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Immigrant Advocacy Group Releases 2020 New York Policy Agenda


immigratrion adv

(photo: Make the Road New York)


With the January session of the Legislature around the corner, the state’s largest immigrant services and advocacy organization is launching a broad platform of progressive legislative proposals and is preparing a major push for its passage.

On Tuesday, Make the Road New York, a statewide organization that boasts 24,000 members, is releasing its Respect and Dignity Platform for 2020, which proposes removing ICE from courthouses across the state, instituting a good cause eviction law, and ending discrimination in school disciplinary practices. The platform also includes decriminalizing sex work, strengthening worker protections across the board, and taxing the wealthy to help fund social services like housing, healthcare, and education programs, among other goals.

“Our communities’ well-being is at risk when ICE is present at courthouses, when millions of tenants across the state lack basic protections, when harsh, punitive school discipline practices afflict our young people, and when trans immigrant sex workers are criminalized at every turn,” said Make the Road co-executive director Javier Valdés in a statement.

Make the Road New York is a progressive, immigrant-led grassroots organization with members in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, which provides community services and pushes for policy change at the local and state levels. During the last state legislative session, which saw for the first time in nearly a decade Democrats controlling both chambers of the Legislature, Make the Road was especially active in support of several successful legislative pushes.

Those victories were highlighted by the New York State Dream Act, which extends state scholarships to undocumented students, and the so-called “Green Light” law giving access to drivers licenses to people who are undocumented. Make the Road New York was also a strong supporter of expansive rent law reform aimed at protecting tenants in rent-stabilized apartments.

The 2020 platform announced Tuesday initiates the organization’s next wave of advocacy efforts, many of which capture the goals of other progressive groups representing diverse constituencies and expand on those legislative achievements. The platform launch will be followed by a series of four town halls in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester throughout December leading up to the beginning of the 2020 legislative session in Albany, a representative for the organization explained.

“It’s time to reclaim our economy and democracy from the billionaire class, by strengthening worker protections and increasing taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and large corporations to fund vital services like education for youth and adults, health care, and housing,” Valdes said, urging Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders to prioritize the issues in the upcoming legislative session beginning in January.

Two planks of the platform are geared toward addressing federal policy, particularly under the Trump administration, that adversely target immigrants, especially those who are undocumented.

As part of the platform, the advocates are pushing state lawmakers to pass the Protect Our Courts Act, sponsored by Assembly Member Michaelle Solages, a Long Island Democrat, and Senator Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat. The bill would prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from making civil arrests and detentions inside or in the vicinity of New York State courthouses.

A second piece of legislation, billed as a response to recent federal immigration policy, is intended to improve healthcare access to New Yorkers regardless of immigration status. The bill would create a $532 million state funded insurance plan for New Yorkers with income up to twice the federal poverty level, irrespective of immigration documentation.

The platform also includes a bill to protect renters’ rights in small buildings, helping close a gap in recently passed tenant protections. Good cause eviction legislation sponsored by Assembly Pamela Hunter, a Syracuse Democrat, and Senator Julia Salazar, a Brooklyn Democrat, would prevent landlords in small buildings from evicting or removing tenants without a legitimate justification based in the law like the failure to pay rent. Recent recent stabilization reforms apply only to buildings with six or more units, according to Make the Road New York, and the new legislation would bring those protections to tenants living in smaller buildings.

“In the apartment where we’ve lived for eight years, there’s been a lot of mold on the walls, and I’ve had to cover it with plastic because the landlord won’t fix it. We have nowhere else to go, but we don’t have the protections to ensure we can remain in the apartment,” said Norberta, a Make the Road New York member from Yonkers, in a press release from organization.

“I’m worried because I know that, if the landlord gets bothered by our complaints, he might try to raise the rent a lot or just try to kick me out,” she added.

Several pieces of the group’s new agenda fall under the heading “Reclaim our Democracy and Economy from Billionaires” in documents describing the platform. Among them is public campaign financing reform that includes a high 6-to-1 match on qualifying political donations, lower contribution limits, and enforcement other than by the State Board of Elections. The state’s Public Campaign Financing Commission is set to outline by December 1 a new state-level public matching program, along with related regulations, which will take effect unless state lawmakers act to modify or reject it. The commission has been mired in controversy since its outset earlier this year, with many critics concerned that it may set contribution limits too high and squander its potential impact on big money in politics. (Perhaps more controversial has been efforts by some commissioners to eliminate fusion voting and raise the vote threshold for third parties to receive ballot lines.)

Make the Road New York is also pushing automatic voter registration and the full re-enfranchisement of people on parole. The group is also proposing new taxes on billionaires and multi-millionaires to raise up to $30 billion in state monies, as well as the EMPIRE Worker Protection Act intended to help enforce wage theft and equal pay laws, especially for immigrants who may be targeted by their employers.

“Workers in our community face wage theft and abuse every day,” said Luis Wyler, member of Make the Road New York from Queens in the press release. “We need a fully resourced Department of Labor and the ability to take our employer to court despite forced arbitration. Millions of workers in our state will be empowered to end wage theft when we win the EMPIRE Act.”

A number of points on the Respect and Dignity Platform deal with policing reforms intended to protect groups disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system and other disciplinary regimes, like black and Latino residents, transgender people, and certain student communities. One bill, the “Solutions Not Suspensions Act,” would limit out-of-school suspensions for minor offenses, and promote alternatives to suspensions that embrace elements of restorative justice.

Another bill would repeal a state statute known as Civil Rights Law, Section 50-a, which shields police disciplinary records from being made public. And another would create a special prosecutor within the state attorney general’s office to investigate police killings of civilians.

Make the Road New York supports a bill that would remove vague language from state law that it says has enabled police to harrass and arrest transgender people, especially black and Latino trans women, under the guise of enforcing laws around sex work. Another piece of legislation in the group’s platform would decriminalize sex work for consenting adults, while keeping in place anti-trafficking statutes.

“In our neighborhood we face harassment and abuse from police, yet there is no accountability for officers who abuse their power,” said Keith Fuller, a member of Make the Road New York from Brooklyn. “For justice for all young people in New York we have to pass the Solutions Not Suspensions Act to end the school-to-prison pipeline and Repeal 50-A and pass the Special Prosecutor bill to make the police accountable for abuse.”

The sex work and other policing-related bills, among other aspects of the platform, may test how far Democrats in Albany will be willing to go in the 2020 session, which is also an election year for the entire Legislature. On a few of the more progressive pieces of legislation passed earlier this year, some of the senators from more moderate but Democratic suburban districts, like on Long Island, voted in opposition. Activists from and aligned with Make the Road New York were helpful in winning some of those same seats in 2018 and hailed the historic progressive session, but are clearly looking for more in the year ahead.

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by Ethan Geringer-Sameth, reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Ben Max contributed to this story.

Bloomberg Watch; De Blasio Mental Health Conference; NYPD Body Camera Hearing; & More: The Week Ahead in New York Politics, November 18


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week begins with renewed examination of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's record on policing, particularly his administration's overuse of stop-and-frisk tactics that resulted in a court ruling of unconstitutionality based on racial profiling, and, more than six years later, an apology from Bloomberg on Sunday at a black church in Brooklyn, offered as he appears on the verge of formally announcing a campaign for the Democratic nomination for president.

Many observers called it too little too late, with Mayor Bill de Blasio also referring to its timing as "transparent and cynical" given Bloomberg has previously, including recently, defended his administration's approach to policing, especially vis-a-vis communities of color, where hundreds of thousands of innocent young men of color were stopped and searched during the Bloomberg era. Now on the precipice of running for president, Bloomberg claimed to have come to a new realization, which he outlined for churchgoers, the media, and voters across the country, during his Sunday remarks. Also notable: when he announced earlier this year he was not going to run for president, Bloomberg made fun of the way former Vice President Joe Biden had entered the race on an 'apology tour' of sorts, and said he would not be able to do such a thing and renounce what he believes in.

There's a Democratic primary debate on Wednesday night this week, but Bloomberg, whether he officially declares his candidacy or not, won't be participating. Given that he is eschewing fundraising in what appears to be a likely run, he won't be able to qualify for either the November or December debates, and may miss others beyond that depending on how he polls and what criteria the Democratic National Committee sets. The first votes of the primary. set for February, are quickly approaching.

Meanwhile, there's a lot happening this week in New York politics, including a variety of important hearings at the City Council (like one on the NYPD's rollout of its body camera program) and State Legislature. But that's not all, there's much to be aware of -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday, November 18
On Monday and Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray will host the 2019 Cities Thrive Mental Health Conference at New York Law School. Participants will also include Deputy Mayors Dean Fuleihan and Phillip J. Thompson; Susan Herman, Director of the Office of ThriveNYC; elected officials from other parts of the country, health care professionals, including Dr. Vivek Murthy, former Surgeon General of the United States, and others. Fuleihan will give welcoming remarks and McCray will give an opening keynote on Monday morning. De Blasio will give a keynote Monday afternoon. Thompson will open Tuesday’s proceedings, which will also include remarks, via video, by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

At the City Council on Monday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Civil and Human Rights will hold a hearing on legislation related to “expanding the definition of employer under the human rights law to provide protections for domestic workers.”
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Public Safety will hold an oversight hearing on NYPD’s rollout of body-worn cameras and related legislation. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, whose bill will be discussed, will participate. [Read: City Council to Examine Rolllout of NYPD Body Camera Program]
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Youth Services will go on a tour of the Ali Forney Drop-in Center on West 125th Street.
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Transportation will hold an oversight hearing on liveries and corporate black cars. 

On Monday at 10 a.m. in Manhattan, Young Invincibles and partners will host a panel about New York City’s student homelessness crisis and related solutions. Panelists will include Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Dr. Christine Baker-Smith of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice; Dr. Nicholas Freudenberg of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy and the CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute; Abja Midha of HERE to HERE; and Jennifer Pringle of the New York State Technical and Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYS-TEACHS), Advocates for Children of New York.

At 10:30 a.m. Monday, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will deliver remarks at the opening of Bantam Tools Advanced Manufacturing Facility in Peekskill. At 7 p.m., Hochul will give a keynote address at the New York League of Conservation Voters reception in Manhattan.

NYU Wagner will partner with 13 other NYU schools to host How To Be a Political Activist from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, providing an “interactive training program addressing how to mobilize voters, how to use social media as an electioneering tool, how to speak across political divides, and how to build coalitions.” Panelists will include Juanita Lewis, the Hudson Valley Organizing Director of Community Voices Heard; Linda Lausell Bryant, Professor at the Silver School of Social Work; and Justin Ruben, the Board President of MoveOn.org.

New York Times Magazine writer Nikole Hannah-Jones will appear for a fireside chat about the 1619 Project with Dr. Christina Greer, 2018 NYU McSilver fellow and Fordham professor, at 6 p.m. Monday at NYU, an event hosted by the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at NYU and the Office of NYU President Andrew D. Hamilton.

At 6 p.m. Monday, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will host a public hearing on new development in Lenox Terrace, at Joseph Kennedy Center.

At 6:30 p.m., Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will attend the Lenox Terrace rezoning hearing. At 8 p.m., Williams will give the keynote address at the Tourette Association of America Gala, where he "will speak about his childhood growing up with Tourette Syndrome and how it has impacted his life and time in office."

The Municipal Art Society of New York will host the final installment of 2019 Closer LOOK series from 6:30-8 p.m. Monday to “examine the rights of artists who create non-commissioned works in the public and private realm.”

On Monday evening, Mayor de Blasio will make his usual appearance on NY1's Inside City Hall with host Errol Louis.

Tuesday, November 19
As previously mentioned, the de Blasio administration-led Cities Thrive Mental Health Conference will continue Tuesday in Manhattan.

At the City Council on Tuesday:
--At 9:30 a.m., the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold a hearing
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Immigration and the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations will jointly hold an oversight hearing on the role of public libraries in support of immigrant New Yorkers.
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Contracts and the Committee on Veterans will jointly hold an oversight hearing on contracting by the Department of Veterans Services. 
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Governmental Operations and the Committee on Finance will jointly hold a hearing on multiple bills including one that would establish an office of not-for-profit organization services.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals will hold a public hearing in Manhattan.

The State Senate Standing Committee on Education and the State Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Revenues will jointly hold a public meeting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Bayside High School in Queens to “hear stakeholder input regarding the components of the Foundation Aid formula in relation to student, district and community needs with a goal of greater equity in school financing.” 

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics will meet.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday in Manhattan, the State Senate Standing Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, the State Senate Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, the Assembly Standing Committee on Energy, and the Assembly Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions will jointly hold a public hearing on Natural Gas Moratoriums. 

At 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Elections will meet.

New York University’s Marron Institute of Urban Management will host a talk titled “What is the cost of building a subway?” with Alon Levy, Marron Fellow, at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Silver Center for Arts and Sciences. 

Henry Street Settlement will host “Power and Policy on the Lower East Side: A historical perspective,” from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Abrons Arts Center to “address the history of redlining and segregation on the Lower East Side from the 1930s to the present, including how the decision of government and banks in the past still affect the neighborhood today.” Panelists will include Lena Afridi, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development; Francisca Benitez, Art Against Displacement; Braden Crooks, Undesign the Redline Project; Marika Dias, Legal Services NYC; and Samuel Stein, author, Capital City: Gentrification and the Real Estate State.

Wednesday, November 20
At the City Council on Wednesday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Housing and Buildings and the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management will jointly hold an oversight hearing on the implementation of automatic sprinkler requirements in commercial buildings.--At 11 a.m., the Committee on Land Use will hold a hearing.
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Economic Development will hold an oversight hearing on the economic impact of the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center.
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Hospitals and the Committee on Technology will jointly hold an oversight hearing on electronic health records.
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Justice System and the Committee on Women and Gender Equity will jointly hold an oversight hearing on the efficacy and the efficiency of batterer intervention programs.  
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Higher Education will hold an oversight hearing on diversity in higher education classrooms and curricula.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday in Manhattan, the State Senate Standing Committee on Elections and the Assembly Standing Committee on Election Law will jointly hold a public hearing to discuss the implementation of early voting throughout New York State.

At 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Manhattan Institute will host a panel on “Rent Regulation: The future of housing affordability in New York City” at The Mezzanine. Speakers will include Reihan Salam, President, Manhattan Institute; Howard Husock, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute and Contributing Editor, City Journal; Ingrid Gould Ellen, Paulette Goddard Professor of Urban Policy and Planning and Faculty Director at the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy; and Brooklyn City Council Member Brad Lander. The panel will be moderated by Alyssa Katz, Deputy Editor of The City.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, this week’s Max & Murphy show will air on WBAI radio -- 99.5FM or streaming at wbai.org -- and will feature and extended interview with City Comptroller Scott Stringer.

New York State Assembly Members  Mike Reilly and Michael LiPetri will jointly host a meeting of the Water Quality Task Force from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the College of Staten Island to “discuss the condition of the state’s water resources, address emerging contaminants and prioritize and fix aging infrastructure.”

Thursday, November 21
Crain’s New York Business will host a healthcare summit Thursday called “New York after DSRIP- What comes next?”

ABNY Census 2020 in partnership with Labor Counts! Complete Cout Committee will jointly present “New York City Census Summit 2019” from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday “to energize and equip community-based organizations across the five boroughs of New York City to get out the count” in 2020. Speakers will include representatives of the Association for a Better New York; Jeri Green, National Urban League; Juan Rosa, NALEO; Taissa Morimoto, National LGBTQ Task Force; Vanessa Gonzalez, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Dennis Walcott, Queens Public Library; Julie Menin, NYC Census; Dr. Steven J. Corwin, NewYork-Presbyterian; and Vinny Alvares, Central Labor Council.

At 10 a.m. Thursday at the City Council, the Committee on General Welfare will hold an oversight hearing on food access, quality, and inspections at city homeless shelters. 

At 10 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) will hold a public meeting at its Manhattan offices.

At the State Assembly on Thursday:
--At 10 a.m. Thursday in Albany, the Assembly Standing Committee on Children and Families and the Task Force on Women’s Issues will jointly hold a public hearing on family involvement in the child welfare and family court systems. 
--At 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Albany, the State Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary and the Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary will jointly hold a public hearing on Court Consolidation. 

Friday, November 22
At 10 a.m. Friday, Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show.

At the State Assembly on Friday:
--At 10 a.m. Friday in Albany, the Assembly Standing Committee on Aging will hold a public hearing on programs and services offered by area agencies on aging for older New Yorkers and their caregivers. 
--At 10:30 a.m. Friday in Manhattan, the Assembly Standing Committee on Local Governments, the Assembly Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, and the Assembly Standing Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation will jointly hold a public hearing on the Industrial Development Agencies( IDAs) and Local Development Corporations( LDCs).  
--At 11 a.m. Friday in Manhattan, the State Senate Standing Committee on Consumer Protection and the State Senate Standing Committee on Internet and Technology will jointly hold a public hearing on protecting consumer data and privacy on online platforms.

***
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 Ben Max
@GothamGazette

What's The [DATA] Point? $15 billion, with First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan


whats the data point


What's The [Data] Point? Episode 84 -- $15 billion, Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

wtdp dean fuleihan2$15 billion is the CBC's estimate of the three-year revenue shortfall for New York City government in a recession. First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan joined CBC President Andrew Rein for a wide-ranging discussion about the City's budget, closing Rikers, access to hydropower, NYC's competitiveness, and more.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think: Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax), Maria Doulis of CBC (@MariaDoulis). Listen below or download wherever you get your podcasts!

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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Advocates Remind State Leaders of Approaching Deadline to Name Redistricting Commission


new york start capitol

(photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


New York State government leaders are fond of appointing commissions, but those bodies are not known for meeting their deadlines. With those facts in mind, an advocacy group released a public letter Tuesday with an important message about governmental machinations that will significantly impact the state’s future.

With the 2020 Census around the corner, the League of Women Voters of New York State is urging the state Legislature to keep its eye on a key deadline that falls ahead of the all-important population count. By February 1, the state constitution mandates that the Legislature must appoint an “independent” commission that will draw district lines for Senate, Assembly, and congressional seats based on the census results.

The next round of redistricting is meant to be carried out by a new, untested Independent redistricting commission, which was approved by voters in a 2014 ballot referendum after being passed by the Legislature. The commission is meant to be largely immune from political influence to avoid drawing partisan districts, as was the case in the previous statewide redistricting. But, to ensure the commission does its job right, it needs sufficient funding and time to complete its work, said LWVNYS President Suzanne Stassevitch, in a letter sent on Tuesday to the state Legislature.

“The League of Women Voters of New York State believes that in order for this commission to fulfill its constitutional obligations, it must receive adequate funding from the state in the 2020-2021 fiscal budget year,” she wrote. That budget is due to be decided by April 1, but is largely determined by the governor’s executive budget, which is typically released in January.

New York’s representation in Congress and the carving and apportionment of legislative districts at the state and local levels are products of the census count. In the 2010 Census, New York’s population was acutely undercounted and the state lost one seat in the House of Representatives.

The subsequent redistricting, by a state Legislative task force, was considered particularly partisan when it came to the state Senate, strengthening rural and suburban representation, which tends to favor Republicans, and weakening the power of Democrat-leaning districts in New York City. Highly-gerrymandered and -disfigured districts can be found all over the state, with Senate districts designed to benefit Republicans and Assembly districts benefiting Democrats. It was adopted by a split Legislature, where Democrats held the Assembly and Republicans controlled the Senate, and ultimately approved by Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. Congressional districts were drawn by a judge-appointed special master after the Legislature could not come to an agreement on proposed maps.

At the same time, as the process faced broad criticism for its opacity and skewed results, the Legislature moved to amend the state constitution and provide for an independent commission to oversee the next redistricting. It was later approved by voters and must be created by February 1, 2020.

However, the state government doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to meeting legally mandated deadlines. A separate commission – the New York State Complete Count Commission – that was meant to create a strategy for census outreach was only named months after its first report was due. The Legislature and governor then allocated $20 million in the April budget for that outreach, far short of what advocates and some legislators had sought. And the commission only submitted its report in early October and did not propose a plan for spending the money, which has yet to be released by Governor Cuomo’s budget office.

“Without timely appointments and adequate state funding, the Independent Redistricting Commission will experience the same dysfunction as the recent New York State Complete Count Commission,” Stassevitch wrote. 

The governor has no say in naming the ten-member redistricting commission, which has strict criteria to ensure independence and a nonpartisan composition, though its design did fall short of what some reformers had sought.

Two members each are meant to be appointed by Democrats Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Republicans Senate Minority Leader John Flanagan and Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb. Those eight appointees will then, by a majority vote, choose two members who cannot be part of either major political party. The members, who will all be paid, will choose two co-executive directors, one each to represent Democrats and Republicans. The commission is required to hold at least 12 public meetings in counties across the state.

“We will absolutely fulfil our constitutional obligation and be represented on the Independent Redistricting Commission. While concerns over timeliness are certainly valid, the effectiveness of redistricting will be determined only if the Commission achieves true independence – something Albany has been sorely lacking in these types of endeavors,” said Assembly Minority Leader Kolb, in a statement through a spokesperson.

“If they follow the requirements the commissioners have to meet in order to be appointed, that will take us some way towards a less partisan group,” Stassevitch said in a brief phone interview. “And I think the level of transparency that is required with the public meetings, and also with the choices that can be made for commissioners, I think it's going to do a lot to open up the process to public scrutiny and allow a more robust conversation where it's needed.”

One major change from last time is full Democratic control of the Legislature. In this situation, the law creating the commission protects against one party wielding undue influence over the final district lines by requiring a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber to be adopted, instead of a simple majority.

Stassevitch was optimistic that the process will yield more equitable legislative districts. “The hope is that we can get the voters and the citizens and people in all of these districts at the center of this process instead of the politicians,” she said. “It was meant to be about the people, not about the politicians, and the politicians have had us, across the country in many instances, bamboozled into thinking otherwise for a long time.”

However, even though the commission will follow a nonpartisan process, its recommendations will not be binding. The Legislature could adopt its own plans after rejecting the commission’s proposed district lines twice. This next round will also be the first redistricting to take place after the United States Supreme Court invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act, which mandated federal approval of redrawn districts in certain counties including Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.

A spokesperson for Flanagan acknowledged a request for comment but did not provide one. Spokespeople for Stewart-Cousins and Heastie did not respond to requests for comment.

[Read: New York’s New, Untested Redistricting Process Set to Unfold After 2020 Census]

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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

MTA Capital Plan Hearing; De Blasio Town Hall; City Council Oversight; & More: The Week Ahead in New York Politics, November 11


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week begins with President Donald Trump in New York City for the 100th Veterans Day parade and many eyes watching to see what steps former Mayor Michael Bloomberg takes toward running for the Democratic nomination for president.

After much of the New York political world spent the last several days in Puerto Rico for the annual SOMOS conference, with a good deal of buzz around Bloomberg announcing new plans to explore a presidential run, this week begins with Veterans Day celebrations and commemorations, with a great deal of government business to follow. There is an MTA Board meeting this week as well as a rare state legislative hearing on the MTA, this one focused on the proposed $51.5 billion five-year MTA capital plan, which was passed by the MTA Board and awaits approval by the Capital Plan Review Board, which includes representatives of the governor, mayor, and legislative majority leaders.

The week also begins with additional attention on how the subways are being policed -- video of a churro vendor being given a summons by NYPD officers went viral over the weekend, leading to a great deal of criticism, including from a number of elected officials. The incident comes after several other recent ones captured on cell phone video that have raised questions about how the NYPD and MTA police are policing the subways and about Governor Cuomo's plan to hire 500 new MTA police officers, which Mayor de Blasio has endorsed.

De Blasio will get back into the town hall game this week, holding one in southeast Queens. This week also includes a variety of important City Council committee hearings and a full-body Council Stated Meeting, at which bills are introduced or passed. And NYCHA's federal monitor Bart Schwartz will give a public speech at the end of the week.

Those are just a few highlights, there's a lot more to be aware of -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday, November 11
Monday is Veterans Day. At noon, the 100th annual New York City Veterans Day Parade will kick off at Madison Square Park in Manhattan. President Trump, Mayor de Blasio, and others will speak at the opening ceremony ahead of the parade. A group called “Veterans for Impeachment” will protest Trump ahead of his remarks.

At 8 a.m. Monday, “Mayor de Blasio and First Lady McCray will deliver remarks at a breakfast reception in honor of Veterans Day at Gracie Mansion.” At  10:30 a.m., de Blasio “will deliver remarks at the Opening Ceremony of the Veterans Day Parade.” The mayor will march in the parade, then hold a media availability at about 12:45 p.m. In the evening, de Blasio will appear on NY1’s Inside City Hall with Errol Louis, in the 7 and 11 p.m. hours.

At 7:15 a.m. Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will appear on the PIX-11 morning news. At 5:30 p.m., Adams will appear on News 12 “Ask the BP.”

At noon at the Broadway Junction subway station in Brooklyn, “Transit riders, street vendors, progressive advocates, and elected officials will join in solidarity Monday, demanding that MTA resources not be diverted to policing from bus and subway service, and that existing enforcement efforts focus on serious crime rather than criminalizing low-income food vendors and teenagers traveling home from school.” The protest, organized by Riders Alliance and others, will feature State Senator Julia Salazar and comes after the arrest of a churro vendor over the weekend, which garnered a great deal of attention and pushback on social media, including from several high-profile elected officials. Participants will “demand an end to Governor Cuomo's plan to hire 500 new MTA police officers and harsh policing practices targeting low-income food vendors.”

Tuesday, November 12
At 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson will appear on Fox 5 Good Day New York.

At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, MTA Board committee meetings will begin.

At 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will speak at Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center's 2019 Pitch Event. At 11 a.m., Adams will speak at Center for New York City Neighborhoods' press conference on protecting homeowners, at Kings County Court. At 11:30 a.m., Adams will host a press conference with the Anti-Defamation League to announce a new anti-hate initiative, at Brooklyn Borough Hall.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the NYC Board of Correction will hold its next public meeting at 125 Worth Street.

At 9:10 a.m. Tuesday, "Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at the Flight 587 18th Annual Memorial Service." At 1 p.m., "the Mayor will deliver remarks at the US Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter Naming Ceremony to honor Port Security Specialist Second Class and NYPD Officer Vincent Danz and Machinery Technician First Class and FDNY Firefighter Jeffrey Palazzo, who died in the line of duty on 9/11." And at 2:15 p.m., "the Mayor will deliver remarks at the opening of the permanent Dr. Sun Yat-sen monument" in Columbus Park.

At 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, schools Chancellor Richard Carranza will visit a dual-language Mandarin program at PS 163 Flushing Heights in Queens.

At the City Council on Tuesday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Parks and Recreation, the Committee on Contracts, and the Subcommittee on Capital Budget will jointly hold an oversight hearing to improve the efficiency of Parks Department capital projects. 
--At 11 a.m., the Committee on Land Use will hold a hearing.
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Technology, the Committee on Public Safety, and the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management will jointly hold an oversight hearing on New York City’s next generation 9-1-1 system.

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Manhattan, the Assembly Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, the State Senate Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, and the State Senate Standing Committee on Transportation will jointly hold a public hearing on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 2020-24 Capital Program.

The Food Policy 2019 Pitch event where contestants create “one food policy or food initiative that would change or fix the food system in NYC” will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Hunter College. Judges will include Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams; Michael Hurwitz, GrowNYC Greenmarket Director; Kim Kessler, Assistant Commissioner, NYC DOHMH; Karen Pearl, President, God’s Love We Deliver; and Stephen Ritz, CEO, Green Bronx Machine.

Crain’s New York Business will host its Hall of Fame Luncheon at noon Tuesday. Honorees will include Daniel Doctoroff, President and CEO, Sidewalk Labs; Michael Dowling, President and Chief Executive, Northwell Health; Roger Ferguson, CEO, TIAA; William C. Rudin, CEO and co-chairman of Rudin Management Co.; Charlotte St. Martin, President, Broadway League; and Arthur Sulzberger, Chairman, The New York Times Co.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will speak at a screening of 'College Behind Bars' at the Apollo Theater. At 8 p.m., Williams will be honored at the Brooklyn Music School 110th Gala.

Wednesday, November 13
At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Fair Elections for NY coalition will hold a rally at Westchester Community College outside a meeting of a state campaign finance commission meeting to “send a clear message to leave fusion voting alone” as the commission proceeds with its work.

At the City Council on Wednesday:
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Health, the Committee on Housing and Buildings, the Committee on Public Housing, and the Committee on Education will jointly hold an oversight hearing on LeadFreeNYC and the enforcement of the city’s lead laws.
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Civil Service and Labor will hold an oversight hearing to examine automation within the city labor force.
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Oversight and Investigations will hold an oversight hearing to track agency cooperation with investigations and related legislation.
--At 12 p.m., the Committee on Justice Systems will hold a hearing on legislation that would require “the office of nightlife to report on multi-agency response to community hotspots operations and the mayor’s office of criminal justice to ensure reporting on inspections overseen by the office of special enforcement.”
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Resiliency and Waterfronts will hold an oversight hearing to update on Comprehensive Waterfront Plan.
--At 1 p.m., the Committee on Transportation will hold a hearing on legislation for the establishment of a Hart Island public travel plan.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday in Albany, the Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education and the Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation will jointly hold a public hearing on the environmental footprint of colleges and universities in New York State.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday in Manhattan, the State Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary and the Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary will jointly hold a public hearing on court consolidation.

The State Senate Standing Committee on Education and the State Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Revenues will jointly hold a public meeting at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Seaford Middle School, Seaford, to “hear stakeholder input regarding the components of the Foundation Aid formula in relation to student, district and community needs with a goal of greater equity in school financing.”

At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the State Senate Standing Committee on Social Services, the State Senate Standing Committee on Codes, and the State Senate Standing Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction will jointly hold a public meeting in Spring Creek Educational Campus, Brooklyn, to examine the prevalence of youth violence. State Senator Roxanne Persaud, Chair of the Senate Social Services Committee, and colleagues will host a roundtable discussion on the matter with high-school-aged youth at the venue just before the hearing.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and New York Attorney General Letitia James will jointly host a “Justice for All” town hall meeting in Brownsville, Brooklyn, to discuss important justice and safety issues. Co-hosts also include Assemblymember Latrice Monique Walker, City Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, and State Senator Zellnor Myrie.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) will hold its monthly board meeting at the Grand Street Settlement House.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, City Council Member Adrienne Adams, in conjunction with Council Members I. Daneek Miller and Donovan Richards will co-host a town hall with Mayor Bill de Blasio at August Martin High School, Jamaica, Queens.

Thursday, November 14
At 9 a.m. Thursday, the MTA Board will meet.

At the City Council on Thursday:
--At 10:30 a.m., the Committee on Finance will hold a hearing on multiple bills.
--At 1:30 p.m., a City Council Stated Meeting will occur, prefaced by the usual pre-stated press conference led by Speaker Corey Johnson.

At 11 a.m. Thursday in Albany, the Assembly Standing Committee on Codes and the Assembly Standing Committee on Correction will jointly hold a public hearing on Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) and Pretrial Services.

State Senator Roxanne J. Persaud will host an info session with the Legal Aid Society at 6:30p.m. Thursday at P.S. 13 Roberto Clemente School in Brooklyn to discuss the new state rent regulations.

Friday, November 15
At 8:15 a.m. Friday, New York Law School will host a CityLaw Breakfast featuring Bart Schwartz, NYCHA Federal Monitor and Chairman of Guidepost Solutions, to speak about NYCHA.

At 10 a.m. Friday, Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show. 

At 10 a.m. Friday in Albany, the Joint State Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction and Overdose Prevention will hold a public hearing to “hear from stakeholders on strategies for reducing overdoses, improving individual and community health, and addressing the harmful consequences of drug use.”

***
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 Ben Max
@GothamGazette

Max & Murphy Podcast: Analyzing the 2019 Election Results


rank the vote on 1

(photo: @RankTheVoteNYC)


November 6, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Analyzing 2019 Election Results

PodcastThe results are in! Voter turnout was higher than expected, Jumaane Williams was reelected, Melinda Katz elected, ranked-choice voting is coming to New York City, and more. On this episode, the hosts break down the 2019 election results, discuss the first early voting session, look ahead to the next elections coming our way, and more.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think -- we're on Twitter @TweetBenMax and @JarrettMurphy. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy."

***
by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Promising Reform and Independence, Melinda Katz Elected Next Queens District Attorney


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Melinda Katz (photo: Queens Borough President Melinda Katz)


Queens will get a new district attorney for the first time in nearly three decades as Democrat Melinda Katz won the seat on Tuesday with an overwhelming 75% of votes over Republican Joseph Murray, who received 24% of the vote (about 1% of the more than 184,000 votes were write-ins). Katz will be the first newly-elected Queens DA after former District Attorney Richard Brown died in May. Brown had been in office nearly 30 years.

After squeaking out a primary win in a recount earlier this year, Katz was all but assured a victory in the overwhelmingly Democratic borough, with strong name recognition after having served as Queens Borough President since 2013, and broad support from the Queens Democratic Party, labor unions, and fellow local and state elected officials.

Murray, an attorney and former NYPD officer, is a registered Democrat but received the Republican Party line to run against Katz. He had little hope of winning but campaigned arguing that Katz was promising to go too far as a progressive prosecutor, part of a larger movement in the city, state, and country that he believes is misguided.

In her victory speech, Katz hit familiar themes of promoting what is good for Queens families and honoring the borough's tremendous diversity, while reiterating promises to fight gun violence, end cash bail, protect victims of crime, including workers, and more. Katz said Queens has the opportunity to be a national model for criminal justice reform and pledged to work with a broad coalition to execute her extensive list of campaign promises.

Katz did not simply sail to election, having had to first fight a drawn-out primary battle that was only settled after a recount and court battle over uncounted votes. She came out on top with a 55-vote margin against insurgent candidate Tiffany Cabán, a queer Latina public defender who ran on a platform of decarceration and gained national attention from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Though Cabán lost the recount, she was successful in pulling Katz to the left. The borough president’s rhetoric and promises became decidedly more progressive as she saw the winds change and Cabán receive many endorsements.

However, to Katz’s critics, that was further evidence that she is a career politician searching for her next gig. She has previously served in the City Council and the state Assembly, and unsuccessfully ran for Congress and for City Comptroller. In between, she was a lobbyist with ties to the real estate industry and those connections have been a source of some criticism in the current race. Developers were among her biggest contributors this time around, even as Katz vowed to crack down on predatory landlords and developers, and pitched a detailed platform for construction worker safety and worker protection. Katz also drew criticism, which she pushed back against, that she is too close to the Queens Democratic Party, and therefore not independent enough to be the kind of district attorney free of political ties and considerations.

As district attorney, Katz will head up an office of roughly 600 people, which she argued she is qualified to do, given her time running the borough president’s office since 2009. But what she has in at least some managerial qualifications, she lacks in actual courtroom experience. Of all the candidates who ran in the Democratic primary, she was the only one without any.

Nonetheless, she has promised to transform the Queens district attorney’s office, which has been among the last in the city to embrace a less punitive approach to criminal justice. Former DA Brown had a reputation for being tough on crime and did not follow the example of other district attorneys in the city who moved away from prosecuting low-level offenses. He even refused to create a conviction review unit to investigate potential wrongful convictions, something that Katz has promised to do.

During the race, Katz made a slew of promises that advocates and observers will likely hold her to as they seek to see a new system of criminal justice in a borough that is home to over 2.3 million people, largely immigrants. She will also take office at the start of 2020 when sweeping reforms passed by the state Legislature this year – including bail reform, speedy trial and discovery reform – will take effect.

[Read: 19 Things Melinda Katz Promised To Do As Queens District Attorney]

[Read: 'Hard to Define': Melinda Katz's Path to the Precipice of Becoming Queens District Attorney]

***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Ben Max contributed to this story.

As Election Proceeds, Affidavit Ballot Bill at Center of Queens Controversy Continues to Languish


gov cuomo casts

(photo: the governor's office)


Few New York elections go by without controversy, and this year’s relatively quiet slate has been no exception. As voters head to the polls during the inaugural early voting period and heading into Election Day, one major question that came up during the June primary continues to hang over the general election.

A bill that could change the way provisional affidavit ballots are counted as soon as this year is languishing in Albany, having passed both houses of the state Legislature in June. The bill would make it harder to disqualify those ballots on technicalities if the intention of the voter is clear, thus keeping some number of voters from disenfranchisement.

The legislation was the subject of controversy during the Democratic primary for Queens District Attorney earlier this year, a race that was decided in a recount, with many affidavit ballots left uncounted. While it’s unclear if any general election race, in New York City or elsewhere in the state, will be anywhere near as close, the bill would impact whether some votes are counted.

“The bill protects otherwise-eligible voters from having their ballots thrown out on highly-technical, unfair grounds. Had it been signed in a timely way after passage on June 12 and 13, this protection would have been in place for the June primaries and the 2019 general election,” said Jarret Berg, a voting rights lawyer and elections watchdog.

“Instead, the safeguard is either being ignored or intentionally delayed as elections they would help to improve come and go," he said, adding that the law would go into effect immediately and wouldn’t cost the state or localities anything to implement.

Caitlin Girouard, a spokesperson for Governor Andrew Cuomo, told Gotham Gazette Tuesday that the legislation was “under review.” As of Thursday, it had not been sent to the governor by the Legislature or called to his desk by Cuomo, the two mechanisms that would force the governor’s decision to sign or veto it much more quickly ahead of the final December 31 deadline.

Registered voters in New York City have the opportunity this fall to cast ballots for public advocate, Queens District Attorney, a Brooklyn City Council seat, some judicial positions, and five referenda containing proposed amendments to the city charter. For the first time in New York State, polls are open during a nine-day early voting period, which began October 26 and ends November 3. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5.

After the primary polls closed in June and the close race headed toward counting absentee and affidavit ballots, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and public defender Tiffany Cabán, along with their respective teams of lawyers, fought over reinstating ballots disqualified by the city’s Board of Elections. As a recount unfolded, one major question became which affidavit ballots would be counted and which wouldn’t, a debate that often starts with the envelope containing the ballot.

Appearing before a judge, lawyers for the two candidates argued over validating discounted ballots, often discarded on the basis of minor technical errors, like failing to put a return address on the ballot envelope or not listing a previous address, despite a qualified voter making a clear vote in the race.

Many of the disqualified affidavit ballots were believed to favor Cabán, while absentee ballots, often cast by older voters, favored Katz, in part due to targeted campaigning by the borough president. Cabán supporters pushed for Cuomo, a Democrat, to sign the affidavit ballot bill during the recount in hopes of preserving more of those votes. Legislators passed the bill weeks before the primary election, but the governor would not sign it after the ballot counting had begun. Cabán ultimately lost by about 60 votes, with more than 350 potential votes uncounted, according to a court filing related to the race.

“With that portion of the election cycle over, it is my hope that the governor gets this legislation on his desk and signs it before November 5 so that those ballots can be appropriately considered under what is a much more reasonable standard,” said Assemblymember Kevin Cahill, a Hudson Valley Democrat and one of the bill’s sponsors.

"We are very supportive of this bill and believe that where a voter's intent is clear, their ballot should count,” wrote State Senator Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn Democrat who chairs the Senate Elections Committee, in an email to Gotham Gazette. “The will of the legislature is clear from the passage in both houses so it is our hope, given the importance of every election, that the bill is signed as expeditiously as possible."

Leroy Comrie, the bill’s Senate sponsor, did not respond to requests for comment.

Affidavit and absentee ballots are placed in individual envelopes and have “a variety of other circumstances associated with them that could put them at risk of being considered technically flawed,” said Cahill. One of those circumstances is the fact poll workers hired by the city Board of Elections often advise voters on how to fill out affidavits, according to Cahill, which he says makes it unfair to penalize ballots for technical errors.

Voters use affidavit ballots when they believe they are registered to vote but are not found in the voter rolls at a poll site. Roughly 2,800 affidavit and 3,400 absentee ballots were reportedly cast in the high-profile Democratic primary for Queens District Attorney.

As it became clear the vote was close and headed to a recount, some called on Cuomo to sign the legislation and allow more votes to be counted. Part of the concern, expressed by some, in enacting the legislation before the recount had finished was that it would change the rules of the game by which voters and the poll workers often advising them had been operating.

“The rule is the rule,” Cahill said.

“We wouldn’t want to be impacting a result, after the fact. That wouldn’t be fair,” he added, in apparent reference to changing the rules of how certain votes are counted after they’ve been cast.

Given that Cuomo did not sign the bill before early voting began, the same issue is now at play for the general election. Generally speaking, the legislation is not seen as beneficial to particular candidates, but many believed more affidavits were likely to be for Cabán than Katz in the Queens primary because she appeared to be the favorite of newer, younger, more transient voters who may have been more likely to have to fill out an affidavit ballot.

“This legislation is not a partisan issue, nor does it help or hurt any particular candidate or party in any given election, and it has already passed both houses,” said Berg.

“It’s not that radical a bill,” Cahill said, “it really is just a common sense piece of legislation that says…[a voter] should be permitted to have that vote counted notwithstanding some minor technical differences between what that ballot says and what the law requires.”

The decision to send a bill to the governor for enactment is, practically speaking, a collective one among the Assembly, the Senate, and the governor’s office, according to Cahill. The chamber that first passes a two-house bill is responsible for sending it to the governor’s office; if it is sent to the governor and not signed or vetoed within ten days, in most cases it becomes law. If Cuomo’s administration is not prepared to address the legislation, sending the bill to his office for consideration could lead to its demise, he said. The governor can also at any time call to his desk a bill that has passed both houses.

“It is a shared decision when a bill gets sent to the governor. If it gets sent prematurely before the governor’s office wants it, we’re putting the bill at risk of being vetoed just for procedural reasons and we don’t want to have that happen,” Cahill warned.

“But in this case we are very anxious for this bill to get before the governor, to be on his desk and get his signature so we can start to have people’s votes counted when they should be,” added the member of the Assembly, which was the house to first pass the affidavit bill.

***
by Ethan Geringer-Sameth, reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Ranked-Choice Debate; Election Day; Puerto Rico Somos Summit; & More: The Week Ahead in New York Politics, November 4


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

Election Day is Tuesday! New York's first-ever early voting period is over, ending its nine-day run on Sunday, and Monday is a day for near-final campaigning. In New York City there are very few races on the ballot in what is the quietest of the four-year election cycle that otherwise includes presidential (next in 2020), mayoral (next in 2021), and gubernatorial (next in 2022) elections, not to mention state legislative and congressional elections every other year (next in 2020).

This year there's a Public Advocate election, but only because the seat was prematurely vacated at the start of the year by now-Attorney General Letitia James. After Jumaane Williams won a special election in February to serve the rest of this year, he now must defend the seat to see who holds the citywide post for the rest of the term, meaning 2020 and 2021. Williams, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Joe Borelli and Libertarian Devin Balkind. [Hear all three Public Advocate candidates on the Max & Murphy podcast.]

There's also a second special election of sorts for Williams' old City Council seat in Brooklyn's 45th District. And, there's a regularly scheduled Queens District Attorney election, with Democrat Melinda Katz, currently the Queens Borough President, heavily favored to win after eeking out the primary in a recount [Read: Melinda Katz's Path to the Precipice of Becoming Queens DA]. There are also judicial elections on the ballot. And, lastly, there are five "yes" or "no" questions on the back of the ballot (in tiny font) asked city voters to approve or disapprove a total of 19 city charter amendments that would alter city elections and governance. Two of those -- questions one and two -- have proved contentious. Question one includes instituting a ranked-choice voting system in some city elections and question two would alter and bolster the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), which investigates allegations of police misconduct.

After much attention on the election on Monday and Tuesday, most of the New York political world will shift its focus to Puerto Rico for the rest of the week and into the weekend for the annual Somos conference.

Still, there are a variety of other events to be aware of this week -- see our day-by-day rundown below.

***Do you have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics?
e-mail Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.***

The run of the week in detail:

Monday, November 4

The Board of Regents will meet on Monday and Tuesday in Albany. 

At the City Council on Monday:
--At 9:30 a.m., the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will hold a hearing.
--At 10 a.m., the Committee on Small Business will hold an oversight hearing on safety issues facing small businesses and related legislation.
--At 1 p.m., the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions will hold a hearing.

At 10 a.m. Monday, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will attend the groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting for Ezra Medical Center in Brooklyn.

There will be dueling Monday rallies in support of and against ranked-choice voting, with New York City voters in the midst of deciding via ballot referendum whether such a system will be adopted for party primary and special elections for city-level offices. At 10:30 a.m. a long list of elected officials and advocates led by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Common Cause NY, and others will rally at City Hall in favor of a “yes” vote on ballot question one, which includes ranked-choice voting. At noon, another long list of elected officials and advocates, led by the City Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, will rally at City Hall Park in favor of a “no” vote on question one. While many votes have already been cast via early voting, Election Day is Tuesday and still expected to see the bulk of this year’s vote.

At 10:30 a.m. Monday at City Hall, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will speak at the 'Rank the Vote' rally in support of ranked-choice voting. At 11 a.m. in Brooklyn, Williams will join “RWDSU to Demand Justice for 'Housing Works' Workers.” At 4 p.m., Williams will attend a march and rally for police accountability, joining “Arc of Justice and a coalition of advocates for a march to the NYPD 84th Precinct, as well as a press conference held there.”

At 10:30 a.m. Monday, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will make an announcement at St. George Theatre on Staten Island.

At 12 p.m. Monday, the State Senate Standing Committee on Consumer Protection, the State Senate Standing Committee on Health, and the State Senate Standing Committee on Education will jointly hold a public hearing at 250 Broadway to “investigate the safety and potential harms of electronic cigarettes and vaping, especially among school-aged youth.”

At 6:15 p.m. Monday, First Lady Chirlane McCray "will deliver remarks at a panel discussion featuring artists from Gracie Mansion’s exhibition, She Persists: A Century of Women Artists in New York 1919- 2019."

At 7 p.m. Monday, Comptroller Scott Stringer will deliver remarks at the Fort Greene Association Open Meeting in Brooklyn.

Mayor de Blasio will appear in his weekly segment on NY1's Inside City Hall with host Errol Louis on Monday in the 7 and 11 p.m. hours.

Tuesday, November 5
Tuesday is Election Day. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Wednesday, November 6
At 8 a.m. Wednesday, Citizens Budget Commission will welcome New York City First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan at a Trustee Breakfast, where “Fuleihan will discuss key Administration priorities in a question-and-answer session with CBC President Andrew Rein.”

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the State Senate Standing Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities will hold a public hearing on veterans mental health and well-being at Clarkstown Town Hall, New City.

The annual Somos Puerto Rico Conference will begin on Wednesday. At 7 p.m., State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will host a welcome reception at El San Juan Hotel.

Thursday, November 7
At 9 a.m. Thursday, City & State NY will host its 2019 Collaborative Technology Conference on the intersection of government, technology, and industry in New York. Speakers will include John Paul Farmer, Chief Technology Officer, City of New York; Assemblymember Clyde Vanel, chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on Internet and New Technologies; Assemblymember Ron Kim; Cordell Schachter, Chief Technology Officer, New York City Department of Transportation; Deanne Criswell, Commissioner, NYC Dept. of Emergency Management; Matthew Homer, Executive Deputy Superintendent of Research and Innovation, New York State Department of Financial Services; and many others.

Friday, November 8
At 10 a.m. Friday, Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show.

At 10 a.m. Friday, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will deliver remarks at Veteran’s Day Ceremony at Long Island State Veteran’s Home in Stony Brook.

***
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 Ben Max & Gia Ramesh
@GothamGazette

19 Things Melinda Katz Promised To Do As Queens District Attorney


Melinda Katz

Melinda Katz (photo: Queens Borough President office)


Queens Borough President Melinda Katz is well-positioned to be elected the next district attorney for Queens, filling a vacancy created earlier this year by longtime DA Richard Brown, who had not planned to run for another term even before his death in May. Katz emerged victorious in a hard-won Democratic primary that was decided after a recount and court battle by a razor thin margin, and she is now facing Joseph Murray, an attorney, former NYPD officer, and barely known Republican challenger in a borough where Democrats have a 6-to-1 enrollment advantage.

Katz, a Democrat from Forest Hills, is currently in her second term as borough president and is term limited in 2021. A long-serving elected official, she has previously represented Queens in the New York City Council and State Assembly, and has unsuccessfully tried to run for City Comptroller and United States Congress in the past. Whomever wins the general election being decided this week, it will mark the first time a new Queens DA is elected in nearly 30 years.

“As the borough president, I run a multi-million dollar budget, and we have a voice that we give to the vulnerable every single day,” Katz said in the only televised debate of the general election, hosted by NY1 on October 23. “To be the district attorney of an office of over 700 people, you need to have that skill set. And you need to have that experience to not only bring our office into the 21st century, but also to keep our borough safe.”

In the crowded primary for the race, Katz was a somewhat moderate choice for voters, particularly compared to the insurgent public defender Tiffany Cabán, a newcomer to politics who appeared to grab the nomination on primary night but ultimately lost by only 55 votes in the recount. Cabán, a 31-year-old queer Latina, ran on a platform focused on decarceration and sweeping criminal justice reform, shifting the center of the race and pulling Katz to the left.

Katz modified some of her positions over the course of her campaign, aligning herself more closely with the progressive priorities of criminal justice reform advocates. In the general election, Murray has argued that Katz is far too progressive to responsibly take over as the borough’s chief law enforcement official. "I am running because I am against this progressive criminal justice reform that is being rammed down our throats," Murray said in the NY1 debate.

Several questions have been raised about Katz’s qualifications to become district attorney – of the six candidates in the Democratic primary, she was the only one without any courtroom experience, and in her long career as an elected official, she has not particularly prioritized issues related to the criminal justice system.

Katz summed up her campaign platform the same way she has done so in previous races. “If it’s good for families, it’s good for Queens,” she said. But the needs of families vary in an immigrant-heavy borough of more than 2.3 million people, where 48% of residents were born outside of the United States. And Katz has made broad promises about how she will enforce the law while protecting the safety of the people of Queens, even as she vows to reverse tough-on-crime policies that defined Brown’s decades-long record.

“My biggest pride comes from knowing that every day that I have been in public service, I have stood up to powerful interests but I’ve also been a voice for people who didn’t have one,” Katz told Gotham Gazette ahead of the primary election. “And at every level that I’ve served, I have brought justice to people.”

[Read: ‘Hard to Define’: Melinda Katz’s Path to the Precipice of Becoming Queens District Attorney]

District attorneys have broad discretionary authority and, if she chooses to, Katz could very well transform the borough’s criminal justice system depending on which crimes she decides to prosecute and how harshly, among other major, far-reaching choices likely ahead of her. Those decisions, which also include how she might interpret and execute criminal justice reforms passed earlier this year in Albany, would have trickle-down effects as well, determining how many people end up incarcerated in city jails and even the types of arrests that police officers will choose to execute.

As Katz stands on the verge of election as Queens District Attorney, here are 19 campaign promises she has made.

1. Reduce prosecutions for low-level, nonviolent offenses
Katz has promised she will “refuse to prosecute low-level marijuana arrests within Queens and will instead urge the legislature to legalize adult recreational cannabis and expunge all convictions for past arrests,” according to her campaign website. Though the state Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo came close to legalizing adult-use marijuana this year, the measure failed and instead marijuana was decriminalized. Katz’s platform notes that full legalization would also require strict enforcement of laws that prohibit driving under the influence.

Katz has also promised to reduce, though not eliminate, prosecutions for low-level, nonviolent offenses such as transit fare evasion, trespassing, petit larceny, unlicensed driving and other minor driving offenses, among others.

“While I would look to significantly reduce prosecution of these types of offenses, other than marijuana I would want to consider each arrest on its merits before declining to prosecute,” she said on a candidate questionnaire circulated by Queens for DA Accountability, a coalition of several advocacy groups including 5Boro Defenders, Vocal-NY Action Fund, and New Queens Democrats.

2. Establish a Conviction Integrity Unit
Former DA Brown was the only district attorney in the city to refuse an offer of funding from the New York City Council to create a conviction integrity unit to investigate potential wrongful convictions. Katz has vowed to create such a unit, which would also make recommendations for exonerations.

3. Create a legislative and lobbying committee for reform
Katz has said she will create an internal committee to draft legislation and lobby the state Legislature on criminal justice reform. The committee will include members of the community, advocates and assistant district attorneys.

4. Enforcing hate crime laws
Hate crimes have been steadily on the rise in New York City over the last few years, which many people, including Katz, have attributed to the election of Donald Trump as president. Katz has said she will make hate crime prevention and prosecutions a leading priority.

Previously, as a state legislator, Katz cosponsored a law that made sexual orientation a protected class under the state hate crimes law. She also co-sponsored the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, education, access to public accomodation and credit.

5. Boost construction worksite accountability and worker rights
Katz has a lengthy platform focused on construction worker safety, though that did not dissuade the real estate industry from making large contributions to her campaign, as The City reported. She told the media outlet that those donations would not stop her from prosecuting lawbreaking developers or construction contractors.

She’s promised to use various tools to go after wrongdoing in the construction industry including strictly enforcing construction safety codes and cracking down on illegal conversions. Her platform notes that these violations are misdemeanors but she would seek higher charges that lead to jail time.

In plea negotiations, she will seek the surrender of licenses from the Department of Business or other agencies, which are not automatic in cases of criminal convictions. She will also use asset forfeiture funds for construction safety training programs, which were made mandatory under a law passed by the City Council in 2017, she has said.

Her platform also states that she will work on a multi-agency Construction Safety Task Force, and assign an investigator to every workplace accident that results in a serious injury. She says she will also “aggressively prosecute” employers for wage theft and overtime violations, establish a multilingual outreach program to inform workers of legal protections, as well as create a system so workers can anonymously report violations of their rights.

“Developers and construction companies will be held accountable if they fail to follow the law and keep their workers safe, as they are now being held accountable in Brooklyn,” her platform reads. “This will not only provide justice for victims of workplace safety violations, but will also send a clear message to developers that any effort to cut corners will have severe consequences.”

6. Implementing discovery reform
The state Legislature passed a slew of criminal justice reforms this year, including changing the discovery process so that defendants are better informed about the evidence against them. Implementation of the new law will be closely watched in Queens and beyond.

In a March 17 op-ed in QNS, prior to the passage of that legislation, Katz pledged her support for Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s decision to voluntarily implement open-file discovery reform and criticized the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York for opposing it.

“We need not fear fairness in the courtroom,” she wrote. “Providing immediate access to evidence means that both sides are on a level playing field, which is fundamental to our system of justice.”

7. Closing Rikers Island
Katz supports the city’s plan, recently approved by the New York City Council, to close the Rikers Island jail complex by 2026 and replace it with four borough-based facilities, including a new jail in Queens.

But she has been critical of the process in which the plan advanced, what she saw as a lack of community input in the selection of jail sites and of the size of the proposed facilities.

“My objection was, you're closing one horrible mass institution and replacing that with four horrible mass institutions,” Katz said in the NY1 general election debate, though not explaining why she believes the new jails will be so bad. “They think they're going to lower the rate of people that are in Rikers to about 3,000. So the math doesn't add up to put a 1,500-bed facility in the borough of Queens,” she continued, overstating the number of beds planned for Queens. It was a number that also came down further, to about 885 beds, just before the Council voted the plan through, which occurred several days prior to Katz’s debate statement.

“I believe in community jails. It is the common construct of jails all around the country now and I believe that they will do good,” Katz added, “but with that, you also need a guarantee of services for the individuals that are in the jails. Nobody comes out of Rikers better than when they went in. But if we're going to do community jails, we have to do it right...But as far as the mayor's plan goes, they're too big. And the community was not involved in the initial placement of those jails. And so that's what I was truly against.”

As DA, Katz would likely have to work closely with city officials on many aspects of prosecutions, diversions, and logistics as they close the Rikers jails, build the new Queens jail, and continue overall reforms.

8. Ending cash bail
As DA, Katz will have to enforce recent reforms to the bail system made by the state Legislature, which eliminated bail for most misdemeanors and low-level offenses and will take effect at the start of next year. But during the primary, some of the candidates, including Katz, said they would eliminate cash bail entirely in their requests to judges.

Katz was initially unwilling to commit to that position but later shifted her stance saying she will completely do away with it, though with considerations of whether an individual is dangerous or has repeatedly been arrested. “If someone is a threat to our community’s safety, they shouldn’t be on the streets; if they’re not, they should not have to sit in jail awaiting trial regardless of their financial situation,” her platform reads.

At the NY1 general election debate, she explained further, insisting that she would focus on alternatives to incarceration and diversion programs. “Whether you get out of jail before you are convicted should not depend on the amount of money that you have in the bank. That is the unfairness of the bail system,’ she said.

9. Night duty for ADAs
At the NY1 debate, Katz indicated that she would make assistant district attorneys more accessible so that a person arrested after the end of the typical DA office work day won’t end up spending a night in jail.

“We're going to have ADAs that are on duty in the evenings, and they will be able to be approached any time of night, any time of day,” she said, “to look at what the charges should be of those that are brought in. And one of the ways to get diversionary programs intact and make sure that people also don't end up going through the justice system when they shouldn't have to is to make sure that they go into these programs pre-charge.”

10. Tackle housing fraud and predatory practices
Katz has promised to create a Bureau of Housing and Loan Fraud at the Queens DA office to prosecute predatory lenders and landlords, and to educate homeowners and renters in the borough about their rights and protections.

“For too long, white collar criminals have gotten off with little more than a slap on the wrist or a fine they can write off as a cost of doing business, while regular homeowners, borrowers, small businesses and renters have their lives destroyed,” she wrote in a February op-ed in Amsterdam News. “Theft is theft, whether the robber wears a mask or a three-piece suit; whether it’s stealing a car or robbing a family of their financial security through housing fraud. As district attorney, I will make it clear that predatory lending has no home in Queens.”

11. Transparency in asset seizure and refocusing resources
District attorneys seize millions of dollars in assets each year in the course of prosecutions, which help bolster their budgets and fund pet projects under their jurisdictions. But the way these funds are collected and used isn’t always clear to the public. Katz has promised that she will release an annual report on asset seizure and the programs that are funded by it, and will retool spending towards reducing and preventing crime.

Specifically, she has promised to invest in overdose clinics and services for those suffering from opioid addiction, including by setting up a program similar to Staten Island’s Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education (HOPE) program. She also aims to invest in Cure Violence programs that seek to prevent gun violence, and will partner with ride-sharing services to fund free rides during major holidays to prevent driving while intoxicated.

12. Speedy trials and plea bargains
Katz’s platform states that her office will immediately review any case that has gone more than six months without a trial date to see if it can be disposed.

She will also end a current practice where the Queens DA’s office refuses to consider plea bargains after indictments are made. That practice can coerce defendants to accept plea deals even if they are innocent and before they can see the evidence against them, her platform states.

13. Protect child victims
Katz’s platform also takes stock of the recent passage of the Child Victims Act, which extends the statute of limitations for adult survivors of child abuse to seek civil and criminal action against their abusers. “As District Attorney, Melinda will work with victims’ organizations to assist all survivors seeking justice even if years have passed since they were harmed,” her platform states.

It also promises that Katz will take efforts to prevent children from being victimized by online sexual predators, will create new educational programs for parents, run sting operations and help organizations screen potential employees if they frequently interact with children.

14. Fight elder abuse and fraud
According to Katz’s campaign website, she will “ensure that seniors, their families and other caregivers are provided information on identifying signs of elder abuse, as well as information on reporting suspected abuse.” She also promised to vehemently prosecute real estate scammers and identity thieves that target seniors.

15. Help those with mental illness
Noting that people with mental illness are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of crime, Katz pledged to work with law enforcement to create strategies to provide services to those suffering from mental illness rather than criminalize them.

“When a person with mental illness is accused of a crime, it demands specific protocols within the District Attorney’s office, working with advocates and mental health professionals to determine the appropriate course of action from a prosecutorial and/or treatment perspective,” her platform reads. She also promises to advocate for improved mental health services for incarcerated individuals.

16. Fight for LGBTQ rights
Katz pledged to create an LGBTQ Rights Advisory Board to deal with issues that are specific to the community such as bullying and intimidation, and discrimination in employment or housing opportunities.

17. Fight domestic violence in immigrant communities
Katz intends to create an Immigrant Justice Unit which will, among other duties, target domestic violence in immigrant communities. “Domestic violence is a particular challenge in immigrant communities, where women are often reluctant to report abuse to police because of fears of deportation,” her website notes. “Through her Immigrant Justice Unit, Melinda will partner will immigrant advocacy groups to educate women about their rights, protect them from Trump’s ICE, assist them in leaving an abusive situation and prosecute abusers as appropriate.”

18. Train employees to recognize and fight internal bias
Responding to the questionnaire from the Queens for DA Accountability coalition, Katz committed to implicit bias training for employees of her office and ongoing training in diversity, inclusion, and equity. “[It] is imperative that all staff members have received the latest training to best serve all members of our community,” she wrote.

19. Refuse to prosecute sex workers
Katz has said she will not prosecute sex workers but will rather target traffickers and pimps. “We're not going to convict people for sex work,” she said at the NY1 debate, “and we're going to actually try and get to the sex traffickers and those that are forcing people into this industry, and at the same time try and make sure that if there's other issues like drug abuse or anything else that comes with the industry, that we can be of service. These are women that are being double victimized. These are people that are being double victimized.”

She has, however, been less willing to investigate the NYPD’s Vice unit which effectuates arrests of sex workers and has been criticized for alleged corruption and abuse of sex workers. “[I] am reluctant to publicize information on investigation and arrest procedures that may make it easier for sex traffickers and others to commit their crimes,” she said on the candidate questionnaire.

[READ: Melinda Katz's Path to the Precipice of Becoming Queens District Attorney]

***
by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Stephen Wyer contributed to this story.



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