Council Member Paul Vallone (photo: William Alatriste)

Collection of data on the city's military veterans could become more robust if a pair of Queens Council Members gets their bill through the City Council.

Council Members Paul Vallone and Eric Ulrich, chair of the Committee on Veterans, are co-sponsoring a bill they will introduce to the Council on Wednesday that will require several city agencies to report on services they provide veterans. The bill would provide much clearer data on the types of services veterans are taking advantage of and could show the City where it needs to direct more resources.

"We need to ensure that every veteran who comes home to NYC is given every opportunity to prosper," Council Member Paul Vallone said by email Tuesday. "This data will go a long way towards allowing the Council and administration to make effective and fruitful efforts at ensuring that veterans are taking full advantage of the services offered to them."

As written the bill, a copy of which was reviewed by Gotham Gazette, would require the following data be reported:

-the total number of veterans residing in Mitchell-Lama housing
-the total number of applications received by HPD for Mitchell-Lama housing with at least one veteran
-the total number of vending licenses provided by DCA to veterans
-the total number of veterans who submitted an application to DCA for a vending license
-the total number of veterans residing in NYCHA housing utilizing a HUD-VASH voucher
-the total number of veterans receiving services through HRA-operated job centers

The bill would require the data be reported to the Director of the Mayor's Office of Veteran Affairs, the Veterans Advisory Board, and the City Council no later than the Jan. 30 of each year.

The data being requested could help clear up some longstanding issues in the veterans community related to housing. Data collection on veterans in the city has been spotty at best, leading advocates to guess where resources are needed and at times question statistics provided by the City - including, recently, of the number of homeless veterans the City claims.

"If the preference veterans have for HUD-VASH and Mitchell-Lama housing is consistently being underutilized then this data, including data from other agencies providing services to veterans, needs to be aggregated and given to the Mayor's Office of Veteran's Affairs (MOVA), the Veteran's Advisory Board and the City Council so that the proper outreach can be made," Vallone said.

A hearing on the bill, if there is one, would happen in the veterans committee and occur sometime in the new year.

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

Council members and the mayor celebrate a budget deal (photo: William Alatriste)

Horse carriages, chokeholds, and plastic bags. Legislation on these topics has recently been introduced to the New York City Council and shown marked division among its members.

"We look forward to a spirited debate," Council Member Rafael Espinal said in response to the introduction of a bill to outlaw horse-drawn carriages in New York City at the most recent full-body city council meeting, on December 8.

Espinal's comment came after he expressed his disapproval of the ban and on the heels of several other council members, including the bill's lead sponsor Danny Dromm, speaking either for or against the legislation. Dromm introduced the much-hyped bill at the request of Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The horse carriage bill will not be voted on until 2015, if at all, but it could provide for one of the rare instances when a bill comes through a council issue committee (it will be evaluated in transportation) and to the full council without near-unanimous support of the Council's 51 members, 48 of whom are Democrats.

The City Council has also recently seen the introduction of several bills related to NYPD practices and one outlining a fee on plastic grocery bags that could all also lead to closer votes than any the legislative body has taken in all of 2014.

Dozens of bills have been passed this year by the New York City Council, a total of 72 through December 8, and the most opposition any single bill has seen is six 'nay' votes. Even this level of opposition, six against, has only occurred on three of those 72 bills.

(Note: six of the 72 were overrides of vetoes by Mayor Michael Bloomberg; four of the 72 have not yet been signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio)

None of this means that there hasn't been strong opposition to bills, of course. In its first year under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and with more than twenty freshman members via term limits and the 2013 election cycle, the new City Council has seen a total of 590 bills introduced thus far in 2014. The vast majority of bills do not come to a full council vote.

To round out the year, several more of those 590 may be voted on during the Council's final full-body, or "Stated," meeting of the year set to take place on Wednesday, Dec. 17, and there is also likely to be new legislation offered. Many bills, such as those regarding the horse carriages and plastic bags, will be taken up in 2015.

With 2014 nearing an end, the new City Council has shown in its first year some similarities and some differences to previous iterations. A Gotham Gazette review, including conversations with the speaker and several other council members, as well as analysis of legislative data, indicates several findings:

• As has been the practice for years, bills virtually never make it as far as a Stated meeting vote if there is any chance they will not pass. The vast majority of bills approved by the Council pass unanimously, or nearly so.

• Council members openly express opposition to bills through statements, but there continues to be little public conversation between or among council members who disagree.

• There has been a marked change in key aspects of the council culture: as Mark-Viverito and many of her colleagues promised, the City Council has become a more democratic entity, a new era ushered in by a change in leadership and important internal rules reforms.

• The Council is largely dominated by its left wing, which is embodied by its Progressive Caucus, co-founded by Mark-Viverito in 2009 and officially including 19 members.

• Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mark-Viverito are close allies and it is unclear how much the speaker is willing to disagree with the mayor or promote legislation that he has not signed off on.

Culture Change
Several council members, including some that were not initially supportive of Mark-Viverito's bid to lead the body, indicate that the Council has become more open and inclusive under her leadership. Reforms of the Council's internal rules passed in May have been roundly applauded by council members, good government groups, and others.

Council members say they no longer fear retribution for opposing the Speaker, as was alleged under Christine Quinn and her predecessors. This largely has to do with the rules reform enacted this year that changed the way discretionary funding is doled out to individual members. Under Mark-Viverito, member items are no longer allocated largely arbitrarily. Rather, there is a clear process that includes an objective formula through which disbursements are made.

"I was here in the last administration under the former speaker and there is not a question that this speaker is very welcoming in terms of discussion and debate," said Council Member David Greenfield, a Brooklyn Democrat who calls himself a moderate. "I think we have a pretty significant shift where in the past dissent was not tolerated and I think that under this speaker's leadership, if anything, she has embraced opposing viewpoints and has been very open to having conversation about literally every issue coming in front of City Council."

"Most importantly, there is...no retribution, where in the past when individuals wanted to vote 'no' or wanted to speak out, there was fear of retribution that is not the case now," Greenfield added, stressing that implementation of rules reform was essential to this shift.

Mark-Viverito expresses pride over the changes she has helped spearhead, and many council members, including veterans like Greenfield, are quick to express praise, touting how refreshing they find the new normal.

"I'm very proud of the time that I've been the speaker in the change that we've implemented," Mark-Viverito said in an interview with Gotham Gazette. "There's been a lot of inclusive dialogue on any agenda we develop, how we discuss bills, a lot of healthy debate....A bit different than what it was when I was not speaker."

Among the key changes she has brought to the Council is the rules reform package, all but guaranteed during last year's speaker's race and passed in May. The measures aimed at greater transparency, public engagement, and empowerment of issue committees and individual members. The speaker has also made what many describe as an extraordinary effort to engage council members one-on-one, visit their districts, and create opportunities for robust discussion around policy.

"The speaker has gone out of her way to address concerns of individual members," said Council Member Mark Weprin, a Queens Democrat who ran for Speaker against Mark-Viverito. "She made good on her promise to baseline staff money. She has democratized and certainly has leveled the playing field for everyone."

The sense that emerges is that dissenting opinions, albeit not always effective in bringing change to bills, are at the very least being heard more than in the past. Mark-Viverito told Gotham Gazette that she has been very conscious to hear the Council's Republican members, including them in many deliberations and on the budget negotiating team that deals with the mayor and his team.

While council minority leader Vincent Ignizio declined to be interviewed for this article, his fellow Staten Island Republican Steven Matteo said that Mark-Viverito has been open to Republicans' feedback and to new legislation they have introduced. "There are times when we're going to agree and times where we'll disagree," Matteo said, "But we're always looking to work together on the Council."

Council Member Antonio Reynoso is a new face on the Council but has been around City Hall for years as an aide. He is also a member of the Progressive Caucus. "The reforms are the best thing that has happened to the Council and I am impressed with how the speaker has stuck to her word, " Reynoso said. "In the past, some people wouldn't be heard at all. [Rules reform] opened it up and brought less politics, especially with the discretionary funding. There will always be an element of politics, but we have done a good job of bringing more parity into the Council."

While it is clear that the Council has become more collegial and council members are much less fearful to express dissent, the Council is not necessarily a hotbed of internal debate.

Disagreement and Debate
"Given the nature of the City Council being so overwhelmingly Democratic and like-minded with the [de Blasio] administration, by the time legislation gets to the floor, there's not a lot of debate," said Queens Council Member Rory Lancman. "Everything's already been hashed out and negotiated."

Lancman, a Democrat who just moved from the State Assembly to the Council, added, "The City Council is also much less partisan and much more collaborative [than the Assembly]. The minority (Republican) members seem to be involved in the [Council] legislative process as much as Democratic members. I think their views and opinions are as valued and considered as anybody else's."

Most semblance of council "debate" tends to take place at committee hearings, and bills go through at least two hearings before being put to a vote - though the second hearing is often only the vote itself. During hearings, dissent is almost exclusively expressed by outside entities there to testify - whether they be representatives of the mayoral administration or advocates. At times, council members take pains to explain their dissenting votes on a piece of legislation when those votes are being tallied, either in committee or in front of the full Council.

"Debate rarely occurs on the floor of the Council," Weprin told Gotham Gazette, "it's usually done behind closed doors." He added about this new council, "But there hasn't been a lot of disagreement, there hasn't been a lot of discourse because there hasn't been a lot of opposition."

Lancman, who is often one of the most engaged and inquisitive council members at oversight or bill hearings, said he'd like to see members have time to question sponsors on legislation when they introduce bills at Stated meetings.

Naturally, the Progressive Caucus, which Mark-Viverito co-founded, seems to dominate the legislative process. Its members appear closely aligned with Mayor de Blasio and there has been the appearance of a nearly lock-step relationship between Mark-Viverito and the mayor - the two have heaped praise on each other on numerous occasions and the mayor was a key factor in the speaker's ascension to that role. But moderate Democrats have not shied away from challenging their more liberal colleagues.

Espinal, of Brooklyn, is one of the more moderate Democrats in the Council (though he and most others often align with progressives, whether they are part of that caucus or not). Espinal believes members' opinions are being taken into account - a theory which will, of course, be tested on the horse carriage ban which he opposes and Mark-Viverito favors. "The rules reform package was passed to make the Council more transparent and it's now a lot easier for members to express concerns on policy," Espinal told Gotham Gazette. "The speaker and bill sponsors do not take lightly their colleagues' opinions."

Espinal, who like Lancman joined the Council this year after time in the State Assembly, is becoming known to speak out against the issues championed by progressive caucus members, raising concerns over the proposed horse-carriage ban and now taking umbrage with a proposal to introduce a fee on plastic bags - something Greenfield and several other members have also expressed opposition to.

Espinal, Greenfield, and Lancman are among the more moderate Democrats who have at times dissented. Other Democratic voices of dissent have included Council Members Paul Vallone, Chaim Deutsch, and Vincent Gentile, each of whom also represents a district in the further reaches of the so-called outer boroughs. Council Member Dan Garodnick, of Manhattan, was one of six 'nay' votes against a bill to supplement school bus driver income and has shown no hesitation to ask tough questions regarding legislation, but Vallone, Deutsch, and Gentile have voted in the minority several times, usually alongside the Council's Republicans and often on bills related to law enforcement.

Vallone, Deutsch, and Gentile joined with the Council's three Republicans to vote against two bills sponsored by Mark-Viverito aimed at reducing New York City cooperation with immigrant deportation efforts by federal authorities. These two bills and the bus driver bill were the three to see the most opposition (six against) in 2014.

For his part, Gentile, who represents a part of Brooklyn that has voted Republican in the past, also says the Council is in a collegial place. "We all may not always agree, but everyone gets to voice their concerns in accordance with their position and what each member believes is in the best interest of their constituents," he told Gotham Gazette.

"Indeed, over the past eleven months, Speaker Mark-Viverito has led our body in a more democratic, transparent, and inclusive direction. It has been very refreshing," Gentile added.

2015: A Year of Discontent?
With a 48-3 Democratic majority in the Council and committees negotiating the nitty-gritty of each bill, there are few pieces of legislation that receive strident opposition when the votes are counted at a Stated Meeting. 2015 may hold some significant exceptions to this general rule, though, as the Council moves forward on the plastic bag bill, the horse carriage ban, a bill outlawing chokeholds, and the Right to Know Act, which deals with policing protocols.

It is still early for all of these bills and there is no guarantee that any of them will make it through committee to the full Council. Each will have a committee hearing (the plastic bag bill already has) and be the subject of much negotiation and speculation. There's always a chance that a bill more-or-less disappears, of course, which can happen when enough pressure is put on council members to drop their push of legislation. Again, only 66 of 584 new bills introduced thus far in 2014 have been voted on by the full Council (all passed).

A true test for Mark-Viverito comes on the Right to Know Act, a very similar version of which she championed in the prior council. Recently, Mayor de Blasio sidestepped questions about the two bills and Mark-Viverito said she would be considering them, but indicated that circumstances are different now than in the past, opening the door for her opposition. The bills are being pushed now by two of her fellow progressives, Reynoso and Council Member Ritchie Torres, of the Bronx. They require NYPD officers to identify themselves and to provide certain warnings when interacting with or attempting to search suspects under specific circumstances.

The plastic bag proposal that seems to have split the Council calls for a ten-cent fee on plastic and paper bags typically used at grocery stores and bodegas. The bill, spearheaded by Council Members Margaret Chin and Brad Lander, aims to reduce what they call single-use bags that wind up in the city's waste stream. Many outer borough council members, Democrats included, are calling it a tax and oppose what they see as a burden on middle-class families, lower income communities, and the elderly.

"Some putting forth this proposal say that it's not a tax and I respectfully disagree with my colleagues," said Matteo. "If it looks like a tax, smells like a tax, feels like a tax, it's a tax," he said in Council Chambers.

Matteo agrees that the progressives on the Council can push through legislation. "There are a lot of bills that are going to go through even if we (Republican members) have a dissent," he told Gotham Gazette. But Matteo also believes there is an atmosphere of cooperation. The Republican minority has been successful in passing legislation this year. Minority leader Ignizio, along with Matteo, sponsored and carried through a key bill offering property tax abatements after superstorm Sandy, and two bills dealing with building codes in terms of carbon monoxide detectors and mold-resistant construction materials.

The plastic bag hearing had certain Democrats on the same page as the Republicans, with Council Member James Vacca calling it a "hidden tax" and Greenfield calling it "outrageous."

Speaking to Gotham Gazette a few days before that hearing, Lander said there was ample support from the outer boroughs. "I respect the opposition," he said. "We worked very hard to craft a bill that works as well as it can for a wide array of stakeholders."

The sentiment was echoed by Chin, who said at a press conference just prior to the hearing, "This isn't an idea we came up with overnight. We did our best to incorporate feedback even before we introduced the bill."

