Gov. Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

Governor Andrew Cuomo all but confirmed Tuesday that major voting reforms he’s proposed would not be part of the new state budget, which is due by April 1.

In January, Cuomo outlined the “Democracy Project” as part of his 2017 State of the State agenda, and included its widely prized measures like early voting, same-day voter registration, and an enhanced form of automatic voter registration in one of his budget bills. But, on Tuesday Cuomo indicated that the push to modernize New York’s antiquated voting laws would be left for the April through June legislative session that follows budget adoption.

Cuomo, a second-term Democrat, has proposed sweeping voting reforms before, and New York has watched as they have been implemented with successful results in dozens of other states, while paltry voter turnout continues here.

On Tuesday, Cuomo appeared at a press conference in New York City, which the governor had called to criticize two Republican congressional representatives from New York for authoring amendments to the federal health plan that would shift certain Medicaid burdens in New York from the counties to the state. During the question-and-answer session, a WNYC reporter asked Cuomo how he would be able to persuade Senate Republicans to adopt his voting reform agenda during budget negotiations.

“We are going to try like heck,” he said, but added, “It’s not necessarily a budget discussion,” conceding a point Cuomo is typically hesitant to make.

“The budget is primarily about finances,” Cuomo continued. “If there’s a policy matter that is related to the finances then I try to include it, because the budget is a good vehicle to reconcile as much as you can. Many of the democracy issues that you talk about we are going to take up after the budget.”

Between now and April 1, Cuomo and legislative leaders will negotiate the details of the new state budget. The Governor sets the stage for budget season with his Executive Budget in January, which is then followed by legislative hearings, one-house budget resolutions that respond to the Governor’s proposals, and closed-door negotiations. The spending and policy pieces that make it into the budget often depend upon how much priority agenda items are given by the Governor, the Senate Majority, and the Assembly Majority.

Cuomo, as the most powerful of the “three men in the room,” can often push through his top priorities, as he did last year with $15 minimum wage and paid family leave programs.

In January, Cuomo announced the Democracy Project in a press release amid his six-stop State of the State tour. The goal, Cuomo's announcement stated, was “modernizing voting in New York to increase participation in the democratic system.” The Democracy Project “will remove barriers to voter registration" and "make voting easier for New Yorkers.”

“Early voting will shorten lines at the polls,” the announcement stated, “allow New Yorkers to cast ballots up to 12 days before Election Day.” It also promised that automatic and same-day voter registration “will increase voter participation.”

While Democrats who control the Assembly appear open to the three voting reforms, among others, they do not appear to be placing it especially high on their list of priorities. Republicans who control the state Senate are opposed to voting reform, worrying that greater turnout could spell the end of their paper-thin majority margin.

Two of the three reforms, early voting and automatic registration, are widely implemented throughout the country, and would be easy to implement legislatively, but have stalled in the Senate. Along with the Assembly majority, the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of Senate Democrats who have a ruling coalition with Republicans, also support the measures. However, the IDC’s power to move the GOP conference in this case may be especially limited.

Same-day voter registration, which would allow unregistered voters to register and vote on Election Day, would likely have to be implemented through a state constitutional amendment, which requires the approval of both legislative houses for two consecutive legislative cycles and then approval by the public through a ballot vote.

Last week, representatives from advocacy groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Working Families Party, and Common Cause NY joined with female state lawmakers at the state Capitol to push for early voting and automatic registration to be included in the budget. The press conference, which coincided with Women’s History Month and framed voter inclusion as a women’s issue, was followed by a rally on Sunday in New York City’s Battery Park.

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause NY, who helped organized the press conference and the rally, criticized the governor’s Tuesday revelation.

“It's not enough to ‘try like heck,’” Lerner said in a statement. “New Yorkers deserve the same rights as voters in Alaska and Vermont. We need voting reform now, and that means including funding in the 2017 budget to ensure that the next election cycle is an example for the nation, not a national embarrassment."

Lerner noted that New York ranked 41st in the nation for voter turnout (based on the 2016 presidential election), with less than a third of eligible voters participating. “Far from the progressive symbol the Governor likes to tout, we are out of step with 34 other states that have some form of early voting, and nowhere near California which also has Automatic Voter Registration,” Lerner said.

On Tuesday Cuomo did not cast blame on anyone for what he was foreshadowing as a failure to move voting reform through the budget. At the press conference, however, he did tout how well he has been able to work with Republicans over the past six years. He did not indicate that he planned to try to convince Senate Republicans to back his voting reform agenda.

A few days ago, Scott Reif, a spokesperson for Senate Republicans, told WNYC radio, "There are many bills out there which seek to boost voter participation. We'll take a look at all of them."

***
by Ben Max and Rachel Silberstein

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

The New York political world is still reeling from and reacting to the news that Mayor Bill de Blasio and his aides will not be charged in either of two investigations into their behavior. Comptroller Scott Stringer has said definitively he is running for reelection, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said it’s time to move on to focus on key problems facing the city, and de Blasio himself held a testy press conference and then flew to Florida for a weekend away.

As for this week, the mayor will be back Monday after getting some sun, rest, and taking in some spring training baseball. He has no public events Monday.

It’s budget season, with just 10 days until a new state budget is due. Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders will begin pushing the pace in negotiations, especially given that last week the two houses of the Legislature passed their one-house budget resolutions. Notably, there’s been little indication that government ethics, voting or campaign finance reform is a high priority for legislators or for Gov. Cuomo. [Read: Since State of the State, Cuomo Silent on Ethics Reform]

Before he gets back to budget business in Albany, on Sunday Cuomo was in the Bronx, where he “announced a $1.8 billion project to transform the South Bronx by realizing the long-sought reconstruction of the Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange.”

With budget negotiations into their final weeks, it’s a rare four-day week of legislative session in Albany. That and much more to watch for this week -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

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The run of the week in detail:

Monday
At the City Council on Monday, there will be a preliminary budget hearing of the Committee on Mental Health at 3 p.m.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Monday in Albany.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is heading to Albany Monday “to meet with State leaders.”

On Monday at 11:30 a.m. in Albany, “Citizens Union (CU) will release the latest edition of its report, Spending in the Shadows, on unspecified lump sum spending in New York’s FY 2018 Executive budget. The report examines numerous pots of money under state government control that have little detail, few restraints and little public accountability – all part of a recipe for public corruption. The report documents $4.3 billion in funds that are subject to spending decisions by individual elected officials, representing an increase of nearly $2 billion from last year’s executive budget. The report also documents other opaque spending that lacks criteria for spending, and does not specify any official as having authority.” The press conference will be on the third floor of the state Capitol.

At 12:30 p.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council Member Margaret Chin, OATH Commissioner Fidel Del Valle, and Chinatown organizations and leaders will hold a “press conference to announce “What to do if you get a city summons” town hall,” at the Chinese-American Planning Council.

At 12:30 p.m. Monday, schools Chancellor Carmen Farina will deliver remarks at the Hispanic Federation Education Summit, at the CUNY Graduate Center.

At 6 p.m. Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will host the second of two public hearings of their “Gifted and Talented Task Force,” focusing on “gifted and talented education in New York City public schools, as well as the admissions process for the city’s specialized schools,” at the Bronx High School of Science.

At 6 p.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will host a reception for her office gallery commemorating women’s causes and political life in New York, as part of Women’s History Month. The reception will honor the late Maggie Peyton.

At 8 p.m. Monday, Comptroller Scott Stringer will deliver remarks at the Fort Greene Association Quarterly Meeting.

Tuesday
Mayor de Blasio has a busy Tuesday:

• 10:30 a.m. press conference on Vision Zero near New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn, NY 11201
• 2 p.m. at Tweed Courthouse, "as part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Cities’ Day of Immigration Action, the Mayor and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Vivierito will host a press conference on new policy guidance."
• 4 p.m. public hearing and bill signing at City Hall: "the Mayor will hold public hearings and sign 14 pieces of legislation– Intro. 1161-A in relation to requiring DOHMH report annually on immunization rates of NYers for Human Papillomavirus; Intro. 1162-A in relation to requiring DOHMH to report annually on the use of contraceptives; Intro 1172-A in relation to requiring DOHMH to report annually on maternal mortality; Intro. 748-B in relation to amending the New York City charter in relation to drug strategy; Intro. 882-A in relation to requiring that a hearing loop – which helps people with hearing loss hear better – be installed in certain capital projects; Intro. 1280-B in relation to requiring NYPD to make collision reports available online to individuals involved; Intro. 1071-A in relation to requiring DOT to conduct a study of private streets; Intro. 1474-A in relation to lowering the tax on the transfer of a taxi medallion; Intro. 1475-A in relation to removing restrictions on the transfer of taxi medallions; Intro 873-A in relation to establishing a car-sharing pilot program that reserves some street parking spaces for car-share vehicles; Intro. 267-A in relation to requiring DOT to designate parking spaces in municipal parking lots for car-share organizations; Intro. 247-A in relation to increasing the fines for performing electrical work without a license; Intro. 820-A in relation to requiring DSNY to consider programs that would incentivize recycling in public housing; and Intro. 1198-A in relation to requiring DEP to publish a plan for reducing flooding in Queens Community Districts 12 and 13, and to report annually on progress."
• 7 p.m. "the Mayor and First Lady Chirlane McCray will host a Greek Independence Day Reception" at Gracie Mansion.
• During the 7 and 10 p.m. hours, the mayor will make a taped appearace on NY1's Road to City Hall.

At the City Council on Tuesday, there will be preliminary budget hearings on:

• The Department of Parks & Recreation at 10 a.m.
• The Department of Education at 10 a.m.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Tuesday in Albany.

At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Crain’s New York Business will host its 2017 Arts & Culture Breakfast, discussing how artists and cultural workers can secure funding for their projects. Speakers will include City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, who will talk with Jeremy Smerd, editor of Crain’s, as well as Diane Coffey, the Director Emerita of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and current Managing Director at the Peter J. Solomon Company, who will speak with Crain’s publisher Jill Kaplan.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, Council Speaker Mark-Viverito will deliver remarks at the New York Immigration Coalition Annual NYC Legislative and Policy Breakfast, at Tribeca Grill. At 11 a.m., Mark-Viverito will announce a capital funding investment in a NYCHA senior center, with NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye, at Betances Senior Center in the Bronx.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, Public Advocate Letitia James will deliver remarks at the JCRC "Confronting Fear & Hate in New York City" forum at Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies. At noon, James will deliver remarks at the Queens Chamber of Commerce St. Patrick's Day lunch.

On Tuesday at 11 a.m., Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan will appear on the Capitol Pressroom radio program, hosted by Susan Arbetter.

At 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Comptroller Scott Stringer "Hosts Press Conference and Unveils Major New Report" at Greenwich House.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m., John Jay College of Criminal Justice will host a community information forum regarding the upcoming referendum on whether to call a state constitutional convention, in an event postponed one week due to last Tuesday's snowstorm. Panelists and moderators scheduled for the original event included Michael Benjamin of the New York Post; Brigid Bergin of WNYC; Josh Robin of NY1; Dick Dadey of Citizen Union; and Evan Davis, the former president of the New York City Bar Association and current senior counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce will host “LGBT Financial Planning in the Trump Era.” Paul Schindler of Gay City News will moderate a panel featuring financial advisor Alexander J. Fruchtman and attorneys Dylan T. McKeon, Yolanda Kanes, and Pablo G. Velez.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer will hold a Women's History Month Celebration at the New York Supreme Court.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Manhattan Institute will host the 2017 William E. Simon Forum on Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship, discussing the impact of “sunset provisions” on philanthropy. MI’s Howard Husock will moderate a panel consisting of Edwin Feulner of the Heritage Foundation, Heather Higgins of the Randolph Foundation, and James Piereson of the William E. Simon Foundation.

Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday, there will be preliminary budget hearings that include testimony from:

• The Mayor’s Office on Immigrant Affairs, the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Youth and Community Development, and CUNY at 10 a.m.
• The Human Rights Commission at 1 p.m.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Wednesday in Albany.

At 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, the New York City Food Policy Center will hold “The Inner Workings of New York City's Water,” with James Tierney, DEC NYS Deputy Commissioner; David Warne, DEP NYC Assistant Commissioner; Eric Goldstein, Senior Attorney and New York City Environment Director at the National Resources Defense Council; Professor Allan Frei, Department of Geography at Hunter College, CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities; and moderator Charles Platkin.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, City Council Member Margaret Chin, and OATH Commissioner Fidel F. Del Valle will cosponsor a forum with ACCES discussing what to do when you get a summons and how to navigate the city’s Administrative Law Court.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the city's Panel for Educational Policy will hold its monthly meeting at the High School for Fashion Industries.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the New York City Bar Association will host “How to Get on the Ballot in New York City.” The program will feature election lawyers discussing how to run for office in the city with prospective office holders who may feel overwhelmed by the complexity. Speakers include Martin E. Connor, former State Senate Minority Leader and Chair of the City Bar Election Law Committee; a Representative of the Office of General Counsel at the Board of Elections; Sarah K. Steiner, former Chair of the City Bar Election Law Committee; and Matt Sollars and Dan Cho, of the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Brooklyn Historical Society will host “Whose Park? Equity in NYC's Green Spaces,” to discuss whether New York City’s green spaces are distributed and used equitably. New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman “moderates a candid discussion with Ford Foundation President Darren Walker and former Brooklyn Bridge Park President Regina Myer about parks, equity, and the complicated mediation between users.”

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Gotham Center for New York City History, in association with the Brennan Center, will host “The History and Future of Criminal Justice Reform in New York City” at the Graduate Center at CUNY’s Elebash Recital Hall. The event will feature Shannon King of the College of Wooster; Alex Vitale, author of City of Disorder; Martin F. Horn, former Commissioner of the Departments of Probation and Correction; and Alice Speri, multimedia reporter at The Intercept.

Thursday
At the City Council on Thursday: The Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss several proposed laws regarding illegal residential conversions, requiring landlords to distribute voter registration forms, and the denial of building permits where outstanding charges are owed to the city.

At the City Council on Thursday, there will be a preliminary budget hearing on The Department of Environmental Protection at 10 a.m.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Thursday in Albany.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, City Council Members Helen Rosenthal, Mark Levine, and Bill Perkins, along with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, will host a Hate Crime Forum to discuss the recent rise in hate crimes as well as how to identify, report, and stop them.

Friday and the weekend
At 8:30 a.m. Friday, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Women's History Month Celebration at Brooklyn Law School’s Forchelli Conference Center. Joni Yoswein, of Yoswein New York, will moderate a discussion featuring Ingrid Lewis Martin, senior advisor to Borough President Eric Adams; Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon; and Senator Roxanne J. Persaud.

At noon Friday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will speak “at 106th anniversary commemoration of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, Washington Place and Greene Street.”

On Saturday, Cycle 6 Voting Week for Participatory Budgeting will begin.

At about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Manhattan BP Brewer will speak at the “33rd annual GreenThumb GrowTogether Conference, Hostos Community College.”

***
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

Sen. Jamaal Bailey (photo via @jamaaltbailey)

State Senator Jamaal Bailey knows his way around Albany. A University of Albany graduate, Bailey launched his legislative career as an intern for Assemblymember Carl Heastie, who is now Speaker of the Assembly and one of most powerful people in the state. Working for Heastie, Bailey was instrumental in pushing legislation to enact more stringent safety measures on nicotine-laced water, a bill that eventually became law, and one that he’s proud of today.

A Democrat who grew up in Co-Op City in the Bronx, Bailey went on to serve as District Leader for the 83rd Assembly District and, most recently, as Heastie’s community relations director. In 2016, state Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, representing parts of the Bronx and Mount Vernon, left the Senate for a position in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration. Bailey -- with the backing of the Bronx Democratic County Party -- ran for the 36th District seat, and won by a wide margin after beating four other candidates in a crowded primary.

Now, the youngest member of the Senate (Bailey is 34) is looking to make an impact outside of Heastie’s shadow. But, he faces a challenging climate on several fronts. At the top of the list is the fact that Democrats are in the minority in the state Senate, which makes moving priorities difficult.

In February, Gotham Gazette spoke with Bailey about starting his tenure as a state senator, making his voice heard, his priorities for the coming legislative session, and more.

GG: How is your first month at the Senate going? What’s the orientation like?

JB: I’m really excited about being able to lead the community that I’ve grown up in and to just be able to represent them in Albany. Honestly, it’s an amazing feeling; it’s an amazing pleasure.

The training is kind of hit the ground running. You get familiar with what’s in the building, the support staff and how they do it. But a lot of the preparation, it just comes in real time. Just seeing the bill and you have to vote on it. You go to committees and see what kind of policy is being advanced.

A lot of it is on-the-job training, despite the fact that my conference has done a lot in terms of getting me oriented and teaching me the ropes. But I feel like when it’s game time, it’s just a different feeling when it’s real.

GG: You got your start working for Speaker Carl Heastie, so you are familiar with Albany, but what’s your commute and living arrangement like?

JB: The commute itself isn’t bad. As you said, I used to work for the Speaker, so I’m used to it. I also went to University of Albany. The more difficult portion about the commute, the hardest part, is being away from my two daughters.

I drive; I’m on my own schedule. I know other members prefer the train and it gives them time to think and read and digest things, and I think that’s awesome, you know, to each their own. If I want to come down and see my family after a session, and drive back up, it gives me flexibility. I have a 2-year-old and 2-month-old.

GG: How do you connect with your 2-year-old during session? Facetime?

JB: Absolutely, I don’t know how my predecessors in the state Legislature did it before without Facetime -- and I don’t want to know. It’s not face-to-face interaction, but I get to see my wife and my children and even if I’m 150 miles away, it’s something positive.

GG: Where do you stay when you are in Albany?

JB: I generally try to stay uptown at the University of Albany. It’s a little bit out of the way, and I guess I’m familiar with the territory. Restaurants: The Wings over Albany was my college favorite — and I still frequent there — on Western Avenue.

Also, the City Line Diner is also on Western Avenue. My chief of staff, Jason, and I travel up there. Those are my favorite locations so far. The New World Bistro, a colleague introduced us to that location and it’s a pretty good place as well. Having been up here before, it helps. It’s a little different than being a student, but knowing where things like the mall is, and Target — those little things help.

GG: Have you had much floor time?

JB: I think I spoke on the floor four or five times [so far]. The first time I spoke was concerning a resolution concerning Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was a honor to have that be my first time speaking on the floor of the Senate, at such a hallowed institution, and about such a revered individual, so I was honored to do that.

Concerning matters that would be specifically related to my constituency — I think everything is related to my constituency — I just haven’t spoken a lot on bills, so to speak.

GG: What policies would you like to see passed this session?

JB: I’m solidly behind raising the age of criminal responsibility. As you know, New York State is one of only two states that prosecute 16- and 17-year-olds this way. It’s obviously much more nuanced than just a hashtag. I think it has to be well thought out and implemented properly, but I am hopeful that we can raise the age of criminal responsibility.

I would also like to see the Dream Act passed. There are so many folks that are undocumented individuals who are seeking an education and the Dream Act would be able to assist them. I’m also a huge proponent of local business cooperatives. I believe it could be a method of building community wealth that we really haven’t examined as a state, so I would like to direct my colleagues in that direction -- of taking a hard look at cooperatives as a form of economic development, which we haven’t as a state yet.

I’m also a proponent of making sure people are eating healthy. Trying to attack the issue of food deserts and eating healthy. These are all issues that I care about and I am honored of being one of a few individuals who has the honor of calling himself senator.

GG: Is it difficult being in the minority, particularly at a time when the Democratic conference is so fractured?

JB: You obviously would like to be in a position where you’re able to set policy and govern, but being in the minority, it doesn’t mean you don’t try. You still fight just as hard as I would if I was in the majority conference. I think it’s very important to me -- especially as a freshman -- to remember what I’m doing this for I need to make sure I’m advancing the wants and needs of my constituents.

It’s a different situation, but I am hopeful that we can one day come together and govern together as Democrats. That would be a goal to see that we can set some progressive policy, and ideal for the residents of the state of New York.

GG: Anything unexpected or surprising about working at the state Legislature?

JB: I would say that I am excited that I have a great staff, and I get to have great young folks that work for me. I am the youngest member of the state Senate now. On the first day of orientation I spoke to Senator [David] Carlucci [of the IDC] and he said told me, essentially -- and I’m paraphrasing -- “Congratulations, you are now the youngest senator.” It had formerly been Senator Carlucci.

There is a point a pride in being the the youngest member of a legislative body and I want to make sure I’m setting an example especially for the young people in my district, that you know, you can be anything you want to be. I spoke to two different groups today: I spoke to high school kids and for a Black History celebration, to third-to-fifth-graders. I want the children to know that I grew up in the Northeast Bronx just like them, and went to school there. I want the children in my district to know that being a state legislator was not something that I thought was within the realm of possibility. I want to be a shining example of what you could be if you work hard, and stay focused, and set goals for yourself.

[Read more from our series, Adjusting to Albany: Meet NYC's New Class of State Legislators]

Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (photo via @yuhline)

Yuh-Line Niou, Assemblymember for the 65th District in Lower Manhattan, has a tough task. The new Assembly member takes the seat held by disgraced former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for 40 years. Niou won the September 2016 Democratic primary -- backed by the Working Families Party -- and November general election after losing a prior special election to Alice Cancel, who had been the choice of the Silver machine.

Now, she must navigate growing into her role as an elected official, managing constituent services in a district that once got special attention given Silver’s powerful perch, and making her mark on Albany’s crowded landscape.

In February, Nious spoke with Gotham Gazette about the challenges of meeting the outsized expectations of her district, getting to know her new colleagues and figuring out how to be heard in a notoriously dysfunctional state government. She also shared some of the less glamorous aspects of being a new legislator from New York City, such as taking the train to and from Albany and ordering pizza to her hotel.

GG: How was your first month as a state legislator? What was orientation like?

YLN: The first month has been pretty hectic. It’s been exciting in a lot of ways, but it’s also a lot to take in. It’s a pretty steep learning curve, because everybody else seems to know what’s going on a lot more than I do. It’s been also really exciting to get to know a lot of my colleagues. My cohort -- it’s very exciting for us to be together, because we’re all freshmen together, and there’s about 11 of us on the Dems side. It’s been kind of fun, that part of it...There’s a lot of folks that just listening to them talk and understanding some of the issues that they are fighting for, I admire them.

GG: What’s your commute like? Where do you stay? Favorite restaurants? Tell us about your day-to-day.

YLN: Actually, because there’s been so many events going on in-district, I commute Sunday night and I take the latest train usually. Sometimes it’s 9 p.m. and sometimes 11 p.m. I take the Penn Station Amtrak, and usually when I get [to Albany] it’s around midnight, or if I got the 11 o’clock, it’s like 2:30 a.m. But I try to go to as many district events as possible before I leave; because we’re up here, we don’t to get to be in the district as much as we would like and people want to see me out there. But because of the schedule and how busy it is is [in Albany] -- It’s almost budget season, it’s actually the last day for budget letters -- everything is really hectic.

I’m staying at the Holiday Inn Express — very fancy! — I actually have not gone out to eat at all really. Sometimes in the dead of night, when we finally get done with everything, it’s like 11 p.m., and everything’s closed. I go back to the Holiday Inn, and then I order pizza.

GG: Have you had much Assembly floor time? Do you speak up for your constituents?

YLN: It’s really great, because they help us by putting things into packages and days. So there hasn’t been much difficulty with drafting policy or the legislative schedule yet. I think that things get full and really crazy fast right after the budget is done — for the policy side.

Right now, we’ve done a lot on women’s rights and I was able to speak up on reproductive health. We had a bunch of resolutions heard. Mine was the Lunar New Year resolution, and it was really great, because over 80 legislators signed on to it. We also had the immigrant rights debate, a lot of criminal justice reform debates. So those were really impactful right now, because of what’s going on on a federal level.

GG: You are coming in during a strange climate given what’s going on nationally. How has the Trump administration shaped your priorities?

YLN: That a really big question. One of the things that I’m lucky enough to be a part of, is being part of ‘the people’s budget,’ I’m one of the legislators who is helping to put it together — and that’s the document that the Black, Hispanic, Asian and Puerto Rican Caucus put together. It’s really exciting. We get to talk a lot about the things I just mentioned, with criminal justice reform, and immigrant rights and women's rights. And we get to talk a lot about what we, as a caucus, would like to focus on. The other budgets don’t necessarily make those things a priority, so at least it’s a document for folks who believe in those things to have a voice. It’s a very exciting project and I’m really honored to be a part of it.

One of the pieces -- because of the weird climate -- one of the things I got to speak up on, was stopping data registries, and I think that’s really important because I know the city is going through some stuff with the [IDNYC (municipal identification card)] program. We are all trying do our best to look at what’s happening, and then do really good preparation to be a good buffer and good representation of our district.

GG: You get this question a lot, but, Asian-Americans have been underrepresented in public office in New York State for so long. As the first Asian-American state legislator representing Manhattan, is there a lot of pressure to be a voice for an entire ethnic group?

YLN: I worked for [Assemblymember] Ron [Kim] last year and he was the only Asian-American on the entire state level — I bet he felt that! Right now, there’s both me and him, and it’s nice. But I also know that there are many of our colleagues that have very large Asian-American populations, and many of them have been very good at representing those communities in those districts as well. But yes, of course, a lot of people are going to come to our office with a lot of language-access needs, and immigration issues, and things like that. Just very basic things, like how to use mail. These are things Ron and I had to deal with that a lot at his office, because he was the only Asian-American elected on the entire state level, so many times a lot of those issues came to us.

I don’t get tired of the question, by the way. I think it’s sad that we have to keep asking the question more than anything. Because, I think that you are right, absolutely, we are the most underrepresented minority in New York State and the most rapidly growing as well in our state. We are at least 10 percent of the population in our state and we definitely don’t even have 1 percent of representation on a state level. That’s shocking, for sure. I think it's upsetting in the sense that, ‘Oh, I can’t believe I am the first on a state level,’ because I didn’t think that that was still a thing, but unfortunately, it is. I think it's very important to represent my whole district, but it is also a community that grew together, and everybody is supportive of one another. That’s why it’s such an incredible district.

GG: Any other surprising moments or takeaways from the past month and a half?

YLN: There hasn’t been anything completely unexpected, but I definitely have just been just moved by how supportive everyone is. Especially with my office, the speaker [Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie] has been very, very good with my district and understanding the difficulty that I am under.

Given the history of this office, I think that we know that this district was serviced like no other district, because there were a lot of resources that, having the former speaker represent the district, that the district would have. Certain expectations have been set by the seat, which means I have to provide a very high level of constituent service and representation, but with only a fraction of the budget.

I was very moved and surprised by how much the Speaker understands that, and by how supportive the staff has been, on [The] Ways and Means [Committee], and the different committees, how they’ve been for our district in general, because it's got to be a drastic change.

I think it's my responsibility to the district to ensure that I’m super responsive, that we are able to get to folks’ needs very quickly and efficiently, because it's crucial. This is a constituency that literally had the most service and then almost no service for a period of time. It’s been a shock to the system. I’m hoping to make sure we are 100 percent accessible, that we are always transparent, and my priority is always constituents first.

[Read more from our series, Adjusting to Albany: Meet NYC's New Class of State Legislators]

photo via @NYSCapitolTours

While the ethics trainings and orientation for new state legislators may have evolved over the years, one thing has remained constant: the daunting task of navigating the Capitol’s maze-like corridors during one’s first weeks of work in Albany.

Orientation provides some roadmap to Albany’s byzantine legislative processes, including workshops in drafting bills, organizing a press conference, and conducting research, and legislative staffers are provided for support, but it can take a few weeks, if not months, for newly minted politicians to fully acclimate to life as a state lawmaker.

In fact, much of the training happens on the job, according Assemblymember Tom McKevitt, who oversees the trainings for incoming Assembly members in the chamber’s Republican minority.

“For many people they are coming to a different part of the state, they are leaving their families, leaving their hometowns, to come to a very different place,” said McKevitt, who represents part of Long Island, and has served in the Assembly for just over a decade. “New York State government is a massive operation. It really is. So we try to give them as much knowledge as possible and give them as much resources as possible to get them as productive a start to their legislative careers.”

All new legislators in the Senate and the Assembly receive mandated training when they begin their legislative careers in Albany. In addition, each party conference provides training, as McKevitt indicated for the Assembly minority.

This year, there are 10 new state lawmakers from New York City, joining the 150-seat Assembly, which is dominated by Democrats, and the 63-seat Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans. All of the new reps from the city are Democrats -- there are only a handful of New York City Republicans in the Legislature altogether, mostly from Staten Island.

Gotham Gazette began interviewing each of those 10 new members in February to gauge how they are adjusting to life in the state Legislature, which is notoriously dysfunctional and insulated, and has seen its share of corruption scandals in recent years.

While the first weeks of the legislative calendar leading up to one-house budgets in March are always fairly intense for new legislators, this year appears to have been more so. As with other state capitals and city halls around the country, the inauguration of President Donald Trump, followed by the unconventional president’s chaotic first two months in office, have cast a long shadow over governing in New York.

As the Trump administration rushes to follow through on campaign promises to scale back reproductive rights, repeal the Affordable Care Act, and ban immigrants from select countries, many legislators, especially Democrats, are feeling more uncertainty and a greater sense of urgency. Both come in part from their constituents -- New Yorkers who overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton in November.

Several incoming lawmakers hailing from the five boroughs are facing challenging political climates in their districts and given local political dynamics. Yuh-Line Niou, now representing Lower Manhattan’s 65th Assembly District, must deliver for a constituency accustomed to receiving an exceptionally high level of resources given that the seat had been held for decades by (now convicted) former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

The 31st Senate District’s new representative, Marisol Alcantara, is a member of the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), at a time when the breakaway group of Democrats that forms a coalition majority with Republicans is facing some significant backlash. Meanwhile, Senator Jamaal Bailey, of the 36th Senate District, is joining the mainline Senate Democratic Conference that is struggling in the minority.

To begin our series on new city-based state legislators, Gotham Gazette spoke with Niou, Bailey, and Brooklyn Assemblymember Robert Carroll. Read their interviews through the links below, and stay tuned for our interviews with the seven other new lawmakers from the five boroughs. 

Yuh-Line Niou Assemblymember for the 65th District Lower Manhattan Elected 2016; took office 2017 Democrat & Working Families Party “This is a constituency that literally had the most service and then almost no service for a period of time. It’s been a shock to the system.” READ THE FULL INTERVIEW with Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou

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Jamaal Bailey State Senator for the 36th District Parts of the Bronx and Mount Vernon Elected 2016; took office 2017 Democrat & Working Families Party “But a lot of the preparation, it just comes in real-time. Just seeing the bill and you have to vote on it.” READ THE FULL INTERVIEW with Senator Jamaal Bailey

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Robert Carroll Assembly Member for 44th District Brooklyn (Windsor Terrace, Kensington, Park Slope, Flatbush) Elected 2016; took office 2017 Democrat & Working Families Party “I think if you are going to be in politics, you have to understand that you’re not going to win every fight, and you have to be ready to stay in the arena.”  READ THE FULL INTERVIEW with Assembly Member Robert Carroll

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Carmen De La Rosa Assembly Member for 72nd District Manhattan (Harlem, Inwood, Hamilton Heights, and Washington Heights) Elected 2016; took office 2017 Democrat & Working Families Party “It’s definitely a great place to be, coming from the City Council, it’s sort of government on a larger scale, so it’s a welcome challenge for me.” READ THE FULL INTERVIEW with Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa

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Brian Barnwell Assembly member for the 30th District Parts of Astoria, Long Island City, Maspeth, Middle Village, and Woodside Elected 2016; took office 2017 Democrat “The budget process was certainly long, but I don’t have a problem with that. In my opinion, it’s better to negotiate and negotiate and negotiate, instead of just doing the deal for the sake of doing a deal.” READ THE FULL INTERVIEW with Assemblymember Brian Barnwell

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Coming soon, interviews with:

• Assemblymember Tremaine Wright
• Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato
• Senator Marisol Alacantra
• Assemblymember Clyde Vanel
• Assemblymember Inez Dickens

Assemblymember Bobby Carroll (photo via @Bobby4Brooklyn)

A lifelong resident of Windsor Terrace, Robert “Bobby” Carroll hails from something of a Brooklyn political dynasty. His grandfather co-founded the influential Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) club, and, until he assumed his state Assembly seat, Bobby Carroll served as the club’s youngest president. Carroll previously worked as an attorney alongside his father, John Carroll, who has also served as CBID’s president, and in 2001 ran unsuccessfully against Mayor Bill de Blasio in a Democratic primary for City Council.

Bobby Carroll is also a cousin of Bay Ridge Democratic district leader Kevin Peter Carroll, who is currently running for the 43rd City Council District seat.

Carroll’s name recognition and political connections likely helped him shore up endorsements early in the race for the 44th Assembly District seat -- including from his now predecessor, Assemblymember James Brennan, who was retiring, other electeds, political clubs, and good government groups -- and now he is eager to make a name for himself as a progressive reformer on the state level.

Gotham Gazette spoke with Carroll in February about his priorities for the upcoming session, his first few weeks in the Legislature, and more.

GG: What was the orientation like? Was there a sexual harassment training?

RC: We took several ethics courses and general orientation. And I believe all Assembly members go through sexual harassment training every two years. I am not sure which ones were because I am a freshman and which are regular training sessions.

I noticed that you had the opportunity to to speak up on the floor in defense of the City Council’s plastic bag bill, despite the fact that the Legislature voted to block it. Were you disappointed with the way your chamber voted?

Well I voted no, so obviously I would have rathered us not override the City Council bill. But, you know, that’s part of politics and part of democracy, that you are not always going to agree with your colleagues. What I do think is really important in government — and it’s the reason I’m in government— is to be a voice for your constituents, and to be your own voice, so then you can stand up and say ‘this is what I think, this is what I’ve decided on this issue.’

I think it’s important to have an open and transparent debate so the vast views of our conference and our state are fully expressed on the floor of the Assembly and the state Senate, so that we can finally come to some type of agreement about how we are going to move forward in New York State.

GG: Are there bills you are working on? What are your priorities for the session?

RC: We are working on some of the bills that Assembly Member Brennan had. He had a lot of bills in the 32 years that he was in office. That is just one set of bills that we are working on. We are also working on a bunch of bills around electoral reform, criminal justice reform right now. These issues are very, very pressing.

We have the budget coming up, it's going to monopolize a lot of time for the next six weeks. [The budget] is...a very good litmus test for what we care about in the state, what we are going to spend money on. I think it's absolutely imperative that we make sure that we fully fund our public school system in New York City. If you look at the CFE [Campaign for Fiscal Equity], we are still short about $1.6 billion. It’s very, very important to have that fully funded.

I think it’s very, very important to really dig down deep and see if we are actually funding the MTA capital budget through 2019. I think the projections that some folks have on operating funds that are going to come in through tolls and fares and other ways of raising revenues for the MTA are very optimistic. But we need to have very, very tough conversations about how we are investing in our education and our infrastructure. If we are investing in our infrastructure, those are great ways to spur business and create better lives for New Yorkers.

GG: Are you enjoying Albany? The commute? Any favorite restaurants?

RC: I really like it. I take the train up. I enjoy the train — it’s a beautiful train ride on Amtrak. It’s quicker than driving most of the time. It’s only about two-and-a-half hours from Penn Station and from where I live it’s only about 30 minutes on the subway to Penn Station, so it’s really quick.

I usually writes some emails, read the paper. There’s WiFi, so I’ll usually watch something on Netflix. When I’m up there I’ve been hopping around, a couple hotels, bed and breakfasts, kind of getting the lay of the land and a couple of different neighborhoods in Albany. I don’t drive, so I like to be within a 10- or 15-minute walk to the Capitol.

I went out with my parents to Jack’s Oyster House — that was pretty cool, I really like that place on State Street, they have good oysters and pretty good steak. It’s a little expensive for a legislator to be going there often. There are a couple of different bars and restaurants a couple of Assembly members and I -- and some other folks -- have gone out to on occasion. But we are also in chambers a lot, just this Monday we were in chambers until 10:30 [p.m.]. So it's not a place where it's like happy hour every night. It’s 6:30 [p.m.] and people are like, ‘Oh, well, what are we going to do?’

GG: Any moment you are particularly proud of or any disappointments, such as the plastic bag issue, for example?

RC: I wouldn’t consider the plastic bag thing a disappointment. I spoke up on behalf of my constituents and what I thought was right. I think if you are going to be in politics, you have to understand that you’re not going to win every fight, and you have to be ready to stay in the arena. I think there are going to be a lot of issues like that. I used to practice election law before I got here. We were with Attorney General Schneiderman...when he introduced his package of reforms.

We are not only going to be fierce advocates for Schneiderman’s reform package, we are going have a couple bills in the next few weeks that are going to push that even further. I think we are going to be introducing a whole host of bills that will end up helping folks if we are talking about criminal justice, if we are talking about education, and if we are talking about our transportation system.

[Read more from our series, Adjusting to Albany: Meet NYC's New Class of State Legislators]

Gov. Cuomo (photo: Governor's Office, flickr)

For the second year in a row, in his January State of the State, Governor Andrew Cuomo laid out an ambitious ethics reform agenda that touched on a variety of issues and aimed at restoring public trust in New York State’s scandal-plagued government. But, also for a second year in a row, Cuomo has not followed up with any discernible public push to rally support for that agenda or put pressure on members of the state Legislature to pass it.

Acknowledging that corruption and greed had tainted all branches of government, including his executive branch, Cuomo said on January 11 in Albany, “Imagine what we could do if we had the complete confidence of the people. If we had that confidence, there is nothing we couldn’t do – and I am not going to stop until I get there.”

Cuomo outlined his ten-point ethics and good government agenda in his Albany State of the State speech, his 2017 policy book, and his executive budget proposal -- which is significant in that the governor is again proposing to push through government ethics policy in the state’s spending plan. The budget process is where Cuomo has the most leverage over the Legislature, but that has not paved the way for pushing through reform measures.

The governor’s agenda -- put forth after major corruption scandals in the Legislature and the governor’s inner circle over the past two years -- includes campaign finance reform and transparency and oversight measures. “This bill contains provisions needed to enact into law major components of legislation relating to Good Government and Ethics Reform,” Cuomo’s budget bill says, under “purpose.”

But while Cuomo outlined the need for new campaign finance and ethics measures and proposed a slate of reforms, as in years past, the governor has made virtually no mention of these reforms since, nor has he indicated how he will persuade a resistant Legislature to pass them. Cuomo has made a variety of public appearances since his early January State of the State tour, but none have focused on government ethics or campaign finance reform.

A spokesperson for the governor said that Cuomo’s priorities have not shifted, and that ethics will factor into budget negotiations this month. Cuomo and legislative leaders must agree to a new state budget by the April 1 start to the next fiscal year.

“The Governor has included comprehensive ethics reform in his Executive Budget proposal just as he has every other year. We will continue to strongly advocate for the passage of these meaningful reforms and we urge the Legislature to join us in this effort,” said Cuomo spokesperson Abbey Fashouer, in a statement to Gotham Gazette.

While Cuomo may pursue ethics measures in closed-door negotiations, his public priorities have been elsewhere. The governor has promoted state infrastructure spending and investments in Central Brooklyn, traveled to Israel to condemn anti-semitism and show solidarity, and made other public appearances, including a rare cabinet meeting at the Capitol.

Meanwhile, this week the two legislative houses passed their one-house budget resolutions, and offered little indication that the governor’s ethics agenda or reforms sought by good government advocates are on the precipice. Over the six-plus years Cuomo has been governor, there have been various incremental ethics reform measures passed, but they have proved insufficient in preventing corruption in state government.

In 2016, in the wake of the arrests of then Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos on public corruption charges, Cuomo proposed similar reforms in his State of the State, but was criticized for neglecting to push for them publicly. Most of the measures were not passed -- particularly because of an obstinate Republican majority in the Senate -- and those that did were again seen as small, mostly symbolic steps, insufficient for fixing Albany’s systemic pattern of corruption.

Then, last year, the spotlight moved from the Legislature to the Cuomo administration and orbit. Nine Cuomo associates, including his longtime friend and advisor Joseph Percoco, were arrested for their roles in a massive bid-rigging, bribery, and kickback scandal related to Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion and other economic development efforts. This increased scrutiny in his own front yard, coupled with an increasingly fraught relationship with state legislators may diminish some of the governor’s willingness to barter for the reforms, according to John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany.

"His moral authority to pummel the Legislature is not very high right now. Because instead of the Legislature being on political trial because of Skelos and Silver, it’s the governor this time,” Kaehny said. “So every time the governor brings up issues like limits on outside income -- which good government groups advocate for -- for legislators, they are just going to say, ‘well, who’s on trial, you or us?’"

In the wake of the scandal, Cuomo renewed his call for ethics reforms and vowed to appoint a procurement officer to review all state contracts “with an eye towards eliminating any wrongdoing, conflicts of interest or collusion.” But, this and other proposals Cuomo has made for new ways in which he will monitor executive branch operations have come up short for critics who note that Cuomo’s solutions keep mechanisms under his purview, instead of empowering independent, outside regulators.

Cuomo sought to levy some of his proposed ethics reforms at the Legislature, including term limits for lawmakers and restrictions on outside income, in exchange for a pay raise, a move that enraged state lawmakers who have not seen a salary increase since 1999. A pay raise commission imploded and talks went nowhere, though they could be resurrected when the “three men in a room” start to hash things out.

"I think any hope in big progress this session was wrecked by the whole fight over the pay raise, which was perceived as incredibly bad faith by the governor by the Legislature,” said Kaehny.

Also quieter this year are editorial boards and good government groups, who last March called on those “three men in a room” -- Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie -- to have an open and transparent meeting on proposed ethics reforms.

This budget season, advocates and reformers in and out of government have turned their attention to a clean contracting campaign as a result of the bid-rigging scandal. Many have called for reinstating Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s power to review contracts that go through government-created nonprofits, like those at the center of the economic development scandal. Cuomo and the Legislature voted to strip DiNapoli of this authority in 2011.

Little has seemed to grab the attention of legislators, other than many Democrats in both chambers who are pushing for campaign finance reform, starting with closure of the LLC loophole. And Cuomo, defiant in the face of calls for reforms that bring outside oversight to his administration, does not seem particularly animated by his desire to push through ethics and campaign finance reform.

Heastie, Cuomo, Flanagan (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

In one-house budgets passed this week, the state Legislature showed little evidence that new government ethics, voting, and campaign finance reform measures will be passed in Albany any time soon. This, despite persistent issues with public corruption, antiquated election laws, and the ongoing ability for wealthy interests to donate virtually unlimited sums to politicians.

Through his January State of the State tour, 2017 policy book, and executive budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo laid out his proposals for such measures -- an ambitious reform agenda, but one that the governor has done little to promote publicly since January.

On Wednesday, the Democrat-led Assembly aligned itself with Cuomo, a second-term Democrat, on measures like voting and campaign finance reform, while separating on other items related to transparency and budget control. The Republican majority in the Senate, on the other hand, rejected virtually all of Cuomo’s “good government and ethics” proposals.

The one-house budgets are statements of priority from the majorities of the two legislative houses, and set the stage for the final weeks of negotiation before a new state budget is agreed upon before the April 1 start to the new fiscal year. Government ethics, voting, and campaign finance reform do not appear to be particularly high on the list of priorities for Cuomo, the Assembly majority, the Senate majority, or the Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference (a group of eight breakaway Democrats that has a coalition agreement with Senate Republicans but nevertheless put forward its own conference budget resolution on Wednesday).

Both the Senate and Assembly majorities pushed back on Cuomo’s move to secure more control of the budget, specifically a provision Cuomo had outlined that would allow the governor to slash funding mid-year in the event of federal cuts without consulting the Legislature. The legislative majorities also both rejected Cuomo’s call for the creation of new inspectors general appointed by the governor’s office to oversee the Port Authority and the State Education Department. They also indicated that they oppose proposals that expand the powers of the state Inspector General and extend the state’s freedom of information law (FOIL) to the Legislature.

However, a major difference between the two chambers is the status of the infamous “LLC loophole,” which permits politicians to benefit from virtually unlimited corporate campaign contributions -- its closure, good government groups say, is essential to stemming pay-to-play politics and corruption.

An Assembly bill to close the loophole, sponsored by Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, has passed multiple times with bipartisan support, and Cuomo has indicated he would sign the legislation if passed by both houses. Yet, the Senate has not brought such legislation to the floor for a vote, despite a companion bill existing for years.

Both Cuomo’s executive budget proposal and the Assembly’s one-house resolution recommend that LLCs be subject to the same campaign contribution limitations as other corporations and require that the owners of each limited liability company be disclosed, but the Senate GOP’s resolution makes no mention of the legislation. It vaguely indicates that the Senate will “consider modifications” to the governor’s ethics and good governance proposals. “Any ethics reform requires balanced and measured actions to ensure New Yorkers are best served by their public officials,” the Senate document states.

Senator Daniel Squadron, who sponsors the Senate bill to close the LLC Loophole, criticized the Senate Majority's removal of a measure from the budget resolution in a statement referencing the recent firing of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who has famously crusaded against corrupt Albany lawmakers, including the former leaders of both legislative houses. "The vacancy in the Southern District of New York is a reminder that the Senate Majority must no longer be vacant on real ethics reform,” Squadron, a New York City Democrat, said in a statement. "There's a clear step to help get big money out of New York politics: closing the LLC Loophole. Taking that step will begin to reduce corruption and restore faith in government.”

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Squadron asked Senator Catharine Young, a Republican from Chautauqua and Allegany Counties who chairs the Senate finance committee, for confirmation that the Senate Majority will not block closure of the LLC loophole in the final budget.

“Under the Article XII bill that we introduced, we did not make any modification to the governor’s proposal, however in the resolution we say we are open to making modifications to the governor’s proposal,” responded Young.

Cuomo's wide-ranging, 10-point ethics reform agenda advocates for a public campaign financing system, early voting, and several additional measures that reform-minded advocates and legislators have been calling for, as well as others of his own.

One of the governor’s proposals would require lawmakers consult the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee regarding any outside income, but stops short of banning such income. Cuomo also wants to significantly cap the outside income legislators can make. Legislators addressed the proposal in February, when the Senate and Assembly passed a joint resolution requiring any legislator earning more than $5,000 in outside income to seek an advisory opinion from the Legislative Ethics Commission as to whether the employment is consistent with the Public Officers Law.

In their budget resolutions, the Assembly and Senate both call for increased disclosure and transparency requirements for the members of Cuomo’s 10 Regional Economic Development Councils (REDCs), which have been accused by lawmakers of self-dealing. The Legislature want to require council members to file annual financial disclosure statements, adhere to the Code of Ethics and FOIL requirements in the Public Officers Law, and abide by the open meetings law.

Cuomo and his allies have pushed back on the idea of these disclosure requirements, saying that the regulations would make it difficult to recruit new members, who are volunteers and typically successful businesspeople.

“Now several members want to derail the REDCs by requiring their members to disclose personal financial information to a degree that is inappropriate for a private citizen volunteer,’’ Virginia Horvath and Jeff Belt, co-chairs of the governor's Western New York regional economic development council, wrote in a Feb. 27 letter to Western New York legislators, according to the Buffalo News.

Meanwhile, in campaign finance reform, the Assembly is proposing new legislation to “prohibit housekeeping monies from being transferred or contributed out of the account to another segregated housekeeping account” or to be used “for political communications referencing a candidate.” An Assembly spokesperson confirmed to Gotham Gazette that this proposal is in response to tactics used by both Senate Republicans and the Independent Democratic Conference during recent election cycles.

While both Cuomo and Assembly Democrats favor creating a system of public campaign financing, perhaps similar to New York City’s, the Assembly did not specifically include that in its one-house and Senate Republicans in their one-house budget resolution again expressed opposition to taxpayer-funded campaigns. Senate Republicans also stated that they do not believe a full-time professional Legislature best represents the state -- meaning they do not want to see strict limits placed on legislators’ outside income.

The Senate majority also stated its objection to Cuomo’s proposal that the Legislature and the Legislative Ethics Commission become subject to the same freedom of information law provisions to which executive agencies are subject.

“The legislative process is inherently open to the public for input, scrutiny and review. In contrast, the public is made aware of many Executive agency activities only after they occur. As such, for purposes of freedom of information law, these branches are treated differently,” the Senate’s one-house resolution states.

The resolution notes that confidentiality is necessary with respect to the legislative ethics commission in order to encourage individuals to seek ethics guidance.

As for voting reform, the Assembly voted to agree with Cuomo’s calls for automatic registration and early voting, but recommends a period of early voting commencing eight days before an election rather than the 12-day window proposed by the governor. Like the rest of Cuomo’s reform proposals, the Senate did not give indication of support to voting reforms.

As usual, there was little drama in the Assembly, where Democrats hold a wide majority margin. But, in the Senate proceedings grew contentious Wednesday when mainline Democrats were forced, with little notice, to vote on two one-house resolutions, one for the Senate Majority and one for the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). This, while Senate Democrats were blocked from submitting their own resolution for a vote. In a headed session on the Senate floor, Democratic conference members, led by Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, objected to the unprecedented change in procedure, and expressed dismay that most of their policies were not represented in either the majority or IDC budget proposal.

Senator Michael Gianaris, deputy leader of the mainline Democrats, asked for his conference to have a chance to put forth its own resolution, a request that was denied by a chamber vote.

The IDC’s resolution, written in broader strokes than the Republican majority’s, suggests that its members are on board with all of the governor’s proposed ethics reforms, including closure of the LLC loophole. While the IDC has some influence with Senate Republicans given that the breakaway conference helps bolster the GOP’s razor thin majority, it is unlikely that influence will extend to significant ethics, voting, or campaign finance reform this year.

“The Governor has included comprehensive ethics reform in his Executive Budget proposal just as he has every other year," said Cuomo spokesperson Abbey Fashouer. "We strongly urge the Legislature to join us in this effort and pass these proposals this year.”

New York City Hall

What to watch for this week in New York politics:

The week starts with many eyes on Preet Bharara, who was fired Saturday from his position as United State Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara refused to resign when asked to along with the country's 45 other U.S. attorneys appointed by President Barack Obama, as is common practice when a new federal administration omes into power. Bharara's lone refusal, though, came under special circumstances: in November, then President-elect Donald Trump had met with Bharara and asked if he would stay on -- Bharara told reporters in the Trump Tower lobby that he intended to do so. But, that had appeared at the time to be part of Trump's new relationship with Senator Charles Schumer, whom Bharara once worked for, and that Trump-Schumer relationship has since soured. There are also a multitude of other possible reasons that Trump allowed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to let Bharara go, including cases Bharara has worked on in the past.

Bharara's office is in the midst of an investigation into Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration. The top prosecutor's departure does not necessarily mean one thing or another for the case, which has been going on for almost a year. Meanwhile, prosecutors who had been working under Bharara are also preparing for trial in the cases relating to indictments of aides, associates, and donors to Governor Andrew Cuomo -- those charges, stemming from bid-rigging and other alleged crimes, related to the governor's economic development programming. Those trials will also proceed, but without Bharara at the top of the prosecutorial food chain.

On Twitter Sunday, Bharara took a swipe at Cuomo, writing, "By the way, now I know what the Moreland Commission must have felt like." He was referring, of course, to the short-lived commission to investigate public corruption that Cuomo formed to much fanfare, then disbanded as part of a political compromise when it had been looking at behavior involving his donors, among many other things. Bharara's office picked up the investigations Moreland had started, and some material helped in its prosecutions of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, but Bharara wound up publicly clearing Cuomo of any federal crimes.

So, we'll see what's next for Bharara and for the office he leaves behind.

Meanwhile, there's a lot more happening this week in New York politics, including a variety of City Council budget hearings, special events, and more -- keep in mind, though, that the city is expected to be hit by a blizzard of sorts on Tuesday, which could lead to many cancellations and postponements.

In Albany, the one-house budgets are due this week from the Assembly and Senate. These budgets will kick negotiations among the two majorities, Gov. Cuomo, and IDC Leader Jeff Klein into higher gear. A state budget is due by April 1.

There are many events this week 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?
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
Mayor de Blasio has three public events on his schedule Monday: at 10:30 a.m. in Times Square, de Blasio "will unveil a new Ladders for Leaders advertising campaign; at noon in the Bronx, "Mayor de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane McCray, Police Commissioner James O’Neill and Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett will host a press conference to announce the Administration’s new plan to combat the opioid epidemic;" and in the 7 and 10 p.m. hours, the mayor will make his weekly appearance on NY1's Road to City Hall.

At 7 p.m. Monday Governor Cuomo will speak at "Raise the Age Evening of Action" at Central Synagogue in Manhattan.

At the City Council on Monday, there will be preliminary budget hearings held by the Committee on Governmental Operations; Committee on Aging; and Committee on Public Housing, with the following tenative schedule for different departmental appearances before the different Council committees (see schedule for locations):

• The Department for the Aging at 10 a.m.
• The Department of Citywide Administrative Services at 10 a.m.
• The Law Department at 11 a.m.
• The Office of Administrative Trials & Hearings at 1 p.m.
• The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) at 1 p.m.
• The Financial Information Services Agency/Office of Payroll Administration at 1:45 p.m.
• The Tax Commission at 2:30 p.m.
• The Department of Records and Information Services at 3 p.m.
• The Board of Standards and Appeals at 3:30 p.m.
• Community Boards at 4 p.m.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Monday in Albany.

At the State Senate on Monday: The Senate Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Capital Investment will meet at 9 a.m. in Albany to “examine the project delivery method known as design-build and examine executive budget proposals related to design-build.”

Starting at 9 a.m Monday, the New York State Board of Regents will hold its monthly meeting, which will continue on Tuesday, at SUNY Albany.

At 9 a.m. Monday, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Council Members Margaret Chin and Antonio Reynoso, Section 8 tenants, and housing advocates will hold a rally on the steps of City Hall to rally support for Velazquez’s “Landlord Accountability Act.”

On Monday morning, Paul Massey will formally launch his mayoral campaign in Flushing, Queens. He'll tour Kissena Farms Kosher Supermarket, then hold a media availability. Massey has held one City Hall press conference and appeared at a variety of public events, including a few candidate forums. [From Gotham Gazette, read: Focused on De Blasio, Massey Makes City Hall Campaign Debut]

At 10:30 a.m. Monday hear Gotham Gazette's Ben Max on WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show, where he'll join the host and NY1's Grace Rauh to discuss Mayor de Blasio's budget and comments de Blasio made Friday about how he approaches the budget, budget negotiations with the City Council, New Yorkers reading budget documents, and more. Stream at WNYC.org or listen at 93.9FM.

On Monday at 11 a.m. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will speak on a panel at the Just Food Conference at Teachers College.

On Monday, the NYCLU will hold a Day of Action asking the New York State Legislature to pass legislation to protect civil rights and liberties. At noon, there will be a rally in Albany featuring NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman; Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner; Erika Christensen, “a woman affected by New York’s outdated abortion law;” National Institute for Reproductive Rights president Andrea Miller; Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts! CEO Robin Chappelle Golston; New York State Defenders Association Executive Defenders Association executive director Jonathan Gradess; and others.

On Monday at noon at A’Dar Lounge in Manhattan, the city Department of Small Business Services and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito "will announce nearly $9 million in neighborhood revitalization grants" for community-based organizations across the city "to strengthen commercial corridors." Along with SBS Commissioner Gregg Bishop and Mark-Viverito, Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, program grantee David Nocenti of Union Settlement, and others will participate.

At noon Monday, a rally will be held at Governor Cuomo’s New York City office to demand that the governor address the homelessness crisis, adopt new progressive taxation policies, and commit to resisting the policies coming from Washington. Activists led by Vocal-NY and including representatives of a variety of groups plan to commit civil disobedience by blocking traffic on Third Avenue.

At noon Monday, the City Council Progressive Caucus and Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus will hold a rally at City Hall to protest the Trump administration’s budget cuts to NYCHA. City Council Member Ritchie Torres, chair of the Council’s public housing committee, “will announce an update in the amount of money NYCHA is expecting to lose this year.” Council members will also be joined by Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Comptroller Scott Stringer, “dozens of public housing residents, housing and advocacy organizations including Legal Aid Society, CAAAV, Community Voices Heard, Grand St. Settlement, FPWA, Enterprise, and more.” The rally will preface the aforementioned City Council budget hearing on public housing.

At 6 p.m. Monday, a public meeting will be held regarding the merger of Frederick Douglass Academy IV Secondary School and the Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance, both Renewal schools.

On Monday at 6:30 p.m., schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will deliver "brief remarks at the Third Annual Shubert High School Festival" at The Music Box Theatre in Manhattan.

At 7 p.m. on Monday, the Urban Justice Center will host “Defending Our Sanctuary City,” a panel discussion featuring City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; Ravi Ragbir, organizer at New Sanctuary Coalition and an immigrant rights activist; Lourdes Rosado, Civil Rights Bureau Chief in the office of the New York State Attorney General; and Alisha Williams, Senior Staff Attorney at the Peter Cicchino Youth Project at UJC.

Tuesday
NOTE: all of the events listed for Tuesday are subject to cancellation given the expected snowstorm.*** This post may not reflect cancellations.***

At the City Council on Tuesday:

• The Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet at 10 a.m.
• The Committee on Land Use will meet at 10:30 a.m.
• The Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Disability Services will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss local laws regarding drug strategy and induction loops for certain city-financed capital projects

Also at the City Council on Tuesday, there will be preliminary budget hearings held by the Committee on Public Safety and the Committee on Technology with the following tenative schedule:

• The Police Department at 10 a.m.
• District Attorneys/Special Narcotics Prosecutor at 12 p.m.
• The Department of Information, Technology, & Telecommunications at 1 p.m.
• The Civilian Complaint Review Board at 2 p.m.
• The Criminal Justice Coordinator at 3 p.m.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Tuesday in Albany.

At 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, the Center for New York City Law will host “Building Mega-Projects: Lessons from the Second Avenue Subway,” with Michael Horodniceanu, President of MTA Capital Construction Company.

On Tuesday there will be a half-day conference, "Options for Community-friendly Real Estate Development for Faith-based Organizations" at Deutsche Bank, 60 Wall Street, is being sponsored by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer "for faith-based organizations facing these challenges. We’ll discuss all aspects of community-sensitive planning and development, including strategies for community engagement, alternative development models, and policy considerations on structural preservation as well as affordable housing development and preservation."

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Correction will hold a public meeting at 125 Worth St in Manhattan.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Industrial Development Agency will hold a Board of Directors meeting.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will host the first of two public hearings of their “Gifted and Talented Task Force,” focusing on “gifted and talented education in New York City public schools, as well as the admissions process for the city’s specialized schools,” at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza in Brooklyn.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, John Jay College of Criminal Justice will host a community information forum regarding the upcoming referendum on whether to call a state constitutional convention. Panelists and moderators will include Michael Benjamin of the New York Post; Brigid Bergin of WNYC; Josh Robin of NY1; Dick Dadey of Citizen Union; and Evan Davis, the former president of the New York City Bar Association and current senior counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Public Advocate Letitia James will hold a "Talk to Tish" town hall for residents of the South Bronx at the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education.

At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, City Council Member Laurie Cumbo will continue her “Community Exchange Series.” Cumbo will discuss “Status Update on the Bedford Union Armory Part 2” at Medgar Evers College.

***Reminder: all of the events listed for Tuesday are subject to cancellation given the expected snowstorm.*** This post may not reflect cancellations.*** This is true for all events listed here.

Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday:

• At 9:45 a.m., "the Committee on Housing and Buildings will hold a hearing on criminal and civil penalties for the performance of unlicensed electrical work."
• The Committee on Immigration will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing regarding “the impact of new immigration enforcement tactics on access to justice and services.” Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will deliver opening remarks.
• The Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss a proposed resolution calling upon President Trump to “fully fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and not to eliminate or diminish any of these agencies in any form.” Postponed
• The Committee on Transportation will hold a hearing on multiple items at 10 a.m.
• The Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold a zoning hearing on the Bushido restaurant in Brooklyn at 11:15 a.m.
• The Committee on Land Use will hold a hearing on multiple items at 11:30 a.m.
• The Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services will hold a hearing on multiple items at noon.
• The Committee on Environmental Protection will hold a hearing on flood mitigation in southeast Queens at 2 p.m.

The City Council on Wednesday will also hold a preliminary budget hearing of the Committee on Housing and Buildings with The Department of Housing Preservation and Development at 10 a.m. and The Department of Buildings at 12 p.m.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Wednesday in Albany.

At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the Association for a Better New York will host a “Panel on Proposed Federal Policies & The Impact on the New York City Budget,” featuring Maria Doulis, Vice President of the Citizens Budget Commission; Dean Fuleihan, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget; Robert F. Mujica Jr., Director of the New York State Division of the Budget; and Preston Niblack, the deputy comptroller of New York City. Public Advocate Letitia James is among those who will attend the event.

At 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Manhattan Institute will host “Student Discipline and Disorder,” discussing the potential ramifications of the “discipline reform” movement sweeping across American school districts, aiming to curb the disproportionate rates of suspension for black and Latino students. The event will feature opening remarks from Howard Husock, vice president of research and publications at MI, followed by a presentation by MI Senior Fellow Max Eden, and finally a panel featuring Eden, Office of Safety and Youth Development CEO Lois Herrera, Local 237 Director of Law Enforcement Derek Jackson, and Senior Policy Fellow at the Center of the American Experiment Katherine Kersten; the panel will be moderated by Husock. (Event has been postponed due to the snow storm.)

At noon Wednesday, there will be a "Faith Over Fear" press conference outside City Hall. Public Advocate Letitia James is among those participating.

At 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, "Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman will announce a massive organized crime ring take down."

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, a public meeting will be held regarding the closure of the Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design, a Renewal school.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the New York City Bar Association will host “Yes or No in November: Discussing a Constitutional Convention for New York,” about the upcoming referendum regarding whether New York State should convene a constitutional convention to examine its provisions regarding government ethics and citizen protections. The event will connect to the one from the night before, and will feature Barbara Bartoletti, of the League of Women Voters of New York State; Michael Cardozo, of Proskauer Rose LLP; Dick Dadey, of Citizens Union; Evan Davis, of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Hank Greenberg, of Greenberg Traurig LLP; Helen Hershkoff, of NYU School of Law; Adriene Holder, of the Civil Practice Legal Aid Society of NYC; Roberta Kaplan, of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison LLP; and Jerry Kremer, of Empire Government Strategies.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the City Council is hosting its annual "Women's Herstory Month Celebration," led by the Council's Women's Caucus, which is currently chaired by Council Members Laurie Cumbo and Helen Rosenthal. Speaker Mark-Viverito will deliver remarks; and the event will honor eleven "women in the labor movement for their invaluable contributions to workers' rights and the strengthening of New York City's economy."

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the city Parks Department will host a scoping meeting to discuss potential improvement to Lost Battalion Hall Park in Queens.

Mayor de Blasio is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting on Wednesday night in Manhattan, hosted by City Council Member Corey Johnson, at Lab High School. A number of other local elected officials are co-hosts, though as is customary, the local Council member, Johnson, will emcee. Public Advocate Letitia James will attend and may deliver brief remarks.

Thursday
At the City Council on Thursday:

• The Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a resolution “approving the new designation of certain budget organizations to receive funding in the expense budget.”
• The full New York City Council will meet at 1:30 p.m. Thursday for a Stated Meeting. As usual, it will be prefaced by a press conference led by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and other Council members.

The Committee on Environmental Protection will meet at 2 p.m. to discuss flood mitigation in Southeast Queens.

At 9 a.m. Thursday, the Center for New York City Affairs will host “College Affordability: Will New York Lead the Way,” a discussion with community leaders regarding Governor Cuomo’s free college proposal at the New School’s Theresa Lang Student Center. Following opening remarks by New School President David van Zandt, author Sara Goldrick-Rab will join a discussion with Kimberly Cline, President of Long Island University; Mike Fabricant, first vice president, Professional Staff Congress, City University of New York; James Skoufis, an Assemblyman representing Orange and Rockland Counties; and Kevin Stump, the northeast director of Young Invincibles. [From Gotham Gazette, read: Assembly Members Propose Changes to Cuomo’s Free-Tuition Plan]

At 3 p.m. Thursday, the Center for Community and Ethnic Media at CUNY Journalism School will hold a panel discussing the city’s commitment to keep New York affordable and welcoming, as well as the “Start by Asking” joint campaign by the Robin Hood Foundation and the city. The panel will feature Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Steve Banks, Commissioner of the Department of Social Services; Lorelei Salas, Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs; Regina Schwartz, the mayor’s Public Engagement Unit Director; and Steven Lee, the managing director of income security at the Robin Hood Foundation. Event postponed.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, a public meeting will be held regarding the closure of the Leadership Institute, a Renewal school.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the Brooklyn Historical Society will host “The Legacy of Jane Jacobs,” whose book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” “sent shockwaves through the architecture and planning worlds.” The New York Times’ Ginia Bellafante will speak with documentary filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer, co-founder of Friends of the High Line Robert Hammond, and Dr. Samuel Zipp, Associate Professor of American and Urban Studies at Brown University and co-editor of “Little Plans: The Short Works of Jane Jacobs.”

Friday and the weekend
Friday is the annual Student Voter Registration Day in New York City.

At 7 p.m. Friday, Delta Sigma Theta’s Queens Alumnae Chapter will host “Women in Politics II, Beyond the Voting Booth: Harnessing our Collective Power” at Queens Borough Hall. Tunisha Walker, Senior Vice President of Capalino + Company, will moderate a panel featuring Bertha Lewis, founder and president of the Black Institute; Tara Martin, political director of the NYS Nurses Association; and Afua Atta Mensah, executive director of Community Voices Heard.

On Friday evening at 7 p.m., City Council Members Laurie Cumbo and Jumaane D. Williams will "commemorate Women's Herstory Month by honoring seven extraordinary women from New York City who are blazing the trail in advocacy and public service." Nisha Agarwal of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs will deliver keynote remarks.

At 11:30 a.m. Sunday, the Riders’ Alliance will hold “Fare Hike Rally and Action: NYers Demand #FairFares” at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn. [From Gotham Gazette, read: Saying City 'Can't Afford' 'Fair Fares,' De Blasio Points to State]

***
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 Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Heastie, Cuomo, Flanagan (photo: Governor's Office/Kevin P. Coughlin)

With a new state budget due by the end of the month, the Senate and Assembly are finalizing their one-house budget resolutions. The one-house statements of priorities in the Democrat-controlled Assembly and Republican-controlled Senate will be passed this week, and their passage signals the official start to the negotiations that will yield a state spending plan for the new fiscal year, which begins April 1.

The one-house budgets are shaped, in part, by a series of joint legislative budget hearings that took place in February, and are non-binding proposals from each chamber, wherein they respond to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget.

Cuomo outlined his policy and spending priorities in January during his 2017 State of the State speaking tour, which was accompanied by a policy book, and his 2017-2018 executive budget proposal. Over the past weeks, several sticking points became clear, including a number associated with New York City interests and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s agenda.

While de Blasio has praised several elements of Cuomo’s agenda, he has also expressed concerns about several areas of proposed funding cuts to New York City, as well as the governor’s new proposal for a replacement to the affordable housing-focused property tax abatement program known as 421-a. De Blasio is also pushing heavily for a “mansion tax” that would add a surcharge on New York City homes purchased for over $2 million.

Assembly Democrats, Senate Republicans, and the influential Senate Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) have each indicated certain priorities heading into the release of the one-house budgets and final weeks of negotiation. Debates over taxes appear to be at the top of the list, with the Assembly looking for tax increases (include de Blasio’s mansion tax), the Senate looking to roll back taxes and fees, and Governor Cuomo, as usual, somewhere in between. (De Blasio’s mansion tax is almost certainly not going to pass.)

Cuomo’s Excelsior Scholarship, which would provide tuition-free city and state college to New York residents from homes earning $125,000 or less, will also be a focus of budget negotiations. The centerpiece of Cuomo’s 2017 agenda, the program hinges on the extension of the state’s so-called “millionaire’s tax,” which Senate Republicans have already made clear they oppose (and Assembly Democrats are looking to enhance). There are questions about how the scholarship program will be paid for, but also the enrollment qualifications, with a large group of Assembly Democrats proposing their own version of the plan. The IDC and Assembly Minority have indicated they prefer an expansion of the state’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), which would be inclusive to students at the state’s private colleges, who are not included in Cuomo’s plan.

As has become the tradition in Albany, the final budget will be determined by the proverbial “three men in a room” -- a reference to the governor and the leaders of the majority conferences in both houses, who will meet frequently, and behind closed doors, in the coming days to hammer out details. As of 2015, the state budget has been hashed out by “four men in a room,” to include IDC Leader Jeff Klein. The men will negotiate in consultation with their conferences, but they often make major policy trades and decisions just before the deadline and rank-and-file legislators wind up voting on billions of dollars in spending and major new policies without much time to review the details.

Given Republican control of the Senate and de Blasio’s frosty, if not antagonistic, relationship with Cuomo, there is increased pressure on Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, to represent the interests of New York City and its mayor. While Klein, Cuomo and Heastie are all nominally Democrats, they each come from different perspectives and with different priorities. In a coalition agreement with Senate Republicans that bolsters the GOP’s razor thin majority, Klein’s now eight-member IDC typically uses its leverage to push through a key progressive issues each session. It appears that raising the age of adult criminality in New York is at the top of the IDC list this year.

At a press conference Wednesday, de Blasio responded to a Gotham Gazette question about the status of state budget negotiations by saying that Speaker Heastie and the Assembly have been “extraordinarily supportive” of city interests, and that he and Heastie recently spoke about the city’s housing needs, among other items.

“I’ve talked to him about, you know, all of the current greatest hits,” de Blasio said. “Obviously, the housing MOU is one of the ones we care about the most. We want clarity on that set of resources. It’s a lot of money. It’s $2 billion. We have no idea how it’s going to be used, there’s been no specific plan. It could be incredibly helpful to our efforts to address affordability.”

Specifically, de Blasio said, the city is concerned about the supportive housing proposal from the state, which is is supposed to provide 20,000 units. “There’s not a single unit being produced anywhere at this point. There’s no plan, there’s no timeline, we really need that,” said de Blasio. By “MOU” de Blasio was referring to a memorandum of understanding that must be signed by Cuomo, Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan to allocate the $2 billion set aside in last year’s budget for affordable and supportive housing across the state. Only a small portion of the money has been released.

De Blasio also mentioned his ongoing push for the state to match the city’s investment in NYCHA funding. “When I originally went to the state two years ago, I said ‘we’ll put $300 million into capital for the housing authority, please match us.’ All the state did was give us $100 million and the vast majority we haven’t seen yet, in two years,” de Blasio said. “I have since added $1 billion to capital funding for NYCHA. The least the state could do is make a serious investment in the housing authority in this budget, and I think the speaker is very sympathetic on that front.”

The mayor reiterated concerns he broached during his late January budget testimony in front of the state Legislature about tens of millions of dollars in proposed cuts to state spending on city services, including areas like foster care, senior and special education services, pre-kindergarten, and charter schools. Saying that the Assembly is with the city on the issue, de Blasio told reporters of the cuts, “Again, I don’t think they should have been in the governor’s budget to begin with; I hope they’ll reconsider.”

Another major point of contention in state budget negotiations is likely to be the governor’s proposed 421-a alternative -- dubbed Affordable New York -- which the mayor has argued will be too costly for city taxpayers in the long run for not provide enough affordable units.

The program, which expired in 2015, is designed to spur affordable housing construction, especially in high-priced neighborhoods, by incentivizing developers with property tax exemptions. The previous version was seen by most as flawed and too generous to developers -- there was also lax oversight of the program by city and state entities. De Blasio had proposed his own version of 421-a in 2015, but it was shot down by the governor. De Blasio’s critique of the governor’s version is supported by a recent Independent Budget Office estimate that Cuomo’s plan would cost the city $8.4 billion in property tax revenue over the next 10 years, or $2.3 billion more than the plan de Blasio floated in 2015. There are additional added long-term costs as well, given that 421-a tax breaks last decades.

“There are clearly significant additional costs associated with the newly proposed 421-a law. Making sure we secure an appropriate degree of value for taxpayers is our obligation,” Melissa Grace, de Blasio’s spokesperson on housing, told Gotham Gazette in a statement.

Cuomo’s office has repeatedly maintained that “any expenses in exchange for making sure that all New Yorkers have a safe and decent place to call home are minimal, 26 years out, and worth it.”

Meanwhile, Heastie has told outlets that the Assembly’s one-house budget “will be more of the same” in terms of the Democratic vision the chamber has presented in previous years. Among the Assembly’s new proposals, which have been trickling out in the form of press releases, are several tax cuts for small businesses and greater incentives for businesses that participate in the Excelsior jobs program by relocating to New York State.

Democrats have indicated that they would like to expand education aid beyond Cuomo proposal, make the governor’s Excelsior Scholarship more inclusive and less restrictive, and create a higher tax rate for New Yorkers earning more than $5 million a year.

“I’d just say, where Democrats are and have been, it’s probably more of the same,” Heastie said, promising details in the coming one-house budget. “Of course, education aid and college affordability is covered in there. We want to make sure that there’s clean drinking water throughout the state, transportation funding for the city and then outside of the city of New York. The things we always push for are no different, the lyrics of the song may just be a little different.”

The Senate GOP, which typically pushes to reduce taxes and control spending in New York, has announced that its one-house budget will reject a bevy of taxes and fees proposed in Cuomo’s budget -- including one new motor vehicle fee and another on prepaid cell phones, as well as the extension of the millionaire’s tax.

“Middle-class taxpayers are struggling under the crushing weight of property taxes, income taxes, mortgages and the skyrocketing costs of higher education for their children,” said Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. “In this environment, these new taxes and fees are the last thing hardworking families want or need. We must make it more affordable to live and work in New York, not less, and that’s exactly what our Senate budget will reflect.”

Additionally, there remains the question of how many policy issues from Cuomo’s State and the State, which do not necessarily involve a price tag, will make it into the budget. Cuomo’s speech touched on government ethics and voting reforms, expansion of ridesharing to Upstate New York, extension of mayoral control of New York City’s public schools, criminal justice reform, environmental issues, and more.

While some say that new policy decisions that do not have significant new costs should not be negotiated into the budget, the outcomes will depend on what Cuomo prioritizes and the trading that happens behind closed doors.

There has been a groundswell around the issue of raising the age of criminal responsibility to 18, which the IDC has apparently adopted as a priority for the 2017 budget. “We will not allow New York to treat our teenagers like criminals in criminal court or continue the tradition of mass incarceration of our youth and the 8 members of the IDC will not vote for a budget in the absence of Raise the Age,” said IDC director of communications Candice Giove.

Cuomo and Assembly Democrats have been calling for raising the age for years. Flanagan has indicated that Senate Republicans, who have rejected the legislation in the past, are open to considering some version of the legislation. In an interview with Time Warner Cable, he said, “we’re having real, adult discussions on this subject and there are a lot of people pushing, not just the governor.”

New York City is among two states, the other North Carolina, that prosecutes and imprisons 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.

The IDC has also signalled it will push for the passage of the Dream Act, which would enable undocumented immigrant students to qualify for state college tuition aid. Senate Republicans have also blocked its passage for years.

And, finally, hanging over the entire proceedings is uncertainty out of Washington, D.C., where the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress are exploring repeal of the Affordable Care Act, federal funding cuts to housing and other programs, and tax reform. There are billions of federal dollars at stake that annually flow to New York State and City.