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Council Passes Three Bills to Improve Services for Military Veterans


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CM Paul Vallone speaks about his veterans services bill (photo: @PaulVallone)


NEW YORK—On Thursday the City Council passed three bills aimed at helping New York City's roughly 200,000 military veterans. The bills will bring much needed reform to the Veterans Advisory Board (VAB) and require the City to keep better data on veterans seeking services.

Two bills will bring changes to the VAB, which acts as a liaison between the veterans community and the Mayor's Office of Veterans' Affairs (MOVA). The VAB has come under scrutiny in recent months for a lack of transparency and perceived inaccessibility to veterans.

Intro 619-A, introduced by City Council Member Eric Ulrich, chair of the veterans committee, adds another VAB meeting, requiring the board to meet five times per year, once in each borough. It requires meeting information be posted online in hopes of getting more in the community to attend, a practice not done in the past. In addition, the meetings must be recorded and either streamed or archived online.

"The bills we are passing into law today are really going to bring the Veterans Advisory Board into the 21st century by making it more transparent and by making it more accountable," Council Member Ulrich said on Thursday.

Intro 611-A, introduced by Council Member Mathieu Eugene, will expand the number of VAB members from nine to 11. VAB members, who are volunteers, will now be given City email addresses which must be published publicly, likely on the MOVA website.

"Reform of Veterans Advisory Board has been long overdue," Kristen Rouse, a U.S. Army veteran and member of NYC Veterans Alliance said on Thursday. "This reform legislation will breathe new life into the VAB, improving both accountability to, and representation of our city's incredibly diverse community of veterans and their families."

The VAB is required to issue an annual report, but up until now the report has consisted primarily of meeting minutes. The legislation recommends the VAB, which is an independent entity, submit policy or legislative recommendations in its report. The hope is the voices of veterans across the city will be heard even if the veterans can't make it to City Hall.

"We believe there is a lot of work that can be done, so hopefully this advisory board will really help put forward some recommendations we can follow up on," Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Thursday.

The two bills greatly shore up the VAB, however, they do not address lagging appointments. Currently seven of nine VAB appointments have expired terms, according to the database on the MOVA website. All five mayoral appointees have expired terms and two of the four appointed by the speaker have expired terms.

The speaker appointments have been expired since 2005, long before Mark-Viverito took office. Three of the mayoral appointments expired in 2014 under Mayor Bill de Blasio.

When asked about the lapsed appointments, Speaker Mark-Viverito said there were thousands of appointments to be made.

"Sometimes the process may not be as expeditious as we would like it to be, but we are taking it very seriously," Mark-Viverito said, adding they are currently looking at recommendations. "We want to make sure, especially since we are passing legislation, that we really get that board fully functioning."

Mark-Viverito said diversity will be something she will be strongly considering in her appointments. She did not lay out a timeline for filling them, but did point to Rouse as a potential candidate.

"I think she [Rouse] comes across as a prime candidate for an advisory board position," Mark-Viverito said following Rouse's comments at the press conference.

The third bill passed on Thursday, Intro. 600-A, was introduced by Council Member Paul Vallone and will require five City agencies to better track the number of veterans utilizing city services. Veterans will need to self-identify, which can prove challenging. But the requirements should give the City better data on veterans, which has been a barrier to authorizing more services.

"You can't fix something if you don't know the problems that need to be addressed," Council Member Vallone said.

The New York City Housing Authority, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services will all have specific data points related to veteran services that will be submitted in an annual report.

"New York City cannot honestly say it is taking care of veterans until it is able to quantify and examine how city agencies are reaching out to veterans," Rouse said. "This legislation will begin that process."

The legislation will be sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio to sign into law. He has 30 days to take action on the bills.

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by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

State Legislators Strain Under Cuomo's Budget Yoke


AM Moya DREAM Act

AM Moya, other electeds, & advocates rally for the DREAM Act (@FranciscoPMoya)


ALBANY - This week legislators returned to Albany after an extended break and began to feel the walls closing in on them. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made it clear he will use his executive power to compel the Legislature to agree to his education and ethics policies. He is able to do this through his ability to issue emergency budget extenders that keep the state running and enact policy points if the Legislature does not agree on a budget by April 1.

Cuomo has legislators in a tight spot as he declared earlier this year that he has no problem having a late budget and has tied major policy proposals to the budget process. His 30-day budget amendments appear to tighten some of his policy proposals to basic funding mechanisms. The longer the Legislature waits to cut a deal with Cuomo the worse things will be for them, and Cuomo has made it clear he is not willing to budge on certain proposals. It would appear the Legislature does not have much wiggle room, though Cuomo has shown a penchant for compromise when he sees an opportunity to secure victories.

The governor is essentially flexing his executive power - power that was bolstered during the 2009 Senate coup. At the time the Legislature was paralyzed when two Senate Democrats jumped ship to give Republicans the majority, and a legal and political battle ensued.

Governor David Paterson, with the help of good government groups and lawyers, used an untried executive authority to push through a spending plan to keep state government funded without the Legislature's consent. Cuomo promised when announcing his ethics reforms that he is committed to doing the same thing if necessary. "I will not sign a budget that does not have an ethics plan as outlined in my proposal. Either pass my budget or shut down the government," Cuomo said.

Legislators are angry that Cuomo is trying to weaken the body as a whole by using the tactic - they are also upset that he is not letting certain policies stand on their own merits.

Meanwhile, watchdogs like New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli have both said the strategy is fiscally irresponsible.

Thanks to court rulings, "These kinds of policy choices can be asserted into emergency appropriation bills," DiNapoli told Alan Chartock on The Capitol Connection on Thursday. "The Legislature holding up the budget is really not a smart strategy." DiNapoli went on to tell Chartock: "New York arguably has the strongest executive compared to any governor in any state in the union"

Raising great ire around the state, Cuomo has withheld projections of how much each school district would get in school aid under his budget plan. If the Legislature passes his reform plan he has promised $1.1 billion in increased education funding to be distributed around New York. If it doesn't, aid will only increase by $377 million. Cuomo's reform plan that is tied to the increased aid would make it easier to fire failing teachers, increase the value of state test scores in teacher evaluations, and allow more charter schools across the state - it has sent teachers unions on the war path.

Cuomo has made a similar move with a set of ethics reforms he announced in the wake of the arrest of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on three federal corruption charges. The reforms would increase disclosure of legislators' outside income and connections with employers that have business before the State, and restrict their use of campaign funds.

On Thursday, Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb held a press conference where he demanded Cuomo release school aid runs, which tell districts how much state funding to expect. Kolb called withholding the runs an "unprecedented and underhanded maneuver."

"The governor's tactics prevent school districts from being able to accurately plan for the future and his heavy-handed approach flies in the face of good fiscal practice," Kolb said.

Cuomo has responded to critics by telling them to simply plan for the smaller increase.
On the radio, DiNapoli echoed Kolbs concerns, saying that school runs are "not the final word, but an important piece of [school districts'] putting together their own budgets."

DiNapoli said he thinks putting policies that should provoke detailed discussion into the budget limits debate. "I do have concern with so much being jammed into the education discussion," said DiNapoli, adding: "Some of these issues should be debated in a thoughtful way, in a perspective of good policy not held hostage to a budget process."

Stringer expressed similar concerns, calling it "bad budgeting" in his Wednesday testimony in Albany, and also going into detail in a New York Daily News editorial titled "How Cuomo's Budget Stiffs New York City."

"Educating our children should never be held hostage to the outcome of policy differences. Students should not lose just because grown-ups cannot resolve their disputes," wrote Stringer. "Just three years ago, the state enacted a nearly identical conditional funding requirement that resulted in the city's loss of over $300 million in school aid when agreements on teacher evaluations could not be reached before the deadline. This year, more than $400 million could be at risk. This was a misguided approach three years ago, and we shouldn't make the same mistake again today."

Earlier this year some Democratic legislators pushed for Cuomo to add The DREAM Act to his budget proposal - he did so, but connected it to an education tax credit. The DREAM Act would provide tuition assistance to immigrant students who are in the country illegally or who have had their deportations deferred. Critics say the money should go to students whose immigration status is not in question.

The education tax credit appeals to more moderate and conservative lawmakers because it lets individuals write off donations to private or charter schools. Critics of that measure say the bill would essentially divert money to private and charter schools that would normally go into state coffers, and that large donors would likely eat up the credit allotment before middle class individuals could donate to their local public district schools.

Cuomo went one step further in his 30-day budget amendments by linking both the DREAM Act and the tax credit to the state's Tuition Assistance Program - further irking lawmakers and much of the education lobby.

Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos has repeatedly called for the DREAM Act and the tax credit to be unlinked (he favors the latter, opposes the former).

On Thursday, new Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie echoed Skelos. "We don't believe that they should be linked either. That was the governor's choice," Heastie told reporters. "The governor did that. We're moving forward today with the Dream Act, and we hope that it will pass on its own merits in the State Senate. We're going to pass it as a standalone bill today, and we think it should be passed as a standalone bill." The Assembly passed the bill by a vote of 81-42. It is extremely unlikely the Senate will act on the legislation.

Cuomo previously treasured his ability to collegially negotiate on-time budgets with the Legislature and refused to make major policy points part of his budget. Cuomo's signature legislation has come this way - things like marriage equality, the SAFE Act, and his property tax cap were voted on separately from the budget.

Cuomo's predecessors relied heavily on including contentious issues in budget bills. In 2009, Paterson negotiated major reform of the state's Rockefeller Drug Laws as part of the budget. Last year, however, Cuomo bargained away the Moreland Commission on Public Corruption as part of his budget deal to win a package of ethics reforms that many called too limited and a "pilot" public financing system that only applied to the office of Comptroller and never took off.

Heastie told reporters on Thursday that Cuomo's inclusion of ethics reform in the budget "Kind of ties the Legislature's hands." Heastie and other legislators have recently called for major ethics reforms following the scandal that felled Silver. It appears Cuomo's tactics have them balking, but it might not matter.

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by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing

Sarsour, Brannan on Collision Course to Replace Gentile?


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Linda Sarsour, left, (photo: William Alatriste) & Justin Brannan (photo: Teri Brennan)


They're both big personalities, proud Democrats, and very Brooklyn, but the similarities may end there for Justin Brannan and Linda Sarsour, two politicos who could be on a collision course to replace City Council Member Vincent Gentile.

While it may be early to speculate candidates to supplant Gentile when he is term-limited out of the Council at the end of 2017, with the council member named the Democratic candidate for the May 5 special congressional election to replace Michael Grimm, the politics of the moment allow a hastened timeline. Plus, a Brannan-Sarsour match-up is rife with intrigue.

To be sure, Gentile is a major underdog against Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, the Republican nominee seeking to represent New York's 11th Congressional District. The district consists of Staten Island and part of Southern Brooklyn - just two months after winning re-election, Grimm resigned in January after pleading guility to felony tax evasion. But, if Gentile were to pull off an upset and his council seat opens up sooner rather than later, a contest featuring Brannan and Sarsour in a complex part of the city would be about as interesting as a city council race can get.

Before continuing, a disclaimer: neither Brannan nor Sarsour has explicitly said they plan to run for City Council and neither responded directly to Gotham Gazette requests to gauge their interest. But, Brannan is a long-serving aide to Gentile in the 43rd Council District, president of a local political club - the Bay Ridge Democrats - and as noted an ambassador of the community as there is. Politics comes easily to Brannan, who has both a large physical stature and outsize personality. For her part, Sarsour is a fierce political activist and organizer who sitting city council members have publicly encouraged to seek local elected office. She is also the president of a political club: the Muslim Democratic Club of New York. A long-time Bay Ridge resident, she has developed a national profile around issues related to race and religion, social and criminal justice.

Political insiders in Southern Brooklyn and elsewhere see a Brannan candidacy as a no-brainer and virtual given. While Sarsour's name is on people's minds, some wonder if she's more focused on national and international politics and less suited for or interested in the granular, day-to-day work of a city council member. She is raising a family in the community, though, and city council can provide both a platform and a springboard. They are not the only two names mentioned by people with knowledge of the area and its politics, but they are by far the most prominent and compelling.

While they share some similarities and even some semblance of a friendship, the differences between Brannan and Sarsour set the stage for great political theater were they to compete for the seat Gentile currently occupies - whether in a 2015 or 2016 special election or the regularly-scheduled 2017 election (or both).

Look no further than the presence each has on social media. Sarsour's Twitter profile reads, "Palestinian-American-Muslim, racial justice & civil rights activist, media commentator. Born & raised in Brooklyn." Her feed is full of personal thoughts and retweets dealing with conflict in the Middle East, racial bias in policing in cities around the country, and more. Meanwhile, Brannan takes to Facebook to make sure that Bay Ridge residents know when alternate side of the street parking regulations are suspended.

Referencing his wife and other community connections, Brannan's Twitter profile says, "Mr. @leighjewel, #BayRidge ambassador, @VGentile43 aide, prez @bayridgedems, small biz owner, Freemason, vegetarian, Brooklyn native, bottled water enthusiast." He's also a long-time animal welfare activist, which comes through in his public messaging and has ben a part of his political work.

Currently, Brannan is Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs for Gentile; a source close to Gentile's congressional campaign says that Brannan will be taking a leave of absence from Gentile's council office to run communications for the campaign. If Gentile were to defeat Donovan, Brannan may have to decide if running for City Council trumps working for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and spending some of the year in D.C. Those who know him well believe he'd jump at the chance to run for local elected office.

Sarsour, meanwhile, has given minimal indication that she sees the City Council in her future. She is currently the Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York and has been traveling the country speaking. Sarsour may get enough push to run, though, from her growing Muslim Democratic Club and from her allies already in the City Council. She has been a big supporter of the City's recently rolled out municipal identification card program and vocal behind members of the Council's progressive caucus on many issues. However, Sarsour is an outspoken critic of the NYPD and has not minced words regarding city elected officials when it comes to their support for Israel. In a race between Sarsour and Brannan, it reasons that Brannan would see widespread support from law enforcement unions and elected officials closest to them.

Depending on who you speak with, the district Brannan and Sarsour may compete to represent is on one hand a middle-class area with a lot of union families and many relatively conservative Democrats, or, on another hand, a changing area with a growing Arab American population. Likely, it is, of course, both and much more. It seems clear that neither Brannan nor Sarsour would have a hard time raising money to run an effective campaign. It also appears mostly clear that the seat will not be opening up before the end of Gentile's term, as any Brooklynite is seen as having an extremely uphill battle to win in the 11th Congressional District.

What is less clear is whether Brannan and Sarsour will each jump at the chance to replace Gentile, whenever he does indeed depart. 

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by Ben Max, editor, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax

In Albany, De Blasio Critiques Cuomo's Budget, Defines City's Needs


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Mayor de Blasio in Albany on Wednesday, with AM Herman Farrell (photo: @SKIPSCAM)


Speaking to state lawmakers "against the backdrop of a crisis," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave his response to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fiscal year 2016 budget proposal in Albany on Wednesday.

During a three-and-a-half hour testimony, de Blasio critiqued the governor's proposals and identified what he sees as the three main areas in which New York City most needs the State's funding help: education, affordable housing and homelessness, and infrastructure.

Like his mayoralty in general, de Blasio's testimony to the joint fiscal committees of the state Legislature was framed in terms of a fight against inequality, the defining crisis of our time, as the mayor says.

"We need to address this crisis and create a state and a city with opportunity for all," de Blasio said in delivering remarks, which were followed by a question-and-answer period with legislators.

In essence, de Blasio was in Albany to do two things: one, give his take on Cuomo's proposals to state legislators who will be lobbying their leadership as budget negotiations with the governor heat up; and two, explain what he sees as New York City's major financial needs. Last year, the mayor largely focused on securing money from the State for his pre-kindergarten program. This year, he cast a wider net.

De Blasio also took a harsher tone than last year, which was his first as mayor. On Cuomo's budget, which outlines an ambitious 2015 policy agenda, the mayor gave mixed reviews, though when he directly referenced the governor he was largely full of praise. All told, de Blasio directly spoke of the governor 18 times when giving his prepared statement and on 12 of those occasions he thanked Cuomo or gave his policies outright compliments. Examples of this include around Cuomo's push to 'raise the age' of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18 years old and the governor's support of mayoral control of schools.

Twice de Blasio gave the governor some credit, but said that he was not going far enough - one example being de Blasio's statement that he is pleased the governor is including renters in his property tax relief proposal, but that the "level of benefit it provides to residents of New York City should be raised."

And on four occasions de Blasio gave clear criticism of the governor's plans. His harshest words came around a Cuomo proposal to cut aid for homelessness prevention. De Blasio said legislators "should reject an ill-considered proposal in the governor's budget for homeless programs: a 10% New York City-only cut for Emergency Assistance for Families, which would effectively mean a $22.5 million cut to our homeless prevention programs. That money would provide shelter for 500 families for a year."

De Blasio also directly opposed or criticized Cuomo's call for increasing the weight of standardized testing in teacher evaluations, his push to allow state takeover of the most struggling schools, and for including far too little MTA funding in his budget.

As de Blasio outlined his own priorities around fighting inequality and areas in which he says the City needs the most funding attention from the State, other implicit differences with the governor were clear. For example, de Blasio is pushing Cuomo and other state lawmakers to significantly increase education aid to the city.

De Blasio repeatedly implored members of the state Senate and Assembly to push for fair funding for New York City and to treat favorably key pieces of policy essential to the mayor's agenda. To underscore his points, the mayor referred to a jarring statistic: in New York City, 46 percent of the population is at or near the poverty level.

To reduce sky-high poverty and homelessness and to improve opportunities available to all New Yorkers, de Blasio says that the City - with help from the State - must improve its education system and ensure the availability of affordable housing.

To accomplish these major feats, de Blasio said that the State must come through with $2.6 billion in additional education funding that the City is owed from the Campaign for Fiscal Equity ruling and an end to the policy of vacancy decontrol of rent stabilized apartments. He also called for $32 million in increased state aid for subsidized housing for the formerly homeless or those highly at risk of not being able to afford their home - this request is separate from de Blasio's warning that the $22 million cut to homelessness prevention must not be made.

The mayor also pushed more state aid for the city's public housing, saying, "We are asking the State come up with $300 million for health and safety in NYCHA developments – which the City would match."

Citing several ways in which his administration has moved to improve the education system in New York City, de Blasio asked state officials to make mayoral control of city schools "permanent," rather than subject to renewal authorization every few years. Cuomo has called for a three-year extension of mayoral control - the current policy expires this year.

As de Blasio spoke to members of the Legislature, he was, of course, also addressing the governor (who, for much of de Blasio's testimony was holding his own public event, a cabinet meeting). While Cuomo was not present for or tuned in to de Blasio's remarks, he is sure to learn of the mayor's statements. The two were said to be meeting on Wednesday, but it was unclear exactly when and where that was happening.

When discussing education, de Blasio sought to appeal to Cuomo and other reform-minded officials in explaining how the City has moved to push incompetent teachers out of the profession and turn around failing schools. But, de Blasio expressed a difference of opinion with the governor's education proposals by saying that increasing the importance of standardized tests is counterproductive and in rebuffing the governor's call for the State to take over the city's most troubled schools. On the former, de Blasio said that "standardized tests should not be the largest part of a full evaluation of a student or a teacher;" on the latter, he declared that mayoral control makes very clear who is accountable for those schools and that in 2017, city voters will give their assessment of his work at the ballot box.

Notably, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who testified immediately after de Blasio, told legislators that he favors mayoral control of schools, but that he also wants to see a tweak to the law in which the city's Department of Education (DOE) would be held to the same contract procurement standards as other city agencies, thus allowing his office greater oversight. "For too long, the DOE has answered to no one when it comes to procurement," Stringer said. "With billions of dollars at stake, cutting corners on procurement is bad for taxpayers and bad for our children."

Stringer also had harsh words for the governor's tying an increase in school aid for districts around the state to his education reform policies, calling it "bad budgeting."

De Blasio and Stringer both praised Cuomo for including the DREAM Act in his budget - both have championed the policy that would allow students in the country illegally to access college tuition aid. The governor has tied the act to another policy, a tax credit for education-related donations, which is meant to make the package appeal to Democrats who want to see the DREAM Act passed and Republicans who favor the tax credit.

Both the mayor and the comptroller are calling for a larger increase to the minimum wage than the governor outlined in his budget, even though Cuomo has proposed increasing it at a faster rate than the current law dictates. De Blasio called for a "formal indexing model" and local control, and Stringer echoed the call for New York City to set it's own wage and said that that wage should soon be $15 per hour.

De Blasio told legislators, "The current minimum wage simply does not do enough for workers in New York City. That is why, with your help, we must raise New York City's wage to more than $13 per hour in 2016. And index it to inflation, which would bring us to a projected $15 per hour by 2019." He did not reference Cuomo's less ambitious model.

In closing, de Blasio asked his Albany colleagues to join him on his crusade. "Through the choices you make about spending on education, housing, and infrastructure," he said, "you can reduce inequality and increase opportunity."

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by Ben Max, editor, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax

Supporters of Veteran Treatment Courts Look to Manhattan to Join Other Boroughs


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photo via @USArmy


NEW YORK—Manhattan has never been labeled "the forgotten borough" - that moniker belongs to Staten Island. But when it comes to Veteran Treatment Courts, Manhattan has found itself in the rare position of being left out.

By the time winter gives way to spring this year, a new court house in Staten Island will open and, in a first for the borough, it will include a Veteran Treatment Court. The court will offer a specially designed program to help mentor and treat military veterans in the court system. Not every veteran qualifies for the rigorous 12-24 month drug treatment course, but the results have, thus far, been positive elsewhere.

The program, started in 2008 in Buffalo, has been a hit, with 230 sites opening across the country. In New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx all currently have active veteran treatment programs. With the full support from District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr., Staten Island will start its program shortly after the new courthouse opens, slated for around the end of March, according to testimony from Executive Assistant Attorney Timothy Koller.

That will leave Manhattan as the only borough without a Veteran Treatment Court—and there is not a clear answer as to why.

At a City Council hearing last fall advocates pointed to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance as the reason. The discussion, along with persistent advocacy, prompted Wednesday's Council oversight hearing on the subject. Vance was invited, according to council staff, however he did appear before the veteran affairs committee.

Instead, Vance's office issued the following statement, sent out via its twitter account: "Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to our veterans. As I have publicly stated before, I fully support any initiative by the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to create a full-fledged Veterans Treatment Court in Manhattan. Last fall, senior members of my office met with representatives of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to express our support for a Veterans Court. I welcome the opportunity to partner with OCA on this important initiative."

Gotham Gazette contacted OCA, which oversees and funds the courts in New York State, for comment about why, if the district attorney supports the program, there is not a Veteran Treatment Court in Manhattan.

"As of now, we have every intention of starting a Veteran Court in New York County," David Bookstaver, spokesman for OCA said by phone Wednesday. "We look forward to working with District Attorney Vance to that end."

Bookstaver did not provide a timetable as to when that would happen.

In a hearing that lasted over three hours, there wasn't a single individual, group, or elected official that spoke out against Veteran Treatment Courts.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer threw her full support behind the program. "There is nothing that should stand in the way of the establishment of a Veterans Court in Manhattan," Brewer said in her testimony. "I am truly delighted and encouraged by the statement of support by District Attorney Vance, and look forward to working with him to make the Manhattan Veterans Court a reality."

Public Advocate Letitia James was unable to attend, but sent a representative who served in the military to read her statement. James' statement said that the public advocate had written a letter to Judge Jonathan Lippman, Chief Judge of the State of New York, "to request that the State Unified Court System reassess the feasibility of erecting a Veteran Treatment Court in Manhattan."

Judge Lippman has given his blessing to open the courts in each of the other boroughs. With overwhelming support, it begs the question: what is the hold up in Manhattan?

OCA would not elaborate further on the record, but Public Advocate James provided a theory in her testimony.

"From my understanding, the only barrier to opening such a court in Manhattan is funding for staff," James said. "This is why I will be reaching out to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance to inquire if any settlement monies that have come to the State of New York could be used to fund staffing."

Funding would need to be provided for two or three staff members and some minimal administrative costs. In other places, the judges that preside over veterans' cases are judges already in the court system and they only hear cases in Veteran Treatment Court once a week. The Brooklyn Treatment Court runs off of a $500,000 grant, according to testimony at the council hearing.

OCA, which would have to provide funding for the new program, is funded itself by state and federal money. Federal grants to pay for starting up a Veteran Treatment Court are currently available through the United States Bureau of Justice Assistance.

James said she recommended OCA submit an application for this grant funding to pay for a program in Manhattan. Gotham Gazette asked OCA if it had done so, but the spokesperson was unable to provide that information by press time.

Last summer Gotham Gazette spoke with Valerie Raine, who was the acting statewide drug court coordinator for New York's Unified Court System. She said after seeing drastic cuts in funding and staffing in 2011 there is lingering concern about applying for grants to support new staff positions.

"When times were better, you could pretty much count on when the grant funds ran out—assuming the program did well—the court would assume the continuation of that position," Raine said last summer. "But that is no longer a guarantee. Funding is never in perpetuity."

It is still unclear why Manhattan is the lone borough yet to act, though.

For council members in support of adding a Veteran Treatment Court in Manhattan, they can't offer much budgetary help, as the City does not fund OCA. Council members could help fund the veteran mentors that are part of the Veteran Treatment Court system, positions that nearly everyone who testified at the council hearing deemed critical to the success of the program.

The mentors walk veterans through their treatment and provide peer-to-peer mentorship, much like in the military. The mentors are currently strictly voluntary and unpaid.

"It is essential Veteran Treatment Courts become available in all five boroughs," Council Member Eric Ulrich, chair of the veterans committee said on Wednesday. "A veteran in every borough deserves a second chance and the same accommodations another veteran receives in any other borough."

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by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

Juvenile Justice Committee Examines Alternatives to Detention


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Council Member Fernando Cabrera at Monday's hearing (photo: William Alatriste)


NEW YORK - The City Council Committee on Juvenile Justice met Monday morning to hear testimony from community agencies offering alternatives to detention for youth who commit minor crimes.

The discussion, organized into three panels, covered a less talked about area of the justice system: the one involving individuals under 16 years of age who commit low-to-moderate-level offenses, such as shoplifting, fighting in school, or smoking marijuana. Council members, led by committee chair Fernando Cabrera, called the oversight hearing to assess both programming and the process by which the City is contracting with service providers.

In a three-hour session, representatives of several organizations based throughout New York City shared their visions for a progressive juvenile justice system in which young offenders, in particular those who are not charged with violent felonies, would not be confined in detention centers but rehabilitated through a series of community programs.

The statements of service providers who contract with the City echoed and expanded on those made by emissaries of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), who testified to start the hearing.

Cabrera and other committee members liked what they heard, but also pressed for more information, especially around the City's system for evaluating and contracting with providers.

"We are working together to brainstorm and implement reforms to steer nonviolent youth offenders in particular away from detention and into programs and services which we believe will reduce recidivism," said City Council Member Fernando Cabrera, who chairs the committee. One thing that became evident during the hearing, though, is that it is less than clear which providers are the best at limiting repeat offenses by the young people they serve.

Cabrera and other council members asked representatives of the de Blasio administration about the selection criteria the City uses to recruit new service providers or retain ongoing partners, and how the performance of their services are monitored over time.

MOCJ reps replied that vendors are chosen based on their proposals, in which they outline their experience and efficiency in the field of juvenile justice, as well as their connection with local courts. Much of the data on the effectiveness of programming is reliant on self-reporting at this point, though, which raises red flags for council members and others interested in assessing if the right providers are being given contracts.

Rev. Wendy Andrea Calderón-Payne, the Executive Director at Bronx Connect, a community-based alternative-to-incarceration program for court-involved youth, pointed at her organization's low recidivism rate of 7 percent to prove that the facility she runs is effective. Bronx Connect, however, did not have its contract with the City renewed through the most recent round of procurement.

Calderon-Payne stressed how her center is a source of jobs for the community around it, pointing out the importance of hiring personnel coming from the same environment as the children they serve. "We come from our youth. My staff grew up where our youth grew up," Calderón-Payne said, "and that's one of the reasons I feel like we had this overwhelming success."

At the hearing, Cabrera, who represents part of the Bronx, appeared focused, in part, on the City's shift away from Bronx Connect. He pressed MOCJ reps to clarify the process by which they selected their five major contracts. The City insisted that a fair process is being used.

There are currently five centers around New York City, one in each borough, which are coordinated by the City and that have the capability of hosting children coming with Family Court sentences. These offenders are under 16 years of age and while they have mandated sentences, they do not live at the facilities, thus "alternatives to detention."

Existing facilities are relatively small. The largest ones, located in Brooklyn and The Bronx, can each host 50 children at a time; the smallest one, in Staten Island, only 15.

But the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice has been trying to open up bids for a larger number of providers with the aim of increasing the total capacity of enrollment for youth at risk.

Alex Crohn, General Counsel at Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, said the entire network of providers is currently able to handle nearly 600 children across the five boroughs every year.

Michelle Sviridoff, the Deputy Criminal Justice Coordinator, said the possibility of raising the age of criminality from 16 to 18 - which Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing - would bring hundreds of additional youth to the system.

"We think it's important to maintain the capacity we started with," Sviridoff said, "at a time in which the demands for these programs may be growing."

In New York, one of the only two states that tries youth in adult criminal courts once they turn 16, the consequences of a minor offense can dramatically affect the future of an adolescent, often in grim ways.

Recently, Gov. Cuomo announced new legislation that would gradually raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18 by 2018, a step toward a juvenile justice system overhaul he claims will reduce recidivism and save state taxpayer money.

The reform would re-route hundreds of children involved in criminal courts to family courts, which will then assign them to programs based in special centers for at-risk youth.

In such centers, children are monitored in strict coordination with their schools and their families will have a role in the rehabilitation.

Although reform legislation is likely to encounter opposition from a number of State Senate Republicans, elected officials in New York City seems to be in tune on a progressive agenda that would save hundreds of children an experience behind bars.

"In the Council, we are overwhelmingly for raising the age," Cabrera told Gotham Gazette after the meeting. Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito have both come out in support of raising the age, as have many other city electeds.

Community-based providers who offer alternatives to detention believe the issue of the age of criminality is crucial in reforming a system widely considered outdated and ineffective.

"We forget that 16 to 17 year olds are not adults yet, and treating them as adults doesn't help anybody. It just makes things worse," said Sally Sanchez, the director of Queens Engagement Strategies for Teens, an organization offering after-school programs for youth at risk. "What we do is helping children before they get further involved in the system."

[Related: With 'Raise the Age,' Cuomo Continues Overhaul of Juvenile Justice System]

***
by Marco Poggio, Gotham Gazette
@GothamGazette

Tenant Protection Bill Appears Hostage in Women's Equality Standoff


cuomo wep

Gov. Cuomo at a campaign stop (photo: @WomensEqParty)


A bill that would make it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants based on their source of income appears to have become a pawn in the Legislature's battle over Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Women's Equality Agenda.

The bill would update existing law that prevents landlords from discriminating against tenants based on race, sex, and other factors to include source of income.

The measure is designed to help tenants who pay for housing through public assistance, alimony, and child support. Sen. Daniel Squadron, who has sponsored the bill in the Senate since 2010, has focused specifically on how the bill would help disabled New Yorkers who receive assistance from Social Services Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing vouchers.

Gov. David Paterson vetoed the bill when it successfully passed both Democratically controlled houses of the Legislature in 2010. The Senate has failed to act on the legislation since then and this year the measure is tied up in the fight over the Women's Equality Act (WEA). The Republican controlled Senate voted on and passed individual planks of the WEA earlier this year, excluding the measure that codifies Roe v. Wade abortion protections into state law. Cuomo and the Democratically controlled Assembly refuse to pass elements of the WEA individually, insisting that it is all ten or none.

One of the WEA measures prohibits housing discrimination based on domestic violence status and creates a task force to study the impacts of source of income on housing.

"The good news is that this issue is one that folks on both sides of the aisle has expressed support for," said Squadron of the source of income protection. "The bad news is that the bill that came up for a vote this year only creates a study."

The Assembly has refused to vote on individual sections of the WEA in an attempt to force the Senate to consider the controversial abortion plank, but the results seems to be that the rent discrimination bill is not likely to come to a vote in the Senate any time soon.

Assembly Member Marcos Crespo sponsored the Assembly version of the housing discrimination bill last year. His office said that he was set to introduce the bill again this year, but offered no thoughts on the fate of the legislation.

"We really don't need a study to see there is a problem," said Michael McKee of Tenant's PAC. "It is so like government to commission a study, debate the study, and kick it on down the road."

The office of Republican Sen. Joseph Robach, who sponsored the Senate bill that creates a study on source of income discrimination, did not return calls for comment.

The City Council passed source of income discrimination legislation in 2008 only to have it vetoed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Council then overrode the veto.

In 2009, the Legal Aid Society launched a lawsuit against 30 landlords who turned away Section 8 vouchers from current tenants. Lawyers for the landlords argued the city law only applied to future tenants, but the courts found the law applied to current and future tenants. The Rent Stabilization Association (a deceptively named landlord group) has insisted in a number of statements over the years that landlords simply don't want to take part in Section 8 voucher systems because of bureaucratic delays, not because they want to discriminate against poor or black or Latino renters.

Judith Goldiner of The Legal Aid Society said that enforcement of the law was lax under the Bloomberg administration. "The Bloomberg administration was opposed to the legislation and we didn't see much action from the City's Human Rights Commission. But now that we have a new mayor we hope they will be much more aggressive on enforcement."

Goldiner said she believes the influence of the real estate industry's massive campaign donations has kept the State from adopting the law. "We have source of income legislation in the city, in other municipalities and multiple other states, and the world has not come to an end," she said.

Goldiner said that if the State does adopt protections against source of income discrimination, Legal Aid would not likely become involved in enforcement as it did in the city, however she noted that a number of organizations across the state could get involved. She hopes the law would enable tenants who receive government assistance "greater mobility" because they wouldn't have to be afraid of being rejected by landlords outside the city.

Tenant advocates insist that the issue has become more of a problem as communities become further gentrified and landlords look to push out low-income renters.

In August of last year Attorney General Eric Schneiderman reached settlements with a number of landlords and rental agencies for discriminating against renters with vouchers in both New York City and Buffalo. Buffalo is one of a few localities outside of the city that have source of income laws on the books.

"Discrimination comes in many forms, but denying a home to someone because they receive government assistance is one of the most insidious, having a disproportionate effect on black and Hispanic individuals," said Schneiderman at the time. "No one should be turned away from an apartment based on a lawful income source, and we will continue to fight to ensure that everyone is treated equally under the law, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income."

***
by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing

Eyeing Health Care Obligations, Garodnick Calls for More Responsible Budgeting


garodnick pensions

Council Member Garodnick at Monday's press conference (photo: @DanGarodnick)


New York City Council Member Dan Garodnick is proposing charter reforms of the City's budgeting process to fund health care obligations to retirees.

Accompanied on the steps of City Hall by city council colleagues and representatives from the Citizens Budget Commission and Citizens Union, Garodnick announced legislation that would assign funds from the annual City budget to the Retiree Health Benefits Trust, which was established in 2006 to meet long-term health care needs for City employees.

The Trust holds just $2.4 billion, 2.5 percent of the City's overall health care obligations, which stand at $92.5 billion. "It doesn't come due all at once for sure, but it does come due," said Garodnick of the massive sum.

Under the new proposal, the City would have an annual obligation to deposit 5 percent of the value of the year's estimated costs of health care for retirees. In 2014, the cost of retiree health care benefits was $2.1 billion. If in place, the proposal would therefore have required the City to place at least $105 million into the trust. "$105 million is a spit in the bucket relative to our obligations but it will grow over time and it is an important reminder to budget makers that this fund needs to go in one direction, up," Garodnick said at Monday's press conference. "And of course this is a floor, not a ceiling, we can always put in more."

In 2006 and 2007, a total of $2.5 billion was deposited in the Trust. Since then, funds were intermittently withdrawn to help with budget deficits over the years as the recession set in. Another $864 million was put in the fund last year, according to Garodnick's office. "This trust fund has since its creation been used essentially as a rainy day fund," Garodnick told Gotham Gazette. "You put some money in when you have it, you take it out when you need it. That's how it was used, that's how it was anticipated in past budgets."

That approach, Garodnick and others argue, is leaving the City and its retirees on shaky ground. Putting funds into the Trust each year could prevent tax increases, radical service cuts or layoffs in central services. Mayor Bill de Blasio's recently unveiled preliminary budget plan for fiscal year 2016 (which begins July 1, 2015) does not withdraw from the Trust, but it does not add any funds either.

"The thing with trust funds is, if you don't put in the funds there is no reason for any trust," Garodnick said.

Civic watchdogs approve of the proposal, formal legislation for which is currently being drafted and will eventually be put to a public ballot referendum if it passes through the City Council.

"This proposal allows the fund to grow in a steady, predictable way and limits any unnecessary withdrawals," said Maria Doulis, Director of City Studies at the Citizens Budget Commission. Doulis stressed that New York City's $92.5 billion health care liability is higher than those of all other state and local governments except California's.

Dick Dadey, Executive Director of good government group Citizens Union, said the proposal is an important step in honoring the City's commitment to employees and retirees. "Citizens Union sees this as good planning, responsible budgeting, and good government," he said.

Garodnick co-sponsored the bill that created the Trust in 2006. But the initial legislation did not establish firm rules to safeguard the funds. Now, health care costs have risen nearly 75 percent to $2.3 billion from $1.2 billion when the Trust was first created, according to Garodnick, and it's necessary to "put some guardrails up here to protect this money because our obligations are clearly growing and our liabilities are enormous - and that's why we're making this proposal today to ensure this fund is going in one direction."

The proposal does ensure that in times when City revenues are less robust, deposits to the fund could be reduced or eliminated. Specifically, if tax revenues only increase between zero and two percent, the required contribution to the fund would be halved, while no contribution would be required if revenues decrease.

The final protection the legislation will put in place would limit access to the fund, except in times of financial emergencies, to prevent layoffs and budget cuts, or when health care costs spike unexpectedly. The proposal would be designed to allow for "rigidity, but not complete inflexibility," Garodnick told reporters.

Council Members Rosie Mendez and Ben Kallos were on hand Monday to support Garodnick's proposal. "There's a reason we're out here in the cold today - because we don't want, in the future, New York City retirees to be left out in the cold," said Mendez.

"Fiscal responsibility means setting aside funding for our health benefits when they accrue," Kallos said. "We can't leave a $92 billion health obligation debt to the next generation."

Other Council members have also pledged their support, according to a press release from Garodnick's office. They include Costa Constantinides, Rafael Espinal, Karen Koslowitz, James Vacca, and Mark Weprin. As Garodnick's bill is written in full and introduced to the Council, he will surely be looking to add supporters and sponsors.

On Monday, Garodnick concluded his comments by emphasizing the importance of acting sooner rather than later: "President Roosevelt said, 'Too often in recent history, liberal governments have been wrecked on the rocks of loose fiscal policy.' I am part of this liberal government and while the rocks may be a little way before us, they grow closer and larger every year."

***
by Samar Khurshid, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid

Note: Gotham Gazette is an independent publication of Citizens Union Foundation, sister organization of Citizens Union

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, February 23


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

As we look ahead, it appears this week will be dominated by Mayor Bill de Blasio's Wednesday trip to Albany to testify at a Joint Legislative Budget Hearing. Comptroller Scott Stringer and other city officials will be heading to the capital as well. In advance of this testimony, it has become clear that there are several significant policy areas on which the mayor and Governor Andrew Cuomo are at odds. It will be especially interesting to see what tack de Blasio takes in addressing the Legislature and talking with the media this week. On Friday, Cuomo released his 30-day budget amendments and took several bold steps to ensure that his demands around ethics and education reforms are met. While de Blasio is sure not to object to Cuomo's ethics plans, he and Cuomo are definitively opposed on key aspects of education policy.

Meanwhile, in backdrop news, former Assembly Speaker (and current rank-and-file member) Sheldon Silver was indicted on Thursday and will be arraigned on Tuesday. His replacement, Carl Heastie, has given more and more indication of his policy priorities and his leadership style and will be the focus of much attention as budget negotiations heat up. Heastie will be a key ally of de Blasio's, of course - at least to the extent that the mayor is able to ensure the new speaker helps push his agenda when Heastie whips his chamber and negotiates the budget with Cuomo and Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos.

Other storylines we're watching closely:

  • After a federal judget forced his hand, Gov. Cuomo set a date for the special election in New York's 11th Congressional District (a seat representing Staten Island and part of Brooklyn vacated by disgraced former-Rep. Michael Grimm) - May 5. We know that Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan will be the Republican candidate for the special election, but the Democrat has yet to be chosen by the county party heads (partly because a number of leading candidates took themselves out of consideration). Word is that Brooklyn City Council Member Vincent Gentile is the most likely to get the nod at this point. We should know more early in the week. May 5th will also be the special election to replace former Assembly Member Karim Camara, who stepped down from his Brooklyn seat at the end of last week to take a position in Cuomo's administration. Watch for news on that race too.

And few other interesting highlights before we give you the day-by-day rundown:

  • It's Social Media Week in New York City, "Reimagining Human Connectivity" is the tag line, #SMW15 the hashtag, and organizers want you to know that you can "Hear Over 300 Global Thought Leaders Share Industry Insights."
  • Public Advocate Letitia James is kicking off her five-borough town hall series on mayoral control of schools this week. The first event is on Wednesday evening in Brooklyn. Details below.
  • The state's gaming board siting committee is releasing its final report on the three casinos it already (recently) approved and reopening bidding for a Southern Tier gaming facility. Meeting is Friday.

A lot happening all over the city, with many events to be aware of, see our daily 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
Monday morning, 10 a.m., Governor Cuomo will discuss his 2015 Opportunity Agenda at the Malcom X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center in Manhattan.

At 11 a.m. at City Hall: Council Member Garodnick, Citizens Union, and Citizens Budget Commission "will announce a charter revision proposal to require that funds be set aside in the budget to pay for our known $90 billion in health care obligations for city workers. The City created the Retiree Health Benefits Trust in 2006 with the purpose of putting aside funds to tackle our long term obligations. Through the budget process, funds have been added and withdrawn sporadically since its creation, and today it has funds for only 2% of New York City's known health care obligations."

Also on Monday, at 12:30 p.m., "New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer will be joined by advocacy organizations and community leaders outside of Kings County Housing Court to discuss inequality issues in housing courts across all five boroughs." [Read our recent report on the push to provide legal representation to tenants facing eviction]

At 3 p.m. on Monday at City Hall, "Mayor de Blasio will host a Minority and Women's Business Enterprise Stakeholder Meeting," which will be closed to the press. "Following the meeting, the Mayor will hold a media availability."

Monday's City Council schedule will include a Committee on Juvenile Justice oversight hearing regarding "examining New York City's alternative to detention services"; and an oversight hearing of the Committee on Higher Education on a resolution to promote the "President's Free Community College Plan" and call "upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation funding the State's obligation under the plan."

There will be a "Public Hearing on Queens Budget Priorities" on Monday morning at Queens Borough Hall: "Borough President Melinda Katz will chair an upcoming Borough Board public hearing on the Mayor's Fiscal Year 2016 Preliminary Expense and Capital Budgets...The purpose of the hearing will be to obtain the views and recommendations of the Community Boards, community stakeholders and the residents of Queens on the proposals contained in the Mayor's FY 2016 Preliminary Budget. This input will be used to develop the Queens Borough Board's budget priorities for FY 2016."

A new Safe Horizon Child Advocacy Center opens in the Bronx Monday: "Child Advocacy Centers respond to the most severe cases, striving to help children reclaim the hope and confidence taken from them."

"Lawmakers and advocates will observe court proceedings at the Varick Street Immigration Court, where immigrants who couldn't have afforded legal counsel will be provided attorneys through NYIFUP (New York Immigrant Family Unity Project)." Event will include Assembly Member Francisco Moya, advocates, and others.

TEDxBroadway 2015: Data analyst and civic technologist Ben Wellington, among other distinguished guests, will appear. "TEDxBroadway was founded on one central question: "What's the best Broadway can be?" Now in its fourth year, TEDxBroadway brings together some of the most interesting people in academics, entertainment, marketing, science and beyond to create, share and stimulate dialogue about the current and future state of the Broadway community."

Monday evening, Queens BP Melinda Katz is hosting a 2015 Black History Month Celebration: "you are cordially invited to celebrate Black History Month with Borough President Melinda Katz this Monday, where we will honor several distinguished New Yorkers and present the winners of this year's African American Heritage Scholarship Awards."

At 6 p.m., "former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly speaks at the Citizens Committee 40th Anniversary gala, Gotham Hall", Manhattan - according to City & State NY.

Also Monday evening Comptroller Stringer will appear on PBS Nightly Business Report at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday
At 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Comptroller Stringer will give his analysis of Mayor de Blasio's preliminary FY2016 budget.

Also on Tuesday morning at Greater Allen AME Church of New York in Jamaica, "NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton will be the keynote speaker on police relations with the African-American community at the Press of Southeast Queens and Metroplus Health Plan Black History Awards Breakfast. New York State's first African-American Governor, David Paterson, will be among those receiving an award and delivering remarks. Congressman Gregory Meeks will also be among the speakers."

Tuesday's City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises to review and consider land use applications; a meeting of the the Subcommittee on Libraries jointly with the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, for an oversight hearing on "supporting Public Libraries in the City's Ten-Year Capital Plan"; a meeting of the Committee on Consumer Affairs regarding a bill relating to "Signs, posters or placards that advertise gas prices"; a meeting of the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses to consider proposed land use applications; a meeting of the Committee on Contracts with the Committee on Housing and Buildings for a joint oversight hearing regarding "The Mayor's Housing Plan: Contractor Employment Practices and Accountability"; a meeting of the Committee on Aging for an oversight hearing regarding "Strengthening NORCs and Exploring New Models for NORCs in New York City."

Tuesday morning, "Join Senator José M. Serrano and Congressman José E. Serrano for their Annual Black History Month Celebration!" 10 a.m., The Bronx Museum of the Arts.

"Beyond the Rage - Strengthening Police-Community Relations" will be Tuesday afternoon at The New School. "Angry protests of the grand jury "no bill" in a police chokehold death on Staten Island; officers turning their backs in protest against Mayor de Blasio at the funerals of two officers gunned down in Brooklyn; the mayor's first year in office ended with emotions high and good will in short supply in the vital area of public safety and police-community relations. Now can the mayor and the police department find the reset button? Can stronger police-community relations be achieved as part of keeping the city safe? Join a thoughtful panel discussion that seeks to chart a path forward." Panelists: First Deputy Commissioner Ben Tucker, NYPD; Bob Gangi, director and founder of the Police Reform Organizing Project; Peter Moskos, associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Chris Watler, project director, Harlem Community Justice Center; A Representative from the Civilian Complaint Review Board; moderated by: Jeff Smith, assistant professor of politics and advocacy, Miano School for International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy.

Tuesday night will be a Lunar New Year Celebration with the City Comptroller, Scott M. Stringer - 6 p.m., Surrogate's Courthouse.

Tuesday evening, Brooklyn Council Member Laurie Cumbo and State Sen. Jesse Hamilton host "Know Your Rights Housing Forum" - "The Housing Forum is an opportunity for tenants to learn more about rent stabilization rules, HPD building code enforcement, housing court, rent protections for seniors, new rental lotteries, Section 8, tenants' rights and much more."

Council Member Andy King and The Safety Net Project will host their fourth in a series of "Know Your Rights" trainings on Tuesday evening in the Bronx. "Legal staff will be on hand to answer questions regarding NYCHA tenant rights, accessing SNAP (food stamp) benefits and public assistance."

Tuesday evening will also see "A Caregiver's Forum" with Council Member Deutsch and Council Speaker Viverito.

Also on Tuesday evening, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will attend the Urban Assembly Annual Benefit Dinner at the New York Public Library Celeste Bartos Forum.

Wednesday
As we mentioned, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city representatives will be in Albany on Wednesday to testify at joint legislative budget hearing: Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2015-2016 Executive Budget Proposal: Local Government.

Senate Session on Wednesday, 11 a.m.; and committees: a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs at 11:30 a.m. will consider a variety of bills; a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary also at 11:30 a.m. on several bills; a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance at 12:30 p.m. on a variety of bills; a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Children and Families at 1:00 p.m. on a variety of social services laws; a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday's City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Contracts jointly with the Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services, the Committee on Public Safety, the Committee on Oversight and Investigations and the Committee on Technology for oversight: "Examining the New York City Department of Investigation Report on the City's Program to Overhaul the 911 System"; a meeting of the Committee on Health to consider a new bill relating to animal shelters and to evaluate "Animal Care and Control: Recent Progress and Opportunities for Improvement in the NYC Animal Shelter System"; a meeting of the Committee on Transportation for an oversight hearing "examining the State of the Port Authority's New York City Bus Stations, Progress of Renovations, and Impacts on Surrounding Communities"; a meeting of the Committee on Education for oversight on "ensuring English Language Learners Receive Appropriate Educational Services" and to consider a "Resolution in support of the New York State Education Department's Elementary and Secondary Education Act Waiver Renewal request that newly arrived English Language Learners be exempted from participating in the English language arts assessments for two years"; and a meeting of the Committee on Veterans jointly with the Committee on Courts and Legal Services and the Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Disability Services for an oversight hearing "evaluating the City's Veterans Treatment Courts" [Read our report on the fact that veterans treatment courts only exist in three boroughs].

"Adam Clayton Powell IV will kick off his congressional campaign with a fund-raiser on Feb. 25, at the Poet's Den Theater and Gallery, at 108th Street in Manhattan, he said in an email to supporters," via Capital New York.

Part of Social Media Week: Rev. Jesse Jackson: Why Diversity in Tech Matters, Wednesday morning: "Civic rights leader, Reverend Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is tackling diversity at notoriously homogenous tech giants such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and eBay to publish reports detailing their employee demographics, encouraging them to be transparent about their workforce diversity and most importantly, fix it by find new ways to create inclusion...Interviewing Reverend Jackson will be Anil Dash, who is cofounder and CEO of ThinkUp, a new app that offers deeper insights into our social networks.

Wednesday evening: "Please join the New York League of Conservation Voters for its Annual PAC Fundraiser in Albany" with Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle.

Wednesday evening will see an MTA Second Avenue Subway Public Workshop: "The MTA is hosting a workshop regarding the construction of the Second Avenue Subway. The goal of this workshop is to maintain an open dialogue between the MTA and the community at large. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage project representatives about current construction activity and the initiatives implemented by the MTA as a direct response to community input from previous public workshops." [Read our new report on the effects of 2nd Avenue Subway construction]

Public Advocate Letitia James will host the first in a series of Mayoral Control Forums: "Our Schools, Our Voices - Town Hall on Education, Mayoral Control and Parent/Community Engagement" on Wednesday evening in Brooklyn. "New Yorkers are encourage to come and share their thoughts about mayoral control and how modifications to the law can help to improve our education system. This is an opportunity to discuss what real community and parent engagement should look like moving forward."

Wednesday evening in Albany: a "Why She Ran" event: "Women make up half the population -- but only 24% of our state legislature. In fact, women are underrepresented as elected officials at all levels of government. Join a panel of women in office for a discussion about the challenges we face in politics and the importance of tackling those challenges head on. And don't be surprised when we suggest that you run too!" Event is sponsored by the Working Families Party and co-sponsored by WFP affiliates Capital District Citizen Action and 1199SEIU.

Digital.NYC Five-Borough Tour continues in the Bronx: "Panelists will discuss their experiences, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of startup business in the City." Panelists include: Majora Carter: Co-founder, Startup Box; Pedro Torres Picón: Founder, Quotidian Ventures; Kathryn Finney: Founder & Managing Director, DigitalUndivided; Keith Klain: CEO, Doran Jones; Issie Lapowsky: Staff Writer, Wired."

Part of Social Media Week, at Civic Hall on Wednesday evening: "Political Connection: Does the Internet Really Change Power Politics?" - "At the end of the day, no discussion about the power of connection is complete with how it alters the interaction between the upwardly mobile, their governments and their leaders. In the United States in particular, there is a sense of an increasing gulf between elected representatives – responsive to money and special interests – and an increasingly connected, vocal, but marginalized citizenry. Political Connection takes a deep dive into the roots of American voter apathy, our byzantine political culture and the levers of power in the U.S. David Moore and Benjamin Yee will lead a group discussion, using attendees' experiences with, and perceptions of American politics to illuminate both the problems facing our democracy and the practical underpinnings for collective action in the 21st century."

Citizen Schools' education event Wednesday evening, a Google Tech Talk: "Join us to hear how the New York City public school system works and the important issues that affect our schools, students, and families. Through a moderated conversation and Q&A format, Ben Shuldiner, Distinguished Lecturer of Education Leadership at Hunter College, will share straightforward explanations of topics such as the landscape of public school options in New York City, the middle school and high school choice processes, and an overview of the students and communities served by the Department of Education."

On Wednesday evening, Manhattan BP Brewer will attend and make remarks at the Northside Center for Child Development annual Harlem Jazz Nite celebration.

Wednesday evening will see the city Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) vote on Mayor de Blasio's lifting of the student cell phone ban.

Thursday
Thursday's City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Finance to consider a new bill in relation to "Establishment of the South Shore BID, Staten Island" and the second City Council Stated Meeting of the month, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

According to Assembly Speaker Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Skelos, Thursday is the deadline for the Senate and Assembly Economic / Revenue Reports to be released and will be the Joint Revenue Forecasting Conference.

There will be a Joint Legislative Public Hearing on 2015-2016 Executive Budget Proposal: Topic "Public Protection."

State Senate Session is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday. Thursday's State Senate hearings will include a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation will consider a variety of legislation, including "An act to dedicate and designate Jerome Park as parkland of the city of New York, and to establish a working group for such park to enhance use thereof." There will be a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Local Government to consider a variety of legislation.

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Education is scheduled for Thursday: "Acting Commissioner Beth Berlin of the State Education Department and Senior Deputy Commissioner Ken Wagner of the State Education Department will be appearing at the Education Committee Meeting to speak and answer questions."

Also: A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Investigations and Government Operations to consider a variety of legislation including "An act to amend the legislative law, in relation to requiring that committee and floor votes be made available online and that session and committee meetings be live webcast and archived." A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation to consider a variety of legislation. A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Health to consider a variety of legislation including "An act to amend the public health law, in relation to a physical fitness and activity education campaign" and "An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the safe disposal of unused controlled substances."

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams are each hosting a Black History Month celebration Thursday evening. Brewer is hosting "a networking reception honoring six African American leaders in Manhattan's technology community"; and Adams is hosting an event to honor Brooklyn business owners.

Thursday evening in Harlem, "Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka is the keynote speaker at the "We're Not Going Back" Black History Month Celebration...he will discuss his administration's struggle to tackle problems plaguing many cities, including the need for a living wage, community-centered policing, restoring local control over public schools, immigration reform and more. The theme of the upcoming Black History Month event, which is sponsored by a coalition of New York's elected officials, labor and community leaders, is: "Support City Officials who fight for Equality, a Living Wage and Against Racism." The host committee includes Gale Brewer, Kirsten Foy, Richard Gottfried, Bill Perkins, Ydanis Rodriguez, Keith Wright, and many others.

There will be a "public discussion of the labor movement's role in racial justice and policing reform issues in New York City" on Thursday evening, presented by The Left Labor Project (LLP).

Thursday evening, City Council Member Chaim Deutsch will host the first part of his Community Symposium on "Counter-Terrorism and Safety Awareness," at Madison High School in Brooklyn (In collaboration with the NYPD Intelligence Bureau; NYPD Counter-Terrorism Unit and the Fire Department of New York City).

On Thursday, Assembly Member Latoya Joyner and Council Member Vanessa Gibson will host an African American History Month Celebration event at the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

Thursday, 6:30 p.m. in Queens will be an information session on the City's new municipal identification card program for the Korean-American community, given in Korean.

Citizens Union is hosting its annual Founders Day Reception on Thursday evening, an event held to Honor Citizens Union's 118 Years. Gerald Benjamin will be the keynote speaker.

Thursday evening will also see The Municipal Arts Society of New York's annual members meeting: "Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen will join Justin Davidson of New York Magazine and Brooklyn Public Library President Linda Johnson on our roster of speakers. Deputy Mayor Glen will speak with MAS President Vin Cipolla about the de Blasio administration's economic development and housing priorities."

Friday and the weekend
Friday in Albany there will be a Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2015-2016 Executive Budget Proposal: Topic "Mental Hygiene" and a Joint Legislative Public Hearing on the 2015-2016 Executive Budget Proposal: Topic "Workforce Development/Labor."

Friday's City Council schedule will include a meeting of the Committee on Economic Development jointly with the Committee on Waterfronts for an oversight hearing "examining the use of mitigation banking for waterfront restoration"; the Committee on Environmental Protection will hold an off-site hearing at CUNY Advanced Science Research Center regarding "Site-Sourced and Stored Renewable Energy Conference"; a meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations jointly with the Committee on Civil Service and Labor for the second in turn oversight hearing regarding "Examining the Civil Service System"; a meeting of the Committee on Immigration for an oversight hearing on "Labor Trafficking in the Domestic Worker Industry- Resources for Victims in New York City"; a meeting of the Committee on General Welfare for an oversight hearing in relation to "Interagency Coordination Between DHS and ACS to Protect Homeless Children"; and a meeting of the Committee on Parks and Recreation on a new bill relating to "Annual report on compliance with the Americans with disabilities act by the department of parks and recreation."

Friday, mid-day, will be a Lunar New Year Celebration hosted by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito.

The State Gaming Facility Location Board will meet to release its final report on its three casino picks and to reopen bidding on a casino in the Southern Tier.

Saturday: Latino Leadership Institute presents "Women in Politics: The Importance of Voting and Electing Women to Public Office" - "featuring a panel of female activists and community leaders who will be speaking on the topic of Women in Politics: The Importance of Voting and Electing Women to Public Office."

On Sunday, March 1, Council Member Laurie Cumbo will give her first State of the District Address: "You are cordially invited to attend my First Annual State of the District Address. It will be held on Sunday, March 1, 2015 from 3PM – 5PM at the Brooklyn Museum...During my address, I will highlight our many accomplishments throughout 2014 and my vision moving forward to support the upward momentum of the 35th Council District. As a key stakeholder and community partner, your participation would be greatly appreciated."

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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 Rati Mukhuradze and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

As De Blasio Heads to Albany, Policy Rifts with Cuomo are Clear


BdB Cuomo Getty

Mayor and Governor (photo: Bryan Thomas/Getty)


During his 2016 preliminary budget presentation, Mayor Bill de Blasio moved from his usual stance of appeasement when it comes to his up-and-down relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and called out the State on funding the MTA and education, though he did not mention the governor by name.

The two like to say they are close, longtime friends; though if you watch carefully you might ask if a friendship means one party consistently insists on bullying, one-upping, and overruling the other. Despite being publically tormented by Cuomo, de Blasio has remained calm and subordinate when talking about the City's relationship with the State - an approach that appears to be mostly working to the benefit of de Blasio's agenda and is about all the mayor can do given that he is largely at the mercy of the more powerful governor.

But, de Blasio could, of course, take a more combative stance and his style may be changing at least ever-so slightly. With a trip to Albany for a public budget hearing upcoming on Wednesday, Feb. 25, we'll soon see what tack the mayor takes in his second run through the Albany gauntlet.

Competition and bad feelings between New York's governor and New York City's mayor have been the rule for much of modern history, but the relationship between Cuomo and de Blasio has brought an entirely new dynamic of rivalry as the two concoct and perform an often mysterious blend of closeness and distance.

In the second year of this new phase of their relationship that began with de Blasio's election as mayor, the pair are set to do battle on a number of policy issues, including education, the minimum wage, and affordable housing.

At de Blasio's upcoming testimony at a state Legislature joint budget hearing, some observers say they expect the mayor to firmly outline his differences with the governor - much more decisively and publicly than he has before. Last year, de Blasio went to Albany and almost exclusively talked up the city's need for pre-kindergarten funding. This year, the discussion is likely to be much wider ranging. Already, the cracks between the pair's policy agendas have started to show.

Confidants to each man insist they have been close friends dating back to when de Blasio worked under Cuomo at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the 1990s, and later on Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate campaign. And yet, last year when Democrats were celebrating de Blasio's win and hoping the pair would work together on progressive issues, Cuomo's staffers were downplaying de Blasio's election and insisting the Mayor of New York City has traditionally had an "outsize" role in policy discussion.

Then came actual policy clashes: Cuomo big-brothered de Blasio on charter schools, forcing the city to provide charter schools with rent-free school space; the governor tried to coopt de Blasio's universal pre-kindergarten plan, denying the tax increase de Blasio pushed for and instead funding pre-K around the state; when de Blasio urged calm during the Ebola scare, Cuomo went the opposite direction, partnering with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to announce a mandatory quarantine for travelers arriving from Africa who may have had contact with Ebola-infected patients.

Most recently, Cuomo went over de Blasio's head during the late-January blizzard that mostly missed the city by shutting down subway and bus service. The Cuomo administration reportedly only gave de Blasio 15 to 30 minutes warning.

De Blasio has typically remained full of praise for Cuomo, avoiding admitting publicly to any real disagreements. The mayor kept his poise after Cuomo's last two State of the State addresses, downplaying to the press the fact that some of Cuomo's positions seemed directly at odds with what de Blasio wanted for the city. Cuomo has not done the same for de Blasio. This year Cuomo's office quickly issued releases attacking the mayor's plans on the minimum wage and affordable housing as outlined in de Blasio's State of the City. In his speech, de Blasio did call for a more progressive increase to the wage than Cuomo's newly minted plan had included, attempting to pass the governor on the left as he himself was accelerating.

The minimum wage - proper rates and control over New York City's - is a key point of policy disagreement among several that are likely to take center stage in the pair's 2015 struggle for power. We look at the top five heading into the intense months of budget negotiations ahead:

Minimum Wage
Last spring, in a deal for its endorsement, Cuomo promised the Working Families Party that he would support raising the state's minimum wage to $10.10 in 2015 and allow the city to raise its minimum wage up to 30 percent higher. The Governor appeared to break that promise in January.

In the lead up to his State of the State, the governor instead proposed raising the state's minimum wage to $10.50 and the city's to $11.50 at the end of 2016.

De Blasio countered in his State of the City by proposing a $13 minimum wage for the city with indexing for inflation that would increase the wage to $15 by 2019. "The current minimum wage proposal simply doesn't do enough to help New York City," de Blasio said without naming the governor. "That's why we will fight to raise New York City's minimum wage to more than $13 per hour next year."

Cuomo's office issued a statement calling the proposal a "non-starter" with the Legislature, implying that while he may be in favor of bigger numbers, the Republican-controlled State Senate would never go for it.

In her State of the City, given on Feb. 11, New York City Council Speaker (and close ally of de Blasio) Melissa Mark-Viverito promised to go to Albany to fight for home rule on the minimum wage.

Affordable Housing
De Blasio focused almost exclusively on the creation of more affordable housing in his second State of the City, given on Feb. 3. One key to the plan is the redevelopment of Sunnyside Yards, in Queens, where he wants to build over 11,000 units of affordable housing.

Cuomo's office quickly tried to put the kibosh on that idea, saying in a statement: "The M.T.A. uses Sunnyside Yards as an important facility for our transportation system, and it is not available for any other use in the near term. The State and the M.T.A. are studying several potential future uses of the site from a long term planning perspective."

De Blasio has remained steadfast on the idea. He told WNYC's Brian Lehrer that he felt a deal with the state is possible.

"If they have other things they think are a priority on that site, there's plenty of room on that site," de Blasio said the day after his speech. "Two hundred acres is an extraordinary amount of room."

Cuomo told NY1 that the state needs the land for a train yard and that developing over it would be a "very expensive form of construction."

Charter Schools
Cuomo announced in his wide-ranging education reform plan that he wants to increase the state's charter school cap. "The current charter cap is 460. There are 159 slots left. Only 24 available are left for charter schools in New York City," said Cuomo. "We want to add another 100 to the cap and allow the cap to be statewide and to eliminate any artificial limits on where charter schools can open."

De Blasio declined to detail most of his disagreements with Cuomo after the governor's speech, which he attended, but he acknowledged to reporters that the charter cap proposal was a disappointment. "I think the cap we have now is sufficient," he said about an hour after Cuomo spoke. "I want to certainly work with charter schools in New York City, but as I've said many times, the key to improving education in New York City and throughout the state is to do a much better job at traditional public school education. That's where my focus is first and foremost and that's where I think we need to keep our focus as a state if we're really going to turn the corner on education. So I think the cap we have now is sufficient."

De Blasio is likely to quietly aid teachers unions in their fight against Cuomo's plans to change the cap and to tie a new teacher evaluation system and other reforms to increased education funding. De Blasio and the unions will lean heavily on new Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in these negotiations and those on other topics on which the governor and many New York City Democrats disagree.

MTA Funding
De Blasio was less shy in his evaluation of the State's funding for the MTA. While releasing his budget plan on Feb. 9, de Blasio faulted the State for not addressing the MTA's $15.2 capital shortfall. "The State has not put forward a plan to address that yet, nor has the State met its obligation in terms of some of the other infrastructure – roads and bridges – that are obviously aging," he said.

Cuomo has downplayed the deficit, and insisted that the $15.2 billion figure is just part and parcel of the MTA overstating its need to bring in more state funding.

Advocates insist both the City and State need to increase funding of the agency. Cuomo has a history of proposing budgets that take cash out of MTA's transit funding to pay off MTA bonds. Those bonds were originally taken out by the state with the promise that they would be paid for with state funds.

This year, Cuomo's budget would take $12.5 million from the MTA transit allotment and put it toward it's capital budget.

Advocates note that the city's contributions to the MTA capital budget have steeply declined over the last 25 years.

Education Funding
In another sign that the mayor is perhaps becoming a bit braver in his relationship with Cuomo, he questioned the State's commitment to education funding and brought up the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit that has been a rallying cry for Cuomo's opponents in public education.

"But even more distinct is the issue of the education funding, which under the Campaign for Fiscal Equity agreement, several years ago – there was a clear agreement that the State was going to fund New York City schools in an equitable manner, given our percentage of the state's school population, and the needs of this city," said de Blasio. "Other major cities in the state were going to benefit too. So, let's look at what happened in Fiscal '08 – this obligation was met. So there was an agreement struck, Governor Spitzer and the Legislature met the agreement, and then, as the economy worsened, there was a trend away from fulfilling the obligation under CFE."

De Blasio went on to say that the State has recovered from the recession and can afford to meet the obligations of the CFE lawsuit. "It's time to have a serious discussion, again, about the state's ongoing obligation to this city, and other cities around the state, in terms of the CFE agreement," he said.

Cuomo basically mocked the CFE in his budget presentation and insisted that the state's education system is hampered by failing teachers and greedy school boards. "The education industry's cry that more money will solve the problem is false. Money without reform only grows the bureaucracy," said Cuomo. "It does not improve performance. The state average per student is $8,000. The state average in a high-needs district is $12,000. A failing district like Buffalo, which has been a failing district for many, many years, the state spends $16,000 per student. So don't tell me that if we only had more money, it would change. We have been putting more money into this system every year for a decade and it hasn't changed."

However, Cuomo dangled a $1.1 billion boost in education spending if legislators agree to his education reform plan that includes revamping teacher tenure and evaluations, and raising the charter cap. We'll soon know how de Blasio and his closest allies are responding to the governor's offer.

***
by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing



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