Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Bill de Blasio

Bill de Blasio

  • Mayor's Charter Revision Commission Hears Testimony in Manhattan

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    Council Member Kallos & Mayor de Blasio at a town hall (photo: Mayor's Office)


    A large public turn out and testimony that touched on topics such campaign finance reform, improving voter participation, enhancing police discipline, and the benefits of participatory budgeting marked the Manhattan hearing of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission on Wednesday night at the main branch of New York Public Library.

    It was the last of five hearings, one in each borough, to launch the mayor’s charter revision commission, which

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  • As City Proceeds with Two Charter Revision Commissions, A Cautionary Tale from Los Angeles

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    City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    Public awareness is at the heart of achieving buy-in and delivering progress through a charter revision commission, which can propose foundational changes to city laws that go before voters for approval or disapproval. But in New York City, there will soon be two such commissions running concurrently -- one launched by Mayor Bill de Blasio and another through City Council legislation -- creating risk of competing and overly-politicized messages, a confused public, and, ultimately, failure at the polls

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  • De Blasio and City Council Tangle Over How to Spend $1 Billion

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    (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio says he doesn’t have the money. The City Council says it is very much there.

    On April 26, the mayor released his executive budget proposal for the 2019 fiscal year, an $89.06 billion spending plan that he called “a downpayment on a more fair future for New Yorkers.” But the plan didn’t include major priorities previously outlined by the City Council, namely $212 million to fund half-priced MetroCards for thousands of low-income New Yorkers, a one-time $400 property

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  • What's The [Data] Point? 4, with Sally Goldenberg

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 39 -- 4, with Sally Goldenberg [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

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  • Charter Revision Commission Urged to Consider Tighter Donation Rules for City-Affiliated Nonprofits

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    Mayor de Blasio & the Mayor's Fund (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)


    A government reform group is urging Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission to explore stronger restrictions on donations to nonprofits affiliated with city agencies, building on a raft of laws passed through the New York City Council and signed by the mayor in 2016, which are set to go into effect next year.

    Reinvent Albany, an organization focused on government transparency and accountability, is advocating for greater disclosure

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  • The Mayor’s Much-Needed Investment in Culturally Responsive Education

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    Mayor de Blasio & Chancellor Carranza visit a school (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement last week that the City is investing $23 million in culturally responsive education and anti-bias training in schools -- likely the largest investment of its type nationally -- is welcome news for New York City parents, educators, and researchers.

    Education researchers have long-known that culturally responsive education (CRE) -- the practice of aligning curriculum and instruction with students’ backgrounds, life

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  • De Blasio Points to Cuomo’s NYCHA Order as ‘Potentially Dangerous’ to City Budget

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    Gov. Cuomo with top NYC officials and others (photo: Governor's office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order earlier this month to impose an external monitor on the crisis-plagued New York City Housing Authority has turned into a potential budget boondoggle for the city, with Mayor Bill de Blasio warning on Thursday of the “unforeseen consequences” the order could have on the city’s fiscal future.

    The governor’s

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  • What's The [Data] Point? 5.8%

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 38 -- 5.8%, with Ana Champeny of CBC [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

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  • De Blasio Presents $89 Billion Executive Budget Plan

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    Mayor de Blasio presents a budget (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled an $89.06 billion executive budget proposal for the 2019 fiscal year on Thursday, decrying new spending that the city must undertake to meet shortfalls and unfunded mandates imposed by the new state budget approved last month, and cautioning of federal actions that could affect the city’s fiscal future.

    The latest budget proposal reflects a net spending increase of about $390 million from the mayor’s preliminary budget released in

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  • De Blasio Downplays Placing Donors on Charter Revision Commission

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday denied any real or perceived conflicts of interest arising from his choice of appointments to his Charter Revision Commission, which includes individuals who have donated to his past campaigns for elected office.

    “Of course, whether someone was a supporter or donor was not a factor,” de Blasio said at an unrelated news conference at City Hall, when asked by Gotham Gazette whether

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  • The Mayor's Mistaken Attempt to Supersize Buildings

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    (Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Nearly every day it seems, a new record is broken for a tallest new residential structure in our city. Whether it is Downtown Brooklyn’s first 1,000+ foot tall tower, Queens’ tallest tower in Long Island City,

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  • Now ‘Resetting,’ Chirlane McCray’s $850 Million Mental Health Program Has A Lot Riding On It

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    Chirlane McCray, with Bill de Blasio looking on (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    On a sunny Wednesday morning in November 2015, more than 30 of New York City’s top public officials gathered together in East Harlem. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder and tiered in three rows on the ground floor of the City University of New York’s school of social work. An audience of hospital administrators, business leaders, mental health advocates and journalists watched from folded seats.

    Chirlane McCray, wife of New York City Mayor Bill de

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  • Mayoral Charter Revision Commission Starts Its Work

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    Charter Revision Commission (photo: Samar Khurshid)


    A commission created by Mayor Bill de Blasio to review the City Charter and propose reforms to how city government functions kicked off its work on Thursday with its first public meeting in Downtown Manhattan.

    Huddled elbow-to-elbow at tables stretching across an auditorium stage, the members of the Charter Revision Commission -- former public servants, law professors and attorneys, union leaders and community activists -- introduced themselves to the 20-odd members of

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  • City Council Progressive Caucus Calls for Crisis Intervention Reforms

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    (Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The New York City Council Progressive Caucus is stepping up calls for Mayor Bill de Blasio to reconstitute a citywide task force to examine how emergency responders help people suffering from mental illness, and are insisting that the mayor consider creating a parallel response force of social workers and therapists that can answer calls rather than police officers.

    In a letter sent to the mayor last Wednesday, the 21 members of the Progressive Caucus said the mayor should act by the end of

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  • After Forcing City to Fund Subway Plan, Cuomo Forecasts Next MTA Budget Battle

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    (Don Pollard/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    Following completion of the fiscal year 2019 state budget late last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio was forced into a decision whereby the city will pay half the $836 million MTA Subway Action Plan. De Blasio had for months refused to match the state’s $418 million pledge, put forth immediately by Governor Andrew Cuomo upon MTA Chair Joe Lhota’s release of the plan.

    Now, the mayor says, the ball is even more clearly in Cuomo’s court to get the subways running reliably. But just a week after the budget

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  • In Response to De Blasio Proposal, City Council Sets Stage for Tense Budget Negotiations

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    Speaker Johnson and colleagues (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    The New York City Council appears to be gearing up for a tense budget fight with Mayor Bill de Blasio, releasing a telling early counter on Tuesday in its official response to the mayor’s $88.7 billion proposed budget for next

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  • Council Members Renew Call for Task Force on NYPD Response to Emotionally Disturbed Persons

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    Mayor de Blasio & top NYPD officials (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    In August of last year, shortly after NYPD officers shot to death an emotionally disturbed man in his apartment, City Council Member Jumaane Williams led an effort calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to set up a task force to conduct a wholesale review of the police department’s protocols in dealing with “emotionally disturbed persons,” or EDPs. Almost eight months later, with many in the city again reeling from the fatal shooting of an emotionally disturbed man at the

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  • With Tweaks, City Council Passes Charter Revision Commission Bill

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    Council Member Cabrera and others (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Note: The City Council passed this bill on Wednesday, April 11

    The New York City Council is moving ahead with a bill to create a Charter Revision Commission to review the city charter, the city’s seminal governing document, with a committee vote on the bill set for Tuesday, and the full Council likely to vote it through on Wednesday. The Council’s commission is a separate effort from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s own commission, called by the mayor a few weeks

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  • City Seeks Developers to Protect Affordability Through Housing Purchases

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    In October, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that his ambitious affordable housing plan was two years ahead of schedule, prompting him to expand his target of creating and preserving 200,000 affordable units by 2024 to 300,000 units by 2026. At the same time, the mayor said his administration would undertake efforts to increase the involvement of non-profit developers in keeping housing affordable, likely a response to critics who said the administration was relying too heavily on

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  • Key Takeaways: How the State Budget Impacts New York City

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    (photo: The Governor's Office)


    Early Saturday morning, the New York State Legislature finalized a new $168 billion budget ahead of the April 1 start to the 2019 fiscal year. The process to agree on the budget heavily involved four men -- Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein -- in the usual largely closed-door process.

    When a deal was reached, the various parties sought to claim victories, including, for the Senate GOP,

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  • De Blasio's Post-Budget Priorities in Albany

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    De Blasio at a rally for speed cameras (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    The Legislature’s passage of a $168.3 billion state budget over the weekend came with a few rewards for New York City, but also setbacks for Mayor Bill de Blasio, who saw several of his priorities either approved with caveats or ignored in final negotiations between legislative leaders and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Now, with three months remaining in the legislative session in Albany, de Blasio will have a number of agenda items that he is likely to pursue.

    The mayor has had an

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: First Lady Chirlane McCray

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    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    March 26, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray

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    New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray is leading the city's ThriveNYC mental health care plan and its many component programs, serving as Chair of the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, and providing guidance as her

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  • Key New York City Issues in Final State Budget Negotiations

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    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

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  • Expert Points to Disconnect Between De Blasio Housing and Homelessness Plans

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    Mayor de Basio (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)


    The city’s homelessness crisis has been a major challenge for Mayor Bill de Blasio since he took office in 2014. While the crisis was growing over the course of decades, key decisions were made just a few years before de Blasio became mayor that appear to have accelerated the trend, namely the elimination of city and state rental subsidy programs.

    When de Blasio became mayor, he set out to reinstitute rental subsidy programming, among other pieces of his homelessness and housing agendas, which

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  • Council Speaker Backs Charter Commission Bill That Gives Him More Sway

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    Speaker Johnson (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said last week that the Council would forge ahead with legislation to create a Charter Revision Commission to review the broad structure of city government, bucking Mayor Bill de Blasio’s intention to unilaterally create a commission meant to explore campaign finance and electoral reforms. And Johnson’s support of the bill -- first proposed in December by Public Advocate Letitia James and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer -- also came with one significant change to

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