Yesterday's storm dumped four inches of snow on the city, bringing the total for the month to one foot so far, well over the average of 1.3 inches for this time of year. The back-to-back storms have also raised questions of a salt shortage. The state supplied an emergency shipment of 2,000 tons to the city yesterday, but the city says it will have arranged for enough salt to get through the storm expected this weekend. The city has seen a higher-than-average 40.3 inches this winter so far, but the winter of 1995 saw 75.6 inches. Mayor Bill de Blasio seems to have grown accustomed to speaking about snow, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls the storms the "new normal" as we enter a new era of climate change.

Other Stories We're Following

The Daunting Logistics Of The Pre-K Plan (Capital)

Brooklyn DA Faces Tidal Wave Of Wrongful Conviction Cases (NY Times)

Queens Mom Charged In Beating Death Of 2-Year-Old (DNAinfo)

$8 Billion Earmarked For Upgrade Of NY Airports (Crain's)

City Workers Paid Nearly Twice Salary Of Private Sector (NY Post)

Brooklyn Has Most Drug Overdoses—And Spike In Heroin Deaths (Daily News)

De Blasio Reaffirms 'Swift Settlement' Of Central Park Five Suit (Daily News)

City's Most Dangerous Streets For Pedestrians (am New York)

Statehouses Divided Over Anti-Boycott Bills (Wall Street Journal)

PATH Link Going Offline For Weekends (Wall Street Journal)

Long Island Railroad Union Votes To Approve Strike (Newsday)

State Judiciary Requests 2.5 Percent Budget Hike (Albany Times Union)

Authorities Shut Down $170 Million Pill Ring (Associated Press)

NYPD Beta-Testing Google Glass (Venture Beat)

Mayor Bill de Blasio said yesterday he would not march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Manhattan next month because event organizers won't allow participants to openly identify as gay. He would, however, allow city workers to march in uniform if they choose. Mayor David Dinkins also boycotted the event over gay rights issues. Comptroller Scott Stringer will sit the parade out as well. De Blasio said he'd attend other events on the holiday, and in the past has attended a parade in Queens that promotes inclusion of the gay community.

Other Stories We're Following

Teachers’ Push For Back Pay May Pinch City (NY Times)

Fight Awaits de Blasio On Upper East Side Trash Transfer Site (NY Times)

State Under Federal Pressure To Make EBT Changes Or Lose Aid (Albany Times Union)

Police Investigate Deaths Of Two Infants In Queens (DNAinfo)

Cyclists Are Getting Better At Following The Rules (The Atlantic Cities)

De Blasio Names Charter Schools Advocate As Deputy Mayor (NY Post)

De Blasio Won’t Push For Property Tax Increase (Wall Street Journal)

Elections Panel Votes To Send Prosecutors Files (Albany Times Union)

Will Cuomo Retreat From Common Core? (Capital)

City To Tweak Sick Pay, Override Bloomberg Vetoes (Crain's)

How Glass Houses Can Become Hothouses (WNYC)

Cops Sexually Assault Mother, Break 10-Year-Old's Leg (Daily News)

City Taps Children's Aid Society Chief For Pre-K Plan (DNAinfo)

Can $10,239 Buy Quality Pre-K? (WNYC)

The legal predicament of embattled state Sen. John Sampson worsened yesterday when federal investigators announced that the eastern Brooklyn lawmaker faces a new set of indictments. Sampson allegedly hid his financial ties to a liquor store that he had his staff help with an unpaid sales tax bill, failing to disclose that information to the FBI last year. Sampson is to be arraigned in a Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday and still faces trial for embezzlement and threatening federal witnesses.

While the news of Sampson's latest charges broke, the trial against another Brooklyn legislator kicked off. Assemblyman William Boyland, Jr. is charged with soliciting more than $250,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents, allegedly to pay off attorney fees from earlier corruption charges of which he was acquitted.

Both Sampson and Boyland remain in office but have yet to announce bids for re-election this year. At least one indicted New York City pol, however, has already asked the courts to postpone his trial until after Primary Day — that request came last week from Queens state Sen. Malcolm Smith, who was arrested last year for attempting to bribe officials to get himself on the ballot as a Republican mayoral candidate.

NEW AT GOTHAM GAZETTE

Manhattan Nursing Homes Rates Low in Health Care by Agata Blaszczak-Boxe

When Wayne Padgett’s aunt ended up at the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home on the Upper East Side last spring, he never imagined that he would eventually need to fly across the country to rescue her. His 86-year-old aunt, Geraldine McCandless, had been sent to recover at the nursing after being hospitalized for a stroke. Padgett was not happy with what he saw when he flew from his California home to visit her.

READ MORE

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State Democrats and Republicans Argue About Moving Primary to June or August (NY1)

De Blasio’s horse-carriage ban stalls (Capital)

De Blasio says he won’t allow co-locations for charter schools (NY Post)

Meet Gilbert Taylor, New York's New Homelessness Chief (WNYC)

De Blasio Threatens to Unleash Locusts on East Side During Daily Show Appearance (NY Observer)

New York City public school kids getting new Muslim, Lunar New Year holidays (Daily News)

Mayor de Blasio Supports Ban On Using Food Stamps For Sugary Drinks(Daily News)

Now, state official says LICH isn’t eligible for Medicaid waiver money(Capital)

Medicaid fraud recoveries up to $851M (Journal News)

City lawyer used office for politics, probe finds (Crain's)

The de Blasio administration waited until late Friday afternoon to announce that it would cut $210 million previously committed to classroom space for charter schools while adding 7,000 new pre-K seats. The additional pre-K seats are only partly funded by the cut to charters, with most of the revenue sourced to $800 million from the New York State Smart Schools Bond Act.

The move begins to bring to life Mayor Bill de Blasio's promised priority for universal, full day pre-K. It also appears to confirm some of his critics' fears about the new administration's negative attitude towards charter schools, including parents who think the administration is "playing" with students and their families.

Yet Chancellor Carmen Fariña's decision to shift money from charters towards pre-K won't come to fruition for a while. The bond that the decision relies on is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive budget, which earmarks $1.5 billion for statewide pre-K over five years.

NEW IN GOTHAM GAZETTE

Aftermath of Tragedy: New York City's Lowest-Rated Nursing Homes by Jordan Davidson

The Gotham Gazette examined inspection reports, complaints and court records to take a close look at five of the city’s lowest-rated nursing homes. This is the first of five parts. Robert Ruiz was designated one of the unsafe smokers at the Mosholu Parkway Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. But when he lit a cigarette in the home’s smoking room three years ago, the staff member assigned to supervise the smokers wasn’t there.

READ MORE

Other Stories We're Following

Cuomo may have Senate votes to block de Blasio’s pre-K tax hike (NY Post)

De Blasio plans to expand ‘living wage’ (NY Post)

Mayor de Blasio's hospitals boss once hit with conflict-of-interest ruling over wife's job (Daily News)

Chirlane McCray is likely to be active in helping husband Mayor de Blasio(Daily News)

NYPD Investigates Threatening Letter Sent to de Blasio (NY1)

State Senator endorses development plan for Brooklyn's LICH (Daily News)

Bill would stop corrupt pols from using campaign cash for legal bills (NY Post)

Food stamp vote divides Democrats (Crain's)

In bank case, it's Cuomo vs. Schneiderman (Crain's)

Gov. Cuomo launches new disaster training program (Staten Island Advance)

Capitol Cops Won't Charge Grimm (Daily News)

Congressional finance reports: district by district (Capital)

Malcolm Smith lawyer: Delay corruption trial until after primary (Queens Chronicle)

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced yesterday that the city would drop its appeal to the court ruling instituting reforms to the practice of stop-and-frisk. A court appointed monitor would oversee the police force for three years, and would stay longer if the city doesn't fulfil its obligations. The police would also be retrained and outfitted with cameras. The police unions—who were appealing the ruling—have a week to object to the agreement, and the city will have another week to reply to those objections. Commissioner Bill Bratton acknowledged that officers were being "pushed hard" to make the stops, and that it created a rift between police and community.

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De Blasio To Weigh In On Council Mandated NYPD Monitor (NY Post)

Cuomo’s Talk Of A Surplus Leaves Out A Big Caveat (NY Times)

State Health Department Defers Action On Troubled Agency (NY Times)

New York’s Forgotten High-Speed Rail Study (Capital)

Bratton Tells Chiefs He’ll Stop Sending Rookies To High-Crime Areas (NY Times)

Legislators Back Lunar New Year School Closings (Associated Press)

MTA Boss Raises Issue Of Possible 12 Percent Fare Hike In 2015 (Daily News)

Democratic Pick Due To Fill State Board Of Elections Vacancy (Albany Times Union)

Chirlane McCray Cleared To Work For Mayor’s Fund (Capital)

City Workforce Looks To de Blasio For Raises And Reform (Gotham Gazette)

Council Members Pull No Punches On de Blasio Pick For Investigations Agency (Gotham Gazette)

Regulations allowing fracking will be put off for at least another year, according to state Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens. He told legislators yesterday that his agency has "absolutely no plans" to issue guidelines until at least next March. There's also no money for oversight in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's recent budget proposal. Martens went on to say the state wouldn't complete an environmental review of hydraulic fracturing until an analysis by the Health Department is finished, but there's no timetable for that. Cuomo may be biding his time deciding whether to lift a de facto moratorium on the controversial drilling process until after elections.

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De Blasio’s Vision Versus Housing Authority's Finances (Capital)

De Blasio Drafts Business Execs To Push Pre-K Tax (Crain's)

State Recommends Expanding License Of Health Agency With Checkered Past (NY Times)

State Primary Date Is $50 Million Issue (Albany Times Union)

Education Commissioner Staffs Department With Educators (Capital)

Stringer To Unveil Changes For City’s Pension System (NY Times)

Bratton Orders NYPD To Take Over Animal Abuse Cases (NY Post)

De Blasio Swipes At Bloomberg Over Education (NY Post)

Rep. Grimm Apologizes To Reporter For On-Camera Threat (NY1)

Grimm's Outburst May Be ‘Part Of Pattern’ (Daily News)

Union Leaders Offer Tough Talk About Cuomo At Rally (Albany Times Union)

Brooklyn School Cutting Gifted Program To Boost Diversity (Daily News)

A Deeper Look At State Legislative Districts (Politicker)

State Education Commissioner John King estimated yesterday that funding statewide pre-K would cost around $1.6 billion per year. The statement, made at a legislative hearing, put him at odds with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who proposed spending $1.5 billion over five years. King later said $1.6 billion should be a goal for the state down the road and called Cuomo's plan a “significant investment.” In response to the statement, Cuomo said all the pre-K figures were "guesstimates." Mayor Bill de Blasio used the occasion to again call for more city funding paid for by a tax on wealthy city residents. In his testimony, King also said he would advocate for a $1.3 billion increase in education aid to help financially strapped schools.

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Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm Physically Threatens Reporter (NY1)

Judge Finds Gay Marriage Law Negates Need For Adoption (NY Times)

Port Chief May Be In More Ethical Hot Water (WNYC)

State Workers Set Overtime Record At $611 Million (Albany Times Union)

State Tweaks Affordable Housing Incentive (Crain's)

NYPD Targets Drivers In Pedestrian Safety Sting (NY Post)

Port Authority Demands Airlines Raise Worker Wages (Daily News)

Ethics Commission Reverses Stance On Donor Privacy For Some Groups (Albany Times Union)

Borough Presidents Lay Out Development Plans (Crain's)

Councilman Lander’s Very Democratic Leadership Experiment (Capital)

Council’s New Transportation Chair Wants More Citi Bikes, Ferries (Politicker)

State Pension Fund Estimate Reaches $173 Billion (Associated Press)

City Comptroller Eyes Queens Library President’s Spendthrift Ways (Daily News)

Report: Long-List Of Post-Sandy Needs (The Brooklyn Bureau)

Former Manhattan Prison Could Be Tough Sell (Wall Street Journal)

Partners. Deep friendship. Bromance.

Bill de Blasio's day trip to Albany was a display in congeniality as the mayor laid out his ideal working relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, emphasizing the city's plan for universal pre-kindergarten and federal aid for failing Brooklyn hospitals.

The two men politely disagreed with each other on pre-K. The governor defended his budget plan which would institute a statewide universal $1.5 billion program over five years. Meanwhile, de Blasio fielded questions from state lawmakers about his proposal for a tax hike on wealthiest New Yorkers to pay for pre-K, arguing that "the city's right to self-determination, to setting and carrying out our own priorities, should be honored in Albany."

Cuomo and de Blasio stressed that the conversations between city and state are ongoing, but there's one thing on which they are in lockstep. Both urged the federal government to approve a $10 billion Medicaid waiver to allow the state to move money around to save Brooklyn's Interfaith Medical Center and Long Island College Hospital, an issue that got de Blasio arrested last year.

ICYMI in Gotham Gazette

Breaking Down the New City Council Committees by Chester Soria

The new crop of city lawmakers met last week for the first time since electing Melissa Mark-Viverito as their speaker to vote on the Council's leadership appointments. The speaker parsed out the Council's seats of power, as well as the controversial stipends that go with them. READ MORE

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Cuomo and de Blasio actually agree on fed funding (Crain's)

NYC mayor: Ulster tax OK sets precedent (Times Herald-Record)

Women’s Equality Agenda advocates renew push (Albany Times Union)

Lander: ‘Shadow speaker’ talk is racist and sexist (Capital)

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito hires four aides for top jobs(Daily News)

Mayor de Blasio supports stripping Madison Square Garden of property tax break (Daily News)

Can de Blasio Make the Rents Less Damn High? (City Limits)

Schumer and James Tweak de Blasio on Upper East Side Snow Response (NY Observer)

Farm Bill Agreement Includes Deep Cuts to Food Stamps (NY1)

More Delays and Rising Cost for Project Connecting L.I.R.R. to Grand Central Terminal (NY Times)

NYPD plans high security on Super Bowl Boulevard (NY Post)

City's Plan to Drop Stop and Frisk Appeal...Still Pending (WNYC)

Bill de Blasio makes a return visit to the state capitol this morning days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo's released his budget. Observers still wonder how the two men will reconcile their proposals for universal pre-kindergarten.

Unlike the mayor's previous trip upstate, he's taking some backup with him. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, a dogged ally in de Blasio's plan to tax the wealthiest New Yorkers to raise $340 million for pre-K, will join the mayor in testifying in front of the state legislature's fiscal committees, along with 16 other Council members.

The speaker has already vocalized her support for the mayor's "modest" tax increase as a better vehicle for pre-K than Cuomo's $1.5 billion for statewide full-day pre-K, as have Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

and State Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein. The question remains if any of them will sway a tax-cutting Cuomo caught between a Democratic agenda and an election year.

NEW IN THE GOTHAM GAZETTE

Breaking Down the New City Council Committees by Chester Soria

The new crop of city lawmakers met last week for the first time since electing Melissa Mark-Viverito as their speaker to vote on the Council's leadership appointments. The speaker parsed out the Council's seats of power, as well as the controversial stipends that go with them. READ MORE

Other Stories We're Following

Cuomo’s $2 billion surplus comes with some ifs (Capital)

Mayor de Blasio’s Q&A With The Journal on his Pre-K Plan (Wall Street Journal)

Fighting for Liberal Agenda, Assembly Speaker Finds New Ally in Mayor(NY Times)

Another Albany Push to Stop Traffic Fatalities (WNYC)

Paladino Says Trump Is Serious About Running (YNN)

NYC council speaker hits 7 inaugurations in 1 day (Newsday)

Torres rises to top of Bronx political heap (Daily News)

A glimmer of hope on City Council for developers (Crain's)

Schumer Proposes ‘Avonte’s Law’ to Protect Children With Autism (NY Times)

The city’s unemployment rate dropped last month from 8.5 percent to 8.1 percent, the lowest in five years, according to the state Labor Department. The number of jobs in the city passed the 4 million mark for the first time since 1969. State unemployment fell from 7.4 percent to 7.1 percent. But around 100,000 people statewide lost unemployment benefits because Congress let federal emergency unemployment compensation expire. The national unemployment rate was 6.7 percent.

Other Stories We're Following

Council’s Budget Watchdog Failed To Stop $100,000 Fraud (Daily News)

NY Hospitals, Fearing Financial Pain, Prepare Suit (Crain's)

Unassuming Liberal's Rapid Ascent To Council Power Broker (NY Times)

Council Split On Snow Response (Capital)

Without Dedicated Funding Stream Universal Pre-K Could Fall Short (The Nation)

Metro-North Grinds To Halt For Two Hours (NY Times)

Cuomo To Ban Welfare Card Use For Liquor, Gambling (NY Post)

De Blasio Defends Cuomo’s Verbal Slap At ‘Extreme’ Conservatives (NY Post)

State Education Leader Grilled Over Common Core (Albany Times Union)

Study Says Snow Days Not Detrimental To Learning (WNYC)

Deep Freeze Continues (Wall Street Journal)