Comptroller Scott Stringer (photo via Stringer's office)
In an analysis of Mayor Bill de Blasio's preliminary fiscal year 2017 budget unveiled on Wednesday, Comptroller Scott Stringer pointed to several areas of concern amid a still-positive overall financial picture for New York City.
Speaking to members of the media assembled in a conference room at his Manhattan offices, Stringer said that the "budget cushion," or savings, that de Blasio has allocated is insufficient to properly prepare for an economic downturn and explained that his office foresees larger budget gaps in the coming years than the mayor's plan outlines.
Looking at the New York City economy and the larger fiscal picture around it, Stringer struck a tone similar to de Blasio's during the mayor's recent presentation of an $82 billion spending plan. Both Stringer and de Blasio point to concerning volatility on Wall Street and in China. "The storm clouds are gathering," Stringer said Wednesday, but "we do not expect a downturn in the near future."
On a theme that both the mayor and comptroller strike regularly, Stringer also showed Wednesday that while the ongoing recovery from the Great Recession has generally benefited the city and its budget, "not all New Yorkers have shared equally in those gains." In fact, he said, that was far from being the case.
Unemployment continues to drop across New York City but "real wages for low-income employees have declined by more than 3 percent," Stringer said. More and more jobs are good, but actual earnings are not keeping up for all workers.
While many of these sentiments echoed de Blasio budget statements over the past two years, Stringer did point to a few specifics in de Blasio's budgeting as problematic. Before going into those concerns, Stringer did praise additional de Blasio spending on increasing the minimum wage for city employees and human services workers the city contracts with and investments in mental health services, education, and supportive housing.
Stringer reiterated his call to help reduce budget deficits at the city's public housing authority by funneling millions of dollars in "excess funds" from the Battery Park City Authority to NYCHA, which has $17 billion in capital needs. The mayor has thus far resisted this call.
As he moved toward criticism of the de Blasio administration, Stringer said the city is now committing $1.7 billion on homeless services across three agencies, a 46 percent increase over two years under this mayor. The comptroller said the city must get a return on this investment and that his office will continue its aggressive audits and investigations. "Money's not the issue," he said, "it's more coordination, management."
Asked to respond to Stringer's analysis, a spokesperson for the mayor, Amy Spitalnick, wrote that the administration is "immediately and aggressively tackling this issue with the most comprehensive effort in the country to prevent homelessness and move people out of shelter and into permanent homes."
Citing a homelessness problem "created by years of disinvestment," Spitalnick said that "political grandstanding won't solve the crisis for families around the city. It takes sustained resources and smart management to address it, and that's exactly what this administration is doing – and a comprehensive review is underway to further improve these vital efforts."
The comptroller also pointed to the need for the city to get uniformed worker overtime expenditures under control, noting that the city is projected to exceed the NYPD overtime cap agreed to as part of the deal adding about 2,000 new officers to the workforce. There are significant overtime costs at the other uniformed agencies - fire, correction, sanitation - as there have been for years. Hundreds of millions of dollars in savings could be found through hard OT spending caps, Stringer showed.
Spitalnick pushed back on this, too, saying "This administration has taken major steps to reduce overtime, such as unprecedented overtime reforms at the NYPD that will ultimately save $70 million a year."
As for the "budget cushion," while the de Blasio administration has touted a record amount of savings, Stringer points to target percentages of operating expenses that should be set aside, with the city falling short.
The comptroller says that in order to be best prepared for a downturn and avoid major city layoffs and cuts, the cushion should be between 12 and 18 percent of expenses. It is currently at 10.6 percent and in need of at least another $1.2 billion in order to reach the floor of that safer range.
To find more savings, Stringer wants the city to implement a PEG, or program to eliminate the gap, which would require city agencies to identify potential savings of a certain percentage of their expenses. "This is about finding efficiencies in agency budgets, not about cutting jobs or vital services," Stringer said.
About half the City Council has also formally called on the mayor to institute a PEG, though he has not. Still, de Blasio indicated in his preliminary budget presentation that a PEG is on the table as he engages with the Council and heads toward releasing his executive budget in May. More will be said on the subject when City Council budget hearings begin in the next few weeks.
On savings, Spitalnick wrote that "budget monitors and rating agencies have all applauded this administration's fiscal prudence and focus on protecting against economic uncertainty – and investors agree."
Spitalnick added that "the administration has implemented an aggressive savings program of over $1 billion each year for the last two years -- in addition to billions in unprecedented health savings secured" in municipal labor contracts. "As the Mayor has made clear," she wrote, "we'll build on those savings in the Executive Budget this spring."
Asked by Gotham Gazette about the conversations between the comptroller's office and the mayor's office about a PEG, Stringer said "I have met with the mayor...he does recognize that we need to do an efficiency." Reminding everyone that the budget process has just begun, Stringer said that de Blasio "has not said no to the PEG...he's going to come back, as he should, and tell us what his plan is."
On outyear budget gaps - projected gaps between revenue and expenses - Stringer said that he foresees about a billion dollars more to make up in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 than the mayor is projecting. This is due, he explained, to his office's projection that, among other differences, the city will receive far less in taxi medallion sales and spend more on the public hospital system than currently budgeted.
Spitalnick, of de Blasio's office, said that "reserves are at unprecedented highs" and that "out-year gaps are low and based on the City's always-cautious revenue projections." She indicated that the administration believes Stringer is being overly cautious about taxi medallion sales by zeroing them out and that the administration was already adjusting those projections.
In his presentation Wednesday, Stringer also addressed the looming threat of cuts in funding for New York City through the state budget. That state will decide its fiscal 2017 budget before April 1, at which time the de Blasio administration may need to adjust its spending plan further than it may otherwise.
Referencing his recent trip to testify at a budget hearing in Albany, Stringer said that "a lot of our upstate legislators simply don't get it, they really think that New York City is their piggy bank." Despite the recovery, Stringer said, there are significant challenges, and the state cannot go through with significant cuts to city funding as are being threatened - most notably those to Medicaid and CUNY outlined by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette
Council Member Donovan Richards (photo via @DRichards13)
Amid light flakes of snow, about 20 ralliers stood outside City Hall Monday morning and unleashed a flurry of criticism of a key piece of Mayor Bill de Blasio's affordable housing plan. De Blasio's plan to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing relies in part on proposed changes to the city's land use rules, which are set to go before City Council review this week.
Members of the Real Affordability for All coalition, including construction union members, low-wage workers, and community organizers, believe that the mayor's plan to change the city's zoning codes do not account for enough affordable units for those at the lowest end of the income spectrum. They also want to see provisions for union labor in the development of affordable housing across New York City.
Monday's rally is just one example of a barrage of actions taken over the past months, heightened in recent days, as advocacy groups, urban planners, editorial writers, and city officials express various opinions about the administration's proposals, which would help shape the character of neighborhoods across the city for generations.
Having had little luck influencing the de Blasio administration to change the details of its Mandatory Inclusionary Housing (MIH) proposal, advocates seeking deeper affordability provisions say they are hoping to see City Council members push for changes as they consider both MIH and its sibling zoning amendment, Zoning for Quality and Affordability (ZQA). They got good news when, just ahead of City Council hearings on the plan, the Council's Progressive Caucus announced its desired tweaks to the proposals, which include units at lower rents (first reported by the Daily News).
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the zoning subcommittee of the City Council land use committee will hold hearings on MIH and ZQA, two proposals key to the de Blasio administration's goal of building 80,000 new units of affordable housing by 2024. The de Blasio administration hopes to create a new framework for development across the city, allowing for more density and encouraging more construction, while insisting on more units of rental housing with set caps on monthly charges along with an increase in market-rate apartments.
City Council Member Donovan Richards chairs the zoning subcommittee of the Council's land use committee and will be at the center of the two hearings this week, as will Council Member David Greenfield, chair of the land use committee.
Richards, who is a co-chair of the Council's Progressive Caucus but abstained from signing onto its MIH letter due to his role as subcommittee chair, has previously expressed concerns about ZQA. Like many of his colleagues, he is supportive of the idea behind MIH - requiring developers receiving a rezoning to include a set number of affordable units in their project - but has not committed to a specific position on the numbers behind those affordability requirements. Greenfield has expressed concerns as well, and has indicated that the Council may seek some significant adjustments to the proposals.
Richards' office tells Gotham Gazette that long hearings are expected on both days, with de Blasio administration officials testifying to kick things off Tuesday morning. MIH will be the focus on Tuesday, ZQA on Wednesday, though the Council will take testimony on either both days. The Council will give numbers to people signed up to testify and update where testimony stands through Twitter and the livestream of the hearing. As the City Planning Commission did, the Council will alternate panels based on whether those testifying are there largely in support of the zoning changes or against them, Richards' office said.
De Blasio's top three housing officials will be the first panel to speak before the zoning subcommittee on Tuesday: Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Vicki Been, and City Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod. The three held a press briefing on Monday afternoon at City Hall in order to give the administration's latest take on the overall housing plan and where MIH and ZQA fit in. As they surely will in front of the Council, Glen, Been, and Weisbrod sought to stress that the zoning amendments are just one piece of the larger plan, and that deeper levels of affordable housing will be created through several means, including city subsidies to developers.
Saying that it "gets lost" that MIH is "only one part of our housing plan," Been explained to reporters that "mandatory inclusionary housing" means "harness[ing] the private market to create affordable housing." She went on to explain the "subsidies," "vouchers," and "term-sheets" that her agency uses to "reach those lower incomes" that won't be reached through MIH.
Deputy Mayor Glen repeatedly called MIH "a game-changer" Monday, referring to the fact that it would create a first-of-its-kind framework to require set levels of affordable units as part of any development receiving an up-zoning. In an interview on NY1 Monday evening, Mayor de Blasio defended the plans, saying that MIH means the city will "demand more from developers than we ever have before."
De Blasio acknowledged that City Council members have concerns, and as his top aides said, he appeared open to continuing to tweak the zoning changes. "We're going to be working with the Council," de Blasio told NY1 anchor Errol Louis. "The Council's asked for some changes, we're going to be very receptive, to see if we can find a good balance."
Along with administration officials, many of the same groups and individuals who have been outspoken on housing issues for a long time and throughout the recent process are expected to testify. The City Planning Commission, which recently passed MIH and ZQA with a few tweaks, held a lengthy public hearing in December. Much of the conversation is likely to be similar this week at the City Council, though Council members sharing their thoughts and asking their questions will be an important added dimension.
Groups expected to testify include affordable housing advocates like the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) and Municipal Arts Society, which want to see changes to the plan; representatives of AARP, which has endorsed the mayor's plans citing benefits for senior affordable housing; the Real Estate Board of New York, which is supportive; New York Communities for Change, which is not; and those from other trade and advocacy groups and think tanks.
Unions behind de Blasio's plans, including the Hotel Trades Council, 1199 SEIU, 32BJ, and District Council 37 may also send representatives to testify in support. As reported by Politico New York, these unions have just helped form a new organization created to support these and other housing proposals from the de Blasio administration.
Many are indeed supportive of the administration's plans, saying that this is the first real attempt at responsible housing development across a changing New York City, and, combined with other aspects of de Blasio's plans - like tenant legal protections and affordable housing subsidies - will stem the tide of gentrification, increase housing options, and improve neighborhoods.
However, many across the city believe that the mayor's plan does not go far enough in terms of the affordable units that would be required of real estate developers seeking a rezoning of a piece of land in order to build housing on it. Furthermore, there are concerns about the myriad provisions in ZQA that change a variety of rules around building heights, parking requirements, and more.
All eyes are on the City Council now. While other Council members may join for the hearings, along with Council Members Richards and Greenfield, the rest of the zoning subcommittee will take center stage. Other members of the committee are Council Members Dan Garodnick, Antonio Reynoso, Ruben Wills, Ritchie Torres, Jumaane Williams, and Vincent Gentile. If the subcommitte votes through MIH and ZQA (with tweaks acceptable to the City Planning Commission as "within scope" of the original proposals), the land use committee will vote, then the full Council. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito remains a key decision-maker in the process. She has indicated that the plans need some changes, but has not spoken in much detail about what she wants to see changed.
In a recent update, called "MIH Moves to City Council," ANHD leaders wrote that "Local community groups will be looking to the Council to revise MIH and make it a tool that can actually help meet the needs of all New Yorkers - particularly the lowest-income members of our communities, who are most in need of affordable housing."
While they called it a "game-changer," de Blasio's top housing officials also called MIH "one tool in a toolkit" Monday as they explained the ways in which the city creates that deeper affordable housing so that people and families earning less than $30,000 a year can afford an apartment.
Asked Monday about getting the City Council on board with the plan, Deputy Mayor Glen said that there's been a "radical shift" over the last couple of months in terms of Council members coming to understand what the administration is doing, what she called a "growing consensus among the Council that we need to do something game-changing."
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette
New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
State budget hearings continue in Albany this week, but excitement in the capital is centered around the presence of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who makes a rare visit to Albany, where he'll participate in several events Monday, including one with good government groups where he'll discuss ethics and corruption in state government.
Meanwhile, in New York City, on Sunday Mayor Bill de Blasio announced new safety improvements to crane operations - a plan to reduce risks, particularly from high winds, following Friday's crane collapse, which killed one person and injured several others.
It's an important week for de Blasio's housing plan. The City Council will hold two committee hearings this week on the mayor's proposals to change the zoning and land use rules of the city. The two proposals, known as Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability have received mixed reviews around the city, including a lot of pushback from local community boards and groups advocating for the lowest-income New Yorkers. [Read more about the proposals here.] Adding a few tweaks, the City Planning Commission passed the two amendments to the city's zoning rules last week, sending them to the City Council for review and possible adjustments. See hearing details below.
Also important to watch this week: City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will deliver her second State of the City address, on Thursday from the Bronx. Mark-Viverito's speech is called "More Justice" and likely to both tout work the speaker and her colleagues have done to protect low income and immigrant New Yorkers, including measures to reduce penalties for low-level, non-violent offenses, and outline new plans to create what Mark-Viverito believes would be a more fair criminal justice system and society. Last week, Mayor de Blasio gave his 2016 State of the City address, also from the Bronx, where he focused on neighborhood development. See event details for Mark-Viverito's speech below.
As always, there's a great deal happening all over the city, with many events to be aware of - read our day-by-day rundown below.
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The run of the week in detail:
Monday
At 10 a.m. Monday at City Hall, “low-wage workers for real affordability” will “reject Mayor de Blasio’s controversial housing plan...a day before the City Council hearing on Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, low-wage workers for real affordability call for major changes to de Blasio's plan.” Ralliers will include “fast food workers, carwash workers, laundry workers, and other workers and residents from East New York, the South Bronx, and East Harlem and low-income neighborhoods.”
At 11:30 Monday morning, Mayor de Blasio "will hold a public hearing for and sign eight pieces of legislation - Intro. 632-B, in relation to protecting employees in large grocery stores from immediately losing their jobs after an ownership transition; Intro. 771-A, 957-A and 952-A, in relation to requiring the Department of Education to submit annual reports on student health services, information regarding sexual health education instruction received by public middle and high school educators, and information regarding school compliance with State regulations governing comprehensive health education and HIV/AIDS education in 6th through 12 grade; Intro. 49-A, in relation to expanding notice to Council Members and Community Boards regarding the approval and rejection of applications for new buildings and alterations to existing buildings that require a new certificate of occupancy; Intro. 798-B, in relation to requiring the Depart of Finance to provide tenants enrolled in the Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption or the Disability Rent Increase Exemption programs with the rent amount on which their benefit calculation is based on; and Intro. 1007 and 1030-A, in relation to increasing the amount expended annually on Business Improvement Districts (BID) and expanding the Metrotech BID."
At 1:30 p.m., "the Mayor will attend the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association 2016 Lunar New Year Celebration, where he will be honored for adding the Lunar New Year to the school holiday calendar, and present a proclamation. Immediately following the event, the Mayor will hold a media availability."
The New York State Legislature is in session on Monday in Albany. And at 12:30 p.m., there will be a joint legislative budget hearing on Higher Education at the New York State Legislature.
Also at 12:30 p.m. Monday in Albany, the Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary will hold a “public hearing to consider the nomination of Michael Garcia for Associate Judge of the New York State of Appeals.”
From 12:30 to 4 p.m. Monday, BetaNYC will host a discussion on open data and its effects on New York City.
On Monday at 1 p.m. in front of the Supreme Court building in Brooklyn, “the family of Akai Gurley will be joined by families impacted by police violence in New York City. Officer Peter Liang, who will be testifying Monday, killed Akai Gurley on November 20, 2014 in NYCHA Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn during a vertical patrol.”
Also at 1 p.m. Monday, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Letitia James will deliver remarks at the Flushing Chinese Business Association Lunar New Year Celebration.
Monday at 2 p.m. at Queens Hospital, "First Lady Chirlane McCray and Deputy Mayor Richard Buery will host a town hall with Muslim leaders in Queens on mental health. They will share an overview of ThriveNYC and then answer questions from participants." [Read: As Council Begins Oversight, McCray Reports Mental Health Roadmap Progress]
At 4 p.m. Monday in Albany, good government groups and WAMC/Northeast Public Radio will host U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for “A Special Conversation with Preet Bharara.” Citizens Union, Common Cause New York, the League of Women Voters and the New York Public Interest Research Group will co-host the event at The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio in Albany. Bharara will deliver remarks and sit for an interview with WAMC President and CEO Dr. Alan Chartock - it will be broadcast live on WAMC’s 28 radio frequencies and at www.wamc.org. Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, will introduce Bharara.
Earlier in the day, Bharara is also set to address a conference of New York mayors and attend the swearing in of new New York chief judge Janet DiFiore, who will lead the state’s court of appeals. Governor Cuomo will deliver remarks at DiFiore's ceremony.
Late Monday evening, the New York City Department of Homeless Service and volunteering New Yorkers will conduct the annual HOPE Count of the city’s street homeless population. At about 11:30 p.m., “Mayor Bill de Blasio, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, Deputy Mayor Herminia Palacio, HRA Commissioner Steve Banks, and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will kick-off a HOPE count volunteer training session at PS 116 in Manhattan.” There are estimated to be 3,000-4,000 people who live on the streets in New York City, though the HOPE count and new measures by the mayor seek to clarify that number. The de Blasio administration is undertaking new efforts to move people from the streets into shelters, safe havens, hospitals, or other facilities.
Tuesday
The New York State Legislature is in session on Tuesday. Also, at 9:30 a.m., there will be a joint legislative budget hearing on human services.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday in Queens, "On Tuesday, February 9th, New York City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, Community Board 2, representatives from Access Queens, 7 Train commuters, business owners and stakeholders will rally to voice their concerns about poor 7 train service. This year, riders have seen growing delays and service disruptions during rush hour commutes. During the rally, Majority Leader Van Bramer will call on the MTA to implement and expedite a complete Full-Line Review of the 7 line. Queens 7 train commuters will be at the rally sharing their stories about horrific rush hour commutes and talking about the negative impacts poor service is having on their lives."
At 9 a.m. Tuesday in Queens, “Borough President Melinda Katz will deliver the keynote...at the annual Queens Chamber of Commerce breakfast before an audience that includes members of the Queens Borough Cabinet and more than 150 business and community leaders from across the borough.”
At the City Council on Tuesday:
"Senator Patty Ritchie, Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and members of the Senate Republican Conference will be holding a press conference Tuesday, February 9, 2016, at noon in Room 332 of the Capitol to highlight the Senate Majority's "Planting Seeds" initiatives to support New York's family farmers and boost the agriculture economy."
At 1 p.m., the New York City Campaign Finance Board will hold “EC2017 Compliance and C-Smart" which is “training for campaigns running in the 2017 citywide elections."
At the capitol building, "The Senate Democratic Conference will unveil a set of policy initiatives spearheaded by the Senate Democratic Policy Group to help New York families during the critical early childhood period on Tuesday, February 9, at 1:30 PM."
At 7 p.m., the Riders Alliance will host a “Strategy Meeting and Training: Reduced Fares for Low-Income Riders.”
Wednesday
At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the City Council, the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchise will hold a hearing at City Hall - “The focus of this hearing will be the Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposal but public testimony on the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing can also be given.” [Read: Planning Commission Sends Mayor's Zoning Proposals to City Council]
On Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Albany, the Assembly Standing Committees on Judiciary and on Consumer Affairs and Protection will hold a joint hearing “To examine ways to better protect New Yorkers from unfair mandatory arbitration clauses, and to explore how the arbitration adjudicatory process can be improved.”
At 6:30 p.m., The Urban Land Institute New York will host “A View from the Top: Inclusive Leadership in the Real Estate Industry” about women’s leadership roles.
Thursday
"The next public meeting of the New York City Campaign Finance Board will be held on Thursday, February 11 at 10:00 AM."
On Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the Bronx, the Assembly Standing Committee on Cities will hold a hearing on infrastructure problems of cities and potential solutions.
At noon on Thursday from the Samuel Gompers Campus in the South Bronx, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will deliver her second State of the City address, "More Justice."
On Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at the General Society Library, Common Cause NY, Greater NY Chamber, New Democratic Dimensions, and National Women's Political Caucus are hosting "Ethics in Government: Where do we go from here?" featuring state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, City Council Member Dan Garodnick, and former City Council Member Robert Jackson.
Friday and the weekend
At 10 a.m. Friday, the City Council Committee on Parks and Recreation will meet on two bills: one, "would require the department of parks and recreation to publish a manual that sets forth binding policy regarding the reporting of the department's pesticide use. The bill would require that the manual, any changes to the manual, and any pesticide use reports prepared by the department of parks and recreation be made available online on the department's website"; and the other "would require the Parks Department (DPR) to establish a notification system by way of email or text message where park goers can register to receive advance notifications whenever an area under DPR's jurisdiction will be sprayed with pesticides."
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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).
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by Ben Max
@GothamGazette