
New York City Hall
What to watch for this week in New York politics:
Monday marks exactly three weeks until the April 1 start of the new state fiscal year, by which time a new state budget is due. Negotiations among the two houses of the Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo have already heated up, with key policy and funding issues outstanding, and the two Democratic legislative majorities set to introduce their one-house budget resolutions on Monday.
There are four legislative session days again this week in Albany, so there will be public and private negotiations, posturing, and such. Key issues that need to be worked out include a variety of funding levels, including for local education aid, as well as marijuana legalization, congestion pricing, environmental policy, criminal justice and campaign finance reforms, and more. Most of those issues could be kicked to after the budget and continued in negotiations as the legislative session proceeds toward its June finish. Rent regulations are another issue that is likely to be left till after the budget. Mayor control of New York City schools and the cap on charter schools could be dealt with in the budget or after as well, not to mention a number of other policies like sports gambling.
This week we’re also waiting to see when exactly Jumaane Williams officially becomes New York City Public Advocate and how he starts his tenure in the citywide role.
The budget for the office is one smaller aspect of overall city budget negotiations. The City Council will continue this week its hearings on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $92.2 billion preliminary budget plan. And the 2019 charter revision commission will continue its public hearings -- the commission is looking at the city’s budget process, the role of the public advocate, and much more.
De Blasio is due back on Monday from South Carolina, where he spent the weekend exploring a run for president, flying there after an appearance in Albany Friday, where he talked with Cuomo and legislators about top city priorities for the state budget and spoke at the kickoff reception for Somos weekend.
There's a lot happening this week - see our day-by-day rundown below.
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The run of the week in detail:
Monday
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Monday in Albany.
The New York State Board of Regents will meet on Monday and Tuesday in Albany.
"On Monday, Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza will meet with students from P.S. 130 during their lunch period...Immediately after, the Mayor and Chancellor will host a press conference to make an announcement on school meals. This event is open press. There will be Q-and-A. Later, the Mayor will ride the subway from Chambers Street to 14th Street Station to talk with riders about congestion pricing and MTA reform. In the evening, the Mayor will appear live on NY1’s Inside City Hall."
The following City Council committees will hold preliminary budget hearings on Monday:
--Cultural Affairs at 10 a.m., regarding libraries and the Department of Cultural Affairs.
--Youth Services at 2 p.m., regarding the Department of Youth and Community Development.
Also at the City Council on Monday: the Committee on Public Housing will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing “examining NYCHA’s new agreement with HUD.”
“Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), joined by immigration advocates, will hold a press conference and community event on Monday, March 11th at 10:00 a.m. to speak out against the recent incident by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents that were spotted parked outside of a Washington Heights school and in violation of sensitive locations parameters.”
At 10 a.m. Monday at City Hall, “The New York Alliance Against the Legalization of Prostitution — a coalition of women’s rights organizations, direct service providers, faith-based community leaders, sex trade survivors, and concerned New Yorkers — will hold a press conference and rally to voice opposition to proposed legislation sponsored by New York State Senators Julia Salazar, Jessica Ramos and Brad Hoylman, and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried to decriminalize prostitution, including pimping and sex buying. The Alliance will discuss evidence that prostitution is not a victimless crime by looking at the inherent harms of the sex trade and the lifelong trauma and medical injuries it causes the people it exploits for profit. They will also present the effects of legalized/decriminalized prostitution in other jurisdictions and highlight what can happen if New York state gives the sex trade a green light to flourish. The group will present a progressive alternative to the legislators’ proposal and to current New York State prostitution laws: decriminalize only the people who are prostituted (partial decriminalization) and provide them with comprehensive services, including housing, medical care, trauma-informed counseling, education, job training, and a way to exit the sex trade should they wish to do so.”
