Tom Finklepearl, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, testified, funding for libraries went unmentioned throughout his time in front of the Council members presiding over the hearing.
While the presidents of the three library systems; Council members; representatives from DC37, the union that largely staffs libraries; and the many librarians and library advocates present at the hearing were all strongly in favor of completely restoring funding and baselining that money, no one from the de Blasio administration discussed the issue on the record. In part, this is the result of the fact that the libraries have their own boards of directors and operate in somewhat gray area. It was not immediately clear why Finklepearl was not asked to explain the administration’s stance on library funding.
Mayor de Blasio did include library systems in the 10-year capital plan for the first time ever last year, dedicating more than $300 million to the three systems. Yet, the three library presidents argue that the capital investment falls more than $250 million short of what is needed to address critical maintenance needs of the city’s libraries, many of which are over half a century old.
“Infrastructure problems have a direct, negative impact on our staff’s programming,” said Anthony Marx, president of the New York Public Library, which serves Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. “At 115th [Street] Library in Harlem, for example, a coveted basement programming space was rendered unusable by serious leaks in a nearly 100-year-old underground pipe. The leaks destroyed the floor, and the outdated pipe and boiler need to be replaced.”
“I fear for the soul of a city that allows libraries to deteriorate so quickly,” said Linda Johnson, president of the Brooklyn Public Library, adding that unplanned branch closures caused by the sudden need for repairs are an all-too-frequent occurrence for Brooklyn’s branches. Johnson says the administration must “baseline the increased operating support from last year and provide sufficient capital funding for libraries to appropriately address emergency needs.”
Libraries provide an array of services that help to achieve the goals of both the mayor and the City Council, including providing IDNYC enrollment and universal pre-K. “Libraries have come through for this administration in a very big way,” Van Bramer said.
For example, Marx pointed out at the hearing, the mayor and the Council have set an ambitious target of having every child reading on grade level by the end of second grade, though currently, 70 percent of the city’s third graders cannot read at grade level. The added funding distributed to the New York Public Library last year “provided us with the opportunity to expand our early literacy programming across the system, increasing overall attendance by 16 percent,” Marx said.
Though libraries did not receive the full $65 million in restored funds that they pushed for last year, all three libraries have made “measurable gains,” and have “nevertheless found a way to deliver six-day service and increase our programming,” Walcott said.
Last year’s added funding allowed the city’s public library systems to offer six-day service once again, for the first time in nearly a decade. As of November, 2015, all 217 libraries across the city are open for at least six days a week, with 15 branches open seven days a week.
“Six day service is a floor, not a ceiling,” Van Bramer said. The three library presidents and the scores of library-lovers that showed up both outside City Hall for a press conference, and inside City Hall for the hearing, want the city to restore the remaining $22 million in funding in order to improve and expand programs that the libraries offer, particularly early literacy services, and increase to seven-day service.
“Libraries are on the front lines of tackling inequality,” Marx said, touching on the main throughline of de Blasio’s agenda. “No institution does more for New Yorkers; from helping to bridge the digital divide to offering new immigrants a chance to learn English, libraries offer essential services for high-need communities, at all stages of life across this city.”
[Related: Assessing City Library Expansion After Budget Boost]
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by Meg O'Connor, Gotham Gazette
@megoconnor13 @GothamGazette
AARP members pack City Council chambers (photo via @aarpny)
There are about 800,000 AARP members in New York City and Mayor Bill de Blasio has been arm-in-arm with them of late. The organization has come out in strong support of key pieces of de Blasio's affordable housing agenda and his plan to create a city-run retirement savings program for private sector workers.
De Blasio has sought and embraced the support, frequently engaging with AARP members and regularly citing AARP's endorsement as validation for his housing plan, specifically controversial changes to the city's zoning rules that he is negotiating through the City Council. On Tuesday, the Council will pass changes to the zoning code that AARP supports as essential to creating more affordable housing for seniors.
Not only is AARP helpful in the near-term as de Blasio builds support for his policies, but older voters are also an important bloc as de Blasio heads toward a 2017 re-election bid. There are more than 2 million registered voters in New York City over the age of 50, which is the threshold for AARP membership, and 72 percent, or 1.5 million, are Democrats, according to Steve Romalewski, Director of CUNY Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research/The Graduate Center.
Older people are known to vote in higher percentages than other age groups, and that is the case in New York City. According to Romalewski, in the 2013 mayoral election, which saw very low overall turnout as de Blasio cruised to a landslide, about 38% of the one million-plus registered voters 65 and older voted, compared to 12% of the one million-plus registered voters 35 or younger.
While AARP has become a key ally for the mayor, the group does not officially endorse candidates. Still, de Blasio's attention to issues of concern for older people and their regular exposure to him as a champion of their causes certainly appear to have created a mutually beneficial dynamic. AARP support for de Blasio's zoning changes became loud during a tough time for the mayor as community boards and others around the city criticized the plan.
On Monday evening, de Blasio held his fourth tele-town hall with AARP-NY in the last nine months, during which he has discussed affordable housing and other issues with thousands of older constituents. According to AARP, 12,800 people participated over the course of an hour-long tele-town hall in February.
During Monday's call, de Blasio struck a celebratory tone on the eve of the City Council voting through the zoning changes. Saying that Tuesday is "going to be a great day for New York City," de Blasio thanked AARP members for "the decisive support you have provided for our affordable housing plan." The "historic" day, de Blasio said, will usher in new policies "to open up a lot of different places where we can create the affordable housing seniors need." De Blasio told call participants that there will be a celebratory rally in Foley Square at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
Over the past two months, AARP also figured significantly in two de Blasio-led rallies at City Hall - one on his housing policies, one on his new retirement savings plan - and helped coordinate an in-person town hall meeting de Blasio held on senior housing in Manhattan.
"AARP is an extraordinary force for good," de Blasio said during one of the tele-town halls, "looking out for the needs of our seniors, making sure their rights are respected, and building a more fair society."
In response to de Blasio's affordable housing plans outlined in his 2015 State of the City speech, AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel said in a statement, "Mayor de Blasio outlined a bold initiative to help make New York City more affordable...AARP looks forward to working with Mayor de Blasio and the City Council to address a primary concern of so many New Yorkers - the cost of living here - and continuing to make New York a great place to live, work and play for all age groups."
AARP has followed up on that pledge, especially as the debate over de Blasio's key senior housing-related proposal, known as Zoning for Quality and Affordability, recently came toward a vote in the City Council. AARP has encouraged its members to call their City Council representatives and conducted a targeted social media campaign to lobby Council members. It also purchased radio ads in support of the mayor's plan and sent mailings. (Another advocacy group for older New Yorkers, LiveOn NY, has also been a vocal supporter of ZQA.)
In a Friday interview with WNYC, de Blasio said that as he and his administration engaged more people on his zoning proposals and larger housing plan, more came to support it. "[A]s this legislation moved forward," de Blasio told WNYC's Brigid Bergin, "crucial organizations like AARP got involved and they spoke powerfully to seniors about why this would help create more senior housing. And that brought in a lot of support." He also referenced the support of a variety of labor unions.
A nonpartisan advocacy group, AARP does not endorse candidates or make campaign contributions. It does, however, support policies, and it has put significant resources behind de Blasio's zoning changes. AARP has also committed to full-throated support for the retirement savings program, which the group's representatives say is a major national priority.
Still, AARP representatives are firm that the organization does not endorse, donate to campaigns, or promote candidates through independent expenditures. In response to a tweet from Gotham Gazette in which this reporter speculated that AARP could be a formidable source of election support for de Blasio, AARP Associate State Director for New York City Chris Widelo tweeted back, "we are strictly non-partisan and do not endorse...but our members do vote!"
During a phone interview Monday afternoon, Widelo explained more about AARP's approach to issue advocacy versus candidate campaigns. "If it were an election, I think our tone would be different," Widelo said. He added that AARP has been behind the mayor's housing plan with such energy because it is a key priority, but he stressed that the organization will not be supporting de Blasio's reelection campaign. "Next year, you'll probably notice AARP, we have a hard deadline when candidates file paperwork and become a candidate in our eyes, even if they are a sitting elected official, and we adjust how we may coordinate." Widelo said that the deadline is in the summer, but that AARP will judge the political landscape.
AARP has also done tele-town halls with Governor Andrew Cuomo and Public Advocate Letitia James, Widelo noted. "It just so happens that our priorities have lined up with the mayor's and others here in the city," Widelo said. "We're happy to have the mayor of the largest city in the country on our tele-town hall, for sure," he added, "but for us, it's more important to tell [members] the story about what this policy is...it's educational."
While AARP is appreciative of the mayor's attention to issues older New Yorkers care about, de Blasio is certainly happy to have the group's support.
At a March 9 rally outside City Hall to support his housing agenda, de Blasio was surrounded by representatives from AARP and several labor unions, each of which he thanked. "I have to say, there are so many great organizations," de Blasio yelled through a megaphone, "but one that has done absolutely awesome work has been AARP."
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette