Maya Wiley, Counsel to the Mayor (WNYC) 

NEW YORK - At the first City Council hearing on the proposed Open FOIL bill on Monday, June 9, the de Blasio administration made a surprise announcement by unveiling its own City Hall Open FOIL portal.

The portal, which went live the morning of the hearing, allows citizens to submit and track Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests online. To protect privacy, tracking numbers, not names of requesters, are used. The data made public on the portal is limited: tracking number, status (received, pending, completed), date of submission, and date of determination - if it has been reached.

"We see the City Hall tracker as an excellent first step," Maya Wiley, Counsel to the Mayor said during her testimony on Monday in front of the Council's government operations and technology committees. "We will be able to use it as a pilot, evaluating its functionality and determining how to scale what works."

Wiley said the administration had been working on the portal since January. It only includes requests made to City Hall, not to other agencies and it will not show all requests, only those deemed "in the public interest" by the administration.

The Council bill, as introduced by Council Member Ben Kallos, would require all city agencies to be on an Open FOIL portal within one year. The bill would require much more robust reporting from the City. As proposed, the bill would not show the name of the requester, but would have a status, date submitted and filled, as well as the data from the request.

Wiley was careful not to come out against the legislation, instead saying the administration supports its goal.

"We are in support of the goal of the bill which is a single online city portal," Wiley said following the hearing. "We think what we need to do is go through a very thoughtful assessment process to make that work and work well.

She added, "We want to take the interest of users and make sure government is going to do it effectively. We think that requires a process of assessment that has not happened yet."

One of the issues the administration has with the legislation is its time frame. The bill requires all city agencies to comply within one year, something Council Member Kallos said was possible using the software the City of Oakland used to create its open FOIL portal. Kallos also pointed out the administration put together the City Hall version in just over six months.

But Wiley pushed back, arguing the complexity and exemptions of some agencies would make a citywide rollout much harder.

"This is a massive undertaking that will require resources not readily available," Wiley said.

She gave no timetable for when other city agencies should be required or would be ready to put FOIL requests online. Without a law in place to force the administration's hand, the process could take years.

Concerns of the Fourth Estate
The Council bill would put information received from FOIL requests online publicly. This provision has raised some concerns among reporters, who argue it could compromise their competitive advantage when pursuing stories.

If a reporter files a FOIL request and in fulfilling it the information is put online, another reporter could see it and use it for their own story. A panel of journalists testified about the bill on Monday, raising these concerns (this reporter was on the panel, representing herself, not Gotham Gazette).

Good government groups argue that reporters can FOIL the FOIL requests of other reporters or news agencies. But Wiley said those requests would not be filled because state law protects commercial enterprises.

"At the end of the day our business isn't who gets what story, when, and how, but certainly we have to follow the law and protecting a commercial enterprise and not ensure one news outlet gets a competitive advantage over another," Wiley said.

The Cuomo administration in Albany currently fills those types of FOIL requests, according to John Kaehny of The New York City Transparency Working Group.

"We may not like it, but if it is something that is allowed by law, it is something that has to stand," Azi Paybarah, a reporter from Capital New York said at the hearing. "If the city administration is taking it upon themselves to interpret it in a different way than in the past...that could itself explain why the Council needs to legislate this rather than have an agreement with the current administration."

Paybarah further argued that governments change and having a law would stand over time and administrations.

"When there is a reliance on a government saying 'we give you our word we will provide this information on a regular basis,' it is nice to have that tradition, but what happens when governments change, administrations leave, officials leave?" Paybarah said. "I think the idea there is no need for this legislation is overstating it somewhat."

The online portal unveiled by the City at the hearing will add a level of difficulty to getting the Council bill passed. Kallos said while he is excited to see the administration put forth its own portal, he believes there should be more information on the site about the requests and is eager to extend the system citywide. It is now up to the two sides to figure out a path forward.

"I promise you I remain unswayed by the administration's repeated requests for me to not legislate on various topics for the time being," Kallos said. "I am a legislator and that is the tool that I have - legislation and oversight."

Kallos also said, though, that he hopes to be able to "come to an agreement on language that respects all the issues brought to us by the administration."

"At the end of the day," he said, "it is great to have an administration where we all agree and are trying to figure out how to get the most perfect system possible."

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by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

Howie Hawkins (David King)

Albany - Green Party gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins came to Albany last week to declare his belief that thanks to the divisive nature of the Working Families Party's endorsement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo he has become the go-to candidate for progressives and union members disenfranchised by Cuomo's centrist politics.

Running on the Green Party line, Hawkins had surprise success in the 2010 gubernatorial race when he used frustration over the financial crisis and a "Green New Deal" that promised jobs for every New Yorker to win almost 60,000 votes.

"We have a real shot to win this," Hawkins said in interview at the capitol last week. First, Hawkins is slowly but surely presenting himself to the state's union members who have felt attacked by Cuomo's austerity measures.

Four years ago, Cuomo campaigned on cutting benefits and costs of the state workforce. Since being elected he has followed through, driving hard bargains, cutting pensions, freezing wages, and increasing the amount employees must contribute to their health care costs. Among many upset state employees, public teachers unions have perhaps the largest chip on their shoulder - they are upset about the state's implementation of Common Core and Cuomo's resistance to increasing school funding and strong support of charter schools.

As part of his plan to harness labor support, Hawkins is betting that the state AFL-CIO will not endorse in the governor's race. In 2010, reps of the New York State United Teachers and Civil Service Employee Association walked out of the room when it was time to endorse, protesting Cuomo's nomination - their absence allowed the AFL-CIO to reach the two-thirds majority it requires for an endorsement. But if the two groups stay this year it is unlikely Cuomo will get the nod. That will then free up regional labor councils across the state to make their own endorsements. It may be a long shot, but Hawkins is betting enough union members are open to making a protest vote.

And the WFP's decision to back Cuomo has drawn more than just media attention to Hawkins' campaign. The endorsement ignited a spike in donations, donations with notes of encouragement from "former WFP members," Hawkins said. His campaign has tossed all their initial fundraising projections out the window.

The WFP was divided between rank and file advocates who wanted to endorse anyone over Cuomo to show their disgust at what they see as pro-charter school, pro-business and anti-labor initiatives, and labor heads, who fund the party and fought to stay in Cuomo's good graces.

Jilted WFP activists took to social media that Saturday night in May when the WFP officially endorsed Cuomo, with a number pointing to Hawkins as their only remaining option. Hawkins wasn't looking to go to war with the WFP - on the contrary, he looked to meet with WFP leaders on how to defeat Cuomo, but his advances were ignored. Even now Hawkins says he can help the WFP hold Cuomo to his word and win the state Senate for Democrats. "If I'm not in this race progressives are going to stay home," says Hawkins. "I'm happy to talk to candidates and the WFP about how we can work together so that progressives show up to vote for me and Democratic Senate candidates."

Hawkins hopes have been bolstered by the two polls that put the Working Families Party in a position to bargain with Cuomo for its endorsement - a Siena Poll and a Quinnipiac Poll both found that an unnamed Working Families Party candidate would cut into Cuomo's vote total by about 20 points. Now that the WFP has given Cuomo their line, Hawkins thinks voters will still be looking for a progressive alternative to the centrist governor: "I'm a working guy. I'm a teamster with a name," Hawkins is fond of saying.

Hawkins may now have a better shot at being Governor of New York than he did last week, but that doesn't mean his days start any easier. Last Wednesday, Hawkins made his long drive into Albany from Syracuse through New York City, where he had a fundraiser. Unrecognized and unregarded by passers-by, the simple process of ordering breakfast at the Capitol's new Dunkin' Donuts turned into a debacle for Hawkins as his veggie breakfast sandwich was forgotten as other customers who had been behind him in line received their orders first. Finally, when Hawkins had his coffee and breakfast in hand, more frustration: his face shot into a grimace as he took a sip from the white styrofoam cup, "I ordered black and its full of this sweet stuff," he said pulling off the lid to reveal a white mixture. There was no assistant, no campaign staff there to fix the gubernatorial candidate's order.

Nothing about this race will be easy for Hawkins, especially given that he still holds down his night job in Syracuse where he unloads trucks for UPS. He is excited, though, that this year his campaign has around $30-$45,000 to work with, money he will have to use wisely as his opponents can afford to plaster ads on primetime television.

Meanwhile, Cuomo's warchest totalled around $33.3 million at last report.

Other than the hope that a significant number of progressives are free agents in search of a candidate, Hawkins also has going for him his relative success in 2010, when he was one of a coterie of gubernatorial wannabes included in televised debates.

Cuomo appeared on stage with the at-times unhinged Republican challenger and Tea Party enthusiast Carl Paladino, leftist New York City Council Member Charles Barron of the Freedom Party, Libertarian Warren Redlich, glove-wearing Jimmy McMillan of the Rent is Too Damn High Party, and Kristin Davis of the Anti-Prohibition Party, whose only claim to fame was that she was allegedly madame to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

During those debates, Hawkins, who comes across as folksy, even a little bit out of time with his Southern accent, managed to deliver poised answers about his "Green New Deal," decried Wall Street, and promised every New Yorker the right to a job - messages that resonated two years deep into the fiscal crisis. Hawkins ended up with 60,000 votes and secured the Green Party its ballot line.

Hawkins says he has studied where those 60,000 votes came from and has a plan to capitalize on the frustration and resentment many state labor groups feel toward Cuomo for his hard bargains and cuts to benefits and compensation. On top of that, Hawkins asserts he will be the logical vote for Democrats and progressives who are frustrated with Cuomo's dalliances with Republicans and conservative fiscal policies.

So far Hawkins has modest endorsements from Bad Ass Teachers, which claims to be made of "nearly" 2,000 parents and educators who stand against the common core and what they see as the privatization of public education, and from United Opt Out, a national group that is opposed to the common core.

"They've suffered under his cuts now," Hawkins said of state employees, "and I think more of them are going to be with me."

Hawkins has met with a number of labor councils and expects to be endorsed by some. Major unions have included Hawkins in their news briefs and appear willing to keep members apprised of his campaign, something that wasn't true in 2010.

It may sound hopeful on Hawkins' part, but a number of Albany County legislators and union members confirm that there is a growing sense among public employee union members that the only way to send a message to Cuomo is to vote Hawkins. "I think right now that feeling is concentrated with the insiders, but the frustration continues and I think it can only grow," said one legislator who asked to remain anonymous.

Mark Dunlea, executive director of Hunger Action NY and regular Cuomo critic, said that Hawkins is already ahead of where he was at this time four years ago. "He's already gotten more media coverage than he did during the entire election cycle in 2010," said Dunlea. "There is really an opening for him there with labor."

So what exactly would Hawkins do if he was governor? His progressive platform includes that backing a $15 minimum wage, ending the state's rebate of the stock transfer tax to Wall Street firms, providing municipalities with 8 percent assistance as opposed to the 1 percent they currently receive, banning hydrofracking, beefing up the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, and pushing full public financing of electoral campaigns.

All of those stances are likely to alienate conservatives and many moderates, but Hawkins does have one position that may appeal to some on the right.

"The SAFE Act was rushed through out of political expediency," says Hawkins. "There was no thought put into it." Hawkins, whose father taught him to hunt, says he hasn't picked up a firearm since "I put down my M-16 and left the Marine Corp," but that he understands the complaints of community members who say that aspects of the SAFE Act simply don't make sense, like the seemingly arbitrary limit on magazine size and restrictions on inheriting firearms.

Hawkins hopes to put together a grassroots campaign that focuses on his credentials as a progressive; he plans to open a field office in New York City soon. Hawkins notes that Cuomo has spent the last month in New York City, often by the side of the state's most popular progressive, Mayor Bill de Blasio. "People know he's not a progressive. He isn't fooling anyone," Hawkins says of Cuomo. "I've been approached by a lot of liberals who voted for Cuomo on the WFP line last time as a protest vote and tell me they aren't going to make the same mistake. What good did it do them?"

In the end, though, it isn't just Cuomo's and Astorino's money that Hawkins is up against. If the Cuomo camp perceives Hawkins as having the possibility to significantly cut into the governor's vote total the gloves will likely come off. The Cuomo camp has been aggressively dropping opposition research on Republican candidate Rob Astorino since early this year and began to do so to Zephyr Teachout, who challenged Cuomo for the WFP line. Hawkins could be next.

Hawkins says he isn't worried about getting roughed up politically: "I don't know what they could do to me. I've got a job in the private sector. I don't got a lot of money. I'm a working class guy and we don't got much to lose. So if they think I'm enough of a threat to go after me, thats a good thing."

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

New York City Hall

What to look for this week, via the City and Albany:

As the week begins, watch for fatigue all over New York City as people recover from celebration at the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade.

This week, eyes on Albany will continue to gauge where Gov. Andrew Cuomo truly stands in his commitments to the Working Families Party that he will work for Democratic control of the New York State Senate and push for multiple pieces of progressive legislation. It's the last couple of weeks of the legislative session, anything - or nothing - could happen, including passage of a medical marijuana law slowly making its way toward the governor's desk. (Surely plenty of fodder for this year's LCA show)

According to his public schedule, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is set to make a "major public safety announcement" on Monday morning in Yonkers.

Fresh off of his appearance at the Puerto Rican Day Parade, Mayor de Blasio starts his week speaking "at the Broadway Housing Communities Sugar Hill Development press conference...[and]...at FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro's swearing in," according to his public schedule - followed by attending "the Youth Leadership Council Meeting at City Hall."

The week features a good deal of action in the City Council as the Council refocuses on legislation after weeks of executive budget hearings. Speaking of the budget, keep an ear out for news as negotiations on a finalized budget (due by July 1) head behind closed doors. 2016 excitement is due to hit fever pitch in the City this week as Hillary Clinton kicks off her book tour in Union Square Tuesday morning and buzz about attempts to bring the 2016 Democratic National Convention to Brooklyn heightens. Paging Marty Markowitz.

Question on that front: will Governor Cuomo back the push for BK to host the convention in 2016 if it looks increasingly likely that Hillary Clinton will be running for President and thus unlikely that he'll be receiving the party's nomination?

Meanwhile, fresh off their debate on ABC, taped Friday and aired Sunday, candidates in New York's 13th congressional district debate again on Wednesday night, this time on NY1 and moderated, naturally, by Errol Louis. More on this below. The June 24th primary is just two weeks from Tuesday! 

Here's the run of the week in more detail:

New York City

Monday
Along with Mayor de Blasio, Comptroller Scott Stringer will also attend Monday morning's "Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Broadway Housing Communities Sugar Hill Project," according to his public schedule. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is also set to be in attendance.

Council Member Ben Kallos and the government operations committee he chairs are set to hold two interesting hearings on Monday. First, at 10 a.m., the committee will look at the issue of extending community board eligibility to 16 and 17-year-olds, considering a resolution recommending passage of a bill in Albany that would allow such an extension.

Then, the highly-anticipated Open FOIL bill will get its first hearing at 1 p.m. The bill, introduced by Kallos, would create an online portal allowing people to see the status of FOIL requests. One of the issues expected to be be brought up is whether the name and organization of the person submitting the request would be published. For the average citizen looking to obtain records, having their name on the portal will likely not be a big deal. But for journalists having their name and type of information they are requesting in an online portal could tip off their competition and jeopardize a story.

The government ops committee will be meeting along with the technology committee, chaired by CM Jimmy Vacca, and council members will be discussing Open FOIL and two other open gov bills.

For those on the transportation beat, the Transportation Committee will hold an oversight hearing evaluating the TLC's street hail livery program, also at 1 p.m.

Monday night is game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, the first of the series in New York after the Rangers lost the first two games in excruciating fashion to the Kings in L.A. If the Rangers go down 0-3 get ready to see Mayor de Blasio "help perform a rendition of Randy Newman's "I Love LA" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!" per his bet with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti. But, if the Blue Shirts can get back into the series, keep an eye out for game 4 on Wednesday night.

Tuesday
Hillary Clinton kicks off her book tour at the Union Square Barnes & Noble on Tuesday morning, promoting Hard Choices. Details from the B&N release: "A limited number of wristbands will be distributed starting at 8 A.M. on Tuesday, June 10, and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers will have their copies of Hard Choices signed in the order they arrive. A limit of one book per customer will be signed and the signing of other books or memorabilia will not be permitted. The author will sign a limited number of copies of Hard Choices."

Tuesday looks to be a slow day at the City Council, with only the Committee on State and Federal Legislation set to meet.

Wednesday
On Wednesday morning at a panel discussion event, "Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund will release a report on the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene's Green Carts Initiative – a street vending strategy launched in 2008 to change the NYC healthy food landscape, expand economic opportunity, and promote healthy behaviors." The panel will be moderated by Ester Fuchs, Director of the Urban and Social Policy Program at Columbia University, and will include Sean Basinski, Founder and Director, Street Vendor Project; Nancy Biberman, Founder and President, WHEDco; Rick Luftglass, Executive Director, The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund; and Cathy Nonas, Senior Advisor, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. the City Council will hold its first of two Stated Meetings this month (the other one is on the 26th).

Prior to the Stated, there are a few committee meetings, including the education committee meeting to resume discussion about "requiring the department of education to report academic and demographic information on co-located schools."

In the evening, there is the aforementioned NY13 debate, sponsored by NYC Votes and aired on NY1, at 7 p.m. - taking place with the primary less than two weeks away. The event will take place in front of a live audience (tickets were free and are sold out) at The Lovinger Theatre of Lehman College. This contest continues to heat up, recently taking a turn toward talk of race.

Thursday
At 10 a.m. on Thursday the City Council's education committee and higher education committee each meet. The education committee is holding a hearing on "Avonte's Law," otherwise known as the "Audible Alarms Bill," which would require "DOE to equip all exit doors with an alarm system in all elementary school buildings and buildings accommodating district 75 programs." Watch sponsor Robert Cornegy Jr. discuss the bill.

The higher ed committee will hold an oversight hearing on "merit and need based scholarships at CUNY."

At 1 p.m. the waterfronts committee will hold an oversight hearing on the Rahway Arch Project's impact on Staten Island. The project would seal decades worth of toxic waste just a stone's throw from Arthur Kill in Rahway, New Jersey, with 29 feet of dirt that is itself contaminated. The plan had been fast-tracked in New Jersey, and now, for obvious reasons, New Yorkers are taking serious exception. Senator Chuck Schumer has voiced his concern over the project, as has the Staten Island Advance Editorial Board. Legislatively, there may not be much the Council can do, but bashing the New Jersey government can always prove a crowd-pleaser and attention-grabber.

Also on Thursday at 1 p.m. three committees will meet to attempt to address the tie between an increase in violence in the city's jails and mental illness. New corrections commissioner Joseph Ponte testified at an executive budget hearing last week that the department was "in deep trouble." Council Member Elizabeth Crowley is introducing a bill that would require the Commissioner to post a monthly report on its website regarding punitive segregation statistics for city jails, as well as the use of solitary confinement.

On Thursday evening, Mayor de Blasio is set to make remarks at the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) annual gala at the WCS Central Park Zoo. The gala, entitled "An Elephant's Tale" will honor Hillary Clinton, as well as her daughter Chelsea, among others. According to WCS's site, the gala "will engage guests in WCS's efforts to save the elephant populations struggling to survive within the forests and savannahs of Central Africa. The evening will serve as a reminder of the crisis elephants currently face in Africa and also as a celebration of these gentle giants who play a crucial ecological role in their habitats...The evening of the gala includes a reception, along with dinner. An Afterparty will be held for the next generation of conservation supporters."

Friday
It's a Friday the 13th. Unfortunately, that's almost all we have for your end-of-week planning purposes at this point. A sign of summer, perhaps.

On a much more serious note, Friday is the start of the two-day New York Summit on Gun Violence, as part of Gun Violence Awareness Month, to be held at John Jay College - details of the summit.

And, more from Albany:
The 114th LCA show is on Tuesday, June 10 at 7 p.m. at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. Rebuttals are by Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Tickets are still available!

First, on Monday morning, Gov. Cuomo hosts a ribbon cutting "for Todd Hill Market Taste NY Store" in LaGrangeville.

Meanwhile, with eight days left in the legislative session, advocates will be in town the next two weeks trying to force legislators to act on various pieces of legislation before they head back to their districts to focus on re-election.

Both houses of the Legislature have reached a possible deal on a medical marijuana bill that could come to a vote this week if Senate Republicans allow it. Most legislators expect little to be accomplished in the final weeks as politics has already frozen most bipartisan action in the Senate. There continues to be talk that legislative leaders would like to leave Albany early. But anything can happen in Albany and there could be the traditional flurry of legislative action before the end of the session.

On Monday, Planned Parenthood of New York will hold a rally at 1 p.m. in East Capitol Park to announce the creation of a new political action committee to aide candidates who support reproductive health rights. The group will also announce its 2014 legislative champions.

Hundreds of veterans and advocates will be in town on Tuesday to push for passage of the Justice For Our Veterans Act which would mandate that veterans charged with a crime be evaluated for a mental health issue related to their service so that they receive consideration from the court. A press conference will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday in room 130 of the Legislative Office Building.

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Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? Email Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (use "For Week Ahead" as a subject if you can).

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by Kristen Meriwether and Ben Max in New York City and David King in Albany
@GothamGazette

Comptroller Scott Stringer gives a budget briefing (@scottmstringer)

When Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a contract deal with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in early May, he vowed the UFT, in conjunction with all the city's other municipal labor unions, will have to realize $3.4 billion in health care savings between this year and 2018. The UFT is contractually obligated to meet its share of those savings, the two sides announced, meaning that if it falls short, the City can take the union to an arbitrator to enforce the deal.

But according to Comptroller Scott Stringer, nearly a quarter of the savings may materialize by 2018 simply based on a slower rate of health care cost growth than de Blasio is projecting. In the executive budget, the mayor's office projects an annual rise of 9.7 percent, a number Stringer showed is a generous estimate based on recent trends.

"The last three years, health care costs have grown more slowly," Stringer said during his budget analysis on Wednesday, June 4. "If that trend continues through the upcoming years, that could get us a third of the way towards our target savings in fiscal year 2018."

The City will in fact "save" $3.4 billion. It is a hard number, bound by contract. But how the City came to its cost projection the savings will be based on is a matter of question. According to Stringer's report the difference in the projected growth estimate given by the City and the one based on the three-year trend is $743 million ($110 million in FY 2016, $240 million in FY 2017, $393 million in FY 2018).

De Blasio has essentially said the health care costs will rise at a rate that is not based on the pattern of the last three years identified by Stringer.

If the numbers put forth by Stringer's office - which are based on the last three years - hold true, nearly $1 billion worth of union health care savings will not be realized through the "menu of options" the administration outlined through the UFT deal. That chunk of savings will instead be there based on generous projections.

"If costs came in under the fiscal plan projections, those savings would accrue towards the $3.4 billion," a spokesperson for City Hall said by phone on Wednesday. "Simultaneously, if health care costs rise more than anticipated, further savings would be required to meet the targets."

The spokesperson said the projections used for the union deal were from a third party actuary who based the estimates on history as well as current trends in health care costs.

"The exercise should be about getting real health insurance savings that bend the cost curve," said Maria Doulis, Director of City Studies at Citizens Budget Commission (CBC). "These kind of re-estimates should not be included as part of the savings. It is not real health savings."

Numbers provided by CBC show that since fiscal year 2006, the annual growth of health care costs has hit 9.7 percent just twice, in FY 2012 when they were up 9.7 percent exactly and in FY 2007 when they grew by 11.2 percent. These figures reflect how much money is put into the budget for health care costs.

The City Hall spokesperson challenged the CBC numbers saying the numbers OMB uses show an increase over 9.7 percent in four of the last six years. These calculations use the Health Insurance Plan of New York (HIP) rate (which determines overall health care payments) combined with a change in headcount. Numbers provided by the Independent Budget Office yielded similar results. This rate more accurately shows what the City paid in health care premiums, but not the dollar value that goes into the budget.

As it stands, assessing union health care savings will depend on which cost projection you choose to use.

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by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

NYCEDC President Kyle Kimball (purple tie) at a ribbon cutting in Bedford-Stuyvesant (nycedc.com)

During an early mayoral debate, then-public advocate Bill de Blasio gave the Bloomberg administration an 'F' for its efforts to advance minority and women-owned business enterprises (commonly known as M/WBE). De Blasio criticized further, saying, "We certainly don't see an administration that, in its composition, looks like New York City."

After winning the race to replace Bloomberg, Mayor de Blasio took to the inaugural podium outside City Hall on the brisk, winter morning of January 1st, 2014 and promised that his mayoralty would be a progressive and diverse chapter in New York City's history. "Black, white, Latino, Asian, gay, straight, old, young, rich, middle class, and poor," he said. "A city that remembers our responsibility to each other — our common cause — is to leave no New Yorker behind."

De Blasio heeded his own call, quickly beginning to build a government that was notably varied in race and gender, especially within his inner circle. But, as the new mayor built a diverse administration and heralded the public sector's duty to combat inequality and injustice, his previous hunch appears true to date: the contracts existing between the city's bureaucracy and its businesses do not reflect a commitment to diversity.

"In Fiscal Year 2013, the City procured $16.5 billion worth of goods and services and only $439 million went to M/WBE - a mere 2.7 percent," said Michael Nitzky, the director of communications for Comptroller Scott Stringer. "That's simply unacceptable."

As the Mayor's Office of Contract Services's website states, "Whether it's biodiesel fuel for City vehicles, trucks to clear our streets, or fresh produce from local farmers, agencies are constantly procuring to serve the public." For thousands of companies in New York City, obtaining a city contract is one of the most important financial benefits of civil government. Last fiscal year alone, roughly 40,500 transactions between the public and private sectors translated into this $16.5 billion in revenue for vendors. And yet, in light of the numbers and goals set forth, a stark divide is still apparent when it comes to contracts with M/WBE.

In total, M/WBE made up 7 percent of New York City's vendors in 2013 and, last year, 23 percent of the City's sub- and prime contracts went to M/WBEs. However, given the miniscule dollar figures of these contracts, 23 percent is not necessarily indicative. And it hasn't been for some time, even as city agencies continue to place a huge emphasis on diversity in dollars.

In the 1989 case of City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., the Supreme Court ruled that in order to establish an M/WBE program, a municipal government needs to show statistical evidence of a disparity existing between businesses owned by men, women and persons of color - a prime example of the cost/benefit re-analysis of welfare and social services retained throughout the Reagan Years. Also, to equalize the playing field, the program goals must be specific; city agencies have to name an exact percentage to aspire to, a figure for city contracts which could determine how much money is going to M/WBE.

So, in 1992, New York City Mayor David Dinkins made it so: the city's first African-American mayor also created the first-ever M/WBE program in New York City, tasked, through executive order, with securing 20 percent of all city contracts for M/WBE. With it, the city could award contracts to M/WBE if their bids were less than 10 percent higher than the lowest bid. Also, the names of these businesses would be entered into a database for bids, giving them a leg up in the procurement process. The result? In 1993, M/WBE accrued $270 million in contracts from the city and, between 1990 and 1994 the percentage of these pacts jumped from 9% of the city's contracts to 17.5%.

Then, in 1993, Rudy Giuliani was elected mayor. The Republican mayor-elect argued the program was "reverse discrimination" and "bad social policy" targeting white men, and it ended soon after.

It wasn't until 2003 - nearly ten years later - when Mayor Michael Bloomberg would revive M/WBE programming as a means of diversifying New York City's economy. In the Bloomberg program, the blanket 20 percent for all agencies was replaced with specific pegs set for each type of contract and their respective agencies, for contracts up to $1 million. For example, in accordance with the law, which was passed in 2005 and then amended in 2013 to effectively remove the cap, 12.63 percent of construction contracts under one million dollars were meant to go to African-American-owned businesses.

Even as the actual number of contracts failed to budge much, the former mayor touted citywide success in other statistics, like the fact that, between 2007 and 2013, the number of certified M/WBE rose from 700 to 3,796, earning some $3 billion over that time period. However, success looks different on paper: as shown through the excellent work done by Adam Wisnieski for City Limits, the city continues to fail to meet each and every one of its goals annually. That 12.63 percent goal for African-Americans in construction contracts? Last year, the number was 2.36 percent. And, between 2010 and 2011, the number of M/WBE contracts actually decreased.

It's New York City in 2014. Why the disparity?

With the system in place, The City cannot simply hand over contracts to M/WBE to meet its own goals - it must, by law, pay the lowest responsible bidder, in the hopes that these bidders, more times than not, will be M/WBE. That being said, M/WBE have no advantage in the race to the top of the list, especially one that has been heavily regulated in light of recent payment scandals like CityTime and the 9-1-1 overhaul. And, to Ashley Emerole, former senior analyst at the Office of Management and Budget,, therein lies the problem.

"I think first and foremost the procurement process is cumbersome and arduous. This impacts anyone trying to do business with the City," said Ms. Emerole. "The series of checks and balances meant to prevent fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars tends to have redundancies and long waiting periods for approval which disproportionately penalize those without the time and financial resources to wait."

In other words, it costs money to make money. And even if city government is a vast entity, with dozens of agencies offering contracts of all types to businesses, this municipal pluralism can backfire: according to Nitzky, of the city comptroller's office, it translates into more work for M/WBE, which then translates into higher costs. "The procurement process can be challenging to navigate," said Mr. Nitzky. "Especially for smaller businesses that don't have dedicated resources to proactively look across the landscape of over 100 agencies to determine open opportunities for them to supply goods and services."

Also, while the process itself may be expensive, finding the money to pay for it is another issue. As Mr. Nitzky explained, minorities have a much harder time at square one of microeconomics: securing a loan. "In fact, studies have shown that these firms typically encounter higher borrowing costs, receive smaller loans, and see their loan applications rejected more often than white-owned firms," he said. "Even when controlling for credit scores."

Needless to say, the same goes for women. "Women entrepreneurs and small business owners face significant challenges when it comes to attaining resources to build and sustain their businesses," Ana Oliveira, the President and CEO of the New York Women's Foundation, said. "Lack of access to capital, limited networks and language barriers are obstacles that have a particular impact on low-income and immigrant women."

For this reason, Ms. Oliveira explained, the Foundation works with programs like Hot Bread Kitchen and Center for Family Life - both of which provide opportunities like apprenticeships and cooperatives, with the intent of teaching women how to compete in the procurement process. "The scaling up and expansion of these programs is a critical part of creating opportunities for economic security for women in New York City," she said.

In addition, Nitzky also argued that the public sector can make use of mentorship programs, in which the old teach the new how to succeed in the procurement process. "[The] SCA (School Construction Authority) and MTA, which pair larger, established firms that have previously navigated the procurement process with smaller MWBEs, provide useful models," he explained. "These programs not only help M/WBE secure contracts, but also provide the technical assistance necessary to ensure that the contracts, once secured, are completed safely, on time and within budget."

As said, in terms of the M/WBE program, the City is a passive participant in the procurement process, aside from the goals it establishes and the certification of being a M/WBE. Inside of that construct, the only remedy the Bloomberg administration sought was to create an economic environment where M/WBE find themselves on the top of the list by default. And, to Ms. Emerole, this can be done by opening up more venues of competition for City contracts, where incumbent companies are threatened by more nimble start-ups.

"The process should be redesigned to draw in a greater pool of applicants rather than simply the same firms and there should also be support from the City to ensure goals are met and the organizations are asked to meet goals," she said. "I recently learned that there are few, if any, incentives for contractors to keep improving once they have jumped through all the necessary hoops of the procurement process. That's really disappointing and should be looked at."

Another way the City can level the playing field, Mr. Nitzky said, is to promote competition through technology. "A small business in the South Bronx shouldn't have to travel to Flushing Meadows Corona Park to pick up a bid packet or go to Staten Island for a pre-bid meeting," he said. "Let's bring the procurement process into the 21st century and help more businesses compete in the process."

Now, in City Hall, the de Blasio administration has begun to etch out the ideas left over from the former Public Advocate's candidacy. "As mayor, Bill de Blasio will direct Small Business Services to dramatically increase the number of officially registered MWBE firms eligible for city contracts, and will empower a Deputy Mayor with the responsibility of increasing diversity in city contracts and procurement," his campaign website read.

Since his election, the mayor has appointed Lisette Camilo as head of the Mayor's Office of Contract Services to lead the M/WBE charge in the post-Bloomberg world. Stringer's office, meanwhile, has followed up on former Comptroller John Liu's M/WBE Report Card portal and also appointed a Chief Diversity Officer.

And, using that portal, the numbers since January 20 of this year show a shred of progress. As of June 2, the number of M/WBE contracts has risen to 4.2 percent of the total, or $270 million of the $6.1 billion. And, while the full FY 2014 numbers are not yet available (FY 2014 ends June 30) to paint a trajectory, the de Blasio administration remains hopeful.

At a recent forum hosted by the Center for an Urban Future, Maria Torres-Springer, the new Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services, praised the 'Business Solution Centers' her agency has installed around the city, which offer information to M/WBE on financial and legal matters, as well as a new partnership for craft entrepreneurship with Etsy and Citibank.

"In my conversations with the mayor prior to my appointment, he made very clear that his vision for small business is that every entrepreneur...has the resources they need in order to succeed," Torres-Springer said. "He believes that, and I certainly share the belief that, businesses can be a great equalizer."

On this point, Ms. Emerole certainly agrees: as de Blasio alluded to during his January inauguration, the fight for the success of M/WBE will create a stronger economy and, therefore, a stronger New York. "It takes so much to keep the city running," she told me. "And it's always runs better with a diverse set of experiences and backgrounds involved."

***
John Surico is a freelance journalist. His reporting can be seen in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Village Voice, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn.

Additional reporting by Katrina Shakarian.

Governor Cuomo during his video message to WFP delegates 5/31

On Saturday, national pundits gasped as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Working Families Party (WFP) hashed out a last-minute deal for the WFP ballot line. It felt a bit like a contract negotiation as WFP officials bartered with Cuomo over which progressive issues he would express support for in a pre-recorded video that was eventually aired for rowdy and restless convention delegates. Even so, the video language wasn't precise enough for WFP heads so Cuomo was patched in on an iPhone over the speaker system to elaborate on specifics.

The labor-backed WFP was split between powerful union heads who wanted to endorse Cuomo and advocates who are angry Cuomo has worked closely with Republicans, business executives, and breakaway State Senate Democrats. Cuomo's camp is set on winning re-election by as big a margin as possible and recent polls have shown a theoretical WFP candidate running to the left of Cuomo could siphon 20 points off of his 57-28 lead in a heads-up race with Republican Rob Astorino. One hundred and fifty thousand New Yorkers voted for Cuomo on the WFP line in 2010.

For some, Cuomo's promise to back Democratic candidates and Democratic policies wasn't exactly a big deal or a big win for the WFP. Cuomo promised to back progressive issues like giving municipalities the right to raise their minimum wage and The DREAM Act, along with a host of other legislation, as well as work to flip the Senate to Democratic control. But many observers say the WFP is simply asking Cuomo to act like a Democrat and that they have nothing to hold him to his word.

For some, it was surprising and troubling to see the centrist Cuomo align himself with his party's leftmost flank after four years of touting bipartisanship and focusing on the upstate economy.

But for a number of national pundits, good government activists, and legislators the shock was that Cuomo was conducting transactional politics in such a public, unabashed manner.

State Republican Chairman Ed Cox seized on the dealings and called for an ethics investigation. "Andrew Cuomo's backroom dealing with the Working Families Party represents the worst of Albany" Cox said in a statement.

"That Cuomo's actions are cynical and unethical are without question. Whether or not they constitute actual bribery is worthy of an investigation, and I call upon the proper authorities to begin one as soon as possible," Cox continued.

Albany's veteran observers say that transactional politics are the foundation that New York state government is built on and it shouldn't be a shock to anyone. "Transactional politics is the oxygen that Albany breathes," said Blair Horner of The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).

Gerald Benjamin, professor of political science at SUNY New Paltz, agrees: "We were dealing with the classic choice of a third party between the purity of their principles and pragmatic politics."

Karen Scharff, the head of Citizen Action NY and a co-chair of The Working Families Party, said that her organization's endorsement of Cuomo was only atypical in that Cuomo is much more powerful than most candidates they endorse. "Any endorsement the WFP does is based on the issues," she said. "This just happened in a way more visible version because this was not a normal candidate - the governor is way more powerful and has more of an ability to get things done than most candidates."

New York's Wilson Pakula law allows for third parties to cross-endorse and Benjamin says that lends itself to these sort of deals. "It is one of the unique characteristics of New York," said Benjamin, "in that you can genuinely see the results. So these cross-endorsements encourage transactional politics. The Working Families Party Line is worth 150,000 votes. We don't know where those votes go if the line isn't there."

The Wilson Pakula law came under major scrutiny last year when Sen. Malcolm Smith was arrested for allegedly trying to bribe New York City officials for the Republican line for mayor. In April of last year Gov. Cuomo unveiled a package of reforms that included a repeal of Wilson Pakula. "You have heard the expression pay-to-play, this is pay-to-run," Cuomo said at the time.

"The allegation is that the minor parties on occasion have used campaign contributions to determine who gets the line, and it's almost that the line goes to the highest bidder...eliminate Wilson Pakula and make it easier for people to run for nominations by basically having open primaries for candidates," Cuomo explained at a press conference unveiling his anti-corruption proposals. "Allow them to run without the approval of the party hierarchy, the party leaders, the party bosses."

Cuomo's reported deal with the WFP includes establishment of a $10 million fund to help Democratic candidates win back the state Senate. Many of those candidates will, of course, hold the WFP ballot line.

Bill Mahoney of NYPIRG points out that in 2012, 52.36 percent of the WFP's funding came from transfers from candidates - most of whom the WFP had endorsed.

Cuomo's proposed revision of Wilson Pakula would have weakened the WFP along with the Independence and Conservative Parties as they would lose the ability to be seen as a vote aggregator for a major party candidate. But, the Legislature resisted the reforms and Cuomo eventually empaneled the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption.

Interestingly enough it was Cuomo's admitted dalliance in transactional politics that brought an end to that same commission in May of this year. "If this package is adopted, then I would end the Moreland Commission," Cuomo told reporters on a weekend conference call before the Legislature voted to pass this year's budget. The governor pointed out that he initially called the commission because legislators refused to pass his reforms.

Good government groups were shocked when Cuomo disbanded Moreland and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara subpoenaed the commission's records and its communications with the Cuomo administration. Cuomo later explained his thinking around the commission thusly: "It's not a legal question. The Moreland Commission was my commission. It's my commission. My subpoena power, my Moreland Commission. I can appoint it, I can disband it. I appoint you, I can un-appoint you tomorrow. So, interference? It's my commission. I can't 'interfere' with it, because it is mine. It is controlled by me."

It was a bit of honesty from Cuomo that has become more familiar in the past two years. Observers like Horner note that Cuomo has become increasingly upfront about his calculations as he has become more comfortable as governor.

"He is a political mechanic," said Horner, who worked for Cuomo briefly during the governor's time as attorney general. "If I was a political cartoonist I would have him with his sleeves rolled up, under the car tinkering with the engine. His thing isn't the design but how things work. He isn't as interested in policy as he is in how you get things done politically."

Cuomo ran for governor in 2010 as an Albany outsider, distancing himself from the rampant corruption, arrests in the Legislature and the dysfunction wrought by the 2009 Senate coup, which saw Republicans strike a deal with former Democratic Sens. Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate to wrest control of the chamber from Democrats and left the Legislature paralyzed for months.

Voters were fed up with Albany insiders so Cuomo ran against Albany, but pundits point out that Cuomo was raised in Albany under Governor Mario Cuomo, his father, and Andrew became the family's political prodigy, and its fixer. The younger Cuomo more than anyone else knows that Albany runs on transactional politics and knows how to make the system work. And Horner points out that that is not necessarily a bad thing at all: "Look at what he has been able to get done this way," said Horner before running through a list of Cuomo's accomplishments that includes same-sex marriage, gun control, casino legalization, and four on-time state budgets.

"Transactional has negative connotations but this is how you get things done in Albany," said Horner. A review of the successes and failure of the governors who preceded Cuomo is a lesson in the role transactional politics plays in Albany. Gov. Eliot Spitzer was known for using the bully pulpit and badgering the opposition into supporting his legislative agenda, a tact that came to a spectacularly fiery end thanks, in part, to his heated rivalry with then-Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.

Spitzer had been using state resources to gather dirt on Bruno's use of state vehicles for non-governmental purposes. Spitzer was then investigated by the Albany County District Attorney and Attorney General Cuomo, and his agenda was suddenly paralyzed by acrimony.

Spitzer's Lt. Gov. David Paterson had even worse luck at the reins of power as he flitted back and forth between strategies. Paterson didn't have much to bargain with as the state faced the 2008 financial collapse and he had to slash programming. Budgets stalled by bickering had become the status quo in Albany until Cuomo was elected. "The state had been running on fumes for awhile," said Horner.

Cuomo's ability to reach compromises with the Legislature has been aided by having the Senate controlled by the fiscally conservative Republicans and the Assembly by liberal Democrats: Cuomo gets what he wants, which is usually something in between.

Ironically, the WFP deal Cuomo agreed to would bring an end to the situation that has so benefited the governor - other than to alienate some of the progressive base that he has now brought back into focus.

Benjamin wonders if the Working Families Party is getting what it bargained for - not because Cuomo could renege on his promises, but because Cuomo's legislative successes on same-sex marriage and gun control have made him seem omnipotent by Albany standards and Benjamin suggests the deal shows Cuomo as quite human. "This challenges the governor not to abandon his priorities of improving the upstate economy and upstate probity, but to add to his priorities and do more. But they think he can do everything and he can't do everything."

Cuomo has thrown his arms up and declared an impasse on two major issues during his term: the first was independent redistricting and the second, public financing of campaigns. Critics claim that Cuomo simply didn't try hard enough because he benefits from both current systems. But Mahoney suggests that both of those issues are so big and defining for Republicans that there may be nothing Cuomo can trade for them. Senate Republicans stand to be wiped out if they don't have the ability to draw their own district lines and some of their candidates might not stand a shot if a public financing campaign is instituted. "There might not be anything for him to offer," said Mahoney.

Cuomo was originally set on delivering movement on campaign financing last month to secure the WFP's endorsement, but insiders say negotiations quickly fell apart after Senate Republicans were warned by Conservative Party Chair Mike Long that he would strip his support from candidates that went along with campaign finance reform.

"If they come back to do any kind of public financing for legislative or statewide offices, I consider it not only a theft of services and taxes out of people's pockets, I consider it a political payoff to the Working Families Party," Long told Politics on the Hudson last week. "This [would be] Andrew Cuomo living up to his promise to the Working Families Party."

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

The 1991 NYC parade for veterans of the First Gulf War (Getty Images) 

The push for a ticker-tape parade for the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars continues to gain momentum among elected officials in New York City. At its May 29 Stated meeting the City Council passed a resolution in support of a parade. This followed an April 13 announcement by Sen. Charles Schumer who said the City should "kick off a campaign" for a welcome home parade for troops that served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, the parade will likely have to wait until next year.

On May 27, President Barack Obama announced the United States would end the combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of this year and reduce the number of troops in the country from 32,000 to 9,800 by the beginning of 2015.

"Together with our allies and the Afghan government, we have agreed that this is the year we will conclude our combat mission in Afghanistan," President Obama said from the Rose Garden of the White House on May 27.

The announcement, while good news to those serving abroad as well as their families, does put a kink in the parade plans. Historically, New York City ticker-tape parades following wars are not thrown until the President declares the conflict over and the majority of the troops have come home. The President did not give a specific date for the end of combat, only saying "by the end of the year."

Vincent McGowan, President of the United War Veterans Council of New York County (UWVC), who stood with Sen. Schumer during his April announcement, proposed having the parade on this Nov. 11, Veterans Day, at a city council hearing on May 23. With all of the troops not likely to be home by then, though, McGowan does not appear hopeful the parade will happen this fall.

"I think after [the president's] comments, it is pretty clear to say that it will not be this November," McGowan said by phone May 29. "We would not have a welcome home [parade] until the president has declared a secession of hostilities."

He added, "The plan is to follow, not lead, the country into respecting the service members, which would require the President to make that statement."

When that statement will be made is unclear at this point. The nature of the conflict, especially how it will end, is significantly different from wars past - something the President eluded to in his Rose Garden speech.

"This is how wars end in the 21st century - not through signing ceremonies, but through decisive blows against our adversaries, transitions to elected governments, security forces who take the lead and ultimately full responsibility," Obama said May 27.

The Department of Defense (DOD) refused to answer specific questions regarding the parade, including if all the troops would need to be home before it could move forward.

"We appreciate the senator's desire to honor our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and are reviewing his proposal," Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, a DOD Spokesman, said by email May 30.

McGowan said UWVC would coordinate among the military, DOD, the President's office, New York City and State officials, as well as any any other state or organization that wished to participate.

"An uncoordinated event would be a disaster and be disrespectful," McGowan said.

He has a meeting with DOD later this month.

A Parade Committee
Regardless of when the parade happens, funds will need to be raised to pay for it. The nature of that process is yet to be determined, however McGowan said he would anticipate a commission would be formed, as it was in 1991.

New York City hosted it's last ticker-tape welcome home parade for troops returning from the First Gulf War in June of 1991. To facilitate the fundraising, Mayor David Dinkins appointed Joseph Flom, a lawyer who was the lead organizer of the city's bicentennial celebration, and Michael Duval, an investment banker and member of the Defense Policy Board of the Department of Defense, to co-chair a commission in March of 1991.

The City donated half a floor of office space at 346 Broadway, according to Robert Green, commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Veteran Affairs in 1991 and a member of the commission.

The commission set a fundraising goal of $5 million to cover the cost of the parade, as well as reimburse the City for police and sanitation costs (this was required because of tough fiscal times the City was facing at the time).

As of June 1, Mayor de Blasio has not appointed a commission, although he has lent his support for the parade idea. Gotham Gazette asked the mayor's office if Mayor de Blasio will be forming a commission for an Iraq and Afghanistan Wars parade. A spokesperson said the administration looks forward to working with the federal delegation on a parade, but provided no comment on a commission.

"I would like to see a commission or a parade committee representative of all the VSOs (veteran service organizations) and all the groups that are so supportive of veterans issues," Council Member Eric Ulrich, chair of the Council's veterans committee, said May 29. "I don't want to see this being run by one person or one group. I want to see this as a reflection of the veterans community."

There has been strong support for the parade dating back to 2012, and fundraising could exceed the funds needed to pull the parade off, as it did in 1991. At that time, the commission set up what they called a "living memorial," according to Peter Kohlmann, who was also on the commission and helped organized the parade.

Kohlmann said the organizers wanted to ensure long-term assistance to veterans with any money raised that exceeded the cost of the parade. The commission accepted proposals for what to do with the additional money and eventually it was decided a donation would be made to United Way to help homeless veterans, according to Kohlmann. This allowed the money to go to a worthy cause, but the commission (which was disbanded following the parade), would not be responsible for running a program.

"I think it is a good example and a good thing to do," McGowan said. "I think it would help with the fundraising if there was a social benefit rather than just a celebratory event involved."

McGowan did not name a specific program he would like to see the funds go toward, but did note there are many more service women than in wars past. He said he wanted that taken into consideration when deciding on a program or organization to donate money to.

Council Member Ulrich said he anticipates the parade will raise more money than is needed and agrees it should go to a longer-term program.

"If more money was raised than needed to put on the event then I would like to see that money go towards scholarships for...families of fallen troops," Ulrich said.

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

New York City Hall

What to look for this week, via the City and Albany:

Everyone's buzzing about the deal reached between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and The Working Families Party (WFP) whereby the WFP voted to endorse Cuomo in his re-election bid on Saturday. Watch for quite a bit more fallout from that news this week as the governor is expected to make good on his progressive promises and watchers look to see what the WFP does next - more on that below.

Cuomo-WFP revelations coincide with the last couple of weeks of the legislative session in Albany - how might the deal influence legislation this month? Stay tuned. Meanwhile, and quite relatedly, the 2014 election cycle is in full swing with several noteworthy Democratic state Senate and state Assembly primaries heating up. First, though, most New York election watchers are honing in on the primary in the state's 13th Congressional District, where Congressman Charlie Rangel attempts to continue to hold onto his seat - the June 24th primary is three weeks from Tuesday!

Tech, advocacy, organizing, innovation, engagement - any of these interest you? Well, it's a huge week for you then as not only are there several one-off events to look for (see below), but the end of the week includes the 2014 iterations of two major conferences: Personal Democracy Forum (Thursday and Friday) and Organizing 2.0 (Friday and Saturday) - again, more details below.

More specifically, this week begins on Monday with quite a bit of action. Mayor Bill de Blasio has a jam-packed Monday, including in the afternoon when the mayor is back speaking at his alma mater, NYU, as part of this year's NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference. More on the mayor's Monday below.

This week will be the final week of City Council executive budget hearings. Several committees, such as education, public housing, and contracts, will each meet this week, jointly with the Committee on Finance like all executive budget hearings. Hearings take place on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. At the conclusion of this week's hearings, behind-closed-doors negotiations with the mayor's office will begin (and will continue to include big-ticket items like universal free school lunch and hiring more police officers). The parties have until midnight, June 30, to strike a deal before Fiscal Year 2015 begins July 1. 

And, keep an eye out for the City DOE's release of the proposed discipline code for next school year, expected Monday or Tuesday and kicking off the public input period, which will lead up to the public hearing on June 10. The most significant issue at play is whether the City will continue to include 'B21,' otherwise known as 'defying or disobeying authority,' which advocates continue to call for the removal of - something some districts, like Los Angeles, have already done and a national report due out Tuesday is likely to address.

Here's the run of the week in more detail:

New York City

Monday
Aside from speaking at NYU on Monday, according to his public scheulde Mayor de Blasio will also "join United States Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan at New York City Housing Authority's Jacob Riis Houses in Manhattan to make an announcement...meet with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at City Hall...speak at the Jewish Heritage Reception at Gracie Mansion...speak at the National Action Network Triumph Awards in Manhattan." Phew. Pack the throat lozenges and hydrate, Mr. Mayor!

Also on Monday, the lone City Council budget hearing is that of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services (along with Finance), at 11 a.m. at City Hall. 

Lots going on Monday evening: City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito "speaks at Commercial Observer's Power 100 and Mortgage Observer's Power 50" at the Plaza Hotel, according to her public schedule.

The Association for a Better New York (ABNY) and Edelman co-host an event "featuring notable women leading the transformation of the City's tech sector," moderated by WNYC's Manoush Zomorodi and with Jessica Singleton, the mayor's Digital Director, and Reshma Saujani, among others.

And, Department of Consumer Affairs paid sick leave town halls continue, with two this week hosted in Queens by Council Member Donovan Richards on Monday and Thursday.  

Tuesday
Interested in the influence of transit on the rise of creative tenants in Lower Manhattan? The NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, will co-host an event on Tuesday morning, Tech, Talent, and Transit: Driving a hub of innovation in Lower Manhattan. Jessica Lappin, President, Alliance for Downtown New York, will speak along with representatives from the tech and real estate sectors. The panel will discuss how Lower Manhattan developers can attract tenants from the growing tech sector to the wealth of real estate that now resides there. Program highlights (according to the event listing) include: "Rub Shoulders with Elite Owners/Developers, Growing Tenants, Transit Officials and Power Brokers. Exclusive Views from the 54th Floor at 4 World Trade Center. Catered Breakfast." 

City Council hearings on Tuesday include those per the committees on Cultural Affairs, Education, and Public Housing - not to mention several subcommittee hearings. Schedule. 

Wednesday
Wondering how Commissioner Nisha Agarwal from the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs will address concerns in the Asian community? On Wednesday The Asian American Federation will host Agarwal from 10-11:15 a.m. The goal is to "open a dialogue of APA community concerns" according to the emailed invite. The event is open to the media and advocates only, RSVP: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What will the future of voting look like with all this new technology we keep hearing about? On Wednesday evening the Campaign Finance Board will host a forum, Open Source Democracy from 5-7:30 p.m. On the agenda: demonstrations of new approaches to voting and elections that integrate emerging technology from around the country. NYC Votes, Democracy Works, and the Open Source Election Technology (OSET) Foundation will demonstrate their work and case studies of implementations in New York City, the state of Virginia, and county election offices across the country.

Thursday
As mentioned above, Personsal Democracy Forum (PDF) 2014 kicks off on Friday. PDF "is the definitive event in the world of technology and politics. PDF brings together a thousand top opinion makers, political practitioners, technologists, and journalists from across the ideological spectrum for two days to network, exchange ideas, and explore how technology and wired citizens are changing politics, governance, and civil society." This year's theme: Save the Internet | The Internet Saves and, as always, there are lots of interesting speakers, headlined by Craig Aaron, the president and CEO of Free Press, and Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, and including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Noel Hidalgo of BetaNYC, among many others. (bolding our own)

Thursday evening Brooklyn city council members Carlos Menchaca and Brad Lander co-host what promises to be an interesting event: Confronting School Segregation and Increasing Diversity in District 15 - 6:30 p.m., John Jay Educational Campus in Brooklyn.

Friday
PDF continues on Friday. Meanwhile, it's progressive cousin(?) Organzing 2.0 kicks off Friday and continues on Saturday.

"Organizing 2.0 is an annual training event held in New York City. It is a volunteer run event offering training in online organizing, digital strategy and use of online tools...a collective of communicators and online organizers working for unions and social justice activists. We run events, trainings, consult and promote uncommon interactions within and between our communities. We cross boundaries between labor, progressives, nonprofits, tech firms, faith communities and techies of all stripes...a conference for organizers, techies & activists." (bolding our own)

Speakers include political strategist and Brooklyn NAACP chapter president L. Joy Williams and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos, along with representatives of progressive organizations like Make the Road New York and the Working Families Party, among others.

Friday's City Council executive budget hearings is via the contracts committee, which is chaired by Council Member Helen Rosenthal.

Saturday
Saturday is the second and final day of Organizing 2.0.

Also on Saturday, look for Staten Island Borough President James Oddo's "HealThySelf Wellness Forum" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - "a health information fair, forum and health screening...at the Staten Island Mall in Center Court. The event, free and open to all, is made possible by collaboration with Richmond University Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital...Designed to showcase fitness, health information and healthy living, the event...will feature health screenings, health insurance navigation, stress management techniques, smoking cessation, integrative medicine, nutrition, substance abuse information and diabetes education. Demonstrations of fitness trends and family friendly performances with healthy messaging will also take place throughout the day...will also have an outdoor component as the GrowNYC Green Market will hold its seasonal opening that day in the Mall parking lot. Healthy cooking demonstrations by the Port Richmond High School Culinary Institute will be a highlight. The Green Market will be open Saturdays from 8 am to 3 pm." (bolding our own)

And, more from Albany:
All bets are off in Albany this week as legislators return to town to find Gov. Andrew Cuomo has (at least verbally) abandoned his allegiance to the Senate Republican-IDC ruling coalition and pledged to fight for a Democratic takeover of the body in exchange for the Working Families Party's endorsement.

IDC members blasted the WFP and Cuomo's "nefarious" political deal, as did Republican Senate Leader Dean Skelos. The State Republican Party called for an investigation into the deal; calling it bribery. Cuomo promised to back legislation to allow localities to set their own minimum wages, The Dream Act, and the Women's Equality Agenda. Cuomo will help create a $10 million fund to help win Democrats the Senate.

The remaining 10 days of the legislative session are likely to be filled with political maneuvering, jousting press releases and combative press conferences rather than much legislating - this is a two-day week for the legislature. Typically this time would be used to get previously neglected legislation through both houses, which do have two interesting hearings this week.

The Senate Labor Committee, chaired by Sen. Diane Savino, is holding a hearing on local minimum wage proposals on Monday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Van Buren Hearing Room of the Legislative Office Building. The issue is a major one for the progressive movement and Mayor Bill de Blasio who see the state's minimum wage increase as inadequate. There are five Senate bills on the issue and one Assembly bill all to be discussed at the hearing.

The Assembly Committee on Environmental Conservation will hold a public hearing on pesticide use and reporting on Thursday in the Assembly Hearing room at 250 Broadway in Manhattan at 11 a.m. Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget included a measure that would have stripped down the state's pesticide reporting rules, but it was done away with after major pressure from environmental advocates. However, legislators are still concerned that there hasn't been a report issued on the law since 2006. The hearing will focus on how to better make public information about pesticide use and study the health impacts of its use. 

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Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? Email Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (use "For Week Ahead" as a subject if you can).

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by Kristen Meriwether and Ben Max in New York City and David King in Albany
@GothamGazette

Council Member Ben Kallos (Dave Sanders)

Cities and states around the country such as San Francisco, Oklahoma, and New Hampshire have passed bills to require municipalities to use open source software when possible. Why not a tech hub like New York City?

On Thursday, Council Member Ben Kallos will introduce the Free and Open Source Software Act that, if passed by the City Council, would bring the requirement to New York. The law would require the City to look first to open source software before purchasing proprietary software. In addition, Kallos, chair of the Council's government operations committee, will introduce a Civic Commons bill to create a central site to store all of the open source software the City uses which could promote sharing among cities.

"Free and open-sourced software is something that has been used in private sector and in fact by most people in their homes for more than a decade now, if not a generation," Kallos said by phone on Wednesday, May 28. "It is time for government to modernize and start appreciating the same cost savings as everyone else."

Open source software is that which can be freely used, changed, and shared by anyone. Code used to build a website or application, which is often posted to sharing sites like Github, provides the framework for others to use without cost and at their discretion. New users can customize and repost their own versions of the code, site or application which allows the technology to evolve.

Open source software has already been used on the city level. As public advocate, Bill de Blasio used open source software to redevelop the office's website and revamp constituent services. With a limited budget to pay for an off-the-shelf proprietary model, de Blasio's team chose to use open source software called Blue Bird, which had been used to revamp the New York State Senate website. De Blasio's team was able to take the code and have a web developer make changes to fit their needs. They also used open source software to create a worst landlords watch list, which ended up becoming hugely popular with constituents.

A Model for Sharing
From a broad perspective, all municipalities - large or small - have the same basic digital needs: systems for employee payroll, handling 911 calls, informing the public, etc. Currently there are a limited number of companies that sell software for these systems. They sell the same basic product to every city and then customize to municipality needs.

If multiple cities see a need for a new feature, they have to wait for the software proprietor to create what they are looking for. Often times the software companies will only invest in a new feature if or when it makes financial sense, leaving customers waiting.

Open software breaks down those barriers because the basic system is open for anyone to use and change at any time. If one city creates a great payroll system using open software, any city can come in behind them and tweak the software to their own needs. Cities can split the cost of developing a payroll system which can drastically reduce overall expenses.

"At the end of the day, we are still spending less than we would if we were doing it alone," Kallos said. "Additionally, because we built it with five other cities, we have support from five other cities. We are also building a common core and a common skill set where if we needed to hire more people, we might be able to hire more people from another city."

He added, "The jobs that are generated supporting the software are a huge boon to the economy."

Frank Hubbert, Director of Open Plans, a not-for-profit which develops open source software, has seen this work in New York City already.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) had Open Plans create a map on the DOT website to ask for feedback on CitiBike locations prior to the launch of the popular bikeshare program last year. Chicago, which was looking at a bikeshare program of its own, called Open Plans after seeing the map. Chicago had slightly different needs and paid Open Plans for updates, but the software was free.

"There is a benefit and a virtuous cycle to everyone using it," Hubbert said. "Rather than people paying over and over again for the same thing that has already been built, they are paying for the additional things they specifically need, as well as support and maintenance."

The CitiBike map has since been removed from the DOT website, but when Vision Zero became a priority, DOT called on Open Plans to once again create an interactive map. Instead of the City having to pay for more software, Open Plans used the same software they had used with the CitiBike map, making some changes for the new project. The new interactive map allows users to comment when they see motorists breaking the law, giving law enforcement an idea of hot spots.

Planning a map for a website is a far cry from creating a payroll system for an entire city. Hubbert admitted one of the challenges is scaling up to projects in the tens of millions of dollars, but it is not impossible.

"The same ideas can apply," Hubbert said. "It is more complicated, but it is not that there is a point where the open source model breaks down."

Cost Savings
How much money Kallos' legislation could save the City is hard to pin down. Requiring city agencies to pursue open source software before purchasing from a private vendor could bring significant savings. There is currently no method to differentiate software the City uses that is open source, or if the software was donated. Part of the legislation requires the chief procurement officer to create a report with this information on a yearly basis.

The City Council's budget response listed an Enterprise Licensing Agreement with Microsoft for $67 million that should be reevaluated. Kallos said if the City were to choose to use libre software (the free versions of Word, Excel, etc.), it could save some of this money - though there is not yet a breakdown of exactly how much the savings would be.

Other states that have passed similar legislation claim to have already reaped benefits.

"Oklahoma taxpayers have already realized a substantial fiscal benefit as a result of our open source software legislation and it is reasonable to expect these same savings can be realized by New York City and the other jurisdictions which are courageous enough pass this legislation," said Oklahoma State Representative Jason Murphey, the Vice Chair of the General Government Committee, in a Thursday press release.

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by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

New York City Hall

What to look for this week, via the City and Albany:

The week began with the Memorial Day holiday and its annual rememberances and parades.

On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio Mayor de Blasio will tour a pre-K classroom and then deliver remarks at the Brooklyn Chinese American Association.

Also on Tuesday, the City Council resumes its executive budget hearings, entering their third week. The Council will also meet for a Stated meeting on Thursday afternoon. Watchers are eager to see if the mayor's executive budget will shift to include aspects of the Council's wish list, like funding for additional police officers. The state comptroller will be in Brooklyn on Tuesday for the release of a report on the borough's economy.

As always, there are important and interesting one-off events to look for this week, including Deputy Mayor Richard Buery appearing at a Crain's New York breakfast forum. Also keep an eye out for the City DOE's release of the proposed discipline code for next school year, expected this week and kicking off the public input period.

Meanwhile, with the Republican and Democratic state party nominating conventions now over, Albany's focus looks to be even more rapt by the election season upon us than the legislative session with only a couple more weeks left. There is still much to look for this week in terms of both policy negotiations in the capital and election-related news.

Here's the run of the week in more detail:

New York City

Tuesday
Along with the mayor's Tuesday pre-k visit on Tuesday, according to his public schedule he will meet with Condé Nast executives in the afternoon and then, in the evening, the mayor will speak at the Agudath Israel of America 92nd Annual Dinner.

The City Council's executive budget hearings resume on Tuesday with the committees on health and mental health - in conjunction with the finance committee, as are all executive budget hearings.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli will tour Brooklyn Brewery on Tuesday and then "release a report on Brooklyn's economy, highlighting the growth in Kings County's jobs and businesses." according to his public schedule. 

Wednesday
First thing Wednesday morning, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Richard Buery speaks at a Crain's New York breakfast forum. Buery is expected to deliver remarks and then field questions from moderators Erik Engquist and Brian Lehrer. The subject matter will center around Buery's portfolio, which is heavy on universal pre-k and community schools.

City council budget hearings on Wednesday include the committees on education, parks and recreation, and environmental protection. The parks committee, chaired by Council Member Mark Levine, is expected to continue its push for additional funding toward improving "park equity." The Council's Committee on State and Federal Legislation will also meet on Wednesday, though not to discuss the city budget, but a related matter: tax rates.

At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, WNYC's Schoolbook division sponsors what it is billing as "the city's first student-led press conference." Student journalists will fire questions at a panel of education officials including Deputy Chancellor Dorita Gibson and City Council member Daniel Dromm, who is chair of the education committee, as well as other "experienced educators."

Thursday
The city council finance committee will meet Thursday morning prior to the entire Council meeting at 1:30 for its last Stated meeting of the month (the next one will be June 11). 

Friday
Council budget hearings on Friday consist of the Committee on Governmental Operations and the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services. Meanwhile, the technology, public safety, and fire and criminal justice committees will meet for a second oversight hearing related to the city's 911 emergency system. The committees will look at FDNY and EMS emergency response protocols, which have come under question after delays in responses to recent fires. 

And, Albany:
Following last week's Democratic convention and the Memorial Day holiday, the Legislature has a staggered return to Albany. The Assembly returns on Tuesday and has session through Thursday, while the Senate returns Wednesday and also leaves town Thursday. There are only thirteen scheduled session days left this year. Most legislators are focused on returning to their districts for election year campaigning.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears to be in full campaign mode. The fate of robust campaign finance reform is in question. Good government groups were scheduled to meet with Cuomo last week to discuss the matter, but it appears those meetings were cancelled to allow the administration to concentrate on the Democratic Convention. The Working Families Party convention starts on Saturday, May 31 and Cuomo wants to deliver something to keep the WFP from backing its own gubernatorial candidate. 

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by Kristen Meriwether and Ben Max in New York City and David King in Albany
@GothamGazette