Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Carl Heastie

Carl Heastie

  • As He Campaigns for Top Priorities, Many Wonder Where Cuomo is on DREAM

    Cuomo EITC

    Gov. Cuomo on Sunday in Brooklyn (photo: Office of the Governor - Kevin P. Coughlin)


    It was as if Gov. Andrew Cuomo was on the campaign trail again last week, visiting Long Island and Buffalo one day and then four churches and a Yeshiva in Brooklyn on another. Cuomo doesn't have to run for office again for another three years, of course, but his barnstorming last week

    ...
  • Mostly Questions and Criticism Ahead of Cuomo Email Summit

    Cuomo Indian Point

    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    On Friday - the Friday of Memorial Day weekend - Gov. Andrew Cuomo will host a summit on email retention policy. It is a much-anticipated meeting that a large number of key stakeholders don't see a need for, and it's unclear what attendance will look like in terms of representation from the major entities in state government being called together to agree on a uniform approach to keeping and deleting official emails.

  • SAFE Act Haunts Movement on Gun Safety Legislation

    students NYAGV

    Student activists in Albany (photo: @NYAGV1)


    Earlier this month, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence brought 150 school children from the Bronx and Harlem to Albany to recite poetry, sing songs, and perform skits about the impact gun violence has on their daily lives.

    They didn't get the warmest of welcomes. Kicked out of the space they had booked - the very public well of the legislative office building - they were forced into a hearing room. They were replaced in the well by a wine tasting.

  • John Flanagan's Senate Campaign Finance: The Full Picture

    Flanagan via Senate website

    John Flanagan (photo: Senate website)


    John Flanagan, Republican state Senator, is now Temporary President and Majority Leader in Albany's upper chamber. He replaces Dean Skelos in leadership following the fellow Long Island senator's arrest on
    ...
  • For 'A Better New York,' Activists Lobby Albany for Election Reform

    nyc votes Albany

    Activists in Albany (photo: @NYCVotes)


    On a crisp Wednesday morning, two buses pulled up outside the New York State Capitol in Albany. Their cargo: a delegation of about 100 students, volunteers, and good government activists who travelled from New York City to advocate for voting reform.

    It was the second annual "Vote Better NY" Advocacy Day for Election Reform organized by NYC Votes, a non-partisan voter engagement initiative run by the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) and its Voter Assistance

    ...
  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, April 20

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    As the week begins, Governor Andrew Cuomo is heading to Cuba on a trade mission, leaving Monday and returning Tuesday evening - "the first Governor-led state trade mission to Cuba since President Obama began the process to normalize diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba," the governor is quick to point out. "In addition to the Governor and members of his administration, the delegation includes

    ...
  • Left Out of Ethics Deal, LLC Loophole Faces Renewed Scrutiny

    Cuomo Heastie

    Gov. Cuomo & Speaker Heastie shake on an ethics deal (photo: Governor's Office via flickr)


    The New York State Board of Elections opened up a floodgate in 1996, allowing cash to flow virtually unabated to political candidates. The BOE issued a ruling that allowed limited liability corporations, or LLCs, to be treated as individual donors and individuals to donate unlimited funds to candidates for state-level offices by creating multiple LLCs. Efforts to change the law in the Legislature have failed miserably and

    ...
  • Frustrated and Confused, Legislators Vote on Largely Unseen Budget

    cuomo greek parade

    Gov. Cuomo during Sunday's Greek Independence parade (photo: @NYGovCuomo)


    Voting on a murky budget "framework" began in Albany on Monday evening under a cloud of confusion and anger. Debate in both houses of the state Legislature stretched from afternoon into evening, with the Assembly adjourning around 9 and the Senate around 10 p.m. Both will be back to finish voting on budget bills Tuesday morning - legslation that members mostly have not had a chance to read.

    As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislators sprint to

    ...
  • After Making History, James Seeks Change

    tish james at rally

    Public Advocate James at a recent rally (photo: @PA_Outreach)


    During Women's History Month, the New York City YWCA holds weekly discussion and networking events, leading to a celebration honoring a "YW Woman of the Year." This year's theme is Leadership and Generosity: A Call to Action and the honoree, to be recognized at the celebration Tuesday night in Manhttan, is Public Advocate Letitia James. According to a YWCA spokesperson, James is being honored for "her hard work towards gender and racial equity" and

    ...
  • Three Different Budgets with Two Weeks To Go

    heastie

    Assembly Speaker Heastie (photo: Karen DeWitt)


    Legislative leaders from both houses appear set to test Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s promise that he will sacrifice an on-time budget to get a set of ethics reforms he laid out in February, not long after the arrest of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges.

    Last week, the State Senate and State Assembly each passed its one-house budget, marking stark differences from the governor and from each

    ...
  • Newly Hot, Paid Family Leave Passes Assembly Again

    cuomo opportunity agenda

    Gov. Cuomo discussing his agenda (photo: @NYGovCuomo)


    In further indication of the growing hunger in New York and across the nation for paid family leave, the State Assembly again passed the Paid Family Leave Act on Tuesday in Albany.

    Meanwhile, Senate Republicans introduced their one-house budget resolution last week and also put the spotlight on the issue that Governor Andrew Cuomo is quickly having to figure out a plan on - though the Senate's version is different from the Assembly's in terms of funding mechanisms. The governor

    ...
  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, March 16

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    This week will again be dominated by budget negotiations - especially in Albany, where a budget is due by the end of the month, which is rapidly approaching. In New York City, City Council hearings will continue on Mayor Bill de Blasio's preliminary fiscal year 2016 budget - once those hearings wrap up at the end of the month, the Council will craft its response to de Blasio, negotiations will continue, and the mayor

    ...
  • On Minimum Wage, Cuomo Again Finds the Not-So-Happy Middle

    cuomo fair pay

    Gov. Cuomo pushing his minimum wage hike (photo: @NYGovCuomo)


    The middle ground is a particularly familiar place for Governor Andrew Cuomo - and it is where he has put himself in the debate over increasing the state's minimum wage. Cuomo has come under fire this week from electeds and advocates on the left who support a significantly larger increase to the wage than the one Cuomo has proposed and from conservative officials and business groups that oppose any increase whatsoever.

    Cuomo and his proxies have toured the

    ...
  • Assembly Budget Champions De Blasio Agenda

    bdb parade

    Mayor de Blasio (photo: @BilldeBlasio)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio got a boost from Assembly Democrats on Tuesday in the form of their one-house budget proposal that includes a number of the mayor's major priorities. Facing a state budget negotiation with his agenda at the mercy of his rival-pal Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Senate Republicans who he unsuccessfully tried to unseat last year, de Blasio needed some help.

    Bargaining help arrived thanks in part to de Blasio's new Albany ally, recently minted Assembly Speaker Carl

    ...
  • Fight for MMA Legalization Sees New Life After Silver KO

    ufc ring

    A UFC event (photo: @UltimateFighter)


    The path to the legalization of mixed martial arts, or MMA, in New York got a major boost earlier this year in the form of the arrest of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Silver was seen as the lone impediment to the state removing its ban on the sport and allowing the (notoriously underfunded) New York State Athletic Commission to issue regulations so that New Yorkers can reap the financial benefits of the large events that are now

    ...