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The Bronx is Breathing


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A waste transfer station in Hunts Point, the Bronx (all photos: Sarah Crean)


As the de Blasio administration strives to make greater social and economic equality its legacy, the neighborhoods that handle some of the city's most toxic materials are demanding a different sort of equity.

On February 13th, scores of South Bronx and North Brooklyn residents assembled at City Hall to hear discussion of a bill aimed at addressing the relentless movement of the city's waste through their neighborhoods.

"We've had to live with this for decades; we're going to be living with this for decades more. Our children have had to grow up like this," observed Kellie Terry, Executive Director of The Point Community Development Corporation, based in the South Bronx.

The bill, which would cap the proportion of the city's waste processed in any one neighborhood, is the "first tangible, real attempt to address...the clustering and the overconcentration [of waste infrastructure] in a handful of environmentally overburdened communities of color," said Eddie Bautista, Executive Director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance.

Eighty percent of the city's waste handling capacity, the Council reports, is located in just three neighborhoods—the South Bronx, North Brooklyn and Southeast Queens. The proposed legislation would also cut the amount of waste processed by transfer stations in those three areas by almost 20 percent.

The severity of the overconcentration of trash processing in low income communities and communities of color is "not just," said Terry in an interview outside a waste facility in the South Bronx. Trucks rumbled by continuously as we spoke. "It flies in the face of all of our principles as a society, and especially of this current administration."

Almost one-third of New York City's trash is handled at waste transfer stations in the South Bronx, and then trucked or sent by rail to landfills across the region.

The relentless truck traffic, along with the presence of the waste transfer facilities themselves, has exacted a steep price from South Bronx residents.

A 2014 study by the state Comptroller found that the Bronx has the highest age-adjusted asthma death rate "by far" among all counties in New York State: 43.5 deaths per million residents in the Bronx, as opposed to the state average of 13.1 deaths per million.

Exposure to exhaust fumes is a known risk factor for asthma, the study notes.

The de Blasio administration does not support the proposed legislation, Intro 495. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents sections of the South Bronx including Mott Haven, has not taken a position. The Speaker's colleague in the South Bronx, Maria Del Carmen Arroyo, is a sponsor of the bill.

Establishing a Limit on Waste
Every day, an average 21,000 tons of residential and commercial trash must pass through –and out of- New York City. Seventy percent of that daily trash volume is typically processed for long-distance shipment in just three neighborhoods: the South Bronx, North Brooklyn and Southeast Queens.

The Council hearing was led by Brooklyn Member and Sanitation Committee Chair Antonio Reynoso, who told the crowd that he had been born and raised on the south side of Williamsburg. The question of waste equity, he said, is the issue that is "most near and dear to my community."

Reynoso referred to "a tale of two cities," the phrase invoked by the Mayor to describe the inequities of life in contemporary New York City. "There's no better place to look at that than North Brooklyn, the South Bronx, and Southeast Queens when it comes to how we handle trash," Reynoso said.

Intro 495, which is sponsored by Council Member Reynoso and his colleague Steve Levin, also from North Brooklyn, seeks to do two things: first to cap, and then eventually reduce by 18 percent, the amount of waste that can be processed in the city's three most over-burdened neighborhoods.

The legislation will also limit the amount of waste that can be handled in any of New York's 51 community districts to five percent of the city's total permitted capacity.

The legislation is "about bare bones principles of equity, bare bones principle of fair share," said Kellie Terry. "This [the waste industry] will still be here [in the South Bronx], but it will be just a little less," she added. 

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Concerns About Emergency Capacity
The legislation proposed by Council Members Reynoso and Levin does not have the support of the de Blasio administration.

Kathryn Garcia, Commissioner of the city's Department of Sanitation, told the City Council in testimony at last Friday's hearing that the neighborhood waste processing limits mandated by Council Member Reynoso's legislation could create dangerous logistical challenges for the City, especially during extreme weather and other emergency situations.

But, Commissioner Garcia said, the administration was prepared to immediately start negotiations with the city's 39 privately-run waste transfer stations regarding "voluntary reductions."

To read the rest of this article, visit New York Environment Report

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by Sarah Crean, New York Environment Report

@NYEnvironment

@GothamGazette

Note: this article has been corrected to reflect that the proposed legislation would cut the amount of waste processed by transfer stations in the three focused on areas by almost 20 percent; not cut capacity as was previously stated.

Bronx Program Serves as Inspiration for Mark-Viverito's City-Wide Bail Fund Proposal


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Speaker Mark-Viverito gives her SOTC speech (photo: William Alatriste)


Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito used her first State of the City address to advocate major reforms to the city's criminal justice system designed to keep low-level offenders out of jail. Along with a call to issue more tickets rather than arrest people for misdemeanors, in her speech earlier this month the speaker proposed a city-wide bail fund to pay for the release of eligible misdemeanor offenders who cannot otherwise afford it.

Some have wondered exactly how such a program would work: Who would qualify to have their bail paid? Would they actually go to court? Would such a fund be sustainable? Where does the money come from?

It appears that The Bronx Freedom Fund, which just recently celebrated its first year of operation, has answers. Part of the Fund's ability to function comes from a 2012 state law that sets ground rules for charitable bail organizations and licenses them. The City is taking both the Freedom Fund's successes and the State's guidelines into account as it begins modeling its own program.

A recent study released by the Freedom Fund shows that of the 140 cases it took on in its first year, 98 percent of the clients made all of their required court appearances; 56 percent of cases ended with all charges dropped; 23 percent resulted in non-criminal disposition; and 9 percent plead guilty to misdemeanors.

It is an outcome that overjoys Bronx Sen. Gustavo Rivera. "That is 140 individuals that did not have their lives thrown into chaos thanks to their interaction with the criminal justice system," said Rivera.

"[I]f you can't afford bail you will spend on average 15 days in jail," said Mark-Viverito in her speech, given Feb. 11 from a public housing facility in East Harlem. "The results are predictable: people lose their jobs, or their housing, and cannot take care of their children while they are in custody. These are people who are accused of minor offenses and are still considered innocent in the eyes of the law. This is not justice."

According to a 2011 report from the Independent Budget Office almost 40 percent of the city's 12,000-member jail population is made up by pretrial detainees who couldn't afford bail. The IBO estimated the cost of holding those offenders at $125 million.

Criminal justice experts agree that low-level offenders who make bail are far more likely to continue with successful lives and to actually be exonerated. "People seem to be coming to the realization that even a short term jail stay can be incredibly harmful to people's lives," Alyssa Work, who heads the Freedom Fund, told Gotham Gazette.

Work says she has been in contact with Mark-Viverito's office about the details of how a city-wide bail fund could work - the speaker's office declined to comment for this article, but did confirm that Mark-Viverito was referring to the Freedom Fund in her speech and that it has been an inspiration for her call.

Work came on board as director of the Fund through a fellowship from Yale Law School and she has overseen 140 Bronx residents receiving bail grants who would not otherwise have been able to afford their release. The Fund got started in 2007 when an anonymous donor gave the Bronx Defenders $100,000 to be used to pay bail. (Bronx Defenders is having its own issues around recent controversy that could affect its future funding)

The Freedom Fund is constantly replenished when cases are concluded without incident and the program has benefited from donations and grants. Work says the fund still hovers at about $100,000. Ensuring sustained funding is always a challenge for a small non-profit, of course, and even Mark-Viverito's plan will need careful planning to create solid fiscal footing.

Generally, the Freedom Fund's clients have already been arraigned and their families contacted to see if they can provide bail when Work gets a call from a defense attorney. From there the clients fill out a form and Work checks to see if they have community or family ties or steady employment, and what kind of criminal record they have. The Fund only pays bail under $2,000.

If approved, the Fund pays the bail "right there so they don't spend the night at Rikers or the boat in the Bronx," said Work.

In a sense, the Bronx Freedom Fund is Rivera's baby just as the city-wide program would be Mark-Viverito's. Rivera was approached by the Bronx Defenders (a nonprofit legal defense group) in 2010 shortly after he defeated disgraced then-Sen. Pedro Espada for his seat.

The problem, the group told him, was that they were operating in a legal grey area. A judge ordered the defenders to stop handing out bail in 2009. Rivera successfully advocated a bill that lays down guidelines for charitable bail groups based on rules that govern such groups in other states. It also provides a licensing system. When the bill passed in 2012, the Freedom Fund became the state's first licensed charitable bail fund.

Work said that the impact the program has had can be seen in the case of Fund client Billy, who was charged with a misdemeanor DUI and was unable to afford bail. Work has overseen Billy's case for more than a year. "His case just closed, and he came to court over a year and a half 11 times and never missed a date," she said. "He works with senior citizens, he's going to pharmacy school, and he's always shown up to those court dates with a smile on his face."

"If the Bronx Freedom Fund had not stepped in to help, I would have had to stay in jail until my trial was completed and I would have lost my job as a senior care aide," Billy said in a statement. "Thanks to them, I was not only able to return home immediately, but I was also able to fight my case and resolve it by attending an alcohol treatment program."

Mark-Viverito's pitch for a city-based jail fund also takes into account the fact that keeping people like Billy in jail costs the city money. She estimated in her speech that a city-wide fund could save the city millions a year. "Whether it's the $100,000 a year it costs to house someone on Rikers – or the public assistance programs many must access upon leaving – New Yorkers are paying this bill," Mark-Viverito said in her speech. "And let's not forget, the U.S. Attorney's Office issued a scathing report, finding excessive force and violence at Rikers Island," she added. "We cannot continue to lock up those accused of low level, non-violent offenses without recognizing the dire, long-term consequences to them and to our city."

Mark-Viverito's plan appears to be in its infancy, but legislation could be introduced any time, especially as budget season has begun and money for even a city pilot program may be included in the Council's budget.

Even with a successful city-based venture, Rivera said, "I don't imagine the Freedom Fund is going away." He said he is excited to see the city plan come together: "Imagine how many thousands of lives can be positively impacted if we put the same work in with the correct people."

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by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing

New City Council Bill Drafting Unit Up and Running


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CM Lander and colleagues at a rally (photo: @NYCProgressives)


The City Council's independent bill drafting unit, created in the rules reform package that passed unanimously in May of 2014, is up and running and has in some cases sped up the legislative process, say Council members. Good government advocates, though, are skeptical about how significantly the process has changed, noting that the purpose of the unit is to help take the politics out of the legislative process.

"It's off to a great start," said Council Member Brad Lander, chair of the Council's Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections, about the new unit. Lander was a primary sponsor on the rules reform package, which first went through his committee.

The independent bill drafting unit is led by former Fordham Law professor Annie Decker, who was hired by the Council's central staff under Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. Along with Fordham, Decker has taught at Cardozo Law School and Santa Clara University Law School. She has also served at the Santa Clara County Counsel's Office in San Jose, California.

Decker leads a team of four specifically dedicated to drafting legislation and since the unit's inception, they have been busy, often fielding requests on legislation that does not easily fit into the purview of one council committee or another. "There have been several thousands of drafting requests and this Council has been very active," said Lander. The actual number of drafting requests, however, is hard to obtain since the process is confidential under attorney-client privilege, according to Lander.

Lander said the unit has also been helpful in providing professional development for newly hired legislative directors of Council members.

But the creation of the drafting unit has not ushered in an overhaul of the legislative process. For the most part, drafting is still handled by the counsels representing different committees, which Lander said is sensible considering they have developed expertise in those specific areas over time. The new unit is crucial, however, for bills that aren't easily categorized. For instance, bills regulating unmanned aerial drones recently introduced by Council Members Dan Garodnick and Paul Vallone.

The independent unit is, in part, a political reform as well as procedural, included in the rules reforms aimed at democratizing the Council. According to Lander, in the former Council "a lot of drafting requests were backlogged. There was a perception in the prior council that it was sometimes political."

But it serves both purposes. "Having this unit has both improved and sped up the process of getting bills drafted. This was about enabling members to get their work done regardless of politics and ideology," said Lander.

Along with the unit, another reform related to the legislative process was an intra-council tracking system to provide more transparency and clarity to members. Council members now receive monthly update reports from an internal database on the progress of their drafting requests.

Good government advocates aren't entirely convinced yet by the unit, but are encouraged by the tracking system. "We definitely support the idea of members having a more independent say in how bills are drafted and introduced," said Lauren George, Associate Director, Common Cause New York. But a more important change, George said, would be ensuring bills are allowed to be introduced to the council floor. The fact that the central staff still handles how drafting requests are directed means "there could still be a significant delay based on political will," she said.

George conceded, though, that a system of monthly updates is much better for the members. "Council members used to really have to hound after the leadership to get their bills introduced."

Calling the unit a "building block" in improving the legislative process, George insisted that further improvements are necessary and that all legislation should be handled by the unit. "It shouldn't be hand picked. It would be better if it was across the board," she said.

Gene Russianoff, senior attorney at NYPIRG, agrees. "The tracking sounds like they're not treating council members like complete simpletons," he said while stressing that change would still be incremental. "There's a lot of good stuff in there. This sounds like it's improving upon the old process."

Russianoff cites the New York State Legislature as an example of how the City could reorganize legislative drafting. At the state level, a nonpartisan Legislative Bill Drafting Commission is charged with the entire drafting process.

"In Albany, you submit an idea and they write it up. Push comes to shove, they draft up the legislation. In the city, if a council member has an idea - good, bad or indifferent - he or she should be able to get it drafted," Russianoff said, although admitting that the Council's limited resources could not compare with those of the state Legislature. "I'd prefer that all bills be drafted by [the independent bill drafting unit] as a matter of course."

Citizens Union Director of Public Policy Rachael Fauss also believes the Council is on the right track. "The new transparency around bill drafting is an important fulfillment of the commitment made to members last year as new rules were adopted, and the new Legislative Bill Drafting Unit has the potential to be a body that can provide independent services to council members, similar to what is provided at the state level for legislators," she said. "We hope that it continues to move in this direction as it gets fully operational."

The consensus seems to be that, even in its infancy, the unit has been beneficial overall.

Council Member Ben Kallos has long been advocating for more efficient government, especially now as chair of the Committee on Governmental Operations. In the last few months, he said, the legislative process has sped up. "I think that we have a lot more legislation being introduced and a lot of legislation that's passing, and having the support of a drafting unit is really helping the Council adjust to a new pace of things where legislation and the legislative process and our city is really moving quickly so that it can be more progressive as soon as possible."

Kallos is on the same page as NYPIRG's Russianoff and Citizens Union's Fauss. "What's interesting is with everyone criticizing Albany, one of the things it does do right is it has a legislative bill drafting commission," Kallos said.

It is a City Council in transition, moving toward more transparent and efficient procedures. Kallos said he will continue to advocate for increased funding for the independent bill drafting unit until all bills can be drafted there. Till then, the existing committee counsels will continue to play a major role in the drafting process.

As Russianoff put it, though, "We've been trying to reform the rules for a quarter of a century, but Rome wasn't built in a day."

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by Samar Khurshid, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid

Update: this article has been corrected to more accurately reflect Annie Decker's teaching experience.

In State of the Borough, Diaz Jr. Further Burnishes Bronx Brand


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BX BP Diaz Jr. gives his 2015 SOTB (photo: @SarahHughesNY)


THE BRONX - In the top-floor pavilion of the sprawling Mall at Bay Plaza, an audience sat semicircled under floating lit globes and towering pillars as a jazz quartet performed. Far from a concert, it was Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.'s sixth annual State of the Borough address, given Thursday in front of several hundred people.

As the largest indoor shopping center in the city, the mall was not just a venue, but a pertinent example of Diaz Jr.'s thrust for his speech: job creation and economic development.

Citing the mall, Diaz Jr. said it had created 2,000 new jobs and contributed toward keeping revenue in the borough by giving Bronxites a local venue to spend their money. "And we know that consumer spending equals job growth," he said. Since he became borough president, more than 15,000 jobs have been added to the local economy, he touted. The latest jobs program, NY Works, has found jobs for more than 4,000 Bronx residents since it was launched in August by the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation in partnership with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Department of Labor.

Recalling his achievements, not only of the last year but of his cumulative tenure, Diaz Jr. spoke of falling unemployment, down nearly five percent since 2009. The borough saw more than $1 billion of investment in just the last year, he said, adding that the Bronx has seen "unprecedented, transformative growth," since he took office.

Much needed growth, of course, as the Bronx has consistently been home to the highest unemployment and largest swaths of poverty in the city.

The borough president reiterated a number of development projects, already underway, that would contribute to a robust Bronx economy while highlighting the importance of "impact investing" in ventures directed at measurable economic, social, and environmental benefits. These projects, he said, would rely on a revolving fund with private sector investments. "We are looking not only to do well," he said, "but to do good."

Other specific projects he mentioned included the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, the redevelopment of the former Bronx General Post Office, the building of the state's largest television and film studio in Soundview, and breaking ground on a new FreshDirect facility in Port Morris. "The time to build is now. We are moving forward," he said.

Diaz Jr. also said he was continuing his commitment to modernizing housing and touted a recently announced, first-ever development solely for LGBT Seniors that he is contributing funds toward. Last year, he allotted nearly $3 million in capital funding toward building 600 affordable units, adding to the total of more than 16,000 units since 2009, he said.

Under Diaz Jr., the Bronx is stronger and safer than its has been in decades. Tourism is up 14 percent and homicides below 100 for two years in a row for the first time since the 1960s. But the borough is not healthier, ranking last out of New York's 62 counties on health indices. In response, the Borough President announced a social media campaign to promote healthy living through the hashtag #NOT62.

Education was also an important cornerstone of the speech. Citing dismal admissions figures of Hispanic and black students in Stuyvesant High School's freshman class, Diaz Jr. said he would work with City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña to improve the situation. He echoed his 2012 report on equal access to test preparation for public school students, and a need to institute new specialized high schools. He said he will continue to fund "worthy projects," which included $26 million for new computers, smart classrooms, and science labs in 180 different schools.

Besides economic development and education, Diaz Jr. underscored his legislative agenda for the next year. He is pushing for a letter-grading system for cosmetology businesses, similar to city-issued restaurant grades, to tackle potential health threats. He also said he would work with state and city officials to advocate for a public felony gun offender registry.

He also mentioned the upcoming first comprehensive "Bronx Visitors Guide," aimed at further boosting tourism.

Finally, Diaz Jr. paid tribute to his predecessor Herman Badillo and to former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who both passed away recently. "We move forward," Diaz Jr. said, "understanding that we can design and enact a transformative agenda for our future while also respecting the hardships and the glories of the past."

[This article is part of our ongoing 'State Of's series in which we're reporting on early 2015 assessments and initiatives by a variety of elected officials, from the President to the Governor, Mayor, Council Speaker and Borough Presidents]

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by Samar Khurshid, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid

With 'Raise the Age,' Cuomo Continues Push to Reform Juvenile Justice


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Governor Cuomo (photo: @NYGovCuomo)


A classic battle between law-and-order Republicans and progressive Democrats is brewing in the state Legislature as Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushes adoption of the recommendations of his Commission on Youth Public Safety and Justice - recommendations that include raising the age at which teens can be tried as adults.

Despite being thought of as one of the most progressive states in the nation, New York is one of just two in the country that try 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. (The other is North Carolina.)

"You put a 16- and 17-year-old into a state prison, there is no way they're not going to come out worse than they went in," Cuomo said over the phone to those gathered for a Martin Luther King Day event hosted by Al Sharpton.

Many of the state's most prominent law enforcement officials and criminal justice experts have advocated raising the age of adult criminality for some time. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has promoted the move for four years and served on Cuomo's commission. "New York really does lag behind the nation on this," Vance told Gotham Gazette last week. "The message we are sending is that by raising the age at which teens are tried as adults, public safety really will be enhanced."

Advocates say that housing teens in adult prisons endangers their safety, increases their odds of suicide, drastically increases the chance that they recidivate, unfairly leaves them saddled with a criminal record that can cripple their abilities to land jobs or attend college, and denies them the chance for more therapeutic treatment.

"We're going to keep 16- and 17-year-olds out of prison. We're going to create juvenile facilities and get them the training in a safe environment so we can actually help them turn around their lives," Cuomo said of his plan in January. Just two days after Martin Luther King Day, the governor gave his budget presentation, in which Raise the Age legislation based on the commission's 38-recommendation report is included.

The governor formed the youth safety and justice commission following a major push by advocates to bring New York up to date with juvenile justice standards. Stephanie Gendell of the Citizens' Committee for Children said her group spoke to Cuomo's office about such a commission and insisted that the commission "have a time limit" and be about "how to raise the age, not if."

The governor's office said in a statement that teens under 18 in state prisons are significantly more likely than adult inmates to be raped or commit suicide. Officials point out that 82 percent of youth under 18 sentenced to adult prisons in New York are black or Latino. There were 800 inmates in local jails and state prisons under the age of 18 as of January.

A number of Senate Republicans including Martin Golden of Brooklyn say the system is working and have no interest in being more lenient on criminals. "Some of the most heinous crimes are committed by kids who are 16 and 17," Golden, a former police officer, told The New York Daily News earlier this month.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed concerns over the legislation during a joint legislative budget hearing earlier this month. Roberto Valez, acting commissioner for the Office of Children and Family Services, was unable to answer a slew of questions from legislators including Republican Sen. John DeFrancisco and Democratic Assembly Member Jeffrey Aubry. Some of the questions regarded how many of the currently charged 16- and 17-year-olds would wind up in jail. Another question had to do with how accused rapists would be tried. Valez asked for a chance to get back to legislators with answers. When legislators expressed doubts about the bill in general, the Cuomo administration sent two officials with more direct knowledge of the proposal.

The incident has sparked some fear among advocates who are concerned whether the administration's support for the measure will hold if Republicans mount opposition to the plan in their home districts. Last year the administration abandoned a plan to provide some inmates with a college education after Republicans balked and negative local media coverage followed.

"Am I surprised? No," said Vance when asked about opposition to the plan. "When the state's crime rate is so drastically reduced as we have seen, people are going to ask: 'What is it that is broken that you are trying to fix?' I plan to push forward and advocate for this as I have and help educate people on why this matters."

Vance also notes that the change is no simple flick of the switch. The plan would move all 16- and 17-year-olds tried as adults into juvenile facilities immediately. Meanwhile, 16-year-olds would stop being tried as adults in 2016 and 17-year-olds would follow the next year. The only exception would be teens involved in the most violent crimes.

Accused teens aged 16 and 17 would be granted protections that younger suspects in the state currently see, including parental notification and videotaping of interrogations on felony offenses. Judges would be required in most misdemeanor cases to provide diversion from the justice system, more cases would be moved to family court, and more effort would be put into helping younger offenders reintegrate into society after prison.

The Osborne Association, which has provided behavioral therapy to every 16- and 17-year-old on Rikers Island, issued a statement praising the commission's recommendations. It reads, in part: "This new approach incorporates what science tells us about cognitive development and offers therapeutic alternatives to a traditionally punitive and costly response. When implemented, these proposals will change the odds for many young people."

Gendell said that the commission's plan might not be feasible if it wasn't for reforms to the justice system orchestrated by Cuomo that have seen major reductions in prison beds and individuals incarcerated. "Juvenile justice has been an important part of the governor's legacy," said Gendell. "Early in his first term he went to an empty facility and said kids are not going to be locked up as an economic generator. It has really been a big part of what he has done, through closing facilities and enacting Close to Home."

The Close to Home initiative saw the State hand over control of city residents housed in state juvenile detention facilities to New York City. Those juveniles were then mostly sent to alternative treatment facilities.

Gendell notes that Close to Home, which was enacted in 2012, lowered the population in state facilities and ensures there will be enough room to move 16- and 17-year-old inmates serving in adult prisons into juvenile facilities.

"I think having the governor's support is important so that he can guide the proposal through the budget negotiations," said Gendell. Her meetings with legislators on Raise the Age have "been positive; not so positive that it's a done deal, but the people we've met with understand that this would create better outcomes and increase public safety," she said.

Vance said he plans to educate law enforcement officials and legislators on why the plan will benefit them as well as offenders. He said he will be in Albany to help push the measure - which could give lawmakers, especially Senate Republicans, the assurance they may need. "When people ask about what this does, I can say honestly that it is a major step forward."

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by David King, Albany editor, Gotham Gazette
@DavidHowardKing

Note: this article has been updated.

Carl Heastie's Campaign Account Expenditures: The Full Picture


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Assembly Speaker Heastie (photo: AP/Mike Groll)


Carl Heastie's campaign committee has drawn some attention to its expenditures, especially now that he is the newly minted Assembly Speaker. Below is an analysis of his campaign spending based on the Board of Elections expenditure "Purpose" codes that the campaign itself elects to use. Purpose codes are selected from a list by filers to describe their own activity, and are accompanied by "explanations" where applicable. From 2011 through 2014, "Friends of Carl E. Heastie," as the campaign committee is known, reported spending $429,526.95. Remarkably, the largest subsection of expenditure is "Other," at $164,275.59; followed by "Political Contributions" at $114,113.00; and "Reimbursements" at $87,538.01.

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When combining the codes for Campaign Mailings, Consultants, Fundraising, Office Expenses, Petition Expenses, Postage, Print Ads, and Professional Services, a tally for expenses that are explicitly coded as campaign expenses is reached. That is, the money is clearly, unambiguously spent on campaign activity. Perhaps generously, it also makes some sense to include Office expenses in this area. Expenses not explicitly coded as direct campaign expenditures include Political Contributions (made out to other campaign committees), Constituent Services, Other, Reimbursements. Below is the breakdown of Heastie's spending to clearly show how much is explicitly coded as direct campaign expenditure versus not. Again, the total is $429,526.95 for 2011-2014. Here we see that about $49,000 is coded explicitly as campaign expenses, which is about 11 percent. The other 89 percent is not explicitly coded as campaign expense - though a sizeable sum within this amount appears to have been charged to the campaign credit card for a variety of expenditures, which we detail below.

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Heastie's campaign is known to be particularly lavish with an American Express credit card. Below is an analysis of Friends of Carl E. Heastie's credit card activity.

When reporting credit card expenditures, campaigns are advised by the Board of Elections to note the expenditure in full to the creditor (e.g. AMEX), and where applicable to itemize purchases with a sum of $0.00 but then to describe the merchant and cost as a memo in the Explanation line. In this respect, first, a look at the transactions paid to American Express. Then details of what Friends of Carl E. Heastie says it bought on the card.

From January, 2011 through December, 2014:

  • $295,560.44 paid to American Express. (Heastie's treasurer describes payments of his American Express bill 7 different ways)
  • $532.15 is specifically described as interest paid to American Express.
  • $15,418.73 of his American Express payments are described as "Unitemized."

The monthly payments:

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Assessing all of the itemized transactions (with their distinctive amount of $0.00) we extract the itemized dollar cost from the memo line. This includes wading through verbiage like "$78.38 FRUIT BASKET PURCHASE" and "MEMO: $53.30 DINNER FOR VOLUNTEERS" to extract figures like $78.38 and $53.30 so as to sort out large purchases from small.

Standouts 2011-2014:

  • $5,839.82 to INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL in 3 transactions on on 11/12/2013 related to the SOMOS conference.
  • $3,533.54 at the Apple Store.
  • $1,914.19 spent at PRIME PLAZA on 03/18/2014 is described in the Memo as a "Fundraising expense," which shows how paying for so much of a campaign on a credit card creates conflicts in how best to file expenditures - this could easily be clear as a campaign expense, but by charging it and including it with reimbursements, it becomes less clear. Fundraising expenditures of similar size at other venues are similarly buried in Friends of Carl E. Heastie's credit card register.

Top Ten Purchases by Size:

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The following transactions are not adequately described in the Explanation memo so as to directly ascertain their cost:

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by Jon Reznick for Gotham Gazette
Data analysis performed using FTMSQL2 by Competitive Advantage Research, LLC

New Phase of East Midtown Rezoning Prioritizes Public Benefits


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Manhattan (photo: wiki commons)


After the Bloomberg administration's plans were rejected in late 2013, the next phase of planning for the redevelopment of East Midtown has focused on the public benefits, especially infrastructure, that are integral to complementing the large-scale commercial growth at the heart of the project.

An ambitious plan to rezone and upgrade 73 blocks around Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, a version of which died in the waning months of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 12-year tenure, has been back in the works since September and, in a new iteration, is expected to be approved by spring.

East Midtown rezoning has been a contentious issue ever since it was fast-tracked by the Bloomberg administration only to be publicly rejected by the City Council, led by then-Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Member Dan Garodnick, a Democrat whose district includes much of the East Side. Bloomberg was forced to withdraw the land use application, which would have failed to pass in the Council without Garodnick's seal of approval.

In a March editorial for this publication, Garodnick outlined his demands. "The proposal should be for a vibrant 21st Century business district, and not an isolated set of new skyscrapers, disconnected to the world around them," he wrote. He also insisted that any future development should improve pedestrian and transit circulation, open space, and "be mindful of the historic fabric of midtown and consider which important buildings should be preserved."

With Mayor Bill de Blasio in office, rezoning negotiations were revived in a two-phase approach: the first phase will rezone Vanderbilt Avenue between 42nd and 47th Streets, allowing developers to apply for permits to build beyond existing zoning rules and to purchase air rights. The second phase is being led by the East Midtown Steering Committee, co-chaired by Garodnick and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, which is looking at how the rezoning of the greater East Midtown area should proceed.

The Steering Committee, which meets every two weeks, includes around ten different stakeholders representing the City, the East Midtown community, the real estate industry, labor unions, and local businesses that stand to benefit from the proposed rezoning. Negotiations are being led by John Shapiro, chair of Pratt Institute's Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, along with a team of facilitators. The committee is set to meet again on Tuesday, Feb. 24, and the elected officials at the helm told Gotham Gazette that a reimagined process is showing progress.

In a sign of the more aligned approach that has marked the relationship between the de Blasio administration and the City Council, de Blasio's Chair of City Planning Carl Weisbrod, stated in May that the steering committee "exemplifies our approach to ground-up community planning that coordinates new development with appropriate infrastructure and city services."

Gotham Gazette sought comment from Shapiro and local Community Board representatives but requests were directed to the offices of Garodnick and Brewer.

Garodnick, seen as the key decision-maker in the process because the area falls within his district, is more confident of the new, more collaborative approach. It has proved itself already with regard to One Vanderbilt, a megatower proposed by SL Green Realty to be built across from Grand Central Terminal.

"The Vanderbilt rezoning provides more security to the public than the past proposal did because there is no as-of-right development," Garodnick told Gotham Gazette in an email. "The public will have a chance to review and approve or disapprove all development projects in the corridor," he explained.

The intended economic benefits to the area are far-reaching. Most buildings in the largely commercial district date back to World War II, with antiquated infrastructure in and around them. New rules will establish standards to bring the buildings up to date, with higher environmental efficiency requirements. New, modern office space will be created. The plan will aim to create thousands of middle class jobs, broaden the city's tax base, and also include upgrades to the transit system with improved access to Grand Central Terminal and enhancement of public space.

In all, according to City estimates, nearly 10 million square feet of commercial space would be revamped and 4.5 million square feet would be added.

One of the key stipulations, which Garodnick stressed in testimony before the City Planning Commission earlier this month, is ensuring that public works are completed before new buildings are occupied - making it clear that community and public interests are paramount. The Commission was hearing testimony on the Vanderbilt Corridor rezoning and the proposed One Vanderbilt tower, which has become a sticking point between SL Green Realty and Andrew Penson, the owner of Grand Central.

Although buildings in the East Midtown area in question are mostly commercial, residential development has also not been left off the table. With the mayor's focus on affordable housing, evidenced by his making it the theme of his recent State of the City speech, it is likely that certain portions of new living space could be set aside as affordable. Garodnick acknowledged that the Steering Committee could consider allowing development of mixed-use buildings, with both commercial space and residential units.

Borough President Brewer, who co-chairs the committee with Garodnick, said, "It's still to be decided whether it'll be commercial or residential. I'm sure there will be a push for residential development."

Brewer has already given her conditional approval to an application for zoning text amendments regarding One Vanderbilt after she negotiated a slew of added community benefits with SL Green. As part of the agreement, announced on January 29, SL Green will invest funds in the public plaza on Vanderbilt Avenue, contribute to its maintenance, and ensure that it is more public-friendly, with benches and bathrooms. They also agreed to pull back retail space at the planned 42nd Street/Vanderbilt corner, making the subway entrance more prominent.

Planning Commissioner Carl Weisbrod believes the development of East Midtown is essential to the continued economic growth of New York City. Addressing members of the Real Estate Board of New York at their annual Commercial Holiday Luncheon in January, he said, "It is the engine of our economy, and the office stock is too old to support that," he said, according to Real Estate Weekly.

At the heart of the plan is the long-term view of creating a world-class commercial district. Announcing his intention to move forward with the rezoning plan in May, 2014, Mayor de Blasio said, "We are going to keep New York City competitive, and do it through strategic investments and ground-up planning. These are the kind of policies that won't just pay off today, but will lay the groundwork to keep districts like east midtown thriving and attracting new business for decades to come."

As the Steering Committee continues to hammer out the details, the final recommendations will be decided by consensus and then presented to the Department of City Planning, which has been supporting the committee throughout. The plan, once approved, will head to the City Council where it will likely pass, considering Garodnick's role in its formulation. A hearing could very well be on the docket come spring, bringing a process that has been in the works for more than three years closer to resolution. As Weisbrod stated in May, "We believe the result will truly be a Greater East Midtown."

***
by Samar Khurshid, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid

Note: this article has been updated to remove mention of a District Improvement Fund, which is not part of the current planning, but had been part of prior negotiations, and to expand the time frame during which a City Council hearing is estimated to occur.

The Week Ahead in New York Politics, February 16


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

As this holiday week begins we're watching the following top storylines:

  • Budget hearings and doings: we're expecting City Comptroller Scott Stringer to soon give his response to Mayor Bill de Blasio's preliminary fiscal year 2016 budget and we're awaiting further developments in Albany legislative budget hearings and negotiations. De Blasio and Stringer are set to testify in Albany the week after this one, on Feb. 25. We're watching for news from Albany as Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, and new Democratic Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie negotiate the state budget and other legislation that may not be part of the budget.
  • Democratic movement in NY11: as we await word from Governor Andrew Cuomo on a special election in New York's 11th Congressional District (a Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn seat vacated by the disgraced Michael Grimm), the Democrats are still trying to decide on a candidate to take on Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan.

We're coming off a busy weekend in Albany, where it was the 44th annual caucus weekend held by the state Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators, according to State of Politics. Gov. Cuomo hosted a brunch at the executive mansion to celebrate the caucus and also honor Heastie – the first African American to hold the position. More and more, word is coming out about Heastie's approach to the position, which is appearing far more member-centric than his predecessor's.

This week there's nothing happening at the City Council as a large delegation led by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is in Israel.  Council members are at work in their districts, of course. Plenty of other events are happening around the city to be aware of...read on 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 this Presidents' Day week in detail:

Tuesday
On Tuesday morning, City & State NY hosts its annual State of Our City event, a series of remarks and panels assessing New York City on several key topics: "City & State will convene New York City's leaders in government, business, and advocacy to discuss some of the most important issues the City will face in 2015: Technology and Shared Economies; Education; and Affordable Housing and Development." Panelists may include: TECH & SHARING ECONOMIES: Carlo Scissura, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; Josh Gold, Hotel Trades Council; Meera Joshi, Commissioner, Taxi & Limousine Commission; Michael Woloz, Partner, Connelly McLaughlin & Woloz; David Hantman, Global Head of Public Policy, Airbnb. EDUCATION: Richard Buery, Deputy Mayor of Strategic Initiatives; Josh Wallack, Chief Strategy Officer, NYC Department of Education. AFFORDABLE HOUSING & DEVELOPMENT: Councilman Jumaane Williams; Ed Wallace, Co-Chairman, Greenberg Traurig New York; Kyle Kimball, President, NYC Economic Development Corporation.

State of Our City will be followed by City & State's "Power 100," 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at NYU: "Each year, City & State highlights 100 of New York City's most powerful leaders across industry sectors in a special magazine.

Tuesday morning is also "Food Policy for Breakfast: Race, Racism and Food Justice: Advancing a More Equitable Food System in New York City," 9 a.m. at CUNY Graduate Center.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has no public events on his Monday schedule.

According to City & State, "10:30 a.m. State Sen. David Carlucci unveils his Investing in Our NY Seniors proposal, Nanuet Library."

Also via City & State: "11 a.m. - The New York Immigration Coalition holds a press conference to call on the Department of Education to improve translation and interpretation services for immigrant parents, 137-139 W. 25th St., 12th floor, Manhattan."

And: "1 p.m. - New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and activists reaffirm their boycott of the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade, City Hall steps, Manhattan."

On Tuesday evening, Comptroller Scott Stringer will deliver remarks at the general meeting of the Queens Civic Congress at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing.

Also on Tuesday evening Mark Blyth will discuss, "Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea" - 6 p.m. at Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. "Professor Blyth will discuss recent examples of a policy that he shows has failed for a century. While it makes sense for any one state to try and cut its way to growth, Blyth argues, it simply cannot work when all states try it simultaneously: all we do is shrink the economy."

There will be a "Lecture on Shirley Chisholm by Prof. Barbara Winslow" at the CUNY Graduate Center, Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday evening is also the monthly general meeting and happy hour of the Manhattan Young Democrats club - 7 p.m. at Gramercy Park Bar.

Wednesday
At There will be a meeting of the Assembly Standing Committee on Health to discuss "the use of antipsychotic medication in nursing homes," 10 a.m. on Wednesday in Manhattan.

Also Wednesday morning, the Newman Institute at Baruch College will hold a housing conference, "Implementing Affordable: New York's Affordable Housing Crisis," at which Commissioner of the New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development Vicki Been may keynote.

On Wednesday morning, there will be a "press conference demonstrating support for bold action to fix failing schools crisis," 11 a.m. at Girls Prep Bronx Elementary. It is being organized by Families for Excellent Schools and will feature state Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., Assembly Members Marcos Crespo, Mark Gjonaj and Latoya Joyner, "prominent members of clergy" and "dozens of parents."

Jeffrey Fagan presents "No Runs, Few Hits, and Many Errors: Street Stops, Bias, and Proactive Policing" - "Join us February 18, when Professor Jeffrey Fagan will discuss his research using equilibrium modeling to detect racial discrimination in pedestrian stops in the contentious Stop and Frisk (SQF) program of the New York City Police Department and the implications of his findings for law and policy," says the VERA Institute of Justice.

"The Inequality Forum" will be Wednesday at noon, Borough of Manhattan Community College: "The Inequality Forum, organized by the Social Science Department at BMCC, will discuss the problem of inequality today and its consequences for democracy and citizens' well-being and life chances. The event will feature a roundtable discussion involving members of the social science department at BMCC. This will be followed by a keynote address to be delivered by Rich Benjamin, a Senior Fellow at Demos."

Wednesday evening, "Please join People First PAC for a special event Wednesday, February 18, at the Women's National Republican Club from 6 to 8pm with our guests Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Governor George Pataki,Congressman Peter King and special invited guest Dan Donovan. People First PAC fights for the forgotten middle class in New York City and throughout New York State."

Wednesday evening, Queens Council Member Julissa Ferreras will give her State of the District address at the Langston Hughes Library.

The Digital NYC tour comes to Brooklyn Wednesday evening: Made in NY Media Center by IFP, "Come hear some of Brooklyn's leading entrepreneurs and investors discuss scaling a creative startup in Brooklyn/NYC. Panelists will discuss their experiences, highlighting the challenges and triumphs of creative startup business in the City."

The Brooklyn Young Democrats' 2015 Elections will be Wednesday evening: "The Brooklyn Young Democrats will hold elections for its Executive Board on Wednesday...This is a great opportunity for you to play a role in the future of Brooklyn politics."

Thursday
At "Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. will deliver his annual "State of the Borough" address, his sixth since taking office in 2009. During the speech, Borough President Diaz will discuss the successes of the previous year while also offering new proposals on a variety of topics, including economic development, housing, legislation and more." 10 a.m., The Mall at Bay Plaza.
[Read from our series on this year's 'State of' speeches, including coverage of the President's State of the Union, Governor's State of the State, and more]

Thursday evening, "a coalition of neighborhood groups, merchants associations, and elected officials representing Downtown and Brownstone Brooklyn invite you to a town hall meeting to discuss how to address the challenge posed to all New Yorkers by crumbling transportation infrastructure, growing congestion, and rising tolls and transit fares. The focus of the town hall meeting will be a plan put forward by Move NY, a transportation policy group." The event will feature "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz.

Thursday evening, Council Member Costa Constantinides in collaboration with state Senator Michael Gianaris, Assembly Member Cathy Nolan, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, the Astoria Houses Residents Association, The Floating Hospital, H.A.N.A.C. Astoria Cornerstone, and Minor Miracles will host "I Have A Dream" Black History Month Community Celebration event, 7 p.m., Astoria Houses Residents Association.

Thursday evening is the New York City Young Republican Monthly Meetup.

Friday and the weekend
At Friday is the deadline to apply for discretionary funding application for fiscal year 2016 from the City Council.

Friday morning is another CityLaw Breakfast at New York Law School, this one with New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Commissioner Meera Joshi.

Also Friday morning: The Murphy Institute at CUNY School of Professional Studies presents: Is There a Future for Low Income Housing in New York City? - "The highlight of Mayor de Blasio's State of the City address on Tuesday was his affordable housing initiative, starting with East New York, one of the city's least well-served neighborhoods. His words were greeted with demands for more details, particularly with regard to balancing the needs of diverse stakeholders."

Friday is the 5th Annual NYU Social Innovation Symposium: "Join leaders in the NYC social enterprise community to explore the use of market-based mechanisms to create lasting solutions to the world's most pressing social problems. The 5th annual NYU Social Innovation Symposium, New Rules, Bold Ideas: Innovations for Sustainable Social Impact, will discuss innovations and collaborations that span the private, public, and civil sectors to create positive social impact. This year's symposium will welcome Jim Brett, President of West Elm, and Kees Kruythoff, President of Unilever North America, as the 2015 keynote speakers."

Friday evening is the CodeAcross NYC 2015 Kickoff & Town Hall with Dr. Mashariki, NYC's Chief Analytics Officer.

Saturday and Sunday is "CodeAcross NYC 2015 - NYC's #OpenData & #CivicTech Festival!" from BetaNYC: "#CodeAcross NYC is a two day festival of, or related to, liberating government data and civic technology. We are bringing together government, community based organizations, innovators, academics, and individuals to create effective uses of NYC's data. CodeAcross NYC is open to all ages and all who want to improve NYC's data! Join us on February 21 and 22 as we teach, make, and create tools relating to NYC's data...Problem we are addressing: With the signing of the City's transformative open data law, thousands of datasets have pouring out of NYC agencies. New York City is the number one "open data" city in America. Yet, this data can seem daunting. Through CodeAcross NYC, we reach across the city and demystify the City's data. For two days, will teach about existing datasets. Second, we will crack open PDFs and databases to make new data sets. Lastly, we challenge you to create tools and visualizations on top of the largest collection of municipal data!"

City Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr. will give his first State of the 36th District speech on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Uncommon Charter High School.

Saturday: #HackHarlem Hackathon - "Using Technology to Build a Better Harlem" - "Harlem Business Alliance's #HackHarlem is a day long hackathon dedicated to using technology to build a better Harlem, #HackHarlem will take place on February 21, 2015 in NYC at Creative Workspace @HBA. The goal of #HackHarlem is to encourage the development of solutions to the problems facing the Harlem and other New York enclaves by those who live, work, and learn in those communities."

Also Saturday, "Join the New York Urban League Young Professionals for its fifth annual State of Young Black New York (SOYBNY) symposium, taking place Saturday, February 21st, 10 AM to 4 PM at CUNY School of Law in Queens. This year, the theme is "Civil Rights 2.0" and we have partnered with the CUNY Black Male Initiative. It's 2015 and the Black community has made tremendous progress in the push for civil rights and equality of opportunity. However, with the recurring abuses of power by police, perplexing gradual repeal of voting rights, and the erection of barriers to affordable housing, home-ownership, living wage employment, and entrepreneurship, it feels like we are having to re-fight many of the battles of those that came before us, and on a very different terrain."

Free CUNY Citizenship Application Assistance event with Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Saturday, 11:00 a.m.

***
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).

***
by Rati Mukhuradze and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

New Class Offers Officials Crash Course in Civic Tech


data viz taxi

Civic tech work often leads to data visualizations, interactive tools (@zubinwadia via @betanyc)


With the data available these days, there is no shortage of app ideas and app makers. In cities like New York, which have a robust civic technology community, hacknights to dive into government data and solve civic problems are held on a regular basis.

While the creation of apps, and the push by civic technologists for even more data, is common, getting those apps picked up and used by cities and citizens is a different story. There are a variety of roadblocks, many involving government regulations not designed for the 21st century.

Bureaucracy is set up to say "no" to disruption. Often, mechanisms are in place to protect a city from fraud and corruption. But in a time when technological advances far outpace the speed of government, innovation can be stifled and frustration rampant.

So how do you prepare the next wave of civic innovators to deal with the "no" machine? Furthermore, how do you create and design a project that will not only benefit citizens, but also get a "yes" from government and its constituents?

Until recently those answers have been hard to come by for people without government experience. But the GovLab at NYU is working to change that. On March 2 the GovLab Academy will offer an eight-week course on civic tech for local elected officials and their staff members. The class will meet online every other Monday and include one-on-one coaching sessions.

"What we add is an integrative piece that brings that expertise and those who understand how to actually get it done," Alan Kantrow, chief learning and communications officer of the GovLab, said by phone.

[Related: De Blasio, City's Tech Community Ready for Big Year Two]

The "Civic Tech for Local Legislatures and Legislators" class will be co-taught by City Council Member Ben Kallos, a long-time civic tech advocate and chair of the Council's government operations committee, and Arnaud Sahuguet, a recent product manager at Google. Beth Noveck, the former Director of the White House Open Government Initiative under President Obama is also expected to help facilitate.

"Whenever possible, I have tried to partner with civic technologists to create change," Kallos said by email. "It is important to mentor the next change-makers who are working on projects to open and improve government."

Kallos is no stranger to seeing the benefit of government and technologists partnerships. In the fall of last year Kallos got the City to team up with civic technologist to unlock 50 years of the City Record Online. The historical data had been put online in PDFs, making the data, including its searchability, very difficult. The project, one of several initiatives Kallos has been involved with that leverage technology, is expected to be complete some time this year.

For the GovLab class, participants are encouraged to enroll in teams of three to five members and with projects in mind they are hoping to develop. Topics can include but are not limited to "constituent engagement, crowdsourced lawmaking, enhanced drafting and archiving of local laws and rules, and other tech-enabled strategies for enhancing legitimacy and effectiveness in municipal legislatures and among local regulators," according to the class website.

Kallos said he will not be bringing a project to the class, as his focus will be on teaching. But he added his personal focus as a council member has been to upgrade constituent services so work and resources can be shared among multiple legislative bodies. His larger vision: a "one-stop shop open democracy platform."

Kantrow said early interest in the class was high, but didn't provide a number of sign-ups. Enrollment for the class, which is open to anyone, is open through February 25.

[Related: In New Civic Tech Hub, A Family Legacy of Community Building Continues]

***
by Kristen Meriwether, Gotham Gazette
@MeriwetherK

Push to Expand Your Right to an Attorney Gains Momentum


ny1 roundtable housing

Council members and other experts discuss Right to Counsel on NY1 (photo: @MarkLevineNYC)


"Justice should not be reserved for only those who can afford it," said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito during her State of the City speech Wednesday as she promised civil legal aid to vulnerable New Yorkers through a new Office of Civil Justice Coordinator.

By law, all defendants in criminal matters are provided with an attorney if they cannot afford one themselves, but this is not the case in civil court proceedings such as in deportation cases or in housing court.

The speaker's pledge, along with one made by Mayor Bill de Blasio in his own State of the City address that heavily focused on affordable housing, dovetail into a City Council bill aimed at providing legal representation for all low-income tenants facing eviction.

Intro. 214, also called the Right to Counsel Act, was introduced in March of 2014 by Council Members Mark Levine and Vanessa Gibson, and aims to reduce wrongful evictions, in turn inhibiting predatory landlords and minimizing the related costs of homelessness - both to New Yorkers' lives and the city coffers.

The Mayor has already announced that in areas rezoned for affordable housing, "victims of landlord neglect and harassment" would receive free-of-cost legal representation. "Protecting our tenants – through whatever means necessary – isn't just the moral thing to do," he said, "It's a critical step in making New York City a more affordable place for everyone."

The mayor's legal help plan is earmarked $36 million for next fiscal year, Capital New York reports. But the mayor's proposal is limited to the rezoned areas and the Right to Counsel bill would make the program universal - and, significantly, it would codify it into law, not easily reversed by a less tenant-friendly mayor.

"It's a question of justice we have to address," Council Member Levine said during a recent appearance on NY1's Inside City Hall. Levine says that 90 percent of tenants in housing court go without representation. Eviction is the number one cause of homelessness in the city, which is at an all-time high, and this bill is one part of a solution, Levine, Gibson, and other proponents argue.

The bill has gained momentum with the backing of numerous affordable housing advocates, legal service providers, and experts. A coalition of such groups, the Right to Counsel NYC (RTCNYC), has been fighting for the issue since June.

"The Mayor acknowledged the explicit connection between increased harassment of tenants and the City's rezoning," said Susanna Blankley, Director of Housing Organizing at the Community Action for Safe Apartments. "We don't want the help to come at the final stage of the process. We want strong anti-harassment and anti-displacement policies in place. People are being brought to court not for failure to pay rent but as a tactic of harassment."

Blankley, also a member of RTCNYC, believes the number of evictions could be halved if this law is passed. "Our main issue is essentially with wrongful evictions that could be prevented," she told Gotham Gazette in a phone interview. "Many of these people have the law on their side but don't have the resources."

Blankley works in the Bronx, which saw nearly 11,000 evictions in both 2013 and 2014. She believes the bill will reduce the number of cases taken to housing court once landlords realize they cannot use eviction as a form of harassment.

More than just a human issue, it is a matter of due process, according to Andrew Scherer, Policy Director of the Impact Center for Public Interest Law at New York Law School. "It's impossible for an unrepresented tenant to navigate the court system without having an attorney and it's a matter of fundamental due process. It's also good, solid public policy," he told host Errol Louis on the Inside City Hall panel alongside Council Members Levine and Gibson.

Scherer also emphasized that the problem is two-fold. Not only do evictions lead to homelessness, but they also reduce the number of affordable apartments in the city, a point that Blankley reiterated. Most of these tenants are forced out of rent-stabilized units, after which landlords can legally increase the rent by 20 percent, creating what Gibson called an "affordability crisis."

While many advocates and elected officials clearly agree on the premise of legal representation for all, it all comes down to funding. Comptroller Scott Stringer, the city's chief financial officer, has already come out in support of the Right to Counsel bill. At the Bronx Housing Court last week, he told the press, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So if you stop an eviction, you stop someone from going through a system," according to the Norwood News. Stringer said he is looking at the mayor's preliminary budget to find the funding for the bill.

The council members are confident that the Right to Counsel is an investment that gives back to the city. By keeping people in their homes, the City can reduce it's nearly $1 billion a year spending on homeless shelters. Instead of spending more than $30,000 on a family in a shelter, "it's far more prudent to spend $2,000 up front to get them an attorney so they can keep their apartment," Levine told Gotham Gazette.

Levine also pointed out the sort of trickle-down effect of the bill. By reducing homelessness, he said, it will also limit related costs including spending on emergency room visits, mental health counselling, termination and unemployment benefits, and the negative effects on children's education.

"It clearly seems like a wise investment," said Denise Miranda, Managing Director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center. Miranda estimates the annual spending on homeless families is as high as $36,000. "We should commend this administration for it's commitment in tackling homelessness and evictions. It's a step in the right direction," she said.

The City has already put in funds over the last two years to pilot programs that the bill would make citywide. Speaker Mark-Viverito committed to expanding these programs and to increase funding, mentioning the successful Court-Based Homelessness Prevention Project that will receive $7.5 million this year. The civil justice coordinator, once established, will create a five-year plan for legal aid access for all city residents.

"Providing this access to New Yorkers is not only fair, it's also the fiscally responsible thing to do," said Mark-Viverito in her speech.

The move is being lauded by many. During Mark-Viverito's speech, Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr. showed enthusiasm for her call, rapidly responding on Twitter, "Yes, [Speaker]! Central BK tenants need & deserve representation in housing court!"

With the Mayor having presented his preliminary budget, the Council will hold hearings and formulate its budget response in the next several weeks. Levine is pushing for the funding for the Right to Counsel, which he estimates would cost between $100-150 million in the first year - a figure that is gross, not net. "It's tricky because there is significant up-front spending, but we'll recoup the money on the back end," he said. "Arguably, it'll be a money saver." He said the legislative agenda will also move quickly, expecting a committee hearing on the bill by early spring and the introduction of the Civil Justice Coordinator bill in the next few weeks. The Right to Counsel bill currently has 36 sponsors (35 of the 51 council members and Public Advocate Letitia James), including Jumaane Williams, who chairs the housing committee, in which the bill would be heard.

The speaker's address indicates that legal services for tenants is going to be a key aspect of budget negotiations and Levine stands encouraged by Mark-Viverito's pronouncements. State rent control regulations are set to expire in June and de Blasio has called on Albany to take action to protect tenants. In the meantime, the City can step in and lead the nation by creating a law unprecedented across the country, Levine says.

"This bill will change the climate nationally," said Levine, "and spark similar action all over the United States. It's a game change for tenants and housing. The ripples will be far-reaching."

***
by Samar Khurshid, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid



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