Speaker Mark-Viverito & council colleagues march (photo: William Alatriste)

For years New York City has led the country with one of the most robust human rights laws on record. New Yorkers are protected against discrimination in employment, housing, and public services based on race, creed, age, citizenship status, gender, marital status, and sexual orientation, among other qualities.

As with any law, enforcement is the key though. For the city's Human Rights Law, that task falls on the Human Rights Commission, an agency on the front lines in the battle against discrimination in New York City. New Yorkers can file complaints to the commission if they feel they are being discriminated against. The agency has the power to levy fines and file criminal proceedings against those who discriminate. Even without a specific complaint, the commission also has the power to proactively root out discrimination through its own investigations.

For low-income New Yorkers and those who cannot afford an attorney, the Human Rights Commission is often the only avenue to seek justice against those who break the Human Rights Law. But what was once a vigorous agency has been whittled to a shell of its former self by two decades of budget cuts. The Human Rights Law continues to be strengthened through numerous pieces of City Council legislation, but funding and staffing of the Commission has not followed suit.

In fiscal year 1991 the Human Rights Commission had a staff of 241 and a budget of $9.5 million, $7.2 million of which came from the City, according to budget documents. The adopted budget for the current fiscal year (2015) funds a staff of just 66 with a budget of $4.5 million. The majority of that funding comes from the federal government, with the City putting in just $1.1 million.

"[The Council] hadn't really realized that the Commission has sat there and lost 90 percent of its funding since the Dinkins administration," Amy Taylor of Legal Services NYC said in a recent phone interview. "Here they are strengthening the law, but there is no way to enforce it."

The City Council is once again eyeing changes to the Human Rights Law, but this time, funding and staffing appear to be coming with it. In her State of the City address on Feb. 11, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito vowed to add $5 million in funding and double the number of attorneys and human rights specialists at the Commission.

"We're going to put teeth in a Commission that has been ineffective for too long," Mark-Viverito said in her speech. "We will make the Commission accountable for prosecuting cases, going after the worst offenders through proactive investigations and spot testing in areas such as employment and housing discrimination."

The speaker plans to add funding for 65 positions: 40 attorneys and 25 human rights specialists. Whether that money will come from the Council's portion or the general City budget will be decided during budget negotiations. A final fiscal 2016 budget is due by the end of June. On Tuesday, the City Council will hold an oversight hearing to examine the Human Rights Commission and discuss several related bills.

"It is incredibly important that if we are going to have this robust Human Rights Law we have an agency that enforces it and makes it a reality for people," Taylor said. "We are thrilled with the new funding announcement. It really shows a commitment on the part of the speaker to turn the agency around."

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), agrees. "The Human Rights Commission has enormous potential, but it has been underfunded and sabotaged for decades," she said in a recent interview. "The speaker's commitment to get this agency funded is a big deal."

With the new funding for staffing, advocates hope to resuscitate an agency that has not taken much action in recent years. In 2013, the Commission received 4,763 inquiries, resolved 591 filed cases, and resolved 199 allegations through "pre-complaint intervention."

It should be noted that the resolved cases were not likely filed in the same year. The average age of the cases in 2013 was 320 days, an average that has fallen each year for the past 12 years, according to council testimony by former Human Rights Commission Commissioner Patricia Gatling in February, 2014.

Out of 602 cases in fiscal year 2014, only 48, or eight percent, resulted in a probable cause determination. "Given how strong the New York City Human Rights Law anti-discrimination protections are, it is striking how many cases are dismissed and how few individuals actually have their cases prosecuted by the Commission," the New York City Human Rights Law Working Group wrote in its March 2014 white paper, having noted a similarly low percentage in 2013.

Taylor, whose organization is a part of the working group, and other advocates who spoke with Gotham Gazette point out the Commission's focus has been on outreach, not investigations.

"As a practice we, and our colleagues in the legal services world, never refer people there because we don't feel confident their case will be appropriately investigated and handled," Taylor said.

The community based technical assistance performance measures, which are used to grade the Human Rights Commission, jumped from 17,297 in fiscal year 2012 to 53,426 in fiscal year 2014, according to the most recent Mayor's Management Report.

Overall community engagement jumped from 18,915 in fiscal year 2012 to 54,986 in fiscal year 2014. Cases filed went from 335 to 497 during the same time period. The Commission added two staff attorneys in 2013 and its cases closed went from 440 to 602 between fiscal years 2012 and 2014.

The new funding for the Commission will be accompanied by strong new leadership. On Nov. 24 Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Carmelyn Malalis as the new chair of the Human Rights Commission. He also named eight new commissioners. For the previous decade Malalis worked as a partner at Outten and Golden LLP and served as the co-chair of the firm's LGBT Workplace Rights and Disability and Family Responsibilities Discrimination practice groups. She is an accomplished civil rights litigator and is expected to bring her commitment to the civil rights statute with her.

Malalis is expected to lead the Commission in much more proactive enforcement than her predecessors.

"CCHR plays a critical role in protecting our essential civil rights and improving community relations among New Yorkers across the five boroughs," Malalis said in an emailed statement. "Our Commission is firmly on its way toward becoming an even more robust enforcer of our Human Rights Law, and I look forward to working with partners and advocates to safeguard the rights and dignity of every New Yorker."

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

Commissioner Bratton addresses Manhattan Chamber of Commerce members (Ben Max)

NEW YORK - NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton's job requires him to appear in front of audiences of all sorts. To his credit, Bratton is remarkably consistent no matter who he's speaking with, whether it is NYPD officers at a promotion ceremony, city council members at an oversight hearing, or, as was the case on Monday morning, representatives of the business community. He's been at this a long time, after all: not only is Bratton in his second stint heading the NYPD, but he's on the verge of 50 years in law enforcement. Still, a skilled politician in his own right, Bratton knows how to appeal to an audience without betraying his principles or coming across as disingenuous.

So it was on Monday in Midtown, where Bratton addressed a room of about 75 guests of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, assuring representatives of the business community that his NYPD is the best it's ever been and only getting better, crediting them for the role of their tax dollars in creating the safest big city in the country, and attempting to allay any fears that there would be disruption to business while he's in charge.

In remarks and question-and-answer sessions with new Manhattan Chamber Board Chair Ken Biberaj and audience members, Bratton displayed his typical calm intensity. He's exactly what you want in a top cop: sharp, serious, confident, and even a little compassionate. He has Clint Eastwood-esque crow's feet and pitch, and he exudes you-can-rest-easy-on-my-watch competence and dedication. On Monday, he went into great detail making sure that Manhattan business people know the city is safer than it's ever been, and that he is not standing pat nor patting himself on the back, but that he is leading the NYPD forward.

Introducing Bratton, Biberaj framed the commissioner's appearance just right, saying, "Everyone in this room recognizes that the success of your business is directly tied to the success of our police commissioner and the brave men and women of the NYPD."

Bratton took to the podium to promise that his police force would continue to protect quality of life, attributing the city's record safety to preventing major crimes by paying attention to smaller ones. "We will continue to address broken windows policing in this city," he said. But, Bratton followed that by adding that the NYPD would do so even more carefully than it has, saying that "like a doctor...we want to police in a way that we do no harm."

In his remarks, Bratton explained that officers are being retrained, and that professional development will be constant. He said that the trainings and other efforts were being made, in part, to improve trust between the NYPD and the communities it serves. "We have to regain trust where we've lost it, we have to make new relationships where we never had it, and we have to work in all of our various communities in the world's most diverse city," he said.

