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The Week Ahead in New York Politics, November 28


New York City Hall

New York City Hall


What to watch for this week in New York politics:

This week we're continuing to watch President-elect Donald Trump fill out his cabinet while examining his conflicts of interest, which he has said don't matter, and his erratic and dangerous behavior, such as Trump tweeting on Sunday, "In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." Trump has no proof for such claims, and appears set on continuing his assault on key democratic institutions and norms.

Cloe to home, we're continuing to track and probe how New York City and State are responding to a Trump presidency and preparing for his potential policies, based on his campaign agenda. New York Democrats such as Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and many others, have had to face the reality of a Trump victory and what it could mean for the state and city. In sum, they've promised to work with Trump if he is going to put forward policies to invest in infrastructure and help workers and others struggling with employment, education, loans, and more; but to fight Trump if he attempts to deport millions of immigrants, including those in the country illegally, create a Muslim registry, or fulfill other campaign promises. They've also responded with worry to some of Trump's early appointments.

This week after the Thanksgiving holiday will be a busy one in New York politics, with a packed City Council schedule, including the second of two Stated meetings this month, at which new bills are introduced and bills that have passed committee are voted on by the full Council. City Council Member Costa Constantinides will chair an enviromental committee hearing on Monday and he has written a new op-ed column for Gotham Gazette discussing his belief that the city has additional responsibility to fight climate change in light of Trump's election and promises to undo progress made in fighting global warming.

Mayor de Blasio begins his week with one public event: his weekly appearance on NY1's Inside City Hall.  

See our day-by-day rundown of the week ahead in New York politics 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 the City Council on Monday:

  • The Committee on Environmental Protection will meet at 10 a.m. for an oversight hearing on power plants, and to discuss a proposed resolution “calling on the state of New York to phase out Number 4 and Number 6 fuel oil in power plants in its plan to meet carbon dioxide reduction goals as set by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.”
  • The Committee on Transportation will meet at 11 a.m. for an oversight hearing on Citibike in New York City.
  • The Committee on Recovery and Resiliency will meet at 1 p.m. to discuss “workforce development, apprenticeship and local hiring initiatives in the various Sandy programs.”

At 1 p.m. Monday, the City Planning Commission will hold a review session.

At 1 p.m. Monday at City Hall, “The Legal Aid Society along with Brooklyn Defender Services will join other defender organizations, community advocates, stakeholders and U.S. Congress Member Hakeem Jeffries and New York State Assembly Member Dan Quart to call on Governor Cuomo to sign S6483A/A9042A – legislation to treat folding knives as work tools not weapons...S6483A/A9042A passed the New York State Legislature in June (117-12 in the Assembly and 61-1 in the Senate) and will soon be sent to the Governor’s office for consideration.” 

Tuesday
At 9 a.m. Tuesday, Governor Cuomo will deliver remarks at the Capital Region Sustainability Conference in Schenectady.

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, "Mayor de Blasio, Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill and Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg will host a press conference to make an announcement regarding Vision Zero."

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Albany, "The New York State Assembly will hold a public hearing to examine the condition of the state’s election infrastructure with a focus on measures that are in place to protect the integrity of the system against cyber-infiltration or attack. Election Law Committee Chair Michael J. Cusick and Election Day Operations and Voter Disenfranchisement Subcommittee Chair David Buchwald will take testimony on the integrity of the state’s election infrastructure and address reports about foreign governments attempting to infiltrate American voter registration records."

At the City Council on Tuesday:

  • The Committee on Finance will meet at 10 a.m. to discuss a proposed resolution on the DUMBO Business Improvement District.
  • There will be a full-Council Stated Meeting at 1:30 p.m. As usual this will be prefaced by a pre-stated press conference led by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, the Women's Caucus of the City Council, led by Speaker Mark-Viverito and chairs Helen Rosenthal and Laurie Cumbo, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Public Advocate Letitia James will be holding an "Equality Rally" at which they will announce a new package of legislation that will be formally introduced at the City Council afterward. They will be joined by advocates and service provider organizations.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics will hold a meeting on Tuesday in Albany.

On Tuesday, Working Families Party “activists will be joining tens of thousands of people to rally for higher wages in more than 340 cities and nearly 20 of the nation’s busiest airports. In NYC, we'll be linking arms with fast food workers and airport workers in the fight for $15 to send a loud and clear message: we won’t back down.” Actions will include “fast food civil disobedience” and “airport shutdown” at Newark Airport. City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Letitia James will rally with workers on Tuesday morning.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, City Council Member Jumaane Williams will hold a town hall meeting to address both city initiatives and constituent issues. District Leader Josue Pierre will also be at this town hall.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, State Senator Liz Krueger will host “Making Change in Your Neighborhood: How to Work with Your Government to Improve Your Community.” Activists and representatives such as John Raskin of Riders Alliance, Elaine Walsh of East 86th Street Association, and M. Umair Khan of the Office of the NYC Public Advocate will speak at this event.

At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña will attend a town hall meeting of District 8’s Community Education Council at Bronx Community High School.

Wednesday
At the City Council on Wednesday:

  • The Committees on Education, Juvenile Justice, and Fire and Criminal Justice Services will hold a joint hearing at 10 a.m. for oversight of “educational services for New York City's detained, placed, and incarcerated youth, adolescents, and young adults.”
  • The Committees on Public Housing and Sanitation and Solid Waste Management will hold a joint oversight hearing at 1 p.m. on recycling at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

At 8 a.m. Wednesday, City & State NY “will convene leaders in government, public policy, and the industry to discuss labor relations and its effect on public projects in New York.” Robert Asaro-Angelo, the Eastern Regional Representative of the United States Department of Labor, will deliver the keynote. Lorelei Salas, the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs; City Council Member I. Daneek Miller; and State Senator Phil Boyle will be among those on the various panels.

At 8:15 a.m. Wednesday, New York Law School will have a breakfast forum on “Celebrating 100 Years of NYC Zoning: Setting the Future Agenda for Developers and Policy Makers.” The moderator is Ross F. Moskowitz, Partner of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. The panelists will include Commissioner Vicki Been, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development; New York City Council Member David G. Greenfield, Chair of the Committee on Land Use; Andrew Kimball, CEO, Industry City; and Ron Moelis, CEO, L+M Development Partners.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Center for New York City Affairs will hold a panel discussion on how to make New York City Public Schools more integrated. The panelists will be Josh Wallack, Deputy Chancellor of Strategy and Policy; City Council Member Brad Lander; Voyka Soto, Organizer, Power to Harlem Parents; and Shino Tanikawa, president, District 2 Community Education Council. Clara Hemphill, director of education policy and InsideSchools, will be the moderator.

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the City Planning Commission will hold a public meeting.

At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Riders Alliance will hold “Where Do We Go from Here: Albany, Washington and Transit after the Election.” Participants will “talk about our top priorities for 2017 and what the shifting political climate in Albany means for public transit in the year ahead.” State Senator Brad Hoylman, Dan Rivoli of the Daily News, and Veronica Vanterpool of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign will be the panelists. Dr. Christina Greer of Fordham University will moderate.

Thursday
At the City Council on Thursday:

  • The Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet at 9:30 a.m.
  • The Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Maritime Uses will meet at 11 a.m.
  • The Committee on Parks and Recreation will meet at 1 p.m. for an oversight hearing on “Parks Department properties currently inaccessible to the public.”
  • The Subcommittee on Planning, Dispositions, and Concessions will meet at 1 p.m.
 At 8 a.m. Thursday, the Urban Land Institute New York will hold its 2017 Economic Forecast event, featuring Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics and looking at what to expect in 2017 in light of the recent election and other developments in the United States and around the world.

“The next public meeting of the New York City Campaign Finance Board will be held on Thursday, December 1, at 10:00 AM.”

At noon Thursday, the Human Services Council will hold a press conference on the steps of City Hall for its OTPS (Other than Personal Services) Campaign. More information on the campaign can be found here.

At 3 p.m. Thursday, the Center for Community and Ethnic Media at CUNY Journalism School will host a Q&A with Tom Finkelpearl, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Errol Louis of NY1 and the CUNY J-School will host.

Friday and the weekend
At 9 a.m. Friday, the The New York City Council, in collaboration with Brooklyn Law School and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, will hold “The Next 100 Years of Brooklyn Zoning.” This event is a “conference on the future of Brooklyn zoning featuring leaders from government, developer and advocacy communities.” Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen is the featured speaker, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, City Council Land Use Chair David Greenfield, and Council Members Rafael Espinal, Brad Lander, Stephen Levin and Antonio Reynoso will participate.

***
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 Brendan Birth and Ben Max
@GothamGazette



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