Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

STATE

State

Decision NYC: Liz Crotty Discusses Her Run for Manhattan District Attorney


7 liz crotty

Liz Crotty (photo via campaign)


As part of the "Decision NYC with Ben Max" series of candidate interviews from Manhattan Neighborhood Network and Gotham Gazette, Democratic candidates for Manhattan District Attorney talked about their campaigns ahead of the June primary. In this episode, former Assistant District Attorney Liz Crotty joined host Ben Max to explain her vision for the role. Watch:

Read more: Decision NYC: Liz Crotty Discusses Her Run for Manhattan District Attorney

Decision NYC: Lucy Lang Discusses Her Run for Manhattan District Attorney


10 a lucy lang social

Lucy Lang (photo via campaign)


As part of the "Decision NYC with Ben Max" series of candidate interviews from Manhattan Neighborhood Network and Gotham Gazette, Democratic candidates for Manhattan District Attorney talked about their campaigns ahead of the June primary. In this episode, former Assistant District Attorney Lucy Lang joined host Ben Max to explain her vision for the role. Watch:

Read more: Decision NYC:  Lucy Lang Discusses Her Run for Manhattan District Attorney

What's The [Data] Point? 800,000 - New Life for Gateway


whats the data point


What's The [Data] Point? Episode 103 -- 800,000 - New Life for Gateway, with John D. Porcari [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

With President Biden now in office and New York Senator Chuck Schumer as Majority Leader, there is new life for the Gateway Program, a massive set of infrastructure projects for the northeast corridor seen as essential to the region's, and therefore the country's, economic success. After years of delay, there are signs Gateway, which is highlighted by the plan to construct new Hudson River tunnels between New York and New Jersey, will be approved and funded, a combination of federal money and contributions by the two states. Founding interim director of the Gateway Development Corporation, John D. Porcari, joined the show to discuss the project's importance, what's needed to move ahead, and what a realistic timeline is for its completion.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think: Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax) and CBC (@cbcny). Listen below or download wherever you get your podcasts!

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Max & Murphy Podcast: Breaking Down Cuomo's Nursing Home Scandal


gov covid pandemic

Gov. Cuomo (photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


March 10, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Breaking Down Cuomo's Nursing Home Scandal

Bill Hammond, senior fellow for health policy at The Empire Center, joined the show to break down Governor Cuomo's nursing home scandal and how it ties into the governor's larger COVID-19 response.

Lis ten to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org.

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

As Cuomo Says He's Not Stepping Down, Legislative Leaders Point Him Toward Resignation


Cuomo Heastie Stewart Cousins masks covid

Gov. Cuomo, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins & Speaker Heastie (photo: June 2020/Governor's Office)


Shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday gave a defiant press briefing in which he reiterated he has no plans to resign from his position, two major shoes dropped in the scandals engulfing the third-term Democratic governor: State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called on Cuomo to resign and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he supports Stewart-Cousins' questions about Cuomo's ability to govern and that the governor should consider leaving office.

"Everyday there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government,” said State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Westchester Democrat, in a Sunday statement. “We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the Covid-19 nursing home data and questions about the construction of a major infrastructure project.”

She continued: “New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Governor Cuomo must resign."

A few minutes later, Assembly Speaker Carl Heasite, a Bronx Democrat, issued his own statement, with slightly less definitive language:

“The allegations pertaining to the Governor that have been reported in recent weeks have been deeply disturbing, and have no place whatsoever in government, the workplace or anywhere else,” Heastie said. “I too share the sentiment of Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins regarding the Governor's ability to continue to lead this state. We have many challenges to address, and I think it is time for the Governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York.”

Earlier in the afternoon, Cuomo had addressed increasing calls from legislators and others that he step down, with remarks coming just after another set of allegations had landed, including new claims of inappropriate workplace behavior toward women and questions about the integrity of the inspections of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which Andrew M. Cuomo opened in hurried fashion and with great fanfare just days before his 2018 Democratic primary win as an example of his ability to get big infrastructure projects done.

"I'm not going to resign," Cuomo said again on Sunday, during a conference call with members of the media.

In recent weeks Cuomo has been accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate advances by five women, including four former aides. The governor has faced a consistently increasing crescendo of voices painting a picture of Cuomo as a bully who oversees a culture of intimidation, conflict, and disrespect. Meanwhile, the ongoing scandal around the Cuomo administration’s handling of information related to how many nursing home residents died of COVID-19 has also intensified given new information about the governor and his team not fully disclosing an accounting of such fatalities to the Legislature and public. Law enforcement inquiries into the matter are ongoing.

On Sunday afternoon, Cuomo struck a far more defiant and combative tone than he had several days before, when during a Wednesday press conference he offered apologies and expressed some regret over how he had treated Charlotte Bennett, one of the former aides alleging harassment, though he pled ignorance of proper workplace standards and claimed he had never touched anyone inappropriately. Cuomo indicated that his inappropriate line of conduct toward Bennett -- what she described as “grooming” her for sex and “textbook sexual harassment” -- was misinterpreted by the victim, a characterization she has rejected, instead calling for the governor to directly apologize for sexually harassing her and for him to resign. Bennett also alleged that Cuomo’s assistant took mandated sexual harassment training for the governor, who over a number of years has heralded himself as a leader on enacting tough standards to prevent and punish sexual misconduct in New York.

Lindsey Boylan, another former aide, has also claimed Cuomo made a series of inappropriate advances toward her, providing her own evidence of ‘grooming,’ and also alleged the governor once kissed her in his office. She has also said the governor should resign. Cuomo denied all of Boylan's allegations but has not directly addressed many of the specifics, including an email Boylan posted that shows Cuomo sending her an inappropriate message through his assistant. In his apology last Wednesday, Cuomo appeare to acknowledge he has often spoken inappropriately to aides and others, but repeatedly said he never intended to make anyone uncomfortable and that he never touched anyone inappropriately.

On Wednesday and again on Sunday Cuomo said he does not plan to step down and urged patience, saying that he and others should wait for the findings from an inquiry that will be overseen by State Attorney General Letitia James, who is expected to soon announce the hiring of an outside law firm to investigate the governor. Cuomo said that those already calling for his resignation are playing politics and pointed to comments from several top Democrats who have instead also said that they want to see the investigation play out.

“One last piece,” Cuomo said toward the end of his opening remarks during the Sunday phone briefing, after discussing the latest in the state’s fight against COVID-19, economic reopening, and news of major federal aid on its way to New York via a new stimulus package that appears on the verge of Congressional approval, “there are some legislators who suggest that I resign because of accusations that are made against me. I was elected by the people of the state, I wasn't elected by politicians. I'm not going to resign because of allegations. The premise of resigning because of allegations is actually anti-democratic and we've always done the exact opposite. You know the system is based on due process, and the credibility of the allegation.”

He continued:

“Anybody has the ability to make an allegation in democracy and that's great, but it's then the credibility of the allegation, and we've gone through this with the legislature. I remember when we set up JCOPE. We set up this whole elaborate process that the accusation was private. The person who was accused got a private letter, but the accusation was private. Why? Because it's damaging to publicize allegations before you know that they are credible. JCOPE has hundreds of allegations, but until they are reviewed, they're private.”

“The Inspector General's office is private, hundreds of accusations, but until you go through the due process. So, we have the Attorney General who's doing an independent review. She has all the allegations, anybody can make an allegation to her, and let the Attorney General do her job. She's very good, she's very competent, and that will be due process and then we'll have the facts. That's why Senator Schumer said let the Attorney General do her investigation, Senator Gillibrand said let the Attorney General do her investigation, Congressman Jeffries said let the Attorney General do her investigation, the White House Spokesperson said let the Attorney General do the investigation, because that's democracy. So no, there is no way I resign. Let's do the Attorney General investigation, let's get the findings, and then we'll go from there. But I'm not going to be distracted by this either. We have to get a budget done in three weeks; we have a lot of work to, a lot of work to do for this state.”

“This is not about me and accusations about me, the Attorney General can handle that. This is about doing the people's business, and this next six months I believe will determine the future trajectory for New York State. What we do in this budget, how successful we are in rebuilding, how positive we portray this state going forward, how resilient we appear. We have to say to those New Yorkers who are looking at us and saying do they have a future or do they not have a future. Should I move to a warmer climate? Is New York ever going to come back? We have six months of an open window where we have to say you're damn right we're coming back, and we're coming back stronger than ever before, and not just say it, we're going to show it and you're going to see new public works, and you're going to see a real shot in the arm for this state. You're going to see us do vaccines where we're going to have the massive vaccination effort where people will see this is going to be a thing of the past. We're going to beat COVID. No government is better at doing its job than this government, and we've shown that all through COVID, and we're not going to be distracted from that.”

During a brief question-and-answer session Cuomo repeatedly said he wasn't going to be distracted by the allegations and investigation and calls for him to resign, and he grew more defiant and combative, as he has often been throughout his ten-plus years as governor.

"People make allegations, great, that's democracy," Cuomo said when asked about the allegations against him. "Women should come forward, yes, and then there should be a qualified independent finder of the facts, and that's what the attorney general is, and we'll await her report. But in the meantime, I'm not going to get distracted by this because it is all irrelevant in the meantime, because what is determinative is what the attorney general finds...In the meantime I have to do my job, and the Assembly has to do their job, and the Senate has to do their job. We have to get a budget passed in three weeks. We have to get 15 million vaccinations done. We have to restore public safety in New York State. We have to get tenants aid that they need to stay in their home. We need to make decisions and put this state back on a trajectory for a positive future. That's my job and the Senate's job and the Assembly's job, and we're doing it together. And then the attorney general does her job, and when she finishes her job, we'll take that from there."

Not long after, Stewart-Cousins released her statement calling on the governor to resign, which she had indicated at the end of last week would be coming if another accusation against Cuomo emerged, which it did on Saturday. Then, State Senator Liz Krueger, a powerful Manhattan Democrat, said the same, tweeting, "I stand with Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins in calling for the Governor to resign. Our state is rightly crying out for truthful, transparent government. The people's business is too pressing to continue to be derailed in this way."

Stewart-Cousins, Gianaris, and Krueger are the most prominent state legislators to call for Cuomo's resignation, joining a number of others from both parties who have either said he should step down or that the Legislature should initiate impeachment proceedings. That list has included State Senators Jessica Ramos, Alessandra Biaggi and others, including several who joined the chorus after Stewart-Cousins; as well as Assemblymembers Ron Kim, who Cuomo targeted for his criticism of the administration on the nursing home scandal, and others.

Notably, Democratic Rep. Kathleen Rice of Long Island has also called on Cuomo to resign. Meanwhile, State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, a longtime Cuomo ally, has acknowledged the allegations as very serious but urged caution about calls for Cuomo to leave office, saying that the Attorney General investigation should be allowed to fully unfold.

Cuomo’s office did not immediately return a Gotham Gazette request for comment in response to the statements from Stewart-Cousins and Heastie. Heastie’s office did not immediately return a question clarifying if the speaker was indeed calling on the governor to resign immediately as Stewart-Cousins said. The Assembly has the option to begin impeachment against the governor, which some members of both political parties have called for.

Lieutentant Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has won two terms as Cuomo's running mate and has been a very loyal deputy throughout the years, would become Governor if Cuomo was to resign or be removed from office. Hochul has said very little publicly about the allegations against Cuomo and her usually very busy public schedule, which often includes many TV and radio appearances to discuss the Cuomo administration's priorities, has been mostly quiet. "Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and taken seriously," Hochul said in a statement at the end of February just before the Attorney General was granted the power for an independent inquiry by the governor. "I support an independent review."

New York now finds itself in a major government crisis -- with a defiant governor immersed in multiple scandals and the two legislative leaders of his own party pointing him toward leaving office -- just over three weeks before a new state budget is due and at a time of unprecedented challenges in the state.

"I'm going to do the job I'm assigned, I'm going to do the job that the people elected me to do," Cuomo said on Sunday. "I'm not going to play politics with people who say, 'well I think you should resign' - that's nice, I'm going to do my job, wait for the facts from the attorney general, focus on what we have to do."

"I believe this is the probably most difficult period for state government in modern history," the governor said.

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Note: this article has been updated with additional information.

Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Jessica Ramos Calls for Governor Cuomo's Resignation


2 state jess ramos

State Senator Jessica Ramos (photo: NY Senate)


March 3, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Jessica Ramos Call s for Governor Cuomo's Resignation

State Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens joined the show to discuss her call for Governor Cuomo's resignation over a series of sexual harassment allegations, how the Legislature is reasserting itself on the pandemic response, and her budget priorities.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org.

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Max & Murphy Podcast: New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs on What's Next for Governor Cuomo


3 cuomo attends county

Jay Jacobs (photo: Andrew Cuomo campaign via flickr)


March 3, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs on What's Next for Governor Cuomo

Jay Jacobs, the chair of the New York State Democratic Party, joined the show to discuss the sexual harassment scandal engulfing Governor Andrew Cuomo and what comes next.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org.

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Covid Toll at State Psychiatric Facilities Has Remained Disproportionately High


Gotham Gazette:

Kingsboro Psychiatric Center (photo: New York State Office of Mental Health)


One-fifth of patients in state-run inpatient psychiatric centers have contracted COVID-19 since the outbreak began last March, and 58 out of a total 8,200 individuals admitted to those institutions have died, according to new data provided by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) after a Gotham Gazette inquiry. The facilities embody one of several types of congregate living settings where residents are more vulnerable to the virus, and while they have smaller populations and receive less attention than other congregate settings, the latest data shows the state’s psychiatric facilities have also been home to dire outcomes.

Like much the rest of the state, psychiatric centers were caught off-guard at the outset of the pandemic last spring. Infection was rampant and the death toll rose quickly, with more than a third taking place over the course of a week in April. Reports from people living and working in the facilities painted a picture of chaos and grief as facilities struggled to contain the virus.

While the number of deaths per capita in psychiatric hospitals is dwarfed by nursing home resident deaths, which account for close to a third of the 46,600 statewide fatalities thus far, it far exceeds the rate in state prisons, where advocates have raised alarms about covid-related conditions. Little public and government attention has been paid to how covid is impacting residents and staff of state psychiatric facilities. The latest data raises new questions about the vulnerability of New Yorkers with the most severe mental illnesses and the care the state is providing them in its 23 psychiatric centers.

Between March 2020 and February 10 this year, 58 patients died of COVID-19 either in psychiatric centers operated by OMH or in medical hospitals after being transferred, according to OMH. That amounts to .7 percent of the 8,172 total individuals admitted to inpatient psychiatric facilities or on-campus supportive residences at some point in the previous 11 months. The OMH census on February 10 was 4,455.

The fatality rate, although less than 1%, is at least a factor of ten greater than the per capita death rate among people incarcerated in state prisons. That is based on the prison census, which varied between 44,200 in January 2020 and 32,600 in February 2021, out of which 32 incarcerated people have been killed by the virus, according to the Department of Correction and Community Supervision (DOCCS).

Nearly 1,700 psychiatric patients and residents have contracted the virus -- 846 presumed and 838 confirmed through testing -- since March, a full one-fifth (21%) of the total patient population. With roughly 5,800 recorded positive cases among DOCCS inmates as of late February, the per capita inmate infection rate is somewhere between 13 and 18%. (OMH began a broad-scale testing regime in inpatient facilities last summer, which means more asymptomatic cases were likely discovered.)

OMH would not provide information on which facilities the deaths of psychiatric patients occurred in and when they took place, limiting the assessment that can be done of both the vulnerability of long-term psychiatric patients and the performance of OMH in protecting them.

Both prisons and psychiatric facilities are state-run congregate living settings where residency is largely involuntary -- formally so in prisons and functionally so, at least in an immediate sense, in psychiatric facilities. Both contain diverse populations in terms of age, race, and geography, and both are part of a larger system of individual state trusteeship. A year into the pandemic, a lack of public data about total infections among nursing homes residents, the total number of incarcerated individuals who passed through state prisons since March 2020, per capita covid rates in homeless shelters, and a more granular breakdown of death and infection rates in psychiatric facilities makes further comparisons difficult.

A number of factors could influence the larger death and infection rates in psychiatric facilities, but it largely comes down to two: demographic differences between inpatient and incarcerated populations, and differences in the OMH and DOCCS settings that could impact a person's risk of contracting or dying from the disease: social distancing practices, sanitation, and the quality of health care provided.

"You are comparing a prison setting, where movement is restricted, to hospital and residential settings which do not have the same restrictions," wrote OMH Director of Public Information James Plastiras in an email to Gotham Gazette, when asked about the higher per capita rates in state psychiatric facilities.

"Additionally, our patients are more likely to be medically compromised with underlying conditions. They are also on average much older," Plastiras said, calling the comparison to prisons "misleading."

Age has been one of the most salient factors contributing to COVID-19 deaths, and death rates in both OMH and DOCCS facilities pale in comparison to the number of nursing home residents who have died.

The average age of psychiatric "inpatient adult clients" is 51 years old, according to Plastiras, and 41 of the 58 deaths were of patients over 65. According to a spokesperson for DOCCS the average age of state prison inmates in December was 40.5 years old.

Psychiatric patients, who are admitted for severe mental health issues from depression to schizophrenia, tend to have more co-occurring health conditions than the general population and for that reason may be more susceptible to the coronavirus.

"If you are living with schizophrenia and you're going to the doctor and you're not as able to explain exactly what's going on with you physically, it's probably very difficult for that practitioner to treat you," said Wendy Burch, executive director of the the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, in a phone interview. "And as we know, when it comes to covid, anyone with these underlying conditions are more susceptible to having a more severe case."

"Mental health patients may not always be able to wear a mask or follow other COVID safety protocols," wrote Rob Merrill, a spokesperson for the Public Employees Federation, which represents psychiatric staff, in an email to Gotham Gazette. "OMH has stated that they cannot force patients to wear a mask, whereas DOCCS has more control over rule enforcement in a facility."

Studies have found adults with mental health disorders are at higher risk for COVID-19 infection and are more likely to have worse outcomes as a result. One recent study from NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse found adults with recent diagnoses of depression are at greatest risk of infection among the populations surveyed, followed by schizophrenia. Within those groups the outcomes tend to be more severe for African-Americans and women. According to the CDC, smoking, another risk factor for poor COVID-19 outcomes, is more common among people with mental illness.

But it is unclear the extent to which disparate infection and death rates from prisons are the result of comorbidities and age and to what extent they are influenced by the operations in OMH psychiatric centers. In terms of infections, specifically, the disparity may also be a reflection of the widespread testing that OMH undertook in its facilities last year.

OMH's Covid Response
As Gotham Gazette first reported last spring, the state's 23 psychiatric centers were ravaged by the virus at the peak of the outbreak last March and April, with 10 confirmed deaths in mid-April rising to 30, with another 7 suspected deaths, a week later. Doctors, nurses, patients, and the lawyers assigned to represent them described harrowing conditions in facilities, with close-quarter living, communal dining, limited personal protective equipment, and staff and residents struggling to maintain basic levels of disinfection.

Psychiatric centers across the state, but particularly in upstate facilities, experienced an uptick in covid cases at the end of the year, which have since fallen, according to multiple sources with knowledge of facilities. Without information on where and when the deaths occurred, which OMH would not provide, it is difficult to tell how the agency has fared in controlling the spread of the virus and whether it faced a second outbreak crisis this fall and winter or if cases were more spread out.

Union officials have criticized the agency for a lack of transparency around psychiatric hospitals. "From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York State has been largely uncooperative about providing PEF with infection rates among patient and staff populations at in-patient facilities," Merrill wrote. "We have repeatedly asked for data to track trends and make recommendations about control measures, but we have not received it."

Psychiatric hospital residents and staff became eligible for vaccination early on, unlike the majority of prison and jail populations, which are still ineligible.

In December, the state began opening vaccines to psychiatric center patients and staff, which may account for a recent dip in positive cases. By February 23, roughly 3,140 patients had received a first dose of the vaccine, with 2,650 having received both doses, according to OMH. "As of February 20, we are now down to 13 active cases among our current census of 4462," Plastiras wrote to Gotham Gazette, down from 22 cases on February 10. "These numbers highlight the excellent job our facilities have done managing COVID cases and reducing the risk of exposure to the virus."

Roughly 7,000 of the 12,7000 employees at inpatient and residential psychiatric facilities had received their first shot by February 10, of which about 5,700 had received both shots, according to OMH.

"On a positive note, OMH ramped up a broad-based testing program fairly quickly and has administered the vaccine to staff," Merrill of PEF wrote. "They now have ample PPE and a reserve stockpile."

Most people in prison are still ineligible to receive vaccines. On February 5, the state opened eligibility to inmates over 65 and as of February 24 "more than 6,750 vaccinations have been administered," wrote Thomas Mailey, a DOCCS spokesperson, in an email. "We expect to complete the first vaccines for all interested staff and incarcerated individuals 65+ by the end of the week."

Lacking Oversight
OMH would not say directly what metrics or tools the agency uses to evaluate outbreaks in its inpatient and residential facilities, which would provide insight into how officials view the problem and whether deaths could have been avoided.

Based on accounts from multiple sources, there appears to be wide variability in covid response among the psychiatric centers around the state. Lawyers and staff who work with patients expressed a feeling that the approach of staff on the ground, rather than a centralized methodology from OMH, made the difference in the severity of outbreaks in individual facilities.

"Even though its required to mask in a hospital," in some facilities, particularly upstate and in OMH's corrections-based operations, "they take minimal to no precautions," said Darlene Williams, an occupational therapist at New York State Psychiatric Institute in Washington Heights and a regional PEF coordinator, in a recent interview.

Unlike state prisons and nursing homes, there have been no oversight hearings around state psychiatric facilities in either of the State Legislature's mental health committees, and little attention anywhere else.

"I haven't been in any of the psychiatric facilities but...I'm sure they have utilized infection control practices in those places because we would have heard it on the news about transmissions within a facility and I have yet to hear it," said Assembly Member Aileen Gunther, who chairs the chamber's mental health committee, in an interview with Gotham Gazette. "I've heard some in some of the prisons but I really haven't heard anything and no one has contacted me about increased transmission of covid from the outside-in."

"There is always oversight. They have reporting mechanisms but I have not heard of anything about an increased rate of covid," Gunther added.

When presented with the latest figures on death and infection rates, Gunther said: "Not good. Not good. I haven't received that report myself."

"I don't know about the infection control practices in there but overall any death is tragic," she added.

***
by Ethan Geringer-Sameth, reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

State Legislators Eye Revenue from Inheritances and Gifts with New ‘Heirs Tax’


state legis tax

The State Capitol in Albany (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


As New York State faces a severe budget shortfall and awaits federal aid, some lawmakers and activists are advocating for a package of legislation that would increase taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents to avoid cuts to services for the most vulnerable. Among those proposals is a bill that would tax inheritances for multi-millionaires and raise as much as $8 billion for the state every year, according to supporters’ calculations. 

State Senator Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn and Assemblymember Michaelle Solages of Long Island, both Democrats, introduced the companion bills in their respective legislative houses to establish the new “heirs tax,” a part of the Invest in Our New York Act, which includes additional legislation to increase or create new taxes on millionaires and billionaires, Wall Street activity, and corporations. Proponents of the six-bill package estimate it would altogether raise $50 billion in annual revenue and would help forestall austerity measures by the state.

Governor Andrew Cuomo estimated in his recently-released executive budget that the state faces a $15 billion deficit for the current fiscal year and the next, and has been warning for months that without adequate federal stimulus dollars, he will be forced to slash aid to localities, which pays for education, social services and other programs, while also planning a relatively minor income tax increase on the state’s top earners. Cuomo, whose estimation of that deficit has been debunked given significant federal aid and higher than expected tax revenue, has repeatedly argued that the state cannot tax its way out of the current fiscal crisis that does exist -- in part to avoid pushing wealthier New Yorkers to relocate to other, lower-tax states -- and is calling for $15 billion in aid from the federal government.

New York’s current estate tax allows residents to receive nearly $6 million through inheritances without paying taxes, a system that advocates say is regressive and allows the accumulation of generational familial wealth without benefit to the public good. The heir’s tax proposal would amend that by creating a separate inheritance tax while also establishing taxes on receiving gift income, changing estate tax rates, and creating a new gift tax on donors.

The bill would tax inheritances in excess of $250,000, exempting retirement and pension funds. It also allows $2 million to be excluded from the taxable value of a primary family residence if the value of the inheritance is below $5 million, a provision that was included because of rapid gentrification in parts of New York City. There is a similar exemption in the bill for the value of family farms across the state.

“At a time when working-class people are fighting just to survive, New York’s most privileged dynasties are living more lavishly than ever off of vast sums of inherited wealth,” Brisport said in a statement. “I am proud to be introducing the Heirs Tax with Senator Sanders because it has never been more urgent that we require New York’s ultra-rich to pay equitable taxes on the fortunes they are handed.” Brisport referred to State Senator James Sanders Jr., a Queens Democrat who is co-sponsoring the bill. The bill has ten other co-sponsors in the 63-seat Senate. The Assembly bill also has ten co-sponsors besides Solages in the 150-seat Assembly.

Under the lowest bracket, inheritances between $250,000 and up to $500,000 would be taxed at 5%, while at the higher end, any inheritance income in excess of $10 million would be taxed at 50% – it is a marginal tax and only the amount above $10 million would be subject to it. Similarly, up to $50,000 in gift income would be exempt from the new gift income tax. Between $50,000 and $100,000 in gift income would be taxed at 5%; gift income in excess of $2 million would be taxed at 50% (again, taxing the amount above $2 million). The bill would also increase taxes on gifts worth more than $750,000. 

“It is time for each of us to do our part in building back a better and more equitable New York, said Solages, who chairs the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian legislative caucus. “We must invest in New Yorkers who make up the foundations of our society and economy. High-income New Yorkers must contribute their fair share to ensure our middle and low-income families recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Working with Senator Brisport and the Invest in Our New York Coalition, we have introduced legislation to reform the inheritance and estate tax. Revenue generated can rebuild New York’s economy, prevent cuts to our schools and essential services, as well as finally begin the long journey back to true wealth equity in our state.”

In response to the heirs tax proposal, EJ McMahon of the Empire Center think tank argued that it would lead wealthy New Yorkers to "remove themselves from New York taxation" and the $8 billion annually would not be achieved. McMahon also noted that New York is currently "one of only 12 states that impose a tax on estates of deceased residents" and that "only six states have inheritance taxes, with rates from 10 to 18%."

The Invest in Our New York coalition is comprised of prominent progressive advocacy groups including the Alliance for Quality Education, Citizen Action, Empire State Indivisible, Make the Road New York, New York Communities for Change, New York Working Families Party, NYC-DSA, Strong Economy for All, VOCAL-NY, New York Communities for Change, and Upstate Downstate Housing Alliance/Housing Justice for All.

***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Note: this story has been updated with additional information and commentary from EJ McMahon.

Note: this story has been updated to note Assemblymember Solages represents a district in Long Island, not the Hudson Valley.

Ben Max contributed to this story.

Legislators and CUNY Chancellor Discuss University Funding, Recovery Plans Amid Massive Covid Disruption


3 quad cutting rib

Queens College (photo: CUNY)


At the State Legislature’s recent budget hearing on higher education, held virtually on February 4, City University of New York (CUNY) Chancellor Félix Matos Rodriguez discussed his asks for CUNY funding and answered questions about the university’s spending, programs, and operational plans.

The hearing was the sixth in a series of 13 on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s fiscal year 2021-2022 executive budget plan being held by the State Senate and Assembly, chaired by Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene Weinstein, a Brooklyn Democrat.

Stakeholders from both CUNY and the State University of New York were present, including Matos Rodriguez, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras, CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer Matt Sapienza, and members of advocacy groups and student governments from both university systems.

Each chancellor had 10 minutes to speak about their school system and what they’ve done with current funding levels, including coronavirus responses.

Afterward, various state senators and Assembly members questioned each chancellor, both times starting with Assemblymember and Committee on Higher Education Chair Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat, and then alternating between senators and Assembly members.

“On behalf of the entire CUNY community, I want to thank [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo, the state Senate and the state Assembly for your past and sustained support, which has enabled CUNY to deliver strong results for our half-a-million students and citizens of New York,” Matos Rodriguez said in the opening remarks of his presentation. “2020 was a year that both demanded and inspired great fortitude and resourcefulness from our students and faculty, staff and leaders.”

According to the CUNY staff and faculty union, state funding covers about 60% of CUNY’s operating budget for its senior colleges and their entire capital budget, while student tuition provides about 40%. The New York City government contributes more toward the community colleges, though the state provides about a third of their operating budgets. And the state also “helps students through the Tuition Assistance Program, subsidized loans, and specialized scholarship and grant programs,” as well as “the Education Opportunity, SEEK and College Discovery programs which benefit many low-income minority students at CUNY.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Matos Rodriguez explained, the university’s spending looked different than in past years. 

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, allowed CUNY to set up the Chancellor’s Emergency Fund, which in part provided a $600 grant to more than 10,000 students in financial need as a direct result of the pandemic.

CARES Act funding was also to be used for institutional expenses that came as a result of the pandemic, such as to facilitate online learning.

“The coronavirus was largely a remote concern when the year began, but it soon gained a foothold in New York that forced CUNY to all but shut down its 25 campuses on March 12 and quickly pivot to distance education,” Matos Rodriguez said. “When classes resumed after a week-long academic recess, 95% of the university’s 50,000 course sections had transitioned to online instruction. We quickly realized that thousands of students lacked the tools to participate in distance learning and, with the support of the governor, we purchased 33,000 laptops and tablets and made sure they were safely distributed to students in need, as well as provided 4,000 personal hotspots for those students who required enhanced wifi capability.”

The chancellor also said that 16 faculty members, 22 staff members, four students and “countless” CUNY alumni died from COVID-19.

Matos Rodriguez went on to talk about some of the more positive things that happened during the past school year. He said that 56,527 degrees were earned by students, the second highest total number of degrees given out in a single year in CUNY history — and just under the record high total, which came from the previous school year.

CUNY increased the number of mental health counselors across its campuses and began a new partnership with the New York Jobs CEO Council, which works with CEOs of large New York companies to create a direct path for employment for CUNY graduates.

He also mentioned that within the past year CUNY Central has appointed nine new college presidents — including someone to replace Matos Rodriguez himself at Queens College when he became the chancellor — who come from diverse backgrounds and identities.

This new cohort includes the first two Asian-American campus presidents ever at CUNY, along with three female presidents and three African-American presidents.

“Since I was appointed chancellor a year-and-a-half ago, we have continued to assemble a cabinet and college presidents of unprecedented expertise and diversity, who reflect the city we live in and the students that we serve,” he said. 

As for the 2021-2022 budget, the chancellor went on to say that the focus will be on handling the pandemic and its impacts, including students’ mental health, in addition to expanding the nursing program and the CUNY Corps internship program, and increasing the number of racially diverse full-time faculty across all campuses.

He then went on to address what he feels the university needs in the 2021-2022 budget, though he did not mention any specific dollar figures, only general requests for additional funding.

“Looking ahead to life after covid, we will double our efforts to help students succeed, graduate on time and find sustainable career paths,” Matos Rodriguez said.

The budget request also is asking for increased capital funding for the informational technology systems that have been keeping the university running during the pandemic. Funding for capital construction on the various campuses is hopefully coming from the federal government, Matos Rodriguez added.

Moving into the Q&A, Assemblymember Glick asked about, among other things, enrollment and retention rates at CUNY.

After the covid outbreak in New York, CUNY enrollment for the fall 2020 semester reportedly followed national trends and decreased by 3.7% from the previous year, including by 800 students who the chancellor said had graduated from New York City Department of Education public schools in June 2020 and were at one point enrolled with CUNY but never arrived.

Matos Rodriguez said that Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost José Luis Cruz has been working with the Department of Education to identify who these missing 800 students are and why they never showed up in their CUNY classes at the start of the 2020-2021 academic year.

Brooklyn Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, a two-time CUNY graduate and a newly-elected Democrat, asked the chancellor about the 2% pay increase that was promised in the recently re-negotiated staff contract, which has not been included in the 2021-2022 budget.

“This was a very, very difficult fiscal year and this was a year also in which we’re dealing with a lot of unprecedented changes coming our way,” Matos Rodriguez said in response. “So, we had to take a number of decisions to protect the overall university, and to do that members of the senior management took a five-day furlough. We created a Vacancy Review Board to provide good use of our hires and personnel in a way that was consistent with the fiscal times that we’re facing.”

CUNY had signed the staff and faculty contract at the beginning of Matos Rodriguez’s tenure as chancellor, but the school decided that the salary increase had to be delayed due to the extenuating circumstances caused by the pandemic, though Matos Rodriguez said he hopes to reinstate the raise as soon as things become more stable.

Senator Diane Savino, a Brooklyn and Staten Island Democrat, brought up the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, which has grown in enrollment — up by 12% during the pandemic, according to Svaino — but not enough in campus size over the past few years. The school’s library has also been closed for five years.

CUNY has increased the school’s space by 12%, Matos Rodriguez said, and the university is in talks with landlords to see where more physical space for students to learn can be added, but this is not the only plan.

“Many of the courses provided, for example, by the School of Labor Studies, occur in the evening,” he explained. “We have some campuses that most of the classes happen during the day and are nearby, and we’re trying to see if we can more effectively use the space. Long term, we’re also thinking about where the school could be housed. There’s a couple of other possibilities in the Manhattan area that we’re looking at, and that might be a possibility to meet other needs and maybe also create some shared space; for example, if they’re with another combined CUNY facility, things like the library can be a joint facility that would be better for the students there and everyone around.”

Other questions asked to Matos Rodriguez by legislators were, among other things, on the topics of faculty to student ratios, free tuition at the community colleges, student food stamp (SNAP) enrollment, and the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP).

On the subject of student to faculty ratios, which Glick asked about, Matos Rodriguez said, systemwide, the ratio is currently 22-to-1. He said that the ratio has been consistently between 21 and 22 students for each professor for the past five years, but this statistic is not broken up by part-time and full-time faculty.

Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright, another Manhattan Democrat, asked what it would cost to implement free tuition at the community colleges, considering how many students at those schools are eligible for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), the Pell grant, and other financial aid programs.

Matos Rodriguez said that he and his team had some estimates that he could send to the legislators, but no definite numbers to share at the moment, before adding that there needs to be more clarity on the meaning of this question.

“The one thing I want to say about this question, too, is that folks need to define what ‘free’ means,” he said. “Is it first dollar? Last dollar? There’s a lot of nuances as to how free college and free community college can be done and I think it’s important that as we go into this debate, even those of us who are supportive of things like this, that we get into the nuances, because that can mean — what we want is the most affordable quality community college and four-year college experience.”

Senator Krueger asked the chancellor about SNAP and whether CUNY has an internal or systematic way of notifying students who may be eligible for the program.

He responded that, since the governor announced an expansion of the SNAP program, CUNY has referred 7,000 students. The university’s CUNYfirst online student portal already had been identifying potentially eligible students, letting them know they may be eligible and connecting them to the city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) before the governor’s announcement.

Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, a Queens Democrat and chair of the State Senate Higher Education Committee, inquired about the ASAP program, the funding for which was cut by about $2.5 million.

“ASAP is very important to us,” Matos Rodriguez responded. “It’s a national model now. Seven states replicate the work that we’ve been doing at ASAP. The Kennedy School gave us an award on innovation last year because of the results that ASAP has provided.”

“We hope that we can get that funding back at the state level,” he continued. “The ASAP program has also been targeted for cuts at the city level, but we’ve been trying to have conversations to restore those. Because they target one of our most successful programs, it has an impact on enrollment. A lot of the students are attracted for the benefits that the ASAP program provides and the effectiveness of ASAP, so we lose enrollment. So, it’s a cut that cuts a program and cuts our enrollment base. It hits us twice, and then it hits us a third time when that student that is going to finish at a faster rate than others does not transfer to a four-year school.”



Print Friendly and PDF

Editor's Choice


Gotham Gazette: New York Voters Approve $4.2 Billion Environmental Bond Act
New York Voters Approve $4.2 Billion Environmental Bond Act
Gotham Gazette: 
New York City Voters Approve Racial Justice Ballot Measures
New York City Voters Approve Racial Justice Ballot Measures
Gotham Gazette: 
Housing Development in New York City Slows to a Crawl as Officials Debate Tax Incentives
Housing Development in New York City Slows to a Crawl as Officials Debate Tax Incentives
Gotham Gazette: 
City Council Examines Low Voter Turnout, Moving Local Elections to Even Years City Council Examines Low Voter Turnout, Moving Local Elections to Even Years