Gotham Gazette

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Bill de Blasio

Bill de Blasio

  • New York City Takeaways from Governor Cuomo's 2018 State of the State

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    Gov. Cuomo delivers his 2018 State of the State (photo: Philip Kamrass/Governor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his full policy agenda for the 2018 legislative session on Wednesday, returning to his traditional State of the State format: a single address at the Empire State Convention Center, chock full of slideshow-aided proposals and lofty rhetoric, with legislative leaders of all five conferences and other statewide elected officials accompanying him on stage.

    During the 92-minute speech, Cuomo gave

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Big Political News to Start 2018

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


    January 3, 2018 - Max & Murphy:  Big Political News to Start 2018

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    2018 has started with a bang in New York politics: already this week we've seen the re-inaugrations of Mayor Bill de Blasio, Public Advocate Letitia James, and Comptroller Scott Stringer; the election of new City Council Speaker Corey Johnson; and

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  • Embracing Sanders, De Blasio Leaves Behind His Clinton-Cuomo Era

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    Bernie Sanders swears in Bill de Blasio for a second term (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    Bill de Blasio was inaugurated for his second term as New York City mayor on Monday, taking his oath of office on a frigid day blanketed by the warmth of mutual admiration with Bernie Sanders. With praise from the Vermont senator and leading national progressive, de Blasio may also have been attempting, whether consciously or not, to finalize his shift away from the Clinton-Cuomo wing of the Democratic Party, where he has kept one foot as he has

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  • Sworn In for Second Term by Bernie Sanders, De Blasio Claims 'New Progressive Era'

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    De Blasio is sworn in by Sanders (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, was sworn in for a second and final term at City Hall on a frigid Monday afternoon, in a ceremony attended by nearly a thousand people and starring United States Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

    De Blasio’s oath of office was administered by Sanders, the popular progressive leader who has championed policies to benefit middle- and working-class Americans, similar to the mayor’s own

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  • Melissa Mark-Viverito, a Mayor-Made Speaker, Sought a Member-Driven Legacy

    Mayor de Blasio Speaker Mark-Viverito

    (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    Melissa Mark-Viverito, the first Latina to preside over the 51-member New York City Council, leaves office having shepherded a progressive shift in the city’s direction, in conjunction with fellow Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio, a philosophically aligned partner in government who was the deciding factor in her winning the powerful speaker position four years ago.

    As arguably the second most powerful elected official in the city, Mark-Viverito oversaw an agenda of progressivism

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  • Brooklyn Armory Deal, and Larger De Blasio Development Debate, Move Toward Term Two

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    (Armory rendering via BFC) (photos within piece by Rachel Holliday Smith)


    Following years of ferocious debate, negotiation, protests and anguish, City Council Member Laurie Cumbo was finally ready to vote “yes” on the redevelopment of the publicly-owned, vacant Bedford-Union Armory.

    At very nearly the last minute, she and the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio worked out a deal for the Crown Heights building with the city’s chosen developer, BFC Partners, the night before a crucial City Council land use

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  • Ahead of 2018 Session, Cuomo Mum on Pursuing MTA Board Overhaul

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    Gov. Cuomo (photo via the Governor's Office)


    In June, as New Yorkers became increasingly frustrated with subway performance and braced themselves for the expected “summer of hell,” Governor Andrew Cuomo was the focus of intense criticism, responding with a series of measures he said were needed in order to fix the ailing Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).

    Among them, Cuomo introduced last-minute legislation that would allow the governor to appoint a majority of MTA board members, a gesture some saw as an attempt to bolster his

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  • De Blasio's Campaign Cash During Election Crunch

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


    In the two weeks leading up to Election Day, November 7, Mayor Bill de Blasio raised about $485,653 for his reelection campaign, and spent $1.65 million in winning a second term by a wide margin, according to the latest disclosures filed with the New York City Campaign Finance Board. The disclosures cover the five-week period from October 24 to November 30, and show that on and after Election Day, de Blasio raised another $82,461 and spent an additional

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  • Yeshiva-Gate Could Imperil De Blasio’s Second Term

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    Mayor de Blasio (photo via The Mayor's Office)


    For Mayor de Blasio, controversy over some ultra-Orthodox Jewish day schools’ duty to provide students with required secular studies may turn into a significant second term scandal. Yeshiva-gate, as it could be called, may imperil de Blasio’s next four years, after the mayor kicked the can down the road throughout his first term, with a long-stalled investigation still incomplete.

    The Mayor-controlled city Department of Education is obligated under ...

  • 'Open Budget,' Economic Development Transparency Bills Become Law

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    De Blasio at a public hearing (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Four government transparency bills that were passed by the City Council on October 31 aged into law on Friday, having gone 30 days without any action in favor or against them by Mayor Bill de Blasio. The bills all relate to increased disclosure by the administration of billions in city government spending and have been praised by good government advocates.

    Among the bills was one that ...

  • What's the State Role in NYCHA Oversight?

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    CM Torres and the call for a state NYCHA monitor (photo: @RitchieTorres)


    As Mayor Bill de Blasio and leaders of the embattled New York City Housing Authority continue to respond to fallout from revelations that NYCHA had failed for years to comply with federal and local laws around lead paint inspections, some elected officials are renewing calls for the state take a more active role in the city’s massive public housing system.

    NYCHA, which has ...

  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Previewing De Blasio's Second Term

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


    November 27, 2017 - Max & Murphy: Previewing De Blasio's Second Term

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    Max & Murphy discuss the next steps for recently re-elected Mayor Bill de Blasio, who, as his second term gets going, will surely be dealing with some cabinet changes and will have to navigate the election of

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  • Amid Ongoing Uncertainty, De Blasio Makes Modest Budget Adjustment

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    De Blasio during a budget presentation (photo: Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio will release the mandated November budget modification on Tuesday, showing minor adjustments to the city’s nearly $86 billion budget for the current fiscal year, which runs through the end of June.

    Spending for fiscal year 2018 (FY18) will be projected up from the $85.24 billion agreed upon by de Blasio and the City Council in June to $85.99 billion, according to the mayor’s office. The increase is largely due to more federal funding coming to the

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  • City Increasingly Paying Back Rent to Keep Tenants from Homelessness

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    De Blasio discusses homelessness (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    In the effort to fight a steady, decades-long rise in homelessness, the de Blasio administration has significantly increased the city’s rental assistance programs over the past four years. A variety of programs including vouchers for those seeking to reenter stable housing from shelter, the effort also entails paying back rent for those at risk of losing their apartments.

    Known as “rent arrears” payments, the de Blasio administration has dedicated

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  • ‘Democracy Vouchers’ May Come to New York City

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    City Council Member Ben Kallos (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    As he ran for mayor this year, former City Council Member Sal Albanese typically didn’t go more than five minutes without mentioning his call to bring additional campaign finance reform to New York City. Despite the fact that the city already has a heralded public-matching system that encourages small donation fundraising, Albanese pointed to the “democracy voucher” program instituted in Seattle, which is even more radical in its efforts to lower individual donation

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  • Election Post-Mortem with Nicole Malliotakis’ Campaign Manager

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    Nicole Malliotakis and company (photo: @NMalliotakis)


    “I targeted 750,000 votes,” said Leticia Remauro, campaign manager for Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis’ mayoral bid, “and broke them up into about 26 Assembly Districts we needed to target.”

    “To win as a Republican in New York City, you have to win Queens, Staten Island, and the Upper East Side,” Remauro told Gotham Gazette in an election post-mortem interview, with the intensity of the campaign still evident.

    While some absentee and other ballots

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  • Mapping the Mayoral: Where De Blasio and Malliotakis Each Did Well

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    image: WNYC Data News team map of the 2017 mayoral race


    Mayor Bill de Blasio was reelected for a second term on Tuesday with two-thirds of the vote in a low turnout election that saw only about 22 percent of registered New Yorkers cast a ballot for mayor.

    There were few surprises across the five boroughs, and voter behavior was largely consistent with the 2013 mayoral election, in which de Blasio beat Republican Joe Lhota, 73 percent to 24 percent. But in certain enclaves of the city, de Blasio’s main challenger, Republican Assemblymember Nicole

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  • Bill De Blasio Easily Wins Reelection as Mayor of New York City

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    Mayor Bill de Blasio after casting his vote (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio triumphed over his challengers on Tuesday to become the first Democrat to be reelected mayor of New York City since Ed Koch won a third term in 1985. De Blasio celebrated, promised more progress, and put his win into the context of a larger Democratic wave that took place on Tuesday in other places around the country. De Blasio declared a new goal for a second and final term: making New York City “the fairest big city in

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  • Malliotakis Comes Up Short in Long-shot Mayoral Bid

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    Nicole Malliotakis (photo via @NMalliotakis)


    Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis, the Republican nominee for mayor, lost her long-shot bid on Tuesday to the incumbent, Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat.

    The election’s outcome never seemed to be in doubt, with de Blasio holding significant leads in all the polls, a fundraising advantage, labor support, and the city’s overwhelmingly party registration margin. Beyond being in a city where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 6-to-1, Malliotakis also had to

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  • 2017 New York City General Election Results

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    (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio won reelection on Tuesday, earning about two-thirds of the vote in another low-turnout election -- about 1,070,000 voters cast ballots in the mayoral race. De Blasio's fellow incumbent citywide Democrats, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Letitia James, also won reelection, each with about three-quarters of the vote.

    Among the most notable other votes cast in New York this Election Day, the constitutional convention ballot question -- proposal one on

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: 10 Things to Think About on Election Day

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


    November 6, 2017 - Max & Murphy: Previewing the Election

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    On this pre-Election Day episode, we bring you a special video show, with Max & Murphy providing 10 things to think about as voters in New York City and across the state head to the polls on Tuesday. Watch the video below for the special show,

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  • Dissecting Mayor De Blasio's Record As He Seeks Reelection

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    Mayor Bill de Blasio & First Lady Chirlane McCray (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    As Mayor Bill de Blasio, a first-term Democrat, seeks reelection this fall, a close examination of his record is essential. De Blasio came into power promising to address inequlality in a variety of forms, including income, educational, policing, racial, and opportunity inequities he identified during his 2013 campaign. In this year's election de Blasio is running in part on his record, which is headlined by the

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  • De Blasio's Record on NYCHA

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    De Blasio, Olatoye & others in 2015 (photo: Demetrius Freeman/Mayor's Office)


    This article is part of a series on Mayor de Blasio's first term record as he seeks reelection this fall, in partnership with WNYC radio and City Limits. Find all pieces of the series here.

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  • De Blasio's Record on Budgeting and Fiscal Health

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    De Blasio during a budget presentation (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    This article is part of a series on Mayor de Blasio's first term record as he seeks reelection this fall, in partnership with WNYC radio and City Limits. Find all pieces of the series here.

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    Mayor

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  • Mayoral Candidates Make Closing Arguments in Frenetic Final Debate

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    Dietl, de Blasio & Malliotakis on CBS


    The second and final mayoral debate of the general election, held Wednesday night, was largely a contest between Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat running for a second term, and Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis, the Republican nominee, as the third candidate on stage, independent Bo Dietl, often struggled to get a word in edgewise.

    As the incumbent, de Blasio was put on the spot several times during the hour-long debate -- on public safety, on the city’s homelessness crisis, on his ethics

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