"[W]e will get it right. We will regain that trust. We will improve on that trust," Bratton continued, in perhaps the most impassioned portion of his speech. "And particularly in the area of race relations - particularly with our black residents and our growing Latino and Asian populations - there is a need for the police department to be seen as legitimate, to be seen as collaborative in their relationships with the communities they serve, to be seen as responsive. And we will be all those things."

Bratton's point was two-fold: one, the work of building trust in all communities is important to doing good, fair police work; and two, the flaring up of racial tensions is a form of disorder, and disorder is not good for business and we won't let things happen that hurt business.

Bratton said it was the obligation of police to do their jobs "constitutionally," "compassionately," and "consistently." But along with all of the lofty rhetoric, the commissioner told his audience that he is especially focused on terrorism and cyber crime, that he has new polling capabilities that give him "the ability to access very quickly 17,000 people, 200 per precinct, down to a block, down to a street level." This way, he said, he's able to "keep my thumb on the pulse of every precinct in the city, how are we doing." He told the crowd that he's in constant contact with the mayor and leaders in Washington, D.C. with regard to robust anti-terrorism efforts and that he's meeting with the city's five district attorneys next week.

In what is a typical refrain for Bratton, he returned time and again to broken windows policing, his trademark. "I under no circumstances intend to retreat on the importance of quality of life policing," he said. "[I]t was essential in taking back this city to get rid of the squeegee pests, get rid of the aggressive beggars, to stop people from evading the fare on the subway, to stop people from urinating and drinking in public parks. All these things that deteriorated the quality of life."

But as is also usual for Bratton, he quickly moderated: "I will commit that we will in fact be sensitive, we will be well-trained, we will be well-focused, we will not be abusive, we will not be excessive...we are not driving a department focused on quantity, we're focusing on quality. And so effective, quality-of-life-type policing is absolutely essential."

The public safety data is indeed almost all rosy, supporting Bratton's theories and his leadership - as well as his mayor's. But, Bratton was asked by an attendee about the fact that shootings are up. He responded, "We have an increase this year in shootings and we have an increase in homicides. Shootings are principally located in Brooklyn, the Bronx." Bratton went on to list specific precincts where "the disease," as he put it, has been isolated, but festers. "[T]he shootings and the murders, while they're concentrated in...relatively small areas of the city, they have a citywide impact and they have the potential to have an impact on perceptions of safety in the city," he acknowledged.

But, he promised that he and his force are on the case, and intently reminded the audience that "The city is a very safe city. We are truly the safest large city in America."

***
by Ben Max, editor, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week and many others to follow will continue to be dominated, at least in part, by negotiations over both the state and city budgets. The state budget is supposed to be settled by April 1, when the new (2016) fiscal year begins. The city budget, which is in part reliant on the state budget, is to be agreed upon by July 1, when the city's 2016 fiscal year begins. As negotiations continue in Albany, this week marks the beginning of the City Council's preliminary budget hearings, where representatives from the de Blasio administration will explain spending and spending needs to council members. See below for details in our day-by-day outline.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is on the new "The Nightly Show" on Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. Monday night. Earlier in the day, the mayor "will host a breakfast at Gracie Mansion for members of the New York City Congressional delegation. There will be a media availability after this event."

The mayor's ending of the student cell phone ban in schools goes into effect on Monday. On Thursday morning, the mayor will speak to Association for a Better New York (ABNY), a prominent city business group. Two years ago as a candidate for mayor, de Blasio unveiled his universal pre-K plan at his ABNY visit. Last year, he took a victory lap on the subject and also discussed his plans to work with the business community. This year, expect the mayor to tout his Small Business First initiative, his Department of Consumer Affairs' work reducing fines on small businesses, his proposal to simplify the City's tax code and align it with the State's, and more.

The State Legislature is in session on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week (according to the "Joint Legislative Budget Schedule" released by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, the "Revenue Consensus Report" was due to be presented on or before Sunday, March 1.)

Wednesday will be an active, controversial, and tense day in Albany as various sides in the education policy debates head to the capital to rally and lobby lawmakers. In essence, there are the education reformers who back Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposals and those who don't - this latter group largely consists of teachers unions and those allied with them. Some related activism occured this weekend as unions and others who oppose Cuomo's education policies rallied on Saturday - many will also do so on Monday in the capital. The "reformers" who support (and help dictate) the governor's agenda will also be out in force on Monday in Albany. See below for more detail.

This week, the City Council begins its annual preliminary budget hearings in response to Mayor de Blasio's proposed preliminary budget for fiscal year 2016, with four scheduled this week: finance, transportation, higher education, and consumer affairs. There are also several other city council hearings this week. See below for full details.

Public Advocate Letitia James continues to host her series of "mayoral control forums" across the five boroughs, with two events scheduled this week - one on Staten Island, one in the Bronx. She kicked the series off this past week in Brooklyn. James begins her week speaking at the "Alliance for Tenant Power press conference calling for the preservation of New York City's affordable housing" on the steps of City Hall.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer begins his week at that same Alliance for Tenant Power rally. On Sunday, Stringer help a press conference and released new data from his ClaimStat tool showing the high number of incidents and settlement amounts around city playgrounds.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito begins her week speaking at the Urban Justice Center's ribbon cutting (see below for more) and participating in an afternoon rally calling for "additional reforms to the school discipline code," along with other council members, educators, youth and education advocates - at the High School for Fashion Industries in Manhattan.

"The government's response to the motion to dismiss the charges against Sheldon Silver is expected on March 6," according to Capital New York.

The race in New York's 11th Congressional District is really underway. Gov. Cuomo called for a special election on May 5 and Democrats have decided on Council Member Vincent Gentile to oppose Republican nominee and Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan. With just two months til election day, things will move quickly in this race - so keep an eye out for lots of campaigning and word on a debate or two. [Read our look at who may run to replace Gentile in the near future]

As always, a lot happening all over the city and the state, see our day-by-day rundown below for more...

***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
At 8 a.m. Monday morning, New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton will appear at The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Chairman's Breakfast, the first with new Chair Ken Biberaj. “The MCC Chairman’s Breakfast is a unique quarterly event for high level networking and dialogue on important trends and developments that affect the New York business community.”

Also Monday morning, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, New Jersey U.S. Senator Cory Booker and many more deliver remarks at Urban Justice Center's new headquarters, 40 Rector St., 9th Floor, Manhattan, according to City & State NY.

On Monday at 9 a.m. on the steps of City Hall, “The Real Rent Reform Coalition with other tenant activists will be holding a press conference to highlight the need for stronger rent regulations.” The rally will include “tenants of rent stabilized and controlled housing, Public Advocate Letitia James, Council Members Helen Rosenthal, Jumaane Williams, Mark Levine, Dan Garodnick, Corey Johnson and Steve Levin.”

At 10:30 Monday morning, "U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Lieutenant Governor Hochul meet with Students and lead organizing effort to combat sexual violence on college campuses," at the University at Buffalo North Campus in Amherst.

Monday’s City Council schedule will include a Committee on Housing and Buildings hearing regarding a new bill in relation to “extending the rent stabilization laws,” and to consider a resolution “determining that a public emergency requiring rent control in the City of New York continues to exist and will continue to exist on and after April 1, 2015”; and there will be a Committee on Technology oversight hearing concerning “Notify NYC and notification technologies.”

The State Senate Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Capital Investment will meet Monday morning, at 10:30 a.m., in a joint session with the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation for a legislative budget hearing on the MTA budget and finances. The committees will “examine the changes necessary to prevent annual operating deficits, stop the continuing cycle of increased fares and decreased services, and discuss funding options for the Capital Plan.”

The student cell phone ban in New York City schools will be lifted on Monday: “The change will better enable parents to stay in touch with their children, especially before and after school. It will also end the inequity under the current ban, which was enforced mostly at schools with metal detectors in low-income communities,” said Mayor de Blasio.

In the afternoon, in Albany, educators, parents, religious, labor and community activists will take part in a “Call Out Cuomo” march organized by NYSUT (a teachers union) to “highlight the devastating impact of Gov. Cuomo’s budget plan for public schools and colleges.”

Also Monday afternoon in Albany, a "coalition of education reform advocates" will rally in support of Gov. Cuomo's education reform agenda. According to a press release from Students First NY, "the rally will bring together more than a hundred district and charter school parents, clergy members and education reform activists who will call on Albany to prioritize New York's students and enact the reforms outlined in Governor Cuomo's education Opportunity Agenda."

Also Monday, there will be a Manhattan Education Council elections information session organized by the DOE at the Municipal Building: “Education Council offers parents an opportunity for district and citywide leadership. Attendees will learn about education councils and how to get involved in the elections. All parents interested in serving as part of a Community or Citywide Education Council should attend.”

On Monday evening, Riders Alliance is holding a meeting and training session: "We're organizing riders to fight for a fully funded public transit system and the next MTA Capital Program. Come to our training on March 2nd: we'll talk about how to fund the MTA without burdening riders. Let's get ready to fight for fair fares!" It's called "Training: Rising Fares, State Funding, and what we can do about it!"

Tuesday
On Tuesday, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) will sponsor the Immigrant Day of Action in Albany: “The purpose of the day is to bring immigrant voices to Albany and to share the Immigrant Equality Agenda with policymakers in the state capitol.”

Also Tuesday, nearing a year after the expansion of the Paid Sick-Leave law, the de Blasio administration will convene an advisory panel of business leaders to report on its impact:  “The panel, which will meet twice a year, is set to hold its first meeting,” said Julie Menin, commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, Manhattan Community Board 12 will host the Department of Consumer Affairs Small Business Forum. DCA representatives will distribute materials on the Paid Sick Leave Law and answer questions.

At 10:30 on Tuesday morning, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will visit a PROSE school to make an announcement - at The School of Integrated Learning in Brooklyn.

Tuesday at 11 a.m. at City Hall, "Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and members of the New York City Council will join New York City tour guides on the steps of City Hall for a rally supporting live tour bus guides and opposing tour bus operators' scare tactics."

On Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio will host a roundtable discussion in Manhattan with leaders of the financial industry.

Later on Tuesday, the mayor will hold a public hearing and sign a new law in relation to an annual report on non-governmental funding for New York City parks; a new law in relation to the distribution of localized emergency preparedness materials; a new law in relation to the creation of a Hurricane Sandy charitable organization and house of worship recovery task force; a new law in relation to allowing the Taxi and Limousine Commission to consider improved trouble lights for use in licensed vehicles; and a new law in relation to the sale of tax liens. This event will be open press. There will be no Q-and-A.

Tuesday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Public Safety for an oversight hearing on community policing in New York City; a meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations to examine new bills relating to “Contemporaneous registration and absentee ballot application,” and “Allowing absentee voters to track the status of their absentee application and ballot”; a meeting of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services and the Committee on Health for an oversight hearing on “Health Care Delivery in New York City Jails: Examining Quality of Care and Access,” and on a new bill regarding “Health services in city correctional facilities”; a meeting of the Committee on Education examining “overcrowding in NYC Public Schools” and to consider a resolution “rejecting any attempt to raise the cap on the number of charter schools”; an meeting of the Committee on Transportation to oversee “Trucks in New York City - How does truck traffic impact the safety of pedestrian and cyclists?” and to examine new bills relating to “Truck route compliance studies and signage,” and “Requiring a comprehensive study regarding pedestrian and bicyclist safety on truck routes”; and an oversight hearing of the the Committee on Civil Rights on “Effective Enforcement of the City’s Human Rights Law,” and to examine new bills relating to “the powers and duties of the commission on human rights”; “establishing an employment discrimination testing program”; and “establishing a housing discrimination testing program.”

Tuesday evening, Public Advocate Letitia James will host a Mayoral Control Forum at the College of Staten Island: “New Yorkers are encourage to come and share their thoughts about mayoral control and how modifications to the law can help to improve our education system.”

Speaker Mark-Viverito will be honored on Tuesday evening at the Legal Aid Society reception "for leadership in seeking justice for NYC immigrants."

Also Tuesday evening, Chair of the Federal Reserve System Janet Yellen will be awarded the CBC Medal for High Civic Service at CBC Annual Dinner. Yellen deliver the keynote address and will be introduced by Jason Furman, Chair of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks, Comptroller Stringer is due to attend.

Wednesday
Wednesday morning, Crain’s will host its Arts & Culture Breakfast: “Join Crain's as we sit down with New York's cultural thought leaders to discuss the vision and priorities for one of New York's thriving industries and the vital role the industry plays on driving the city's economy.” Panelists will include City Council Majority Leader and Chair of the cultural affairs committee Jimmy Van Bramer.

On Wednesday, Albany is set to see major rallies both in support of and against Gov. Cuomo's education reform proposals. In support, the education reform movement will largely be led by Eva Moskowitz and her Success Academy network, which is again closing its schools to send teachers, students, and others to Albany to lobby. The pro-charter, pro-Cuomo, "reformers" will also include the Families for Excellent Schools network. Meanwhile, also lobbying will be the teachers unions and other advocates aligned with the efforts to increase state funding of traditional public schools, keep charter schools from growing, and limit the changes to teacher evaluations and teacher tenure that the governor is calling for in his 2015 agenda.

At City Hall, the Committee on Finance will meet for Preliminary Budget oversight hearings examing Mayor de Blasio's initial fiscal year 2016 budget proposal.

Also Wednesday, Brooklyn Community Board 14 will host a Department of Consumer Affairs Merchants Roundtable.

In the afternoon, at Columbia University Morningside Campus, Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia will take part in the Global Mayors Forum: “Mayor Nutter will speak about his innovative school reform strategy, his cutting-edge community policing partnership with vulnerable communities through Philly Rising, and his longstanding commitment to making Philadelphia become the greenest city in America, through the nationally recognized GreenWorks initiative.” It will, of course, be interesting to see what Mayor Nutter might say while in New York City about his city winning the 2016 Democratic National Convention bid over New York.

At 5 p.m., the Center on Global Energy Policy of  School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University will host “a presentation and discussion of the National Petroleum Council (NPC) study, Enhancing Emergency Preparedness for Natural Disasters. Ms. Peggy Montana, CEO and President, Shell Midstream Partners, LP, will present the report’s key findings and recommendations. After her remarks, Bob Hallman, CGEP Fellow and former Deputy Secretary for Energy and the Environment for New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, will provide his thoughts and reactions.”

On Wednesday evening in Brooklyn, those who favor opting students out of standardized testing will hold an event: “Opt in? Opt Out? IT'S TIME TO CHOOSE” - “NYC Opt Out, a coalition of parents from across New York City, is sponsoring a forum that brings together dynamic educational leaders and parents from LI and NYC. They are gathering to coordinate their actions and build support for opting out in NYC, where the schools are hit hardest by the policies of high stakes testing.”

Also Wednesday evening, at 7 p.m., BetaNYC presents a Civic Hacknight in Manhattan, “a weekly project night for technologists, designers, developers, data scientists, map makers, and activists who are working on "civic technology" projects.”

The Clinton Foundation Gala will take place Wednesday evening. Don't be surprised if Mayor de Blasio and/or Gov. Cuomo makes an appearance.

Thursday
On Thursday morning, Mayor de Blasio will appear at a breakfast event of Association for a Better New York (ABNY), where the mayor will discuss “his priorities for the upcoming year and his vision for the future of New York City.”

Thursday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Transportation for a daylong series of Preliminary Budget oversight hearings.

Also Thursday evening, Public Advocate Letitia James will host a Mayoral Control Forum at Lehman College, in the Bronx.

On Thursday evening, another IDNYC information session, this one in Mandarin.

Council Member Levine will host a Department of Consumer Affairs Housing Workshop Thursday evening, at Junior High School Booker T. Washington Beacon Program Auditorium.

Thursday evening, the Bronx Coaliton for a Community Vision will host “A Community Forum for a Community Plan.” The coalition was formed in response to the City's plans to rezone a section of the Bronx as part of Mayor de Blasio's housing plan. It consists of New Settlement Apartments, Latino Pastoral Action Center, Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, Mothers on the Move, The Urban Justice Center, Pratt Center for Community Development, VOCAL-NY, United Auto Merchants Association, Faith In New York, and Real Affordability for All.

Also Thursday evening, at the 92nd Street Y: Wired Communities and the Genius of Technology: “Join a vibrant discussion about how technology and innovation is transforming our cities and communities—and how we should seize today’s opportunities to improve lives.”

Friday and the weekend
Friday morning, the NYU Steinhardt Education Policy Breakfast Series continues its look at pre-K: “What are the models for innovation and excellence? What initiatives can be implemented to evaluate and ensure quality, including but not limited to professional development? Our distinguished guest speakers will include a researcher whose work led to the implementation of the early education model in pre-K classrooms across Texas, and the head of New York City's current pre-K expansion.”

Starting Friday morning and continuing all day, Fordham University Law School hosts "Fighting Corruption in America and Abroad" - “This full-day symposium will focus on defining corruption and initiatives to regulate it within the United States, internationally, and in foreign countries. The symposium will include a keynote address delivered by Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and four panel discussions among legal academics, prosecutors, defense lawyers, economists, and political philosophers.” Former gubernatorial candidate and Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout will participate in one panel, she is among several distinguished participants. [Read our report after visiting Teachout's class the night after the primary]

Friday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Consumer Affairs for a daylong series of preliminary budget oversight hearings.

The government's response to the motion to dismiss the charges against Sheldon Silver is expected on Friday.

This weekend is an effort by Gov. Cuomo "geared toward boosting Upstate winter tourism...a free snowmobiling weekend...for all out-of-state and Canadian snowmobilers...The Governor also announced that the 2015 Winter Challenge will be held the same weekend, on March 8."

***
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 Rati Mukhuradze, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette 

CM Paul Vallone speaks about his veterans services bill (photo: @PaulVallone)

NEW YORK—On Thursday the City Council passed three bills aimed at helping New York City's roughly 200,000 military veterans. The bills will bring much needed reform to the Veterans Advisory Board (VAB) and require the City to keep better data on veterans seeking services.

Two bills will bring changes to the VAB, which acts as a liaison between the veterans community and the Mayor's Office of Veterans' Affairs (MOVA). The VAB has come under scrutiny in recent months for a lack of transparency and perceived inaccessibility to veterans.

Intro 619-A, introduced by City Council Member Eric Ulrich, chair of the veterans committee, adds another VAB meeting, requiring the board to meet five times per year, once in each borough. It requires meeting information be posted online in hopes of getting more in the community to attend, a practice not done in the past. In addition, the meetings must be recorded and either streamed or archived online.

"The bills we are passing into law today are really going to bring the Veterans Advisory Board into the 21st century by making it more transparent and by making it more accountable," Council Member Ulrich said on Thursday.

Intro 611-A, introduced by Council Member Mathieu Eugene, will expand the number of VAB members from nine to 11. VAB members, who are volunteers, will now be given City email addresses which must be published publicly, likely on the MOVA website.

"Reform of Veterans Advisory Board has been long overdue," Kristen Rouse, a U.S. Army veteran and member of NYC Veterans Alliance said on Thursday. "This reform legislation will breathe new life into the VAB, improving both accountability to, and representation of our city's incredibly diverse community of veterans and their families."

The VAB is required to issue an annual report, but up until now the report has consisted primarily of meeting minutes. The legislation recommends the VAB, which is an independent entity, submit policy or legislative recommendations in its report. The hope is the voices of veterans across the city will be heard even if the veterans can't make it to City Hall.

"We believe there is a lot of work that can be done, so hopefully this advisory board will really help put forward some recommendations we can follow up on," Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Thursday.

The two bills greatly shore up the VAB, however, they do not address lagging appointments. Currently seven of nine VAB appointments have expired terms, according to the database on the MOVA website. All five mayoral appointees have expired terms and two of the four appointed by the speaker have expired terms.

The speaker appointments have been expired since 2005, long before Mark-Viverito took office. Three of the mayoral appointments expired in 2014 under Mayor Bill de Blasio.

When asked about the lapsed appointments, Speaker Mark-Viverito said there were thousands of appointments to be made.

"Sometimes the process may not be as expeditious as we would like it to be, but we are taking it very seriously," Mark-Viverito said, adding they are currently looking at recommendations. "We want to make sure, especially since we are passing legislation, that we really get that board fully functioning."

Mark-Viverito said diversity will be something she will be strongly considering in her appointments. She did not lay out a timeline for filling them, but did point to Rouse as a potential candidate.

"I think she [Rouse] comes across as a prime candidate for an advisory board position," Mark-Viverito said following Rouse's comments at the press conference.

The third bill passed on Thursday, Intro. 600-A, was introduced by Council Member Paul Vallone and will require five City agencies to better track the number of veterans utilizing city services. Veterans will need to self-identify, which can prove challenging. But the requirements should give the City better data on veterans, which has been a barrier to authorizing more services.

"You can't fix something if you don't know the problems that need to be addressed," Council Member Vallone said.

The New York City Housing Authority, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services will all have specific data points related to veteran services that will be submitted in an annual report.

"New York City cannot honestly say it is taking care of veterans until it is able to quantify and examine how city agencies are reaching out to veterans," Rouse said. "This legislation will begin that process."

The legislation will be sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio to sign into law. He has 30 days to take action on the bills.

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

AM Moya, other electeds, & advocates rally for the DREAM Act (@FranciscoPMoya)

ALBANY - This week legislators returned to Albany after an extended break and began to feel the walls closing in on them. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made it clear he will use his executive power to compel the Legislature to agree to his education and ethics policies. He is able to do this through his ability to issue emergency budget extenders that keep the state running and enact policy points if the Legislature does not agree on a budget by April 1.

Cuomo has legislators in a tight spot as he declared earlier this year that he has no problem having a late budget and has tied major policy proposals to the budget process. His 30-day budget amendments appear to tighten some of his policy proposals to basic funding mechanisms. The longer the Legislature waits to cut a deal with Cuomo the worse things will be for them, and Cuomo has made it clear he is not willing to budge on certain proposals. It would appear the Legislature does not have much wiggle room, though Cuomo has shown a penchant for compromise when he sees an opportunity to secure victories.

The governor is essentially flexing his executive power - power that was bolstered during the 2009 Senate coup. At the time the Legislature was paralyzed when two Senate Democrats jumped ship to give Republicans the majority, and a legal and political battle ensued.

Governor David Paterson, with the help of good government groups and lawyers, used an untried executive authority to push through a spending plan to keep state government funded without the Legislature's consent. Cuomo promised when announcing his ethics reforms that he is committed to doing the same thing if necessary. "I will not sign a budget that does not have an ethics plan as outlined in my proposal. Either pass my budget or shut down the government," Cuomo said.

Legislators are angry that Cuomo is trying to weaken the body as a whole by using the tactic - they are also upset that he is not letting certain policies stand on their own merits.

Meanwhile, watchdogs like New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli have both said the strategy is fiscally irresponsible.

Thanks to court rulings, "These kinds of policy choices can be asserted into emergency appropriation bills," DiNapoli told Alan Chartock on The Capitol Connection on Thursday. "The Legislature holding up the budget is really not a smart strategy." DiNapoli went on to tell Chartock: "New York arguably has the strongest executive compared to any governor in any state in the union"

Raising great ire around the state, Cuomo has withheld projections of how much each school district would get in school aid under his budget plan. If the Legislature passes his reform plan he has promised $1.1 billion in increased education funding to be distributed around New York. If it doesn't, aid will only increase by $377 million. Cuomo's reform plan that is tied to the increased aid would make it easier to fire failing teachers, increase the value of state test scores in teacher evaluations, and allow more charter schools across the state - it has sent teachers unions on the war path.

Cuomo has made a similar move with a set of ethics reforms he announced in the wake of the arrest of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on three federal corruption charges. The reforms would increase disclosure of legislators' outside income and connections with employers that have business before the State, and restrict their use of campaign funds.

On Thursday, Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb held a press conference where he demanded Cuomo release school aid runs, which tell districts how much state funding to expect. Kolb called withholding the runs an "unprecedented and underhanded maneuver."

"The governor's tactics prevent school districts from being able to accurately plan for the future and his heavy-handed approach flies in the face of good fiscal practice," Kolb said.

Cuomo has responded to critics by telling them to simply plan for the smaller increase.
On the radio, DiNapoli echoed Kolbs concerns, saying that school runs are "not the final word, but an important piece of [school districts'] putting together their own budgets."

DiNapoli said he thinks putting policies that should provoke detailed discussion into the budget limits debate. "I do have concern with so much being jammed into the education discussion," said DiNapoli, adding: "Some of these issues should be debated in a thoughtful way, in a perspective of good policy not held hostage to a budget process."

Stringer expressed similar concerns, calling it "bad budgeting" in his Wednesday testimony in Albany, and also going into detail in a New York Daily News editorial titled "How Cuomo's Budget Stiffs New York City."

"Educating our children should never be held hostage to the outcome of policy differences. Students should not lose just because grown-ups cannot resolve their disputes," wrote Stringer. "Just three years ago, the state enacted a nearly identical conditional funding requirement that resulted in the city's loss of over $300 million in school aid when agreements on teacher evaluations could not be reached before the deadline. This year, more than $400 million could be at risk. This was a misguided approach three years ago, and we shouldn't make the same mistake again today."

Earlier this year some Democratic legislators pushed for Cuomo to add The DREAM Act to his budget proposal - he did so, but connected it to an education tax credit. The DREAM Act would provide tuition assistance to immigrant students who are in the country illegally or who have had their deportations deferred. Critics say the money should go to students whose immigration status is not in question.

The education tax credit appeals to more moderate and conservative lawmakers because it lets individuals write off donations to private or charter schools. Critics of that measure say the bill would essentially divert money to private and charter schools that would normally go into state coffers, and that large donors would likely eat up the credit allotment before middle class individuals could donate to their local public district schools.

Cuomo went one step further in his 30-day budget amendments by linking both the DREAM Act and the tax credit to the state's Tuition Assistance Program - further irking lawmakers and much of the education lobby.

Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has repeatedly called for the DREAM Act and the tax credit to be unlinked (he favors the latter, opposes the former).

On Thursday, new Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie echoed Skelos. "We don't believe that they should be linked either. That was the governor's choice," Heastie told reporters. "The governor did that. We're moving forward today with the Dream Act, and we hope that it will pass on its own merits in the State Senate. We're going to pass it as a standalone bill today, and we think it should be passed as a standalone bill." The Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 81-42. It is extremely unlikely the Senate will act on the legislation.

Cuomo previously treasured his ability to collegially negotiate on-time budgets with the Legislature and refused to make major policy points part of his budget. Cuomo's signature legislation has come this way - things like marriage equality, the SAFE Act, and his property tax cap were voted on separately from the budget.

Cuomo's predecessors relied heavily on including contentious issues in budget bills. In 2009, Paterson negotiated major reform of the state's Rockefeller Drug Laws as part of the budget. Last year, however, Cuomo bargained away the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption as part of his budget deal to win a package of ethics reforms that many called too limited and a "pilot" public financing system that only applied to the office of Comptroller and never took off.

Heastie told reporters on Thursday that Cuomo's inclusion of ethics reform in the budget "Kind of ties the Legislature's hands." Heastie and other legislators have recently called for major ethics reforms following the scandal that felled Silver. It appears Cuomo's tactics have them balking, but it might not matter.

***
by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing

Linda Sarsour, left, (photo: William Alatriste) & Justin Brannan (photo: Teri Brennan)

They're both big personalities, proud Democrats, and very Brooklyn, but the similarities may end there for Justin Brannan and Linda Sarsour, two politicos who could be on a collision course to replace City Council Member Vincent Gentile.

While it may be early to speculate candidates to supplant Gentile when he is term-limited out of the Council at the end of 2017, with the council member named the Democratic candidate for the May 5 special congressional election to replace Michael Grimm, the politics of the moment allow a hastened timeline. Plus, a Brannan-Sarsour match-up is rife with intrigue.

To be sure, Gentile is a major underdog against Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, the Republican nominee seeking to represent New York's 11th Congressional District. The district consists of Staten Island and part of Southern Brooklyn - just two months after winning re-election, Grimm resigned in January after pleading guility to felony tax evasion. But, if Gentile were to pull off an upset and his council seat opens up sooner rather than later, a contest featuring Brannan and Sarsour in a complex part of the city would be about as interesting as a city council race can get.

Before continuing, a disclaimer: neither Brannan nor Sarsour has explicitly said they plan to run for City Council and neither responded directly to Gotham Gazette requests to gauge their interest. But, Brannan is a long-serving aide to Gentile in the 43rd Council District, president of a local political club - the Bay Ridge Democrats - and as noted an ambassador of the community as there is. Politics comes easily to Brannan, who has both a large physical stature and outsize personality. For her part, Sarsour is a fierce political activist and organizer who sitting city council members have publicly encouraged to seek local elected office. She is also the president of a political club: the Muslim Democratic Club of New York. A long-time Bay Ridge resident, she has developed a national profile around issues related to race and religion, social and criminal justice.

Political insiders in Southern Brooklyn and elsewhere see a Brannan candidacy as a no-brainer and virtual given. While Sarsour's name is on people's minds, some wonder if she's more focused on national and international politics and less suited for or interested in the granular, day-to-day work of a city council member. She is raising a family in the community, though, and city council can provide both a platform and a springboard. They are not the only two names mentioned by people with knowledge of the area and its politics, but they are by far the most prominent and compelling.

While they share some similarities and even some semblance of a friendship, the differences between Brannan and Sarsour set the stage for great political theater were they to compete for the seat Gentile currently occupies - whether in a 2015 or 2016 special election or the regularly-scheduled 2017 election (or both).

Look no further than the presence each has on social media. Sarsour's Twitter profile reads, "Palestinian-American-Muslim, racial justice & civil rights activist, media commentator. Born & raised in Brooklyn." Her feed is full of personal thoughts and retweets dealing with conflict in the Middle East, racial bias in policing in cities around the country, and more. Meanwhile, Brannan takes to Facebook to make sure that Bay Ridge residents know when alternate side of the street parking regulations are suspended.

Referencing his wife and other community connections, Brannan's Twitter profile says, "Mr. @leighjewel, #BayRidge ambassador, @VGentile43 aide, prez @bayridgedems, small biz owner, Freemason, vegetarian, Brooklyn native, bottled water enthusiast." He's also a long-time animal welfare activist, which comes through in his public messaging and has ben a part of his political work.

Currently, Brannan is Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs for Gentile; a source close to Gentile's congressional campaign says that Brannan will be taking a leave of absence from Gentile's council office to run communications for the campaign. If Gentile were to defeat Donovan, Brannan may have to decide if running for City Council trumps working for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and spending some of the year in D.C. Those who know him well believe he'd jump at the chance to run for local elected office.

Sarsour, meanwhile, has given minimal indication that she sees the City Council in her future. She is currently the Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York and has been traveling the country speaking. Sarsour may get enough push to run, though, from her growing Muslim Democratic Club and from her allies already in the City Council. She has been a big supporter of the City's recently rolled out municipal identification card program and vocal behind members of the Council's progressive caucus on many issues. However, Sarsour is an outspoken critic of the NYPD and has not minced words regarding city elected officials when it comes to their support for Israel. In a race between Sarsour and Brannan, it reasons that Brannan would see widespread support from law enforcement unions and elected officials closest to them.

Depending on who you speak with, the district Brannan and Sarsour may compete to represent is on one hand a middle-class area with a lot of union families and many relatively conservative Democrats, or, on another hand, a changing area with a growing Arab American population. Likely, it is, of course, both and much more. It seems clear that neither Brannan nor Sarsour would have a hard time raising money to run an effective campaign. It also appears mostly clear that the seat will not be opening up before the end of Gentile's term, as any Brooklynite is seen as having an extremely uphill battle to win in the 11th Congressional District.

What is less clear is whether Brannan and Sarsour will each jump at the chance to replace Gentile, whenever he does indeed depart. 

***
by Ben Max, editor, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax

Mayor de Blasio in Albany on Wednesday, with AM Herman Farrell (photo: @SKIPSCAM)

Speaking to state lawmakers "against the backdrop of a crisis," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave his response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fiscal year 2016 budget proposal in Albany on Wednesday.

During a three-and-a-half hour testimony, de Blasio critiqued the governor's proposals and identified what he sees as the three main areas in which New York City most needs the State's funding help: education, affordable housing and homelessness, and infrastructure.

Like his mayoralty in general, de Blasio's testimony to the joint fiscal committees of the state Legislature was framed in terms of a fight against inequality, the defining crisis of our time, as the mayor says.

"We need to address this crisis and create a state and a city with opportunity for all," de Blasio said in delivering remarks, which were followed by a question-and-answer period with legislators.

In essence, de Blasio was in Albany to do two things: one, give his take on Cuomo's proposals to state legislators who will be lobbying their leadership as budget negotiations with the governor heat up; and two, explain what he sees as New York City's major financial needs. Last year, the mayor largely focused on securing money from the State for his pre-kindergarten program. This year, he cast a wider net.

De Blasio also took a harsher tone than last year, which was his first as mayor. On Cuomo's budget, which outlines an ambitious 2015 policy agenda, the mayor gave mixed reviews, though when he directly referenced the governor he was largely full of praise. All told, de Blasio directly spoke of the governor 18 times when giving his prepared statement and on 12 of those occasions he thanked Cuomo or gave his policies outright compliments. Examples of this include around Cuomo's push to 'raise the age' of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18 years old and the governor's support of mayoral control of schools.

Twice de Blasio gave the governor some credit, but said that he was not going far enough - one example being de Blasio's statement that he is pleased the governor is including renters in his property tax relief proposal, but that the "level of benefit it provides to residents of New York City should be raised."

And on four occasions de Blasio gave clear criticism of the governor's plans. His harshest words came around a Cuomo proposal to cut aid for homelessness prevention. De Blasio said legislators "should reject an ill-considered proposal in the governor's budget for homeless programs: a 10% New York City-only cut for Emergency Assistance for Families, which would effectively mean a $22.5 million cut to our homeless prevention programs. That money would provide shelter for 500 families for a year."

De Blasio also directly opposed or criticized Cuomo's call for increasing the weight of standardized testing in teacher evaluations, his push to allow state takeover of the most struggling schools, and for including far too little MTA funding in his budget.

As de Blasio outlined his own priorities around fighting inequality and areas in which he says the City needs the most funding attention from the State, other implicit differences with the governor were clear. For example, de Blasio is pushing Cuomo and other state lawmakers to significantly increase education aid to the city.

De Blasio repeatedly implored members of the state Senate and Assembly to push for fair funding for New York City and to treat favorably key pieces of policy essential to the mayor's agenda. To underscore his points, the mayor referred to a jarring statistic: in New York City, 46 percent of the population is at or near the poverty level.

To reduce sky-high poverty and homelessness and to improve opportunities available to all New Yorkers, de Blasio says that the City - with help from the State - must improve its education system and ensure the availability of affordable housing.

To accomplish these major feats, de Blasio said that the State must come through with $2.6 billion in additional education funding that the City is owed from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity ruling and an end to the policy of vacancy decontrol of rent stabilized apartments. He also called for $32 million in increased state aid for subsidized housing for the formerly homeless or those highly at risk of not being able to afford their home - this request is separate from de Blasio's warning that the $22 million cut to homelessness prevention must not be made.

The mayor also pushed more state aid for the city's public housing, saying, "We are asking the State come up with $300 million for health and safety in NYCHA developments – which the City would match."

Citing several ways in which his administration has moved to improve the education system in New York City, de Blasio asked state officials to make mayoral control of city schools "permanent," rather than subject to renewal authorization every few years. Cuomo has called for a three-year extension of mayoral control - the current policy expires this year.

As de Blasio spoke to members of the Legislature, he was, of course, also addressing the governor (who, for much of de Blasio's testimony was holding his own public event, a cabinet meeting). While Cuomo was not present for or tuned in to de Blasio's remarks, he is sure to learn of the mayor's statements. The two were said to be meeting on Wednesday, but it was unclear exactly when and where that was happening.

When discussing education, de Blasio sought to appeal to Cuomo and other reform-minded officials in explaining how the City has moved to push incompetent teachers out of the profession and turn around failing schools. But, de Blasio expressed a difference of opinion with the governor's education proposals by saying that increasing the importance of standardized tests is counterproductive and in rebuffing the governor's call for the State to take over the city's most troubled schools. On the former, de Blasio said that "standardized tests should not be the largest part of a full evaluation of a student or a teacher;" on the latter, he declared that mayoral control makes very clear who is accountable for those schools and that in 2017, city voters will give their assessment of his work at the ballot box.

Notably, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who testified immediately after de Blasio, told legislators that he favors mayoral control of schools, but that he also wants to see a tweak to the law in which the city's Department of Education (DOE) would be held to the same contract procurement standards as other city agencies, thus allowing his office greater oversight. "For too long, the DOE has answered to no one when it comes to procurement," Stringer said. "With billions of dollars at stake, cutting corners on procurement is bad for taxpayers and bad for our children."

Stringer also had harsh words for the governor's tying an increase in school aid for districts around the state to his education reform policies, calling it "bad budgeting."

De Blasio and Stringer both praised Cuomo for including the DREAM Act in his budget - both have championed the policy that would allow students in the country illegally to access college tuition aid. The governor has tied the act to another policy, a tax credit for education-related donations, which is meant to make the package appeal to Democrats who want to see the DREAM Act passed and Republicans who favor the tax credit.

Both the mayor and the comptroller are calling for a larger increase to the minimum wage than the governor outlined in his budget, even though Cuomo has proposed increasing it at a faster rate than the current law dictates. De Blasio called for a "formal indexing model" and local control, and Stringer echoed the call for New York City to set it's own wage and said that that wage should soon be $15 per hour.

De Blasio told legislators, "The current minimum wage simply does not do enough for workers in New York City. That is why, with your help, we must raise New York City's wage to more than $13 per hour in 2016. And index it to inflation, which would bring us to a projected $15 per hour by 2019." He did not reference Cuomo's less ambitious model.

In closing, de Blasio asked his Albany colleagues to join him on his crusade. "Through the choices you make about spending on education, housing, and infrastructure," he said, "you can reduce inequality and increase opportunity."

***
by Ben Max, editor, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax

photo via @USArmy

NEW YORK—Manhattan has never been labeled "the forgotten borough" - that moniker belongs to Staten Island. But when it comes to Veteran Treatment Courts, Manhattan has found itself in the rare position of being left out.

By the time winter gives way to spring this year, a new court house in Staten Island will open and, in a first for the borough, it will include a Veteran Treatment Court. The court will offer a specially designed program to help mentor and treat military veterans in the court system. Not every veteran qualifies for the rigorous 12-24 month drug treatment course, but the results have, thus far, been positive elsewhere.

The program, started in 2008 in Buffalo, has been a hit, with 230 sites opening across the country. In New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx all currently have active veteran treatment programs. With the full support from District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr., Staten Island will start its program shortly after the new courthouse opens, slated for around the end of March, according to testimony from Executive Assistant Attorney Timothy Koller.

That will leave Manhattan as the only borough without a Veteran Treatment Court—and there is not a clear answer as to why.

At a City Council hearing last fall advocates pointed to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance as the reason. The discussion, along with persistent advocacy, prompted Wednesday's Council oversight hearing on the subject. Vance was invited, according to council staff, however he did appear before the veteran affairs committee.

Instead, Vance's office issued the following statement, sent out via its twitter account: "Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to our veterans. As I have publicly stated before, I fully support any initiative by the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to create a full-fledged Veterans Treatment Court in Manhattan. Last fall, senior members of my office met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to express our support for a Veterans Court. I welcome the opportunity to partner with OCA on this important initiative."

Gotham Gazette contacted OCA, which oversees and funds the courts in New York State, for comment about why, if the district attorney supports the program, there is not a Veteran Treatment Court in Manhattan.

"As of now, we have every intention of starting a Veteran Court in New York County," David Bookstaver, spokesman for OCA said by phone Wednesday. "We look forward to working with District Attorney Vance to that end."

Bookstaver did not provide a timetable as to when that would happen.

In a hearing that lasted over three hours, there wasn't a single individual, group, or elected official that spoke out against Veteran Treatment Courts.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer threw her full support behind the program. "There is nothing that should stand in the way of the establishment of a Veterans Court in Manhattan," Brewer said in her testimony. "I am truly delighted and encouraged by the statement of support by District Attorney Vance, and look forward to working with him to make the Manhattan Veterans Court a reality."

Public Advocate Letitia James was unable to attend, but sent a representative who served in the military to read her statement. James' statement said that the public advocate had written a letter to Judge Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State of New York, "to request that the State Unified Court System reassess the feasibility of erecting a Veteran Treatment Court in Manhattan."

Judge Lippman has given his blessing to open the courts in each of the other boroughs. With overwhelming support, it begs the question: what is the hold up in Manhattan?

OCA would not elaborate further on the record, but Public Advocate James provided a theory in her testimony.

"From my understanding, the only barrier to opening such a court in Manhattan is funding for staff," James said. "This is why I will be reaching out to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance to inquire if any settlement monies that have come to the State of New York could be used to fund staffing."

Funding would need to be provided for two or three staff members and some minimal administrative costs. In other places, the judges that preside over veterans' cases are judges already in the court system and they only hear cases in Veteran Treatment Court once a week. The Brooklyn Treatment Court runs off of a $500,000 grant, according to testimony at the council hearing.

OCA, which would have to provide funding for the new program, is funded itself by state and federal money. Federal grants to pay for starting up a Veteran Treatment Court are currently available through the United States Bureau of Justice Assistance.

James said she recommended OCA submit an application for this grant funding to pay for a program in Manhattan. Gotham Gazette asked OCA if it had done so, but the spokesperson was unable to provide that information by press time.

Last summer Gotham Gazette spoke with Valerie Raine, who was the acting statewide drug court coordinator for New York's Unified Court System. She said after seeing drastic cuts in funding and staffing in 2011 there is lingering concern about applying for grants to support new staff positions.

"When times were better, you could pretty much count on when the grant funds ran out—assuming the program did well—the court would assume the continuation of that position," Raine said last summer. "But that is no longer a guarantee. Funding is never in perpetuity."

It is still unclear why Manhattan is the lone borough yet to act, though.

For council members in support of adding a Veteran Treatment Court in Manhattan, they can't offer much budgetary help, as the City does not fund OCA. Council members could help fund the veteran mentors that are part of the Veteran Treatment Court system, positions that nearly everyone who testified at the council hearing deemed critical to the success of the program.

The mentors walk veterans through their treatment and provide peer-to-peer mentorship, much like in the military. The mentors are currently strictly voluntary and unpaid.

"It is essential Veteran Treatment Courts become available in all five boroughs," Council Member Eric Ulrich, chair of the veterans committee said on Wednesday. "A veteran in every borough deserves a second chance and the same accommodations another veteran receives in any other borough."

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

Council Member Fernando Cabrera at Monday's hearing (photo: William Alatriste)

NEW YORK - The City Council Committee on Juvenile Justice met Monday morning to hear testimony from community agencies offering alternatives to detention for youth who commit minor crimes.

The discussion, organized into three panels, covered a less talked about area of the justice system: the one involving individuals under 16 years of age who commit low-to-moderate-level offenses, such as shoplifting, fighting in school, or smoking marijuana. Council members, led by committee chair Fernando Cabrera, called the oversight hearing to assess both programming and the process by which the City is contracting with service providers.

In a three-hour session, representatives of several organizations based throughout New York City shared their visions for a progressive juvenile justice system in which young offenders, in particular those who are not charged with violent felonies, would not be confined in detention centers but rehabilitated through a series of community programs.

The statements of service providers who contract with the City echoed and expanded on those made by emissaries of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), who testified to start the hearing.

Cabrera and other committee members liked what they heard, but also pressed for more information, especially around the City's system for evaluating and contracting with providers.

"We are working together to brainstorm and implement reforms to steer nonviolent youth offenders in particular away from detention and into programs and services which we believe will reduce recidivism," said City Council Member Fernando Cabrera, who chairs the committee. One thing that became evident during the hearing, though, is that it is less than clear which providers are the best at limiting repeat offenses by the young people they serve.

Cabrera and other council members asked representatives of the de Blasio administration about the selection criteria the City uses to recruit new service providers or retain ongoing partners, and how the performance of their services are monitored over time.

