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James Agrees to General Election Debate in Public Advocate Race


letitia james via teamsters

Public Advocate Letitia James (photo: @TeamstersJC16)


Public Advocate Letitia James, a Democrat seeking reelection to one of three citywide positions, has agreed to debate her Republican opponent regardless of whether the challenger, J.C. Polanco, meets the fundraising requirements to qualify for an official debate sanctioned and sponsored by the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

James, who easily won in the primary, is well ahead of Polanco, who did not face primary competition, in fundraising and name recognition. Polanco has, however, put forth detailed policy proposals and a rationale for seeking the office, while also challenging James to debate him for the good of the public electoral process. James has decided to pursue the opportunity, despite any risks debating may pose to a heavily-favored incumbent, to take the debate stage.

“The exchange of ideas and information is essential to democracy and good governance,” James said in a statement. “I welcome the opportunity to debate and discuss my key accomplishments as Public Advocate and outline my vision for supporting and empowering all New Yorkers.”

James has focused her efforts as public advocate on litigation and legislation, suing the city on several occasions and introducing and passing more legislation than her four predecessors, who include Mayor Bill de Blasio.

It is not clear how many debates James will agree to or who will sponsor any that do occur. For public advocate candidates participating in the Campaign Finance Board’s public matching program, two formal, televised debates are required for those who meet the criteria, which include both fundraising and spending thresholds. But, James may be the only candidate in the field, which also includes the Green Party’s James Lane and others, to qualify for the debates. A campaign spokesperson did not indicate how many debates James would participate in.

Polanco, an attorney and the New York City liaison for the state Assembly minority, has promised to run a positive campaign and debate the role of the office and policy proposals. He has called James “ethical” and expressed his fondness for her as a person. He has also challenged her to debate him even though he is many thousands of dollars short of meeting the legal thresholds for the official, televised debates, which would provide him a much-needed boost in profile.

“As my opponent stated: ‘Brooklyn people don’t hide,’” James said. “I am proud of my record of standing up for New Yorkers and look forward to a spirited discussion with my Republican opponent on the issues that impact New York.”

While James is indeed a Brooklynite, and used to represent part of the borough in the City Council, Polanco is from the Bronx, where he still lives. Though Polanco has pledged a positive campaign, he has critiqued James for not speaking up more forcefully about de Blasio’s ethical lapses. Polanco is running on a platform of pushing for changes to the public advocate position itself, perhaps through a city charter revision commission, and a variety of other agenda items. Unlike James, Polanco is an outspoken proponent of expanding charter schools. He’s also advocating for allowing qualifying NYCHA residents to purchase their public housing units.

As she seeks a second term, James is especially proud of her legislation, passed through the City Council and signed into law by de Blasio, that bans employers from asking job applicants for their salary history. It is a move aimed at helping reduce the gender pay gap.

In order to qualify for public matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board, a public advocate candidate must raise at least $125,000 from 500 donors living in New York City. When matching funds are dispersed, up to $175 of eligible donations are matched six to one. Public advocate candidates are eligible for up to $2,369,350 in public matching funds for what is deemed a competitive race. Participants have a general election spending cap of $4,357,000.

As of her most recent filing, James had raised a total of $943,854. She had spent about two-thirds of it, leaving her about $325,000 in the bank, and not yet qualified for public matching funds.

Polanco had raised just $21,675. He has explained how much of a challenge fundraising has been given that New York City Republicans have a major registration deficit and most attention for any hope of a citywide victory is given to the mayoral race. Polanco has also said that his opposition to President Donald Trump has hurt him among GOP establishment figures and potential donors.

When informed that James had agreed to debate him, Polanco said in a statement to Gotham Gazette, "I am glad my opponent has taken up my challenge for a spirited debate on the issues. I took on the Herculean challenge so that New Yorkers have choice. I believe we are best served as a democracy when we compete for votes. I look forward to discussing my plans to push for charter school expansion, fixing the MTA train delays, keeping jails out of our neighborhoods, protecting kids from the horrors we have seen at ACS and standing up to a mayor regardless of party."

Part of James’ calculation in agreeing to debate may have to do with being granted matching funds. A campaign spokesperson did not reply to a question about the subject.

Earlier this year, the Campaign Finance Board and its debate sponsors scheduled the two televised public advocate general election debates for Monday, October 16 and Saturday October 24.

“The CFB’s debate program aims to give New York City voters the opportunity to compare candidates side by side in preparation for Election Day. The law was enacted to ensure that candidates in the public matching funds program debate their opponents, and we are excited that the Public Advocate debates will continue as planned. We will do everything we can to support and promote a vigorous debate,” said Katrina Shakarian, public relations officer at the Campaign Finance Board, in a statement to Gotham Gazette.

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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.

Note: this article has been updated with a statement from Polanco, a statement from the CFB, and other additional information.

Note: this article has removed incorrect information about Comptroller Stringer being in a similar position to James. Stringer's Republican opponent, Michel Faulkner, has met the fundraising threshold to qualify for a CFB-sanctioned debate.

Nonprofit Linked To NYCHA Creates Crowdfunding Portal For Sustainability Projects


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Rasmia Kirmani-Frye (photo:@Fund4PH)


The Fund for Public Housing, a nonprofit established last year to supplement the New York City Housing Authority’s finances and services, launched an online platform this week in conjunction with ioby, a crowdfunding website, to enable NYCHA residents and community-based organizations to source funds for local sustainability initiatives like rooftop gardens and water conservation.

The online portal, called Ideas Marketplace, acts not only as crowdfunding tool, but as a means to connect community organizations and “generate excitement” for local projects across the five boroughs, explained Rasmia Kirmani-Frye, the founding president of the Fund for Public Housing, in an interview with Gotham Gazette. “This is the first time in NYCHA’s history that we’ve launched something like this,” she said.

The new platform reflects an overarching goal of the Fund for Public Housing to cut through bureaucratic red tape and speedily implement programs for the more than 400,000 residents living in NYCHA developments. It is a “bread and butter” example of the Fund’s role as “an innovation escape hatch,” or laboratory for potential NYCHA programs, Kirmani-Frye said.

Rumblings about the creation of Ideas Marketplace began last April after the addition of a sustainability agenda to NextGen NYCHA, the city’s comprehensive 10-year plan to fortify public housing. The agenda called for the establishment of a website that “would provide resident- and community-led programs a platform to raise individual donations, seek volunteers, and find like-minded partners in other NYCHA communities to jointly raise philanthropic support.”

NYCHA soon began conversations with ioby, a nonprofit, crowdfunding website that supports neighborhood sustainability initiatives. The oldest and largest platform of its kind, ioby had previously partnered with other municipal agencies on similar ventures, including a campaign with the New York City Department of Transportation to transform space near the elevated railway along Livonia Avenue in Brownsville.

Praising ioby’s nonprofit work and specialization in community-based fundraising, Kirmani-Frye said it “is the perfect, both tech platform and crowdsourcing partner, because they get it and are authentic and genuine.”

ioby expressed mutual appreciation. “We’ve been looking to partner with NYCHA for years, so it’s good it got off the ground,” said Katie Lorah, ioby’s director of Communications, in a brief phone interview. She went on to explain that ioby will personally help with NYCHA projects, whether that includes “one-on-one budgeting” or providing participants a “network of people to talk to.”

Following their partnership with ioby, NYCHA approached community partners and organizations to gauge their interest and solicit proposals for local, community-sourced projects. “I went door to door… and met with over 20 organizations, where now we have over 10 or 11 organizations that are proposing projects,” said Vlada Kenniff, director of sustainability programs at NYCHA. “We were really hands on with approaching CBOs [community-based organizations] and residents.”

The collective efforts of NYCHA, the Fund, and ioby paid off when Ideas Marketplace went live this week. Although the website has yet to become the vibrant showcase of community-based projects as envisioned, it has already attracted attention. Rockaway Youth Task Force, a youth advocacy group, was the first to launch a project, raising over $9,000 so far for community gardens in Far Rockaway.

In partnership with the Fund and NYCHA, ioby also recently hosted a workshop to introduce the platform to community-based organizations from across the city. The the nascent crowdfunding platform was “well-received,” according to Erycka de Jesus, a NYCHA resident and outreach coordinator for NYC Compost Project, who attended the presentation. “In public housing, we don’t want to lose momentum to green up and to help promote a greener, more sustainable way of thinking,” she said.

While the launch of Ideas Marketplace meets a small target of NextGen NYCHA’s sustainability agenda, Kirmani-Frye does not see the crowdfunding platform’s efforts limited to sustainability initiatives. “You gotta start somewhere. This was written into the sustainability plan and that’s a publicly released document that the Authority is then accountable to,” she said. “But if this is a model and a process that is successful, there is no reason to keep it limited to sustainability.”

Kennif agreed. “I think the vision could become something greater,” she said.

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by Ben Weiss, Gotham Gazette

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What’s The [DATA] Point? 77,651, with the City Housing Commissioner


whats the data point


What's The Data Point? Episode 12 - 77,651 with Maria Torres-Springer, housing commissioner in the de Blasio administration [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

For this episode of the podcast, we bring you excerpts of a speech the city's housing commissioner, Maria Torres-Springer, gave at a Citizens Budget Commission event on Wednesday, September 20, followed by 15 minutes of Q-and-A with the commissioner. You'll hear a brief introduction of the episode's data point, followed by portions of Torres-Springer's speech, which was focused on the de Blasio administration's affordable housing program, and then Torres-Springer answering questions from Gotham Gazette and CBC. Make sure to stay tuned for the Q-and-A, which includes several interesting exchanges.

Throughout both parts, Torres-Springer explains progress being made on one of the administration's most ambitious goals, building or preserving 200,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years, discusses challenges the city is facing, including potential federal funding cuts, and much more. She discusses the administration's plans to rezone neighborhoods in order to add more housing, what the city needs from the state, and much more.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think: Ben Max of GG (@TweetBenMax) & CBC (@cbcny) & guest Maria Torres-Springer (@MTorresSpringer of @NYCHousing). Listen below or download wherever you get your podcasts!

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by Ben Max, Gotham Gazette
     

Read more by this writer.



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