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The Week Ahead in New York Politics, May 11


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to look for this week in New York politics:

SKELOS WATCH: The fallout from Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos' arrest on federal corruption charges continues, with Skelos facing increased pressure to step down from his leadership post. The Legislature is back in session in Albany on Monday, it seems that it is only a matter of time before Skelos takes the path indicted Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver took after his arrest: becoming a rank-and-file member of his body while a colleague ascends to the throne. [Read our in-depth look at how Skelos came to power and what he's done over the years to maintain it]

Meanwhile, there are only about five weeks left in the legislative session and for any real policy work to get done, the Senate leadership must be stabilized. There are a whole host of issues that lawmakers and advocates want to see action on, but in order for anything to really get done, it will come down to negotiations among Governor Andrew Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and the leader of the Senate, whether it is Skelos or a replacement. Some of the key issues on the negotiating table include mayoral control of New York City schools, rent laws and the 421-A tax break for real estate development, 'raise the age' and other criminal justice reforms, paid family leave, the minimum wage, and more. It doesn't seem anything else will be done on the ethics reform front, even though there is more and more scrutiny on the LLC loophole and the problems with the influence of campaign donations and donors. Gov. Cuomo is in a tough spot, the worse Albany looks the worse he looks, and he also wants to get more legislation done before the end of session, but his hands are tied as the Senate deals with the upheaval of Skelos' arrest. The governor may just resort to doing as much as he can without the Legislature, as he's indicated with recent decisions to convene a wage board looking at the minimum wage for fast-food workers.

DE BLASIO TO DC: Mayor Bill de Blasio is heading back to Washington, DC this week. On Tuesday he'll unveil the "Progressive Agenda" that he and collaborators from around the country have put together. A liberal version of the 1994 Republican "Contract with America," it will focus on reducing inequality and creating opportunity. The mayor has argued that a national progressive movement can be extremely helpful to his work in New York. De Blasio will reportedly also head to California this week, where he will speak at his daughter's school, Santa Clara University.

Meanwhile, it promises to be another busy week in the City of New York itself, with the City Council in action, many events and rallies around the city, and continued analysis of de Blasio's recently unveiled fiscal year 2016 Executive Budget leading up to the start of council hearings on the budget, which start May 18, and a final budget deal by the end of June.

Public Advocate Letitia James is due back from Israel this week, she's been there on a nine-day visit.

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

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
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
Monday morning, Eleanor’s Legacy will host its Spring Breakfast honoring Congressional Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and featuring appearances from Congressional Reps. Nita Lowey, Grace Meng, Louise Slaughter, and Nydia Velazquez, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List.

Mark-Viverito has a busy Monday: in addition to the Eleanor's Legacy event, the speaker will be speaking "at MOVE Systems Press Conference to Announce Food Cart Pilot Program" at City Hall; speaking at "Press Conference to Announce the Grand Marshals for the 2015 National Puerto Rican Day Parade; speaking "at New York City Council Jewish Heritage Event" at City Hall, and appearing "Live on BronxTalk" at 9 p.m.

On Monday at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall, "workplace safety advocates will unveil the latest alarming findings from the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health's "Price of Life: 2015 Report on Construction Fatalities in NYC...Advocates will call for: public agencies to stop awarding taxpayer dollars and public contracts to repeat safety offenders; prosecutors to use criminal statutes to go after contractors who violate safety regulations; increased resources for OSHA inspectors to spot problems before they become fatalities; and elected officials to keep a strong Scaffold Safety Law, which holds those who control construction sites responsible if they fail to provide proper safety equipment and a worker is injured or killed as a result."

At 10 a.m. Monday, "Governor Cuomo Makes an Announcement Regarding the Enough is Enough Campaign" at FIT in Manhattan.

At about 10:30 Monday morning, "The New York City Independent Budget Office will release a report...that examines the city's provision of mental health and discharge planning services in the jail system. The report specifically looks at these services in relation to the city meeting its obligations under the Brad H. court settlement and provides data on the number of inmates eligible for and receiving mental health and discharge planning services in 2009 and 2013. Details on city spending are also included."

At 11 a.m. on Monday, Comptroller Scott Stringer will hold a "Press Conference Kicking Off Shred It Events with AARP" at Union Settlement, 237 East 104th Street. On Monday evening, Stringer will "Holds a Town Hall at Big Six Towers" in Woodside.

"On Monday, Mayor de Blasio will visit Corona Family Residence, a homeless facility in Queens...After the visit, the Mayor will hold a media availability to make an announcement related to homelessness" at about 1:30 p.m., according to his public schedule.

On Monday at 2 p.m. at City Hall, "leading housing coalitions and labor leaders to announce massive mobilization for stronger rent laws," specifically a march on Thursday "to demand laws that can keep NYC affordable for working people."

Monday’s City Council schedule will include "the Committee on Housing and Buildings will hold a hearing on Introduction 222-2014, in relation to amending the obligation of owners to provide notice to their tenants for service interruptions, and Introduction 592-2014, in relation to preservation of hotels. The Committee on Housing and Buildings will also hold an oversight hearing on construction safety.

"The Committee on Environmental Protection will hold a hearing on Introduction 240-2014, in relation to filing semiannual reports on catch basin cleanup and maintenance, and Resolution 549-2015 calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to veto the application by Liberty Natural Gas, LLC to construct the Port Ambrose liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast of New York.

"The Committee on General Welfare and the Committee on Governmental Operations will hold a joint hearing on Introduction 251-2014, in relation to the collection of demographic data regarding numerous Asian Pacific American sub-demographic groups, Introduction 551-2014, in relation to requiring city agencies to amend their official forms and databases to accommodate multiracial identification where racial identification is required, Introduction 552-2014, in relation to collecting and reporting data related to sexual orientation and gender identity, and Resolution 472-2014 calling on the state and federal governments to amend their official forms and databases to accommodate multiracial identification in all instances where racial identification is required."

On Monday, the state Legislature is in session in Albany.

At 5:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, “Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Public Advocate Tish James, the New York City Council Jewish Caucus, and members of the New York City Council cordially invite you to a Jewish Heritage Month Celebration, featuring special guest speaker Dr. Ruth Westheimer.”

Monday evening, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz will hold a Queens Borough Board Meeting.

Also Monday evening, the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit (CAU), in collaboration with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, will host an LGBT City Agencies and Community Meet & Greet: “Meet and connect with all of New York City's LGBT focused agency representatives and learn about all the services and resources city agencies have to offer to the LGBT community.”

At 6:30 p.m. Monday, the New York Press Club will host the panel event, “The Investigators,” where a “panel of investigative reporters will discuss the state of their art in contemporary New York, joined by the City's new Investigations Commissioner, Mark G. Peters.” Panelists will include Greg Smith of New York Daily News, William Rashbaum and Michael Schwirtz of The New York Times, and Murray Weiss of DNAinfo.com New York, and the panel will be moderated by Tom Robbins.

Also Monday evening at 6:30 p.m., the Manhattan Institute will hold its Fifteenth Annual Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, honoring Senior Fellow at Manhattan Institute and Co-Author of 'Broken Windows Policing,' George Kelling, and Founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools, Eva Moskowitz, “for Their Dedication to Increasing Safety and Opportunity in New York...The Alexander Hamilton Award was created to honor those individuals helping to foster the revitalization of our nation’s cities.”

Tuesday
Mayor de Blasio will be in Washington, DC on Tuesday: according to POLITICO, early in the day he'll appear at a Roosevelt Institute event with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others, and then he "will hold a 3 p.m. news conference outside the U.S. Capitol with labor leaders, Democratic lawmakers and liberal activists to unveil his "Progressive Agenda to Combat Income Inequality.""

From the mayor's office: "On Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio will travel to Washington, D.C. to unveil The Progressive Agenda to Combat Income Inequality. There will be two events. In the morning, the Mayor will deliver remarks at the National Press Club. This event, hosted by the Roosevelt Institute, will also feature Nobel Prize winning economist and professor Joseph Stiglitz and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. In the afternoon, the Mayor will make an announcement at the House Triangle near the U.S. Capitol Building steps."

Tuesday morning, the Association for a Better New York will host a “breakfast with Scott Rechler,” who will "provide a regional perspective for addressing New York's competitive challenges and opportunities. He will also outline reforms underway at the Port Authority as well as priorities and goals for the Port Authority and for the region going forward.”

At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz will hold a Queens Borough Cabinet Meeting.

Tuesday’s City Council schedule will include a joint hearing of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services, the Committee on Public Safety, the Committee on Courts and Legal Services, and the Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services to “examine New York City’s action plan” on behavioral health and the criminal justice system.

On Tuesday, the state Legislature is in session in Albany.

Wednesday
On Wednesday, Mayor de Blasio "will be joined by a bipartisan coalition of mayors from around the country for meetings with Congressional leadership to call for a six-year transportation authorization that significantly increases federal transportation investments. Wednesday afternoon, the mayors will hold a press conference at the U.S. Capitol. Additional details regarding Mayor de Blasio's schedule while in Washington will be released as they become available." Later on Wednesday, "Mayor de Blasio will travel to Santa Clara, California."

"Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced Brooklyn Job Fair 2015, an opportunity for Brooklynites to come to Brooklyn Borough Hall on Wednesday, May 13th from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM and apply for positions at some of New York City's major businesses. This networking event is being co-hosted by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, and is part of a sustained effort by Borough President Adams to advance hiring of local residents through the borough. According to statistics by the New York State Department of Labor, Brooklyn's unemployment rate in March 2015 was 6.7%, a higher number than that of the city and the state."

Wednesday, City and State, in collaboration with the Bronx Borough President’s Office, will host an event in celebration of its first ever Bronx Special Issue publication: “City & State will publish our first ever special issue covering everything Bronx. This special print edition will feature comprehensive coverage of major issues and industries in the Bronx, perspectives from every Bronx elected official and much more! This print edition will be launched City & State’s first ever Bronx-based event that will correspond with Bronx week.” Attendees will include Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., SOMOS Chair and Bronx Democratic Party Chair Marcos Crespo, State Senator Jeff Klein, and Kyle Kimball, President of the New York City Economic Development.

At noon Wednesday, the Senate Task Force on Workforce Development will meet for a hearing on “Bridging the Employment Gap.”

The state Legislature is due to be in session on Wednesday.

Wednesday evening, Cooper Union will host "The Monopoly Moment: The New Anti-Trust Paradox" featuring Fordham Law professor and former gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout.

Also Wednesday evening, Vets GSA in partnership with CUNY and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, will host “a workshop and seminar that will be focusing on identifying contracting opportunities for New York State and the US Federal Government for Veteran Owned Businesses...This session will provide information for Services Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses and Veteran Owned Small Business to make them award or the multitude of open source business development intelligence websites that can be used to assist in the increasing the businesses ability to assess competition and identify and bid on viable opportunities.”

Thursday
Thursday morning, the Senate Standing Committee on Codes, the Senate Standing Committee on Consumer Protection, and the Senate Standing Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs, will hold a joint hearing regarding “Cyber Security in New York State as it Relates to Businesses and the Private Sector.”

Thursday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Finance “concerning amendments to the District Plan of the Lower East Side Business Improvement District” and a full-body Stated Meeting at 1:30 p.m.

At 5:00 p.m. Thursday, New York Communities for Change, Real Rent Reform Campaign, and Alliance for Tenant Power will host “Rally to Save NYC..Landlords and developers are taking our neighborhoods away from us. The affordable housing crisis and gentrification have brought millions of New Yorkers to a breaking point. If we don’t win stronger rent laws in June, our city will be lost. This is our last chance to hold onto the place we call home.” There will be a rally in Foley Square, followed by a march.

On Thursday evening, Manhattan BP Brewer will speak "at American Planning Association panel discussion on 421-a and rent stabilization, Rudin Family Forum at the Puck Building."

Friday and the weekend
Friday morning, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research will host “New York’s Next Health Care Revolution: How Employers Can Help Empower Patients and Consumers...In a just-released collection of essays published by the Manhattan Institute, a group of leading experts offer a clear diagnosis of New York’s health care ills, as well as a menu of concise, actionable reforms that employers and policymakers can use to make the Empire State’s health care system truly patient-and consumer-centered.”

On Saturday morning, Brooklyn BP Adams, in coordination with The Youth Council on Community Engagement, will host “Youth Participation on Community Boards Boot Camp...Brooklyn’s youth ages 16 – 25 and those who work with youth are invited to learn about civic engagement and how their local community board addresses the issues in their neighborhood.”

Saturday evening, Lea DeLaria (of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black) and the Empire State Pride Agenda will host its Spring Dinner at Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center: “The Empire State Pride Agenda is New York’s statewide civil rights and advocacy group dedicated to winning equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) New Yorkers and our families.” New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will provide the evening’s keynote.

Also Saturday evening, City Council Member Jumaane Williams and supporters will host a 39th birthday celebration/fundraiser for Williams: “Join us as we celebrate one of the most progressive and visionary public servants representing New York City communities today. Help fundraise to support the future of Brooklyn's rising star in government and invest in OUR future!”

***
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 Shannon Ho, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, May 4


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Albany arrest watch: "Federal prosecutors are expected to announce criminal charges against New York state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos imminently, possibly as soon as Monday, in connection with a continuing corruption investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter," reported the Wall Street Journal on Friday evening.

Traffic alert! Via the White House: "On Monday, May 4, the President will travel to New York, New York to deliver remarks at an event at Lehman College launching the My Brother's Keeper Alliance, a new non-profit organization. Following this event, the President will attend DNC events."

There'll be a flurry of activity on Monday and Tuesday around the two special elections taking place in New York City on Tuesday: voters on Staten Island and a small chunk of Southern Brooklyn will select a new congressional rep and voters in central Brooklyn will select a new Assembly member (AD43). See NYC Votes' voter guide here.

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James is in Israel this week on a 9-day visit with a 16-member NYC community delegation, which left Sunday evening. Her office says that further details of James' trip will be made available upon her return.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected to unveil his fiscal year 2016 Executive Budget on Thursday, May 7. There is a variety of additional spending being sought by City Council members and advocates that was not included in de Blasio's preliminary budget. The most high profile is, of course, funding for additional NYPD officers. The Council has asked the mayor to include funding for 1,000 additional officers and it is looking like the mayor will at least meet the Council half-way, but we're still awaiting confirmed details. De Blasio is also expected to release his administration's first update to the city's 10-year capital plan on Thursday.

On Friday, de Blasio was involved in a strategy session around lobbying for strengthening of rent laws in Albany. As legislative session continues this week in the capital be prepared to see more and more efforts to influence policy as lawmakers negotiate a whole host of issues, from the DREAM Act to rent regulations, mayoral control of schools, minimum wage, criminal justice reform, and much more. Lawmakers are again due in Albany Monday through Wednesday this week. Thursday is set to see a summit on teacher evaluations in Albany and a major Assembly hearing on criminal justice reform in Manhattan - see below for details.

You know what they're saying: the Bronx is the new Brooklyn. And it's Bronx Week 2015 this week, which Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and others kicked off on Sunday. Fitting that the President will be in the Bronx on Monday.

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

***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
[Update: event cancelled as Five Star Carting agreed to rehire the two employees] --> At 9 a.m. Monday morning, “In response to the firing of two private sanitation workers who testified about problems in their industry at a City Hall hearing, Councilmember Antonio Reynoso will hold a press conference in front of the sanitation company, Five Star Carting,” in Queens. Reynoso will be joined by a variety of labor leaders and other council members, including Brad Lander and Elizabeth Crowley. [note: this event was cancelled]

Monday morning, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will attend a veterans roundtable and brunch hosted by John Jay College.

Monday morning will be a memorial service for Victor Gotbaum, renowned New York City labor leader.

At 10:30 Monday morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo will participate in an announcement by phone, according to his public schedule. The announcement will be made from Bak USA in Buffalo.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that "The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City on Monday plans to introduce an initiative to connect 100,000 young New Yorkers with internships, mentorships and summer jobs by 2020...Chirlane McCray and her husband, the mayor, have secured $3.2 million in private donations to create the Center for Youth Employment, a public-private enterprise to increase the number of job programs for New Yorkers age 14 to 24 by 75% during the next five years."

An 11:55 a.m., Mayor de Blasio will be interviewed at Tech Crunch’s Disrupt NY: “New York Mayor Bill de Blasio will join us on stage at Disrupt New York for an amazing interview with our own Kim-Mai Cutler...He’s already working hard at making changes to the city that aim to increase network connectivity for all five boroughs and Digital.NYC, a hub for startups in the city. Join us on Monday at noon for this intimate and unique interview on our Disrupt NY stage.” Watch livestream here.

Also Monday at noon, “Council Member Paul Vallone and Council Member Corey Johnson will hold a rally calling on Mayor de Blasio to include funding for full service animal shelters in Queens and the Bronx in the fiscal year 2016 executive budget.” They will be joined by animal rights activists.

Monday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Transportation for an oversight hearing “examining the importance of federal funding for city transportation systems” and to consider a resolution supporting the GROW AMERICA Act.

At 1:30 Monday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will visit "Bronx Career and College Preparatory High School with Deputy Mayor Richard Buery to make an announcement."

At 3 p.m. on Monday, the State Senate will be in session.

On Monday at 6 p.m., elected leaders in Brooklyn are holding an “All Lives Matter Criminal Justice Town Hall.” It is being led by Borough President Eric Adams, State Senator Jesse Hamilton, Assembly Member Nick Perry, Council Member Laurie Cumbo, and District Leader Shirley Patterson.

Monday evening, NYU Wagner will host its Jacob K. Javits Visiting Professorship Lecture titled “Who Are the Policy Workers and What Are They Doing? A Citizen’s Perspective on Democratic Accountability in Modern Governance,” given by Anthony M. Bertelli, NYU Wagner Professor of the Politics of Public Policy and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Research.

Also Monday evening, the Queens Economic Development Corporation will host its New Idea to New Venture Workshop: “This workshop helps participants develop their business idea, organize their start-up process and create a strategy to launch their business. It also covers key elements of how to start a business including: financing, business registration, permit & licenses, and tax related issues. Learn how to setup a company and avoid missteps that can cost you time and money. This event welcomes all veterans who are interested in starting their own businesses.”

Tuesday
Tuesday is (Special) Election Day! New York’s 11th Congressional District and 43rd Assembly District will see voting and the election of new reps.

Community Service Society is organizing NY Reentry Roundtable Albany Advocacy Day: “members of the NY Reentry Roundtable invite you to join us as we travel to Albany to advocate for passage of three bills that are critically important for thousands of currently and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers and their families...buses will take advocates from CSS to Albany to meet with legislators and their staff.”

Tuesday morning, Crain’s will host Crain’s Health Care Summit 2015: Value-Based Payments. “Join Crain’s for a critical discussion as New York’s health care industry prepares to shift away from a fee-for-service model to value-based payments. Health care leaders who have already executed value-based contracts will share their best-practices and share lessons learned. This summit goes far beyond explaining WHY New York is shifting to this new model. It explains, on a peer-to-peer senior executive level, how to make that journey.”

Tuesday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises to consider land use applications; and a meeting of the Subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions and Concessions to consider land use applications.

At 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Urban Justice Center will host Community Justice Awards: “This year, we are proud to honor David M. Levine, Head of Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement for the Americas at Deutsche Bank.”

Tuesday afternoon, the State Senate will be in session at 3 p.m.

At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, State Senator Amedore will hold the Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony in Albany: “In honor of Women’s History Month, Senator Amedore is inviting local residents to nominate friends, coworkers and neighborhood leaders whose outstanding work on behalf of our communities makes them deserving of special recognition by the State Senate as a New York ‘Woman of Distinction’.”

“The next public meeting and hearing of the New York City Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC) will be held at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, May 5th, in the Office of the New York City Comptroller...The meeting will include welcoming remarks from NYC Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and a special performance by NYC Youth Poet Laureate Crystal Valentine. A detailed agenda will be made available before the meeting and posted on the @NYCVotes Twitter feed.”

Also Tuesday evening, City Council Member Andy King and his staff will be hosting a "Constituent Services Night" at the Edenwald Community Center in the Bronx, part of his series in which "every other week in a different NYCHA housing development in the 12th Council District...Services will include resources and solutions for housing, food stamps, immigration, Access-A-Ride and basic services."

Tuesday evening is the May 2015 NY Tech Meetup and Afterparty, at NYU Skirball Center For The Performing Arts: “Join fellow technologists for an evening of live demos from companies developing great technology in New York.”

Wednesday
On Wednesday morning, Mayor de Blasio is due on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

[Update: postponed in wake of the death of Police Offier Brian Moore] There was set to be a demonstration at City Hall on Wednesday by firefighter and police officer unions, according to Capital New York: The Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association will march to push the mayor on disability pension benefits. [Update: postponed]

Wednesday morning, ABNY will host a breakfast session with US Congressman Joe Crowley where the Congressman is set to discuss “his priorities for the current session and beyond, including his recently unveiled Building Better Savings, Building Brighter Futures plan to address the savings and retirement security crisis in the U.S.”

Also Wednesday morning, Stroock will host a government leadership forum titled “Is New York Still A Democracy?” Panelists will include Congressman Jerrold Nadler; DeNora M. Getachew Campaign Manager and Legislative Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law; and Douglas A. Kellner, Co-Chair of the New York State Board of Elections. Robert Adams, former New York State Attorney General and Chair of Stroock’s Government Relations Practice, and Jerry H. Goldfeder, Stroock Special Counsel and Election Law attorney will moderate the panel discussion.

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, advocates are expected to rally outside Governor Cuomo's Manhattan office as part of a renewed push to strengthen rent regulation laws that are being negotiated in Albany.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, LiveOn NY will host its 20th Annual City Hall Advocacy Day. “Meet face-to-face with your Council Members; Advocate for those seniors who are too frail to be there; Advocate for more money the Department for the Aging; Represent your senior center; Help to keep programs for future seniors." The day will include morning and afternoon meetings with City Council members sandwiching a City Hall press conference.

Wednesday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Land Use for an oversight hearing regarding “Industrial Land Use and Zoning Policy - Challenges and Opportunities”; a meeting of the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services for an oversight hearing “Examining Violence in New York City’s Jails and the City’s Response,” and on several bills; and a meeting of the Committee on Veterans for an oversight hearing “Evaluating the Effectiveness of MOVA’s Role Serving New York City’s Veterans.” [Read our look at the question of whether there should be a separate city department for veterans sercices]

Wednesday, the State Senate will be in session at 11 a.m.

Wednesday afternoon, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer will host a Small Business Roundtable.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction will hold a forum/town Hall to “examine the issues facing communities in the wake of increased heroin abuse.”

Also Wednesday evening, Council Member Mark Levine will host a Participatory Budgeting Party: “We will share project details for the winners, next steps in the process, and ways you can get involved in next year’s Participatory Budget.” This event is another in a string of PB events by council members in which they reveal and/or celebrate the PB-funded projects chosen by constituents and the PB process.

Thursday
Mayor de Blasio is set to unveil his fiscal year 2016 Executive Budget on Thursday as well as his update to the city's 10-year capital plan.

Thursday in Albany, a teacher evaluation summit will occur, according to Capital New York: “Seven researchers, economists, and professors accepted an invitation to weigh in on the debate at a May 7 summit being held by the State Education Department and Board of Regents, according to a department memo obtained by Chalkbeat. Officials are required by law to collect public comment on how to design the regulations that will govern how a teacher’s performance in the classroom gets graded, a process that must be complete by the end of June.”

Thursday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Land Use to review all items reported out of the Subcommittee hearings.

At 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz will hold a public land use hearing.

Also Thursday morning in Manhattan, the Assembly Standing Committee on Codes will meet jointly with the Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary, the Assembly Standing Committee on Correction, and New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus “to examine the need for reforms to the criminal justice system to ensure fairness, improve community/police relations, and protect the safety of law enforcement officers.”

Thursday afternoon, the Senate Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction will resume its hearing to “examine the issues facing communities in the wake of increased heroin abuse.”

Thursday evening, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU will hold a discussion titled “State of Money in Politics” - “The Supreme Court's landmark decision in Citizens United v. FEC reshaped the American political landscape, giving the wealthy more power to influence elections than at any time since Watergate and opening the floodgates for dark money in U.S. elections. Five years after the Supreme Court decision that set these trends in motion, what is the state of money in politics today? What are the emerging issues and paths for reform going forward?” The panel will feature Jeff Clements, Board Chair at Free Speech for People and Author of “Corporations Are Not People”; Zephyr Teachout, Associate Professor at Fordham Law School and Author of “Corruption in America”; and Ellen Weintraub, Commissioner of Federal Election Commission.

Also Thursday evening, The NYC Department of Records and Information Services will hold an event titled “A Woman’s Place: Access, Visibility and Making Change in the Workplace...An exciting conversation among trailblazing who’ve stood up to intimidation, injustice and invisibility in the workplace to bring about radical transformations.”

Friday and the weekend
Friday all day, The Murphy Institute will host “Violence & the City...this day-long, interdisciplinary conference will consider the nature and effects of various types of urban violence, and is organized around two themes: violence and urban society; and, crime, politics, and policy. Featured speakers will address these concerns in theoretically, methodologically, or empirically innovative ways.”

On Saturday afternoon, City Council Member Corey Johnson will host the First Annual West Side Summit, where he will deliver his State of the District Address, and announce winning projects from participatory budgeting.

***
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 Rati Mukhuradze, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

This article has been updated.

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, April 27


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

  • Movement toward Mayor de Blasio's Executive Budget, due out May 7, according to the mayor
    • the mayor has promised additional detail on a number of fronts, and the city's updated 10-year capital plan is due along with the updated FY16 budget
    • what will happen regarding NYPD staffing - will there be money for the 1,000 new officers the Council has asked for? a compromise at 500, perhaps?
    • other key issues on the table include funding for libraries, seniors, farmland, and more
  • Tuesday marks one week until the special elections in New York's 11th Congressional District and 43rd Assembly District
    • does Democrat Vinnie Gentile have a chance to defeat Republican Dan Donovan to rep Staten Island and a small chunk of Brooklyn in Congress?
    • could we have the first Working Families Party-only candidate elected to the state Assembly?

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

***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
After another trip out of town - this time he was in Wisconsin talking about the inequality crisis and bashing WI Republican Governor and presidential candidate Scott Walker - Mayor Bill de Blasio starts the new week with a limited public schedule, he "will travel to Connecticut and return to New York City in the afternoon. Later, the Mayor will swear in 28 judges to Family Court, Criminal Court, and Civil Court."

Governor Cuomo starts his Monday in New York City with a 9:30 a.m. appearance at the "Daily News Citizenship NOW! Phonebank Event" at Stella and Charles Guttman Community College. The governor will then travel to Albany later in the day.

On Monday morning at 10 a.m., City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will appear on "HuffPost Live"; then at 11:15 she will attend CUNY Citizenship Now Call-In; and at 4 p.m. she will speak at Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adam's Community Affairs Recognition Ceremonial at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

On Monday at 11 a.m., it is reported that Vice President Joe Biden will swear in Loretta E. Lynch as the 83rd Attorney General of the United States.

At 11:30 Monday morning, the State Senate Democrats will renew their push to close the infamous LLC loophole, preceeding a vote in senate committee. The push is being led by Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and bill sponsor Daniel Squadron. They will be joined at the press conference by other legislators from both houses and advocates. [Read about the pending Monday vote on the LLC loophole and the larger campaign finance reform push in our recent article on the subject]

On Monday morning, WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show will welcome City Council Member Brad Lander, who will discuss, among other city news, "the "Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act" he sponsored that was approved by the City Council. It would prohibit credit checks for hiring for many jobs."

On Monday morning, ahead of the City Council's hearing on a resolution declaring the city a "TPP-free zone" there will be a 9:30 a.m. press conference at City Hall: "Leaders from New York City's labor, environmental, social justice and faith communities will rally and testify in support of City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal's resolution urging Congress to reject "Fast Track" legislation for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and declaring the city a "TPP-free zone." The rally will include "City Council members, Communications Workers of America, Working Families Party, Sierra Club NYC Group, New York City Central Labor Council, New York State AFL-CIO, Food & Water Watch, MoveOn.org, Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY), United Steel Workers, Alliance for Retired Americans and WE ACT for Environmental Justice." Speakers will include Zephyr Teachout and Josh Fox, director of Gasland.

Just after that rally, also outside City Hall, Council Members Margaret Chin and Paul Vallone will hold a "press conference calling on Mayor de Blasio to add new funding for vital senior services in his forthcoming Fiscal Year 2016 executive budget."

Human Services Council will lead a "COLA Rally" at City Hall at noon on Monday: "Join HSC, social service providers, and friends of the sector in urging the City to increase [cost of living adjustments in city contracts] for the social service sector."

Monday’s City Council schedule includes a meeting of the Committee on Women’s Issues to consider a resolution regarding “Prohibition of differential pay based on gender”;  a meeting of the Committee on State and Federal Legislation to consider a resolution declaring the City of New York a ‘TPP-Free Zone’; a meeting of the Committee on Land Use; a meeting of the Committee on Health to consider a resolution “recognizing this and every April as Organ Donation Awareness Month in the City of NY” and to discuss a new bill which would “require the department of health and mental hygiene to issue an annual report regarding hepatitis B and hepatitis C”; and a meeting of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations to discuss a “comprehensive cultural plan.”

At 1:30 p.m. on Monday in Albany, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will hold a "news conference regarding equal pay. He will be joined by Labor Chair Michele Titus, members of the Assembly Majority and advocates."

Monday afternoon: City College of New York competition expo and Standard Chartered Women Entrepreneurs Prize awards.

At 5:30 p.m Monday, the Contracts Committee of the Panel for Educational Policy will hold a public meeting at Tweed Courthouse.

On Monday evening, City Council Member Helen Rosenthal will hold a town hall with representatives of several city agencies there to answer constituent questions and at which she'll announce the winners of her district's participatory budgeting process.

Also Monday evening, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and special guests Lin-Manuel Miranda and Arturo O’Farril will host An Evening of Arts and Culture at Pregones Theater, in the Bronx.

Comptroller Scott Stringer starts his week with one public event: at 6:30 p.m., Financial Women's Association will host him for an open conversation at TIAA-CREF in Manhattan.

At 8 p.m. on Monday, New York City "First Lady Chirlane McCray will introduce author Toni Morrison at a reading and discussion of Morrison's new book, God Help the Child, at the 92nd Street Y Unterberg Poetry Center."

And, there is another scheduled debate in the NY-11 congressional race scheduled for Monday evening. Republican Dan Donovan has skipped several opportunities to appear alongside Democrat Vinnie Gentile and Green James Lane and it was reported that he will not be debating again, though it is unclear if he will attend Monday evening's event at 7 p.m. at the College of Staten Island.

Tuesday
Tuesday is one week until the special elections in New York’s 11th Congressional District (Staten Island, Brooklyn) and 43rd Assembly District (Brooklyn).

Tuesday morning in Albany, the New York League of Conservation Voters will host a Capital Region Eco-Breakfast at Fort Orange Club: “Every year, our Capital Region Eco-Breakfast brings together environmental leaders from across the state. We are excited to welcome all three Environmental Conservation Committee chairs in the State Legislature as our featured guest speakers. We will also honor The Nature Conservancy for their tireless work on the Community Risk and Climate Resiliency Act, which was signed into law last year. State Senator Diane Savino will join us to give remarks on this achievement and to present them with their award.”

Tuesday afternoon in Albany, Empire State Pride Agenda will host New York LGBT Equality & Justice Day 2015, "the largest statewide annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy day." 

Tuesday at noon at City Hall, there will be a rally led by New Yorkers Against Gun Violence with Council Member Jumaane Williams, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, and others calling on the state Legislature to pass 'Nicholas' Law.' [Read this recent op-ed explaining and promoting passage of the law]

Tuesday’s City Council schedule includes a meeting of the Committee on Finance to consider the following resolutions including one “Establishing a property tax credit for commercial landlords who voluntarily limit the amount of rent increases to small business owner tenants upon lease renewal”; and one “Establishing a real property tax credit for small business owners who own their properties and for commercial landlords who retain tenants”; another meeting of the Committee on State and Federal Legislation on the resolution “Declaring the City of New York a “TPP-Free Zone”; and a full-body Stated meeting of the City Council starting at 1:30 p.m., with the usual pre-stated press conference at 12:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Tuesday evening, the New York City Bar Association will host The Evolving City Council: “The Committee on New York City Affairs is presenting a panel discussion addressing the governance of the City Council. What impact do the recent amendments to the Council's Rules have upon the Speaker's powers, independence of Council Members and Committee Chairs, and the effectiveness of the Council in performing its obligations under the Charter? Is a strong Speaker necessary for the Council to act as a check and balance to the Mayor? What further amendments to the Rules are necessary, or should any of the recent amendments be reconsidered? What additional powers, if any, does the Council need to perform its duties effectively and to act as a check and balance to the Mayor?” Participants will include Public Advocate Letitia James Advocate, several current and former City Council members, Manhattan BP Gale Brewer and Queens BP Melinda Katz, Common Cause New York's Susan Lerner, and several law experts.

Also Tuesday evening, the African Leadership Project will hold a panel discussion on access to quality education titled: "Our Children Matter: Is Access to Quality Education a Civil Rights Issue?" at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building on West 125th Street.

Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will hold three fundraisers in New York City, followed by a Wednesday morning speech at former Mayor David Dinkins' annual forum at Columbia University.

Wednesday
Wednesday morning, Hillary Clinton will give the keynote address at the 18th Annual David N. Dinkins Leadership and Public Policy Forum at Columbia University.

Wednesday is #DenimDayNYC, and there will be a rally at City Hall led by City Council Women's Issues Committee Chair Laurie Cumbo and others to raise awareness about domestic violence and continue the push against it: "Sexual Violence must end. Join the #DENIMDAYNYC rally on Wed. April 29, 11AM, City Hall."

All day Wednesday, Capgemini and Thomson Reuters hosts its Chief Digital Officer Summit New York City. Amen Mashariki, Chief Analytics Officer at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, will attend and speak at one of the panels.

Wednesday’s City Council schedule includes a joint meeting of the Committees on Consumer Affairs and Housing and Buildings on new bills regarding “Licensing tenant relocation specialists”; “Required notifications by persons negotiating tenant buyout offers”; and “Amending the definition of harassment to include repeated buyout offers”; a meeting of the Committee on Sanitation Solid Waste Management for an oversight hearing regarding “Sustainability in the Commercial Waste Industry”; a meeting of the Committee on Technology, jointly with the Committee on Higher Education for an oversight hearing regarding “Diversity at CUNY TV”; a meeting of the Committee on Environmental Protection on “limiting nighttime illumination for certain buildings”; and a meeting of the Committee on Veterans for an oversight hearing on “Veterans Liaisons at City Agencies.”

Wednesday afternoon, the Rockefeller Institute of Government will host a forum on state government immigrant policy with New York Secretary of State Cesar Perales: “This forum engages key policymakers from both the executive and legislative branches to discuss achievements and new initiatives to help new immigrants and refugees, as well as assist permanent residents become U.S. citizens. As comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level has stalled, the states are increasingly passing legislation and implementing initiatives to further immigrant integration. New York is among the handful of states with an Office for New Americans. Working together with a taskforce in the legislature, the Office for New Americans has developed innovative programs that are increasingly referenced across the country, most recently in the “Federal Strategic Action Plan on Immigrant and Refugee Integration” issued on April 14th by the White House Task Force on New Americans.” Assembly Member Marcos Crespo, chair of the Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force and chair of the Task Force on New Americans will attend.

Wednesday at 6 p.m., there will be a Panel for Educational Policy meeting at M.S. 131, 100 Hester Street, Manhattan.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, The Center for New York City Affairs at The New School will host Affordable Housing: Rent and Reality. “Mayor de Blasio’s ambitious affordable housing agenda is at the heart of his administration’s pledge to start a new chapter in “a tale of two cities.” In 2015, Albany serves as the rent-regulation battleground but the true impact of this fight will be felt in the five boroughs where more than 2.3 million people live in rent-regulated housing. While proposals to construct new affordable housing continue to garner the most media attention, the mayor’s State of the City address revealed just how dependent his strategy is on preserving the affordability of existing units. What does the battle over rent regulation in the state capital portend for turning de Blasio’s vision into reality? Join a forum with leading officials, experts, and practitioners who will shed light on this question and more.”

Thursday
On Thursday, Public Advocate Letitia James will hold a "Forum on Housing Crisis and Rent Reform" at 10 a.m. at the 1199 SEIU Auditorium: "a forum to discuss New York City's housing crisis, landlord abuses of tenants, and the need to strengthen the rent laws that protect the affordable housing of over 2 million New Yorkers. The forum will consist of two panels followed by an intimate roundtable between the Public Advocate and four tenants. The forum is being hosted by the Real Rent Reform Coalition, The Alliance for Tenant Power, and 1199 SEIU." [Read our recent profile of Public Advocate James]

Thursday’s City Council schedule includes a meeting of the Committee on Recovery and Resiliency, jointly with the Committee on Public Housing for an oversight hearing regarding “Monitoring FEMA’s $3 Billion Dollar Grant to NYCHA for Sandy-Damaged Developments”; a meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations to discuss new bills relating to “Establishing term limits for community board members”; and “Making urban planning professionals available to community boards.” [Read our recent report on the bill to establish terms limits for community board members and read our recent report on the bill to require a city planner for community boards]

On Thursday evening, City & State NY hosts its "inaugural 'On Queens' cocktail reception featuring Queens Borough President Melinda Katz...City & State's first-ever Queens Special Issue, which will be officially released at the event, will focus on the landscape of Queens' politics, feature spotlights specific to the borough, and have perspectives from Queens leaders." 6:30 p.m. in Long Island City.

Friday and the weekend
Friday morning, NYU Steinhardt hosts another in its Education Policy Breakfast Series. The topic will be affordability and sustainability in early childhood education: “As New York prepares to expand pre-K, what can we learn from other cities and countries that have undergone similar efforts?  In particular, what are the different models for funding early childhood education?  How have countries with less wealth succeeded in implementing pre-K?  Our guest speakers will include an economist who focuses on early childhood development and poverty alleviation issues internationally, and a former appointee in the Obama Administration who oversaw pre-K programs in Washington, DC.”

Also Friday morning, the Center for New York City Law at New York Law School will celebrate its 20-year anniversary with a breakfast event featuring NYC Law Department Corporation Counsels past and present, including current corp counsel Zachary Carter, and formers Michael Cardozo and Paul Crotty.

At 10 a.m. Friday, the City Council Committees on Health and Consumer Affairs will meet jointly for a hearing on a variety of business and regulatory policies and practices. Also at 10 a.m., the City Council Committee on Immigration will meet for an oversight hearing on “Implementation of IDNYC - New York City’s Municipal Identification Program.” 

On Saturday, the FDNY celebrates its 150th anniversary with open houses at fire houses and EMS stations all over the city.

***
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 Rati Mukhuradze, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, April 20


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

As the week begins, Governor Andrew Cuomo is heading to Cuba on a trade mission, leaving Monday and returning Tuesday evening - "the first Governor-led state trade mission to Cuba since President Obama began the process to normalize diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba," the governor is quick to point out. "In addition to the Governor and members of his administration, the delegation includes Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein, and business leaders representing a number of important sectors and industries in New York's economy."

Meanwhile, get ready for an intense post-budget legislative session in Albany, set to begin Tuesday and extend through mid-June. There's a lot of policy on the table as the budget wound up not including quite a bit (minimum wage, mayoral control of schools, raise the age, etc.) that had been part of the initial conversations on the spending plan. Lawmakers are due in Albany on Tuesday through Thursday this week.

Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke about income inequality and progressive policy to address it in Nebraska and Iowa last week (he'll be back on the road spreading his gospel this coming weekend, in Wisconsin (see below for details)). De Blasio returned to New York City on Friday and spent part of Saturday on Staten Island, helping kick off little league season and participating in a pre-K "day of action." Also on Saturday, "de Blasio attended the Office of Immigrant Affairs Stakeholders' Roundtable at City Hall this afternoon as part of the Administration's ongoing efforts to deepen coordination and collaboration with advocates across the City," according to his office. The mayor starts his week with one public event, a bill signing ceremony at 4 p.m. at City Hall, during which he'll sign into law "Intro. 421-A, in relation to increased reporting by the Human Rights Commission; Intro. 689-A, in relation to establishing a housing discrimination testing program; Intro. 690-A, in relation to establishing an employment discrimination testing program; Intro. 656, in relation to the establishment of the South Shore business improvement district; and Intro. 497-B, in relation to the interest rate and discount percentage recommendations provided by the New York City Banking Commission."

Comptroller Scott Stringer released a new audit on Sunday: "Animal Care & Control (AC&C) of New York City does not ensure the safety of drugs and vaccines it administers, fails to track them efficiently, operates an overcrowded shelter in Manhattan, and potentially unsafe facilities, according to an audit released today by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer...AC&C, a non-profit corporation, has a 5-year, $51.9 million contract with the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to provide shelter, examine, test, treat, spay, neuter and assure the humane care and disposition of animals in shelters located in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island, along with drop-off centers in Queens and the Bronx." Stringer begins his week with one public event: delivering the "keynote address at the Municipal Forum of New York Luncheon" at The Union League Club, 1 p.m.

Public Advocate Letitia James also has one public event on her Monday schedule: she "co-hosts Healthy Teen Relationships Forum with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Council Member Helen Rosenthal" at MacCaulay Honors College.

It's another busy week at the City Council, see below for the day-by-day schedule. Meanwhile, behind the scenes budget negotiations continue between the Council and the mayor after the Council released its preliminary budget response last week and the mayor prepares his executive budget, due out in early May. Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito spent the end of the week in Phoenix, where she was sharing information about the city's new municipal identifcation program. Mark-Viverito then returned to the city to vote in her district's participatory budgeting process, which was wrapping up there and in 23 other districts around the city (on Saturday, Mayor de Blasio voted in his home Brooklyn district, represented by Council Member Brad Lander). Mark-Viverito starts her week making an announcement at Baruch College at 11 a.m. on Monday along with reps from Microsoft, CUNY, and Partnership for New York City. She'll also be in Queens with Council Members Donovan Richards and Jimmy Van Bramer touring a "Green Workforce Training Lab."

Wednesday is Earth Day. Expect action and announcements and op-eds and more related to environmental issues all week. The City is due to releases its PlaNYC update on Wednesday. We take an in-depth look at the City's relience planning here, and focus in on Staten Island's situation here. Governor Cuomo has declared it "Earth Week" in New York; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has done the same in his borough.

As always, there's a great deal happening all over the city, see below for our day-by-day overview.

***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
"2015 Pulitzer Prizewinners and Nominated Finalists will be announced Monday, April 20, 2015, at Columbia University in New York City. The announcement will take place at 3:00 pm eastern daylight time."

On Monday at 10 a.m. "to mark the first anniversary of the Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera, the Mexican Consulate of New York, the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs, and Citi will announce the expansion of the Ventanilla to other Mexican Consulates across the US. The celebration will be the first of several events taking place at the Mexican Consulate as part of Financial Education Week 2015."

At 11 a.m. at 250 Broadway, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, AARP representatives, and others will make an announcement about the CARE Act, legislation aimed at helping New York's caregivers.

Monday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Technology to discuss new bills relating to the translation feature on city websites and requiring that local government websites are accessible to persons with disabilities; a meeting of the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations to consider a bill on the community engagement process in the percent for art law;  a join meeting of the Committee on Women’s Issues and the Committee on Civil Service and Labor to consider a bill to "prohibit employers from preventing their employees from discussing salary information" and a bill to create an Office of Labor Standards, as well as resolutions to "grant NYC the authority to enfore State worker protection laws"; support the Wage Theft Prevention Act; support the Paid Family Leave Act; and in support of a bill to prohibit pay differential based on gender.

Monday at noon, the New York State Republican Party will host a lunch with special guest Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

On Monday afternoon in Brooklyn, "Boro Park JCC Executive Director Rabbi Yeruchim Silber and Borough President Adams will present the Belvedere Assisted Living Center with $3,500 in rental assistance to ensure that Rabbi [Mordechai] Simcha can live in a safe and dignified home. A 108-year-old Borough Park resident, with deteriorating health and a fixed income, Rabbi Simcha has struggled to cover his rent..." Simcha is a Holocaust survivor.

Monday evening at Civic Hall, Lawrence Lessig, Van Jones, Zephyr Teachout and MoveOn.org will host a talk on political corruption and why Elizabeth Warren should run for president.

The NYC Bar Association will host a panel discussion on the Child-Parent Security Act. Panelists will include State Senator Brad Hoylman, lead sponsor of the Child-Parent Security Act in the New York Senate; Carol Buell, partner at Weiss, Buell & Bell; Nina Rumbold, partner at Rumbold & Seidelman; and Nathan Schaefer, executive director at Empire State Pride Agenda.

Also Monday evening, the City's Immigrant Heritage Week will include “A discussion on the current status of executive action rollout and the programmatic and advocacy work being done at the local, state, and federal level.” Panelists will include Nisha Agarwal, commissioner at Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Jorge Moncalvo, director at NYS Office for New Americans; and Jojo Annobil, Attorney-in-charge of the Immigration Law Unit at Legal Aid Society.

Riders Alliance is hosting an event, "How to Move a Pro-Transit Agenda in Albany," featuring Assembly Members Erik Dilan, Robert Rodriguez, and Nily Rozic.

And also on Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is attending Central Park Conservancy's ceremonial "First Mow" at 11 a.m. and co-hosting the aforementioned "forum on teen dating violence and promoting healthy relationships with Public Advocate Letitia James and Council Member Helen Rosenthal" at 6 p.m.

Tuesday
Tuesday morning, The Center for New York City Affairs will host Juvenile Justice: Successes and Failures of Close to Home: “Two years ago, New York City launched Close to Home, a groundbreaking juvenile justice reform. Its goal: Providing group home-like detention for juvenile offenders instead of sending them to scandal-plagued Upstate facilities. Is Close to Home living up to its promise? Join us for this installment of the de Blasio series: A conversation with the experts on juvenile justice reform.”

Tuesday’s City Council schedule includes a meeting of the Committee on Health to consider posting of information and warnings regarding anabolic steroids and human growth hormone in locker rooms, and technical changes to certain pet shop requirements; a meeting of the Committee on Economic Development for an oversight hearing regarding the economic impact of the Federal Export-Import Bank in New York City; a meeting of the Committee on Contracts, jointly with the Committee on Housing and Buildings, for an oversight hearing regarding the “Mayor’s Housing Plan: Contractor Employment Practices and Accountability.”

Tuesday afternoon, the state Legislature returns to Albany for the start of the post-budget legislative session.

On Tuesday afternoon, "In honor of the 50th anniversary of the New York City Landmarks Law, members of the press are invited to take a complimentary tour with Borough President Melinda Katz to several prominent Queens landmarks throughout the borough on Tuesday, April 21st. The press tour van will depart the Queens Museum at 2:45 p.m. for the following landmarks (not necessarily in order): Louis Armstrong House in Corona; Kingsland Homestead in Flushing; Quaker Meeting House in Flushing; King Manor in Jamaica; and Addisleigh Park Historic District in St. Albans."

Tuesday evening, “The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State, will be Food Bank For New York City’s special guest speaker at the 13th Annual Can Do Awards Dinner, presented by Bank of America, at Cipriani Wall Street.  Food Bank For New York City — the city’s major hunger-relief organization working to end food poverty throughout the five boroughs — will honor its partners in the fight against hunger — Tom Colicchio and Lori Silverbush, Stavros Niarchos Foundation and Sandra Lee-Simply Living Publishing.”

At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Right to Counsel in Eviction Proceedings will hold its Manhattan Town Hall: “Did you know approximately 300,000 New Yorkers have to go to Housing Court to fight eviction every year? Did you know that while 90% of landlords have attorneys representing them about 90% of tenants do not? Join us to learn about legislation that will give New Yorkers the right to legal representation in NYC’s Housing Courts!”

Also Tuesday evening, Immigrant Heritage Week will include Tenement Talks, “a conversation about impact and legacy of the 1965 Immigration Act.”

Council Member Andy King will host another NYCHA residents “Constituent Services Night” at the Eastchester Gardens Community Center.

And on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is hosting a "Tenant Protection 101" session at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Wednesday
Wednesday is Earth Day. The de Blasio administration will release its update to PlaNYC, the city's long-term environmental, resilience-planning outline. We preview that release here.

Wednesday at 10 a.m. at City Hall, "City Council Member Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) calls for passage of Res. 375, which calls on New York State to include climate change in the K-12 curriculum." He'll be joined by EPA Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck, Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Attorney Eric Goldstein, Global Kids Executive Director Evie Hantzopoulos, Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) Program Manager Maayan Cohen, and others.

And at 2 p.m. in Manhattan: CUNY Divest Earth Day press conference, including City Council Member Steve Levin, Chris Fici of GreenFaith, the Union Theological Seminary, Professor of Finance Charles Allison, The New School, and many others.

Earlier, at 10 a.m., the state Senate Standing Committee on Banks will meet to examine “Predatory Lending Practices within the sub-prime auto loan and auto title loan industry.”

Wednesday, "NYC Votes will hold its second annual #VoteBetterNY Advocacy Day for Election Reform in Albany...NYC Votes will lead a group of nearly 100 concerned citizens urging state legislators to modernize New York's voting system. This year's #VoteBetterNY agenda includes three key reform proposals: Online voter registration; Better ballot design; Early Voting."

At 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Center for an Urban Future and NYATEP will present Making New York’s Workforce Development System More Accountable: how wage reporting data can help the state measure the success of its workforce development system. Featured panelists include Assembly Member Nily Rozic and representatives of several key stakeholders in government, education, and civic life.

The only scheduled City Council meeting for Wednesday will be a hearing of the Committee on Parks and Recreation to discuss a bill regarding the length of the season for city beaches and pools: “this bill would keep public beaches and pools under the jurisdiction of the Parks Department (DPR) open on each weekday until the day before the beginning of each school year and open throughout each weekend until September 30 of each year.”

Wednesday evening, Tina Brown Live Media in association with The New York Times will present The Sixth Annual Women in the World Summit: “The struggles and triumphs of women and girls around the globe come to life in this dynamic three-day summit. World leaders, industry icons, movie stars, and CEOs convene with artists, rebels, peacemakers and activists to tell their stories and share their plans of action. Join the women who have shattered glass ceilings everywhere! More participants to be announced.” Participants will include Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton - Clinton will speak Thursday evening.

City Council Member and congressional candidate (Democrat in NY-11) Vincent Gentile will be participating in a candidates debate on senior issues, at Ft. Hamilton Senior Center in Bay Ridge.

Also Wednesday evening, "Stories of Genocide, Lessons of Tolerance" at the Museum of Tolerance, hosted by City Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito, Elizabeth Crowley, Mark Levine, and others.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Digital NYC Five Borough Tour will hit Harlem. Panelists will include Clayton Banks, Co-­Founder at Silicon Harlem; Ofo Ezeugwu, CEO & President at WhoseYourLandlord.com; and Sam Sia, Co-Founder at Harlem Biospace.

Wednesday evening, Coro New York Leadership Center will celebrate at its annual gala, this year marking "30 Years of Visionary Leaders," and honoring several including City Council Member Ritchie Torres.

Also Wednesday evening, Vanguard Independent Democratic Association Presents: Young Professionals Networking Mixer "Balancing the Scales of The Criminal Justice System," with guest speaker Public Advocate Letitia James.

Wednesday night, NY Environment Report will celebrate its launch at Maxwell’s Bar & Restaurant in Manhattan. Council Members Donovan Richards and Mark Treyger will join the celebration and deliver remarks: "...they will speak briefly about the release that day of the City's progress report on PlaNYC, and other environmental issues of importance to our city.” Read our latest joint article with NY Environment Report, on the City's preparations for the next big storm(s): Assessing Resilience Planning: Is the City Preparing Smartly for the Rising Risks of Climate Change?

Thursday
Thursday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises;  a meeting of the Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Disability Services jointly with the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Aging for an oversight hearing regarding “transportation services for seniors and people with disabilities in New York City” and to consider a resolution “recognizing this and every April as Autism Awareness Month in the City of New York”; a meeting of the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses; a meeting of the Committee on Contracts; and a meeting of the Subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions and Concessions.

Thursday starting at 10 a.m., it's TechDay New York hosting TechDay 2015, “the world’s largest startup event.”

Women in the World will continue its 6th annual summit, which starts Wednesday in New York City, where Hillary Rodham Clinton is set to speak Thursday evening.

There will be another candidates forum in the NY-11 congressional race on Thursday evening: "The Federal Budget and 'Front Burner' Domestic Issues" at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Brooklyn: "With only a few weeks to go until election day on May 5th, it's vital that we raise awareness about the election, the candidates and their positions on the issues." Sponsoring organizations include Communications Workers of America, Locals 1102, 1109; Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign; New York State Nurses Association; MoveOn; among others.

Starting Thursday,, the Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity at Columbia Law School will host a three-day conference named Global Cities: Joining Forces Against Corruption. Among other experts, advocates, and academics, speakers will include the mayors of Mexico City and Athens; New York City Department of Investigations Commissioner Mark Peters; and Executive Director of Citizens Union Dick Dadey. “CAPI's Global Cities conference will bring together high-level integrity officials from cities worldwide to discuss the challenges of fighting municipal corruption and share successful strategies and best practices. City delegations include: Athens, Barcelona, Chicago, Lima, Lviv, Mexico City, Nairobi, New Orleans, New York City, Perth, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Venice.”

Friday and the weekend
Friday, US Attorney Preet Bharara is scheduled to give a keynote address at the Regional Plan Association’s Annual Assembly: “At RPA's 2015 Assembly, we will be holding a series of debates with leading policy makers and innovative thinkers on some difficult policy choices facing our region. Join us on April 24 and weigh in as experts discuss issues that RPA is exploring in our work on the Fourth Regional Plan, a multiyear initiative to plot the course for the region's shared prosperity, sustainability and good governance.”

Also Friday, Fordham Law School will host Sharing Economy, Sharing City: Urban Law and the New Economy, with a keynote by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman: “Trends in the sharing economy have spurred complex legal and regulatory issues that have moved to the center of urban policy debates, from Berlin to Seoul to New York City. As web-based, peer-to-peer companies challenge traditional regulatory paradigms, state and local governments are trying to respond creatively to rapidly changing digital and economic landscapes. This conference will explore the relationship between the sharing (or “peer-to-peer”) economy and economic and community development, consumption, ownership, mobility, and a shifting urban workforce. It will investigate diverse approaches to legal and regulatory issues facing city governments, entrepreneurs, workers, consumers, and residents in today’s dynamic technological and built environments.”

On Saturday morning, the Murphy Institute will host a Political Action Training.

Saturday evening, Mayor Bill de Blasio will deliver a keynote address at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Annual Founders' Day Gala 2015, at the Milwaukee Athletic Club.

***
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 Rati Mukhuradze, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, April 13


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Hillary Clinton is running for President. You probably heard. The former New York Senator has her campaign headquarters in Brooklyn and will be looking for a strong boost from her New York base of supporters, including her 2000 senate campaign manager New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio was on Meet the Press Sunday morning and said that he is eagerly waiting to see a progressive vision from Clinton. Since Clinton had not officially declared her candidacy (she did so in the afternoon), de Blasio remained especially cautious in his remarks, but repeated his general mantra that all 2016 candidates  - for President and other offices - should be directly talking about economic inequality and offering solutions for how to reduce it. He faced some criticism for not quickly endorsing his former boss. Clinton is on her way to campaign in Iowa, and de Blasio is set to head there soon himself to talk fighting inequality. New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are all-in behind Clinton, as is Governor Andrew Cuomo.

As the week begins, there's a whole lot of Hillary buzz, of course, and other presidential candidates, mostly on the Republican side of things, continue to jump into the race, with new announcements expected at the start of the week. Meanwhile, New York State and City politics kicks back into gear after a slow week last week, brought on by post-budget recess in Albany and school vacation in the city. Advocates, activists, and legislators will be gearing up this week for the Albany legislative session set to begin next week, on April 21. The lobbying will be fierce and furious through mid-June, when the session will likely end in a "big ugly" agreement on several policies among Gov. Cuomo, Senate Republicans, and Assembly Democrats. One key issue to watch is criminal justice reform, which was among the several major issues pushed from the budget to session and may very well see increased urgency given new examples of police killing unarmed black men.

In the city, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and colleagues are moving forward with efforts to reform both the criminal and civil justice systems. A large contingent of activists will depart on their eight-day "March to Justice" on Monday, leaving from New York City and heading to Washington, D.C. The march will start with a rally and departure from Staten Island.

The City Council gets going again with a very busy week of hearings, including one on a bill to create an Office of Civil Justice Coordinator. These sessions come as the Council prepares to release its response to de Blasio's preliminary budget, due out Tuesday and to include a renewed call for adding 1,000 new officers to the NYPD force. See below for full details of the Council schedule. While the Council is between a March full of preliminary budget hearings and a May full of executive budget hearings, for the rest of this month it mostly returns to looking at bills on the docket. De Blasio will receive the Council preliminary budget response, then release his executive budget toward the end of the month (or in early May as he did last year).

The mayor begins his week with one public event: "Mayor de Blasio will attend opening ceremonies for the New York Mets' home opener at Citi Field. The Mayor will join members of the NYPD and family members of Detective Wenjian Liu and Detective Rafael Ramos for the ceremonial first pitch." The ceremony is slated for about 12:45 p.m., just before game time a little after 1.

This week is also the big one for participatory budgeting voting in the 24 city council districts where council members have opted to implement the program. Voting kicked off this weekend.

The increasingly controversial New York State tests for third-through-eigth graders in math and English language arts are this week. The still-new common core-aligned tests have become more and more political, watch for further push by many to discredit the tests and for students to opt out of taking them. There will also continue to be efforts to defend the tests and the common core standards, and to convince parents of the importance of their children taking the exams.

And we're just a few weeks from the May 5 special elections in New York's 11th Congressional District and 43rd Assembly District, so keep an eye on those races - there will  be an Errol Louis-moderated NY1-televised debate in NY11 on Tuesday evening. Details below.

As always, there's a great deal happening all over the city, with many events to be aware of; see our day-by-day rundown below...(oh, and make sure you file your taxes by the end of the day on Wednesday)

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

Monday
Monday morning, ABNY will host a breakfast event with “His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop, New York” at Mandarin Oriental. Cardinal Dolan will present "The Archdiocese of New York:  Not a Business, But Still Having a Vision and Projects."

Also Monday morning, Assembly Members Jeffrey Dinowitz and Richard Gottfried will hold a public hearing on a bill "which would require warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages sold in New York State"; 10:30 a.m. at 250 Broadway..."Rates of obesity have increased dramatically in New York State and across the country over the past 30 years, adding an estimated $147 billion to our country's annual health care costs...Extensive research links rising rates of obesity, as well as diabetes, tooth decay, and other ailments, with the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, energy drinks, sweet teas, and sports drinks. Evidence suggests that warning labels can increase consumer awareness of health risks of harmful products such as sugar-sweetened beverages."

On Monday at 11 a.m. at City Hall, Council Speaker Mark-Viverito and Council Members Brad Lander, Ben Kallos, James Vacca, and Vanessa Gibson will unveil the "New York City Council Public Technology Plan."

At 3 p.m. Monday, Mark-Viverito will participate in "Public Service is Worth It" Google Hangout moderated by Political Parity.

Monday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises to review the land use calendar; a meeting of the Committee on Finance to review land use applications; and an off-site meeting of the Committee on Juvenile Justice for a tour of Horizon Juvenile Center.

As mentioned, Mayor de Blasio begins his week at Citi Field for ceremonial first pitch duties just before the Mets home opener around 1 p.m. There will be a press conference on Monday at 11 a.m. at Harlem hospital with several de Blasio administration officals outlining guidelines around "infant safe sleep," so that parents and caregivers do not accidentally suffocate young children while sleeping. The mayor penned a Sunday Daily News op-ed on the subject, but he is not scheduled to attend the press conference: "Deputy Mayor Barrios Paoli, ACS Commissioner Carrion, DOHMH Commissioner Bassett, DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor, and HHC CEO and President Dr. Raju will launch tomorrow a comprehensive infant Safe Sleep campaign to increase awareness among parents and other caregivers about the potentially fatal risks of sharing a bed with an infant, and how to prevent injuries and deaths associated with other unsafe sleep practices, such as excessive bedding, bumpers and toys in cribs. There are nearly 50 preventable safe sleep deaths every year."

Monday afternoon, Borough President Melinda Katz will hold a Queens Borough Board Meeting.

Monday evening, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Norman Siegel, former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, will host a town hall to discuss improving community-police relations: “We only survive and prosper as Brooklynites if we engage with one another in a calm and civil conversation. I invite you to come let your voice be heard at our upcoming town hall about improving police-community relations.”

Also Monday evening, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth in collaboration with El Puente, UPROSE, Riders Alliance, and StreetsPAC, will host a Move NY North Brooklyn Town Hall: “Learn and talk about reducing congestion in North Brooklyn, modernizing and expanding the transit system, and fixing our roads and bridges."

And, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will attend a "town Hall meeting of District 31's Community Education Council" on Staten Island.

Tuesday
Tuesday morning, Borough President Melinda Katz will hold a Queens Borough Cabinet Meeting.

Also Tuesday morning, City Council Members Elizabeth Crowley, Darlene Mealy, and Laurie Cumbo, and others will hold a Rally For Stronger Equal Pay Laws on the steps of City Hall.

Tuesday’s City Council schedule includes a meeting of the Subcommittee on Non-Public Schools, jointly with the Committee on Public Safety, and the Committee on Education, discussing school discipline codes and the assignment of safety agents to schools; a meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations jointly with the Committee on Consumer Affairs and the Committee on Small Business concerning various items; and a meeting of the Committee on Economic Development jointly with the Committee on Community Development for an oversight hearing regarding the economic impact of the city’s foreclosure crisis.

The Council is set to unveil its preliminary budget response to Mayor de Blasio's FY16 spending plan on Tuesday.

Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte and the Shirley Chisholm Democratic Club will present Honoring Women in Politics: A Mix & Mingle Fundraiser. Honorees will include State Senator Valmanette Montgomery and Council Member Laurie Cumbo. Public Advocate Letitia James - the first woman of color elected to city-wide office in New York - will make a guest appearance.

Also Tuesday evening, the Staten Island Advance and NY1 will co-host the only live televised debate between Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan (R) and City Council Member Vincent Gentile (D) in their race for Congress: “The Republican Donovan and the Democratic Gentile will face off at the hour-long live event. NY1 political anchor Errol Louis will moderate the debate, with questions coming from three panelists: Staten Island Advance senior opinion writer Tom Wrobleski, political reporter Rachel Shapiro and NY1 political reporter Courtney Gross.”

Tuesday evening, Pratt Area Community Council, CAMBA and other organizations will host Brooklyn Town Hall on the right to counsel in eviction proceedings at Brooklyn Borough Hall: “Did you know that approximately 300,000 New Yorkers are taken to housing court to fight eviction every year? Did you know that while 90 percent of landlords have attorneys representing them about 90 percent of tenants do not? Join the Right to Counsel Campaign and learn about legislation that will give New Yorkers the right to legal representation in NYC’s Housing Courts!” [Read our in-depth look at the proposed right to counsel legislation]

Wednesday
Wednesday, April 15, is tax day.

On Wednesday activists will be moving around the minimum wage. This will include students from 170 colleges, including University of Albany, taking part in a fast-food worker strike: “The Fight for $15 labor movement is planning an ambitious expansion on April 15, coordinating a series of global labor strikes with protests on college campuses. The tax-day strike will include rallies and marches on 170 university campuses, including Columbia University and University of Southern California, the organizers said.”

Wednesday morning, Crain's  will host its 'Business of' Series at John Jay College of Criminal Justice: “Join Crain’s as we examine one of New York’s fastest growing industries. Our expert panelists will discuss how life sciences is creating economic diversification, stimulating job growth and tapping into the vibrant young talent from top universities and leveraging New York’s access to capital.”

Wednesday’s City Council schedule includes a meeting of the Committee on Transportation to discuss various bicycle safety topics as well as establishing civil penalties for theft of a bicycle or motor vehicle; a meeting of the Committee on Aging concerning development of a guide for building owners regarding aging in place and the elimination of the sunset provisions related to income threshold increases for the SCRIE and DRIE programs; a meeting of the Committee on Land Use to discuss items reported out of the subcommittees; a meeting of the Committee on Recovery and Resiliency to discuss the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s re-examination of National Flood Insurance Program insurance claim payouts related to Hurricane Sandy for possible underpayment; a meeting of the Committee on Courts and Legal Services around a law to amend the New York City Charter in relation to creating an Office of Civil Justice Coordinator. [Read our look at reforms being pushed by Council Speaker Mark-Viverito and others to reform the city's criminal and civil justice systems]

Wednesday evening at 7 p.m., State Senator Jesse Hamilton, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and City Council Member Brad Lander will host a School-to-School Dialogue on High Stakes Testing at Old First Reformed Church, in Brooklyn.

Also Wednesday evening, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz will hold a town hall meeting at the Kingsbridge Public Library “to discuss and hear feedback on New York’s tenant protection laws, which are due to expire in June. Joining Assemblyman Dinowitz to speak will be Delsenia Glover, Campaign Manager for the Alliance for Tenant Power, and Judith Goldiner, Attorney-in-Charge at the Legal Aid Society.”

On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, NYCVotes, the voter engagement arm of the City Campaign Finance Board, "is having a #VoteBetterNYC Advocacy Day training session for partners...acquainting them with the policy agenda...social media strategy and general day of logistics, ahead of the event" set to take place on April 22. The trainings will take place Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at 100 Church Street.

[Read the latest original reporting from Gotham Gazette]

Thursday
On Thursday morning, Borough President Melinda Katz will hold a land use hearing at the Queens Borough Hall.

On Thursday morning, at 11 a.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall, it's a "Rally for Family Friendly Brooklyn" hosted by BP Adams: "We want Brooklyn to be THE place to raise healthy children and families! Join me Thursday, April 16th at 11:00 AM on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall as we rally for Family Friendly Brooklyn, a new initiative where I am calling for: Statewide Paid Family Leave; Breast Feeding Empowerment Zone Expansion; Support for Post-Partum Depression Screening...We will be making some exciting announcements about my administration's plans to advance Brooklyn's families, so please come out and add your support!" [Read our recent story on the push behind passing paid family leave legislation in New York]

Thursday’s City Council schedule includes a meeting of the Committee on Finance discussing the senior citizen rent increase exemption program and the disability rent increase exemption program; and a City Council full-body stated meeting at 1 p.m.

On Thursday evening in Queens, the borough's Republican Party head Bob Turner and City Council Member Eric Ulrich are hosting a fundraiser for Staten Island District Attorney and NY11 congressional candidate Dan Donovan; 6:30 p.m. at Russo's on the Bay.

Friday and the weekend
On Saturday, de Blasio administration members and their allies will participate in a Pre-K Day of Action, working to spread the word about the availability of universal pre-K, for which enrollment is open: “New York City is about to take a historic step: This fall, the City will provide free, full-day, high-quality pre-K to all 4-year-olds in the five boroughs."

[Read the latest original reporting from Gotham Gazette]

***
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 Rati Mukhuradze, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, April 6


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

It appears to be a fairly quiet week, as it can be this time of year with schools on vacation and the City Council following suit, and the state Legislature adjourned until April 21 in its post-budget, pre-legislative session hibernation. It's promising to be a very busy legislative session as so many key policy issues were not a part of the budget deal and will be taken back up. There will, of course, be news and there are a few things pre-scheduled. Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will speak at New York Law School on Friday and this weekend will see the beginning of voting in the many city council districts where participatory budgeting is happening, for example. See below for our day-by-day rundown.

In the meantime, both Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo start the week wrapping up long weekends in the Caribbean. It does not appear that they were traveling together (the mayor said that he and his wife were heading to Puerto Rico, the governor's office was not as specific about the destination for him and his family), but it is fun to imagine the two laughing it up under the sun about their perfectly orchestrated budget dance and ongoing faux conflict.

The mayor will return to New York City and his team will continue to work on their Executive Budget, due later this month, highly informed by the state budget deal reached by Cuomo et. al. this past week. The City Council will soon be delivering its formal response to the mayor's preliminary budget, which he will also take into account in preparing his next iteration - which the Council will then evaluate during a set of May hearings. A city budget deal is due by July 1. As we continue to sift through the new FY2016 state budget, there are sure to be other stories coming this week on aspects of that deal and what they mean for the state and the city.

The race in New York's 11th Congressional District is heating up, though it is unclear if the Democratic candidate has much of a chance. Vinny Gentile, the Democrat, and Dan Donovan, the Republican, met at a debate this past week in Bay Ridge (they were also joined by Green Party candidate James Lane). The two will meet again in a debate on Staten Island to be televised on NY1, but not until April 14.

See below for more...

***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
On Monday morning, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be a guest on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC.

At 11:15 Monday morning, "Justice League NYC will officially announce the April 13th March2Justice at a press conference with the march's Honorary Chairs Harry Belafonte and 1199SEIU President George Gresham at 1199 Offices - 330 W 42nd Street, Penthouse, between 8th & 9th Ave. March2Justice will begin in New York City on Monday, April 13 and will span 5 states and 250 miles to end in Washington, DC on Tuesday, April 21." The press conference will be led by Tamika D. Mallory & Linda Sarsour, March2Justice Co-chairs and feature New York State Senators Gustavo Rivera and Ruth Hassell-Thompson, New York State Assemblyman Michael Blake, City Councilwoman & Chair of Public Safety, Vanessa Gibson, and others.

Monday evening, Effective NY, led by Bill Samuels and Morgan Pehme, will host: "Bill Samuels and Michael Shnayerson Debate Cuomo's Political Future," asking, "Is Governor Andrew Cuomo still a contender for the presidency?" More: "Michael Shnayerson's new book, The Contender, concludes that even a flawed Andrew Cuomo still has a shot at the presidency. But Democratic activist Bill Samuels and others think Cuomo has sabotaged his chances, after a series of damaging events and missteps in recent years. At this lively event, Shnayerson and Samuels will debate Andrew Cuomo's political future, and dissect his career as Governor, focusing on the psychology and motivations behind his actions."

Also Monday evening, "Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens President Michael Mallon and club co-founder and New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm host forum on Rikers Island" in Jackson Heights, according to City & State NY.

Tuesday
Tuesday evening, Bronx City Council Member Andy King will host a constituent services night at a NYCHA development in his district: "I believe it's important to meet with NYCHA residents in their developments because it gives me the opportunity to see things up close and first hand, as well as show my constituents that their representative in city government cares about their community and will bring their concerns to management." Services covered will include resources and solutions for housing, food stamps, immigration, Access-A-Ride and basic services.

Also Tuesday evening, at 7 p.m., "Join fellow technologists for an evening of live demos from companies developing great technology in New York" for the April New York Tech Meetup.

And, Governor Cuomo is having a campaign fundraiser Tuesday evening in Manhattan, according to Capital New York.

[Read the latest original reporting from Gotham Gazette]

Wednesday
PSA: Wednesday is one week till tax day.

"Big Money and Politics: Can Your Voice Count?" will be Wednesday evening in Brooklyn, hosted by Brooklyn Independent Media, with a panel discussion featuring Public Advocate Letitia James; former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout; Executive Director of Citizens Union Dick Dadey; former Assemblymember and Councilmember Al Vann; economic journalist Doug Henwood and comedian/activist Ted Alexandro. Brooklyn Independent Media's Brian Vines will moderate. "This town hall will take a look at the inequality created when wealth holds the power to make policies that affect us all. From Sheldon Silver to Michael Grimm, political corruption is becoming so commonplace that it's hard for voters to feel they have a voice. A ballot is cast and the elected official goes to work, but the system in place can make your vote seems like pennies compared to funding from big donors and corporations. Is there a way for the average citizen to have a say in a pay to play system? How do we approach changing the policies that pit community voice against big money?"

Wednesday evening, the Digital NYC Five Borough Tour will hit Staten Island. Panelists will include John Salis, CEO at SIABC, Aileen Gemma Smith, CEO at Vizalytics, and Kevin Lawrie, Co-Founder and CTO at INBOX25.

Wednesday evening, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer "hosts and delivers remarks at reception celebrating the 50th anniversary of New York City's Landmarks Law, Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House Rotunda."

Thursday
Thurday evening, the governor's office, in collaboration with a variety of Queens lawmakers, will host a citizens preparedness training: the event in Queens is in cooperation with Congress Member Gregory Meeks, Senator Leroy Comrie, Assembly Member William Scarborough, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Council Member Daneek Miller and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Friday and the weekend
Friday morning, New York Law School will host another in its CityLaw Breakfast Series, featuring City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Friday and Saturday is Organizing 2.0, the annual conference for progressive activists and advocates. Hosted at the Murphy Institute at CUNY this year, "The 2015 Organizing 2.0 conference will bring leaders, organizers, fundraisers, techies and activists together for workshops, trainings, discussions, consulting, networking, visionary speakers, and thoughtful debates about movement building strategies and practices." More: "What is special about this conference is our focus on the needs of people working at labor unions, community based organizations, local campaigns and small organizations that are often short on resources. Our trainings help you work smarter and better. You will grow your skills no matter what level of expertise you have from total beginner to experienced online organizer." Sample Sessions include "Facebook and Twitter for campaigning" and "Online advertising on a budget." Guests and trainers will include "Mark Winston Griffith - Brooklyn Movement Center. Paul Baker & Andrew Angelos - lead digital organizers for the Chuy Garcia campaign in Chicago. Beth Becker - Becker Digital Strategies. Colin Delaney - ePolitics.com. Libero Della Piana - Alliance for a Just Society. Asher Huey - AFT. Jennifer Edwards - Purpose. Elizabeth McKenna - New York District Council of Carpenters. Kevin Eitzmann - NY AFL-CIO. Ben Kallos - NYC Councilmember. Dara Silverman - Standing Up for Racial Justice. Joe Dinkin - Working Families Party. And many more!"

On Saturday, "400 New Yorkers will get hands-on tips and training for improving their neighborhood parks—including Fundraising 101— at an upcoming parks equity conference hosted by City Parks Foundation and the NYC Parks." The conference is being put on with "Hundreds of NYC Parks Volunteers," City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, City Parks Foundation Executive Director Heather Lubov, and City Council Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Mark Levine - 10:15 am – 12:35 pm at New York University School of Law.

Saturday marks the start of the community voting week of the participatory budgeting cycle, taking place in over 20 city council districts around the city.

Saturday evening, "Ready for Hillary, the pro-Clinton super PAC, will host a fundraiser at South West New York in Battery Park City." Communications strategist Jodi Ochstein, Manhattan district leader Jenifer Rajkumar and event planner Ny Whitaker are hosting the event.

On Sunday at 12 p.m., the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs and NYCImmigrants will co-host an executive action legal screening for immigrant New Yorkers who might be eligible for the DACA/DAPA programs. "Get the latest updates on executive action. Find out if you might be eligible for deferred action through DACA or DAPA. Learn how to prepare to apply."

Also Sunday, at 2 p.m., Council Member Carlos Menchaca will deliver his state of the district address at Sunset Park High School.

[Read the latest original reporting from Gotham Gazette]

***
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 Rati Mukhuradze, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, March 30


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

March madness in Albany has been quite a ride, and word Sunday night is that a fiscal year 2016 budget agreement is in place. At about 9:30 p.m., the governor's office announced that Cuomo is now five for five in on-time budgets as governor - not a small feat: "The Budget agreement includes landmark education reforms and investment, an ethics package with the nation's strongest disclosure laws for legislators with outside income, and new investments in rebuilding and growing the state's economy, including $1.5 billion for the Upstate Revitalization Initiative and $500 million to make New York the first in the nation to have statewide broadband. The Budget agreement holds spending growth below two percent for the fifth consecutive year, continuing a record of fiscal discipline that has reversed decades of state budgets where spending grew at a higher rate than inflation or personal income growth." Full details will be released on Monday.

As negotiations continued the governor has admitted that more and more of the policies that he attempted to include in the budget were being pushed to the legislative session to follow - which has frustrated some fellow Democrats. Policies the governor has said he included in his budget but will be taken up in the legislative session (which runs until mid-June) include the Dream Act, an education tax credit, and 'Raise the Age' juvenile justice reform. Also likely: minimum wage. Education policy and ethics reforms continue to be the big ticket items that the governor has said he is committed to movement on. Over the weekend many rallied outside the governor's New York City office in protest of his education policy reforms; while others rallied at City Hall in support.

In quite the well-timed release, a new unauthorized biography of Cuomo is due out on Tuesday: Michael Shnayerson's "The Contender."

Meanwhile, in New York City, the City Council has just wrapped its month of preliminary budget hearings, calling in city agencies to discuss expenditures, policies, and needs. Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council members are eagerly awaiting a final deal in Albany, of course, to see how state policy and funding decisions will impact the city. A city budget is due by July 1. [Read our new look at how the City Council defines "women's issues" when it comes ot the budget and otherwise]

Mayor de Blasio begins his week with a 3 p.m. event: "On Monday, Mayor de Blasio will hold public hearings for and sign Intro. 685, in relation to extending rent stabilization laws; Intro. 435-A, in relation to reporting of special education services provided by the Department of Education; and Intro. 485-A, in relation to requiring the Department of Consumer Affairs to provide outreach and education for young adults."

May 5 is not so far away. It is the date of the special election for New York's 11th Congressional District (and the 43rd State Assembly District). The race in NY-11 between Democrat Vincent Gentile and Republican Dan Donovan is heating up, and the two will meet Tuesday night for a debate in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, along with Green Party candidate James Lane. See below for details.

There's a great deal happening at the City Council this week, including a full-body Stated meeting on Tuesday; and plenty of events all over the city, see our day-by-day run 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
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito's public schedule on Monday includes preparing and distributing kosher for Passover meals with other Council Members, Masbia Soup Kitchen, Queens; and remarks at the Council's Women's History Month celebration.

At 8:15 Monday morning, City Comptroller Scott Stringer will appear live on 91.1 FM's "JM in the AM."

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will be a guest on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show this morning, discussing help for small business owners.

Monday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor calling upon the United States Congress to pass, and the President to sign the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act; a meeting of the Committee on Civil Rights to discuss the powers and duties of the Commission on Human Rights, as well as establishing a housing discrimination testing program and an employment discrimination testing program; a meeting of the Committee on Education on a resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to reject any attempt to raise the cap on the number of charter schools, a resolution calling upon the Department of Education to amend its Parent’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities to include information about opting out of high-stakes testing and distribute this document at the beginning of every school year, to every family, in every grade, and a resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to fully implement the education funding requirements for New York City resulting from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity v State of New York case.

At 11 a.m., Attorney General Eric Schneiderman "will detail his agreement with retail giant GNC to implement landmark reforms in the authentication, testing and public information and transparency of herbal supplements," from his Manhattan office.

Also Monday morning at 11 a.m., "as part of the city's unprecedented tax season outreach cmapaign," an event in Flushing "to promote free tax filing" is being put on by the Department of Consumer Affairs, Rep. Grace Meng, Community Tax Aid, and the Flushing YMCA. DCA Commissioner Julie Menin, Meng and others "are hosting Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Awareness Day to promote free tax preparation services available in Flushing."

On Monday at noon, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña "launches literacy program in 20 Family Shelters with DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor" from HELP Bronx Crotona Park North.

Monday afternoon at 2 p.m., U.S. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries will speak at New York Law School: “Jeffries will speak about innovation in New York and his work in Washington developing policies to further innovation nationally.”

Also at 2 p.m. Monday, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen and city Economic Development Corporation President Kyle Kimball announce two major initiatives to further New York City’s life sciences sector, at Rockefeller University - according to City & State NY.

At 3 p.m. Mayor de Blasio will hold his aforementioned bill-signing event.

On Monday at 4:30, "Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer will host a Technology & Education Mixer at Civic Hall, the newly-opened community for civic technology...bringing public school principals seeking partnerships with technology organizations..." Brewer: "With passage of the New York State Smart Schools Bond Act, as well as recent changes to E-Rate funding streams at the federal level, New York City schools stand to receive significant capital funds to invest in education technology. Our event will help both tech organizations and schools prepare." Present will be Hal Friedlander, Chief Information Officer, NYC Dept of Education; over 40 Manhattan Public School principals and staff; Civic & Educational Technology organizations, including Citizen Schools, The LAMP, and others.

Monday afternoon, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito; Public Advocate Letitia James; Council Women’s Issues Committee Chair Laurie Cumbo; and the City Council Women’s Caucus will host The Second Annual Women’s Herstory Month Celebration at the Council Chambers in City Hall: “This year we recognize Women With Vision, trail blazers who embody the entrepreneurial spirit in pursuit of greatness in the public, political, or private sectors by harnessing opportunities through their vision that transform all of our lives for the better.”

At Brooklyn Borough Hall there will be a Women's History Month celebration hosted by Borough President Eric Adams and Council Member Laurie Cumbo. It will feature an expo of women-owned businesses and then an awards ceremony. Rikki Klieman is the highlighted guest speaker.

Council Member Andy King will hold a “Town Hall” meeting in Eastchester Heights: “New York City Council Member Andy King will be speaking at the meeting as a part of an ongoing series to bring constituent services directly to 12th Council District residents, listen to concerns and answer questions from members of the community.”

Also Monday evening, the Queens Library will host an open budget hearing in Flushing: “The public is invited to find out what the library's funding priorities are, and to give the library their input.”

Tuesday
On Tuesday, Comptroller Scott Stringer will attend the Council of Institutional Investors 2015 Spring Conference and 30th Anniversary Celebration in Washington D.C.

As mentioned, Michael Shnayerson’s Andrew Cuomo biography “The Contender,” is slated for release Tuesday.

Tuesday is the last day of the state's 2015 fiscal year. A new fiscal year 2016 budget is due by midnight.

Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., City & State will host Real Estate, Construction & Housing Awards Breakfast to “honor outstanding professionals from New York’s Real Estate, Construction and Housing Industries.” Attendees will include Adolfo Carrion, Executive VP of Stagg Group, former Bronx Borough President; Alicia Glen, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development; and others.

Also Tuesday morning, there will be a Crain's New York Business breakfast forum with New York City Council Members Julissa Ferreras, Brad Lander, Mark Levine, and Jumaane Williams. The council members will discuss how the Council is changing the playing field for businesses, land-use priorities in their districts and citywide, and what they would like from the de Blasio and Cuomo administrations.

Tuesday at 9 a.m., Chalkbeat will present a community schools conversation with Nancy Zimpher and Jeff Edmondson, moderated by Motoko Rich of the New York Times: “SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and Jeff Edmunson, co-authors of "Strive Together" about their work in developing community schools in Cincinnati, discuss early lessons for other cities hoping to replicate the model.”

Tuesday’s City Council schedule will include a 10 a.m. meeting of the Committee on Finance to review a resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass a law that would provide a property tax exemption for privately-owned vacant land while such property is being used for the public benefit; and a City Council Stated Meeting at 1:30 p.m. It's the Council's second full-budy Stated meeting of the month. Bills will be introduced and others previously introduced will be voted on - one that will be introduced is from Council Member Dan Garodnick and would require the NYPD to publish its patrol guide.

Tuesday evening, Educators for Excellence will host Manhattan Policy Roundtable: Teacher Evaluation and Tenure.

Also Tuesday evening, Queens College will host Women in Leadership: Economic Justice in ‘UnBankable’ Communities: “Shared Interest, a non-profit social investment fund, provides access to credit and mentorship for microenterprise and small business owners, farmers and cooperative members. The majority of these business owners are women, who would otherwise be considered ‘unbankable.’Donna Katzin, Executive Director of Shared Interest, will highlight themes related to community and international development, impact investing, women’s leadership, and strategies to promote social and economic justice.”

Tuesday at 5 p.m., NYU Wagner and NYU’s Leadership Initiative will host All Things Being Equal: Reflections of a Social Justice Leader: “Join us for a fascinating discussion with one of America’s most influential public service leaders, Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation. Melody Barnes, NYU’s Vice Provost for Global Student Leadership Initiatives and Senior Fellow at NYU Wagner, will engage him in discussion about his journey in leadership - from his birth in a charity hospital in Louisiana to becoming President of the second largest philanthropy in the United States.”

Tuesday evening, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence will host its spring meeting: “You’ll get an update from Executive Director Leah Gunn Barrett and others about pending state and federal legislation and other NYAGV activities and find out how you can help advocate to reduce gun violence.” [Read a recent op-ed by Barrett on the need to pass Nicholas' Law]

Tuesday at 6 p.m., The Center For New York City Affairs at New School will host Low-Down on Pre-K from Insideschools: “If your child turns 4 this year, he or she is eligible for free pre-kindergarten, either in a public school or at a site run by a community organization. The de Blasio administration gets an A for effort in its rapid expansion of pre-kindergarten, with more than 30,000 new seats last fall and another 20,000 planned for this coming fall. But what is the quality of these new programs?”

There will be a meeting of the National Women's Political Caucus New York City chapter, at which Manhattan BP Brewer will speak.

And also Tuesday evening, a debate in the 11th Congressional District race: 8:15 PM at Guild for Exceptional Children's headquarters in Brooklyn. Staten Island Advance: "Republican District Attorney Daniel Donovan, Democratic Councilman Vincent Gentile and Green Party candidate James Lane will debate on March 31 at an event held by the Bay Ridge Community Council. The three men are facing off in a special election on May 5 for the vacant seat in Congress, left empty by Michael Grimm's resignation in January."

[Read the latest reporting from Gotham Gazette on New York City and State politics and policy]

Wednesday
Wednesday is the first day of the New York State 2016 fiscal year.

Wednesday’s City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Housing and Buildings; a meeting of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor jointly with the Committee on Finance for an oversight hearing regarding examining health care savings under recent collective bargaining agreements; a meeting of the Committee on General Welfare jointly with the Committee on Health for an oversight hearing on examining health and safety at ACS-funded Head Start Programs; a meeting of the Committee on Waterfronts jointly with the Committee on Environmental Protection to discuss a resolution calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to veto the application by Liberty Natural Gas, LLC to construct the Port Ambrose liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast of New York.

Wednesday at 1 p.m., School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University will present Dean’s Seminar Series On Race and Policy: At the Intersection of Tech and Social Impact: “Benjamin Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP and current partner at the Kapor Center for Social Impact, will discuss technology and its relevance to social policy.”

Also at Columbia University mid-day Wednesday, Manhattan BP Brewer will speak at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs "One Billion Rising" event raising awareness to end violence against women.

Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., BetaNYC will present NYC Department of Transportation Open Data Forum: “We're joining up with our friends at NYC's Department of Transportation for the third open data forum. Join NYC DOT staff for a town hall-style meeting to discuss open data formatting and access. Bring your questions about DOT's data!!”

Also Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., City Council Members Costa Constantinides and Paul Vallone, in conjunction with Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, will celebrate the anniversary of Greek Independence: “The celebration will honor Greek-Americans who have dedicated themselves to serving their communities.”

Thursday
Thursday evening, Big Apple Coffee Party, Common Cause/NY, Public Citizen and Occupy Wall Street Special Projects Affinity Group  will hold a Rally to Shine a Light on Corruption in Our Democracy: “Join a national campaign to encourage President Obama to sign an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to disclose their campaign activities and contributions.”

Also Thursday evening, the Digital NYC Five Borough Tour will return to Manhattan for a session in partnership with General Assembly and Flatiron BID. Panelists will include Jake Schwartz, Co-Founder & CEO of General Assembly, Hagos Mehreteab, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at AppNexus, Madison (“Maddy”) Maxie, Creative Technologist, and Kristen Titus, Founding Director at NYC Tech Talent Pipeline.

Friday and the weekend
Friday is Good Friday and Passover begins at sundown on Friday, so things will be quiet at the end of the week and into the weekend - we think, at least.

***Read some of the latest original content from Gotham Gazette - explore our stories or recent op-eds***

***
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 Rati Mukhuradze, Marco Poggio, and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Debates of the 2014 NYS Election Cycle


 

SD11 debate ICH

Sen. Tony Avella, left, debates John Liu on Inside City Hall; host Errol Louis, middle (@InsideCityHall)


Debates of the 2014 New York State Election Cycle - see below for upcoming and video/audio/print of those already having occurred. This list is surely incomplete, please send us others - notice of upcoming debates or recaps of those that have occurred - by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Primary Election Debates

Governor & Lieutenant Governor

9/8/14 Hochul, then Wu appear on WNYC: Brian Lehrer Show audio

Teachout and Astorino debate on WPIX-11 TV via WPIX and City & State NY (filmed 9/4): debate video

9/4/14 Zephyr Teachout and Rob Astorino debate on WNYC (Gov. Andrew Cuomo declined to participate in a primary debate with Teachout): Brian Lehrer Show audio

9/3/14 Tim Wu appears on NY1 (Kathy Hochul opted not to participate): Inside City Hall video

9/2/14 Zephyr Teachout appears on NY1 (Gov. Cuomo opted not to participate): Inside City Hall video

14th Senate District in Queens

9/3/14 Candidates @ The Salvation Army Jamaica Citadel, 90-23 161st Street, Queens via DNAinfo & Food Bank NYC. Recap: TBD

8/20/14 Malcolm Smith, Leroy Comrie and Munir Avery appear on NY1: Inside City Hall Debate video 

76th Assembly District in Manhattan

8/24/14 Christensen, Hartzog, Menegon and Seawright appear on MNN: Represent NYC debate video

8/22/14 Christensen, Hartzog, Menegon and Seawright appear on NY1: Inside City Hall debate video

8/11/14 Gus Christensen, Ed Hartzog, David Menegon and Rebecca Seawright appear at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House for Citizens Union and Our Town debate. Recap: Our Town

52nd Assembly District in Brooklyn

9/3/14 Biviano, Simon, and Sikora appear on BRIC: B-Civil debate video

9/2/14 Biviano, Simon, and Sikora debate at St. Francis College 7 p.m., sponsored by the Brooklyn Heights Blog. Recap: TBD

8/27/14 Biviano, Simon and Sikora debate at a forum hosted by the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council. Recap: Brooklyn Daily Eagle

8/25/14 Doug Biviano, Jo Ann Simon, and Pete Sikora appear on NY1: Inside City Hall debate video

72nd Assembly District in Manhattan

9/2/14 Candidates @ Fresh Youth Initiatives, 505 W 171st St, Manhattan via DNAinfo & Food Bank NYC. Recap: TBD

8/24/14 Mayobanex Villalona, Melanie Hidalgo, Guillermo Linares and Manny De Los Santos appear on MNN: Represent NYC debate video

31st Senate District in Manhattan

9/4/14 Jackson and Espaillat appear on NY1: Inside City Hall debate video

8/24/14 Robert Jackson and Luis Tejada appear on MNN (incumbent Adriano Espaillat opted not to participate): Represent NYC debate video

34th Senate District in the Bronx

8/26/14 Klein and Koppell appear on NY1: Inside City Hall debate video

8/25/14 Jeff Klein and Oliver Koppell appear on BronxNet: BronxTalk debate video

11th Senate District in Queens

9/2/14 Avella and Liu appear on WNYC: Brian Lehrer Show audio

8/27/14 Tony Avella and John Liu appear on NY1: Inside City Hall debate video

8/19/14: Avella and Liu appeared at a forum hosted by "a coalition of community-based, advocacy and social services organizations." Recaps: Queens Chronicle and The Observer

19th Senate District in Brooklyn

8/28/14 John Sampson, Dell Smitherman, and Sean Henry appear on NY1: Inside City Hall debate video

20th Senate District, Brooklyn

9/3/14 Dorancy and Hamilton appear on NY1: Inside City Hall debate video

8/27/14 Dorancy and Hamilton appear on WNYC: The Brian Lehrer Show audio

8/27/14 Dorancy and Hamilton debate at forum hosted by Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council. Recap: Brooklyn Daily Eagle

8/12 Rubain Dorancy and Jesse Hamilton appear on BRIC: B-Civil video

54th Assembly District in Brooklyn

8/19 Erik Dilan and Kimberly Council appear on BRIC: B-Civil debate video

79th Assembly District in the Bronx

9/4/14 Candidates @ McKinley Community Center. Recap: TBD

9/1/14 Blake, Rodriguez, and Ricks debate on BronxNet: BronxTalk video

8/28/14 79th AD @ Word of Life International, 813 Westchester Ave, The Bronx via DNAinfo & Food Bank NYC. Recap: TBD

60th Assembly District in Brooklyn

8/29/14 Chris Banks and Charles Barron @ Church of God of Prophecy, 71 Malta St, Brooklyn via DNAinfo & Food Bank NYC. Recap: TBD

55th Assembly District in Brooklyn

9/4/14 Candidates @ 1768 St. John's Place, Brooklyn via DNAinfo & Food Bank NYC. Recap: TBD

 

Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) page with all Represent NYC 2014 debates 

NY1 Inside City Hall page with all televised debates on that network 

Food Bank NYC/DNAinfo debates listing/rsvp page

 

Vacancies in the New York State Legislature


In 2014, all 213 seats in the New York State Legislature are again up for election. Following the September 9th party primaries, NY voters will elect representatives on November 4th in all 63 Senate Districts, including the 27 that represent parts of New York City, and all 150 State Assembly Districts, including the 66 that represent parts of New York City. The elections include the 13 currently vacant seats and the 8 seats for which incumbents have chosen not to seek re-election.

In addition to the 8 New York State legislators that are not seeking re-election, current Lt. Governor Robert Duffy has also chosen not to run again, citing the wear and tear of his travel schedule. The New York State legislative vacancies, and the races in which the current officeholder is not seeking re-election, are listed below. To see who is running to fill the seats, click the links provided for several races listed or see our larger page for all candidates running in races to represent New York City residents:

Current Vacancies in the New York State Legislature:

Assembly District 54:
Brooklyn: Bushwick and East New York
Last Represented by: Rafael Espinal Jr.
Reason for vacating: elected to City Council

Assembly District 55:
Brooklyn: Brownsville
Last Represented by William Boyland
Reason for vacating: forced to exit office due to conviction on twenty-one counts of bribery, mail fraud, and extortion

Assembly District 59:
Brooklyn: Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Mills Basin, and Gerritsen Beach
Last Represented by: Alan Maisel
Reason for vacating: elected to City Council

Assembly District 60:
Brooklyn: East New York, Brownsville, and Canarsie
Last Represented by: Inez Barron
Reason for vacating: elected to City Council

Assembly District 72:
Manhattan: Inwood, Washington Heights, and Harlem
Last Represented by:Gabriela Rosa
Reason for vacating: pleaded guilty to marriage fraud and resigned

Assembly District 77:
Bronx: High Bridge
Last Represented by: Vanessa Gibson
Reason for vacating: elected to City Council

Assembly District 79:
Bronx: Melrose, Morrisania, Fairmont-Claremont Village, and Tremont
Last Represented by: Eric Stevenson
Reason for vacating: forced to exit office due to conviction on four counts of bribery

Assembly District 98
Towns of Deerpark, Greenville, Minisink, Monroe, Tuxedo, Warwick, Port Jervis and Ramapo
Last Represented by: Annie Rabbitt
Reason for vacating: elected Orange County Clerk

Assembly District 113:
Upper Hudson Valley region, portions of Saratoga County, and Washington County
Last Represented by: J. Anthony "Tony" Jordan
Reason for vacating: elected Washington County DA

Assembly District 134:
Spencerport, Greece, and Hilton
Last Represented by: Bill Reilich
Reason for vacating: elected Greece town supervisor

Assembly District 143:
Cheektowaga, Depew, Lancaster, and Sloan
Last Represented by: Dennis Gabryszak
Reason for vacating: resigned as a result of sexual harassment allegations from several staffers

Senate District 8:
Portions of Nassau and Suffolk Counties
Last Represented by: Charles Fuschillo
Reason for vacating: became CEO of Alzheimer's Foundation of America

Senate District 20:
Brooklyn: Sunset Park, Gowanus, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brownsville
Last Represented by: Eric Adams
Reason for vacating: elected Brooklyn Borough President

Seats being vacated by incumbents not seeking re-election:

Assembly District 11
Parts of Suffolk County
Current Officeholder: Robert Sweeney (D)
Reason for not seeking re-election: retirement

Assembly District 20
Parts of Nassau County
Current Officeholder: Harvey Weisenberg (D)
Reason for not seeking re-election: retirement

Assembly District 42
Brooklyn: Ditmas Park, Flatbush, and Midwood
Current Officeholder: Rhoda Jacobs (D)
Reason for not seeking re-election: retirement

Assembly District 52
Brooklyn: Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Columbia Waterfront, DUMBO, Fulton Ferry Landing, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Vinegar Hill
Current Officeholder: Joan L. Millman (D)
Reason for not seeking re-election: moving to a position at the New York City Department for the Aging

Assembly District 76:
Manhattan: Upper East Side, Yorkville and Roosevelt Island
Current Officeholder: Micah Kellner (D)
Reason for not seeking re-election: allegations and appeal process concerning sexual harassment

Senate District 3
Suffolk County
Current Officeholder: Lee M. Zeldin (R)
Reason for not seeking re-election: running for Congress

Senate District 40
Parts of Putnam, Westchester, and Dutchess Counties
Current Officeholder: Greg Ball (R)
Reason for not seeking reelection: return to private sector

Senate District 62:
Niagara County, Orleans County, and parts of Monroe County
Current Officeholder: George D. Maziarz (R)
Reason for not seeking re-election: personal reasons (is the subject of a pending campaign funds investigation)

 

NY State Senate District 31


«NY State Senate District 20 NY State Senate District 34»

Overview 

 

Espaillat

 10489713_1437774646489986_3550157554896778622_n.jpg

http://www.gothamgazette.com/graphics/district/council/tejada_l.jpg

Photo Currently Unavailable

Adriano Espaillat (D)  Robert Jackson (D) Luis Tejada (D) Michael W. Chan (R)

 

 

Candidates' statements taken from their respective websites and press releases, unless otherwise noted.

Notes:

 



For additions or corrections, please contact Talia Werber at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 



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