MOCJ reps replied that vendors are chosen based on their proposals, in which they outline their experience and efficiency in the field of juvenile justice, as well as their connection with local courts. Much of the data on the effectiveness of programming is reliant on self-reporting at this point, though, which raises red flags for council members and others interested in assessing if the right providers are being given contracts.

Rev. Wendy Andrea Calderón-Payne, the Executive Director at Bronx Connect, a community-based alternative-to-incarceration program for court-involved youth, pointed at her organization's low recidivism rate of 7 percent to prove that the facility she runs is effective. Bronx Connect, however, did not have its contract with the City renewed through the most recent round of procurement.

Calderon-Payne stressed how her center is a source of jobs for the community around it, pointing out the importance of hiring personnel coming from the same environment as the children they serve. "We come from our youth. My staff grew up where our youth grew up," Calderón-Payne said, "and that's one of the reasons I feel like we had this overwhelming success."

At the hearing, Cabrera, who represents part of the Bronx, appeared focused, in part, on the City's shift away from Bronx Connect. He pressed MOCJ reps to clarify the process by which they selected their five major contracts. The City insisted that a fair process is being used.

There are currently five centers around New York City, one in each borough, which are coordinated by the City and that have the capability of hosting children coming with Family Court sentences. These offenders are under 16 years of age and while they have mandated sentences, they do not live at the facilities, thus "alternatives to detention."

Existing facilities are relatively small. The largest ones, located in Brooklyn and The Bronx, can each host 50 children at a time; the smallest one, in Staten Island, only 15.

But the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice has been trying to open up bids for a larger number of providers with the aim of increasing the total capacity of enrollment for youth at risk.

Alex Crohn, General Counsel at Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, said the entire network of providers is currently able to handle nearly 600 children across the five boroughs every year.

Michelle Sviridoff, the Deputy Criminal Justice Coordinator, said the possibility of raising the age of criminality from 16 to 18 - which Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing - would bring hundreds of additional youth to the system.

"We think it's important to maintain the capacity we started with," Sviridoff said, "at a time in which the demands for these programs may be growing."

In New York, one of the only two states that tries youth in adult criminal courts once they turn 16, the consequences of a minor offense can dramatically affect the future of an adolescent, often in grim ways.

Recently, Gov. Cuomo announced new legislation that would gradually raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18 by 2018, a step toward a juvenile justice system overhaul he claims will reduce recidivism and save state taxpayer money.

The reform would re-route hundreds of children involved in criminal courts to family courts, which will then assign them to programs based in special centers for at-risk youth.

In such centers, children are monitored in strict coordination with their schools and their families will have a role in the rehabilitation.

Although reform legislation is likely to encounter opposition from a number of State Senate Republicans, elected officials in New York City seems to be in tune on a progressive agenda that would save hundreds of children an experience behind bars.

"In the Council, we are overwhelmingly for raising the age," Cabrera told Gotham Gazette after the meeting. Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito have both come out in support of raising the age, as have many other city electeds.

Community-based providers who offer alternatives to detention believe the issue of the age of criminality is crucial in reforming a system widely considered outdated and ineffective.

"We forget that 16 to 17 year olds are not adults yet, and treating them as adults doesn't help anybody. It just makes things worse," said Sally Sanchez, the director of Queens Engagement Strategies for Teens, an organization offering after-school programs for youth at risk. "What we do is helping children before they get further involved in the system."

[Related: With 'Raise the Age,' Cuomo Continues Overhaul of Juvenile Justice System]

***
by Marco Poggio, Gotham Gazette
@GothamGazette

Gov. Cuomo at a campaign stop (photo: @WomensEqParty)

A bill that would make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants based on their source of income appears to have become a pawn in the Legislature's battle over Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Women's Equality Agenda.

The bill would update existing law that prevents landlords from discriminating against tenants based on race, sex, and other factors to include source of income.

The measure is designed to help tenants who pay for housing through public assistance, alimony, and child support. Sen. Daniel Squadron, who has sponsored the bill in the Senate since 2010, has focused specifically on how the bill would help disabled New Yorkers who receive assistance from Social Services Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing vouchers.

Gov. David Paterson vetoed the bill when it successfully passed both Democratically controlled houses of the Legislature in 2010. The Senate has failed to act on the legislation since then and this year the measure is tied up in the fight over the Women's Equality Act (WEA). The Republican controlled Senate voted on and passed individual planks of the WEA earlier this year, excluding the measure that codifies Roe v. Wade abortion protections into state law. Cuomo and the Democratically controlled Assembly refuse to pass elements of the WEA individually, insisting that it is all ten or none.

One of the WEA measures prohibits housing discrimination based on domestic violence status and creates a task force to study the impacts of source of income on housing.

"The good news is that this issue is one that folks on both sides of the aisle has expressed support for," said Squadron of the source of income protection. "The bad news is that the bill that came up for a vote this year only creates a study."

The Assembly has refused to vote on individual sections of the WEA in an attempt to force the Senate to consider the controversial abortion plank, but the results seems to be that the rent discrimination bill is not likely to come to a vote in the Senate any time soon.

Assembly Member Marcos Crespo sponsored the Assembly version of the housing discrimination bill last year. His office said that he was set to introduce the bill again this year, but offered no thoughts on the fate of the legislation.

"We really don't need a study to see there is a problem," said Michael McKee of Tenant's PAC. "It is so like government to commission a study, debate the study, and kick it on down the road."

The office of Republican Sen. Joseph Robach, who sponsored the Senate bill that creates a study on source of income discrimination, did not return calls for comment.

The City Council passed source of income discrimination legislation in 2008 only to have it vetoed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Council then overrode the veto.

In 2009, the Legal Aid Society launched a lawsuit against 30 landlords who turned away Section 8 vouchers from current tenants. Lawyers for the landlords argued the city law only applied to future tenants, but the courts found the law applied to current and future tenants. The Rent Stabilization Association (a deceptively named landlord group) has insisted in a number of statements over the years that landlords simply don't want to take part in Section 8 voucher systems because of bureaucratic delays, not because they want to discriminate against poor or black or Latino renters.

Judith Goldiner of The Legal Aid Society said that enforcement of the law was lax under the Bloomberg administration. "The Bloomberg administration was opposed to the legislation and we didn't see much action from the City's Human Rights Commission. But now that we have a new mayor we hope they will be much more aggressive on enforcement."

Goldiner said she believes the influence of the real estate industry's massive campaign donations has kept the State from adopting the law. "We have source of income legislation in the city, in other municipalities and multiple other states, and the world has not come to an end," she said.

Goldiner said that if the State does adopt protections against source of income discrimination, Legal Aid would not likely become involved in enforcement as it did in the city, however she noted that a number of organizations across the state could get involved. She hopes the law would enable tenants who receive government assistance "greater mobility" because they wouldn't have to be afraid of being rejected by landlords outside the city.

Tenant advocates insist that the issue has become more of a problem as communities become further gentrified and landlords look to push out low-income renters.

In August of last year Attorney General Eric Schneiderman reached settlements with a number of landlords and rental agencies for discriminating against renters with vouchers in both New York City and Buffalo. Buffalo is one of a few localities outside of the city that have source of income laws on the books.

"Discrimination comes in many forms, but denying a home to someone because they receive government assistance is one of the most insidious, having a disproportionate effect on black and Hispanic individuals," said Schneiderman at the time. "No one should be turned away from an apartment based on a lawful income source, and we will continue to fight to ensure that everyone is treated equally under the law, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income."

***
by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing