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The Week Ahead in New York Politics, October 23


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

It’s City Hall in Your Borough week in Brooklyn. While we don’t have a full rundown of events, we know that Mayor Bill de Blasio and much of his team will operate out of Brooklyn Borough Hall; they will hold a resource fair and constituent services event on Wednesday; and there will be two town halls, Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

On Monday, de Blasio has several public events -- see below for details. Brooklyn week kicks off just after a Sunday in which de Blasio unveiled an initial plan to fight traffic congestion, especially in midtown Manhattan, along Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, and along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.

Tuesday will mark two weeks until Election Day! Get ready to vote. The second and final mayoral debate will be next week, on November 1. There are many events to be aware of this week - 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?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday
At 8 a.m. Monday, Crain’s will host its 2017 “Fixing Mass Transit” summit at the Sheraton Hotel in Times Square. Two panels will provide insight into the current transit predicament and how to “get New York moving again.”

At 9:30 a.m. Monday, Mayor de Blasio and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will kick off City Hall in Your Borough, then make "an announcement on automobile traffic in Prospect Park" at Grand Army Plaza. At 11 a.m. at Madison Square Garden, de Blasio will deliver remarks at the NYPD graduation ceremony. Then, at 1:15 p.m., "the Mayor, Brooklyn Borough President Adams and Schools Chancellor Fariña will visit P.S.1., where they will make an announcement about school lunch."

At the City Council on Monday:
--The Committees on Education and Higher Education will meet jointly at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “earning an associate’s degree in high school.”
--The Committee on Contracts will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “cost overruns and improving the city’s management of large technology contracts.”

At 10 a.m. Monday, Comptroller Scott Stringer will host a "roundtable discussion with East Harlem community leaders" at Union Settlement on East 104th Street. At noon, Stringer will be at his offices to hold a press conference on his "new policy proposal on rent payments and credit scores."

At noon Monday, the New York State Board of Elections will meet in Albany for a Commissioners Meeting.

At 12:30 p.m. Monday, Civic Hall will host “Protecting Veterans & Military: Addressing Discrimination With Local Law 119,” discussing the implications of a recently passed bill that will “provide the strongest local-level protection against discrimination in the nation for veterans and military service members.”

At 1:30 p.m. Monday at Brooklyn Law School, "First Lady Chirlane McCray and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence Cecile Noel will make an announcement during City Hall in Your Borough –Brooklyn regarding the City’s commitment to prevent domestic violence. Mayor de Blasio and First Lady McCray released the Domestic Violence Task Force Recommendations in May, which include innovative multidisciplinary programming, initiatives and policies to reduce intimate partner violence in New York City as well as an investment of $7 million to better hold abusers accountable and enhance resources for survivors."

At 6 p.m. Monday, the New York City Bar Association will host “Beyond the Headlines: Examining the Undoing of DACA and TPS and the Legal Response in New York,” discussing the response in New York to the Trump administration’s threats to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status. Panelists will include Alina Das, co-director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at NYU Law; Amy Taylor, Legal Director at Make the Road NY; Sienna Fontaine, Deputy Legal Director at Make the Road NY; Hasan Shafiqullah, attorney-in-charge for the immigration unit at the Legal Aid Society; and Diane Lucas, an Assistant State Attorney General for Civil Rights. The panel will be moderated by New York Law School’s Claire Thomas.

At 7 p.m. Monday, the Upper West Side Action Group and Uptown Progressive Action will host a forum on the NY Health Act, a proposal for a single-payer healthcare system in New York State, at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on the Upper West Side.

Monday at midnight is a key city campaign finance deadline -- money raised and spent until midnight Monday will be reported in the final formal fundraising period of the election, due by Friday night, Oct. 27; thereafter reporting of fundraising and spending is due from campaigns daily through Election Day, November 7. The period ending Monday at midnight will also help determine which mayoral candidates are at the second and last debate, which will be on Nov. 1, and will help determine payment of public matching funds to a variety of candidates across many races.

Tuesday
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the Center for New York City Affairs will host “Tale of Two Cities: Public housing and family poverty in New York and Chicago” at the New School’s Kaplan Hall in the West village, discussing “the structural challenges of inequality and racial segregation that continue to isolate public housing communities and efforts to connect residents to opportunity.” Panelists will include NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye, Urban Institute senior fellow Susan Popkin, Alfred E. Smith Resident Association president Axia Torres, and Henry Street Settlement executive director David Garza, as well as the New School’s Alex Schwartz and Talib Hudson.

At the City Council on Tuesday:
--The Committees on Aging and Public Housing will meet jointly at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “seniors in NYCHA housing.”
--The Committee on Health will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “the creation of a water tank inspection report database.”
--The Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Maritime Uses will meet at 11 a.m.
--The Subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions, and Concessions will meet at 1 p.m.
--The Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet at 1 p.m.

At noon Tuesday, the state Senate Standing Committee on Government Operations and Investigations will meet at 250 Broadway in Manhattan to “hear from stakeholders on the additional steps New York can take to strengthen our cyber-security capabilities to ensure personal data and governmental operations are properly protected from cyber attacks.”

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, the Arab American Association of New York will host a debate for candidates for City Council District 43 at IS 30 in Bay Ridge. Attending candidates will include Democrat Justin Brannan, Republican John Quaglione, and Reform Party nominee Bob Capano.

At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio will hold a town hall meeting at P.S. 327 in Brownsville. He will be joined by City Council Member Darlene Mealy, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke, State Senator Jesse Hamilton, and Assemblymember Latrice Walker.

Wednesday
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the MTA will hold a board meeting.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will host a city resource fair at the Brooklyn College Student Center as part of the final installment of City Hall in your Borough.

At the City Council on Wednesday:
--The Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing on “violence in city jails.”
--The Committee on Consumer Affairs will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “protection of spectators in baseball stadiums.”
--The Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to “requiring a sign at inaccessible building entrances indicating that a portable ramp is available when such a ramp exists,” to “diaper changing accommodations,” and to “removing construction-related equipment.”
--The Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding the “New York City Department of Sanitation’s 2017-2018 Snow Plan.”
--The Committee on Cultural Affairs will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “establishing January 30 annually as Fred T. Korematsu Day.”

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the state Senate Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction will meet at the Cortland County Office Building to “examine the issues facing communities in the wake of increased heroin abuse.”

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Panel for Educational Policy will meet at Michael J. Petrides High School on Staten Island.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, City & State will honor its “incoming class of New York City Rising Stars” with an alumni reunion for its 40 Under 40 list. The event will take place at the Sky Room in Midtown Manhattan.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the New York City Bar Association will host a “Forum on NYS Constitutional Convention.” Richard Briffault of Columbia Law School will moderate a panel consisting of Evan Davis, of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Hank Greenberg, of Greenberg Traurig; Charles Warren, of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel; and Susan Welber, of the Legal Aid Society. The event will take place at the New York County Lawyers Association in the Financial District.

Thursday
At the City Council on Thursday:
--The Committee on Transportation will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “the private bus industry in New York City.”
--The Committee on Juvenile Justice will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “reentry programs for formerly incarcerated youth.”
--The Committee on Economic Development will meet at 11 a.m. to discuss proposed laws relating to certain economic development contracts.
--The Committee on Land Use will meet at 11 a.m.
--The Committee on Recovery and Resiliency will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing regarding an “update on resiliency projects in New York City.”

At 9 a.m. Thursday, NYU Steinhardt will host “College for All: A Broken Promise?” at the Greenberg Lounge at NYU Law School, discussing “the value of alternative credentials and investment in post-secondary education that increases career and job readiness.​” Steinhardt professor Lisette Nieves will lead a conversation on the topic with John King, the former U.S. Secretary of Education under Barack Obama, and Madeline Pumariega, the first Latina to serve as the Chancellor of the Florida College system.

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board will meet at 100 Church Street for a board meeting.

At 7 p.m. Thursday, retired New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman will deliver the keynote address at the 19th Annual Henry Schwarzschild Memorial Lecture to the NYCLU.

Friday and the weekend
At 9 a.m. Friday, the Manhattan Institute will host a symposium on the state of mental health in America at the Harvard Club in Midtown.

At 9:30 a.m. Fidel F. Del Valle, Commissioner and Chief Administrative Law Judge of the NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) will partner with NYS Assembly Member & Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz to bring OATH’s CourtESy (Court Education for Seniors) Program to seniors at United Senior Citizens Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn

At 10 a.m. Friday, Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez will host a “symposium on campus sexual assault” at the Brooklyn College Student Center.

Campaign finance filings are due with the city Campaign Finance Board by midnight Friday for the period ending Monday Oct. 23.

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

***
by Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette



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