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Public Advocate Debate; Byford MTA Drama; Vision Zero Oversight; & More: The Week Ahead in New York Politics, October 21


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week will see continued analysis of the major political event of last week: the City Council’s vote to approve the construction of four new borough-based jails to replace the Rikers Island jail complex by the end of 2026.

As the week begins, we’re also awaiting the discussion at the MTA Board this week after news broke on Friday, first from Politico New York, that MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford had submitted a resignation letter, but then rescinded it. In response to the revelation Byford issued a statement saying he isn’t “going anywhere,” and is committed to continuing to save the subways and buses. The news also comes as the next five-year MTA capital plan, with more than $51 billion in planned expenditures, much of which was informed by Byford Fast Forward plan, was recently passed by the MTA Board and awaits approval from the Governor, legislative leaders, and Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Cuomo had a busy weekend of announcements, including: announcing that the “new southbound off-ramp from the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87) to Albany Shaker Road in Colonie, Albany County is now open” and announcing “$10 million for two signature features of what will be the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park in Buffalo,” then attending the Bills football game.

Cuomo also “directed state agencies to investigate an apartment building in the Bronx following allegations of bed bug infestations and drug related crime. The Governor directed the State Department of Health to send an inspection team into the building to perform an environmental health assessment to ensure health standards are being met. The Governor also directed the state Office of Rent Administration to investigate whether rent-regulated units in the apartment complex are being adequately maintained…”

De Blasio had a quiet weekend with family in Connecticut after celebrating the passage of the jails plan at the end of this past week.

Two of the leading Democratic presidential candidates had big appearances in the city this weekend: Bernie Sanders held a rally in Queens with, according to this campaign, more than 25,000 attendees at which he was endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other New York elected officials, including State Senators Michael Gianaris and Jessica Ramos; and Joe Biden received a warm welcome from the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) at its annual “Teacher Union Day” celebration in Manhattan. (The third candidate of the three who have been far ahead of all others in the field in polling thus far in the primary, Elizabeth Warren, held a big Manhattan rally a few weeks ago.)

There’s a lot happening this week, from the MTA Board meeting to several interesting hearings being held by the City Council and the State Legislature, a hearing of the state campaign finance commission, and much more -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday, October 21
On Monday at 6:30 p.m., "Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at the Diwali Celebration at Gracie Mansion." In the 7 and 11 p.m. hours, the Mayor will appear on NY1’s Inside City Hall.

Monday will see the monthly MTA Board committee meetings.

At 10 a.m. Monday, "Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Announces Opening of Affordable Housing Development for Seniors" in Buffalo.

At 11 a.m. Monday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer will make an announcement at his Manhattan office.

At 11 a.m. Monday in Manhattan, the State Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation and the Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation will jointly hold a public hearing on recycling.

At 11 a.m. Monday, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will speak "to the Men's Resource Center at Kingsborough Community College" and "discuss his path to public service and current key initiatives." At 7 p.m. Monday, Williams will attend a town hall meeting with District Leader Olanike Alabi.

On Monday at 11 a.m. in Albany, the State Senate Standing Committee on Aging and the State Senate Standing Committee on Social Services will jointly hold a public hearing to “assess the impact of proposed changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and methodology used to determine Official Poverty Measures (OPM), respectively, on New York programs that assist populations served by the human services sector.”

At 4:30 p.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will speak at the CUNY Board of Trustees Manhattan borough hearing at Hunter College. At about 7:45 p.m., Brewer will be honored at the New York Professional Advisors for Community Entrepreneurs’s 2019 Fall Fundraising Reception.

The Eleanor’s Legacy fall reception celebrating New York women will take place at 6 p.m. Monday in Manhattan and will feature New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

State Senator Andrew Gounardes will host a “climate and resiliency town hall” on Monday evening, with representatives of various government agencies, at 6:30 p.m. at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.

Tuesday, October 22
The Workmen’s Circle will host its latest “Breakfast with Champions” event featuring New York Attorney General Letitia James from 8-9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Workmen’s Circle Headquarters in Manhattan.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the Board of Corrections will hold a public meeting at 125 Worth Street.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals will hold its next public hearing, in Manhattan.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the New York State Public Campaign Financing Commission will a public hearing at the Suffolk County Legislature’s William J. Lindsay County Complex.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday at the City Council, the Committee on Standards and Ethics will hold an oversight hearing in relation to Rule 10.80, which deals with Council member conduct. It is unclear which Council member(s) may be the subject of the hearing.

The Manhattan Institute will host a book forum for “How the Other Half Learns: Equality, Excellence and the Battle Over School Choice” by Robert Pondiscio, senior fellow at the Fordham Institute, at noon Tuesday. The book focuses on the Success Academy charter school network.

At noon Tuesday in Manhattan’s Oculus Plaza, just before the New York Department of Health hears “testimony from stakeholders to inform legislative recommendations for safe staffing standards in hospitals and nursing homes,” elected officials, patients, members of the Communications Workers of America and New York State Nurses Association, and others “will rally outside the task force hearing to demand any legislation establish safe staffing ratios to ensure patient safety.” Participants are expected to include Comptroller Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Member Carlina Rivera, and others.

“New York City state legislators, higher education leaders, and local organizations will host a forum on the state of NYC’s higher education and discuss solutions to ensure every young New Yorker -- regardless of ZIP code, income, or any other factor -- can get a quality, affordable higher education. Titled “Breaking Barriers: Equity in Higher Education in New York City,” the roundtable will include a presentation of a blueprint for closing higher education gaps from #DegreesNYC, a project dedicated to achieving equity in postsecondary access and completion in New York City.” Speakers will include State Senator Robert Jackson; New York State Regent Lester W. Young; Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation; and Cass Conrad, CUNY University Dean of K-16 Initiatives.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) will hold a public meeting at the Michael J. Petrides High School on Staten Island.

Community Board 8 Manhattan will host “Criminal Justice Reform: Ending Mass Incarceration in NYC,” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hunter College. Panelists will include Cheryl Roberts, Executive Director of the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice; Marvin Mayfield, New York State Organizer at Just Leadership; Karume James, Public Defender and Supervising Attorney at The Bronx Defenders; Abigail Swenstein, Public Defender at The Legal Aid Society; Keith Powers, NYC Council Member and Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee. The panel will be moderated by Billy Freeland, Secretary at Community Board 8.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Public Advocate candidates Jumaane Williams, the Democratic incumbent, and Joe Borelli, a Republican City Council member, will debate on NY1.

Wednesday, October 23 
At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the MTA Board will meet.

At the City Council on Wednesday:
--at 10 a.m., the Committee on Economic Development will hold a hearing on multiple bills related to the New York City tourism economy
--at 11 a.m., the Committee on Land Use will hold a hearing on several matters.
-- at 1 p.m., the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management will hold an oversight hearing on the New York City Department of Sanitation’s 2019-2020 Snow Plan and to discuss related legislation.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the State Senate Standing Committee on Health and the Assembly Standing Committee on Health will jointly hold a public hearing on the New York Health Act at the Bronx Library Center.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, the Assembly on Standing Committee on Insurance and the Assembly Standing Committee on Local Governments will jointly hold a public hearing on Municipal Health Insurance Alternatives and Affordability at the Legislative Office Building in Albany.

On Wednesday at noon, “Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Amida Care, and the National Black Leadership Commission on Health will host a press conference at Brooklyn Borough Hall to recognize New York State's first ever PrEP Aware Week. (PrEP is a treatment regimen over 99% effective in preventing HIV transmission and a crucial part of the NYS plan to End the HIV Epidemic by 2020.)”

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will host an Italian Heritage Reception in Tuckahoe.

Thursday, October 24
City & State NY will hold its 2019 Government Procurement Conference on Thursday to help attendees “learn and foster business partnerships between Government, Prime Contractors, MWBEs and more.” It will feature remarks by Dan Symon, Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, and panelists will include State Senator James Sanders; Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte; City Council Member Helen Rosenthal; City Council Member Robert E. Cornegy Jr.; Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services; Sean Carroll, Chief Procurement Officer at the New York State Office of General Services; and Michael J. Garner, Chief Diversity Officer at the MTA.

At 9 a.m. Thursday, The Regional Planning Association will host a breakfast event to release its new “report on fixing the NYCHA crisis. Join RPA staff for a discussion around the key recommendations and findings of the report as well as the next steps needed to repair the condition of public housing for over 400,000 New Yorkers who live with this growing catastrophe on a daily basis.”

At the City Council on Thursday: at 10 a.m., the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Police Safety jointly hold an oversight hearing on “Vision Zero, cyclist safety, and Police Department enforcement” while also discussing several related bills.

At 10 a.m. Thursday in Manhattan, the Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary, the Assembly Standing Committee on Social Services, and the Assembly Standing Committee on Children and Families will jointly hold a public hearing on the rights of children in court.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Families for Safe Streets will host a special clergy forum titled “The Epidemic of Traffic Injuries and Deaths: The Role of Faith Communities,” from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday at Borough Hall.

The State Senate Standing Committee on Codes will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. Thursday in Albany on the bill to repeal section 50-A of the Civil Rights law, “provisions relating to personal records of police officers, firefighters, and correctional officers.”

At 10:30 a.m. Thursday, State Comptroller Tom DiNappoli will release his Jackson Heights Economic Snapshot.

At 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the State Senate Standing Committee on Higher Education will hold a public hearing at Brooklyn College to examine the “cost of public higher education and its effects on student financial aid programs, state support, TAP/GAP, student borrowing and other challenges to affordability and accessibility.”

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will appear at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Center for Community and Ethnic Media at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY “to discuss his top legislative priorities and upcoming initiatives that touch each corner of New York City.”

“Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) will host an Impeachment Forum and community ‘Speak Out’ event on Thursday, October 24th at 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at Vladeck Hall at the Amalgamated Housing Corporation” in the Bronx.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, Citizens Union will host its 2019 Gotham Greats Awards dinner, honoring William J. Mulrow, Senior Advisory Director, Blackstone Group; Mary Jo White, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton; Harry J. Wilson, Founder and CEO, MAEVE Group; and Errol Louis, political anchor, Spectrum News NY1.

Friday, October 25
At 10 a.m. Friday, Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show.

At 10 a.m. Friday in Manhattan, the State Senate Standing Committee on Consumer Protection and the State Senate Standing Committee on Internet and Technology will jointly hold a public hearing on protecting consumer data and privacy on online platforms.

***
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 Ben Max & Gia Ramesh
@GothamGazette

What's The [DATA] Point? 5, The 2019 Charter Revision Questions on Your Ballot


whats the data point


What's The [Data] Point? Episode 82 -- 5, The 2019 Charter Revision Questions on Your Ballot, with Gail Benjamin and Carl Weisbroad of the 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

wtdp 82There are 19 proposals to change city government and elections in five "yes" or "no" questions on this year's ballot in New York City. They were put on the ballot by a Charter Revision Commission. The chair of the commission, Gail Benjamin, and one of the commissioners, Carl Weisbrod, joined the podcast to discuss the commission's work and the proposals voters can approve or disapprove over the next few weeks.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think: Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax), Maria Doulis of CBC (@MariaDoulis). Listen below or download wherever you get your podcasts!

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

City Council Vote on Jails Plan; Public Advocate’s Priorities; Senate Hearings on 50-A & Education Aid; & More: The Week Ahead in New York Politics, October 14


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

The big news this week is likely to be the details of the final deal to secure City Council passage of the plan to build four new jails, one in each borough other than Staten Island, to replace the Rikers Island jail complex, which is slated to fully close by 2026. The plan passed the City Planning Commission in early September and is slated this week for a vote in the City Council land use committee, then the full Council, where it is expected to pass, though it may receive an usually high number of "no" votes given how easily most Council bills and land use items move through once they are called for a vote.

The final details of the plan -- namely the exact sizes of the jails and community investments in social services and other things that will accompany the building of the jails -- are still being negotiated by the administraiton of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the office of City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, and the four Council members -- Diana Ayala (Bronx), Stephen Levin (Brooklyn), Karen Koslowitz (Queens), and Margaret Chin (Manhattan) -- whose districts are slated to be home to the jails. Notably, only Ayala is not term-limited out of office after this Council four-year session, which concludes at the end of 2021.

The closure of the Rikers jails and the building of new, modern facilities closer to courthouses and the communities of the incarcerated has been the subject of much debate and negotiation for several years. This week will bring a major milestone, whether the plan passes the Council or, less likely but still plausible, somehow falls apart at the last minute. Rikers closure stands to be a key part of the legacies for de Blasio, Johnson, the four Council members, and former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who really made it one of her highest priorities during her tenure and got de Blasio to agree to commit to the broad goal. Johnson then helped bring the four local Council members to agreement on siting the jails.

All four facilities are set to replace existing jails, though in Queens the facility has been largely dormant for some time. The Bronx facility will replace the floating "barge," while the Brooklyn and Manhattan complexes will replace currently-functioning but antiquated jails. There has been ongoing pressure from the "No New Jails" coalition to see Rikers closed without new jails being built, but the "Close Rikers" campaign, the "Lippman Commission" empaneled by Mark-Viverito, and others have called that push unrealistic, in large part because they say those detained deserve more modern facilities that by design help in the rehabilitative process and make exiting jail as quick as possible for those awaiting trial.

The week also begins with the city reeling after tragedies including a mass shooting, leaving four dead and several other wounded, in Brooklyn at an alleged illegal gambling club and another death of a cyclist killed by a car driver, which occurred Sunday in Queens. Responses to those two events will continue this week.

There's a lot more than that to watch this week, with many issues to keep tabs on and events to be aware of -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday, October 14
Monday is Columbus Day. Many elected officials, including Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, and others will march in the Columbus Day Parade in Manhattan.

At 8:10 am., Governor Cuomo will be a guest on Fox 5 Good Day With Rosanna Scotto.

In the 7 and 11 p.m. hours, Mayor de Blasio will appear on NY1's Inside City Hall.

At 9:30 a.m. Monday, supporters of the Fair Elections for New York campaign will host a rally and press conference ahead of the 10 a.m. New York Public State Campaign Financing Commission meeting at the Gateway Center, Westchester Community College, Westchester, NY, to urge the commission to release an interim report, consisting of draft recommendations, by early November, ahead of its December 1 deadline for a final set of proposals.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer has several Monday events: at 11:30 a.m. he'll march in the Columbus Day Parade; at 1:15 p.m. he'll appear on Yahoo Finance; at 7:45 p.m. he'll deliver remarks at the Woodlawn Heights Taxpayers and Community Association meeting in the Bronx.

At 5:30 p.m. Monday Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will appear on News 12 Brooklyn for his usual "Ask the Borough President" segment. At 7:30 p.m., Adams will hold a candlelight vigil for victims of the Crown Heights mass shooting at the intersection of Utica Avenue and Michael Griffith Street. The vigil will include "clergy leaders, anti-gun violence advocates and elected leaders...At the vigil, Borough President Adams and other participants will call attention to the pervasive double-standard around mass shooting incidents, where shootings in urban areas are treated with less urgency than those in suburban and rural communities, despite accounting for most of the gun violence in the U.S. He will also highlight the role that handguns play in driving the gun violence crisis in the country."

At 6 p.m. Monday, Community Voices Heard (CVH) will celebrate the organization’s 25th anniversary at their annual Shirley Chisholm Lights of Freedom awards ceremony at the Museum of the City of New York, to honor those who have championed the fight for racial, social, and economic justice this year. Honorees include licia Garza, Omari Shakur, Ford Foundation, Barbara Terrelonge of DC37 and NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Comptroller Scott Stringer and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will be among those attending the reception.

Tuesday, October 15
Crain’s New York Business will host a business forum with Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, Department of Sanitation, City of New York, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the New York Athletic Club. It will be moderated by Matthew Flamm of Crain’s and Courtney Gross of NY1.

ABNY will host a breakfast event with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at The Hilton Midtown.

The New York State Democratic Committee annual meeting will take place Tuesday at the Hilton Huntington on Long Island. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will be among those who speak.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, City Council Members and New Yorkers will rally Restrict Flavored Tobacco on 10-Year Anniversary of Menthol Loophole at the steps of the City Hall. Participants will include NYC Councilman Cabrera; NYC Councilman Levine; André M. Richardson, Campaign Manager of Flavors Hook Kids NYC; Mike Davoli, American Cancer Society; Pastor Graham-Brown at Bronx Baptist Church; Gabe Galluci, Director of Governmental and Political Affairs at the Council for School Supervisors and Administrators; Darold Burgess, Ingersol Houses TA President; David Best, Current President of Community Education Council District 19; Derek Salud, Youth Group Organizer at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine; Nikki Lucas, Founder and President of The People First Education Fund and People First Democratic Club; Pastor Addie Banks, The Groundswell Group, WEPA Coalition; Phillip Lynn, The Groundswell Group, WEPA Coalition; Chris Banks, East New York United Concerned Citizens; Shanequa M. Charles, Miss Abbie’s Kids Inc.; Kujegi Camara, SCWEN; Reverend Kevin McCall, Founder of Crisis Action Center; Jesse Heindrich, PS9 PTO; Bishop Curt Courtenay, Emmanuel Church of God; Charles B. Wang Community Health Center.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Joint State Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction and Overdose Prevention will hold a public hearing at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts to “hear from stakeholders on strategies for reducing overdoses, improving individual and community health, and addressing the harmful consequences of drug use.”

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, "Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Tours Hofstra University's New School of Business." At 11 a.m. "Hochul Delivers Remarks at Statewide Small Business Entrepreneurship Roundtable Discussion" at Hofstra. At 6 p.m., "Hochul Greets Families at Senator Tim Kennedy's Single Moms Club Women's Health Forum During Breast Cancer Awareness Month" at Lafayette Parent Center in Buffalo.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will hold a "press conference to unveil $500,000 capital grant for Green-Wood Cemetery’s Education & Welcome Center."

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte and a host of other elected officials, organizations, and affected families, will hold a public meeting at the steps of City Hall, to commemorate “Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day,” proposed to help reduce the number of pregnancy and infant loss.  Attendees will include Assembly members Michaelle Solages and Richard Gottfried; City Council Member Farah Louis; Brooke Smith, Baby Resource Center; Wendy Wilcox MD Chairperson NYC Health + Hospitals; March of Dimes; Star Legacy Foundation.

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Planning Commission will meet at 120 Broadway for a review session.

The 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission will hold an information session about its ballot proposals, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Queens Borough Hall.

As part of “Archtober,” New York City’s Architecture and Design Month, the Center for Architecture and UN-Habitat’s Urban October will host “Off the Rails: Megadevelopment and the Future of the City,” from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Jerry H. Labowitz Theatre for the Performing Arts. Speakers will include Zaire Dinzey-Flores, Associate Professor, Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies and the Department of Sociology, Rutgers-New Brunswick; Winifred Curran, Professor, Geography, DePaul University; Betty Y. Chen, Principal, BYC Projects, and former New York City Planning Commissioner. It will be moderated by Louise Harpman, Professor, NYU Gallatin.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, "Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at the Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Reception at Gracie Mansion."

The 12 Democratic presidential candidates who met the national committee criteria will participate in a primary debate on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. on CNN.

Wednesday, October 16
Center for Urban Policy Symposium will host a breakfast panel titled “Are Creative Industries the Future of Middle Class Jobs in NYC?,” from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at The New School. Speakers will include Anne del Castillo, Commissioner, Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment; Laura Callanan, Founding Partner, Upstart Co-Lab; Andrew Essex, Founder of Plan_A; former CEO, Tribeca Film Festival; Winston C. Fisher, CEO, AREA15; Partner, Fisher Brothers; Alain Sylvain, Founder & CEO, Sylvain Labs. 

Empire Center will host the Gov. Hugh L. Carey policy forum titled “Medicaid Migraine: Retaking Control of New York’s Surging Health-Care Costs,” from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Albany Institute of History and Art. Speakers include Bill Hammond, Health Policy Director, Empire Center; Rose Duhan, President and CEO, Community Health Care Association of New York State; James Lytle, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; Kathy Preston, Executive Vice President, New York Health Plan Association; Lara Kassel, Coordinator, Medicaid Matters New York.

At the City Council on Wednesday:
--at 9:30 a.m., the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions will hold a hearing.
--at 10 a.m., the Committee on Land Use will hold a hearing.
--at 10:30 a.m., the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold a hearing.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the NYC City Planning Commission will hold a public meeting at 120 Broadway. 

Wednesday in Yonkers, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will be the first of a series of “roundtables” hosted by the State Senate Education Committee and Committee on Budget and Revenues “to hear from stakeholders regarding the components and disbursement of Foundation Aid. Senator Shelley Mayer, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, will lead these hearings in partnership with Senator Brian Benjamin, Chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Revenues, and will focus on how Foundation Aid meets student, district and community needs with the goal of achieving greater equity in school financing.”

The State Senate Standing Committee on Internet and Technology will hold a public hearing from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at 250 Broadway to examine the gig economy, including “hearing from stakeholders within the gig economy to identify the needs of workers and employers operating outside the traditional employee-employer dynamic and determine possible legislative avenues - including S.6538 – The Dependent Worker Act’s impact on the workforce.”

The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY will host a panel discussion on the “Public Charge” Rule from 2-3:00p.m. Wednesday. Speakers will include Bitta Mostofi, Commissioner, Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs; Steven Banks, Commissioner, Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services; Chris Keeley, Senior Director for Legal Affairs and Labor Relations , NYC Health + Hospitals; Sarah Nolan, Supervising Attorney, LegalHealth at the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG). It will be moderated by Jehangir Khattak, Center for Community and Ethnic Media, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

The New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Free Expression in the Digital Age will host “FOIL and the Future of Local Journalism: Rethinking Access to Information in a Digital Age” from 2:30-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, at Syracuse University College of Law. Panelists include Jeremy Boyer, executive editor, Auburn Citizen; Diane Kennedy, president, New York News Publishers Association; John Lammers, senior director of content, Advance Media New York; Kristin O’Neill, assistant director, The Committee on Open Government; Kathryn Sheingold, assistant solicitor general, Office of the Attorney General; and others. It will be moderated by  David McCraw, Task Force co-chair, deputy general counsel for The New York Times.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, the City Council will host its Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration.

The 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission will hold an information session about its ballot proposals from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lower Gallery in the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx.

Thursday, October 17
At 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board will host a public meeting at the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building.

At the City Council on Thursday:
--at 10 a.m., the Committee on Finance will hold meetings on multiple bills
--at 1:30 p.m., a City Council Stated Meeting will concur, where bills are first introduced and bills that have passed committee will be voted on by the full Council. The meeting will be prefaced by a press conference hosted by Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) will hold a public meeting at its offices at 100 Church Street.

The State Senate Committee on Codes will hold a public hearing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at 250 Broadway about issues related to personnel records of police officers, firefighters, and correctional officers, and the possibility of reforming or repealing section 50-a of the civil rights law.

At 11 a.m. Thursday, the Assembly Standing Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Assembly Standing Committee on Local Governments, Assembly Standing Committee on Cities and Assembly Subcommittee on Women Veterans will jointly hold a public hearing on the delivery of veterans’ services and programs in New York State at the Legislative Office Building in Albany.

The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Energy Innovation along with The Earth Institute  will host a forum titled “Should Storm surge barriers be built to protect NY & NJ from flooding,” from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday at Columbia Law School. Speakers include Col. Thomas Asbery, Chief New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Paul Gallay, President, Riverkeeper, among others. It will be moderated by Prof. Michael B. Gerrard, Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will host a Latino Heritage Celebration, featuring Domingo Zapata, at borough hall.

The 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission will hold an information session about its ballot proposals, from 6:30-8 p.m. at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Thursday evening is this year's Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, which always draws many top officials and newsmakers, including the governor and the mayor. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis will be the keynote speaker.

Friday, October 18 & the weekend
At 10 a.m. Friday, Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show.

Starting at 10 a.m. Friday in Buffalo, the State Senate Committee on Education and the State Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Revenues will hold their second in a series of public roundtables and hearings, to “hear from stakeholders about the components of the Foundation Aid formula in relation to student, district and community needs with a goal of greater equity in school financing.”

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont, will host a large campaign rally in on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Queensbridge Park in Long Island City.

“The United Federation of Teachers, as part of its national union’s presidential endorsement process, will host Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at the UFT’s annual Teacher Union Day” on Sunday, October 20, in New York City.

***
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 Ben Max & Gia Ramesh
@GothamGazette

State Census Commission Releases Report, with Funding Decisions Kicked Back to Cuomo Administration


mmv president attends

(photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


A state commission charged with creating a plan for ensuring a complete count of New York residents in the 2020 Census has finally released its report, nine months after it was due and with continued ambiguity over how state census funding will be distributed.

The New York State Complete Count Commission, made up of executive and legislative branch appointees, spent months holding hearings across the state to solicit input on the challenges posed by the decennial census and how the state should respond. The commission was co-chaired by New York State Secretary of State Rossana Rosado and Jim Malatras, president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government and a former top aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

This year’s state budget included $20 million for census efforts and the commission’s report, approved in a unanimous vote on Tuesday morning, is meant to be a roadmap for allocating that funding and avoiding an undercount, which could lead to less federal funding for the state, a loss of possibly two seats in the House of Representatives, and a whole host of other ancillary effects over the course of a decade.

Many of the concerns the report outlines were already apparent to advocates and observers: That New York is home to potentially 4.8 million hard-to-count individuals (particularly children under the age of 5) and that several communities lack language access, that the new online methodology could lead to lower responses among seniors or those lacking computer literacy, that the Census Bureau is having trouble recruiting workers and that communities of color and immigrants are particularly wary of the process, owing in no small part to the Trump administration’s unsuccessful efforts to add a citizenship question.

That question threat, in particular, has “created a lot of controversy, and had a potential chilling effect and created consternation in many of our communities, especially our foreign-born communities,” said Malatras, at Tuesday’s meeting where commissioners video-conferenced in from across the state. “Besides California, New York State has the highest percentage of foreign-born communities and people in the nation. So, in particular, it hits our state hard.”

The report also noted worries about data protection because of the digital-focused questionnaire, and omissions of home addresses from the Census Bureau’s records.

The challenges are by no means small. There are more than 200 languages spoken across the state but the Census Bureau will only provide video and printed guides in 59 languages and will translate the online questionnaire into only 12 other languages besides English. As many as 113,000 New Yorkers will have no language support from the Census Bureau, the report notes.

About 13.5% of households across the state also lack access to the internet at home, which could depress their self-response rate. The federal government has also yet to provide a waiver to the New York Census office to hire non-citizens as enumerators, who go door-to-door surveying residents in communities where the self-response rate is low. Advocates and officials agree that in immigrant-heavy communities, non-citizens are often the most effective at gaining people’s trust and soliciting responses.

Failing to meet these challenges could mean that New York State could see a drop in self-response rates to 58%, down from 62% in 2010 when the national average was 76%, according to Census Bureau estimates.

The report lays out several recommendations for a strategy the state should follow. It includes an analysis of hard-to-count census tracts, identifying where the state should expend its resources. The commission recommends a targeted communications campaign for communities at risk of an undercount and additional support for areas that lack internet connectivity and populations that rank low on digital literacy.

It also pushes for expanded translation services and building trust with immigrant communities. The report notes that if federal immigration authorities seek to misuse Census data, the state’s Liberty Defense Project should be pressed into action to provide legal assistance to immigrants.

Acknowledging that certain sections of the population fly under the radar, the report specifically urges the state to ensure an accurate count of people experiencing homelessness. It also pushes for ensuring that individuals in group-living situations – students in dormitories, seniors in nursing homes, inmates in correctional facilities – are counted.

The commission laid out a detailed plan for how the state can support municipalities with their efforts to conduct census outreach including providing aid to local complete count committees, collaborating with “trusted voices” like nonprofit service providers, labor, and faith-based organizations, enlisting all state agencies in the census effort, collaborating with the philanthropic community and establishing Census Assistance Centers in hard-to-count census tracts.

One place the report falls short is on details of how the $20 million in state funding will be spent. It’s unclear in what form that funding will be utilized.

“We are reviewing the report and the insight it provides on how the State, local governments and our partners can work together so that every New Yorker is counted in the 2020 Census,” said Freeman Klopott, a spokesperson for the state Division of the Budget, in an email.

At the hearing, Malatras acknowledged that the commission’s work had been delayed – it was only appointed after its first report was already due. “What we have to do today is we get this report to the state so they can release those resources that they provided in the budget,” he said. The commission is also meant to release a second and final report in January that details progress on its recommendations, he pointed out.

Commissioner Henry Garrido, executive director of labor union DC37 (who was appointed when Commissioner Hector Figueroa of 32BJ SEIU unexpectedly passed away -- the report includes a dedication to Figueroa) raised concerns about mistrust in immigrant communities and the question of hiring non-immigrants. Though Malatras admitted that “there was no clarity” on the use of the federal waiver, he urged local authorities to move ahead either way. “So we're going to go forward as if it would be okay to hire,” he said.

He also noted that, with a lack of support from the federal government, the state would have to step up. He pointed to the Department of Labor, in particular, noting that it has a robust census outreach plan in place already and said that the state would use SUNY and CUNY as recruiting centers for census outreach workers. 

Commissioner Jose Calderón, president of the Hispanic Federation, raised the issue of the release of state funds. “We are already really late in the game,” he pointed out, wondering about the process and timeline on which the money would be awarded to community-based organizations. “It is those trusted sources that are going to help us deliver on the promise of getting a complete count in New York State,” he said.

Calderón’s worries were echoed by other commissioners including Esmeralda Simmons, founder and executive director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. “It's a roadmap,” she said of the report, “but unfortunately, it doesn't get us to our destination.”

She said CBOs have been waiting for months for funding to assist their work and the report provides few details on that front. “Everyone's waiting for recommendations on how the money is going to be spent, and how it's going to be utilized,” she said. “And we all know state government is not usually that swift. I appreciate all the actions that are anticipated but we have said none of that in this report. We've talked about no plan on how to get the money out there.”

Malatras sought to downplay those concerns, insisting that the next report due in January will address any funding issues and that it wasn’t within the commission’s authority to dictate whether the state dole out funding through a competitive bidding process or through agencies. “We want to make sure there's maximum flexibility for the state Legislature, the executive and others to say this is how they want to do it,” he said.

Simmons later pushed a motion to send a message of urgency in writing that the $20 million in census funding “be appropriated by the most efficient and expeditious method using state entities.” The motion was unanimously approved.

[Read: As City Rolls Out Census Funding for Outreach Efforts, State Lags Behind]

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

Read more by this writer.

City Housing Plan, Vision Zero Conference, Voter Registration Deadline, & More: The Week Ahead in New York Politics, October 7


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

As the week begins New York City is reeling from two tragic weekend events: attacks on apparently homeless men in Manhattan by an alleged suspect, also apparently homeless, who killed four and cricially injured a fifth person; and the killing of a 10-year-old Brooklyn boy riding his bike by an apparently unlicensed driver of an SUV. Many government officials, advocates, and others are expressing their remorse while some are also calling for new action to provide services and housing to homeless people and to make the city's streets safer for pedestrians and bikers. Such reactions and calls for action will continue into Monday and beyond.

There are a variety of events to be aware of this week -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday, October 7
Mayor de Blasio will make his weekly appearance on NY1's Inside City Hall on Monday evening.

The New York Board of Regents will meet Monday and Tuesday in Albany.

At 10 a.m. Monday in Kimlau Square, there will be a community vigil in response to the weekend murders in Chinatown. Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou is among those who've organized the event. Comptroller Scott Stringer will be among those participating.

At the City Council on Monday: at 10 a.m., the Committee on Technology, the Committee on Housing and Buildings, and the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing will meet jointly to discuss multiple bills related to facial recognition technology and biometric data collection in businesses and residences.

At 10 a.m. Monday, “Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) President Judith A. Salerno, MD, MS will unveil the results of a borough-wide survey of nearly 2,000 older Brooklynites and recommendations to improve their quality of life, as part of their “Age-friendly Brooklyn” joint initiative to ensure that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy and contribute to the borough. They will announce the report’s key findings during Active Aging Week, a weeklong campaign created by the International Council on Active Aging that promotes healthy lifestyles for seniors. It will take place at Saint John’s Recreation Center in Crown Heights.” Also participating will be “NYAM President Judith A. Salerno, Age-friendly Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights ambassadors, Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson, New York City Department for the Aging, AARP New York, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Brooklyn-wide Interagency Council on Aging, Assembly Member Tremaine Wright, Council Member Robert Cornegy, Jr., Bay Ridge Center, Fort Greene Council, Myrtle Avenue Aging Improvement District, NY Statewide Senior Action Council, JCC of Greater Coney Island, Catholic Charities, RAICES, local seniors.”

At 11 a.m. Monday, The Straphangers Campaign, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and TransitCenter will release their first-annual “Cozy Awards" at the B54 Eastbound bus stop on Myrtle Avenue and Vanderbilt, highlighting bus stops along bus routes in New York City that are spaced less than a block apart.

At 11:30 a.m. Monday, "Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Highlights National Disability Employment Awareness Month at Seeing Impaired Employer Alphapointe Manufacturing Plant" in Queens. At 1 p.m., "Hochul Marks Statewide Breast Cancer Awareness Month" at Staten Island University Hospital. At 7:15 p.m. "Hochul Delivers Remarks at Waterfront Alliance's Heroes of the Harbor Award Dinner and Boat Parade" at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. At 8:30 p.m. "Hochul Addresses Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Senator Shelley Mayer's Hispanic Heritage Month Reception" at United Community Center of Westchester.

At noon Monday, New York Republican Party Chairman Nick Langworthy, Staten Island GOP Chairman Brendan Lantry, and other Staten Islanders will hold a “Stop the Madness!” anti-impeachment event targeting Rep. Max Rose outside Rose’s district office on New Dorp Lane. “This event is part of a nationwide effort to hold vulnerable Democrats like Rep. Max Rose accountable for their extreme and politically-motivated actions. The New York “Stop the Madness” campaign is kicking off in NY-11 and will feature several events in district across New York State.”

At 1 p.m. Monday, Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), and Nydia Velazquez (NY-07), will join numerous local elected officials and community groups at the City Hall steps to announce the introduction of their Improving Helicopter Safety Act of 2019. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will also be among those participating. This event was cancelled.

At 2:30 p.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Assemblymember O'Donnell, and Councilmember Mark Levine will join advocates at 237 West 107th Street to call on the Department of Homeless Services and the de Blasio administration to immediately halt the plan to transition a 107th Street shelter from women-only to men-only.

Tuesday, October 8
Crain’s New York Business will host the 2019 Renewable Energy Forum from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the NYC Seminar and Conference Center. Speakers will include Chris Cavanagh, Director, National Grid; Eileen Cifone, Manager, National Grid; Rafael L. Espinal Jr., Council Member for District 37, New York City Council; Scott Frank, Managing Partner, Jaros, Baum & Bolles; John J. Gilbert, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Rudin Management Co.; Zachary Schechter-Steinberg, Vice President of Policy, REBNY; Neil Skidell, Managing Director Green Solutions, The PAR Group; Robert Wilson, Vice President, Special Projects, Northeast Gas Association. 

At the City Council on Tuesday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Youth Services meet to discuss legislation to establish a universal youth employment program. 
-- At 1 p.m., the Committee on Civil and Human Rights and the Committee on Aging will jointly meet to discuss multiple bills to combat age discrimination in the workforce. At 11:30 a.m., Council Member Margaret Chin and age justice advocates and older working New Yorkers will hold a rally at City Hall before Chin chairs the joint Council hearing on her package of legislation regarding age discrimination. 
--At 1 p.m.,  the Committee on Immigration and the Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction will jointly hold an oversight hearing to address mental health needs of immigrants in New York City.

At 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the commissioners of the New York City Board of Elections will meet at 42 Broadway in Manhattan.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will host an info session on The Extended Use Hardship Pilot Program from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Borough Hall.

Wednesday October 9
Wednesday is Yom Kippur (which begins Tuesday evening). Few if any political events are expected.

Thursday, October 10
New York City Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Vicki Been will appear at a Citizens Budget Commission Trustee Breakfast on Thursday at 8 a.m.

On Thursday and Friday, Transportation Alternatives will bring together leading industry and policy experts, advocates, and elected officials for the fifth annual Vision Zero Cities Conference, taking place at Columbia University’s Alfred Lerner Hall. Speakers include city Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, both on Thursday.

At the City Council on Thursday: the Committee on Land Use will hear multiple land use applications at 11 a.m.

On 10 a.m. Thursday in Rochester, the State Senate Standing Committee on Health and the Assembly Standing Committee on Health will jointly hold a public hearing on The New York Health Act.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board will meet in Manhattan.

Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes will host a Community Property Tax Forum on lowering property taxes from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday at the JCC/JCH on Bay Parkway. He’ll be joined by Manhattan State Senator Brian Benjamin and others.

Friday, Oct 11
Friday is the last day to register to vote in this fall’s elections, which in New York City includes charter revision ballot proposal questions, a special election for Public Advocate, the Queens District Attorney election, and more. Early voting begins October 26. Election Day is November 5.

At 10 a.m. Friday, Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show.

The State Senate Standing Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities will hold a public meeting on domestic violence and its effects on the community from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at Nyack Library, 59 South Broadway, Nyack, New York.

***
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 Ben Max
@GothamGazette

What's The [DATA] Point? $7.3 Trillion, with Linda Lacewell of the Department of Financial Services


whats the data point


What's The [Data] Point? Episode 81 -- $7.3 Trillion, with Linda Lacewell of the State Department of Financial Services  [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

linda lacewell

$7.3 trillion - the assists of the more than 3,000 insurance and financial institutions regulated by New York State Department of Financial Services. Besides being the largest data point in this podcast’s history, the figure reveals how important DFS is as a regulator. DFS Commissioner Linda Lacewell spoke at a recent Citizens Budget Commission event to discuss her office's work.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think: Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax), Maria Doulis of CBC (@MariaDoulis). Listen below or download wherever you get your podcasts!

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

As City Rolls Out Census Funding for Outreach Efforts, State Lags Behind


union sq counts

(photo: @NYCImmigrants)


New York City is moving full steam ahead with its effort to ensure that the 2020 Census counts each and every resident of the five boroughs, with millions of dollars in funding and a four-pillar strategy for outreach to hard-to-count communities. But New York State’s effort seems to have stalled and there is little indication that state authorities are moving with urgency despite the many billions of dollars in federal funding and congressional representation at stake.

In the 2010 Census, New York City residents’ self-response rate to the Census was an abysmal 62%, well below the national average of 76%. The city is home to many hard-to-count populations – among which self-response rates are relatively low – including children, seniors, immigrants, predominantly black communities, and residents of public housing. An undercount of these populations can affect everything from federal funding levels for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Section 8 housing vouchers to business investment in the city and the state’s seats in the House of Representatives.

Increasing the rate of self-response also means requiring fewer census enumerators, the individuals who go door-to-door to count residents who have not responded. Officials have been working for years at the city and state levels to make sure that the Census Bureau has a complete list of addresses for New York residents.

The 2020 Census is plagued with many new and particular problems that have raised concerns that New York could see an even lower self-response rate – as low as 58%, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The Census Bureau is being underfunded by the federal government, with fewer enumerators being hired to hit the ground; the Trump administration sought unsuccessfully to place a citizenship question on the Census form, worrying and potentially discouraging responses from immigrants; and the count is being conducted digitally for the first time, which could affect response among those who lack access to the internet and particularly among older residents. 

Between Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration and the New York City Council, the city has budgeted $40 million towards Census outreach, the most funding ever put towards this effort. The city is pursuing a multi-faceted strategy that includes a massive field effort, grants for community-based organizations, a mass media campaign, and partnerships between city agencies.

Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Census Director Julie Menin launched the city’s Neighborhood Organizing Census Committees (NOCCs), which are meant to enlist 2,500 volunteers that will aid in census outreach across 245 neighborhoods. The launch came one day after the city announced the $19-million New York City Complete Count Fund, which will give out grants ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 to qualifying community-based organizations.

The city accepting applications till October 18 and is expected to award the funds by December. The actual Census count will begin April 1.

The $19 million allocation follows an initial $4 million to CBOs by the City Council in August to begin Census work. 

The remaining $17 million of the $40 million has yet to be distributed. Those funds are expected to cover the mass media campaign, which will launch in 2020, and the overall field campaign through the NOCCs.

“The idea behind the NOCCs is that we believe very strongly...that people really want to be involved in the future of their neighborhood,” Menin said in a phone interview. “The best kind of outreach that we can have is neighbor-to-neighbor contact.”

The 245 committees will train volunteers about the importance of the census, how it works and how best to organize locally. “This is really a train-the-trainer model that is very much proven to work,” Menin said.

Additionally, the 2,500 volunteers will act as “census ambassadors” and the city will provide them with printed materials, talking points and a digital tool kit on the census. The NOCCs will also organize phone banks and text banks to conduct outreach, and will also partner with CBOs that receive grants from the city. These CBOs and neighborhood volunteers are particularly essential in immigrant communities for whom English is not a first language or who may have limited English proficiency.

The city has also reached an agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau to receive real-time data on self-response rates, to monitor neighborhoods where residents may not be filling out census forms in the initial phase of the count. “So all the volunteers and really anyone living in those neighborhoods will be able to see exactly how their community is doing each day,” Menin said.

New York state government, on the other hand, has been silent on how it will spend the $20 million allocated in the state budget earlier this year for the 2020 Census. That funding (only half of what advocates had called for) is meant to be distributed based on a report by the New York State Complete Count Commission, which held its last hearing to receive public input on July 31. The report is far past its due date and won’t be out for another few weeks, according to a state official.

“The Complete Count Commission has heard testimony and received comments from local governments, grassroots organizations and the general public across New York State, and we are awaiting the Commission’s recommendations on how best to leverage the up to $20 million made available in the State Budget, existing state resources, and our partnerships with organizations on the ground so that we can maximize outreach efforts and get every New Yorker counted,” said Mercedes Padilla, a spokesperson for New York’s Department of State, in a statement to Gotham Gazette.

Padilla said the recommendations would be made in the next few weeks, but did not provide specifics. The co-chairs of the commission are New York’s Secretary of State Rossana Rosado and Jim Malatras, president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government and formerly a top aide to Governor Cuomo.

On September 24, nearly three dozen local, state, and federal elected officials representing Brooklyn wrote a letter to Governor Cuomo, calling for at least $4 million from the $20-million pot to be sent to census efforts in the borough. With more than 2.6 million residents, Brooklyn is the most populous of New York State’s 62 counties, and the letter notes that 80% of Brooklynites live in hard-to-count communities.

“An undercount in Brooklyn would be an unmitigated disaster not only for the people we represent, but the entire state,” the letter reads. “Billions of dollars in federal aid programs could be lost. While Brooklynites already face a lack of resources for many of their immediate needs, an undercount would only make this worse.”

Brooklyn State Senator Zellnor Myrie expressed frustration that the state is sitting on its hands while the city has allocated and released funds. “We have seen the city step up to the plate...and here [at the state level], we have a situation in which we had money allocated in April, we had a commission that went around the state to solicit feedback on how the census outreach should look, and we have neither the report nor the money.”

Myrie and other elected officials have, in the meantime, begun their own efforts to educate their constituents about the census, hosting information sessions in their districts. Others like Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz have created their own Complete Count Committees with discretionary funds to aid in an accurate count.

“I think we're really putting ourselves at risk of repeating a failed history of counting our community,” Myrie said.

Menin also said that the state had provided no answers yet to city officials on how state funds will be distributed. Though some amount of state money will clearly be spent in the city, Menin said that state officials have indicated that it’s unlikely that funds would be funnelled through the city government. It’s also unclear whether a majority of those funds will go to community organizations and nonprofits, as advocates from the statewide New York Counts 2020 coalition have been pushing.

United Neighborhood Houses, a nonprofit based in New York City and a member of that coalition, is among the CBOs that have received discretionary funds from the New York City Council for census organizing efforts. “We're really strong believers in the fact that community-based organizations are key partners in census outreach,” said Nora Moran, UNH’s director of policy and advocacy, in a phone interview.

Moran noted, as have others, that there is little time until the census begins in earnest. The first mailers from the Census Bureau will be sent out in March. “We know that there's a lot at stake, and there's hard-to-count communities upstate as well as downstate,” she said. “And we really hope that the governor's office releases...that funding that they allocated towards census outreach...sooner rather than later.”

Last month, the New York Counts coalition similarly sent a letter to the governor to press their demands. “We are losing valuable time. While many local governments, libraries and community-based organizations (CBOs) have begun their outreach and organizing activities, the effectiveness and depth of these efforts is dependent on additional funding,” the coalition wrote.

“I think there's just a clear evidence of what needs to be done,” said Myrie, “and what is unclear is why there is a delay.”

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

Read more by this writer.

Note - this article has been updated for clarification. 

How Vulnerable is Max Rose?


rose handshake

Rep. Max Rose (photo: @MaxRose4NY)


Max Rose calls himself a “centrist populist.” The first-term Democrat who represents New York’s 11th congressional district, which spans across Staten Island and along the shore of Southern Brooklyn, appears set on trying to make that label stick, and in doing so earn a second term when voters head to the polls next year.

Rose’s pitch and politics seem to match the district well: he’s a moderate, center-left politician and military veteran with a no-nonsense but affable and energetic personality. His mantra is serving constituents above political party, he regularly criticizes fellow Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio, and he distances himself from the ascendent left-wing of his party, but sticks close to the House majority, though in fulfilling a campaign promise he did not vote for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to retain her leadership role.

But as he runs for reelection for the first time in 2020, a presidential year where Donald Trump is expected to be on the top of the Republican ticket, Rose is one of the top targets of Republicans hoping to regain majority control of the House of Representatives while holding the Senate and reelecting the president. Representing one of the swing-iest districts in the country -- represented by three Republicans and two Democrats in the last 10 years -- Rose is dealing with major countervailing forces: Trump’s strong popularity among many New York-11 voters and Democrats awakened by Trump’s surprise 2016 win who swept Rose into office last year.

Indicative of the minefield he finds himself navigating, Rose just became the last Democrat from New York City to announce support for impeachment proceedings against the president. While Rose’s somewhat cautious approach to Trump may endear him to some of his district’s center-right voters, it, coupled with his moderate positions on a variety of issues, could embitter the very Democratic base that he needs in his corner. But upon announcing he backs the impeachment inquiry into Trump at a Staten Island constituent town hall on Wednesday night, Rose shifted the terms of his already-heated reelection campaign.

“So while the President of the United States may be willing to violate the constitution to get re-elected, I will not,” Rose said on Wednesday. “I will not shirk my duty and I will not violate my oath. I will support and I will defend the United States Constitution. And it is for that reason that I intend to fully support this impeachment inquiry and follow the facts."

His announcement, coming just the day after a Democratic primary challenger launched a campaign against him, was met by derision from Republicans who hope to unseat him through next year's election.

Rose won the 11th district seat last year against Republican Dan Donovan, the former Staten Island District Attorney elected to Congress in 2015, in a 2018 election that saw a surge in Democratic turnout, giving the Democrats control of the House and dramatically shifting the national political landscape. Rose’s margin of victory was substantial – he received 101,823 votes to Donovan’s 89,441, even defeating the Republican on Staten Island by more than 5,000 votes.

It was a reversal of fortune for Donovan, who had been reelected to the seat in 2016 with 142,934 votes against Democrat Richard Reichard’s 85,257 (there were nearly 60,000 more votes cast that presidential year than in the 2018 midterms). It helped Donovan that Trump was running for president and won Staten Island with 56.3% of the vote against Hillary Clinton’s 41.2%.

But Rose is confident he can pull off another victory, even with Trump on the ballot, in part by remaining far more focused on local issues than the national dynamics of the 2020 election. “We have gotten tremendous amounts of legislation through and by that I don't mean symbolic or ceremonial pieces of legislation passed by the House of Representatives, and then resigned to the graveyard that is Mitch McConnell's Senate,” Rose said in a recent phone interview. “I mean things that have or will be signed by the president of the United States.”

He cited four major victories – approval for the Staten Island east shore seawall, permanent funding for the 9/11 victims compensation fund, sanctions on Chinese pharmaceutical companies to stem the flow of fentanyl into the city, and two-way tolling on the Verrazzano bridge to reduce traffic.

“Staten Island and south Brooklyn are on the map, and we are not stopping. We are advocating for issues at every level of government to make sure that people are no longer ignored,” Rose said.

Though there is a Republican primary for the seat as well – between Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis and longshot candidate Joseph Saladino, a YouTube personality who goes by the name Joey Salads and has a history of racist pranks – virtually all observers see the race as an eventual Rose-Malliotakis battle, though there does remain the question of whether any other Republicans may jump into the race ahead of the June 2020 primary.

When he first ran for office last year, Rose set himself apart from most other New York City Democrats, seen as a necessity in a district that defies the bluer boroughs. Though there are more active registered Democrats (191,145) than Republicans (114,363) in New York-11, along with 93,303 party-unaffiliated voters, the district elected Trump by a margin of nearly 10 points, after a tight victory there for President Barack Obama in 2012. Governor Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, won the district in his last two elections. 

Though Trump remains extremely unpopular in New York City, with his approval rating at 26% (to 71% disapprove) in an April Quinnipiac University poll, his approval was generally higher on Staten Island, at 47% approval to 52% disapproval. The Island is fairly split, with more Democrats concentrated along the northern shore than in other parts of the borough, which gets more conservative the further south one goes.

Rose made it clear he was running against what he saw as ‘the establishment’ and the ‘career politicians’ in Congress and elsewhere who had ground the business of the people to a halt. He was, and remains, a critic of de Blasio, even focusing on him in a 2018 campaign ad, and refuses to embrace the politics of newly elected progressives in the House such as fellow New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“We are showing people that you can make war against the establishment, you can choose not to play by the rules of inside-D.C. establishment politics while also accomplishing something,” Rose said in the interview, citing his vote against Pelosi’s election as speaker.

City Council Member Justin Brannan, a Southern Brooklyn Democrat and Rose ally, said in a statement to Gotham Gazette, “Ultimately this election is going to come down to what kind of elected official do you want. Max refuses to take money from lobbyists. He supports campaign finance reform. He has been unwavering in his battle against [the Trump] administration's discriminatory policies that directly impact the hardworking people he represents.” Brannan added that Rose has fought “Trump's discriminatory Muslim ban not just in words but in action by literally helping reunite families torn apart by conflict. Meanwhile, his Republican opponent is on Twitter posting ‘You're Fired’ memes.”

Despite his distance from Ocasio-Cortez and others, Republicans have still sought to paint Rose as a “socialist Democrat” who has betrayed the will of the voters who elected him. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has spent months hammering at Rose in press releases and public statements, largely on the general principle that he’s part of a Democratic operation hostile to the president.

NRCC spokesperson Michael McAdams says the party’s chances of taking back the seat are strong, citing the district’s strong Republican presence and Trump’s victory there in 2016. “Max has claimed that he is a moderate. On the campaign trail, he said he was going to be an independent voice for Staten Island, and he's gotten to Washington, D.C. and he's fallen right in line with the socialist Democrats and their socialist agenda,” McAdams said in a phone interview, though he did not provide specific examples (later in the interview he said Rose hasn’t taken a position on driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants).

“He votes against President Trump 96% of the time, which is an absolutely shocking number given that a majority of his constituents voted for the president last cycle,” McAdams said.

Malliotakis, whose Assembly district covers much of the east shore of Staten Island and a small part of Southern Brooklyn, has extended the same argument. “As far as I’m concerned, this race is between me and Max Rose,” she said, dismissing any worries about facing a primary opponent. Though Salads is running a barebones campaign, there’s also the possibility that others could jump into the race. Michael Grimm, who previously represented the district and served prison time for felony tax evasion, has signalled he may run. New York City Council Member Joe Borelli, who represents the South Shore of Staten Island and is running for public advocate in this fall’s special election, has also not ruled it out.

“I believe I am more in line with the people in this district,” Malliotakis said, citing her nine years in elected office. She said the race would be a combination of local and federal factors. “This is a district that is pretty impacted by what the federal government does,” she said, pointing to the seawall project, national parks, a veterans hospital, and the Fort Hamilton army base. She also brought up issues that were salient in the 2017 mayor’s race, including her opposition to sanctuary city policies and safe injection sites for drug-addicted people, and said she would push for a federal infrastructure package.

“The Democrats in the House are more concerned with continuing investigation instead of actually working with the president to address a lot of these issues,” said Malliotakis, who has come around to closely embrace Trump as she runs for Congress after having been a supporter of Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican presidential primary and distancing herself from Trump in the 2017 mayoral race. She begrudgingly stated at one point that she had voted for Trump over Clinton, and expressed regret for having done so.

“I’m going to be running on the same ticket as the president and I embrace that,” Malliotakis said, when asked if she sees herself in line with the president, calling Trump a “voice of reason” in Washington, D.C.

The House of Representatives has “absolutely no interest in actually doing the job that they were elected to do and instead they're just looking to see how they can tear down the president,” she said, “And so he needs people who are willing to work with him, and particularly from New York City, and I will be an individual who will work with him to accomplish things where we see eye to eye...I'm not going to agree with everything the president does but for the most part, yes, I do agree with a majority of what he's doing. And I think that he's doing a good job overall.”

Malliotakis says Rose has been more progressive than moderate, insisting that he votes “in lockstep” with Pelosi and members of the so-called Squad of Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive women of color. “The votes he's taking in Washington are not representative of views in this district,” she said, citing, for instance, his support for a resolution that criticized Trump for a racist tweet about the women of color representatives of “the Squad.”

But it’s a tenuous argument, says Richard Flanagan, political science professor at the College of Staten Island. “I don't think it holds water with the independent voters at all,” he said. “Rose has done a really good job of positioning himself in the center, getting federal action on local issues. He's very upfront about his military record. It’s definitely differentiated him from [the members of the Squad]...I guess [Republicans are] going to do that to try to get their base to come out to vote, but it's not persuading anybody in the middle.”

Rose himself scoffed at the Republicans’ attempts to align him with progressives. “If they think anyone's gonna believe that, they're idiots. The truth is that nobody in the entire Democratic caucus has pushed back more than I have,” he said, pointing to his votes against Pelosi, his opposition to the Green New Deal, which he called a “socialist lie” in the interview with Gotham Gazette, and his repeated disapproval of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar over her criticism of Israel. “The NRCC and Nicole Malliotakis have such an obsession with these individuals that it's clear they would rather run against them than me,” he added.

On the question of impeachment Rose found himself in a difficult place. He issued public statements that showed him seemingly vacillating on the issue saying that “all options must be on the table,” which signalled to some that he was open to jumping on board. He voted to table a privileged resolution led by Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy that would have disapproved of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s actions to begin an impeachment inquiry.

Just before Rose announced his support for the impeachment inquiry, McAdams from the NRCC said Rose’s decision, either for or against, would doom his chances of reelection with one or the other segment of voters.

“I think support for the president is at the top of the line there,” he said, predicting that support for impeachment would lose Rose votes among Republicans and opposition to it will anger the Democrats who powered his victory. The latest Quinnipiac University poll from September 30 may show a fast-moving shift, as it found that nationally voters were split 47-47 percent on impeaching and removing Trump from office. Just last week, support was at 37% and opposition at 57%. By a majority of 52-45 percent, voters approved of the impeachment inquiry opened by the House.

The NRCC and Malliotakis both quickly jumped on Rose after he proclaimed his support for the House impeachment inquiry. "Just one day after finding out he had a challenger in the Democrat primary, Congressman Max Rose caved to socialists Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Nancy Pelosi in the rush to impeach President Donald Trump," Malliotakis said in a statement. "It just shows that when pressure is applied, Max Rose stands with the radical left instead of Staten Island."

During his remarks at the Wednesday town hall, Rose followed his comments about the impeachment process by attempting to preempt that line of attack: "But, I want to make something else very, very clear: nothing, nothing at all—impeachment or otherwise—will distract us, will distract me from my work fighting for you," he said. "I will not let this or anything else detract us from our focus on ending the opioid epidemic, holding pharmaceutical companies accountable, making sure that we have the backs of our cops and our firefighters and our first responders, and yes--ending our commuting nightmare.”

What kind of impact Rose's support for the impeachment inquiry has on his standing in his district is yet to be seen. A great deal will of course play out over the next year-plus before the 2020 general election.

Rabyaah Althaibani, a community organizer and co-founder of Arab Women's Voice, a consulting firm, rallied the Arab vote in Southern Brooklyn behind Rose last year. But she’s worried that he has disappointed progressives, particularly by refusing to support impeachment. “There are a lot of issues that progressives...just don't agree with Max on, and a pretty sizable bunch of people are very upset with him,” she said, although she praised him for supporting the Yemeni American community by questioning the rationale behind Trump’s Muslim travel ban and for pushing to end American support for the war in Yemen.

“The Yemeni community and allies that care about the community, I'm just hoping that they're going to rally and help us get him elected again,” she added. “But Max has a lot of work to do, a lot of explaining to do. He needs to reach out to the progressive base.”

Althaibani did recognize that Rose faces a tough situation, having to reconcile the differing parts of the district with its spread of conservatives and progressives, and many moderates in between. She expressed doubt that Rose would face a tough primary. “I don't think anyone can do what Max is doing right now,” she said.

On Tuesday, the Staten Island Advance reported that Richard-Olivier Marius, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is challenging Rose in the Democratic primary. In an interview with the paper, Marius said he had voted for Rose in 2018 but was running because of Rose’s failure to support progressive legislation like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All, as well as impeachment of Trump. 

A Democratic operative familiar with the race, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted that Rose may be trying the same balancing act as the last Democrat to hold the seat, Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon, who voted against the Affordable Care Act in the hopes of not alienating conservative voters. But while that move backfired against McMahon, the dynamics of the district necessitate similar thinking by Rose.

As of the latest fundraising deadlines, Rose held a significant advantage. His campaign had $1.2 million in cash on hand as of June 30, compared to Malliotakis’ $475,000. (Saladino had $16,877 in his campaign account.)

But the Trump effect may nullify that. As Flanagan from College of Staten Island noted, the district has always been competitive and even Republicans have never won in a blowout. He said the race will hinge on voter turnout, which will be hard to predict since Trump being on the ballot will drive voters from both parties to the polls. “Are these Trump voters gonna come back and vote for Trump and vote straight ticket? Or are they willing to ticket-split? I think that's the big question,” he said.

Malliotakis is trying hard to turn Trump’s presence to her benefit, and appeal to voters across the district who have seen her on the ballot before, whether in her Assembly district or when she faced de Blasio in 2017 and, while receiving only 27.1% of the overall vote to de Blasio’s 65.1%, did blow the incumbent mayor away on Staten Island, winning 70% of votes to de Blasio’s 25.3%. (As it was in Rose’s 2018 win, one of the keys in 2020 will be the turnout in the more Democratic Southern Brooklyn portion of the district.)

On several issues, Malliotakis has broken from Trump while embracing him on most fronts. She has wholeheartedly accepted the aid of Trump and his allies, including national Republican stars like U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney and Dan Crenshaw, who canvassed for her in Staten Island a few weeks ago, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Yet a source close to the Staten Island Republican Party said she is far from an ideal candidate to beat Rose, despite the potential that’s there to unseat him. “Rose is vulnerable to a candidate that can land some punches on him,” the source said. “However, we saw from Malliotakis’ race against Bill de Blasio that she can't land a punch on even him.”

The source, who requested anonymity to speak freely about internal party concerns, added, “Rose is moderate, he's likeable, he hasn't made many errors. And I think when he campaigns, he grows his support. And the more Malliotakis’ campaign develops, the less it seems successful.”

The Republican said Malliotakis needs to “clarify where she stands” with respect to Trump. “The 2017 Malliotakis is not the same as the 2019 Malliotakis,” the person said. “It’s just so plainly evident that anyone can see it.”

Rose, meanwhile, believes Trump will fail to affect the vote. “I'm going to win,” he said. “The people of this district are independent and they will vote and have consistently voted for the person, not the party.”

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

Read more by this writer.

Note: this story has been updated to reflect Rose's support for the House impeachment inquiry.

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, September 30 2019


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

As is often the case this time of year, it is a somewhat quieter Rosh Hashanah week in the city, but there are a number of events to be aware of and several overarching issues to watch.

Those include the continued response to the killing of NYPD Officer Brian Mulkeen, who was killed during an attempted arrest and altercation late Saturday night in the Bronx. Details of the incident are still emerging. "This is a very, very sad day for our city," Mayor de Blasio said from Jacobi Medical Center late Saturday night. "We lost a hero – by every measure, we lost a hero this evening. Police Officer Brian Mulkeen – six years on the job, working in Anti-Crime in the 4-7 Precinct here in the Bronx – this is a young man who made the choice to join the NYPD, to put his life on the line to protect others."

The MTA continues to be in the spotlight as the new $52 billion, five-year capital plan was just passed by the MTA Board and now needs one other approbal from the Capital Program Review Board, which consists of representatives of the Governor, the Mayor of New York City, the Assembly Speaker, and the Senate President, as well as a more firm funding agreement among the state, the city, and the MTA. 

In other MTA news: on Sunday Governor Andrew Cuomo "announced the first phase of the L Project tunnel rehabilitation is complete ahead of schedule and on budget. With work on the first tube concluding after only five months, the entire Canarsie Tunnel Rehabilitation is now scheduled to be completed on budget in April 2020 - bringing construction to a close a full three months ahead of the 15- to 18-month projections. Governor Cuomo and senior MTA leadership toured the completed Manhattan-bound tube on Sunday, reviewing the new construction methods used to avoid a complete shutdown and maintain regular train service for 90 percent of L customers." 

There are a number of political events to be aware of this week -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday, September 30 & Tuesday, October 1
Monday and Tuesday will be fairly quiet political days and schools are closed due to Rosh Hashanah. But there are some things happening:

On Monday at 9:30 a.m. near City Hall, “transportation, labor and environmental justice advocates will gather in Manhattan with State Senator Julia Salazar...to demand the passage of three landmark bills currently in front of City Council: Speaker Corey Johnson’s Streets Master Plan bill (Intro 1557), Council Member Antonio Reynoso’s Commercial Exclusive Waste Zone Reform bill (Intro 1574), and Council Member Brad Lander’s Reckless Driver Accountability Act (Intro 971).” Along with Salazar, participants will include: “Transportation Alternatives, Families for Safe Streets, Vision Zero Youth Council, ALIGN, Teamsters Local 813, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Center for Independence of the Disabled-New York, Democratic Socialists of America Ecosocialist Working Group, Bike New York, StreetsPAC, Union for Concerned Scientists, other elected officials invited.” The problem they want addressed: “To date in 2019, 156 New Yorkers have lost their lives in traffic.”

At 6:30 p.m. Monday in Brooklyn, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will attend “'Bridging the Gap,' a unification celebration honoring humanitarian labor.”

Mayor de Blasio will make his weekly appearance on NY1’s Inside City Hall with anchor Errol Louis on Monday in the 7 and 11 p.m. hours.

Wednesday, October 2 
At 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Crain's New York Business will host a breakfast forum titled “Turning the Tide on Housing” and featuring Louise Carroll, Commissioner, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, City of New York; State Senator Brian Kavanagh; City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr.; and James Whelan, President, Real Estate Board of New York; and moderated by Dan Geiger of Crain’s. 

At the City Council on Wednesday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Criminal Justice and the Committee on General Welfare will jointly meet on several bills related to incarcerated individuals and provisions provided to them. 
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Immigration will meet to discuss legislation to prohibit a smart banking chip from being added to New York City identification card

At 12 p.m. Wednesday, the commissioners of the New York State Board of Elections will meet.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, this week’s Max & Murphy show will air on WBAI radio, heard at 99.5 FM and wbai.org.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Borough President Eric Adams will convene a Brooklyn Borough Board meeting at Borough Hall. 

Thursday, October 3
Beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday, City & State NY will host its 2019 Health Innovation Summit. Speakers will include Mitchell Katz, President of NYC Health + Hospitals; Richard Gottfried, Chairman of the Assembly Health Committee; Mark Levine, Chairman, NYC Council Committee on Health; Annie Fine, Medical Director, Reportable Disease, Data Informatics & Analysis Unit, NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene; Joshua Breitbart, Deputy CTO, New York City Mayor's Office of the CTO; Gary Belkin, Chief, Strategy and Policy, Office of ThriveNYC; and John Shegerian, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, ERI. 

At the City Council on Thursday:
--At 9:30 a.m., the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Business Licensing will meet to discuss a bill related to prohibiting street vendors on certain streets in Dyker Heights in Brooklyn from Thanksgiving Day until New Year’s Day
--At 1 p.m., the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sightings and Dispositions will meet. 

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals will hold its next public hearing

The State Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction and Overdose Prevention will hold a public hearing to hear from stakeholders on strategies for reducing overdoses and improving community health from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in Carmel.

The Queens Chamber of Commerce will host its 2019 Building Awards for architects, builders, engineers, lenders, interior designers and owners of building projects in Queens from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at TWA hotel in JFK airport.

Friday, October 4
At 8:15 a.m. Friday, New York Law School will host the latest CityLaw breakfast featuring Marisa Lago, Chair of the New York City Planning Commision. 

At 8:30 a.m. Friday, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will be the keynote speaker at the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce breakfast.

At 10 a.m. Friday, Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show. 

The New York Law School Racial Justice Project & the NYLS American Constitution Society will together host a discussion titled “Policing the Police: Enforcing Transparency and Accountability,” related to the legal options available to hold police officers and police departments accountable for misconduct from 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Friday. Panelists include Monifa Bandele of MomsRising.org and Communities United for Police Reform; Alvin Bragg of New York Law School; Jonathan Darche of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board; Christopher Dunn of New York Civil Liberties Union; and others.

Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressional Rep. Adriano Eapaillat will hold a joint press conference at 2 p.m. Friday at the Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center in Manhattan to discuss the tourism challenges and opportunities for the Dominican Republic and ongoing efforts to strengthen U.S. – Dominican Republic relations and economic cooperation.

***
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 Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Max & Murphy Podcast: The MTA's New $52 Billion Plan to Save the Subways & More


23 mta 600

(photo: Patrick J. Cashin/Metropolitan Transportation Authority)


September 25, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: The MTA's New $52 Billion Plan to Save the Subways & More

nicole gelinas wbaiThe MTA Board just passed a new five-year, $51.5 billion capital plan largely aimed at upgrading the New York City subways. Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute joined the show to discuss the new capital plan and share her thoughts on its structure, its positives and negatives, and what comes next.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Max & Murphy Podcast: The Future of Fusion Voting in New York


fusion voting 600

(photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)


September 25, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: The Future of Fusion Voting in New York

stan fritz wbaiA commission established by Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature is designing a system of public campaign financing for New York, and also considering whether to try to end the practice of fusion voting. Its binding recommendations are due by December 1, but everything is complicated. Stanley Fritz of Citizen Action New York, which is part of the Working Families Party, joined the show to discuss the governor's push to end fusion voting, why he and others from the WFP and beyond are fighting to save it, and what comes next.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.



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