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6 Years After DOE Yeshiva Complaint, City Yet to Take Action as Kids Suffer


cm greenfield townhall

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


Six years ago, I filed a complaint with the New York City Department of Education (DOE) alongside 51 others because there are dozens of ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Yeshivas in our city that do not provide their students with an adequate secular education, as required by law.

As a result of the complaint, the city announced an investigation on July 28, 2015. Yet now more than six years later, despite findings from the investigation that backed up our complaint, no concrete actions have been taken. The lack of action by the city means that approximately 40,000 students today continue to experience educational neglect.

I signed on to the complaint because of my own experience in a Hasidic Yeshiva. I attended a Yeshiva in Brooklyn from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s, and the secular education I received was abysmal. The “English” part of my day started around 4 p.m., the end of a long day that began at 7:30 a.m. It lasted for about 90 minutes, four days a week. That small amount of time is not enough to prepare students for their futures, but the quality of instruction in that hour and a half was also laughable.

I remember learning fractions, but I never learned algebra or anything more advanced. There was very basic English grammar, but I never wrote an essay or book report. We had no science and very limited history, and there was no physical education (gym). Once we took a test and all of the answers were written on the board in Yiddish—an example that embodies how we and the faculty thought about our secular studies. It was a joke.

My mother spoke English at home, so I spoke English better than even some of my secular teachers, despite the fact that it was one of the only qualifications for the job. These 90 minutes were a free-for-all. The control, focus, and discipline of the other parts of the day were gone. The grades barely mattered, and there were weeks when we would get no secular instruction at all.

Too often efforts to improve secular education in these schools are framed as an attack on the Hasidic lifestyle and community. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. There is no reason why Hasidic students can’t attend Hasidic yeshiva and get both a robust secular education and Judaic education. I know it is possible because my own children attend a school that offers both. It is through their education that I have seen exactly what was lacking from my own.

Deprivation of a basic secular education leads to hardship in adulthood with limited higher education and job opportunities. The fact that I speak English well was a life-saver for me in many ways. Many of my peers who attended similar schools, right here in New York City, do not have that luxury.

The DOE investigation into our complaint didn’t conclude until December 2019, when then-DOE Chancellor Richard Carranza issued a letter to the New York State Education Department (NYSED) outlining the troubling findings. Now, six years after the initial complaint, nothing has been done. 

Why has the de Blasio administration not remediated any of these schools? Why haven’t they released a final report of the investigation? There is clear evidence of educational neglect, and officials choose to ignore the impact that this poor education will have on 40,000 current students and many more to come - unless they act.

Mayor de Blasio and the Department of Education continue to sit on the report while punting the issue to the state, which has led to further inaction. Before Mayor de Blasio leaves office, his administration must finish what it started and release the full findings of the investigation. It’s time for action, so ultra-Orthodox children can receive the education they deserve. 

*** 
Yonah Kohn is a former Yeshiva student. He lives in Brooklyn.

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To Ensure Safety and Increase Participation, Let’s Allow Public Government Meetings to be Conducted Virtually


ensure safety participation

(photo: @CMFarahLouis)


Whether we like it or not, COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the ways we work and gather. While there is no substitute for being in the same room as family, friends, and colleagues, for the past 18 months, this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has taught us how to come together virtually and get things done.

Most of us had never even heard of Zoom before offices started closing, but it and other platforms like Webex and Microsoft Teams have become part of our daily lives as we adjusted to this new virtual world. Most of us probably know the feeling of “zoom fatigue,” a whole new way to be tired!

This past spring and early summer, as COVID-19 positivity rates declined and more and more of us got vaccinated, New Yorkers became more comfortable returning to our pre-pandemic rituals. We are now eating inside at restaurants, attending indoor events, and more recently, hosting in-person meetings to conduct important business before the City of New York.

When we adopted the new city budget at the end of June, we were able to meet inside City Council chambers with our colleagues for the vote. It was the first time in over a year that we finally gathered in person, and it was a relief to celebrate together the passage of a budget that restored pandemic cuts and made meaningful investments in our communities to help boost and focus the recovery.

Unfortunately, we may be done with the virus, but the virus is not done with us. Driven by the recent, rapid spread of the Delta variant, New York City’s COVID-19 positivity rate is hovering near 4%, all five New York City boroughs (counties) are experiencing high community transmission rates per the CDC, and hospitalizations are on the rise. In the current context, we are concerned about the safety of city government officials, civic leaders, and the general public attending in-person meetings.

Since the Governor lifted the emergency Executive Order, New York State law requires that all meetings of public bodies, including Stated meetings of the full New York City Council and committee meetings, must be held in person and remote meetings are no longer allowed. This will affect a high number of volunteer civic institutions that reconvene annually in September, including borough boards, community boards, precinct community councils, and others. Given the severity of the Delta variant, we strongly recommend providing a remote option for these public meetings.

It would be irresponsible to force community members, volunteers, and public servants alike to provide their input, which we need to govern effectively, in person, without a remote option. Indeed, a lack of remote meeting options will also present a special, inequitable, and frankly unacceptable barrier to immunocompromised New Yorkers.

Over the past 18 months, remote meetings not only allowed us to continue our work at the horrific heights of the pandemic, but they opened the door for more civic participation. This was a most welcome side effect of the new virtual reality that we could not have predicted. Indeed, in the time of COVID-19, we have seen a marked increase in public participation and enthusiasm for legislative and budgetary matters affecting the lives of all New Yorkers. To build on this passion, and to prioritize safety, we must fully integrate remote options like Zoom into city government meetings moving forward even after COVID-19 is finally vanquished.  

With fall fast approaching, New York State must take swift action to ensure safe maximum participation at public meetings. We may be growing tired of virtual meetings, but they have become an essential lifeline for us to continue our work while keeping ourselves, our families, and our communities safe. Let’s take the lessons learned over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and preserve this crucial option.

***
City Council Member Adrienne Adams represents District 28 in Queens. City Council Member Justin Brannan represents District 43 in Brooklyn. On Twitter @AdrienneEAdams1 & @JustinBrannan.

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Expanding State Extended Unemployment Benefits Could Protect 395,000 New Yorkers, But the Legislature Must Act Now


extended

The New York State Senate (photo: NY Senate Media Services)


New York can take precautionary measures now to protect unemployed residents in the event that Congress allows federal unemployment insurance programs to expire on Labor Day. This can be done by the State Legislature passing a bill that ensures the state’s Extended Benefits program remains in place under the total unemployment rate activation trigger when 50% state funding is required.

Right now, of the nine states (plus DC) with their Extended Benefits programs turned on, only four will continue beyond Labor Day. The majority of these state programs will shut down because the federal government will resume covering half the cost instead of providing full funding.

While neighboring states Connecticut and New Jersey will rightfully keep supporting long-term unemployed workers through the pandemic recovery, New York will have its Extended Benefits program shut off

That is unless legislators, in concert with incoming Governor Kathy Hochul, work to keep the program active. 

According to the most recent U.S. Department of Labor numbers, 725,000 New Yorkers were enrolled in the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program and 10,000 in the state’s Extended Benefits (EB) program the week ending July 31. The way that these programs function is that workers exhausting their PEUC benefits transition onto EB. However, if the state EB program also turns off on September 6, hundreds of thousands unemployed New Yorkers will lose a key source of income.

A lot of suffering can be avoided by following the policy structure implemented in the adjacent states. Assuming there’s approximately a (1) 20% reduction in people enrolled in PEUC and EB by Labor Day relative to July 31 and that (2) one third of those enrolled in PEUC already exhausted EB eligibility (a high estimate), we should expect that 395,000 more New Yorkers will continue receiving EB funds for weeks after September 6. That is if the state adopts the necessary provisions. 

State

Current PEUC enrollment*

Estimated PEUC enrollment by Labor Day

PEUC enrollees estimated to be EB-eligible by Labor Day

Current EB enrollment*

Estimated EB enrollment by Labor Day

Projected people retained on UI by expanding EB

NY

725,389

580,311

386,874

10,441

8,353

395,227

*Not seasonally adjusted continued claims for the week ending July 31 are used.

This won’t protect all workers expected to lose benefits when federal programs expire, but a significant number of people can still be helped if the Legislature acts now.

New York elected officials should treat this with urgency considering that state UI systems have struggled with efficiently processing changes. The policy approach to continue supporting long-term unemployed workers through the pandemic recovery is there, but implementation will take time. 

Extending federal programs is more straightforward, but state lawmakers should not bank on that occurring. Adopting the additional EB rule and preparing to transition eligible people to the program will be an administrative effort that is well worth the cost - New Yorkers looking for jobs and their families will be better protected and able to put food on the table.

State legislators should do everything possible to insure unemployed workers for more weeks.

***
Will Raderman is a Research Fellow at Boston University School of Public Health. On Twitter @RadWill_.

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Letter to the Editor: How to Really Prepare Workers for the Construction Industry and Good Middle-Class Jobs


vision zero projects

Workers rebuilding New York (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


To The Editor:

A recent op-ed published at Gotham Gazette, co-authored by David Meade, executive director of Building Skills New York, was riddled with classic smoke and mirrors. One might be tempted to believe that Building Skills offers a chance to build public infrastructure with skilled training, safe career pathways, and incredible pay and benefits. Unfortunately, that’s far from the truth. In reality, Building Skills is a developer-backed organization churning out cheap labor for New York City’s multi-million-dollar private developers, even if it means putting those workers in danger with less training and unsafe job sites. 

There is of course a need for skills-training and helping ensure that New Yorkers are ready for available jobs in the construction industry. But the details really matter. The apprenticeship programs of the New York City District Council of Carpenters (NYCDCC) Training Center are all registered with the New York State Department of Labor. A carpenter trained at our Training Center earns union wages and benefits that increase regularly. Meanwhile, our internal investigations show that Building Skills graduates struggle to earn little more than minimum wage.

Low-wage workers are also more likely to be the victims of wage theft, which is why the District Council made it our mission to work with State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Latoya Joyner to pass legislation in Albany to protect vulnerable construction workers like graduates of Building Skills. If Building Skills is really meant to provide opportunities for women and communities of color, then why on Earth are they sending graduates to job sites where they will get less pay and barely any benefits, and where they are more likely to be put in danger? It’s predatory.

Building Skills also claims that their trainees will work on public infrastructure, but the developers they are associated with rarely build roads, bridges, or mass transit. Why? Well, because federal law stipulates that on those projects, workers must be paid a prevailing wage, which the developers associated with Building Skills almost always refuse to do. That is why union carpenters and contractors have been busy fixing highways across Long Island, expanding airports like JFK and LaGuardia, building schools, and fixing roads—public necessities that all our communities rely on. In addition, Building Skills does not provide the relevant experience and training required for their graduates to work on these massive and complicated projects.

The only thing Mr. Meade is correct about is that the construction industry needs to continue to aggressively provide opportunities for underrepresented communities.

In addition to the NYCDCC Training Center, there are other successful, nationally recognized programs that provide training and a pipeline to help women, minorities, and veterans such as Building Works, Construction Skills, NEW, and Helmets to Hardhats. Take one tour of the NYCDCC’s world-class Training Center or visit any of our job sites to see that the 21st century union carpenters not only look like America, but unlike a Building Skills graduate, are paid a middle-class wage with benefits, job protections, and retirement security.  

Every worker in New York City deserves the same pay, benefits, and retirement security that the NYC District Council of Carpenters offers. We urge elected officials in all five boroughs to work with the NYCDCC to give workers what they deserve. 

Sincerely,
Joseph Geiger
Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the NYCDCC
On Twitter @395Hudson & @CarpentersNYC

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The Massive Budget Power of the New York Governor and What’s at Stake in 2022


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Gov. Cuomo presenting a budget (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


Governor Andrew Cuomo will soon be in the rearview mirror for New Yorkers as a result of his announced resignation on August 10, 2021, effective 14 days later. A fresh start will be a welcome relief for all New Yorkers. That is because, as we face 2022, everyone who seeks a government that strives for justice must take heed that the office of the Governor of New York is the most powerful public office in the state, and then some.

In the decade-long budget battles between former Governor George Pataki and the Democratic-controlled State Assembly in the ‘90s and early 2000s, the state’s highest court sided with the Governor in a decision that gave unparalleled leverage to the executive in budget negotiations. If a hard-right conservative wins the Governor’s office in next year’s election, that awesome executive budget power could put the brakes on and roll back New York’s broad movement toward equity in health care, public education, human services, and transportation.

Isn’t New York so “blue” that it’s far-fetched that a conservative Republican could win the Governorship? I would like to think so but anything can happen in politics. Democrats could nominate a weak, uninspiring candidate, or the Democratic voters might simply go to sleep, as happened in the 2010 and 2014 midterms at the national level. After all, 2022 is another midterm election. New York’s voter turnout history offers insights into just how feasible it is for Republicans to make a comeback, and understanding just how significant the Governor’s budget powers are is necessary to grasp the danger.

The Governor’s unique power is centralized in the Executive Budget, set forth in the New York State Constitution. It goes beyond even the common understanding that the Governor controls the instruments of government, the state agencies, the MTA and other public authorities, the State and City Universities (yes, the Governor appoints a majority even of the CUNY Board). In the State Constitution there is a “No-Alteration” clause that prohibits the Legislature from changing the language of appropriation bills of the Executive Budget. The Legislature can only strike such a bill altogether, or reduce the amount. It can add funds through a separate bill, but cannot change the language in the bill.

The Republican Party swept into power in 1994, gaining control of the U.S. House and Senate, and State Senator George Pataki defeated Democratic liberal icon Mario Cuomo to become New York Governor. Pataki proffered conservative budgets and policies, seeking to strip the Medicaid entitlement through block grants, cutting social welfare, fighting equity in urban school funding, and cutting taxes. Beyond cutting spending, he sought changes in substantive law like school aid formulas through the appropriation bills. The Legislature claimed putting a school aid formula into an appropriation bill usurped the law-making power. Dueling lawsuits against each other, Silver v. Pataki and Pataki vs. New York State Assembly, culminated in the 2004 Court of Appeals decision, Silver v. Pataki, with the other case folded in.

The Court of Appeals declared the “No-Alteration” clause was a hard and fast rule, and passing separate bills with changed language violated the Constitution. The Court also upheld changing the school aid formula in an appropriation bill despite claims this was an abuse of power. Several dissents from the majority opinion in Silver v. Pataki, arguing that putting law changes in the appropriation bills is abuse of power, gave pause to Governors on that subject in future budgets. Nonetheless, the overall decision vesting so much power in the budget bills enabled the continuation of what is now understood as the Governor’s “Take-It-Or-Leave-It” Executive Budget. That budget gives the Governor substantial leverage in negotiations over every detail of the budget, ending with the threat of blaming the Legislature for a shutdown of state government once the budget goes past its March 31 deadline for adoption.

Fortunately for New York’s overall social progress, George Pataki was gone at the end of 2006 and was succeeded by three Democratic Governors in a row: Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson, and Andrew Cuomo. New York had to undergo a tremendous recession in 2008-09 that forced many cutbacks, but the three Governors chose to exercise some restraint on potential abuses of power associated with the “No-Alteration” clause (although Cuomo tried tying school aid to student test performance and teacher dismissals, only to abandon that effort years later).

In 2020, the Year of COVID, Governor Cuomo was given immense flexibility to cut the state budget, only to see the Legislature use its Democratic supermajorities in 2021 and a Governor weakened by scandal to exert more power over the budget process. The Governor avoided a confrontation with the Legislature on enacting tax increases on the wealthy as a flood of Federal relief funds cushioned state finances. 2021 turned out not to be a moment for the Governor to test the limits of his budget power.

Those budget facts combined with a look at New York voter turnout — for gubernatorial elections 2002-2018 and presidential elections in 2016 and 2020 — help illustrate what will be at stake in the 2022 election. I add the votes of third parties like Working Families and Conservative into Democratic and Republican candidate totals since those parties cross-endorsed major party candidates:

 

NEW YORK STATE GOVERNOR ELECTIONS 2002-2018 (000)

 

TURNOUT

DEMOCRAT

%

REPUBLICAN

%

OTHER

%

2002

4,579

1,534

33.5

2,262

49.4

783

17%

2006

4,437

3,086

69

1,274

29

76

2

2010

4,653

2,910

63

1,547

33

194

4

2014

3,812

2,069

54.3

1,537

40

216

5

2018

6,097

3,635

60

2,207

36

254

4

               
   

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2016-2020

   

2016

7,721

4,556

59

2,819

37

344

4

2020

8,616

5,244

61

3,215

38

116

1

 

New York is a “blue” state. Since George Pataki defeated Carl McCall in 2002, Republicans have not won a statewide election, including for Attorney General and Comptroller. Turnout plunged in 2014 to a low point of 3.8 million when Andrew Cuomo defeated Rob Astorino, reflecting an uncompetitive election and disinterest in voting for Cuomo among many progressive Democrats. In 2018 turnout surged to 6 million as Donald Trump became the main issue for Democrats, along with intense efforts in congressional and state legislative elections by the Democratic Party. But even the Republicans did far better than they had in prior years, reaching 2.2 million votes and exceeding Cuomo’s vote in 2014. Cuomo did well in 2018, with 60% and 3.6 million votes. Democrats win when they vote.

