New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
This week will see the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. There will be rememberances throughout the city, state, country, and world.
Also this week: Mayor Bill de Blasio begins the week on a presidential campaign trip to Puerto Rico, where he went after a stop in New Hampshire this weekend. The mayor will not be on the Democratic stage Thursday evening for the third primary debate after he failed to meet the polling and donor thresholds. De Blasio flies back to the city Monday evening. While he's away, First Lady Chirlane McCray will join Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and others to rally for Williams' paid personal time bill that de Blasio came out in support of earlier this year and, while on the campaign trail, has been pledging will pass this year, even though the City Council has indicated it has no timeline for passage and Speaker Corey Johnson has expressed concerns about its impact on small businesses. The bill would mandate that employees at businesses of five or more workers receive 10 days of paid personal time each year.
The spotlight this week will also be on de Blasio's housing plans -- Deputy Mayor Vicki Been will give a speech Tuesday morning -- and on the City Council, which has several committee hearings and a full-body Stated Meeting this week. Those are just two of a number of events to be aware of: see our day-by-day rundown below.
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The run of the week in detail:
Monday, September 9
The New York State Board of Regents will meet on Monday and Tuesday in Albany.
On Monday at the City Council:
--At 10 a.m. the Committees on Juvenile Justice and Public Safety will hold a hearing: “Oversight - Reducing Gun Violence: The Relationship Between Law Enforcement and Community Based Solutions.” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will participate in the hearing.
--Also at 10 a.m., the Committee on Health will hold a hearing on several bills and resolutions.
At 9 a.m. Monday outside 250 Broadway, just ahead of a state Senate hearing, “Impacted New Yorkers, advocates, public defenders and elected officials will gather outside the state office building in Lower Manhattan to mark the repeal of New York’s infamous ‘Blindfold Law’ -- a landmark victory for justice. They will also urge full and immediate implementation of the new discovery statute, which officially takes effect on January 1, 2020. The new statute will help protect New Yorkers -- particularly, Black and Latinx New Yorkers who are disproportionately arrested and prosecuted -- from wrongful convictions, in addition to improving overall transparency and accountability in prosecution across the state. The rally will be followed by a public hearing held by the State Senate Codes Committee on steps taken by law enforcement to implement discovery reform.” Participants will include Senator Jamaal Bailey, impacted New Yorkers, and representatives of various groups including VOCAL-NY, JustLeadershipUSA, Citizen Action, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, FWD.us, Human Rights Watch, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign.
On Monday at 10 a.m. in Manhattan, the State Senate will hold an oversight hearing on the implementation of discovery reform. Codes Committee Chair Senator Jamaal Bailey will lead the hearing and be joined by a number of other senators who co-sponsored the discovery reform legislation enacted into law earlier this year and set to go into effect at the start of next year.
At 12:30 p.m. Monday, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, First Lady Chirlane McCray, and others will rally near City Hall in support of Williams’ legislation that would mandate paid time off (aka paid personal time or paid vacation) in New York City.
At 5:30 p.m. Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will be on News12 for his monthly “Ask the Borough President” session.
At 6 p.m. Monday, Public Advocate Williams will appear on the 'Housing Justice for All' Radio Show on WHCR-FM 90.3.
At 6 p.m. Monday, the Association for a Better New York will host What’s On Tap? with NYC Department of Small Business Services commissioner Gregg Bishop, who “will discuss his path to office, experiences in government, and vision for New York City.”
At 6:30 p.m. Monday at Queens Borough Hall, the 2019 Charter Revision Commission will hold a voter information session regarding the 19 proposals in five questions that will be on the New York City ballot later this fall.
Tuesday, September 10
At 8 a.m. Tuesday, Crain’s Business will host a breakfast forum with Vicki Been, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, to “discuss her goals, housing policy changes and the city's economic development post-Amazon.”
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the NYC Board of Corrections will hold a general public meeting.
At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Brooklyn Borough Hall, “Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will host his sixth annual 9/11 remembrance event in the Rotunda of Brooklyn Borough Hall to honor those lost during and since the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001. A banner with the names of all 266 Brooklyn residents who died that day is on display at the top of the steps behind Brooklyn Borough Hall now through the anniversary next Tuesday. This memorial, first unveiled during 2017’s remembrance ceremony, was envisioned by Borough President Adams — himself a 9/11 first responder — as a way to give the victims’ loved ones and all Brooklynites a place to pay their respects.”
At 10 a.m. Tuesday the state campaign finance reform commission will hold its first of four public hearings, at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., experts invited to testify will appear, then starting at 4 p.m., members of the public will be allow to testify.
At the City Council on Tuesday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Transportation will hold a hearing: “Oversight - TLC’s Implementation of For-Hire Vehicle Growth Restrictions, For-Hire Vehicle Driver Pay Standards, and Other Recent Local Laws.”
--Also at 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Committee on Housing and Buildings will hold a hearing on several bills.
--At 3 p.m. Tuesday, the Committee on Education will hold a hearing on several bills and resolutions, including a bill that would require “A pilot program to review school start times to reduce adolescent sleep deprivation” and a bill that would require more reporting on health education in city schools.
At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics will hold a public meeting.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez will deliver remarks about how his “office is working to keep Brooklyn safe” at East Midwood Jewish Center.
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Brooklyn Borough Hall, the 2019 Charter Revision Commission will hold a voter information session regarding the 19 proposals in five questions that will be on the New York City ballot later this fall.
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Bar will hold Access To Justice: It's Not Just Lawyers Anymore, a discussion on people and technology outside of court-assigned lawyers who can provide access to justice. Speakers will include Noelle Francis, executive director of HeatSeek, and Rebecca Sandefur, Associate Professor of Sociology & Law at the University of Illinois.
Wednesday, September 11
Wednesday is the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. There will be remembrances across the city, state, country, and world.
At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Vera Institute of Justice and The Square One Project will host Reimagining Justice. “As we approach the 25th anniversary of the federal 1994 Crime Bill, this multi-format event will consider the visionary work, big ideas, and fundamental values that will guide the next 25 years of justice policy.”
At 5 p.m. Wednesday, this week’s Max & Murphy show on WBAI radio, 99.5 FM or wbai.org, will feature NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller, who will discuss the NYPD’s counterterrorism efforts since September 11, 2001.
Thursday, September 12
At 8 a.m. Thursday, the Association for a Better New York will host First Deputy Comptroller Alaina Gilligo for “an inside look at the Comptroller's office. The Comptroller's office safeguards the City’s fiscal health, roots out waste, fraud and abuse in local government, and ensures that municipal agencies serve the needs of all New Yorkers.”
At the City Council on Thursday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Immigration will hold a hearing on several bills.
--At 10:30 a.m. the Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections will hold a hearing on nominations by the mayor of Jarrod E. Whittington to the Environmental Control Board and Everardo Jefferson to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
--At 11 a.m., the Committee on Land Use will meet on multiple items.
--At 1:30 p.m., the full Council will hold a Stated Meeting, likely to be preceded by the usual pre-Stated press conference led by Speaker Corey Johnson.
At 10 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board will hold a board meeting.
At 12:45 p.m. Thursday, New York Law School will host Privacy Talks: The Future of Consumer Privacy with Mary Stone Ross of MSR Strategies.
On Thursday at 6 p.m. at Monroe College, the Bronx State Senate delegation -- Senators Jamaal Bailey, Alessandra Biaggi, Gustavo Rivera, Luis Sepulveda, and Jose Serrano -- will hold a “legislative update” for Bronxites.
At 6 p.m. Thursday at Community Church of New York, Beyond Plastics, NYPIRG, and former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck will host a discussion about how New York City can “break free from plastic.”
Also at 6 p.m. Thursday, New Yorkers for Parks will host Open Space Dialogues: Reconstructing the Capital Process, a discussion “to consider the successes, as well as the room for improvement, in New York City’s parks capital process.” Speakers will include Andrew Cohen, City Council Member; Diane Jackier, chief of capital strategic initiatives at NYC Parks; Sue Donoghue, president and park administrator of the Prospect Park Alliance; Jennifer Godenzo, senior director at the Participatory Budgeting Project; Celeste Frye, founder and CEO of Public Works Partners; and Charles McKinney, practical visionary.
Also at 6 p.m. Thursday, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz will host a celebration of Trinidad and Tobago’s independence at Queens Borough Hall.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board will hold a public board meeting. “Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about police-community relations and learn about key Agency updates. Investigators will be available to receive complaints of misconduct.”
There will be a Democratic primary debate in the race for the party’s presidential nomination on Thursday at 8 p.m. Mayor de Blasio did not qualify.
Friday, September 13
Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show on Friday at 10 a.m.
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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 Ben Max
@GothamGazette