The hearing saw robust dialogue from supporters and opponents representing the public, advocacy groups, and small businesses. Public Advocate Letitia James, early on in the proceedings, underscored the importance of the debate. "I recognize that there is disagreement about aspects of this bill and I believe well-intentioned disagreement breeds better and stronger ideas," she said.

Council Member Jumaane Williams, a Brooklyn Democrat who has abstained on a couple of votes that have seen the most opposition this year, said he is still considering the plastic bag bill: "I am still undecided on where I stand with the bill," he told Gotham Gazette. "There has been a lot of discussion on this one." There appear to be quite a few council members undecided on several of these more controversial bills heading into 2015.

It is unclear what, if any, changes to these bills might be made before they come to a committee vote. As the new Council moves on the horse carriage and plastic bag bills and others that provoke more dissent than the typical legislation, watchers will note how much feedback is worked into bills as they move.

Many are watching to see what Mark-Viverito does about bills that she and/or the mayor are not behind. Many, including both the speaker and the mayor, were highly critical of former speaker Quinn for bottling up legislation that she or Mayor Bloomberg did not want to see come to a full council vote. Several council members indicate that because of the rules reforms, Mark-Viverito has a lot less leverage to do so even if she wanted to.

Speaking generally, Council Member Williams added, "I think we are in a good place [as a Council]...I think people genuinely agree upon most things. We need to see some genuine disagreement and I think we will be seeing that soon."

***
by Samar Khurshid and Ben Max, with reporting by Lisa Autz
@samarkhurshid
@tweetBenMax
@GothamGazette

Note: this article has been updated to reflect that CM Lancman voted against the confirmation of Mark Peters, not CM Garodnick, as originally stated. It has also been updated to remove a portion that incorrectly summarized a vote regarding confirmation of Mayor de Blasio's nomination of Mark Peters as DOI Commissioner - that vote was 48-2-1, with CMs Lancman and Palma against, with CM Williams abstaining.

(image via IDNYC website)

With ambitious goals and an attractive list of cultural benefits, the city's new municipal identification card program, dubbed IDNYC, will launch next month.

Recently, Mayor de Blasio announced the latest rules and criteria for the program, established as Local Law 35 in July, including documentation that will be required to apply for the card, which will be free of charge in 2015. The card will also ensure free membership to over 30 New York City cultural institutions, an impressive list that the City has told Gotham Gazette it is already in discussions to expand.

As the calendar turns to 2015 and the card becomes available, the City is preparing another marketing campaign in the mold of ones it ran to announce the implementation of the paid sick leave law and vastly expanded pre-kindergarten offerings. There is also the ongoing campaign to lure the 2016 Democratic National Convention to New York, of course.

The municipal card rollout will include the opening of 12 "IDNYC Enrollment Centers" around the city - the locations of which have not yet been announced. The "campaign" has recently seen a shot in the arm through the unveiling of a new logo, the launch of a specific Twitter account (@IDNYC), and the start of community-based public forums, including one in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, hosted by City Council immigration committee chair Carlos Menchaca, a major force behind the ID movement.

New York's will be the largest such municipal ID program in the country. Hailed as a progressive move to integrate the large undocumented immigrant population of the city, the program will provide access to city services and will be accepted as identification by the NYPD. Applicants will not be asked their immigration status upon applying for the card.

At a December 5 press conference, the Mayor and his two top commissioners tasked with implementing IDNYC laid out the application procedures for the ID along with strong regulations on preventing fraud and protecting the information collected by the Human Resources Administration (HRA) for the card.

"We want New Yorkers to feel proud to carry this card in their wallet," de Blasio said after explaining that "A great deal of analysis and care went into ensuring our IDNYC card is strong on privacy and security, while providing access to as many people as possible."

De Blasio and members of his administration seek to stress the security and the benefits of the card, both for the ears of undocumented immigrants living in the city as well as the larger population. A major part of the push behind the IDs will be to ensure that they are not just a card for the undocumented and that there is no stigma attached.

The application for the card will require point-based proof of identity and residency similar to the system employed at the Department of Motor Vehicles, with certain provisions in place for homeless New Yorkers who apply. Among the data protection provisions, specific guidelines have been put in place to protect vulnerable applicants such as survivors of domestic abuse. An appeals process was also established for applicants who are denied a card.

These rules were implemented through executive action by HRA Commissioner Steven Banks, partially in response to feedback the City received online and at a public hearing in October.

The ID will be available to all New York City residents 14 years and above regardless of immigration status or homelessness. It will be free for the first year and valid for five years after that. The cost for successive years has not yet been determined, said city officials.

In promoting the card, the administration announced a number of incentives, chief among them being partnerships with 33 of the city's largest cultural institutions, including museums, art galleries and zoos, which will provide benefits and discounts to those with a municipal ID.

Ryan Max, director of external affairs at the Department of Cultural Affairs says the 33 institutions are simply phase 1 of the program and that an expansion can be expected in 2016. "In phase 2, I'm sure we'll see a lot of other cultural organizations providing similar benefits and many have already expressed interest in participating."

The 33 participating institutions are a part of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), a system of public-private partnership. They are situated on city land, which they utilize rent-free, and receive energy and operating subsidies from the City. For 2015, CIG members were allocated about $109 million from the Department of Cultural Affairs' total expense budget of roughly $157 million.

This cultural partnership does come with a few caveats though. The municipal ID isn't a membership card and people will still be required to sign up for individual memberships at the cultural institutions. Although the free partnership program expires at the end of 2015, the memberships will last a year from the date of signing up. Also, those who already have memberships or had been members of an institution in the last three years will not be eligible, although they will receive discounts at other institutions where they were not members. "We wanted to make sure we weren't eating into that existing revenue stream," said Max.

(Although it is highly unlikely that any one person will sign up at all the 33 institutions, the program calculates a total $2100 discount for anyone who does.)

The Cultural Affairs department does not expect a heavy financial burden from the program and does not have projections yet for the number of people expected to sign up in the first year. City officials, who said they could not reveal their internal targets, said a number of announcements would be made in the next few weeks to spread the word about the municipal ID and it's expanded benefits.

***
by Samar Khurshid, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid

Note: this article has been updated with more accurate figures on the CIG and DCA budget numbers.

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

New Yorkers continue to take to the street in protest. After tens of thousands marched on Saturday to protest police brutality and a criminal justice system many claim shows racial bias, New Yorkers will decide this week how much more action to take to bring attention to these issues. One group, operating under the banner of "This Stops Today" has promised to continue its "11 Days of Action" initiative that began last week. We're watching to see what that will include, as well as how NYPD treatment of protesters does or does not change in the wake of an incident of violence against two members of the force on Saturday night. Relations between Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD unions are already quite frayed over recent comments from the mayor and with contract negotiations ongoing.

We're also awaiting news from the internal NYPD investigation into the incident in which Eric Garner was killed, as well as any news from the federal investigation into the actions of officer Daniel Pantaleo and his colleagues who were involved that day. There is not necessarily anything expected this week, but news is highly anticipated. There is a "pro-cop rally" set for Friday of this week, something that will be very interesting to track as it comes together and how it plays out.

The Mayor had a quite weekend in terms of public events, but did quickly issue a statement condemning violence against NYPD on Saturday evening. De Blasio begins his week on Monday with two events on his public schedule: he "will join Brooklyn officials and community members for an affordable housing groundbreaking and press conference" and, "in the evening, the Mayor and First Lady Chirlane McCray will host and deliver remarks at a holiday party for elected officials, labor leaders and advocates in Manhattan."

Justice League NYC, which organized the major Saturday march, has announced it is rallying people at the event the mayor is holding Monday evening at Gracie Mansion.

On Thursday, de Blasio is reportedly set to visit Rikers Island to take stock of much-needed reforms at the city jail.  

There's also a great deal of anticipation around whether state lawmakers will call a special session in Albany to pass a pay raise for legislators - along with whatever other legislation would be negotiated as part of a pay raise deal. Time is running out for this to happen. Be aware that on Monday those elected to fill vacant seats in the state Legislature can be officially sworn in, so they may very well be eligible to vote if there is a special session.

Whether a special legislative session happens or not, New York politicos are looking ahead to the new year in Albany and Governor Cuomio's January 7 State of the State address as well as the 2015 legislative session, where topics such as the DREAM Act, campaign finance reform, the Women's Equality Act, and many others will be front and center. And don't forget, that fracking report is due by the end of the year!

This week, we're expecting the decision of the New York gaming commission siting board on where New York's new casinos will be built. This is due on Wednesday.

The final City Council Stated Meeting, at which all council members gather to introduce and vote on legislation, of the year is on Wednesday. Leading up to the Stated, there's a bunch of City Council committee hearings. With the end of the year, expect many looks back at 2014 - the mayor's first year in office, and much more. Interested in these? Start with our look at Comptroller Scott Stringer's first year in office and our interview with Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito about her first year in the post.

We're going to be publishing our annual article with predictions for the new year from politicos of various sorts - do you have a prediction about New York politics or policy to share? Submit to our editor Ben Max and you may just see it in our predictions piece later this month! E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We've pulled together events for the next ten days until Christmas. Much of city political life over the next ten days includes holiday parties - we've included a few, but there are many others being held by political and civic organizations. Chanukah begins on Tuesday evening and Kwanzaa begins the 26th. 2015 begins January 1.

***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
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito starts her week at the "City Council Sponsored Affordable Care Act Enrollment Session, which will take place at 5 p.m. at Gay Men's Health Crisis in Manhattan. Mayor de Blasio begins his week with the aforementioned groundbreaking and press conference in Brooklyn and holiday party in Manhattan. Neither Public Advocate Letitia James nor Comptroller Scott Stringer have any events on their public schedules for Monday.

Monday is a very busy day of committee action at the City Council. The schedule includes a meeting of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises to review land use applications; a meeting of the Committee on Public Safety jointly with the Committee on Courts and Legal Services for an oversight hearing regarding "examining the Operations of New York City's Summons Courts"; a meeting of the Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services on a new bill regarding "the early intervention program"; and a meeting of the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses to consider land use applications.

Also Monday at the City Council: a meeting of the Committee on Finance for an oversight hearing regarding "Examination of the Department of Finance's outreach efforts to senior citizens regarding the senior citizen rent increase exemption program" and to discuss intro of a new bill on "Senior Citizen rent increase exemption"; a joint hearing of the Committees on Technology, Contracts and Oversight and Investigations for an oversight hearing to "Examine Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Improving New York City's Management of Large Information Technology Contracts" and to address "Conflicts of interest in city contracts"; and a meeting of the Committee on Veterans to discuss a resolution regarding state-level legislation around "veterans' eligibility for public housing."

According to State of Politics, "Those lawmakers elected to fill seats that were vacant before the Nov. 4 elections can be certified as full fledged members of their respective houses prior to the start of the 2015 session in January. The eight Assembly members – six Democrats and two Republicans – who fit into this category will be certified on Dec. 15, according to Assembly spokesman Mike Whyland, which means they will take the oath of office and can be seated that every day. If a special session is called before Dec. 15, then a resolution could be passed to make those members eligible to vote."

On Monday at 5 p.m., "Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will celebrate the holiday season by lighting the Christmas tree standing in Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza. After the lighting, he will promptly darken the lights for a moment of silence over the death of Eric Garner and of peaceful solidarity with those calling for local and national criminal justice reform; during the silence, a member of the Brooklyn United Marching Band will strike their drum eleven times to symbolize the eleven times Garner repeated, "I can't breathe," before he lost consciousness. Borough President Adams will speak to the importance of pursuing non-violent protest, particularly in the wake of the assault of two NYPD lieutenants during a march last night on the Brooklyn Bridge," according to a release from his office.

Tuesday
Tuesday's City Council schedule: a meeting of the Committee on Recovery and Resiliency to address "creation of a Hurricane Sandy community groups and houses of worship recovery task force" [Read our report: Sandy-Ravaged Houses of Worship Seek Aid, Left in Limbo]; the Committee on Parks and Recreation will meet for an oversight hearing on "the state of natural areas under the care of the parks department"; the Committee on Public Housing will meet for an oversight hearing regarding "the relationship between lighting and safety in the wake of Akai Gurley shooting"; and a meeting of the Committee on Land Use to discuss "All items reported out of the Subcommittees and such other business as may be necessary."

Tuesday's New York State Assembly schedule includes the Assembly Standing Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse meeting to examine "the overall impact of the 2014-2015 Enacted Budget in relation to the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and to assess the impact and effectiveness of New York's prevention, treatment, and recovery services"; and a meeting of the Assembly Standing Committee on Health to "receive testimony concerning the New York Health bill" which would "create state single payer health coverage."

"On Tuesday, December 16 (the first night of Chanukah), Jewish and Muslim community members and religious leaders - led by the Arab-American Association of NY (AAANY), Jews for Racial & Economic Justice (JFREJ), and Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice - will gather in front of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to call on Commissioner Bratton to end discriminatory and abusive Broken Windows policing. This action is part of the 11 Days of Action organized by #ThisStopsToday. It is also part of the national Jewish #ChanukahAction to End Police Violence."

On Tuesday evening, "Equality 4 Flatbush" meeting at 5:30 p.m. looking at affordable housing and gentrification.

Also Tuesday evening, Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is holding an event to spread the word about its working. "SSDP joins with allies to work on drug policy reforms such as ending marijuana prohibition, increasing access to life-saving overdose reversal drugs, reducing criminalization of drug users, and eliminating punitive campus policies that cause more harm than good."

Tuesday evening is Chalkbeat's Holiday Happy Hour: "Come chat with reporters and editors, catch up with old friends, and meet other people who care about education in New York City. Feel free to bring guests—loyal readers and newcomers, parents and teachers, advocates and officials, are all welcome."

From NYC Votes, part of the NYC Campaign Finance Board: "The public is invited to give comments at the next New York City Voter Assistance Advisory Committee hearing on Tuesday, December 16 beginning at 5:30 PM. The hearing will take place at the Brooklyn Public Library's Dweck Center." Members of the public are invited to discuss "Your 2014 Election Day Experience; Voter Advocacy in 2015; Preparing for Federal Elections in 2016."

Tuesday evening is the Manhattan Young Democrats' annual holiday party. It's typically an event at which quite a few Democratic elected officials make appearances and say a few words.

[Read the latest political reporting from Gotham Gazette]

Wednesday
Wednesday's City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Finance to examine a proposed law in relation to "notices of violation" and to discuss a resolution "approving the new designation and changes in the designation of certain organizations to receive funding in the Expense Budget"; a meeting of the Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections to consider candidates Barbara Lowe for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Board of Directors; Council Member Deborah Rose for New York City Waterfront Management Advisory Board; and Council Member Ben Kallos for the Council to the New York City Commission on Public Information and Communication; and this year's last Council Stated Meeting.

On Wednesday morning, State Senator Liz Krueger will hold a public forum at 250 Broadway on legislation she sponsors with Assembly Member Crystal Peoples-Stokes to regulate and tax marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. Advocates, policy experts, and local officials will offer testimony on marijuana policy from the perspectives of criminal justice, health, and the fiscal and economic impacts. Council Members Jumaane Williams and Steve Levin are among those expected to offer testimony.

Wednesday's State Assembly schedule includes: the Assembly Standing Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts, and Sports Development will meet to review "the implementation of the State Budget and its impact on the programs under the purview of the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development"; the Assembly Standing Committee on Health will convene "to receive testimony concerning the New York Health bill."

Wednesday morning is set to see a press conference on the steps of City Hall aimed at addressing the "increasingly anti-competitive nature of New York State Beer Market...The press conference will include a diverse community of small business owners, community groups, elected leaders and activists speaking in opposition to beer pricing discrimination; the growing monopoly by beer companies; and the impending Manhattan Beer merger," according to a press release.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon "Silver is set to give a deposition Dec. 17 in the federal lawsuit brought by two victims of former Assemblyman Vito Lopez...," according to the Daily News.

New York casino picks are expected on Wednesday.

Community Service Society of New York will host four documentary film screenings on Wednesday at the "NY Reentry Roundtable Special Film Screening."

On Wednesday evening, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will introduce "NYC Data Czar Amen Ra Mashiriki" and speak at the Silicon Harlem Winter Soiree & Toy Drive.

Wednesday evening is also the Bay Ridge Democrats' 2014 Holiday Party.

Thursday
Mayor de Blasio plans to visit Rikers Island jail on Thursday, according to previous statements: "Mr. de Blasio characterized the New York Correction Department, which oversees the complex, as the city's most troubled agency, and said he would visit Rikers for the first time as mayor on Dec. 18 to see for himself what should be done to fix it."

In Thursday morning, Manhattan BP Brewer hosts the monthly meeting of the Manhattan Borough Board.

In partnership with the City Council's Progressive Caucus Alliance, The Working Families Party is hosting its "2014 NYC holiday party" on Thursday from 4:30-8 p.m. at Fontana's Bar on the Lower East Side.

[Sign up for our daily morning newsletter, The Eye-Opener]

Friday and the weekend
Friday is set to see the aforementioned "#ThankyouNYPD Rally" starting at 5 p.m. at City Hall Park.

Friday's State Assembly schedule consists of a joint meeting of the Assembly Standing Committee on Labor and the Assembly Standing Committee on Insurance "to examine the potential impacts of the proposed New York State workers' compensation fee schedule on injured workers' access to quality medical care services and return to work rates as well as the potential impacts on the no-fault system."

On Friday afternoon, Manhattan BP Brewer will speak at Apollo Theater's Toy & Book Drive.

Saturday, Dec. 20, at noon: "Breaking Broken Windows: Community Town Hall and Open Mic." 

Monday, Dec. 22, Mayor de Blasio is expected to attend the "PAL Luncheon at Mutual of America" according to John Catsimatidis.

Things are looking quiet for the week of 12/22, which is, of course, Christmas week. We'll update this post accordingly, and please do send us items to include for updating this post or for future Week Ahead previews. We won't be publishing a Week Ahead after this one until Sunday, January 4 - enjoy the holiday season and happy new year!

***
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 and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Gov. Cuomo and his girlfriend Sandra Lee cast their votes (photo: Reuters)

In the next two years, the New York City and State election boards may finally arrive in the 21st Century.

The New York City and New York State Boards of Election are planning major technological upgrades to their vote counting and finance disclosure systems, staff told State Assembly members at a hearing Friday morning in Manhattan.

By late 2015, voters in the city may know the results of most elections by 10 p.m. on election nights, thanks to tablets at every polling site that can upload vote counts just minutes after polls close.

And in late 2016 or early 2017, the state board plans to launch a new campaign finance filing system, replacing a two-decade-old network that candidates say is difficult to use.

No more waiting
On election night in New York City, poll workers and police officers usually transport memory sticks filled with vote count data to police precincts, where they are counted. It can take hours in some parts of the city for results to trickle in.

But at 216 polling sites in a pilot program this November, poll workers simply plugged the memory sticks into tablet devices and uploaded vote data onto the Board's servers. All of these sites posted their results by 9:35 p.m., just 35 minutes after the polls closed.

"I think we took everybody by surprise by how quickly the results were tabulated," City Board of Elections Executive Director Michael Ryan told Gotham Gazette. "It demonstrates the promise of the technology."

Now, the Board wants to bring the technology to all of the city's 1241 poll sites.

"In a non-presidential year, 90% of the results by 10 o'clock is not out of the question, based on what we saw this past election cycle," Ryan said.

Ryan said the Board will be meeting with the de Blasio administration in the next few weeks to discuss funding to expand the pilot.

"Our goal is to have it fully implemented for the September election of 2015," he said. The Board hopes to buy 1,700 to 2,200 new Windows tablet devices to distribute to polling sites - all of the software for the devices has already been developed.

But the BOE has had a rocky relationship with the City Council, which would have to agree to allocated funds. In March, Ryan accused the Council of trying to "starve" his agency for funding. His more ambitious proposal to retrofit old lever voting machines into high-tech voter kiosks was shelved after council members expressed skepticism over the high price tag.

Ben Kallos, the chair of the Council's Committee on Governmental Operations, did not respond to a request for comment.

"We are never going to be in a position that the government agencies are on the same cutting edge as technology agencies," Ryan said. "The question is whether we're doing enough to service our constituency."

State of the art
Meanwhile, the State Board of Elections is working on a "complete redesign" of its campaign finance filing system, which was set up in 1994.

Candidates complain about dealing with byzantine webforms and confusing instructions. At the Board, staff members have to manually edit incoming data in Excel.

"I don't think it was state of the art in 1994, and it certainly is nowhere near state of the art today," said state BOE Executive Director Robert Brehm. "Nobody would design a system like this now."

Assembly members at the hearing echoed his assessment.

"The system is very user-unfriendly," said Assembly Member Thomas Abinanti of Westchester. "We want to encourage people to run for office, we don't want to put stumbling blocks in their way."

The redesign is intended to make it easier for candidates to report how they're using money and for the public to access the data. The State has allocated $2.4 million for the project, and staff expect the new system to launch in late 2016 or early 2017. Any earlier would mean launching it in the middle of an election cycle, Brehm said.

Good government groups applauded the planned upgrades. Common Cause Associate Director Lauren George told assembly members that the state board's current software was "antiquated and precarious."

The inefficient way data is released "makes analysis and explanation of campaign finance realities immeasurably harder, more time-consuming and expensive for the public," she said.

Peggy Farber, the legislative counsel of Citizens Union, urged the state board to borrow the filing technology of the well-regarded New York City Campaign Finance Board.

"We don't think the upgrade should take two years, and we see a path that could be faster and less expensive," Farber said, indicating the desire to see a new system in place before the 2016 state election cycle.

Enforcing compliance
At the assembly hearing, Brehm also discussed the state board's new compliance unit, an office dedicated to investigate campaign finance regulations, which started work in July.

Created in a deal to close Governor Andrew Cuomo's anti-corruption Moreland Commission earlier this year, the compliance unit is led by a Cuomo ally and literally walled off from the rest of the election board offices.

The unit, which is still in its early stages, has so far taken a more collaborative than confrontational approach, with an emphasis on training and helping candidates correct errors. Since July, the office sent out 1,957 deficiency letters, letting candidates or committees know that they were in some way behind in meeting finance regulations.

"Overall, treasurers want to do it right and do do it right," Brehm said. The new unit works to train candidates and treasurers to make the most accurate disclosures possible.

The state BOE has faced criticism for its inaction in enforcing regulations in the past, as the New York Times reported last week. According to a preliminary report from the Moreland Commission, the Board "largely abdicated its duty to enforce our election and campaign finance laws."

Some say that the compliance unit has already made a change.

"I have never seen this level of scrutiny," Abinanti said. For the first time ever, he said, his campaign was notified during this election cycle about a filing error it had been inadvertently making for years.

Farber of Citizens Union said that while helping candidates catch errors was important, the compliance unit should be more proactive at investigating improper disclosures. The unit "should actively look for omissions by sectors, by committees, and individuals," Farber said.

"If it does not, who will?" she added.

***
by Casey Tolan, Gotham Gazette
@CaseyTolan

Note: Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation, sister organization of Citizens Union

Protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge (photo: Michael Nagle/European Pressphoto Agency)

You can only take to the streets in protest for so long before people start asking, 'what is it that you want exactly?'

And so it has gone with the rallies and marches in response to the non-indictment of Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo by a Staten Island grand jury called to consider charges against him in the July 17 chokehold death of Eric Garner.

Everyone knew that the loud immediate response was based on disapproval of the Garner decision, but as the protests continued toward what has now been a week, the inevitable questions emerged. Beyond "justice" for Garner, some semblance of which is now left to federal and internal NYPD investigations, it was not readily clear what concrete steps protesters were calling on officials to take.

On Wednesday, clarity arrived in the form of two very similar lists of demands put out by two coalitions of reform groups who have been at the forefront of organizing protests.

One group, operating under the rallying cry of "This Stops Today" (after words spoken by Garner before his death) is actually made up of organizations known as Communities United for Police Reform (CPR) that have been calling for systemic criminal justice reform for years. On Wednesday, the This Stops Today movement announced the start of an "11 Days of Action" initiative (11 being the number of times Garner cried "I can't breathe" as he was dying with Pantaleo and other police officers on top of and around him). It also released an 11-point list of demands.

Some of the agenda is Garner-specific, but most aspects, such as an end to Broken Windows policing, are more broad and deal with long-term criminal justice reform issues. In a press release, This Stops Today explained that it aims to "intensify pressure on Mayor de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Bratton, and other officials to implement real police reform and accountability measures."

Even before these lists were published, most who've been paying attention knew that calls to end Broken Windows policing were central to the critiques of the NYPD exacerbated by the Garner case. Broken Windows, for which Bratton is an apostle, dictates a strict focus on preventing and responding to low-level crimes because, the theory goes, doing so prevents major crimes. Garner was known to illegally sell single cigarettes and had had many run-ins with the police before the one that ended his life.

"Mayor de Blasio should end broken windows, and other discriminatory and abusive policing practices," reads part of point six of the This Stops Today agenda.

Meanwhile, Justice League NYC, another coalition responding actively to the Garner tragedy, released its own 10-point plan Wednesday at a high-profile event on the steps of City Hall that featured bold-face names such as Russell Simmons, Common, and Nas. The fifth point in Justice League's agenda reads "An immediate end to NYPD's "Broken Windows" Policing, which overwhelmingly targets black and brown communities with aggressive quality of life policing and enforcement tactics that could escalate to excessive force as in the case of Eric Garner."

Though they are not said to be directly coordinating, the two movements agree on quite a bit. Along with calling for an end to Broken Windows policing, both demand accountability for Pantaleo and other officers involved in Garner's death; an expedited federal investigation into the incident; the use of a state-level special prosecutor for similar cases; and city passage of the Right to Know Act. [see the two lists of demands side-by-side below]

The groups are calling on de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to support the Right to Know Act, two bills that would mandate certain communications from police officers when interacting with civilians in specific circumstances. De Blasio has not expressed support for the legislation and Mark-Viverito, who supported it in the past, has also demurred. No city council committee hearing has yet been set for initial vetting of the bills.

To be sure, de Blasio and Bratton have taken steps to alter policing, reduce arrests, and curb stop-and-frisks. They are putting the police force through retraining with a focus on bettering police-community relations and are implementing a body camera program to improve police conduct and increase accountability. More money and effort is also being put toward mental health treatment.

The mayor and commissioner argue that the NYPD can continue an assertive policing style while doing so without racial bias and while improving relations with the communities officers serve. Advocates want more.

Those calling for greater change cite stats that show racial disparities in arrests, stops, and incidences of police brutality. They want, as Justice League NYC puts it in its sixth point, "An end the criminalization of young people in the NY school system." Citing the so-called "school-to-prison pipeline," they recall that de Blasio "made this a hallmark of his historic campaign, but has yet to adopt necessary reforms." The City is due to release a new school discipline code soon, but advocates have been waiting months.

And, of course, as the Garner case has brought front and center, these reformers and protesters want more accountability for officers who injure or kill civilians. To this end, the City Council announced the first two steps in its policy response to the "Eric Garner incident" on Wednesday, including increasing opportunities for New Yorkers to file complaints against the NYPD.

State officials also come into play, with groups calling on the governor, attorney general, and state Legislature to take action. Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised a full review of the state's criminal justice system, and there is already much discussion and a couple of bills related to changing grand jury transparency laws and, more controversially, prosecutorial jurisdiction in cases where police officers kill.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has requested that Cuomo give him the power to prosecute cases when police officers kill unarmed civilians, something advocates support and the governor has said he's reviewing. Legislators have outlined bills to create a Special Prosecutor for these purposes, which Schneiderman and advocates support, but local district attorneys do not.

Police union leaders have been livid, expressing anger over what they see as a lack of support from elected officials such as de Blasio and Mark-Viverito, and unfair vilification by reformers.

As thousands have flooded streets, stopped traffic, and shut down bridges and tunnels, the NYPD has taken a largely passive approach under Bratton and de Blasio's direction, providing extensive leeway for protest activity that is technically illegal at times.

Collective action will continue, groups will apply further pressure for change in the names of Garner and others who have come before and after. The results of the NYPD's internal investigation into the actions of Pantaleo and his fellow officers will be coming. Other cases will be litigated. The fight for reform will march on.

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@TweetBenMax
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mondern pay phone Wi-Fi hubs coming soon (image: link.nyc)

NEW YORK—An idea to turn the city's outdated pay phones into high speed Wi-Fi hotspots that started in the Bloomberg administration will now become a reality in the de Blasio administration. On Wednesday the Franchise Control Review Board (FCRC) unanimously voted to approve the franchise agreement on the historic initiative.

The agreement gives CityBridge - a consortium of companies including Titan, Control Group, Qualcomm Incorporated, and Comark - a 12 year contract to modernize pay phones in the city to meet today's technological needs. The new structures, called Links, will provide Wi-Fi access of up to 1 gigabit (GB) speeds, phone calls to anywhere in the United States, and a place to charge your cell phone - all for free.

"Today marks a significant step forward in this administration's efforts to bridge the digital divide," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. "Every New Yorker stands to gain from this historic result that will make New York City a global leader in free wireless access at superfast speeds."

The agreement had been under scrutiny from the five borough presidents, as well as the city's comptroller, Scott Stringer. They expressed concern about the distribution of the initial 4,000 Links and if the Wi-Fi speeds of those structures would be based on location.

The agreement was modified to answer those concerns. An additional 400 structures will now be built in the first four years with 251 of those going in the Bronx. These structures will be required to have the 1GB speeds, as long as the fiber-optic cable is there to support it. Community input will be allowed to select the location of these additional units.

Concerns had also been raised about the Wi-Fi speeds being tied to the structures' advertising capabilities. The administration had said that was never the case, but decoupled the language in the agreement to pacify critics.

The contract was also amended to include a solar power pilot program in the Bronx, something the administration had initially expressed concerns about. Following the hearing, Counsel to the Mayor Maya Wiley said that the administration had not believed the technology was there to support solar, but after seeing evidence from Bronx representatives, decided to agree to a pilot.

"There was no opposition to the concept, it was really just about the technology," Wiley said.

The pilot program will consist of 10 structures and the locations will be determined with consultation from Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr.

While Stringer and the borough presidents had pushed the mayor's office in the last few weeks the negotiations in the final days brought everyone around leading to a unanimous vote.

"LinkNYC cannot and will not by itself eliminate the digital divide, but today marks an important step forward in bridging that gap," Stringer said via a representative at the hearing. "As a result I am happy to join our friends at City Hall by voting yes on LinksNYC."

The vote was the first time in recent months Stringer's office was publicly in step with the mayor on an initiative, but he did vow strict oversight on the promises made in the contract.

"As the franchise is implemented, I will continue to use my office's contract oversight and audit authority to ensure that CityBridge fulfills its promises of fast, free WiFi across all five boroughs," Stringer said in a statement.

Public Advocate Letitia James, the only public official to ask the FCRC to reject the contract, was not present at the hearing. Requests for comment from her office were not returned.

Telebeam, a company which currently owns roughly 700 pay phones in New York City, but lost its bid for the franchise agreement, also asked the FCRC to reject the contract at Monday's public testimony. The company filed a suit against the City on Dec. 4, claiming the agreement creates a monopoly and is in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

The City has argued the franchise agreement does not create a monopoly because it is not an exclusive agreement. The winner of the RFP is a consortium of companies and in 12 years the City will have the option to add another company (or group of companies) if it so chooses.

Wiley said following Monday's hearing that the City does not expect the lawsuit to interfere with the rollout of the new structures.

LinkNYC is projected to bring in $500 million worth of advertising revenue over 12 years. That money will be used to pay for other initiatives to bridge the digital divide which include greater home internet access in poorer communities, according to Wiley.

"This is a wonderful thing for street corners and that will make a big difference," Wiley said. "But at the end of the day, the real digital divide is about the home. That is about something other than this franchise."

Wiley said the de Blasio administration would be reaching out to underserved communities beginning in February to explore where to begin home-based expansion.

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

Council Members protest on Monday (photo: William Alatriste)

With the first phase of a policy initiative, the New York City Council is continuing its response to the death of Eric Garner and the surrounding issues of police accountability and criminal justice.

On Monday, many members of the Council honored Garner and called attention to problems with the criminal justice system in New York and elsewhere by performing a "die in" in the City Hall courtyard, blocking traffic on Broadway, and chanting "I can't breathe" eleven times in council chambers.

On Wednesday, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council Member Vanessa Gibson, chair of the public safety committee, and other council members are announcing the first two measures in their more formal response to what a press release refers to as the "Eric Garner incident." Garner was killed on July 17 while police arrested him on a Staten Island street. Last week, on December 3, a grand jury determination was reached not to indict the police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, whose chokehold led to Garner's death.

"The tragic death of Eric Garner is a clear call for meaningful policy changes at several levels within our city," said Council Member Debi Rose, who represents the Staten Island district in which Garner lived and was killed.

The Council's policy response begins with two initiatives to be announced Wednesday.

First, the Council will request that new NYPD Inspector General Philip Eure investigate "how NYPD tracks, monitors, and addresss alleged abusive conduct" by its officers. According to the law establishing the Inspector General (Local Law 70 of 2013) the Department of Investigations (DOI) Commissioner is empowered to conduct investigations of the NYPD and must do so at the discretion of the Mayor and the Council. The Inspector General reports to the DOI Commissioner. In a press release, a spokesperson for IG Eure stated that the office "[looks] forward to receiving the City Council request." The spokesperson added that "for several months, DOI's Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD has been reviewing questions related to the use of force and, specifically, chokeholds."

Second, the Council will establish "CCRB Community Outreach locations" in council members' district offices. The CCRB is the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the mechanism by which New Yorkers can file grievances against the NYPD and its officers. It is unclear at this time how many council members will be establishing the CCRB outposts, which will allow for on-site complaint and evidence gathering. Among other tasks, the CCRB will also train council members' staffs and perform community outreach in districts.

In a statement, Speaker Mark-Viverito said that the City Council is "taking a comprehensive look at the steps we can take to find a positive outcome from the tragic events which led to the death of Eric Garner."

Mark-Viverito has said that she believes the grand jury erred in its decision not to recommend an indictment of Pantaleo. The speaker wore the same "I Can't Breathe" t-shirt as many of her colleagues on Monday and led the "I Can't Breathe" chant at the start of that afternoon's full-body Stated Meeting.

In her statement, Mark-Viverito added, "The overwhelming majority of NYPD officers serve honorably and with great distinction every day and these first steps are about ensuring the actions of a few don't malign the whole." This is a sentiment that echoes statements made by Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, and many others.

Council Member Brad Lander explained his support for the IG report, saying in a statement, "There's good reason to believe that a small fraction of officers commit the majority of abuses that undermine community-police relations, rob people of their dignity and civil rights, cost the city money in lawsuits, and at worst can result in the loss of innocent life – but we need to see the data."

A recent report by WNYC shed some light on this issue and gave indication of what Lander refers to. An analysis of data including CCRB records and claims against the City led WNYC to about a dozen police officers "who appear to use force more often than most and who have been the subject of numerous lawsuits."

City Comptroller Scott Stringer recently launched the ClaimStat tool aimed at identifying patterns of claims against the City and reducing the expensive results of those claims. Bratton has promised to root out the bad apples in his force.

In recent days, de Blasio and Bratton have gone to great lengths to discuss the NYPD's new approach to community relations and the retraining of officers in use of force, de-escalation, and more. A pilot program of police officers wearing body cameras to record interactions with civilains has begun. (State-level officials have also been coming forth with their policy responses aimed at improving the criminal justice system in New York.)

And now, the City Council is placing its first policy pieces into the larger puzzle of criminal justice reform.

"While improving police-community relations in New York City should include retraining police officers, much more must be done," said Council Member Jumaane Williams in a statement. "We must utilize a multi-pronged effort with all agencies to instill the cultural-systemic shift needed in our police department."

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@TweetBenMax
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Note: this article has been updated with comment from the office of the Inspector General for the NYPD and corrected to reflect that the IG works at the request of the Department of Investigation, which the Council will make its request through.

The Brooklyn Public Library (photo: gig_nyc via flickr)

NEW YORK—As digital technology began to expand at the turn of the century, it seemed public libraries would go the way of the bookstore. After all, who needs paper books when you can download classics like Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" right to your smartphone or tablet?

It is true the demand for paper books has diminished (just ask any publishing executive). Digital is the undisputed way of the future, but that doesn't mean the library is dead. In fact, it's quite the contrary.

Attendance to New York City libraries continues to grow, even as library hours shrink.

In fiscal year 2013 the city's 207 branch libraries saw nearly 36 million visitors, according to Re-Envisioning New York's Branch Libraries, a report from the Center for an Urban Future.

Libraries have evolved from a quiet place to curl up with your favorite paperback or cram for a midterm to a much needed community space. Libraries are a place for immigrants to learn English and a place where the unemployed can look for and apply to jobs. It's a social space for the booming senior population, a workspace for freelancers and entrepreneurs, and in some cases, the only place New Yorkers have access to a computer.

"No other institution is as well-positioned to help New York City address some of its biggest challenges and opportunities as the city's branch libraries," Jonathan Bowles, executive director of Center for an Urban Future, said at a Dec. 4 event to discuss the report.

But despite the ever-growing need in communities across all five boroughs, the City has not made funding libraries a priority. As of the recently-passed fiscal 2015 budget, the city's three library systems (the New York Public Library, the Queens Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library) have nearly $1.1 billion in capital needs. Of that, approximately $812 million is needed simply to bring the buildings into a state of good repair.

For now, the burden of funding these capital needs is largely falling on individual city council members and the borough presidents via their annual discretionary funding. Between fiscal year 2004 and 2013, 59 percent of the libraries' capital commitments were from council members or borough presidents, according to the report. Only 41 percent were funded from the overall city budget.

"I'm proud of the New York City Council's use of discretionary capital commitments to the branch libraries, but that is an absurd way to pay for an essential public infrastructure," Council Member Brad Lander said at the Dec. 4 event. "We can't have a 21st century library system with what we have been investing in the libraries in recent years."

At the event, which took place at the Japan Society in Manhattan, several teams of designers gave presentations on how they see the library system moving from a paper-based establishment to a modern community hub. Some of the ideas were simple and practical such as utilizing both the indoor and outdoor space better and upgrading the electrical systems to allow for more outlets and computers. But, more ambitiously, some of the proposals involved large-scale redevelopment of the libraries which would create housing above newly built library branches.

Proposals like this have already been made in Brooklyn Heights and, despite some of the advantages presented by developers, have been adamantly opposed by some community groups.

So how do we go from a $1 billion capital deficit in decades-old buildings to the modern library system described in the presentations? It will take time, planning, and more than likely public-private partnerships. The land the city's libraries are sitting on is incredibly valuable in today's real estate market, giving the City a valuable card to play.

On Wednesday the City Council's committees with oversight of libraries will further discuss the capital needs of the libraries, discuss the Center for an Urban Future Report, and look at some of the design suggestions presented at the Dec. 4 event.

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

AG Schneiderman at Monday's press conference (photo: @AGSchneiderman)

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman requested on Monday that Governor Andrew Cuomo sign an Executive Order giving the Attorney General's office jurisdiction to investigate police killings of unarmed civilians. The move comes after Cuomo has said he plans a review of the criminal justice system and New York City sees day after day of protest in the wake of the decision by a Staten Island grand jury not to indict NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

"The horrible events surrounding the death of Eric Garner have revealed a deep crisis of confidence in some of the fundamental elements of our criminal justice system," said Schneiderman.

"Nothing could be more critical for both the public and the police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe than acting immediately to restore trust and confidence in the independence of reviews in any case involving an unarmed civilian killed by a law enforcement officer. While several worthy legislative reforms have been proposed, the Governor has the power to act today to solve this problem. I strongly encourage him to take action now," Schneiderman said.

The attorney general made the announcement in New York City on Monday backed by city officials including Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James, borough presidents Eric Adams and Gale Brewer, as well as a slew of state legislators and advocates.

For some the push is a reflection that many advocates and officials don't have faith that Gov. Cuomo will move fast enough or look deep enough into the justice system in his promised review of the system. Cuomo has appeared on national media since the Garner verdict promising a "soup-to-nuts" evaluation of the state's justice system, but he has made sure not to show too much bend toward reformers or law enforcement officials.

Schneiderman's press conference and the reaction to it is also likely a preview of the battles to come between law enforcement unions partnered with Senate Republicans on one side and reform advocates and Assembly and Senate Democrats on the other. It isn't clear where Cuomo will land.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton refused to comment on Schneiderman's proposal when asked by reporters on Monday evening. And yet, he addressed the underlying issue fairly directly. "The issue is between the DAs and the AG," Bratton said, according to Capital New York. "I'm very confident in the capabilities of the district attorney I get to work with. Again the issue is between the D.A.s and the A.G. We'll work with anybody."

Legislators and advocates point out that Cuomo was mum on the case for months after Garner's death in July and that the governor declined to empanel a special prosecutor - which some called for in light of the relationship between Staten Island DA Dan Donovan and law enforcement unions and constituents. The odds that Cuomo actually takes Schneiderman up on his request are slim to none. The two have a bitter relationship despite both being Democrats. "We are reviewing the Attorney General's proposal as we pursue this broader approach that seeks to ensure equality and fairness in our justice system," wrote Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo's spokesperson.

Team Cuomo has rejected previous requests from Schneiderman to take action allowing him to better pursue corruption in state government.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have indicated they are not interested in Cuomo's proposed review and could very well block any proposed reforms.

Senate Democrats, on the other hand, are set to reveal a package of legislative proposals on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Insiders say that the conference will deal with "common sense" legislation designed to "restore trust between law enforcement and communities."

Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has said she does not support addressing reforms in any special session that might manifest this year around legislative pay raises.

Special session may be too soon for members, but a number of legislators want to ensure action takes place as quickly as possible, whether from the AG or elsewhere.

"Fundamental change is desperately needed, both for justice to be served and for public confidence in our legal system to be restored," said Sen. Jose Peralta. "We need to know that when a police officer kills an unarmed civilian, we can expect a just, fair and unbiased legal process. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Legislature in producing that kind of fundamental change. Until we can arrive at a legislative remedy, however, we cannot tolerate the status quo."

It appears the stage is set for a battle over measures that will be labeled anti-law enforcement by one side and "trust-building" by the other.

A number of Assembly and Senate Democrats support appointing special prosecutors in the place of local DAs in cases where police kill unarmed civilians. It is an issue that has come up in the Legislature before, only to be successfully opposed by Senate Republicans.

A number DAs have spoken out against this plan and Schneiderman's request, saying that communities are best suited to handle the crimes committed within them.

"[A]cts of police brutality are not only crimes against the individual victim but also are attacks on the communities in which they occur," Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement opposing Schneiderman's proposal. "Therefore, local prosecutors who are elected to enforce the laws in those communities should not be robbed of their ability to faithfully and fairly do so in cases where police officers shoot, kill or injure someone unjustly. The people of Brooklyn have voted for their District Attorney to keep them safe from all crimes, including those of police brutality. The Attorney General's proposal would override their choice – and that should not happen."

The fight over special prosecutors is likely to be a tough one.

Meanwhile, making grand jury deliberations more transparent is an area where there seems to be some agreement between Democrats and Republicans. Currently, New York law allows little from grand jury proceedings to be revealed without special approval.

Staten Island Sen. Diane Savino and Assembly Member Matthew Titone plan to introduce legislation that would ensure the release of the details of grand jury deliberations. State laws keep the process shrouded in secrecy. Advocates criticized the lack of available information on the decision made by the grand jury that looked into Garner's death. DA Donovan asked a judge to release some information relating to the decision, but critics still felt it wasn't enough.

The Savino/Titone bill would keep information about individual jurors secret but make public information about the evidence they reviewed. "There is no reason the public should be denied the opportunity to view information presented after the grand jury has made its final recommendations," Savino told The Staten Island Advance.

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by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing