The top of Assemblymember Felix Ortiz's recent constituent mailer

Members of the New York State Legislature have a key resource at their disposal to communicate with their constituents: mass mailers. Both the Senate and Assembly allow lawmakers to send public communications through different media -- chiefly employed in the form of direct printed newsletters and mailers -- to inform residents of their districts about recent legislation or special events, or to alert them of emergencies, and more. While these mailers are subject to certain restrictions in the run up to an

(photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

Carlina Rivera, the author (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)

Repairing the subways, closing Rikers, rescuing failing schools – it can seem like New York’s most insurmountable crises are always being dealt with by cutting corners and taking the path of least resistance. This isn’t how it’s always been in our city. When the city passed the historic Fair Share Criteria in 1989, officials finally said enough to the inequitable distribution of city facilities and called for investment in a long-term plan for facility siting in the future.

These rules were supposed to

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

It was a busy campaign weekend for Mayor de Blasio, who exchanged reelection endorsements at events with Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., as well as making several other campaign stops. De Blasio will mix governing and politics this week, including, on the government side, a bill-signing and press conference on Monday, and a town hall Wednesday night in Williamsburg with City Council Member

The CD2 Democratic candidates at Manhattan Neighborhood Network

There are five candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in the race to replace term-limited Rosie Mendez as the City Council representative for District 2, which includes the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The candidates -- Carlina Rivera, Ronnie Cho, Mary Silver, Jasmin Sanchez, and Jorge Vasquez -- gathered recently at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) for a debate to be televised by the station.

The debate, moderated by Gotham Gazette’s Ben

Council Member Laurie Cumbo (@cmlauriecumbo)

Hundreds of Crown Heights residents and community activists laughed and jeered at a recent community forum as a lanky man wearing a paper mask of Mayor Bill de Blasio joked about bringing affordable housing to their neighborhood.

The event was punctuated by moments of levity but mostly dominated by anger from residents who feel their elected representatives have sold out their interests to the real estate industry, with a focus on the proposed redevelopment of the vacant Bedford Union Armory. The

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Mayor de Blasio was back in town this weekend after a four-day vacation in Rhode Island. The mayor participated in several weekend evetns. He's not only returning this week to work at City Hall, but he's facing former City Council Member Sal Albanese in the first Democratic mayoral primary election debate on Wednesday night. It will be must-see TV on NY1 or must-hear radio on WNYC -- along with those two networks, the debate is also being

Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (photo: @NYCCouncil)

The New York City Council’s bail fund, a signature project of Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, has officially launched operations and is actively taking on cases in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

“We had a very soft rollout in June and July,” said Dave Long, executive director of The Liberty Fund, the official name of the fund, which provides bail to low-level offenders facing misdemeanor charges who cannot afford to post bail. The most common misdemeanor charges in Brooklyn, for instance, are for

City Council candidate Keith Powers (photo: @KeithPowersNYC)

Candidates across the city this year are running for City Council on all sorts of issues, but only one has released a detailed list of government, campaign finance, and voting reform proposals. That agenda, called “

On the Lower East Side, Council Contenders Seek to Upend Favorite for Open Seat

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Mayor Bill de Blasio is starting the week with a news conference Monday morning where he is expected to announce a new "millionaire's tax" which would fund MTA upgrades and subsidize MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. The proposal comes amid a dispute between the city and

Francisco Moya (photo via Moya's Facebook)

Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, City Council Member for District 21 in Queens and chair of the powerful finance committee, shook up city politics in June when she announced she would not be running for re-election. Now, with her seat up for grabs and several potential candidates removed from the ballot by the Board of Elections, there is a dramatic head-to-head Democratic primary matchup to fill the City Council seat.

The contest is between State Assemblymember Francisco

City Council members & candidates (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)

The 2017 city elections are quickly approaching, with party primaries to be held September 12, followed by the general election on November 7. The offices up for election are the three citywide posts of mayor, comptroller, and public advocate; the five borough president positions; all 51 City Council seats; and two district attorneys (Manhattan and Brooklyn).

The citywide positions all have Democratic incumbents seeking a second term: Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public

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It's a relatively quiet week in New York politics. The City Council has only a few hearings scheduled this week after holding a full meeting last week where they passed a number of bills, including the 'Right to Counsel' bill to provide free legal services to low-income tenants in housing court.  

Mayor Bill de Blasio is back at City Hall after spending a week in Queens

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

From Monday through Friday, the de Blasio administration will hold the third installment of the week-long City Hall in your Borough series, wherein the mayor and many members of his administration run the city away from City Hall and in the boroughs. This installment will take place in Queens. De Blasio has already announced the borough hall-based open house-style constituent “resource fair” and one town hall that he’ll hold, each of which he

City Council Member Dan Garodnick (photo: @DanGarodnick)

Due to term limits, popular City Council Member Dan Garodnick is not allowed to run for reelection this year, leading to a crowded field of competitors vying to replace him representing the politically active Manhattan district that includes East Midtown, Gramercy Park, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

Ten candidates, mostly Democrats like Garodnick, competed in a debate at Waterside Plaza on June 22. The event, hosted by news publication Town & Village and

Council Member Kallos (photo: City Council)

As the September 12 primary elections approach and campaigns kick into high gear, a vast majority of candidates for the city’s elected offices will have their coffers bolstered by the Campaign Finance Board’s (CFB) public matching funds program, which matches eligible donations at a 6-to-1 ratio.

Most candidates, but not all. According to data provided by the CFB, 14 of 51 incumbents this cycle are not participating in the program, which was created by the city in 1988 in part to allow

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week starts with mayoral control of New York City schools on the verge of lapsing. The state Legislature ended session this past week without an extension of the law that will expire at the end of June. A deal could still be reached as the major parties involved continue to negotiate. Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday he thinks a deal could be reached before mayoral control lapses. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said talks will reintensify

Council Member Helen Rosenthal (photo: William Alatriste/New York City Council)

The City Council’s Committee on Economic Development and the Committee on Contracts held a joint hearing on Thursday to discuss proposed legislation that would create a bill of rights for subcontractors working with the city.

Intro.1615, sponsored by Council Members Laurie Cumbo,

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week all eyes are on Albany as the last three scheduled days of the legislative session are Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The session could extend to the end of the week, but no one expects it to go beyond that. The most pressing issue for New York City and the de Blasio administration, among several top priorities, is an extension of mayoral control of city schools. The legislation allowing mayoral control is set to expire at the end of the month.

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

It's crunchtime in Albany, where there are just seven scheduled days of legislative session left: four this week and three the next. What will get done? It's still unclear, though a few high-profile bills have moved lately, including one through both houses that raises the age for marriage in New York. Both houses have also passed a bill related to the state's Freedom of Information Law. Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed similar legislation in 2015, but

City Council Member Gentile (photo: Sam Raskin)

Brooklyn Democratic office-seekers pitched their candidacies to the Brooklyn Young Democrats (BYD) club at a forum the group hosted in Bay Ridge Wednesday night.

The event was part of the candidate and club endorsement circuit leading up to the September primary elections for City Council and other offices, including Mayor.

The BYD meeting featured candidates for several offices, but was centered around the race for City Council in District 43, which includes parts of Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, along with Bath

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What to watch for this week in New York politics:

A city budget deal was announced Friday night by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council. As the week begins we're digesting and dissecting that and awaiting full details.

The City Council holds several committee hearings this week, and there is a full-body Council "Stated" meeting on Thursday at which new bills are introduced and bills that have been passed through committee voted through the full Council.

Speaking of the

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 What to watch for this week in New York politics:

It’s a fairly quiet post-holiday week in New York. The state Legislature is not in session in Albany this week. Legislators will return to the Capitol on Monday, June 5, with 11 sessions days to go over three weeks. For his part, Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to hold events around the state - he starts his week on Staten Island - see  below for details. 

The City Council concluded budget hearings last week on Mayor Bill de

The Progressive Caucus conference (photo: Daniel Altschuler‏)

The City Council’s Progressive Caucus met this week to discuss its 2018 agenda, a set of 18 policy proposals that, its members say, pits them as direct adversaries to President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.

“Now more than ever, it is crucial for local progressive leadership in NYC to set the