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The Week Ahead in New York Politics, August 8


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

August is hitting its stride and this week looks somewhat quiet on the surface, at least by New York politics standards. After a couple of weeks with no hearings, the City Council gets back into action, but only with a few committee hearings on Tuesday. The Council will have its lone full-body Stated Meeting of the month on August 18, Thursday of next week.

Mayor Bill de Blasio starts the week coming off a rather busy one - this past week the mayor celebrated students' gains on state tests, the planned building of a new YMCA in the Bronx, and continued positive trends in city crime numbers. He also announced the impending retirement of NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton and the promotion Chief of Department Jimmy O'Neill to the role. De Blasio also discussed policing during his weekly appearance on WNYC radio's The Brian Lehrer Show.

On Sunday, de Blasio and O'Neill marched in the Ecuadorian Parade in Queens. Then the mayor and O'Neill walked the Orchard Beach boardwalk and neighborhood and met with local residents and small business owners in the Bronx.

De Blasio starts this week with no public events Monday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo made several announcements last week in various parts of the state, including on expanding broadband internet service. He also defended his economic development programs when asked by reporters, just as his state economic development leader did so in front of an Assembly committee at a rare August hearing in Albany. Cuomo also has no public events Monday.

As always, there are several 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
At 10 a.m. on Monday, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs is holding a public hearing on the “proposal to repeal and replace Chapter 6 of Title 6 of the Rules of the City of New York,” which will allow for the transfer of DCA adjudications to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings as required by Executive Order No. 18.

At 11 a.m. at City Hall on Monday, there wil be a "where's our park?" rally, at which Public Advocate Letitia James will be among the speakers.

At 1 p.m. on Monday, the New York City Planning Commission will hold its bi-weekly review session.

At 5 p.m. Monday, Urban Youth Collaborative will hold a press conference on school discipline at High School for Fashion Industries in Manhattan. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is among those who will participate.

Tuesday
At 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday the New York Community Trust and Muslim-American leaders will host a breakfast briefing for journalists on a new effort to combat Islamophobia in New York City and throughout the country. The discussion at the briefing will be focused on counteracting negative images and rhetoric about Muslims and Islam in the media. Speakers include Shawn Morehead and Kerry McCarthy, Program Officers for the New York Community Trust; Linda Sarsour, Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York; Tazmin Uddin, Youth Coordinator at Turning Point for Women and Families; Josh Seftel, film director at Seftel Productions; and Jaclyn Bishop, associate producer at Seftel Productions.

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board will hold a public meeting.

At 10:30 a.m on Tuesday the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics will hold a meeting. The meeting will be made available to those who cannot attend in person over live webstream.

At the City Council Tuesday:

  • At 9:30 a.m. the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet to consider several land use applications.
  • At 11:00 a.m. the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses will meet to consider three land use applications.
  • At 11:30 a.m. the Committee on Land Use will meet to address applications and business considered by the the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses in their meetings earlier in the day.

At 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesday the Department of Consumer Affairs will continue its Open House Training Series with sessions on New York City’s Paid Sick Leave Law and New York City’s Commuter Benefits Law.

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will visit a STEM Summer in the City program at P.S. 166 in Manhattan.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m., Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer will host a Dominican Day Parade Launch Reception at United Palace Theater Lobby.

On Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Gracie Mansion, "Mayor de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray will attend and deliver remarks at the Annual ADA Sapolin Awards in honor of the 26th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

Wednesday
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the New York City Planning Commission will hold its bi-weekly public meeting.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the Brooklyn Historical Society will host Crown Heights Encounters: Listening Back, Moving Forward, an evening of discussion, performance, and reflection on the Crown Heights riot of August 1991 and Crown Heights’ past, present, and future. Topics of discussion include racial justice and urban renewal, and panelists include Errol Louis, host of Inside City Hall; Mark Winston Griffith, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Movement Center; Rabbi Eli Cohen, Executive Director of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council; Natherlene Bolden, a Crown Heights Tenants Union member; and artist, Kameelah Rasheed.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the New York Urban League and the New York Urban League Young Professionals will host Black & Blue: A Struggle for Justice at John Jay College for Criminal Justice, a town hall meeting in which various New York City stakeholders will discuss plans for law enforcement reform. Speakers will include President and CEO of the New York Urban Justice League, Arva R. Rice; New York Urban League Young Professional, Stanley Fritz; Senior Campaign Director for the MomsRising.org Food Justice and Children’s Nutritution Campaign, Monifa Bandele; Senior Community Organizer at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., Lumumba Bandele; founder of NoEqualityNoEconomy.com, Tamika Malloy; New York State Senator, Kevin Parker; President of Brooklyn NAACP, L. Joy Williams; and New York City Council Member, Jumaane Williams.

Thursday
On Thursday at John Jay College, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., "Alphonso B. David, counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, chair of the State Assembly’s subcommittee on the oversight of minority and women owned businesses, and CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken speak to more than 700 MWBE (Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise) and SDVOB (Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business) owners from New York State and the Tri-State region at the eighth annual MWBE and SDVOB Conference on Contract Opportunities with the City University of New York (CUNY) and with the City University Construction Fund (CUCF)." The panel is part of a one-day conference, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., which "includes workshops, boot camp sessions and – for those who have certification - exclusive meet-ups with procurement decision makers in various market sectors."

At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, the Civilian Complaint Review Board will hold a public board meeting.

Friday and the weekend
No events on the calendar as of now.

***
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 Libby Wetzler and Ben Max
@GothamGazette



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