New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

As the week begins we’re looking for more news around the plethora of ongoing investigations into the activities of Mayor Bill de Blasio, his administration, and his allies and those into Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration and allies.

So far for this week, we know that de Blasio is due to hold an event Monday with Arianna Huffington; hold a Bronx town hall Tuesday evening; speak at a housing conference Wednesday morning; and host a reelection fundraiser with Louis C.K. on Thursday night in Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, executive budget hearings are underway in the City Council - they began on Friday with the finance committee hearing where top de Blasio administration budget officials testified, and now continue on an agency and issue basis for the next several weeks.

The legislative session in Albany only has about a month left, with a few session days this week. Will there be ethics reform? That’s among the top questions facing lawmakers, but there are several other policy issues on the agenda as time flies. One key issue for New York City is mayoral control of city schools, which is due to expire in June. The state Senate hosted Mayor de Blasio for the first of two May hearings on the subject last week in Albany (the second will be May 19 in the city). The Legislature is due in session Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week - they are three of 18 scheduled session days left.

As always, there's a great deal happening all over the city, with many events to be aware of - see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
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The run of the week in detail:

Monday
Both houses of the New York State Legislature are in session on Monday in Albany.

At the City Council on Monday:

• 10 a.m., the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services, jointly with the Committee on Finance, will hold its executive budget hearing.
• 12:30 p.m., the Committee on Aging, jointly with the Committee on Finance, will hold its executive budget hearing on senior centers.
• 2:30 p.m., the Committee on Environmental Protection, jointly with the Committee on Finance, will hold its executive budget hearing on environmental protection.

At 9 a.m., Civic Hall will host Mayor Bill de Blasio in conversation with Arianna Huffington to discuss technology, equality, and the future of civic engagement. On Monday evening, the mayor will deliver remarks at the 2016 North Star Fund Community Gala.

At 10 a.m. Monday, “Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and his Bronx Veterans’ Advisory Council will host the annual Bronx Veterans’ Appreciation Day Breakfast, part of Bronx Week 2016.”

There will be a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Monday at City Hall at which participants will call for speed cameras at every school. Assemblymember Deborah Glick will lead the event, Public Advocate Tish James is among those who will speak.

At noon in Albany, “State Senator Daniel Squadron and State Senator Todd Kaminsky, State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger, Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, Citizen Action NY, Common Cause/NY, League of Women Voters of NYS, and Citizens Union will urge passage of Squadron’s bill to close the LLC Loophole (S60B/A6975C-Kavanagh). Squadron used a Motion for Committee Consideration to force a vote on the bill at Monday’s Senate Elections Committee.”

At 3 p.m. Monday, the Department of Cultural Affairs panel on diversity in theater at the New Victory Theater. City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, chair of the cultural affairs committee, will speak.

At 5:30 p.m., Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Tish James are among those who will speak at a press conference regarding the Stonewall National Historic Site, P.S. 41.

At 6 p.m., the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC), in collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOT), will host the first of several BQX (streetcar) community engagement events in Astoria, in order to gain a better understanding of resident travel patterns and to begin a conversation about how best to integrate substantial transit investments into city streets.

At 6:30 p.m., the Manhattan Institute will honor Harvey A. Silverglate, civil liberties litigator and co-founder of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Bruce Kovner, founder of CAM Capital and chair of The Juilliard School’s Board of Trustees at its 16th annual Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner. The award serves to honor individuals helping foster the “revitalization of our nation’s cities.”

Also at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will host a Mitchell Lama Housing Town Hall at her offices.

Tuesday
Both houses of the New York State Legislature are in session on Tuesday in Albany.

On Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Albany, "the New York Civil Liberties Union will announce major legal action it will take regarding the unequal treatment, abuse and denial of rights for farmworkers in New York state." Farmworkers, advocates and NYCLU attorneys will be speaking at the press conference.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Gov. Cuomo will make an announcement at Elk Lake Lodge in North Hudson. At 2 p.m. the governor will tour the Veterans' Memorial Highway in Lake Placid.

At noon on Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio will sign a variety of bills into law and then take questions from the press at City Hall.

At the City Council on Tuesday:

• 10 a.m., the Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services, jointly with the Committee on Health and the Committee on Finance will hold its executive budget hearing.
• 1:30 p.m., the Committee on Small Business, jointly with the Committee on Economic Development and the Committee on Finance will hold its executive budget hearing.

On Tuesday evening in the Bronx City Council Member Vanessa Gibson will be hosting Mayor de Blasio and other senior administrative officials for a town hall.

Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday: 11:30 a.m., the Committee on Housing and Buildings, jointly with the Committee on Finance, will hold its executive budget hearing.

At 8 a.m., New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will discuss the state’s finances, government efficiency and ethics, shareholder activism, and the state pension fund at a Crain’s Business Breakfast Forum. Erik Engquist, Assistant Managing Editor of Crain’s New York Business, and Nicole Gelinas, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, will moderate.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the New York State Association for Affordable Housing will launch its annual two-day conference and showplace, “Housing For All,” gathering agencies, developers, and affordable housing professionals for workshops on the financing, development, and preservation of affordable housing. Mayor de Blasio will give opening remarks at 9 a.m. Other peakers will include Raj Chetty, professor of economics at Stanford University and principal investigator of the Equality of Opportunity project, Lisa Belkin, chief national correspondent for Yahoo News and author of “Show Me a Hero” exploring fair housing issues in 1980s Yonkers, HPD commissioner Vicki Been, DOB commissioner Rick Chandler, and others.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the Vera Institute of Justice will host “Resetting Bail—the Price of Justice in New York City,” a discussion about the city’s bail system, strategies for making it more fair and effective, and practices in place to inspire change. Speakers include Chiraag Bains, senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, Elizabeth Glazer, director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and others.

Thursday
Former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday on bribery, fraud, and extortion convictions.

The next public meeting of the New York City Campaign Finance Board will be held on Thursday at 10 a.m.

At the City Council on Thursday: 10 a.m., the Committee on General Welfare, jointly with the Committee on Women’s Issues, the Committee on Juvenile Justice, and the Committee on Finance, will hold an executive budget hearing.

At 6 p.m., Mayor de Blasio will be holding a fundraiser for his reelection campaign at Brooklyn Bowl, where he will be introduced by Louis C.K., as reported by Politico New York.

Also at 6 p.m., the New York Civil Liberties Union’s Capital Region Chapter will host a panel of seven experts to address a broad range of local and statewide criminal justice issues, including the need for parole reform and the recent developments in solitary confinement regulations in state prisons. Speakers include Bill Bastuk, chairman and founder of It Could Happen to You, Alice Green, executive director of the Center for Law and Justice in Albany, and others.

Friday and the Weekend
At the City Council on Friday: 10 a.m., the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, jointly with the Committee on Governmental Operations and the Committee on Finance, will hold its executive budget hearing.

At 9 a.m. Friday, The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs will host an event to explore the gap between men’s and women’s wages, featuring New York State Assemblymember Deborah Glick, New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, founding Executive Director of the Commission on Gender Equity within the New York City Mayor’s Office, and founder of PowHer New York Beverly Cooper Neufeld.

At 12 p.m. on Saturday, City Council Member Corey Johnson will hold his second annual West Side Summit, where he will deliver a State of the District to community members from across District 3, and announce the winning projects of Participatory Budgeting. Carmen Fariña, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education will be the keynote speaker.

At 2 p.m. Sunday, State Senator Daniel Squadron will be hosting his 8th annual Community Convention. 

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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).

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by Kelly Fan and Ben Max
@GothamGazette