At 11 a.m. Monday in Albany, "The Chairs of both the Senate and Assembly Environmental Conservation Committees – Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assemblymember Steve Englebright – and the We Love New York coalition will hold a press conference...to respond to the disastrous potential precedent of an 2019-2020 Executive Budget proposal that would allow agencies to offload staffing costs onto the Environmental Protection Funding (EPF)."
At 11 a.m. Monday, “Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, together with community leaders and criminal justice experts, will make a major announcement.”
At 6 p.m. Monday, the 2019 Charter Revision Commission will hold its third “issues forum” at the Borough of Manhattan Community College to discuss potential charter revisions. This forum will focus on the city’s budgeting processes.
At 6 p.m. Monday, the state’s Census commission will hold the second of six public hearings to discuss the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census and the myriad related issues. The hearing will take place at Hostos Community College in the Bronx.
Tuesday
The following City Council committees will hold preliminary budget hearings on Tuesday:
--Governmental Operations at 10 a.m., regarding the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the Law Department, the Board of Elections, the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, and community boards.
--Aging at 10 a.m., regarding the Department for the Aging.
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Tuesday in Albany.
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the New York City Board of Correction will hold a public meeting at 125 Worth Street.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, there will be a debate among the seven candidates for Queens District Attorney at CUNY Law School. Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max and law professor Zephyr Teachout will moderate the debate, which is being co-sponsored by a long list of advocacy and community groups. [Read: 'We're in a New Era’: Inside the Crowded Race to Elect the Next Queens District Attorney and Reset the Borough’s Prosecutorial Agenda]
Wednesday
The City Council will hold a stated meeting on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Council Speaker Corey Johnson will host the usual pre-stated press conference at 12:30 p.m.
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Wednesday in Albany.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the City Planning Commission will hold a public meeting at 120 Broadway.
At 5 p.m. Wednesday, this week’s Max & Murphy program will air on WBAI radio, and will feature an interview with state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, and a discussion of criminal justice reform issues with Tina Luongo, chief defender of the criminal practice at Legal Aid Society.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the MTA will host the second of four open houses for community members regarding the “revised” L-train project. This hearing will take place at the Williamsburg Northside School.
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board will hold a public board meeting at the Van Dyke Community Center in Brownsville.
Thursday
The following City Council committees will hold preliminary budget hearings on Thursday:
--Transportation at 9:30 a.m., regarding the MTA and New York City Transit, the Department of Transportation, and the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
--Criminal Justice at 10 a.m., regarding the Department of Probation, the Department of Correction, and the Board of Correction.
--Veterans at 2:30 p.m., regarding the Department of Veterans’ Services.
Also at the City Council on Thursday
--The Committees on Public Housing and Oversight will meet jointly at 11 a.m. for an oversight hearing “examining the DOI report on NYCHA mismanagement at the Throggs Neck Houses,” as well as to discuss proposed laws requiring agency heads to disclose false statements made in an official capacity by their agency and for DOI to report to the council on NYCHA employee overtime. The committees will also discuss a resolution calling on the state to pass a law requiring NYCHA to “conduct annual evaluations of agency property employees.”
The New York State Legislature will be in session on Thursday in Albany.
At 10 a.m. Thursday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board will hold a board meeting at 100 Church Street.
The latest episode of the What’s The [Data] Point? podcast from Gotham Gazette and Citizens Budget Commission will tape and publish on Thursday, and will feature Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute discussing transit-related issues, including her evaluation of New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s recently-unveiled proposals for city takeover of the subways, a five-year “master plan for city streets,” and more, as well as her own recent study of congestion in the city. Find What’s The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, or look for it posted at the Gotham Gazette website on Thursday afternoon.
At 6 p.m. Monday, the 2019 Charter Revision Commission will hold its fourth “issues forum” at the Borough of Manhattan Community College to discuss potential charter revisions.
Friday and the weekend
Mayor de Blasio may make his weekly appearance on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show at 10 a.m. Friday.
The following City Council committees will hold preliminary budget hearings on Friday:
--Economic Development at 10 a.m., regarding the Economic Development Corporation.
--Consumer Affairs at 11 a.m., regarding the Department of Consumer Affairs.
--Small Business at 1 p.m., regarding the Department of Small Business Services.
At 10 a.m. Friday, the Senate Standing Committee on New York City Education will meet at 250 Broadway in Manhattan for a public hearing regarding mayoral control of public schools.
At 2 p.m. Friday, the Senate Standing Committees on Corporations and Transportation and the Assembly Standing Committee on Transportation will meet jointly at Buffalo City Hall for a public hearing regarding the effectiveness of the state’s transit network in Buffalo.
At 2 p.m. Friday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams will host a joint legislative hearing at Brooklyn Borough Hall to “examine NYC’s homeownership housing crisis.” He will be joined by Senators Velmanette Montgomery, Brad Hoylman, Kevin Parker, Robert Jackson, and Brian Benjamin, and Assemblymembers Tremaine Wright and Al Taylor.
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Have events or topics for us to include in an upcoming Week Ahead in New York Politics? E-mail Gotham Gazette executive editor Ben Max any time: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (please use "For Week Ahead" as email subject).
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by Ben Brachfeld and Ben Max
@GothamGazette

(photo: Buck Ennis/Crain's)
Though Democrats have for years blamed Republican intransigence for the failure of key campaign finance and ethics reforms in Albany, those measures still appear stalled even as their party controls the entire state Legislature and governor’s office. On Friday, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said that the votes are not there in his chamber to approve a public-matching campaign finance system, despite the fact that the Assembly has repeatedly passed such a measure in the past when Republicans controlled the Senate.
Heastie appeared at a Crain’s New York Business forum at the New York Athletic Club, where he gave remarks about the Assembly’s accomplishments and priorities, then took questions from Erik Engquist of Crain’s and Errol Louis of NY1, before also speaking with other reporters after the event.
With a new state budget due April 1, Heastie said it appeared unlikely that the Assembly would approve public campaign financing before or within that deal, though it is a long-held Democratic goal espoused not only by Assembly Democrats but also the new state Senate Democratic majority and Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“I think the members want to discuss it but I’d say right now what the concerns are on IEs [independent expenditures], problems with [New York City’s] campaign finance system, also with a shortage of [state] money, I think they want to have the discussion but I’d say right now there’s not 76 members who want to move forward with it in the next three weeks in the budget,” Heastie said in response to a question from Gotham Gazette, and referring to the minimum number of votes needed to advance a bill in the 150-seat chamber.
The speaker later tweeted to add to his comments from the morning, writing that the Assembly does want to consider a small-dollar matching program, but one that does not use public money.
Heastie also threw cold water on a state Senate-approved bill to limit campaign contributions from entities seeking state contracts and downplayed the need for additional government ethics reforms, saying that law enforcement entities catch bad actors and he is “still waiting for the idea of the bill that will really fix people’s morality.”
Asked about it by the moderators, Heastie expressed concerns that a bill passed on Tuesday by the state Senate could end up hurting the party in power. The bill, S3167, prohibits companies bidding for state contracts from contributing to “officeholders with authority over procuring entities” within a specific window of time, therefore applying largely to the executive branch, namely the governor.
Though Heastie’s conference has advanced similar bills in previous years, he hesitated to endorse that measure, which was sponsored by new state Senator Zellnor Myrie from Brooklyn.
“On the premise of it, it sounds great. Yeah, anybody who wants to bid on a contract, yeah they shouldn’t have the opportunity to make contributions to the governing entity because there could be the appearance that somebody’s trying to grease the skids,” Heastie said. “But the way that the legislation is drafted...it just covers such a vast number of people so that one company who...bids on a contract, their lobbyist, and it doesn’t just stop there, every other company that that lobbyist is responsible for is now radioactive.”
The bill would also put the State Democratic Party and Governor Andrew Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, “in a bind,” he said, because it would exclude them from raising funds from entities who would be able to donate to Republicans who don’t hold the same authority in state government. The bill includes a prohibition on contributions “indirectly or directly, to political committees operationally controlled by officeholders with authority over state governmental entities” that receive and review bids and issue contracts. “So I guess that on the surface the bill sounds like a great idea, but it really does put the governor and the Democratic Party at a huge disadvantage as compared to the Republican Party,” he said.
Asked about Heastie's comments, Jonathan Timm, a spokesperson for Senator Myrie, said in a statement, "The history of corruption in New York State government demonstrates that inaction is not an option. As with any other legislation, this bill will be subject to negotiation with the Assembly, and the Senator looks forward to working with them to clean up state government in the best way possible."
Speaking to reporters after Friday's event, Heastie then tempered expectations about public campaign financing, which appeared for months as though it would be a crowning achievement of the new Democratic era in Albany.
His comments weren’t taken lightly by a variety of advocates, including the Fair Elections for New York coalition, which has been pushing the state to adopt a small-donor matching system similar to the one in place in New York City, among other reforms.
“Historically, the Assembly Democrats have supported people-powered elections anchored with a small-donor matching system,” the coalition pointed out in a Friday statement, responding to Heastie’s comments as initially reported by Gotham Gazette.
“‘Fair elections’ is the policy that will really shake up the status quo, and thus the real test of the new Albany,” continued the coalition statement, referring to the Fair Elections Act that the Democratic Assembly has passed in previous sessions and that Senate Democrats have supported in the minority. “Passing this legislation now, in the budget, is the best chance for New York to once again lead the nation by having a campaign finance system that gives everyday New Yorkers as loud a voice as the wealthiest donors.”
The coalition is made up of more than 200 groups, including labor unions such as 32BJ, tenant organizers such as New York Communities for Change, immigrant advocates like the New York Immigration Coalition, environmental and racial justice groups such as the Sunrise Movement and VOCAL-NY, good government advocates like Reinvent Albany and more.
Urging the governor and legislative leaders to reject a budget that does not include public campaign financing, the coalition offered solutions for Heastie’s concerns. It said a public financing system should not include spending limits, therefore mitigating the effect of outside independent expenditure campaigns; suggested that New York follow Connecticut’s public matching program, which gives assistance to candidates in using small dollar contributions, compared to New York City’s program that many have called too punitive; and pointed out that the total budget ramifications of public financing were between $40-60 million, which wouldn’t even be apparent in the short term and could hardly affect a $175 billion state budget. The annual costs, the coalition estimated, would be less than $3 annually for every New Yorker.
Asked to comment on Heastie’s statements, neither the office of Senator Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins nor that of Governor Cuomo responded.
After seeing the blowback to his comments, Heastie issued another statement on Twitter Friday afternoon, writing, "I want to be clear – the Assembly Majority is supportive of limiting the influence of money in our elections through consideration of a small dollar donor matching system that does not rely on scarce public funds. Our members are not ready to support the NYC model for the entire state, but we will continue to have discussions in order to reach our goals."
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by Samar Khurshid, senior reporter, Gotham Gazette
@samarkhurshid @GothamGazette
Ben Max contributed to this story.
This story has been updated.
Note - This article has been updated with comment from a spokesperson for Senator Zellnor Myrie.

Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits
March 6, 2019 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator David Carlucci
State Senator David Carlucci represents a Rockland and Westchester district that has a significant stake in the MTA, congestion pricing, and other key transit discussions, not to mention the overall state budget and other state policies. Carlucci joined the show to discuss his priorities and his take on the congestion pricing debate (and more) as Albany lawmakers look to make an agreement before a budget is due April 1.
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," and listen to Max & Murphy live on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. on WBAI radio, 99.5FM or wbai.org
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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
@tweetBenMax @GothamGazette