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The Week Ahead in New York Politics, June 4


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

We're about to hit three weeks until congressional primary day in New York, which is Tuesday, June 26. There are several contentious primaries in New York City and more around the state, all of which will help set the stage for extremely important general elections in November, where New York races will be key to which party has control of the House of Representatives in January.

We're also now in the final weeks before a new city budget is due by July 1. Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council will continue negotiations and are expected to come to terms well ahead of the deadline for the start of the new fiscal year. [Read: De Blasio and City Council Tangle Over How to Spend $1 Billion]

This week will also feature more analysis and fallout from de Blasio's Sunday announcement of a plan to diversify the city's specialized high schools that currently rely on a single admissions test and enroll low numbers of black and Hispanic students.

This week includes four scheduled days of legislative session in Albany, four of just 11 that remain on the calendar. Last week, the Senate was deadlocked given that the Republican conference is down one member and thus the chamber is even at 31-31. It's unclear whether the Senate will vote on any legislation this week. Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins discused the state of play and much more on the Max & Murphy podcast on Friday.

And, the gubernatorial race will of course continue to be part of the news this week, as Governor Andrew Cuomo, Cynthia Nixon, Marc Molinaro and other candidates campaign, release policy, respond, attack, demur, and more.

Plus, there's a City Council Stated Meeting this week, at which the Council passes legislation that has moved through committee and sees new legislation introduced.

And there are other events to be aware of, including a special panel on sexual harassment in state government - 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
“On Monday, Mayor de Blasio will deliver remarks at NYPD's Department of Education active shooter tabletop exercise. This event is closed press.” De Blasio will also his weekly appearance on NY1’s Inside City Hall on Monday evening in the 7 and 11 p.m. hours.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Monday in Albany.

On Monday at noon, "Senators Brian Kavanagh, Michael Gianaris, and Brad Hoylman will join their Democratic colleagues and good government groups at a press conference immediately before a meeting of the Senate Elections Committee to call on Republicans to vote for election and campaign finance reform legislation pending in the Committee. The four bills would enact and fund early voting, close the LLC Loophole, enact the Voter Empowerment Act to reform the voter registration system, and require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns."

At 9:30 a.m. Monday, the Assembly Standing Committees on Insurance and Health will meet jointly in Albany for a public hearing regarding the acquisition of health insurance company Aetna by CVS, and “the potential impacts on the delivery of health care and the health insurance market in New York State.”

At 9:30 a.m. Monday, Comptroller Scott Stringer will host an “MWBE Letter Grade Briefing with Asian American Stakeholders” at the David Dinkins Municipal Building.

At 6 p.m. Monday, The ALT will host a panel discussion on sexual harassment legislation, past, present, and future, at the Renaissance Hotel in Albany. Susan Arbetter of WCNY radio will moderate a panel consisting of State Senator Liz Krueger, attorney Sarah Burger, political strategist Alexis Grenell, and Leah Hebert, former chief of staff for Vito Lopez, a former Assemblymember who resigned in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.

On Monday at 6 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall, “Borough President Eric L. Adams will kick off Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) Pride Month by presenting awards to trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ community who have advanced the mission of equality and fairness for all. The honorees at his annual LGBTQ+ Pride Celebration include Immigration Equality, a leading immigrant rights organization in the United States that has helped LGBTQ+ and HIV-positive immigrants seek refuge and a new life in Brooklyn and across the country; Park Slope-based New York Times columnist Charles Blow, whose cutting-edge column on current affairs appears on Mondays and Thursdays; Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who became the first HIV-positive person to lead the New York City Council when he was chosen by his peers to serve in January 2018, and activist Abby Stein, who was born and raised in a Hasidic family of rabbinic descent in Williamsburg and came out as a transgender woman in 2015. Borough President Adams will be joined by Council Member Carlos Menchaca and Brooklyn Pride in speaking on the importance of continuing the fight for LGBTQ+ equality, particularly regarding the passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) in the New York State Legislature, which proposes to add gender identity and expression as a protected class in the State’s human rights and hate crimes statues; since 2008, GENDA has passed the Assembly ten times, but has yet to come up for a vote in the State Senate.”

On Monday at 7:30 p.m. “First Lady Chirlane McCray will receive the JED Mental Health Visionary Award and deliver remarks at the JED Foundation's Annual Gala 2018.”

At 7:30 p.m. Monday, Public Advocate Letitia James will deliver remarks at HELP USA's HELP Heroes Awards Gala, at The Garage in Manhattan.

Tuesday
Tuesday will mark three weeks until primary day for federal elections in New York, including all of the state’s congressional seats.

The New York State Legislature will be in session on Tuesday in Albany.

At the City Council on Tuesday:
--The Subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions, and Concessions will meet at 10:30 a.m.
--The Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet at 10:45 a.m.
--The Committee on Land Use will meet at 11 a.m.
--The Committee on Mental Health, Disabilities and Substance Abuse will meet at noon to pass a package of legislation aimed at preventing drug overdoses.
--The Committee on Health is holding an oversight hearing on animal shelters at 1 p.m.

"Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., a 1998 graduate of LaGuardia Community College, will give the alumni speech" at the college's graduation ceremony on Tuesday.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Board of Standards and Appeals will hold a public hearing at Spector Hall.

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, state lawmakers, CWA members, and call center workers will rally at the Capitol in Albany to urge support for a bill in the Senate “that would stop tax breaks that ship call center jobs overseas.”

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, State Senator Richard Funke, Assemblymember Latoya Joyner, and physicians Sarah Nosal and Chris Gabriels will hold a rally at the Capitol urging passage of legislation “ensuring physicians are protected against assaults in the workplace as the one year anniversary of the tragic Bronx-Lebanon Hospital shooting approaches.”

At 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Elections will hold a commissioners’ meeting.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, the Center for New York City Affairs will host “Dare to Reimagine Integration for New York City’s Public Schools” at the New School.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, City Comptroller Scott Stringer will hold a town hall meeting at the Gouverneur Health center on the Lower East Side. He will be joined by U.S. Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Carolyn Maloney, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senators Brian Kavanagh and Brad Hoylman, Assemblymembers Yuh-Line Niou and Harvey Epstein, and City Council Members Margaret Chin and Carlina Rivera.

Wednesday
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Wednesday in Albany.

At 8 a.m. Wednesday, Crain’s New York Business will host a breakfast forum with City Council Members Ben Kallos, Francisco Moya, Rafael Salamanca, and Ritchie Torres. The Council Members will discuss topics related to “construction safety, zoning, scaffolding, and housing policy.” The event will take place at the New York Athletic Club on Central Park South.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Assembly Standing Committees on Social Services and Government Operations, and the Senate Standing Committees on Finance and Social Services, will meet jointly in Albany to discuss the state’s Community Services Block Grant program.

Thursday
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Thursday. After Thursday, only seven days will remain in the legislative session.

The City Council will hold a stated meeting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall. Prior to the Stated Meeting, Speaker Corey Johnson will host a press conference.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, City Limits will host "Beyond Parkland: NYC Needs a Different Kind of Conversation About Guns," discussing the state of gun violence in New York, including state and federal laws, the city's "gun courts," and the connection with policing. Panelists include Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Elizabeth Glazer of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, Richard Aborn of the Citizens Crime Commission, Michael Palladino of the Detectives Endowment Association, Nick Suplina of Everytown for Gun Safety, and Heidi Hynes of the Mary Mitchell Center.

Friday and the weekend
Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC radio’s The Brian Lehrer Show on Friday at 10 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 Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette



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