The Siena Research Institute offered a look at a generic Democrat vs. Republican vote in a May 2021 poll, even as they measured whether the public wanted Cuomo to resign. They included Attorney General Letitia James as a candidate as well:

jb massive budget

The Siena Poll showed as a baseline a generic Democrat would beat a generic Republican 55%-29%, with 16% undecided. If it had been Andrew Cuomo vs. a generic Republican, the result was 48%-38%. Tish James vs. a generic Republican was 46%-29%, with 25% undecided.

Other questions in this poll indicated both James and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul did not have strong name recognition. The generic Republican performed the same, 29%, vs. a generic Democrat as well as against Tish James. Siena estimated the New York City vote in the poll at 40%, above its historical strength in a statewide election. Although New York City turnout was strong in 2018 ( 34% ), historically the city turnout has been considerably lower, below 27% in 2014 and below 30% in previous elections. The surge in New York City in 2018 was the outlier. A return to poor turnouts in New York City, or other combinations of circumstances, could make the Republican Party very competitive in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

The last thing liberals and progressives should want in 2022 is to take victory in statewide elections for granted and risk returning the vast power of the state budget to a Republican Governor.

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Jim Brennan was a member of the New York State Assembly for 32 years, where he chaired four committees. On Twitter @JimBrennanNY.

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We All Rely on Nonprofits — New York Must Value Them


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New York nonprofits do it all (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


You've probably never heard of "National Nonprofit Day." The date, August 17, is pegged to the anniversary of a tariff bill passed in 1894 that outlined foundational requirements for tax-exempt status. A holiday based on the tax code has not exactly caught the public's imagination. There aren't even greeting cards.

But most New Yorkers rely on nonprofits every single day without really thinking about it. So this year, let's use this obscure holiday to appreciate and celebrate the crucial work nonprofits do – and to rethink their role in our city. 

If you or a loved one was saved by a trip to the hospital, you relied on a nonprofit.

If a family on your block needed food from a food pantry, they relied on a nonprofit. 

If a sports or arts or camp program is what helped your kid through the pandemic, your family relied on a nonprofit.

If you spent time in a park, attended an outdoor concert, or visited a museum last weekend, you relied on a nonprofit.

We know that nonprofits make New York vibrant, fun, healthy, diverse, and safe.

As we look to the fall and focus on what our kids and families need, nonprofits will step up to provide childcare; eldercare; afterschool programs; mental health support; food security; swim lessons; library story hours; student sports teams; girl scout troops; dance instruction; museum and theater visits; music and art classes; and more.

While we contemplate rebuilding our economy, we need to recognize that as a sector, nonprofits employ 18% of New York City's private sector workforce, and the majority of these employees are women and people of color. We are responsible for 9.4% of the city's GDP and contribute $77 billion annually. Our city's recovery will depend on affordable and supportive housing, small business loan programs, community development efforts, and so much other programming run by nonprofits.

Nonprofits play a critical role every day, in every neighborhood, for every New Yorker. But they are especially critical for communities where the market fails to provide for so many of people's basic needs. So much of the mutual aid and social justice activism that has propelled us through this crisis won new forms of relief and support and can mobilize us to confront urgent issues of racism, violence, inequality, and climate change are driven by nonprofits. 

Despite all that nonprofits do for our city, we often fail to recognize their critical work, include them in decision-making, or provide them the support they need to thrive. Nonprofit leaders are rarely included by government decision-makers in shaping the "requests for proposals" for the very services they lead the way to provide. Business leaders rely on workforce development, childcare, and eldercare, but they don't pay for it. Nonprofits provide critical services and too often have to wait months to get paid for what they already did.

Today, on National Nonprofit Day, and tomorrow and the next day, Nonprofit New York and our partners will be working for changes that enable our nonprofits to help communities thrive.

We'll fight for changes in the way that the City of New York (and other government and philanthropic funders) contract with nonprofits. When the city and other funders negotiate with their own employees, they are expected to cover health benefits, retirement, and cost of living increases. Our nonprofit workers need and deserve no less.

Nonprofits need to get paid on time and with enough to cover rent, insurance, technology, and operational expenses.

One of the great features of nonprofits is that we are close to the communities we serve. Because we understand community needs and strengths, nonprofits need to be included in policy, program, and funding decisions from the beginning. Together, we can set shared definitions and metrics for success and make sure we get there. 

You don't need to buy a greeting card for every nonprofit you rely on. But if you want them to be able to continue their work and thrive into the future, you should observe National Nonprofit Day this year by joining our call to make sure nonprofits get the respect and resources they deserve for the critical work they do for our city.

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Meg Barnette is President & CEO of Nonprofit New York. Maria Torres-Springer is Vice President for US Programs at the Ford Foundation. On Twitter @barnettem & @MTorresSpringer.

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Filling a Vacancy in the Office of Lieutenant Governor: History and Hochul’s Opportunity


hochul lt hart

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)


Kathy Hochul is the ninth New York lieutenant governor to become governor through the state constitutional process to fill a vacancy.* But she will be just the second to appoint a successor to the office she herself vacates. David Paterson was the first. This  provides her a unique opportunity to improve New York state government.

Lieutenant Governor Paterson became Governor in 2008 when Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace. Notwithstanding the centuries long practice of leaving the lieutenant governorship unfilled when it was vacated in the midst of a term, Paterson appointed respected civic leader Richard Ravitch of New York City to the post. 

Unprecedented and unexpected, Paterson’s action ultimately survived a challenge in the state’s high court. It was part of his response to a major state fiscal crisis in a time of chaotic partisan tugging and hauling for control of the State Senate. In contrast, Hochul’s choice will be an integral element of her transition into the governorship. It will therefore surely be placed under a microscope for early indications of her ideas about government structure and reform, her approach to decision-making and her early thinking about the nature of the coalition she envisions she will need to win the full term she has said she will seek in 2022. 

The job of lieutenant governor, David Patterson reminisced, was to get up in the morning and check the news to be sure that the governor had survived the night. If so, he could confidently sleep in. In fact, apart from presiding over the State Senate, a largely ceremonial role, the state constitution and statutes give the lieutenant governor virtually no responsibilities – or powers – a fact that has been lamented by almost all who have held the office, and actually has driven some from it.

Candidates for governor routinely say that their first consideration in choosing a running mate is the person’s ability, if called upon, to do the top job. The political reality is, however, that aspirants to the lieutenant governorship are considered first in accord with the long established major party practice of presenting the voters with a demographically and geographically “balanced ticket” in statewide elections. Governor Hochul – an upstater, a woman, a former Congress member – was herself a beneficiary of ticket-balancing. She was selected by Andrew Cuomo as his running mate in 2014 when Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy declined to run again. 

Adhering to the idea of balance, Hochul has said she will appoint someone from New York City and she is widely expected to choose a person of color (Hochul is white). If the experience of another Paterson appointment to statewide office is any precedent – the choice of Kirsten Gillibrand to serve in the U.S. Senate when Hillary Clinton resigned her seat to become Secretary of State – there are numerous prominent Democrats already pushing hard to be selected. Among those mentioned are State Senators Brian Benjamin of Manhattan and Jamaal Bailey of the Bronx and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. 

In reality those running for Governor in New York make no definitive choice of running mate. This is because though New York voters cast a single ballot to fill the two offices, party nominations for Governor and Lieutenant Governor are subject to separate primary elections. This creates the possibility that the preference of the gubernatorial candidate for the lieutenant governor nomination may not end up being his or her running-mate. Hugh Carey did not pick Mary Anne Krupsak. Mario Cuomo did not pick Al Del Bello. Hochul herself had to defeat Tim Wu in a statewide primary to secure her 2014 nomination, and win another primary to survive a challenge in 2018 by Jumaane Williams (a potential candidate for statewide office again) to her renomination.

The Lieutenant Governor is elected for the same term at the same time as the Governor; unlike appointed staffers, he or she can’t be fired. Moreover, it’s hard (impossible?) to think of an ambitious politician whose ultimate career goal is to be Lieutenant Governor. Those who seek the office are likely to see themselves on the way to bigger and better things…like the governorship. So not only may the Governor end up with a Lieutenant Governor he or she did not choose, but one who can’t be fired and may want the Governor’s job. This is not a formula for trust, or inclusion.    

Yet because the Lieutenant Governor has virtually no formal powers, his or her role in state government is almost entirely dependent upon developing a strong, trusting supportive relationship with the Governor. This can happen. Malcolm Wilson was involved in almost every major decision made by state government during his 15 years as Nelson Rockefeller’s Lieutenant Governor. Stan Lundine played an important role as the Lieutenant Governor for Mario Cuomo’s second and third terms. In contrast, George Pataki’s Lieutenant Governors, Betsy McCaughey Ross and Mary Donohue, were entirely marginalized. Hochul herself, though smart and able, was rarely drawn into the center of decision-making on the Capitol’s second floor during the second and third terms of Andrew Cuomo’s administration. (Notably, all of these marginalized lieutenant governors were women, as was Krupsak, who resigned after a single term to run against Governor Hugh Carey, the governor with whom she was elected.)

But when it comes to filling the current vacancy, the game is different. Governor Hochul will actually choose the Lieutenant Governor. There will be no party convention. There will be no primary. There will be no election. There will be no State Senate advice and consent. Hochul will get the person she chooses. A person she can trust. A person she can comfortably provide a serious role in her administration. That is, she can draw upon the opportunity created by circumstance not only to fill the job of Lieutenant Governor, but to show the significance and value of a strong, inclusive team at the top.

The next step: revising the election law to require Governor and Lieutenant Governor be nominated as well as elected as a team.

*A tenth, John Taylor, acted as governor for about four months when Daniel Tompkins resigned to become Vice president, as the state constitution in force in 1817 did not provide for full succession to the office.

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Gerald Benjamin is Emeritus Founding Director of The Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz.

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No Equity or Excellence as Mayor and DOE Abandon Overcrowded Schools


equity for art

School during covid (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


For years we’ve heard from the mayor and his schools chancellors that our Department of Education is all about “equity and excellence.” Lofty goals, lofty promises, and grand announcements of progress have followed, giving the impression that we are much further along than we really are. You may not share the DOE’s faith in utopia, but my school, Francis Lewis High School, is located right on Utopia Parkway in Queens. 

This notwithstanding, I’m not persuaded. Next school year, after our awful pandemic year, we’re returning to full, in-person education. From a pure work perspective, I’m thrilled. I don’t ever want to teach online again. I’ve had it with teaching five or ten kids and twenty or thirty cat pictures, representing students who are sleeping, playing video games, or doing any number of things they wouldn’t attempt in my live classroom. 

I’m not afraid to go back, and I can’t wait to do my real job again. Of course, I’m vaccinated, and for now, I believe that affords me sufficient protection against covid. Are my students vaccinated? I hope so, but who knows? Maybe their parents don’t believe in it. Maybe they don’t want to place needles in their arms. Maybe they heard someone on TV say not to get it. Barring genuine medical reasons, the city needs to mandate vaccines not only for us teachers and staff, but also for all eligible students. That’s simple.

Less simple is the fact that no students under 12 are vaccinated, as they are not yet eligible. While my union was able to put safeguards in place that kept people safe, for the most part, last school year, will they work with full classes and schools? Even if they do, what if students decide not to wear masks? Last year they were placed in remote instruction, but since there isn’t any this year, will there be consequences? Mayor de Blasio doesn’t seem to find that important enough to comment, but masks are vital. Students who can wear them but won’t need to have alternate placement.

Another level of protection has been social distancing. Last year, the standard was six feet. This year, it’s down to three. Depending on when and whom you ask, there are 50, 200, or 10% of all city schools that cannot maintain three feet of social distance with their full student bodies in school. I can tell you with absolute certainty, regardless of which figure is correct, that our school is among them. 

Passing between classes at Francis Lewis High School ought to be an Olympic sport. You’d be lucky to have three inches of social distancing. More likely you’ll be carried by a wave of moving people, hopefully in the right direction. I’ve often found it impossible to get into a room and had to resort to u-turns in our crowded hallways. 

The city once said it would find accommodations for overcrowded schools like ours. They sat with the UFT and discussed what they could do. What they did for us was absolutely nothing, and evidently that’s what they are planning to do for, at the very least, 49 other schools too. How does allowing social distancing in some schools, but not others, represent equity?

Of course it doesn’t represent equity at all. For the New York City Department of Education, equity is a thing to be dispensed at their discretion. When it comes to addressing the rampant overcrowding they’ve ignored for nearly eight years under this mayor, it’s no equity for you. DOE policy is everyone shove in and hope for the best. The answer for September is to put a smile on your face and try to forget the new Delta variant is even more contagious and deadly than the version of COVID-19 that brought our city to its knees. Navigate your overcrowded hallways and classrooms as best you can, the city is telling us, and good luck.

This is unconscionable by any standard. There are few entities more maddening and incompetent than New York City’s Department of Education, but it’s still on the mayor and DOE officials to find adequate space for our city’s students. They don’t deserve a pass here, and we cannot allow them to happily march tens of thousands of students and teachers into the Delta variant. 

This is an emergency for all, not just for those in schools with insufficient space. The hypocrisy and indifference here is staggering. It’s imperative that the city find sufficient space not only for our students, but for all students. Like every other step of dealing with the pandemic and schools, the de Blasio administration is already well behind, but it must start now and make sure that the overcrowded schools they’ve ignored for so long don’t become death traps.

***
Arthur Goldstein is an ESL teacher at Francis Lewis High School, and a UFT executive committee member. On Twitter @TeacherArthurG.

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Yes, the Assembly Can and Should Still Impeach the Governor


ethic cuomo heastie

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (photo: governor's office)


Friday brought sad but unsurprising news in Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s decision to call off impeaching Governor Andrew Cuomo. For survivors, lawmakers, and advocates who doubted the Legislature would impose real accountability, this decision confirmed their worst fears. While Cuomo’s promised resignation is a monumental fall from power and an important safeguard against future abuse, it provides little justice for those he attacked in the past.

There are lots of political reasons why officials might want to avoid impeachment, but Heastie’s surprising justification is largely a Constitutional one — and he’s completely wrong. Heastie said in announcing the plan to drop impeachment that the New York State Constitution “does not authorize the legislature to impeach and remove an elected official who is no longer in office.” Not only is this false, but the claim raises serious questions about the Speaker’s candor to his colleagues and the public.

Heastie’s support for this conclusion is a memo from unnamed authors, advising the Assembly on whether it could impeach Cuomo. One small problem: it answered the wrong question. Heastie’s memo conflates the power of the Senate and that of the Assembly, as well as confusing the power to punish with the power to impeach. As I responded when posting a line-by-line critique, “If my staff brought me a memo [this] bad…I'd be baffled.” 

First, the document presumes Cuomo’s out of office, but (in fact) he hasn’t yet resigned. Sure, he gave a press conference, but as the Governor’s televised denials have taught us: just because Cuomo says it on TV, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Even worse, there is no evidence yet that Cuomo has submitted his resignation letter, and under New York law, he could rescind even a formal letter up until the day it takes effect. 

Even if Cuomo were out of office, the Assembly still could act, and it should. There are open questions about whether the State Senate (technically sitting jointly with New York’s highest court as the Court for the Trial of Impeachment) could bar Cuomo from running in future elections, but the power of the Assembly is clear. 

Under our Constitution: “The assembly shall have the power of impeachment by a vote of a majority of all the members elected thereto.” That’s not an excerpt, that’s the whole of what our Constitution says about impeachment of any official. If there’s a majority vote, the Assembly has the power to act. If Heastie wanted just an honest analysis of his chamber’s own powers, the memo wouldn’t have run six pages, it would have been a short paragraph saying “yes.”

Even worse, the Assembly memo then confuses things further on the Senate side. There is a point of genuine uncertainty about the Senate’s power to bar Cuomo from holding future office, but the authors turn it into something much broader. They say that simply because the court may not have the power to punish, it doesn’t have the power to hear the case at all.

If you strip away the legalese, this proposition is laughable. This would be like telling a judge that since you think you have a winning case, you just won’t bother showing up to court at all. Under precedent from around the country, it’s clear that the Senate could force Cuomo to stand trial, even out of office.

The last point is unclear, and one for the Senate itself to decide: can Cuomo be punished after resigning? Today, as he continues to control the levers of power, that question is merely a hypothetical. But even if he had already left, the answer would be unclear. Scrambling for any justification for inaction, the authors of the Assembly memo hang their hat on the narrowest of pegs: the word “and.” The authors claim that unlike the federal constitution, New York’s only allows office holders to be removed from office and barred from running in the future. 

To the Assembly sources, this narrow reading means that Cuomo can’t be barred if he’s already out of office and incapable of being removed. Cute trick, the only problem is that our federal constitution (which is older than New York’s impeachment clause) has nearly-identical language that had been interpreted much more broadly at the time ours was ratified.

But while the grammar may be ambiguous, the injustice of Cuomo’s immunity is clear. There is no civil or criminal process in the state (other than impeachment) that could block him from holding office in the future. And other states have previously blocked their governors from escaping accountability by resigning at the 11th hour. To these states, the need for justice was more important than a narrow, formalistic reading of the impeachment powers.

Resignation allows Cuomo to depart on his terms, stage managing his exit at a moment he should be stripped of all power. Already, the Governor has started his post-resignation media strategy, reframing his defeat as magnanimity. In an interview with New York Magazine’s Andrew Rice and Laura Nahmias, Cuomo belligerently claimed: “I’m not gonna drag the state through the mud, through a three-month, four-month impeachment, and then win, and have made the State Legislature and the state government look like a ship of fools….”

Always the pugilist, Cuomo will continue to fight for his legacy long after he leaves the Governor’s Mansion. And with $18 million in his campaign coffers, Cuomo won’t be fighting alone. Ever the political tactician, even in exile, Cuomo is a force to be feared. He may not be a modern-day Napoleon, but he won’t be relegated anywhere as distant as Elba. Shipped away to the suburbs, eking out a living on his $50K state pension (and trivial $5 million book advance), Cuomo will find a way to rebuild his image and his empire – unless legislators act.

In the end, once Cuomo is finally gone, the Senate may be powerless to bar him from holding future office. But that day has not yet come. Until the moment Cuomo leaves, the Assembly that has so-long delayed accountability must finally, and forcefully, act.

***
Albert Fox Cahn is the founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) and a fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and the Engelberg Center for Innovation Law & Policy at New York University School of Law. On Twitter @FoxCahn.

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Time for a Reset for New York City Food Policy; Here’s 6 Key Steps


time for reset

New York City food (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


In less than six months, a new Mayor and dozens of City Council members will join their returning colleagues to chart a course for governing the city in the coming years. Even sooner, a new New York Governor will need to determine her priorities. While policy options on public safety, education, and restoring the economy have attracted headlines, food policy is another challenge that requires attention from our elected officials.

As the Delta variant jeopardizes the city’s public health, the food sector of our economy continues to struggle, and food insecurity remains far higher than before the pandemic, New Yorkers need to know how the next administration will cope with these challenges. Every New Yorker eats every day, profoundly influencing well-being. While past Mayors and City Councils have made progress on food policy, two major problems persist: high rates of food insecurity and hunger for more than a million New Yorkers and the rising burden of diet-related diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Moreover, food is a central part of our economy. Good food jobs could put New Yorkers back to work and revitalization of the food sector could encourage community economic development and support tourism. New federal, state, and city covid recovery programs provide an opportunity to fix deep-seated problems now.

This is the time to chart food policies that build on past successes but also find solutions to persistent food problems. Based on a decade of analyzing food policy in New York City and assisting more than 20 local organizations to create and evaluate food programs, we propose six goals for the next four years.

First, the Mayor and city government should commit to making substantial progress in ending food insecurity and hunger in New York City by supporting coordination and enrollment in public benefit programs.

Last year, the number of food insecure children in the city jumped to more than 521,000 — a 39% increase compared to 2018, a shameful record for the nation’s wealthiest city. Already the city, state, and federal governments spend billions of dollars in New York City on public benefits like SNAP and WIC, emergency food programs, and school meals. But public programs are poorly coordinated, many eligible users are not enrolled, and the city often dodges responsibility to charities, which lack the mandate or resources to create a reliable system for ending food insecurity.

Second, city government should develop programs and policies that reverse increases in diet- related diseases and close the gap in health between the well off and everybody else.

Poor diet quality is the leading cause of premature deaths and preventable illness in New York City and the driver of race-and-income related health inequities. Expanding access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, improving nutrition education in city schools and health centers, and limiting targeted marketing of soda, fast food, and candy in the city’s least healthy neighborhoods are concrete steps the city could take.

As someone who has successfully controlled his own diabetes through dietary changes, Eric Adams, should he be elected Mayor in November, can use this experience to create policies that make this option available to more New Yorkers.

Third, through zoning, economic development, commercial rent and tax policies, the city can encourage food retailers to make affordable healthy food more available. Subsidizing farmers’ markets, making it easier for street vendors to sell healthy food, encouraging non-profits to set up food co-ops, and allowing small food businesses rent limits and subsidies to offer healthier options are practical strategies that can be brought to scale.

Fourth, New York City can use its food programs in schools, child care centers, senior programs,  and hospitals to ensure that the populations served by these institutions have ongoing access to healthy, tasty, and culturally acceptable meals.

Last year, 11 city agencies served approximately 144 million meals and snacks – the largest municipal food program in the nation. New York City should find new ways to use the power of public procurement to improve nutritional well-being, reduce food insecurity and support local and regional businesses and farmers.

Fifth, New Yorkers depend on food grown and produced throughout the region, nation, and world. The pandemic, like Superstorm Sandy and the Great Recession, has shown the vulnerability of our food system to disasters. Developing a regional food plan that makes health, equity, and environmental sustainability priorities would help the city protect its future. The new Governor could play an important role in supporting such a plan.  

Sixth and finally, New York City should ensure that city residents gain a voice in shaping local food environments.

For too long, the city has allowed national supermarket chains, Amazon, fast food outlets like McDonald’s, and global food companies like Coke and Pepsi to shape our city’s food choices. The sad truth is residents have no voice in deciding what stores open or close, what products they offer, or what prices they charge. Community planning boards, neighborhood food policy councils, and new user-friendly data on local food environments can help New Yorkers claim a voice.

The communities hardest hit by the pandemic, income inequality, food insecurity, and diet-related diseases are also those working class, Black, Latino, and immigrant neighborhoods that voted for the winners of recent primaries. Implementing these goals is both good policy and good politics.

Incoming city officials have an opportunity to make New York City a national leader in setting urban food policies that improve health, reduce poverty, promote equity, and encourage sustainable community development. By pursuing these goals, the next Mayor and city government can accomplish what has eluded their predecessors.

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Nicholas Freudenberg is distinguished professor and director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute, CUNY School of Public Health. Katherine Tomaino Fraser is Director of Evaluation at the Institute and Yvette Ng is a doctoral fellow there.

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The Case for a Latino Lieutenant Governor


1 lt gov kh visits area

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, & Secretary of State Rossana Rosado, right, in Puerto Rico (photo: Gabriel López Albarrán/Governor's office)


Andrew Cuomo’s resignation has historical import in potentially numerous ways. When the current Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul, becomes Governor of New York in just under two weeks, she will become the first woman to occupy the executive chamber in Albany. History will also be made if Hochul decides to appoint a Latino as her Lieutenant Governor.

I suggest that is exactly what she should do. Why?

First, Latinos now make up the largest ethnic voting bloc in the entire state. Yet there is no Latino representation within leadership at the state executive and legislative levels. Hochul is a white woman from the Buffalo area. The current Senate Majority Leader is Andrea Stewart-Cousins, an African-American woman from Westchester. The Speaker of the Assembly is Carl Heastie, an African-American man from the Bronx. Our current State Attorney General is Letitia James, an African-American woman from Brooklyn, and State Comptroller is Thomas DiNapoli, a white man from Long Island.

Even among the leaders of the respective county political organizations in New York City, there is no longer any Latino representation. And this includes the Bronx, which is the only Latino-majority borough in the city. Four of the five Democratic organizations in the city are represented by African-Americans. Furthermore, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, also African-American, is likely to be our next Mayor. The current and likely continuing Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams, is also African-American and of Brooklyn. The likely next City Comptroller, another Brooklynite, is Brad Lander, a white man.

Truly, the above list shows a major feat for our African-American sisters and brothers who have fought so hard for proper and due representation at all levels of government and political party organizations. Yet, based on sheer numbers and proven ability, it would seem that Latinos should also be recognized with high-level appointments and elections.

Second, there are several highly-qualified Latino elected officials and non-elected individuals who could serve the next Governor and the people of New York well. Among the Latinos that have great public policy chops, are thoughtful, articulate, and charismatic, and could potentially inhabit this position well are the following:

Ruben Diaz, Jr.
Diaz, Jr. is term-limited out of his position as Bronx Borough President and decided not to run for mayor. He has extensive Albany experience, having served as an Assemblymember for over a decade. Diaz, Jr. has served as borough president for the last 12 years and during this time he has helped oversee and usher in advancements for Bronxites and growth in his beloved borough. He is generally well-liked and well-respected. I would not be surprised if other Latinos inside and outside government lobby hard for his selection.

Fernando Ferrer
One cannot discount Fernando Ferrer as a potential consideration. He was Bronx Borough President for 14 years, and most recently served as acting chair of the MTA. There is no doubt that Ferrer is a widely respected figure with vast experience and would serve the new governor well.

Latinas in the Mix?
There are a number of Latinas that deserve Hochul’s attention too. Some are already in elected office, and others no longer in office could also be formidable candidates for the position of Lieutenant Governor. Some that could be in the mix are the former Speaker of the City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, and former Council Member Margarita Lopez, among others.

There are other Latino leaders, like State Senators Jessica Ramos and Gustavo Rivera, who could be considered by Hochul but do not appear to match her politics as well as other possible appointees. While unlikely, she could look to appoint one of them as a way to reach out to not only Latinos but the left wing of the Democratic Party.

Among the appointed Latino officials who could be under consideration: New York Secretary of State Rossana Rosado.

What of the Congressional Representatives?
New York City currently has four Democratic Latino congressional representatives: Adriano Espaillat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ritchie Torres, and Nydia Velazquez. With a House majority, and these representatives playing important roles in Congress, I don’t expect any of them to accept a position with virtually no power, other than being a heartbeat away from the executive chamber…or a resignation away from being Governor. There is also the uncertainty of the future given Hochul and her Lieutenant Governor will have to run for a full term next year.

The makings are there for Latinos to have a representative at the statewide level. Will Hochul herself quickly make history again with her first major appointment? Let’s hope so.

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Eli Valentin is an adjunct lecturer at Union Theological Seminary, a frequent guest political analyst at Univision NY, and author of the forthcoming, Reinhold Niebuhr: A Political Life. On Twitter @EliValentinNY.

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