Gov. Cuomo during his budget address (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)
A state budget is due by the April 1 start to the new fiscal year, and lawmakers have pledged to have a spending plan -- which is likely to include several new policy items -- done before Friday, March 30, given the impending Passover and Easter holidays. As Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders negotiate a wide variety of policy and spending issues, many are important to New York City, not the least of which include determinations of state funding to the city for education, juvenile justice, public housing, and more.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has called Cuomo’s January $168 billion executive budget plan a mixed bag for the city, criticizing a handful of funding cuts or shifts, omissions, and proposals that he believes would hurt the city. Plans related to MTA funding, including a possible congestion pricing scheme, or at least one phase of such a program, are toward the top of the list of controversial measures being debated in Albany that are of utmost importance to de Blasio, other city-based elected officials, and city residents.
De Blasio testified in Albany in February, laying out the city’s state budget priorities and critiquing Cuomo’s budget proposals. Since then, controversy surrounding NYCHA, the MTA, design-build authority, and other policy and funding matters has only intensified.
Statewide tax reforms are at the top of Cuomo’s list, provoked by the federal tax code changes passed at the end of last year, and could have major implications in New York City. Beyond more basic negotiations over spending and funding, other statewide issues being debated in the state capital that are include sexual harassment prevention and punishment, voting reform, bail reform, and more.
Negotiations are largely being held among Cuomo, a second-term Democrat, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan of Long Island, and Jeff Klein, leader of the Senate Independent Democratic Conference, which has a ruling coalition agreement with Flanagan’s conference. Those “leaders meetings” as they are often called symbolize the “four men in a room” that is the oft-criticized phrase for Albany’s secretive, concentrated, and male-dominated decision-making. Making talks even more secretive this year is that they’ve mostly been held at The Governor’s Mansion, not at the state Capitol, home of the statehouse press corps and where rank-and-file legislators work.
Talks recently heated up after the Senate and Assembly passed their one-house budget resolutions, in which the majorities formalize their policy and spending priorities and proposals. The two houses, each with a different party in control, differ widely on a host of policy matters and budget priorities, though a large bulk of the budget is not controversial because education, Medicaid, and other funding is likely to be allocated from the state to localities largely as it has been for years.
Complicating matters is that this is a state-level election year, with Cuomo seeking a third term and all of the Legislature on the ballot as it is every two years. Party control of the state Senate hangs in the balance, in part through special elections set for April 24 that will fill two vacant Senate seats previously held by Democrats, which Cuomo purposefully scheduled for after the budget is set to be done.
A rundown of issues of special importance to New York City shows what’s at stake as state budget negotiations hit their final stages.
Public Housing and Infrastructure
During his state budget testimony, de Blasio singled out NYCHA as in need of reform and increased funding from the state. To that end, the State Assembly’s budget includes $275 million reserved for NYCHA repairs. The Senate included no additional funding for NYCHA in its spending plan. Cuomo has recently been appearing at NYCHA complexes, bashing de Blasio and the city for its management of the housing authority, and pledging state help, including a push for a new $250 million, design-build authority to speed repairs, and a state emergency declaration that would include use of a private company to manage fixes.
De Blasio has said he wants to see design-build authority for the city, including for NYCHA, additional state funds for the housing authority, and the release of millions of dollars in funds allocated in prior budgets. He has been skeptical or critical of the possible emergency declaration.
Cuomo had curiously left design-build -- a streamlined contracting and construction process -- for New York City out of his executive budget. The Assembly has passed a bill authorizing design-build for several projects in the city, but the Senate has not, and the Senate did not include design-build authority for the city in its one-house budget. Senate Leader Flanagan has not explained why, but there has been a lot of talk that design-build for the city will be one key piece of horse-trading that annually occurs in finalizing the budget.
A failure to allow for design-build, the de Blasio administration says, would impede the city’s efforts on projects such as NYCHA repairs, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway construction, and jail replacements for Rikers Island, which is slated to close within ten years. The state has used design-build on a variety of projects, often touted by Cuomo, to save billions of dollars and years in estimate project time.
Transportation
Problems with the MTA, namely the city’s subway service (but also bus efficiency), have been felt by most New Yorkers and well-documented over the past year in particular. De Blasio has waged a public relations campaign to ensure that New Yorkers know Cuomo controls the state authority -- where he appoints the leadership and a plurality of the board members -- and called on the state for better spending prioritization and a new source of revenue, which he has said should come from a tax on high earners, but Cuomo has said could be attained through congestion pricing. While de Blasio has been skeptical of congestion pricing, he was somewhat warmer to the three-step phase-in proposed by Cuomo’s “Fix NYC” panel.
Those recommendations appear to be the basis for state negotiations, though Cuomo did not publicly embrace the plan, only backing portions of it publicly, while raising a few questions and leaving it out of his budget plan. Both legislative houses are cool to congestion pricing, though Cuomo has said he is pushing hard for a plan, indicating there could be an initial piece -- a surcharge on taxis and app-based for-hire vehicles like Uber and Lyft, in this year’s budget. The Assembly appears more friendly toward that possibility than the Senate.
Cuomo wants to institute “value capture” zones in New York City, which would use property tax revenue the state argues is generated by transit improvements. De Blasio maintains that value capture would “grant the MTA the power to raid our property taxes on properties within a one mile radius of certain projects,” cost the city much-needed funds, and violate city sovereignty.
Since February, Cuomo has amended the specifics of his value capture proposal since it was included in the initial budget in new draft of the legislation, Politico New York recently reported. City officials, however, are not persuaded by Cuomo’s value capture pitch -- Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan and Department of Transit Commissioner Polly Trottenberg came out against the proposal the same day.
Meanwhile, short-term, there are ongoing debates over funding for the “Subway Action Plan,” put forth by MTA Chair Joe Lhota and supported by Cuomo, which would allocate $836 million toward repairing the subway and take a variety of other emergency measures to improve subway performance. Cuomo quickly agreed to fund half the plan, and he and Lhota called on de Blasio to fund the other half from city funds, which the mayor declined to do, pointing to money he says the state has raided from the MTA over the years and the fact that city residents already contribute the bulk of the MTA budget.
Notably, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has said he believes the city should fund the other half of the Subway Action Plan, but the overall Council position has not been made clear. Comptroller Scott Stringer had said from the start that the city should match the state’s half, prioritizing the subway system and its riders over additional fighting over budget maneuvers and responsibility.
Along with the subway action plan, the governor’s budget includes $429 million for MTA repairs, according to a press release. The Assembly budget plan allocates $490 million in new funds to the MTA, would bring MTA funding in the next budget to a total of $5.3 billion, and $10.5 billion to transportation overall, according to a news release. The Senate’s one-house budget does not include new funding for the MTA.
Additionally, de Blasio and many in New York City are again calling on the state to allow the city to install more speed cameras in school zones. The Senate blocked the measure last year. The mayor recently added to this agenda, urging the state to enact multiple pieces of legislation to ensure dangerous drivers are kept off the road. It’s not immediately clear if there is any hope for such measures to be included in the budget.
Education
Unlike many other recent years, there are few education policy issues on the table this year, leaving funding levels as the central schools-related item of significant concern in budget negotiations.
The governor’s executive budget increases school aid across the state by $769 million over the current fiscal year, including $338 million in “Foundation Aid,” a supplemental funding formula to aid local school districts based on need. The increase brings the school aid total to $26.356 billion, an increase of 3% over last year. The executive budget claims that this is “double the statutory School Aid growth cap” and that school aid is the “state’s highest funding priority.”
Despite this, advocates have charged for years that the state’s funding formula leaves schools not fully funded, including as it relates to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity court ruling of more than a decade ago. Cynthia Nixon, who recently announced a challenge to Cuomo in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, has worked extensively with advocacy organization Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) and has made “fully funding” public schools a top campaign plank, adding an additional political element to budget negotiations around this topic.
The fault supposedly lies in the flawed Foundation Aid formula; the formula is based on a wealth index that, according to an analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission, “make the neediest districts in the state seem less needy, while the state’s wealthiest districts seem less wealthy.” The 2006 court ruling required the state to provide a more equitable funding formula, which led to Foundation Aid, but local politicians and advocates say that the state has not lived up to its agreement and that high need schools do not receive the aid they require.
In his testimony in Albany, de Blasio said that there is a $211 million gap between what the city is designated to receive in the Executive Budget and what it is supposedly owed through the Foundation Aid formula.
The Assembly included a larger school aid increase in its own proposed budget, to the tune of $1.5 billion, to bring total school aid spending to $27.1 billion. This includes a $1.2 billion increase in Foundation Aid to $18.4 billion.
The Senate proposal, meanwhile, includes an aid increase smaller than the governor’s, at $717 million with $379 million in Foundation Aid increases, to bring total education investment to $26.1 billion. The Senate proposal also includes a plank calling for a removal of the cap on charter school growth, though after it was a key piece of negotiations and legislation last year, the charter school cap has flown significantly under the radar this year.
Both the governor’s and the Assembly’s budgets include increased investments in and expansion of the state’s public pre-kindergarten, but the scale is again different. Cuomo’s budget includes a $15 million increase while the Assembly’s budget include a $50 million increase. Both budgets also include a $50 million set-aside for community school aid, aiming to facilitate the creation and maintenance of schools that double as community hubs.
Voting
Cuomo’s “Democracy Agenda,” introduced in December, includes several reforms to the voting process in New York, which has often been described as among the worst in the nation. These include items Cuomo has backed in past years like early voting, automatic voter registration, and same-day voter registration.
New York is not as behind the curve in enacting automatic and same day registration -- nine states have automatic registration and 15 have same-day -- but on early voting, the Empire State has been substantially outpaced. New York is one of just thirteen states not to have the measure, which is annually blocked by the Senate, though it is unclear how much weight Cuomo and Assembly Democrats have put behind it.
Cuomo last month announced 30-day budget amendments to provide 12 days of early voting and added $7 million to pay for it, a move celebrated by advocates and reform-minded legislators. The Assembly and Senate are less amicable to early voting: the Assembly proposal provides for eight days of early voting, while early voting is entirely excluded from the Senate proposal. Senate Republicans have historically been hostile to voting reforms.
Cuomo’s proposal does not address other areas of interest for advocates, such as the consolidation of state and federal primaries and easing some of the strictest deadlines in the nation for registration and for switching party registration.
Ethics and Transparency
Ethics reform is once again taking a backseat in budget negotiations. Cuomo, in his executive budget, called for closing the LLC loophole and banning outside income for legislators. Cuomo also called for social media companies to disclose who pays for political advertising on their platforms in the wake of the discovery of secret ad buys in the 2016 election by Russians. Cuomo also called for a new “Chief Procurement Officer” to “oversee the integrity” of the procurement process, where apparent abuses have occurred under his watch and he has been against reinstating pre-audit oversight to the state comptroller.
Cuomo’s executive budget and State of the State speeches devoted little attention to ethics reform, and the Assembly and Senate are not taking up the cause despite the recent high-profile trial and conviction of the governor’s former top aide, Joe Percoco, as well as the upcoming bid-rigging trial of Alain Kaloyeros, the former president of SUNY Polytechnic. The Assembly has been more aligned with the governor on campaign finance reform, but the Senate has shown little interest in any additional ethics or campaign finance reform measures.
There is some discussion around watchdogs’ call for mandating a “database of deals,” which would create a public database of all economic development contracts in the state, tracking who is getting taxpayer money for development contracts and how it is being spent. Both the Assembly and the Senate included the deals database in their one-house budgets, but the governor has not signaled his support. As it did last year, the transparency and accountability measure could be bounced from the final budget as part of annual horse-trading.
Criminal Justice
In his State of the State address in January, Cuomo outlined a criminal justice agenda that he referred to as “the most progressive set of reforms in the nation,” aiming to reshape the criminal justice system in New York towards fairness and equity.
The marquee proposal of the pack is eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, which has largely received praise from criminal justice advocates and follows a nationwide push to end a practice that many say is discriminatory against low-income people and people of color. Some advocates, however, have said that it could go much further, such as eliminating bail entirely and abolishing the bail bonds system. Advocates have also voiced concerns about the broad jurisdiction of judges to keep people on “preventative detention,” or a judge deeming that a suspect is not fit for release. On the other hand, Senate Republicans have been cool to the notion of reform.
The governor also proposed changing discovery process. According to the governor himself, New York is tied for having the worst discovery laws in the nation. New York is one of 10 states that does not require the prosecution in a case to share evidence with the defense on a strict timetable; for instance, in New York, a prosecutor could share potentially exculpatory evidence with the defense just hours before the trial begins, leaving the defense with little room to mount an argument. The reform requires evidence to be shared “incrementally” and in a “timely and consistent manner.”
Also included in the governor’s proposal is a ban on asset seizure by police in the absence of an arrest, and the return of assets to those who are not convicted in a court of law. He also put forth proposals to speed up the trial process in order to prevent judicial backlog and long pretrial detention, which has come under fire in the wake of Kalief Browder’s suicide, and to remove “reentry barriers” for the formerly incarcerated, such as ending suspension of drivers’ licenses and removing certain fees such as the “parole supervision fee.”
While Cuomo's bail reform proposal has received some support from reformers, many advocates have voiced deep concerns about the governor's discovery reform. The criticism centers around a “right of redaction” of names in the evidence provided to the defense by the prosecution, which the Legal Aid Society told the New York Law Journal would give prosecutors “blanket authority” to black out identifying witness information.
The governor’s proposals are out-paced from the left by those of the Assembly (and the Senate Democrats, who are in the minority). The Senate Democrats’ proposal eliminates cash bail entirely; the Assembly’s approach is more in line with Cuomo’s, but eases certain restrictions on the payment of bail by charitable bail organizations such as the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund. This would allow those funds to pay bail of up to $10,000, up from the current $2,000 cap, and allows them to operate in more than one county.
On discovery, the Senate Democrats call for “automatic, comprehensive discovery” of all material possessed by the prosecution while the Assembly’s bill calls for a deadline of 15 days after arraignment, similar to the governor’s. The Assembly and Senate Democrats both place greater restrictions on prosecutory redactions than the governor’s proposal.
The Assembly and Senate Democrats both have speedy trial language that is also beyond what Cuomo is pushing, though he has also included measures. Cuomo's speedy trial provisions have received some criticism from advocates: #FREEnewyork accuses the governor’s plan of failing to address the issue of “court congestion and under-resourced courts,” failing to eliminate speedy trial release for pretrial detainees, and that it would not fix the “speedy trial clock loophole” that allows prosecutors to stop the statutory time limits that govern New York’s current laws even if the defense isn’t ready, along with other criticisms.
The Assembly’s proposal would ban solitary confinement for those under 21, over 55, for people with disabilities, pregnant people or people in the post-partum period, or those in a “newborn nursery program.” It would also set limits on the “use and duration” of solitary.
The Assembly’s bill would also establish an “Office of Special Investigation” in the Attorney General’s office to independently investigate instances where individuals die in the hands of law enforcement, either in custody or during an encounter. In 2015, Cuomo named Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as the special prosecutor in charge of investigating civilian deaths at the hands of police officers; the special prosecutor was named as an effort to bypass the alleged closeness between District Attorneys and police departments.
Senate Republicans did not include language about the planks of Cuomo’s criminal justice reform package, and some are pushing back against the notion of limiting the use of cash bail. Their opposition represents a significant roadblock to the passage of the governor’s criminal justice agenda items, which could be his signature progressive accomplishment of this budget cycle. On Sunday evening in Albany, after a leaders meeting, Senate Leader Flanagan told reporters that "bail reform is probably going to be one of the policy matters that’s discussed outside the budget,” according to Politico New York.
Meanwhile, the Child Victims Act appears to be in for its now-annual legislative fight; Governor Cuomo strongly supports the legislation, which extends the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse, and included it in his budget proposal, as did the Assembly. But it was excluded in the Senate one-house budget resolution.
Celebrities such as Corey Feldman and Julianne Moore have attempted to raise the profile of the CVA and ensure it is included in the budget, but another high profile figure, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, recently met with legislators in Albany to lobby for the removal of the “lookback” provision, which would allow for the re-opening of “time-barred” cases within a certain window of time; the governor is proposing one year. Given the history of child sexual abuse associated with the Catholic Church, Dolan is claiming that the CVA will be “toxic” to the church with the lookback, prompting sharp rebukes from Cuomo and others.
Taxes
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of state budget negotiations is agreeing on an attempt to change the state tax code to mitigate the effects of the new federal tax code, established by law in December.
“The FY 2019 Budget protects New Yorkers against attacks from Washington and helps further our bold, progressive agenda to move New York forward," Cuomo said in a press release with his 30-day amendments to his executive budget. "After working with experts and stakeholders, I am advancing further reforms through these budget amendments that to safeguard our competitiveness and help protect residents from this federal economic assault."
Specifically, after amendments to it in February, Cuomo’s budget allows for employers to implement a 5% payroll taxes, which can still be deducted from federal returns, in order to avoid the federally-mandated $10,000 cap on state and local tax deduction. Cuomo would also create new ways for New Yorkers to pay for government services through charitable giving, which might be deductible from federal taxes, though the IRS may have to rule on any new systems put in place, and he wants localities to also be able to create such structures, which would result in state and local tax credits to individuals who give to the charitable entities for education and possibly other services.
And in order to avoid the the $1.5 billion of tax increases on New Yorkers due to the new federal tax law, Cuomo’s budget “decouples” state and local taxes from the federal tax code.
The Assembly “largely accepts the Executive proposal aimed at protecting New Yorkers from federal tax reforms,” according to a press release, and increases income taxes for New Yorkers who earn over $5 million annually.
The Senate, however adopted a different approach in its tax plan, leaving out the Cuomo tax code proposals, and omitting what Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan estimates as $1 billion in new taxes in Cuomo’s budget. “We rejected the new taxes and other proposals that would hurt families and businesses, and put forth a plan to give taxpayers the relief they need and deserve. We also make sound investments in education to help our students, fund critical infrastructure, and propose new measures to strengthen our communities,” Flanagan said in a March press release. The Senate’s budget also lowers taxes on utility bills, retirement income and bridge tolls.
Cuomo included the "revenue raisers" in his budget plan in order to help close the state budget deficit. Since Cuomo's budget presentation, estimates have changed that indicate the state is expected to take in hundreds of millions of dollars more in tax revenue than previously thought, in part due to reaction to the new federal tax law.
De Blasio is opposed to the new federal tax plan on ideological and practical grounds. “The tax bill passed by Congress was written by millionaires for millionaires, while everyone else suffers,” he said in a December press release following the bill’s passage. And, like Cuomo, has also spoken to the need for the state and city to respond to the tax plan, which he believes adversely affects New York City residents. Combatting what the two rivals both see as the harmful effects of the tax plan is one issue that de Blasio and Cuomo agree upon. “I want to commend the Governor for trying to find ways to blunt the effects of the new tax law and I look forward to working with him, and all of you, on solutions,” de Blasio said during his February state budget testimony.
Sexual Misconduct
Amid a national reckoning with seuxal misconduct, including workplace harassment, Albany lawmakers have made an effort to enact legislation aimed at preventing and punishing such conduct. Cuomo unveiled several policy proposals in his State of the State, and the issue may be one where consensus can be found for a slate of new policies.
However, there is a lot of attention on both substance and process, as many are concerned about the possibility of four men -- one of whom, Senator Klein, has recently been accused of forcibly kissing a staff aide in 2015 -- deciding new sexual misconduct policies. There has been some talk of Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins being included in negotiations on the topic, but it is unclear to what extent she or any other women will be allowed to participate.
Cuomo’s budget language would prevent state funds from being used for settlements of sexual harassment or assault cases. He would also ban confidentiality agreements unless the victim chooses to agree to one, and mandates that the Joint Commission on Public Ethics creates a units to investigate sexual harassment allegations in state government. “Sexual harassment afflicts people of every gender, race, age and class, and there must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment in any workplace, including those of the State and local governments,” reads the budget summary.
Cuomo’s agenda would also institute uniform policies across state government, instead of the current situation where the executive branch and each of the two legislative houses has its own policy.
"The Assembly Majority recognizes that putting families first means making sure that everyone, especially women, never feel that they have to tolerate sexual harassment to earn a paycheck," said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. "These new policies will empower individuals to hold harassers accountable and help put an end to the culture of harassment that plagued our workplaces for far too long."
To that end, the Assembly’s proposal lends the Attorney General more authority to prosecute criminal cases and defend victims in civil ones. The Assembly’s budget would also outlaw mandatory arbitration agreements and void clauses in contracts that “waive rights relating to discrimination claims.” In addition, the Assembly budget includes a provision requiring the state’s Division of Human Rights to craft a set of anti-sexual harassment guidelines and share it with the public and for state and local agencies, along with entities who “do business” with the state, to report to the state on sexual harassment matters.
Among the Senate’s proposals on sexual harassment is Senate Bill S7848A, sponsored by Republican Senator Cathy Young. Like Cuomo’s, the bill would institute a consistent policy on sexual harassment across all branches of state government, ban confidentiality agreements that prevent survivors from talking about incidents and would allow the state to “recoup” money spent on sexual harassment settlements. “Our legislation will help prevent sexual harassment and ensure all employees throughout this state are provided with the safe work environment they deserve,” said Flanagan of the legislation. However, the Senate's legislation has drawn criticism from lawmakers, advocates and experts due to certain language around false reporting and omissions.
But before the budget is passed, six women who have made sexual harassment allegations against state lawmakers have urged the governor to listen to input from survivors and for the state to take its time in passing legislation, extending past the budget into the legislative session to follow if needed.
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by Ben Brachfeld, Sam Raskin and Ben Max
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by Sam Raskin
@samraskinz @GothamGazette
Gov. Cuomo being endorsed by 1199, Feb. 2018 (photo: @nydems)
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign website has been updated with a 2018 logo but was touting dozens of endorsements that the governor received in the 2014 election cycle, with no indication that the backing of the groups listed did not apply to the current election, in which the Democrat is seeking a third term.
The Cuomo campaign took down its endorsement page, which said “endorsements updated daily,” on Thursday after Gotham Gazette inquired about it. Shortly after an email to a campaign spokesperson, sent after several calls to organizations listed, the campaign endorsements page began redirecting to the home page.
Until Thursday afternoon, the governor’s campaign website touted 51 endorsements, from prominent labor unions, Democratic clubs, progressive advocacy groups, and political parties like the Women’s Equality Party and the Working Families Party. But at this point, almost all of the endorsements only apply to the governor’s last election in 2014 -- most of the groups have yet to make a choice of candidate this year. A few have already backed Cuomo again this year, when he is facing actor and activist Cynthia Nixon in the Democratic primary, while a few Republicans are vying for their party’s nomination, and smaller party candidates are likely to emerge soon.
“That is not accurate,” said Dom Leon-Davis, a spokesperson for the Working Families Party, about its endorsement being listed on the website. “We have not endorsed this year. Our 232-member state committee has an important decision to make in the coming months and people should stay tuned.”
The WFP backed Cuomo in 2014, in a deal brokered by Mayor Bill de Blasio, after the governor agreed to push progressive priorities, including through support for a Democratic majority in the state Senate. Cuomo failed to follow through on some of those promises, prompting wariness and criticism by WFP members and scorn from de Blasio, while the governor also created the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) in a thinly-veiled attempt to undercut the WFP.
Though Cuomo has generally tacked to the left in his second term, after governing as more of a centrist Democrat, the political winds in the state have shifted dramatically since 2016. The election of President Donald Trump enraged progressive activists who on a local level are targeting the Republican-controlled state Senate, which they see as the largest roadblock to major progressive legislation being passed in the state. The Republicans are propped up by the Independent Democratic Conference -- eight breakaway Democrats who share power in the Senate -- and by Senator Simcha Felder, a nominal Democrat who caucuses with the GOP. Cuomo, who has in some ways benefited from (and some say propped up) that Senate structure, has increasingly become the target of progressive advocates’ ire.
Nixon’s entrance into the race earlier this week has added a dramatic new element to the gubernatorial race, apparently pushing Cuomo to quickly pursue several endorsements as she runs to the governor’s left and could pull support from groups that have traditionally supported him.
The governor does already have a few prominent backers for his third-term bid. In January, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union became the first labor union to endorse the governor for a third term. “At a time when we have serious concerns about what is going on in Washington, DC, Governor Cuomo has proven that you can govern effectively, and advance progressive change in a unifying manner,” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum, in a statement at the time, touting Cuomo’s progressive accomplishments including the passage of the state’s marriage equality bill, paid family leave, and a $15 minimum wage, among other things.
The large and powerful health care workers union, 1199 SEIU, has also backed Cuomo. And, last week, the National Organization for Women-New York also came out in support for Cuomo and, just Tuesday, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York also endorsed him, as reported by The Daily News.
There are groups on the 2014 list that is now gone from Cuomo’s website that can be expected to endorse the governor, even if they haven’t already. Bob Master, assistant to the vice president of Communications Workers of America District 1, said the Cuomo campaign was clearly using an outdated list and that his organization’s endorsement wouldn’t be announced for another few weeks. “We have a process to go through,” he said in a brief phone interview, “but I’m quite confident we’ll be sticking with the governor.”
(Note: campaign website screenshots are from Wednesday, March 21 2018)
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Alain Kaloyeros (photo: The Governor's Office)
Following the recent conviction of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s longtime aide Joseph Percoco on corruption charges – a humiliating blow for a governor who once campaigned on a promise to reform Albany – Cuomo quickly sought to shift attention from the executive to the legislative branch.
A day after Percoco was convicted of fraud and soliciting bribes, Cuomo called for ethics reform – in the Assembly and Senate.
“The single best ethics reform, which makes everything else moot, is no outside income in government,” he said, pointing to the State Legislature. Jobs there are considered part-time and outside income is allowed, though the Percoco trial had nothing to do with legislators’ outside income.
Cuomo called Percoco’s behavior an “aberration” for those in his administration, and said he himself was not mentioned at the trial; in fact, Cuomo’s name or title was invoked hundreds of times. The governor has sought to quickly put the Percoco news behind him, though there are a number of unanswered questions about what Cuomo either allowed to occur under his watch, didn’t know about, or empowered Percoco to do.
Just on the horizon, too, is the trial of Alain Kaloyeros, scheduled to start June 18, proceedings sure to raise further questions about the governor’s leadership and deepen the stain on the Cuomo administration. Valerie Caproni, the same judge who presided over the Percoco trial, will oversee the Kaloyeros case.
Kaloyeros, the eccentric scientist whom Cuomo empowered to lead key parts of his Buffalo Billion revitalization initiative, is accused of bid-rigging to help developers who donated to the Cuomo campaign. Expect the trial -- which also includes alleged Kaloyeros co-conspirators -- to reveal even more damning details about how members of Cuomo’s inner circle doled out hundreds of millions of dollars through Buffalo Billion.
Cuomo announced the initiative in 2012 in hopes of revitalizing the western New York city’s struggling economy.
“The billion dollars was important for shock and awe value,” the governor said as Buffalo Billion projects got underway. “They were so down, and they had heard everything for so long, and they were so distrustful that I needed to say something that would actually get their attention and allow them to think, ‘Maybe it’s different this time.’”
Though the biggest Buffalo Billion project, a solar panel factory called SolarCity, is at the center of the Kaloyeros trial, Cuomo recently launched a sequel called Buffalo Billion II that will focus on small- and medium-sized manufacturers.
The Kaloyeros trial could shed more light on an alleged pay-to-play culture in which developers were rewarded after donating to the governor, a key aspect of the Percoco trial.
Further, for all the attention Kaloyeros received during his years as a flamboyant tech-industry pioneer, there’s the question of why he allegedly helped rig bids to ensure major campaign contributors won state contracts – without being accused of taking bribes himself. The trial might provide answers about that, too.
The federal corruption investigation prompted Kaloyeros to resign as president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute in October. Prior to the scandal, he had gained notice for bringing expensive tech projects to the state starting during the Pataki administration. Kaloyeros’ ostentatious public profile, replete with luxury sports cars and awkward social media posts, drew bemused coverage from newspapers; The New York Times dubbed him “a dapper dervish of a scientist” in 2002. His knack for persuading huge companies to invest in the state led Cuomo to call him “the closest thing to a genius I’ve ever worked with.”
For his part, Kaloyeros was never modest about his work.
“The job requires being a scientist, being a psychiatrist, being a priest, being a cop, being a negotiator, being a business developer or manager, being a teacher, being an adviser and being an ego-kisser,” he said in 2011. “I’d like to think I do all of them very well.”
John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, said Kaloyeros “stands out as a much more independent figure than Percoco.”
“He had his own aspirations as an empire-builder and his own vision of these gigantic multibillion-dollar chip factories that were going to spur a manufacturing renaissance,” Kaehny explained.
Kaloyeros allegedly collaborated with Albany insider Todd Howe, who made a plea deal in the Kaloyeros and Percoco cases, to rig bidding for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of state contracts.
The indictment from the U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York describes a scheme in which two companies – COR Development and LP Ciminelli – paid thousands of dollars in bribes to Howe. In exchange, he and Kaloyeros allegedly ensured that the developers won a range of lucrative contracts – a $15 million film studio and a $90 million manufacturing plant for COR Development; and a $225 million solar panel plant for LPCiminelli, with the cost eventually rising to $750 million, according to the indictment. All of it came from taxpayer dollars allocated toward Cuomo’s signature economic development programs.
Last week, COR Development’s President Steven Aiello was found guilty of his role in the Percoco case, while the company’s general counsel Joseph Gerardi was found not guilty. LP Ciminelli executives did not face charges in that trial. The dollar figures in the Kaloyeros trial are much larger than those in the Percoco matter. The program at play, Buffalo Billion, is inextricable from Cuomo’s record as governor, unlike anything involved in the Percoco trial – except Peroco himself and the state’s porous campaign finance system.
The indictment notes that Kaloyeros hired Howe as a consultant at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), which later became SUNY Polytechnic, as the college was crafting requests for proposals for the development projects in 2013. COR Development and LP Ciminelli allegedly made its bribes to Howe, disguised as consultancy payments and bonuses, around the same time.
The nature of the relationship between the scientist and the former lobbyist, a longtime Cuomo ally and operator in the upper echelons of state government in spite of a 2010 bank fraud conviction, could come into sharper focus during the upcoming trial.
“The question is why exactly did Kaloyeros hire Howe, what was Howe’s role and what was Howe telling Kaloyeros to do?” said Kaehny, whose organization closely monitors state government spending. “That’s what we’ll be looking for.”
It is also not entirely clear what Kaloyeros, who was not charged with receiving bribes himself, hoped to get out of the alleged scheme. Mention of Kaloyeros’ possible motives is limited to a single sentence in the 79-page indictment:
“For his part in the scheme, Kaloyeros was able to maintain his leadership position and substantial salary at CNSE and garner support from the Office of the Governor for projects important to him, including the creation of SUNY Poly.”
Blair Horner, executive director of NYPIRG, another good government group, speculated that Kaloyeros’ role in the alleged scheme could come down to love of his work.
“He was the highest paid staff person in the state, probably in the history of the state,” Horner said, referring to Kaloyeros’ combined annual salary of more than $800,000. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it turned out he loved what he was doing and did not want to lose it,” he added, emphasizing that the charges remain to be proven.
Thus far into the corruption scandal, both prosecutors and journalists have mostly focused on the alleged bribery, the players involved, and their ties to Cuomo.
But the investigation also raises questions about apparent favoritism for developers who gave big to Cuomo’s campaign accounts.
The indictment notes that Howe and Kaloyeros allegedly began crafting bids to favor COR Development and LP Ciminelli in 2013, after the governor had launched his Buffalo Billion initiative and executives from the companies “had each made sizable contributions to the Governor.”
The indictment does not detail the contributions, and none of the federal charges against Kaloyeros or the other defendants appear to directly stem from campaign finance law.
However, the investigations prompted Cuomo’s reelection campaign to “set aside” a total of roughly $350,000 in contributions from COR Development and LP Ciminelli. Last fall, a Democratic official told lohud.com the move would enable authorities to recover the funds, pending the outcome of the trials.
Discussing COR Development and LP Ciminelli’s campaign contributions, Kaehny said, “It’s fairly shocking that a business or a group could donate essentially unlimited amounts of money to the governor and legislature while they’re trying to get state contracts or state grants.”
“The [Percoco] trial spotlights state laws that are so weak that what’s unethical is legal,” he added. New York State has no “doing business” restrictions on campaign donations. In New York City, entities on the “doing business” list are limited to about $400 in donations to an individual candidate.
Government watchdogs, and a few elected officials, hope the trials will give renewed momentum to long-stalled proposals for a range of reforms.
“I think the most important questions are ones not only about how the state can prevent future wrongdoing, but also what investments make sense for the state going forward, which may or may not come out” of the trials, said David Friedfel, director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission. Corruption or not, there have been ongoing questions about the Cuomo approach to economic development spending.
Reinvent Albany, NYPIRG, and other watchdogs have long called for tighter controls on campaign contributions, including closing the so-called LLC loophole, which featured prominently during the Percoco trial. It emerged that developers were encouraged to donate heavily to Cuomo, through several limited liability corporations that would help mask the contributors.
Good government groups also emphasize the need for greater transparency for state spending, through measures like restoring the state comptroller’s power to pre-approve contracts. Cuomo and legislative leaders took away that power in 2011.
Additionally, watchdogs hope the trials will boost support of a proposed “Database of Deals” that would list all state projects awarded to companies and detail the return on investment to taxpayers.
Robin Schimminger introduced the Assembly bill to create the database. Asked about Percoco’s recent conviction and the upcoming Kaloyeros trial, the Buffalo-area Democrat took a wide view.
“The most important thing is that when people serve in government, they have a moral compass,” he said. “If people don’t have that compass, they’re going to go astray.
“However, there are things the state could and should be doing to deter and make it more difficult for those actions to occur. Those are actions that enhance transparency and accountability.”
While Cuomo has a long list of ethics reforms again in his platform this year, including closure of the LLC loophole, he has not been outspoken in pushing for them.
The governor’s campaign finances will again be on the stand, so to speak, during the Kaloyeros trial, which will begin as election season is heating up, with spring party nominating conventions.
Cynthia Nixon’s dramatic entrance into the gubernatorial race, challenging Cuomo in this year’s Democratic primary, included a focus on corruption. She named Percoco from the podium at her launch event in Brooklyn on Tuesday, leveling a variety of blistering criticism at the governor.
Nixon is likely to have ample opportunity to connect Cuomo to the trial, as will other gubernatorial candidates, like expected Republican nominee Marc Molinaro, currently Dutchess County Executive.
Whatever the long-term consequences of the Kaloyeros trial, observers expect it to go more smoothly than the Percoco case, in which jurors were deadlocked twice before reaching guilty verdicts on some of the counts.
Discussing the Kaloyeros case, Kaehny said, “It’s simpler, more straightforward, and the email evidence is quite strong in favor of the prosecution.”
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by Shant Shahrigianh, Gotham Gazette
@ShantRS @GothamGazette
Ben Max contributed to this article.
Note: this article has been updated to reflet the Kaloyeros trial being moved back one week, to a June 18 start.
Cynthia Nixon (photo: Nixon campaign website)
After months of speculation, actor and education activist Cynthia Nixon officially announced Monday that she will run for governor, challenging two-term Governor Andrew Cuomo in this year’s Democratic primary.
Nixon’s announcement was all but expected, with her name circulating on the rumor mill for months and news reports just barely over a week ago that she had retained the services of two Democratic consultants with ties to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, whom Nixon has supported and been close with for years.
In a campaign video accompanying her announcement, Nixon positioned herself as a challenger from the governor’s left. “I love New York. I’ve never lived anywhere else,” Nixon said in the video, which features her wife, Christine Marinoni, who recently left a job with de Blasio’s administration, and their young sons Charlie and Max. “But something has to change. We want our government to work again, on healthcare, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway. We are sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us. It can’t just be business as usual anymore.”
If there was any doubt that Nixon would push Cuomo from the left, it’s dispelled by her choice of campaign treasurer: Zephyr Teachout, the Fordham Law professor who ran an upstart campaign against Cuomo in the 2014 primary and received more than a third of the vote. Not only will Nixon have Teachout’s support, but she will have significant advantages Teachout did not enjoy four years ago, specifically more time, name recognition, and fundraising prowess. Teachout is on board with Nixon's campaign, she will serve as its treasurer and a surrogate.
"As I’ve gotten to know Cynthia, I have become convinced she is the right person to unseat Andrew Cuomo, eradicate the corporate corruption in Albany, and make New York a great place for all New Yorkers," Teachout wrote in an email blast to her supporters "In the past eight years, Andrew Cuomo has brought shame to New York and to the Democratic Party."
Nixon’s written campaign announcement touts her as “a strong progressive alternative to the incumbent, Andrew Cuomo, a centrist and Albany insider.” It goes on to criticize the culture of corruption in Albany, the failing city subways under the state’s watch, and the governor’s support for a power-sharing agreement in the state Senate which allows Republicans to control the chamber with the help of a renegade group of eight Democrats known as the Independent Democratic Conference. The Senate routinely shoots down legislation favored by progressives, prompting widespread consternation towards the IDC from Democrats on the ground.
The announcement also points to Nixon’s efforts to fight for equitable education funding and her advocacy for LGBTQ equality and reproductive rights. If elected, Nixon would be the first woman governor of the state, as well its first LGBTQ individual to occupy the office, the announcement notes. Nixon has been a long-standing outspoken advocate for public education and school funding, with close ties to advocacy group Alliance for Quality Education, which is a union-backed advocacy group.
With six months till the primary, Nixon has an uphill battle ahead of her. Cuomo has already built up a $30 million campaign war chest and locked up a handful of early endorsements from labor unions and progressive advocacy organizations. He has also embraced more progressive causes in his second term and is widely expected to explore a run for president leading up to 2020.
A new Siena College poll released Monday found that Cuomo is an early favorite for reelection, despite recent drops in polling, apparently over his handling of the MTA crisis and possibly in part due to the corruption trial of his former top aide, Joseph Percoco, who was convicted on three felony charges last week. Among registered Democratic voters, 66 percent said they would pick Cuomo. Only 19 percent said they would vote for Nixon, who, despite being one of the stars of the popular ‘Sex and the City’ television show, lacks name recognition across the state. Her campaign is just beginning, though, with the primary vote set for September 13. Nixon is also expected to pursue the Spring endorsement of the left-leaning Working Families Party, which could bolster her campaign among progressives.
The governor has brushed aside any concern about Nixon running for governor, telling reporters earlier this month, “On people who may or may not run for governor on both sides of the aisle, that’s up to them, and we’ll deal with it as the campaign progresses.”
Several hours after Nixon announced her candidacy, a statement was released by Cuomo's team, attributed generally to "a Cuomo 2018 campaign spokesperson," and saying:
"It’s great that we live in a democracy where anyone can run for office. Governor Cuomo has delivered more real progressive wins than any other Democrat in the country, including passing marriage equality, the strongest gun safety law in the nation, a $15 minimum wage, free college tuition, paid family leave, record setting funding for public education, expanding and protecting healthcare for our most vulnerable, and banning fracking. We look forward to building on that record as we continue to fight and deliver for New York families statewide.”
Mayor de Blasio has not said whether he will endorse Nixon, who campaigned for the mayor in 2013 and last year. “She is a strong, independent woman who makes her own decisions. So this is something you will have to ask her," de Blasio said on March 7, when asked about a then-rumored Nixon run. “What her choice is, whatever she does it is her own choice. It is as simple as that. I haven't spoken to her in a while. I'm not going to go into any private conversations with a friend. But whatever she does, she is going to be a politically active person. She always has been.”
On Monday evening, a few hours after Nixon's announcement, de Blasio said on NY1 television that learned of Nixon's campaign through the media and hasn't spoken with her in more than a month. De Blasio also said he is still not ready to weigh in on state elections. "I'm not involved," de Blasio said. "I did not know which way she was going to go with her decision."
Terry Gipson, a former state Senator, is also vying for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
[Read: Fierce Cuomo Critics, De Blasio-Allied Advisors Have Been ‘Ready for Cynthia’]
Nixon's campaign launch video:
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Note: this story has been updated
New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
It’s crunch time for a new state budget, which is due by the April 1 start of the new fiscal year. While a new budget won’t necessarily be done by then -- many years the budget has been late by days, weeks, or months (though under Governor Andrew Cuomo they have been on time or close to it) -- negotiations are due to heat up this week and there are promises that the budget will be done by March 30, before the Passover and Easter holidays arrive.
This week and next will each feature four session days for the Legislature in Albany, which means ample opportunity for legislative leaders and Governor Andrew Cuomo to hold “leaders meetings,” also known as the “four men in a room.”
We’re also watching this week for further develops in the race for Governor. Cuomo has whirred his machine into motion after rumors became more real about Cynthia Nixon challenging him from the left in the Democratic primary. A Nixon announcement could come any day.
On the Republican side, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has emerged as the GOP frontrunner, though he is not officially launching his campaign until April 2, he has said. Still, he’s made it very clear that he is running and he’s been racking up key endorsements from party leaders around the tarte, including, this past week, the Manhattan County Republicans.
City Council hearings continue this week on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s preliminary budget proposal. We’re watching those hearings and for further signs of where the Council will land on key issues that appear to have some conflict with the mayor, like what the city will put toward the MTA.
And the week will culminate on Saturday with the March for Our Lives, marches across the globe against gun violence and for gun control, inspired by and initially organized by survivors of the February 14 school massacre in Parkland, Florida. The main march will be in Washington, D.C., and there will be several marches in New York City.
There are many events to be aware of this week - 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
A"On Monday, Mayor de Blasio and First Lady McCray will host a press conference to make an announcement about opioids. This event is open press. There will be Q-and-A." The event will take place at 11:30 a.m. at Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island. "In the evening, the Mayor will appear live on NY1’s Inside City Hall. Later, the Mayor will attend the Feast of St. Joseph's hosted by the Democratic Committee of Richmond County. This event is closed press."
At the City Council on Monday, the Committee on Governmental Operations will hold a preliminary budget hearing at 10 a.m., regarding the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the Law Department, the Board of Elections, the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, and Community Boards.
Also at the City Council on Monday:
--The Committee on Public Safety will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “requiring the police department to submit reports on the enforcement of marijuana possession.”
--The Committee on Housing and Buildings will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss a proposed law extending rent stabilization laws, and to discuss a resolution “determining that a public emergency requiring rent control in the City of New York continues to exist and will continue to exist on and after April 1, 2018.”
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Monday in Albany.
At 9 a.m. Monday, Public Advocate Letitia James will host a roundtable discussion on the implications of Janus v. AFSCME for labor and public employment, at DC37. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will be among those who speak.
At 10 a.m. Monday, “Housing Rights Initiative in partnership with the City Council’s Oversight & Investigations Committee Chair Council Member Torres, will announce a new investigation into Kushner Companies for falsifying permits with the City’s Department of Buildings and the impact it had on reducing the number of rent-stabilized apartments across New York City. New data uncovered by the Housing Rights Initiative found that Kushner Companies, which is owned by President Trump’s son-in-law and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, falsified at least 80 work permit applications across 34 buildings in its portfolio over a 4 year period. The new investigation will examine how the Kushner Companies may have averted accountability, harassed tenants, and reduced the stock of rent-stabilized apartments. Falsifying work permits with the City’s Department of Buildings is a crime and punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment.” The press conference, to be held outside Kushner Companies Headquarters, 666 Fifth Avenue, will feature Housing Rights Initiative Executive Director Aaron Carr; Council Members Ritchie Torres and Keith Powers; and others.
Monday “at 5:30 PM, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams will commemorate the rich contributions and history of Greek-Americans in the borough at his annual heritage celebration in the Courtroom at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The event is being held in partnership with the Greek-American Heritage Committee, an organization whose mission is to educate the public on Greek culture, literacy, and history across New York City. The festive occasion will feature Greek cuisine and libations as well as traditional dancing from the A. Fantis Parochial School in Downtown Brooklyn, D.G. Parochial School in Bay Ridge, and Hellenic Classical Charter School in South Slope. Joined by dignitaries such as Konstantinos Koutras, Consul General of Greece in New York, Borough President Adams will thank members of Brooklyn’s Greek-American community for their service to improving the lives of people across the borough.”
At 7 p.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Brewer and City Council Member Helen Rosenthal with host a community meeting on 200 Amsterdam Avenue, at Rutgers Church.
Tuesday
At the City Council on Tuesday, the following committees will hold preliminary budget hearings:
--Finance and Capital Budget jointly at 10 a.m., regarding the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Design and Construction.
--Health at 10 a.m., regarding the Medical Examiner and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
--Justice System at 2 p.m., regarding the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the Human Resources Administration’s Office of Civil Justice.
--Mental Health at 2 p.m., regarding the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Also at the City Council on Tuesday:
--The Committee on Finance will meet at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the transfer of funds between city agencies “to implement changes to the City's expense budget.”
--The Committee on Education will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss a proposed law relating to “requiring the department of education to provide school-level data regarding students receiving special education services.”
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Tuesday in Albany.
On Tuesday, the Regional Plan Association will host “Next New York: How a Charter Revision could change the Future of our City” at 1 Whitehall St in Manhattan -- for RPA members or by invitation only. The event will feature discussion with Public Advocate Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and City Council Member Antonio Reynoso.
At 8 a.m. Tuesday, the Center for an Urban Future will host “Scaling Up Small Businesses in Queens,” discussing the boom in small business in Queens and concurrent lack of expansion of those businesses. Featured speakers include SBS Commissioner Gregg Bishop and City Council Member Donovan Richards, along with Seth Bornstein, Executive Director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation; Yanki Tshering, Executive Director of the Business Center for New Americans; Gloria Abreu, founder of Family United Home Care; and Sean Peckett, co-founder of Soccer Friends USA. The event will take place at the Little Theater at LaGuardia College in Long Island City.
On Tuesday morning, Comptroller Scott Stringer will host an Irish Community Breakfast at the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building.
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Board of Standards and Appeals will hold a public hearing at Spector Hall.
At 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Elections will hold a commissioners’ meeting.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Riders Alliance, Transportation Alternatives, and the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign will converge outside Governor Cuomo’s Midtown office to demand that congestion pricing be included in the Fiscal Year 2019 state budget.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer "will host a Women’s History Month celebration featuring prominent local writers and performers: Aparna Nancherla, comedian, actress, and writer (seen in Comedy Central's "Corporate"); Abigail Pesta, journalist and author (coauthor, with Sandra Uwiringiyimana, of How Dare the Sun Rise); Pamela Sneed, poet, performance artist, and actor (author of the story collection Sweet Dreams); and Sheila Weller, journalist and author (author of Girls Like Us, a biography of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon). Each featured guest will read or perform from a recent work at the celebration, which will take place on the mezzanine of Manhattan's historic Municipal Building."
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, "Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at the Greek Independence Day Reception at Gracie Mansion. This event is open press. There will be no Q-and-A. Later, the Mayor will deliver remarks at the Shared Interest: Shared Planet gala. This event is closed press."
Wednesday
The City Council will hold a stated meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Council Speaker Corey Johnson is expected to host a pre-stated press conference.
Also at the City Council on Wednesday:
--The Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Maritime Uses will meet at 9:45 a.m.
--The Committee on Land Use will meet at 10 a.m.
--The Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss the City Council operating budget, and a resolution “approving the new designation and changes in the designation of certain organizations to receive funding in the Expense Budget.”
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Wednesday in Albany.
The MTA will hold a board meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Panel for Educational Policy will hold a policy meeting at the High School for Fashion Industries in Chelsea.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir will host a discussion with MTA Chair Joe Lhota and MTA Board Member Veronica Vanterpool, talking about “what can be done to ensure the future success of the New York subway system.” The event will take place at the Museum of the City of New York, part of the “Only in New York” series of talks at the museum hosted by Maslin Nir.
Thursday
At the City Council on Thursday, the following committees will hold preliminary budget hearings:
--Oversight and Investigations at 10 a.m., regarding the Department of Investigation.
--Education at 10 a.m., regarding the School Construction Authority and the Department of Education.
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Thursday in Albany.
Friday and the weekend
At 9 a.m. Friday, the Murphy Institute at CUNY will host “Promising Practices: Labor and Community Fighting Sexual Harassment in the Era of #MeToo.” Labor leaders and advocates will discuss “bringing strategies, resources, and creativity together to create an equity framework for fighting harassment in the workplace and community.”
At 9 a.m. Friday, the Association for a Better New York will host “New York City and the 2020 Census” at the Sheraton Hotel in Midtown. Joseph Salvo, Chief Demographer for the Department of City Planning, will “discuss what's at stake, New York's history with census counts, and the federal process going forward.”
At the City Council on Friday, the Committee on Aging will hold a preliminary budget hearing at 10 a.m., regarding the Department for the Aging.
Mayor de Blasio is expected to make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show on Friday morning at 10 a.m.
On Saturday, students and allies nationwide will participate in the “March for Our Lives,” to prevent gun violence in schools and elsewhere and to call on leaders to take action on the issue. In New York City, the main march will begin at 72nd St and Central Park West.
***
Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).
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by Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette
What's The [Data] Point? Episode 34 -- $9.5 billion with Andrew Rein [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]
$9.5 billion is the new Citizens Budget Commission estimate of the extra taxes New Yorkers will pay due to the cap on the state and local tax deduction, known as the SALT cap, enacted in the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The number comes from a new CBC report that looks at the federal tax reform -- which has serious implications for New Yorkers -- and what the city and state should do about it.
Andrew Rein led the writing of the report, which was influenced by a distinguished group convened by CBC right after the federal law was passed in December. Rein has had an amazing career in government, working in high-level positions at the city Department of Education and Department of Health, at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and for some major health and healthcare organization.
Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think: Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax), Maria Doulis of CBC (@MariaDoulis). Listen below or download wherever you get your podcasts!
>***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette
Marc Molinaro (photo via Facebook)
Weeks before he is set to officially launch his campaign for governor, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro has all but claimed the Republican nomination, and on Wednesday, he locked up another endorsement putting him closer to the goal.
At a gubernatorial candidate screening Wednesday night at the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan, Molinaro emerged as the top choice of the Manhattan County Republicans over state Senator John DeFrancisco and Joseph Holland, a former aide to Governor George Pataki.
Over the course of about 90 minutes, one by one, the three candidates pitched their qualifications and their electability to a gathering of more than 100 Republicans. The crowd cheered, and jeered, as the three each took their jabs at Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both second-term Democrats, and presented their vision for governing New York State. Though few concrete policy prescriptions were aired, the gathering seemed pleased to hear each candidate variously criticize the Cuomo administration for how, as Holland said, it “over-taxes, over-spends, and over-regulates.”
Cuomo has said he is seeking a third term this year, and has more than $30 million in his campaign account. But, given several issues, including the upstate economy, the MTA subway crisis, and, on Tuesday, the corruption conviction of Cuomo’s former top aide and closest confidante, Joseph Percoco, Republicans see an opening to win the governorship for the first time since 2002.
On Wednesday night in Manhattan, each of the three candidates had roughly 20 minutes to demonstrate how they’d reach what Manhattan GOP Chair Andrea Catsimatidis called the “magic 30 percent number” of New York City voters who could give them enough votes to beat Cuomo. While the governor is less popular outside the city, he relies on the five boroughs for a significant portion of his ability to win statewide elections.
Molinaro, who spoke last, framed himself as a committed public servant who would work with his opponents across the aisle, and has no interest in political posturing. “I think that we are paralyzed in New York by elected officials all too often working to posture instead of trying to produce real results,” he said.
Speaking first was Holland, a Harlem minister who has previously served as state housing commissioner under the last Republican governor, George Pataki, has never been in elected office but pitched himself as the “most electable” of the three candidates. His appeal, he slowly and deliberately said, breaks down to three P’s: Profile. Proven. Power.
“It’s a profile that I have which is unique, it’s a proven track record as an experienced outsider, and then the power to win at the ballot box in November,” he told the audience. Holland spoke of his past -- which includes playing all-American football, founding and running a homeless shelter, a law degree, and a career in the real estate industry -- and recounted a previous failed run for state Senate. He mentioned his upstate roots in Auburn in Cayuga County, and his time working for both the executive chamber and the state Legislature in Albany.
“I’m an outsider with experience, and ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, that’s what the electorate wants right now,” he said, referring to the election of Donald Trump as president. Noting that the party had never before nominated an African-American for governor, he promised a “fresh, bold, dynamic approach” that can forge a winning coalition of upstate and downstate voters.
In each candidate’s Q&A after their individual presentations, moderator Frederic Umane (the Republican Board of Elections Commissioner from Manhattan) asked how they’d raise the necessary funds to go against Cuomo’s $30 million war chest “without having to cook ziti,” in a reference to the preferred term for bribes used by Percoco and co-conspirators, as revealed through the federal corruption trial that just concluded.
Holland admitted it would be a challenge, but said he’d tap his varied networks from his time at Cornell University, Harvard Law School, and his ties to the real estate industry. He pointed out, though, that “it’s more difficult until you’re the actual nominee.”
But when questioned on specific issues such as homelessness, the MTA, school safety, infrastructure projects, and public housing, Holland had few proposals. In each instance, he said he would work with the necessary stakeholders while avoiding the public spats that Cuomo has resorted to with de Blasio and others, and the open defiance of President Trump.
While Holland has no experience with public office, DeFrancisco, a Syracuse native, has served in the Legislature for more than 20 years. Armed with an acerbic wit and disinterest in political correctness, DeFrancisco took his turn at convincing the audience to support his candidacy. “I’ve had leadership positions in everything I’ve ever done,” he said, listing everything he’s done from being top of his class in high school and captain of his college baseball team to now, serving as deputy majority leader of the Senate. (DeFrancisco sought the position of majority leader in 2015 but lost that bid to current Majority Leader John Flanagan, who is among those to endorse the senator for governor.)
“President Lincoln once said that ‘If I had six hours to chop a tree, I’d use the first four hours to sharpen the axe.’ And my axe is sharpened and it’s directly aimed at our current governor, Andrew Cuomo,” DeFrancisco said.
Touting the 17 electoral victories over the course of his career, DeFrancisco said he could easily remain in the Senate for the foreseeable future. “But I find, as a legislator, you can only make changes along the edges. The real fundamental changes that have to be made, in my mind, only can come from the governor’s office,” he said.
DeFrancisco insisted that an earnest campaign based on building trust with voters could be successful. “Whether you’re from the far left, the far right, or in between, people don’t like the manner in which this person does business...it’s a very personal campaign against Cuomo,” he said.
In response to queries from the audience, DeFrancisco did take some policy positions but did not advance many new ideas. He said he is in favor of fracking, against congestion pricing, and for a set-aside of a percentage of income taxes to fund the MTA. He opposes term limits for statewide elected officials and state legislators, and is against the Child Victims Act, which would extend the statute of limitations for victims of child abuse to make claims. He called for cuts to spending and streamlining bloat at state agencies.
DeFrancisco also expressed confidence that Cuomo’s campaign funds weren’t a threat to him but rather a liability for Cuomo himself, alluding to the governor’s heavy reliance on campaign finance loopholes that has allowed large sums of money to flow to him from entities doing business with the state (Yet another aspect of the Percoco trial.) The senator noted that he already has about $1.5 million for his campaign.
“You can’t just be Mr. Nice Guy and be able to compete with his money and the negative things he’s going to say about you or his surrogates are going to say about you without fighting back,” he said. Proudly referencing a New York Times article from last year which referred to him as an “irascible straight shooter,” DeFrancisco said, “You couldn’t have a better contrast with an irascible straight shooter and a lying sack of you-know-what. That’s the race that you should have and I’m ready, willing, and able to do that.”
Last to speak but far from least was Molinaro, who charismatically sped through an almost bulleted list of positions he’s held, his accomplishments, and his reasons for running. The latest entrant into the race, Molinaro had just two months ago said he would not run, but as he explained Wednesday, he changed his tune after he received a flood of solicitations and endorsements from more than two dozen Republican county leaders and officials following Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb’s early exit from the race.
Those endorsements, including from Kolb, also mean that, coming into Wednesday night, Molinaro had already secured roughly 45 percent of the necessary votes he needs for the nomination from the Republican convention in May. Manhattan put him over 50 percent in terms of county chairs or delegations that have endorsed him -- while Molinaro is the clear frontrunner, votes still have to be taken at the convention.
“I have admittedly spent every day of my adult life in public service because I believe deeply in the responsibility to contribute to one’s community,” Molinaro said, hearkening back to when he was first elected at the age of 18 to the board of trustees for the Village of Tivoli on the banks of the Hudson River in Dutchess County. “Where I come from, you hold elected office because its an honor, it’s a duty, it’s a dignified responsibility,” he said.
Molinaro criticized the “new normal” of a pay-to-play culture in Albany and a state government that continues to “spend more than it can, tax more than it should and borrow to make up the difference.”
Emphasizing that the Republican Party can “breathe new fresh air into Albany,” he said he would work to empower state legislators if elected. Molinaro is a former member of the Assembly himself. He also said a successful campaign would have to be based on strong messaging that touches at the heart of issues affecting everyday New Yorkers, and by creating an extensive presence on the ground in communities.
“I think that our party has to assemble a ticket that reflects the complexion of New York, the people of New York. There needs to be a New York City voice,” he said. There has been no indication who Molinaro might seek as a lieutenant governor running mate.
Molinaro was also confident that he’d be able to elevate the importance of the Republican ticket beyond the confines of New York to bring in the funds that he needs to challenge Cuomo. “I have run for office for a while. I’ve always had competition. I have always raised enough to be competitive...I do believe I have the ability to nationalize this election,” he said. “I do, because I believe that our party wants candidates like us, to stand up nationally and say, ‘The Republican Party cares about people.’”
Asked how he’d approach working with Mayor de Blasio if elected, Molinaro insisted he’d rise above petty squabbles and wouldn’t seek to politically “outmaneuver” the mayor, as Cuomo has often tended to do with his fellow Democrat. (He did, however, smile cheekily as he said he’d work with anyone who is “honest and earnest,” clearly alluding to de Blasio’s checkered ethics record).
On the inevitable Trump question, Molinaro made no bones about supporting the president when he champions hard-working, middle-class Americans. But, he was clear that he disagreed with using the bully pulpit to belittle his opponents.
“You’ll always hear me say it the way I see it just like I think many people admire the way he says it the way he sees it,” Molinaro said.
Molinaro’s charm offensive was clearly effective. Within an hour after the forum, the Manhattan GOP’s executive committee had “overwhelmingly endorsed” his candidacy.
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Shelley Mayor, center (photo: @Shelley4Senate)
A coalition of progressive community organizations representing thousands of members across New York State will support Shelley Mayer, the Democratic Assemblymember who is running for an open state Senate seat in Westchester that could decide which party leads the legislative chamber.
Mayer is running against Republican Julie Killian for the 37th Senate District seat, in a special election scheduled for April 24. The seat has been vacant since January after its previous occupant, George Latimer, was elected Westchester county executive.
A Mayer victory in the district would likely give Democrats the numerical majority in the state Senate, paving the way for a unity deal between mainline Senate Democrats and the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of eight senators who prop up Republican control of the chamber along with renegade Democrat Simcha Felder. A deal is on the table that parties other than Felder have agreed to pending the results of two special Senate elections, the highly competitive Mayer-Killian race and one in the Bronx, where Assemblymember Luis Sepulveda is all but guaranteed to win.
The state Democratic Party has begun to put its weight behind Mayer’s candidacy, and Governor Andrew Cuomo has also endorsed her. Earlier this week in Larchmont, Cuomo rallied with fellow Democratic elected officials in support of Mayer. “This is a crucial race and Shelley’s victory will help bring the Democratic Majority in the Senate we need to continue our proud legacy of fighting and advancing progressive change for New Yorkers,” Cuomo said in a statement on Sunday. (The Westchester County Independence Party has also backed Mayer.)
Now adding its voice to the growing support for Mayer is the “Progressive Power Coalition” of five community advocacy groups -- Make the Road Action, NY Communities for Change, Citizen Action of New York, Community Voices Heard Power, and VOCAL-NY Action Fund -- which will announce its endorsement of Mayer on Friday.
The groups cite, as reasons for their support, Mayer’s impressive record of fighting for working New Yorkers and immigrants, her support of campaign finance reforms that prioritize small donors over wealthy interests, her advocacy for expanding childcare, affordable housing and combating homelessness, and her leadership on protections against wage theft by bad-actor employers. Democratic control of the state Senate, currently Republicans’ only stronghold at the state level, is seen as key to ushering through a wave of progressive policies.
"Shelley Mayer is a powerful leader for New York State,” said Sojourner Salinas, a member-leader of Community Voices Heard Power from White Plains, in a statement. “She stands tall and firm on what we believe in: fighting for communities of color and low-income families of New York State on all the tough issues that we are being attacked on by the Trump administration."
Members of the coalition intend to bolster Mayer’s campaign by mobilizing their base of activists to knock on doors, call constituents and get out the vote in the lead up to, and on, Election Day. Several of the groups are known for their abilities to have boots on the ground for such activities. Mayer is considered a favorite given the district’s Democratic enrollment advantage and recent election trends, including Latimer’s runaway victory over two-term incumbent Rob Astorino.
Mayer said in a statement that she was “proud” to receive the coalition’s endorsement. “Donald Trump's constant attacks on our values and the failures of his Republican allies in the State Senate have made this special election critical for our future,” she said. “I’m proud of my track record fighting for families and creating better opportunities for Westchester’s hard working families, and I will continue that work in the State Senate.”
Killian, Mayer’s opponent, is a former Rye City Council member and deputy mayor taking her second shot at the 37th Senate District, after failing to unseat then-Senator Latimer in 2016. Her campaign has focused on portraying Mayer as an Albany insider and on decrying the culture of corruption that has flourished in the state Capitol. Earlier this week, after Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Cuomo, was found guilty on federal corruption charges, Killian’s campaign tweeted, “One would hope that today’s conviction of Gov. Cuomo’s top aide in a bribery scheme would help slow down Albany’s rampant corruption, but history sadly shows us that it will continue unimpeded. Only way to change Albany is to change who we send there.”
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Joe Percoco behind his lawyer (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)
The jury in the federal corruption trial of Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo, returned with a verdict on Tuesday, finding Percoco guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes, charges related to a pair of bribery and bid-rigging schemes involving firms seeking to do business with the state. Percoco was also found not guilty on three charges he was facing.
Over the course of more than seven weeks, the Percoco trial laid bare the inner workings of the state government and the lax regulations around government ethics and election financing. Prosecutors also touched on the functioning of the executive chamber, though no allegations of illegal wrongdoing were brought against Governor Andrew Cuomo, who once referred to his longtime friend Percoco as his father’s “third son.”
After closing arguments last week, the jury deliberated for eight days -- and deadlocked twice -- before coming to a mixed verdict. In total, there were ten felony counts against Percoco and three co-defendants, upstate business executives who allegedly paid Percoco more than $300,000 for his help in getting favorable treatment from the state government. Former lobbyist Todd Howe, the government’s star witness in the case, pleaded guilty to facilitating the bribes to Percoco along with seven other felony counts related to the schemes.
One of the bribery schemes involved the real estate developer COR Development and its executives, Joseph Gerardi and Steven Aiello, who were accused of bribing Percoco for assistance with labor unions on a real estate project as well as to obtain a raise for Aiello’s son. Both men faced charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, paying bribes to Peroco and making false statements to federal investigators. Although Gerardi was found not guilty of all three charges, Aiello was found guilty on the conspiracy charge.
The jury also deadlocked on two charges against Peter Galbraith Kelly, an executive from Competitive Power Ventures, an energy firm that was at the center of the second bribery scheme. Prosecutors alleged that Kelly organized a “low-show” job paying $90,000 a year for Percoco’s wife, which they said were actually bribes for Percoco. The jury’s decision led federal district judge Valerie Caproni to declare a mistrial for Kelly.
Percoco himself was found not guilty on the three charges, including extortion under the color of official right, conspiracy to commit extortion under the color of official right, and soliciting bribes related to the COR scheme. He could face 50 years in prison on the three charges on which he was found guilty. Percoco’s sentencing is set for June 11; he and his lawyer said outside the courthouse that they would explore their legal options, including “what we might do in terms of making motions and pursuing our appellate rights.”
At trial, prosecutors painted a picture of Percoco as the governor’s right-hand man, who could move mountains with a single phone call and who often bullied others in state government to do his bidding. The defense, however, sought to portray him as simply an “advance man” who managed events, scheduling, and day-to-day minutiae for the governor. The case was further complicated by the testimony of Howe, who was arrested midway through the trial after admitting to violating his cooperation agreement with the government. Although prosecutors, in their closing arguments, sought to downplay Howe’s role in the case, defense attorneys leaned heavily into the idea that Howe was a manipulative operator who was framing their clients for his own misdeeds.
“Joseph Percoco was found guilty of taking over $300,000 in cash bribes by selling something priceless that was not his to sell – the sacred obligation to honestly and faithfully serve the citizens of New York,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, in a statement after the verdict was announced. Berman said Percoco “corruptly chose to disregard” the fact that “government officials who sell their influence to select insiders violate the basic tenets of a democracy.”
Speaking with reporters outside the courthouse, Percoco said he was “disappointed” with the verdict, but betrayed little emotion as he said he would consider the options with his lawyers. “I am thankful to my wonderful legal team and I‘m thankful to my family and friends that have stood by me throughout this entire process and I look forward to them all standing by me as we go forward,” he said.
Barry Bohrer, Percoco’s defense attorney, questioned the jury’s divided verdict. “There is an inconsistency in the verdict as we read it,” he conceded, when asked by a reporter, “and we are...gonna review and figure out what it means and what options are open to us and we will pursue all available options.”
Asked if his client was a “victim of politics,” Bohrer declined comment, but said, “Look, it was a difficult time and place to be trying a case involving Albany politics, there’s no question about that. We think that it was a much closer case than some were led to believe and I think the jury’s verdict is a reflection of that and so we are going to look at any and all options going forward in terms of pursuing further review.”
A coalition of government reform groups called on the state Legislature and governor to pass reforms to prevent such corruption in the future. “Percoco’s trial spotlighted a state government riddled with pay to play, influence peddling and unethical behavior,” they said in a statement.
The groups -- Citizens Union, Common Cause/NY, League of Women Voters, NYPIRG, and Reinvent Albany -- are calling for strict limits on campaign contributions from entities seeking state contracts; restrictions on outside income for state legislators and those in the executive branch; and closure of the so-called LLC loophole which allows limited liability companies with hidden donors to contribute large sums of money to state candidates. They are also pushing for greater accountability and transparency within the state budget, contracting, and more teeth for state ethics watchdogs and agencies with oversight of state economic development spending.
Cuomo’s critics and opponents, including two Republican candidates for governor this year, pointed fingers at the Democratic incumbent for enabling a culture of corruption and called for an investigation into Cuomo allowing Percoco to use a government office while he was running the governor’s 2014 reelection campaign.
The governor responded to the verdict In a statement put out Tuesday afternoon:
"The jury has reached a verdict and I respect that decision. While I am sad for Joe Percoco's young daughters who will have to deal with this pain, I echo the message of the verdict - there is no tolerance for any violation of the public trust.
"There is no higher calling than public service and integrity is paramount - principles that have guided my work during the last 40 years.
"The verdict demonstrated that these ideals have been violated by someone I knew for a long time. That is personally painful; however, we must learn from what happened and put additional safeguards in place to secure the public trust. Anything less is unacceptable."
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits
March 13, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: A Journalist Runs for State Senate, with Ross Barkan
Ross Barkan announced late last year that he was making the leap from journalism to running for elected office and entered the race in the 22nd State Senate District, a Brooklyn seat currently held by Republican Marty Golden that is on the ballot this fall. Golden is part of the GOP majority in the Senate that Democrats like Barkan blame for preventing a host of progressive legislation from moving through the Legislature.
Before he can directly take on Golden, Barkan must first prevail in the Democratic primary, where he faces Andrew Gounardes, an aide to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams who lost to Golden in 2012. (We had booked both Barkan and Gounardes for this episode, but Gounardes later said a work obligation came up, so Barkan appeared alone.)
In this episode, Barkan explains his rationale for running, how journalism has prepared him for elected office, his campaign platform, and more.
Listen to the full conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy and guest Ross Barkan (@RossBarkan). You can listen to the episode through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts.
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette