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STILL SERVING
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Also inside Q&A with RAPPER DMC Recapping the CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARIES
July 04, 2016
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City & State New York
July 4, 2016
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EDITOR’S NOTE / Contents
Michael Gareth Johnson Editorial director
New York state is home to more than 50,000 active duty military personnel, reserve forces, or civilians serving in the military. It’s also estimated that roughly 892,000 veterans live in the state. If you factor in the families of all the people who have served or are serving, you get an overwhelming number of New Yorkers whose lives have been impacted by the military. Last year, we made the decision that the best way for us to honor those who have served our country was to spotlight the men and women who are still serving, in a new role, as public servants, as leaders in New York’s business community, or through charitable work at nonprofits. We felt last year was a success, so this year, we are once again informing our audience of the remarkable backgrounds of 10 extraordinary people whom they may have crossed paths with working in politics and government. We encourage you to read the profiles, and thank all who have served our country for their sacrifice.
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CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARY RECAP As the dust settles after the primaries, we take a look at where the state’s congressional races stand.
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Q&A WITH DMC We talk with the rapper on his partnership with NYC to help bring kids’ superheroes to life.
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STILL SERVING We highlight the stories of 10 former and current service members who are now serving their communities – and look at the challenges faced by nonprofits that serve veterans.
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NEW YORK SLANT Nicole Gelinas compares population growth in New York and London, and reveals what lessons the Brexit could teach our state.
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EDITORIAL editor@cityandstateny.com Editorial Director Michael Johnson mjohnson@cityandstateny.com Senior Editor Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com Albany Reporter Ashley Hupfl ahupfl@cityandstateny.com
City & State is the premier multimedia news organization dedicated to covering New York’s local and state politics and policy. Our indepth, non-partisan coverage serves New York’s leaders every day as a trusted guide to the issues impacting New York. We offer round-the-clock coverage through our weekly publications, daily e-briefs, events, on-camera interviews, weekly podcast and more.
Buffalo Reporter Justin Sondel jsondel@cityandstateny.com City Hall Reporter Sarina Trangle strangle@cityandstateny.com Managing Editor Ryan Somers Associate Copy Editor Sam Edsill Web/Engagement Editor Jeremy Unger
CITY & STATE FIRST READ With over 20,000 subscribers, the free daily First Read e-brief summarizes the top political news, editorials, schedule items and more – all in your inbox before 7 a.m. cityandstateny.com/first-read CITY & STATE INSIDER Insider subscribers receive the weekly magazine, access to all policy events and an exclusive daily email featuring our take on the news and groundbreaking commentary. cityandstateny.com/insider CITY & STATE EVENTS City & State hosts dozens of panel discussions, live Q&As, receptions and more each year featuring powerful politicians, industry leaders and experts from across the state. cityandstateny.com/events CITY & STATE CAREERS City & State Careers connects professionals to career, continuing education, and professional development opportunities in and around New York government, advocacy, business and more. careers.cityandstateny.com NEW YORK SLANT New York Slant is City & State’s platform dedicated to opinion and analysis, providing an informed perspective on the daily news cycle via op-eds, columns and a weekly podcast. nyslant.com CITY & STATE PENNSYLVANIA City & State has expanded into Pennsylvania, bringing its daily morning e-news brief, a monthly magazine and unique public policy and recognition events to the Keystone State. cityandstatepa.com
Editorial Assistant Jeff Coltin NEW YORK SLANT New York Slant Editor Nick Powell npowell@cityandstateny.com Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero gborrero@cityandstateny.com New York Slant Columnists Nicole Gelinas, Alexis Grenell, Bertha Lewis CREATIVE creativedepartment@cityandstateny.com Creative Director Guillaume Federighi Senior Graphic Designer Alex Law Marketing Designer Charles Flores Junior Graphic Designer Kewen Chen DIGITAL digitaldepartment@cityandstateny.com Digital Manager Chanelle Grannum Digital Content Coordinator Michael Filippi MULTIMEDIA Multimedia Director Bryan Terry
Vol. 5 Issue 26 July 4, 2016
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STILL SERVING
Honoring veterans improving New York ê
Also inside Q&A with RAPPER DMC Recapping the CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARIES
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City & State New York
July 4, 2016
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THIS WEEK ON THE SLANT PODCAST “DANCING THE CON-CON” WITH FORMER ASSEMBLYMEN JERRY KREMER AND NELSON DENIS Everybody wants reform in Albany, but is a constitutional convention the way to do it?
Nelson Denis, for a convention: “The notion that it would cost the state too much money is a straw argument, because I’m sure if you asked the voters to suspend or minimize the member items … Why don’t we just prorate the member items for that year, which is about $200 million a year, and let the members then just pay for that? What’s it going to be, $50 million? $50
million less in member items, we make that part of the referendum. The voters of New York State would eat that up! They will vote for that in a heartbeat. They’ll say, yeah! We’re going to get a referendum and we’re going to have our constitutional convention and those politicians are going to have $50 million less to give to their family and friends.”
Jerry Kremer, against a convention: “A constitutional convention is nothing more than a carbon copy of a legislative session. The same lobbyists get a chance to doubledip. Any elected official gets an opportunity to add to their pension. Unfortunately, you can’t decide ‘four strikes and you’re out.’ We’re bound by what the system is, and unfortunately there’s just no way you’re going to change it. If it’s rigged to begin with, why spend the money? The idea of asking the Legislature to set aside certain money for the constitutional convention is like asking them to give up their firstborn. It’s just not going to happen.”
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Listen, subscribe and review this week’s podcast by searching for “New York Slant” on iTunes or Stitcher.
Persistence Prevails – Mission Accomplished BY MARIO CILENTO A new law on the books in New York State will help to honor our veterans with the deep respect and appreciation they so deserve. On June 1, 2016, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Veteran’s Service Credit bill, recognizing honorably discharged servicemen and women who sacrificed so much for all of us. The new law recognizes the service of all of our veterans and for the first time equally acknowledges the women who proudly served our country. Now, moving forward, all members of public retirement systems who are honorably discharged veterans will be eligible to purchase up to three years of retirement credit for their service, irrespective of when and where they served in the military. This is a huge win for our veterans who fought hard to make this a reality. It is also
a big victory for labor. We stood proudly, in solidarity with all of our affiliates on this issue for decades. Improvements were made over time, but until now barriers prevented all veterans from being treated equally. While we can never show enough gratitude to those who provided the ultimate public service, this law validates the service of all who spent time in the military. It was an honor to work alongside New York State veteran’s organizations and our brothers and sisters in the Labor Movement for this long-fought victory. Together, we walked the hallways of our state government, made countless phone calls, and sent letters, emails and texts – anything to garner support for the veteran’s pension credit legislation. We also recognize it would not have been possible without the years of leadership from Senator William Larkin and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin who never gave up. We thank Speaker Carl Heastie, Majority Leader John Flanagan, and Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeffrey Klein for understanding how critically important this legislation is to our veterans and we thank
Governor Cuomo for signing the bill. But mostly, we thank our veterans for their sacrifice, courage and commitment to serving the public. Our veterans not only defended our freedom, many continued in public service choosing careers as police officers and firefighters, or in fields of transportation, teaching our children or caring for the mentally ill. Now, we can finally give back to them.
About the Author: Mario Cilento is the President of the New York State AFL-CIO, The New York State AFL-CIO is a federation of 3,000 affiliated public sector, private sector, and building trades unions throughout the state representing 2.5 million members, retirees and their families.
New York State
AFL-CIO
Helping Working Families Achieve A Better Life
www.nysaflcio.org
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WRITE THIS WAY: A Q&A WITH DMC
July 4, 2016
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
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H
e made his name as a founding member of Run-DMC, one of the most popular hip-hop groups of all time, but the rapper DMC’s first love was comic books. The Queens native born as Darryl McDaniels and his comic book line, Darryl Makes Comics, recently partnered with New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development to publish a comic featuring heroes and stories created by kids in DYCD after-school programs. DMC talked to City & State’s Jeff Coltin at the launch party in an interview that was frequently interrupted by kids asking for autographs and rap battles. C&S: I heard this partnership with DYCD didn’t exactly start with a formal letter. DMC: Yes! (A DYCD employee) stopped me out on the street, gave me a card and said, “I heard you have a comic book?” She said we want to do this initiative, getting the kids to read, getting the kids to be creative so we could spark their learning sensors. They asked me to participate, and I said sure. We wanted to do something that would involve the kids, so they could see their work. “Oh my god, what I created is really there! People can see that.” And that’s what we did. C&S: NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton recently called rappers “basically thugs” after the deadly shooting at Irving Plaza, and you spoke out against it. Does it bother you that hiphop has this reputation? Does it seem like the NYPD is out of touch? DMC: Yeah that’s crazy. Like I said, he should have known better than that. I believe Bill Bratton, the position that he’s in, he works among a very diverse lineup of people from all walks of life, race, religions, creeds and colors, and I’m sure he knows who Common is. I’m sure he knows who LL Cool J is. He was just saying something to drive the point that, yes it’s true, a lot of people in hip-hop use negativity to make a dollar and be successful without knowing that it affects these guys (gestures to kids) looking up at them. The same way these rappers talk about, “I’m a drug dealer, I’m in a gang,” like it’s cool, makes them think, “Right. It’s cool.” But when I came along, how could Bratton say that, that all rappers are thugs who don’t know how to leave the streets where the streets is at. I came into the business rhyming about – I never was in a gang, I never sold drugs, I’ve never been to jail. When I got on a
DMC PARTNERED WITH THE CITY TO ENCOURAGE KIDS TO READ AND BE MORE CREATIVE.
DMC HELPED KIDS CREATE THESE COMICS DURING DYCD AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS.
microphone, I told the world what I do: “I’m DMC in the place to be / I go to St. John’s University / Since kindergarten I applied the knowledge / After 12th grade I went straight to college.” Bratton had part of the problem addressed. But the problem is bigger than hip-hop music. The problem is with America. The problem with America is this: our entertainment entities and our entertainment corporations, our media, our production companies and Hollywood itself, has America at a point where negativity is celebrated if it’s making
money. So we have to change that. Right now you’re cool if you’re disrespectful. If you’re illiterate. If you act like a fool and you just do stupid, asinine, ridiculous stuff. If you make money, “Come on in! Put ‘em on TV!” No. We should be kicking those people out. C&S: You’ve been affected by gun violence – you’re wearing a JMJ belt buckle for Jam Master Jay, your DJ who was shot and killed in 2002. Are musicians and the hip-hop community addressing it enough?
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July 4, 2016
DMC: It’s a politician issue. But if you make it political, you’ll never do a solution. It’s funny that you ask that. Three weeks ago I released a song called “Flames.” It’s produced by John Moyer of the rock band Disturbed. I did a duet with Myles Kennedy. It addresses the white cops shooting the children, but it also addresses the black kids shooting the black kids. It’s a straight, no-holds-barred song that addresses the problems and the root causes of these conditions. If you make it a political issue it will never be solved. If you make it a guns rights issue, it’ll never be solved. We don’t need to make it a political issue, we don’t need to make it a religious issue. It’s a people issue. It’s all about selfesteem. There’s a line in the record about the guy who got choked by the cops for selling loosie cigarettes (Eric Garner). I made this record with white rock stars because my own black people are scared to address the issue. My own black people will make records about “I got my gun and I shot this and I’m selling drugs.” We’re supposed to celebrate you? You’re not John Gotti! You’re not Al Pacino in Scarface! So we made this record – it’s a people issue. It’s about self-esteem. How do we stop the kids from shooting each other. We’ve got to make the kids respect each other, but they’ve got to respect themselves first.
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DMC SAYS THAT BEFORE KIDS CAN RESPECT EACH OTHER THEY NEED TO LEARN TO RESPECT THEMSELVES.
DMC WITH YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSIONER BILL CHONG.
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
ON TO NOVEMBER In a presidential election year where all eyes are watching, challengers to many members of New York’s congressional delegation emerged this year, whether in primaries or going forward into the general election. In some contests, such as the 13th Congressional District race to replace U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, the primaries have all but settled things, while in others, like the 19th Congressional District election to replace U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, the fight is only just beginning. Here’s City & State’s guide to each congressional race in New York State.
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U.S. Senator
July 4, 2016
NY-1
NY-2 vs.
vs.
vs. Peter King (R, C, Ref) vs. DuWayne Gregory (D, WFP, IND, WEP)
Chuck Schumer (D, Wor, I, WEP) vs. Wendy Long (R, C, Ref) vs. Robin Laverne Wilson (G)
David Calone (D, IND), Anna Throne-Holst (D, WEP) vs. Lee Zeldin (R, C, Ref)
Schumer is poised to become the Senate Democratic Leader in January after Nevada Sen. Harry Reid retires. His opposition to the Iran nuclear deal seemed to drop his approval rating this year, but don’t expect Long, an attorney, to give him much of a challenge – she lost to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2012 by a landslide.
Calone and Throne-Holst both sunk nearly $1 million in the Democratic primary, and the race was too close to call. Absentee ballots will have to be counted to determine which will ultimately run against Zeldin in a race that will be closely watched this November. The WFP has a candidate in Kenneth Schaeffer, but the party is expected to endorse whichever Democrat comes out on top.
NY-3
NY-4 vs.
King, the incumbent and a moderate Republican, has been a vocal critic of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. It remains to be seen whether that criticism will ultimately help him or turn away conservative voters. His Democratic opponent, Gregory, could court the more moderate voters frustrated with the current national politics.
NY-5 vs. vs.
Tom Suozzi (D) vs. Jack Martins (R, C, Ref) Two longtime politicians face off in this nationally watched race to fill an open House seat. Former Nassau County Executive Suozzi beat four other contenders for the Democratic nomination, including the retiring Rep. Steve Israel’s pick, Steve Stern. He’ll take on state Sen. Martins, who has been tapped to get support from the national committee as it tries to turn the blue district red.
Kathleen Rice (D, WEP) vs. David Gurfein (R, C, Ref) Like much of Long Island, neither party has a strong voter advantage in the district, but Rice, a former Nassau County District Attorney, is not expected to face much of a fight as she hunts for her second term in the House. Retired Marine and businessman “Bull” Gurfein is running for the office for the first time, and switched to the South Shore district after originally declaring for the North Shore’s 3rd Congressional District, allowing Nassau regular Jack Martins to enter the general without a primary.
Gregory Meeks (D, WEP) vs. Michael O’Reilly (R, C) vs. Frank Francois (G) Since taking office in 1998, Meeks has never been seriously challenged in a general. Political neophyte and regulatory attorney O’Reilly, whose background includes the Marines and flying for a commercial airline, is not expected to garner much of the vote in this heavily black, heavily Democratic Southeast Queens district.
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
NY-7
NY-6 vs.
11
NY-8 vs.
vs.
Grace Meng (D, WEP) vs. Danniel Maio (R, C)
Nydia Velazquez (D, WEP) vs. Allan Romaguera (R, C)
Hakeem Jeffries (D, WFP) vs. Daniel Cavanagh (C)
Meng, New York’s first Asian-American member of Congress, is expected to win a third consecutive term in this eastern Queens district. Maio, who is running a shoestring campaign, has run for a variety of offices before without ever making much of a splash.
Serving in the House since 1993, Velazquez easily won the primary and is not expected to face much opposition from businessman Romaguera, who garnered 2 percent of the vote as the Conservative Party’s candidate in 2014.
The popular young Brooklynite (and rumored mayoral hopeful) Jeffries will run for his third term in Congress with only token opposition from Cavanagh, who earned around 10 percent of the vote in the last two elections challenging U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke.
NY-10
NY-11
NY-9 vs.
vs. vs.
Yvette Clarke (D, WFP) vs. Alan Bellone (C)
Jerrold Nadler (D, WFP, WEP) vs. Philip Rosenthal (R, C, I)
Clarke has served in Congress since 2007 and is expected to cruise to victory against Brooklyn businessman Bellone, who earned around 7 percent of the vote in the last two elections challenging U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
In Congress since 1992, Nadler’s seat has never been seriously threatened. He dominated the primary and is expected to win easily in November, though lawyer and entrepreneur Rosenthal could get strong support from the district’s Orthodox Jewish voters, many of whom have criticized Nadler for his support of the Iran nuclear deal last year.
Dan Donovan (R, C, I, Ref) vs. Richard Reichard (D) vs. Henry Bardel (G) Former Richmond County District Attorney Donovan cruised to victory in the a special election last year for Staten Island’s seat in Congress. Reichard, the former president of the Staten Island Democrats, is making his first run for office, but the traditionally Republican seat is expected to stay that way.
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NY-12
July 4, 2016
NY-13
NY-14
vs.
vs. vs.
Carolyn Maloney (D, WFP) vs. Robert Ardini (R)
Joseph Crowley (D, Wor, WEP) vs. Frank Spotorno (R, C)
Manhattan’s Maloney won the primary in a landslide and has easily won re-election every year since taking office in 1993. She is expected to win again in November against political newcomer and smallbusiness man Ardini.
Adriano Espaillat (D), vs. Robert Evans Jr. (R, I) vs. Daniel Vila Rivera (G)
Crowley has easily won re-election every cycle since entering Congress in 1999. Political newcomer and small-business man Spotorno is running on a platform of bringing more jobs to the district, but is not expected to seriously challenge Crowley.
NY-15
NY-16
After a grueling nine-way primary with allegations of voter suppression, Espaillat is all but guaranteed to turn the “Harlem” seat held for almost a half century by Charlie Rangel into a “Washington Heights” seat, becoming the first Dominican-American member of Congress and first to have come to the country undocumented. Lawyer and first-time candidate “Tony” Evans’ case will be hard to make in this overwhelmingly Democratic district.
NY-18 vs.
Eliot Engel (D, WFP, WEP)
Engel first took office in 1989 and will run unopposed in November.
José Serrano (D) vs. Alejandro Vega (R) vs. Eduardo Ramirez (C)
NY-17
Serrano has represented the most Democratic district in the country since 1991 and is expected to easily win once again. Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district almost 20 to 1.
Nita Lowey (D, WFP, WEP) Lowey first took office in 1989 and will run unopposed in November.
Sean Patrick Maloney (D, WFP, I, WEP) vs. Phil Oliva (R, C, Ref) Republican political consultant Oliva will run against two-term congressman Maloney this November. Oliva comfortably won his primary race, but will potentially face an uphill battle in a district that has more registered Democrats than Republicans.
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
NY-20
NY-19 vs.
13
NY-21 vs. vs.
Zephyr Teachout (D, WFP) vs. John Faso (R, C, I, Ref)
Paul Tonko (D, WFP, I, WEP) vs. Francis Vitollo (R, C, Ref)
The race between Teachout and Faso is expected to be close. The 19th Congressional District is seen as a very competitive district, with only a slight majority of active registered Republicans. It’s likely U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson’s successor will be the candidate who is able to court enough votes from both sides of the aisle.
After a failed challenge to unseat Democratic Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, “Joe” Vitollo is now running against Tonko, a four-term incumbent. Tonko, who also served for more than 20 years in the Assembly, has name recognition and strong base of support in the district.
Elise Stefanik (R, C, I, REF) vs. Mike Derrick (D, WFP) vs. Matthew Funiciello (G)
NY-22
NY-23
NY-24
vs.
vs.
Derrick, a retired Army colonel and missile defense expert, is challenging Stefanik, a freshman congresswoman. Early polling has found Stefanik in a strong position to win re-election, even with third-party candidate Funiciello in the mix. She also maintains fair approval ratings.
vs.
Kim Myers (D, WFP) vs. Claudia Tenney (R, C, REF)
Thomas Reed (R, C, I, Ref) vs. John Plumb (D, WFP)
John Katko (R, C, I, REF) vs. Colleen Deacon (D)
Republican Assemblywoman Tenney won 41 percent of the vote against two opponents and will now face Myers, the daughter of the Dick’s Clothing and Sporting Goods founder. Myers faced no primary opponents. Retiring U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, a Republican, was a threeterm congressman when he decided to leave office.
Since neither candidate faced a primary opponent, Plumb and Reed have been embroiled in a bitter fight for months. Reed’s campaign has used fake Twitter handles and the two candidates have repeatedly traded barbs. Republican Mitt Romney won the district in the 2012 presidential election.
Deacon easily defeated her Democratic opponents in the primary and has the support of several high-profile Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer. Republicans are confident they can keep the seat, though they lost the district in the previous two presidential elections.
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NY-26
NY-25 vs. Louise Slaughter (D, WFP, WEP) vs. Mark Assini (R, C, I, Ref) This November will see a rematch between Slaughter and Assini after the Republican lost to Slaughter in 2014 by fewer than 1,000 votes. Slaughter has been in Congress, though for different districts, since 1987.
NY-27 vs.
vs. Brian Higgins (D, WFP, WEP) vs. Shelly Schratz (R, C)
Chris Collins (R, C, I, Ref) vs. Diana Kastenbaum (D)
Higgins has cruised to victory since he was first elected in 2004. Schratz faces an uphill battle in the heavily Democratic district.
Collins has been a congressman since 2012, when he defeated now-Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. In 2014, he was re-elected by a wide margin. Kastenbaum will have to confront Collins’ name recognition and fundraising efforts to win the election.
Proudly Supporting Our Veterans Yellow Ribbon Education Enhancement Every year, NYU gives thousands of dollars in scholarship aid to students who are veterans via the Yellow Ribbon program and in 2016, NYU nearly tripled its Yellow Ribbon grants for undergraduates to $10,000 per year.
Military Family Clinic The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at NYU Langone Medical Center offers free and confidential mental health services to veterans and their family members, including children, siblings, parents, grandparents, and significant others. The clinic helps families deal with relationship difficulties, school problems, unemployment, and relocation issues using family-focused therapy.
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
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STILL SERVING HONORING VETERANS IMPROVING NEW YORK
THE 10 EXTRAORDINARY people selected by City & State’s staff to be honored in this year’s veterans issue demonstrate the rich diversity in experience that we often find in the our nation’s military ranks. The list includes a Marine Corps captain who heads the organization responsible for the largest veterans parade in the country; a mother who
left the Navy after reaching a rate of E-4 and is now a program coordinator for veterans at LaGuardia Community College; and a kid from the South Bronx who served in Vietnam, became an Air Force sergeant and now gives backs to children who grew up in similar situations through his work at New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development, just to name a few. In reviewing the nominations for these profiles, we received passionate pitches from community members, family and friends for nearly 100 people who continue to make a positive impact in our community. While we could only select 10 to highlight in this annual section, we thank all of those nominated for continuing to serve our country and our state as community leaders, government employees, heads of nonprofits or advocates for change. This section also features an indepth look at a part of this year’s New York City budget that is opening doors for veterans by helping them find the services and benefits that are available to them, but often go unutilized because navigating the bureaucracy of government can be so discouraging. We also talk to lawmakers and city and state officials about the most timely issues impacting veterans and the military, to find out what our city and state governments are doing to help active service members, veterans and their families.
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Soldiering on
July 4, 2016
In the fight to help veterans, nonprofits face unique challenges By FRANK G. RUNYEON
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
NEW YORK CITY MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO, FLANKED BY CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO, COUNCILMAN ERIC ULRICH AND ADVOCATES, SIGNS LEGISLATION CREATING THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' SERVICES LATE LAST YEAR.
AS NEW YORK City Council members stamped their approval on an $82.1 billion budget last month, a line item granting $514,000 to coordinate services for military veterans garnered little attention. Even though the half-million-dollar allotment for the newly-minted Department of Veterans’ Services amounts to a fraction of one percent of the city’s budget, Dr. Nick Armstrong noticed. To him, the money serves as a six-figure validation of his team’s research at Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families. Armstrong’s institute – which he prefers to call an “action tank” – is responsible for a series of projects across the country, under the umbrella “America Serves,” which guides veterans and their families
toward resources that are often difficult to find in major metropolitan areas. Their local NYServes initiative was set to expire on June 30, but the new infusion of funding will allow the project to continue. The mayor’s office said it plans to rebrand and expand NYServes as VetConnect NYC. The city-owned, digital case management portal aims to connect the city’s 225,000 veterans and their families with a full range of resources from over 60 health and human services providers. “This annual funding will help us expand services to further address the needs of members of the armed services, veterans and military families,” a representative for Mayor Bill de Blasio said via email. There are many resources for veterans – an estimated 42,035 nonprofits focus on the veteran and military community nationally, including more than 1,883 veterans nonprofits in New York state, according to the Center for a New American Security. However, Armstrong said, veterans and their families are often lost as to how they can take advantage of what’s available. “It’s not that there isn’t enough capacity or enough services out there. It’s helping veterans understand and know where to turn to really navigate this sea of different resources and care,” Armstrong said. “What we’re finding from the research is that navigation is the biggest challenge.” While finding the right services might be the primary challenge for a veteran in need, there are a dizzying array of systemic challenges facing veterans nonprofits themselves. In a series of interviews, researchers and industry watchdogs described a unique set of challenges facing those nonprofits. Veterans nonprofits often struggle with fundraising, but that’s only the beginning. Delivering those resources to the people who need them poses a whole new challenge. Funding from a so-called “sea of goodwill,” fed by patriotic support for veterans in the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, may be drying up. According to a 2015 report by the Center for a New American Security, “the future does not look bright for either of the two primary sources of funding – government funding and philanthropic giving – flowing into this sector.” Nationwide, assets and revenue for veterans groups remained relatively flat for the previous 14 years, the study noted. Meanwhile, “the need within the veteran and military community has grown, as
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measured by nearly every metric available,” the study found, citing service provider surveys as well as federal Veterans Affairs and Defense Department data. Despite the study’s gloomy fiscal forecast, veterans charities have a distinct fundraising advantage, said James Sheehan, chief of the charities bureau at the New York attorney general’s office. “Certain kinds of charities are what we call ‘warm glow charities,’” Sheehan said, placing veterans, cancer, children, and animal charities in that group. “People have a strong emotional bond with them and they feel better about themselves when they contribute,” he explained. In short, Sheehan said, “If I’m a fundraiser and I want to really collect lots of money, the veterans category is going to be one I’ll be inclined to enter.” Unfortunately, the lure of easily-earned fundraising dollars is a draw for unscrupulous operators. From his law enforcement perspective, Sheehan said, that’s why those charities also receive special scrutiny from his office. As a result, honest veterans groups – especially smaller or less experienced ones – should beware. Veterans groups have consistently been preyed on by fundraising outfits that lock naive nonprofits into contracts, effectively enslaving them to the fundraiser. “It was like corporate peonage,” said Sheehan. “You never got out of debt.” More commonly, however, fundraisers will simply claim the lion’s share of the donations they collect in the nonprofit’s name. Underfunded nonprofits in this competitive sector are often tempted to take the deal, even for pennies on the dollar, reasoning that those are pennies they wouldn’t have collected otherwise. “I don’t think that’s a justifiable argument,” said Sandra Miniutti, chief financial officer at Charity Navigator, which evaluates charities based on financial health, transparency and accountability. “That’s money that could have gone to a more efficient, impactful charity that just got wasted. And then when donors find out, they’re understandably outraged and they don’t want to give at all to any charity after that.” Another issue facing veterans groups has been a flurry of unflattering media attention on veteran’s nonprofits over the last few months – including exposés detailing scandalous spending at the Wounded Warrior Project and some questionable veteran’s charity choices by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
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But there are lessons to be gleaned from grams benefitting veterans and their famboth stories, said Daniel Borochoff, pres- ilies directly, as opposed to less reputable ident of charity watchdog group Charity- groups that siphon off funds to outside Watch. groups or simply perform questionable “It’s teachable beyond Trump, beyond services, like distributing arts and crafts the presidential politics,” Borochoff said. supplies. “How did someone “The biggest problem with (the Woundpick these groups? FIVE NEW YORK-BASED GROUPS What actually is goed Warrior Project) is CHARITYWATCH LISTS AMONG ing on with these they were wanting to ITS TOP-RATED CHARITIES: not spend their mongroups?” Whether you’re a donor decidey and accumulate it - FISHER HOUSE: A+ so rapidly,” Borochoff ing which group to explained. “Warchestgive to or a nonprofit - GUIDE DOG FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND: A looking to partner ing,” as such cash stockpiling is called, was also with a local veterans - INTREPID FALLEN HEROES FUND: A noted as a growing trend group, Borochoff exin the Center for a New plained, you need to - NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY ASSOCIATION: A American Security redo your homework. port. “If they had spent “Get specifics,” - BOB WOODRUFF FAMILY FOUNDATION: Amore of their money on he said. That way, programs, they would “you’re not giving have looked pretty good to a nebulous cause, you’re giving to a specific programs that – other than their lavish spending,” Borochoff added. are really helpful or useful.” Despite the long list of challenges in And the splashy scandal surrounding the sector, Miniutti insisted that there are the Wounded Warrior Project? Borochoff many veterans groups doing good work. said many groups are a lot worse. “There are great charities out there – Wounded Warrior runs several pro-
they’re not all bad,” she said. “But you do need the time to help determine that and not just give because somebody asks.” In today’s fundraising climate, that depends on what you can show, Miniutti said. “I think it’s important to have the data. I think people are inspired to give from their hearts, so the stories are what pulls donors in, but then I think you need to have the data to back it up. And we really believe it’s three colors. It’s good governance, strong financial performance and having the results – proving the results you intended.” Sheehan, the charity chief in the New York attorney general’s office, echoed the need for transparency and accountability among veterans nonprofits. It’s an important cause, he said. “If you’re a decent person, you have some level of guilt about sending off someone else to fight wars for you. I think there’s a deep concern what’s happened to these people,” Sheehan said. But in terms of which charities you should give to, the attorney general’s office can’t help you. “We don’t hand out awards for wellrun charities,” Sheehan said. “Maybe we should do that.”
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7/6/16 12:31 PM
“If any man tells you he loves America, yet Local 46 Salutes All Our Veterans hates labor, he is a liar.” Abraham Lincoln
How Many More Must Die?
iStock.com/jrwasserman
Gilbane Building Company:
16 construction workers have died in New York City during the last year. 14 of those were on nonunion construction sites. So why does Gilbane continue promoting a business model that will lead to more dangerous construction sites and greater worker exploitation?
We Proudly Participate in the Helmets to Hardhats Program Gilbane is working with nonunion subcontractors like Structure Tech NY, New York Insulation and RCI Plumbing, who have records of serious worker safety violations. Gilbane is also working with U.S. Crane and Rigging, one among a network of family crane, hoist and rigging companies that have been cited in connection with several major accidents and the 2008 death of an employee.
For more info, please visit www.GilbaneExposed.org Local 46 Metallic Lathers & Reinforcing Ironworkers Business Manager: Terrence Moore Business Agents: Kevin Kelly, Ronnie Richardson, John Coffey and Michael Anderson President: John Skinner 1322 Third Avenue @ East 76th Street New York, NY 10021 • 212-737-0500 • www.ml46.org
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Local 46 Salutes All Our Veterans
We Proudly Participate in the Helmets to Hardhats Program
Local 46 Metallic Lathers & Reinforcing Ironworkers Business Manager: Terrence Moore Business Agents: Kevin Kelly, Ronnie Richardson, John Coffey and Michael Anderson President: John Skinner 1322 Third Avenue @ East 76th Street New York, NY 10021 • 212-737-0500 • www.ml46.org
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City & State New York
July 4, 2016
VICKI BELLO
Director of Veterans Upward Bound, LaGuardia Community College
YEARS SERVED: 1985-1989 BRANCH: U.S. NAVY HIGHEST RANK: E-4
VICKI BELLO HAD always intended to make a career in the U.S. Navy, but circumstances changed after she became a mother, requiring her to spend more time at home. It was not long before Bello realized that her transition to civilian life would not be as smooth as she’d hoped. At first, Bello had to settle for odd jobs here and there. Then the dot-com bubble burst, and with it the one job she had truly enjoyed. It was then that Bello decided to go back to school. After graduating from Lehman College, she found a part-time job as a peer mentor to veterans at LaGuardia Community College (where she had previously earned an associate’s degree), which ultimately led to a fulltime position as program coordinator, where she took on more of a counseling role. “People would come for me for everything, whether for a MetroCard or if they were hungry, and I would send them to pantries,” she said. When she was named director of the college’s Veterans Upward Bound program, Bello began updating the programming to meet the needs of the post-9/11 generation of returning veterans with online tutoring, more peer mentoring and other programs that she believed would allow veterans “to not only enter but succeed in postsecondary education.” Funded through a U.S. Department of Education grant, the Veterans Upward Bound program at LaGuardia College is the only such program in the tri-state area. “Most of the
veterans we serve are low-income, first-generation students and what we have to do is prepare them in reading, writing, math, science and language,” Bello said. The program prepares veterans for college entrance exams if they are entering as freshmen or, if they are transfer students, it will refresh their soft skills. In many cases, however, college preparedness is only one part of the support provided. “A lot of (the veterans) are unemployed,” she said. “Most that I have seen here are couch-surfing – not so much homeless but couch-surfing, I would say – and many don't know how to handle money. They get all this ‘Post-9/11’ money and they don't know how to handle it, and a lot of them go into debt.” In order to thrive as students, Bello said, it is critical for veterans to address any other issues they may have, such as mental health concerns or financial troubles. All service members receive transitional assistance when they leave the military, but in many cases, Bello believes, that support needs to continue as veterans regain their bearings in civilian life. “They give them all this information at once, and I don’t think most people are thinking about all those things at that moment,” she said. “My program is here not only to prepare them for postsecondary education, but also to help them with that transitioning, whatever services they need.”
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Quick Takes ON HOW NEW YORK STATE HELPS VETERANS FIND EMPLOYMENT AND HIGHER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES AFTER RETURNING FROM ACTIVE DUTY:
MICHAEL DENDEKKER CHAIRMAN, ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
MD: The issue of employment and higher education opportunities for veterans has been a focus of mine … this year. One of the achievements I was proudest of this legislative session was fighting to include funding in the 2016 state budget for organizations that offer job placement and legal services to veterans. This included $200,000 for Helmets to Hardhats, an organization that helps place veterans into union jobs, and $250,000 for the Veterans Farmer Grant Fund, which gives grants to veterans to help them start agricultural small businesses. Organizations like these specialize in helping veterans find jobs, and New York state should continue to foster and grow these kinds of relationships and provide funding so they can do what they do best. Not only will veterans be able to find steady employment, which is our utmost priority, but creating these jobs is good for New York’s economy. And we all reap the benefits of having more New York farms producing goods like apples, dairy, and any number of other agricultural goods. Helping our veterans find employment opportunities when they leave active duty should be a priority for all of us in the Legislature and in the state of New York.
Veterans Jumpstart Their Civilian Lives Through Entrepreneurship By Carlo A. Scissura (Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President & CEO) and Katepalli Sreenivasan (Dean of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering)
Having a successful military career requires a cadre of personal traits that not everyone has. Naturally, bravery comes immediately to mind, but it also takes discipline, fortitude, reliability, adaptability, focus, and dedication to a cause. Those very same traits are vital in the world of entrepreneurship, and thanks to organizations and individuals like the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Bunker Labs, Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, and the Empire State Development Corporation, a growing number of military veterans are finding out they have what it takes to transition to the innovation economy.
In 2015, at the request of Assemblyman Lentol, NYU Tandon and the Brooklyn Chamber inaugurated the Veteran Entrepreneur Training (VET) program. Its first two cohorts of graduates included the creators of a militaryinspired modular obstacle course that can be used in corporate teambuilding exercises, a platform to find and rate veteran support services, and a service aimed at expediting medical insurance claims. NYU Tandon has since partnered with Bunker Labs to open Bunker Labs NY. As part of the partnership, the VET program, which is offered entirely free
of charge to its participants, will soon be accepting applications for its next cohort of aspiring entrepreneurs. More information can be found at engineering. nyu.edu/veteran-entrepreneurship Our nation’s military veterans have given selflessly of themselves for our benefit, so it is only fitting that we give back to them as they return to civilian life. With the support of our staunch partners in the world of business and government, the Brooklyn Chamber and NYU are proud to be providing vets with the tools and training they need to thrive in New York City’s booming technology sector.
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
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Quick Takes ON BILLS AND POLICY INITIATIVES PASSED THIS YEAR TO HELP VETERANS, AND WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE:
THOMAS CROCI
DARE TO DO MORE
CHAIRMAN, STATE SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
TC: Two standout bills have been signed and are chaptered into law. The first, S7160, allows veterans who work in public service in New York state to buy back their military service credit to add to their pensions. This bill was especially important because military service is the highest form of public service. Senator Larkin and Assemblywoman Paulin were staunch leaders in ensuring passage and I was proud to support this effort. The second bill, S3137C, will require the New York State Division of Veterans Affairs to create and maintain a directory on their website of healthcare service options available to veterans. This bill will also require that hospitals begin to distribute the same directory to all discharged veteran patients. I also introduced a bill to provide for the Alternative Veterans Property Tax Exemption (S3134B) because I believe that our veterans should not have to wait until after they have completed their military service to receive a tax exemption since they are still serving our country in uniform. Finally, the session included a record amount of funding for the Joseph Dwyer Peer-to-Peer Program in 15 counties statewide to help our veterans who are struggling with PTSD.
LaGuardia Community College President Gail O. Mellow Faculty, Staff and Students are proud to support
City & State’s Veterans Special Issue and congratulate our own
Vicki Bello and the rest of the winners of City & State’s ABOVE AND BEYOND AWARDS for New York City Veterans
31-10 Thomson Avenue • Long Island City, NY 11101 www.laguardia.edu • 718/482-7200
LaGuardia Veterans Services Office
www.lagcc.cuny.edu/veterans
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CityAndStateNY.com
July 4, 2016
City & State New York
July 4, 2016
MICHAEL DRAKE
Veteran Peer Coordinator, New York City Department of Veterans’ Services
YEARS SERVED: 2005-2008 BRANCH: ARMY HIGHEST RANK: SPECIALIST
AS A COMBAT MEDIC in Afghanistan, Michael Drake served on the front lines with his infantry team. He gave medical instruction to active soldiers, taught preventative medicine in Afghani villages, conducted humanitarian aid operations and was awarded an Army Commendation Medal with Valor for performing duties under fire. In joining the military, Drake was following in the footsteps of his father and stepfather. Upon leaving the service, however, he would take advantage of the G.I. Bill and become the first member of his family to attend college. Drake enlisted in the Army just a couple months after graduating from high school. At the time, he envisioned a career in the medical field when his service came to an end, but in college Drake discovered a new passion: advocacy. He became the president of his community college’s veterans group. At the University of California, Berkeley, where he later enrolled, Drake became president of the veterans group there, and led the effort to create a veterans resource center on campus. He began his advocacy career in the nonprofit sector, but eventually moved into government, joining the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs to help homeless veterans in the city’s shelter system navigate the complex landscape of housing vouchers and subsidies, applications, interviews and background checks to
secure suitable and affordable housing. “When a lot of people transition back, it’s hard to find a job right away. New York City is an expensive place, so people can find themselves entering the shelter system pretty quickly,” Drake said. “We are basically housing brokers for homeless veterans. We help walk them through the entire process, either with a Section 8 voucher, or housing subsidy, or we help them get an apartment that they can afford with their own income.” Veterans suffering a mental health emergency or substance abuse issue may need help finding supportive housing. In other cases, Drake and his team will advocate for a client before a broker or client. “As veterans, we understand the transition, we understand how difficult it can be, which allows us to really empathize with our clients' stories, and we use that to advocate personally to brokers and landlords,” Drake explained. “So for clients who may otherwise be rejected from an apartment based on their credit or another mitigating factor, we can speak to the landlord about our experience with the client.” Case management is challenging work, but the rewards, for Drake, are well worth the effort – not least when a client finally receives the keys to their new home. “It’s always a little bit of an emotional event for clients who have been waiting months, even years possibly,” Drake said. “It’s the first piece of stability that they are going to have on their road to recovery.”
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City & State New York
July 4, 2016
GREGORY FEWER
Bureau Chief, Tenant Protection Unit, New York State Homes and Community Renewal YEARS SERVED: 1974-2013 BRANCH: NAVY, ARMY, AIR FORCE HIGHEST RANK: COLONEL
IN 2012, Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled a new law enforcement office, under the auspices of the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), aimed at protecting the more than 1 million rent-regulated tenants in New York City from overcharges, fraud and harassment. To help lead the newly inaugurated Tenant Protection Unit, HCR tapped Gregory Fewer, a lawyer who had not only worked within the department for many years, but also served distinguished stints as a military prosecutor, along with other national security assignments. Fewer first enlisted in the U.S. Army as a 17-year-old in 1974. After a two-year stint in Germany, he returned stateside to attend St. Francis College, in his native Brooklyn, on the G.I. Bill. Fewer would remain in the military throughout college as a tech sergeant with an Air Force Reserve medevac unit based on Governors Island. After graduating from law school, Fewer received a commission as a lieutenant in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He began his career as a defense counsel, but eventually transitioned to prosecutor and, following a string of successful prosecutions on a major drug case, Fewer was named staff judge advocate at the South Weymouth Naval Air Station in Massachusetts. When he left the Navy to join the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal, Fewer once again choose to remain in the service as a JAG officer of the New York Army National Guard. In 1998, he transferred to the Army Reserve’s 4th Legal Support Organization in the Bronx and served
as operations officer and deputy commander. Fewer would later hold the position of acting staff judge advocate for the 77th Regional Readiness Command Legal Unit at Fort Totten. From 2004 to 2006 Fewer was mobilized to Washington, D.C., where he served on the JAG Desk of the Crisis Action Team in the Pentagon’s Army Operation Center. He would return to Washington in 2009 to work on a special project out of the office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense. In 2012, Fewer returned to New York, bringing his military and national security legal expertise to his new role as the Tenant Protection Unit’s bureau chief. Drawing upon his organizational training, Fewer helped build up the unit and implement a systematic restructuring of how the state enforced compliance with its rent regulations. “Real estate (in New York) has gone through the roof,” Fewer said, “and greed can make people do bad things.” In April of this year, Cuomo announced that the Tenant Protection Unit’s efforts had led to the restoration of 50,000 apartments to rent regulation as well as the repayment of more than $2.5 million to tenants who had been wrongfully overcharged. The following month, the New York State Attorney General’s office announced the high-profile arrest of Steven Croman – for years a fixture on the city’s “worst landlords” list – on 20 felony charges, acknowledging the Tenant Protection Unit’s contribution to the investigation. “We’ve had a significant degree of success,” Fewer said.
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Quick Takes ON NEW YORK CITY’S ACTIONS TO END CHRONIC VETERAN HOMELESSNESS, AND ITS GOALS FOR CONTINUING TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE:
LOREE SUTTON COMMISSIONER OF NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS SERVICES, RETIRED ARMY BRIGADIER GENERAL
LS: Under the bold leadership of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the City of New York has ended chronic veteran homelessness, decreasing overall veteran homelessness by 75 percent as of June 23, 2016. This accomplishment was achieved through a spirit of collaboration coupled with a commitment to relentless innovation in four main areas: partnerships, processes, policies and a breakthrough investment in veteran peer coordination. Looking ahead, the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services continues to work with its federal, city and community partners to achieve the following objectives during the coming year: • Meeting “Functional Zero”: ending homelessness for veterans currently in shelter and developing a rapid rehousing system for housing new veterans within 90 days of entry • Mitigating recidivism by bolstering “aftercare” services through a dedicated coordinator who will drive assessment priorities and fully leverage the vital veteran peer coordinator role • Leading efforts to systematize the assessment and housing placement of homeless veterans across systems and resources; scale this system to benefit all homeless New Yorkers As DVS continues to ramp up to its full capacity, we look forward to sharing our lessons, achievements and challenges as well as engaging in continued dialogue with the Veterans’ Advisory Board and the entire community of New York City veterans, family members, allies and advocates.
At BNY Mellon Wealth Management, we celebrate the commitment of those who help others. It is our great pleasure to support City & State, John Mathena and all of the honorees.
Invested in making a difference.
@BNYMellonWealth bnymellonwealthmanagement.com ©2016 The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.
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City & State New York
July 4, 2016
JOHN MATHENA
Senior Director, BNY Mellon Private Wealth Management
YEARS SERVED: 1978-1984 BRANCH: U.S. MARINES HIGHEST RANK: STAFF SERGEANT
THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE is currently experiencing one of the largest influxes of returning veterans in the country’s history. And while veterans often bring a specialized range of skills to the workplace, many face unique transitional challenges as well, and struggle to figure out how their military experience translates into the civilian world. “The unmistakable characteristic that all of them have is a sense of commitment, a sense of duty and loyalty that you just don’t get from someone fresh out of college. They are just so much more mature,” said John Mathena, a wealth director at BNY Mellon and co-chairman of its Veterans Network (VetNet), an employee resource group. Yet despite their obvious talents, some returning veterans feel out of touch. Many are uncertain how to articulate the value of their military experience to the corporate world. “Their buddies went to college and then went right into corporate America, so they are much further along,” Mathena said. “It’s a matter of reminding (veterans) that you took this route because it was a very valuable experience.” From his own experience, Mathena knows the advantage that the skills and values acquired in the Marines can provide. He enlisted in the reserves as a teenager, and wound up serving as a business
administration specialist at Camp Pendleton in California. The fact that his years in the reserves coincided with a period of limited foreign conflict, and that he was never called into active duty, makes Mathena all the more grateful toward those who had to endure real sacrifice. “I’m the first to tell everyone that the reason that I am so involved with veterans’ causes now is because I had such an easy time with my service,” Mathena said. Even without deploying overseas, Mathena credits the Marines with fostering many attributes that allowed him to excel in the corporate world. “I was taught ruthless organizational skills,” Mathena said. “I was taught how to work in teams with people of varied backgrounds. I was taught how to respect the individuals around me, and I think those three characteristics have done more for my civilian career than anything learned in business school, to be really honest.” BNY Mellon’s VetNet supports military veterans in their transition to the corporate world through recruiting efforts and mentorship programs. The group has partnered with the United War Veterans Council, the Soldier for Life program and the Marine Executive Association, among other programs.
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City & State New York
July 4, 2016
JOHN MARTINKO
Managing Director, Drexel Hamilton Capital Markets YEARS SERVED: 2001-2009 BRANCH: ARMY HIGHEST RANK: CAPTAIN
THE ROAD HOME from war, and integration into the civilian workforce, is no walk in the park. John Martinko made it with a little help from fellow veterans. “The community of veterans really was behind me, helping me get a seat on Wall Street, and that is something that I will never forget,” said Martinko, who first joined the Army in 2001. Though originally recruited to West Point as a swimmer, Martinko was following in the footsteps of family members from previous generations. He would deploy seven times to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom – including during the initial strikes into Iraq – and receive three Bronze Stars for his valor. Martinko began his Wall Street career with Credit Suisse, and later joined the veteran-owned Drexel Hamilton Capital Markets. Nearly half of the firm’s staff members are veterans, and more than 20 percent of those have a disability. “I thought coming here would be a good way for me to remain involved in the financial industry, but also give back to other veterans in a more significant way,” Martinko said. One thing that Wall Street and the military have in common is a predilection for acronyms. Still, entering the financial industry can be like learning a new language, and Drexel Hamilton makes a point of pairing each newly arrived military veteran with an established Wall Street veteran to ease their transition. “You basically have like a left feet, right feet ride,” Martinko said. “It’s like one of those
situations where the veteran is being trained by both his left and right flank as they go through the day.” Once that transition is complete, Martinko believes that the sort of skills that veterans obtain in the military serve them well in the fast-paced financial services industry. “Service members in general make great employees because of their integrity, persistence, and also, I think, their cohesiveness working together in a unit,” Martinko said. “A lot of the problem sets that we had overseas were extremely difficult, and the stakes high, and I think having that kind of experience, especially in the financial industry, kind of keeps a calmness about any banking activities that you have to work through day-to-day.” Drexel Hamilton’s efforts on behalf of the veteran community are not limited to the culture and practices maintained within the office itself. “We’re working both up and down,” Martinko said. “We’re working directly with veterans, but we’re also working with other hiring managers to help them find candidates who are a natural fit for the investment banking and financial industry.” The firm partners with bulge-bracket banks, private equity firms and other industry players to maintain active dialogue around best practices with respect to veteran hiring and integration, and strengths and weakness of particular veteran programs. The firm has even advocated before regulatory bodies for changes that would facilitate the integration of disabled veterans into the financial industry. “Every day for us is Veterans Day,” Martinko said.
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July 4, 2016
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Quick Takes ON WHAT STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND SERVICE MEMBERS:
ERIC HESSE DIRECTOR, NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
EH: I would say that during my three-year tenure as the director of the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), communication has considerably improved. The first step in this improvement arose from Gov. Cuomo’s No Wrong Door initiative. This program has made the interaction between our service members, veterans and their families and state agencies more productive. For example, you may go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew your driver’s license and realize that you can get a veterans designation on your driver’s license. Service members then look into other veterans benefits to which they may be entitled. This occurs because state agencies are asking the crucial question, “Have you served in the military?” or, “Do you know someone who served?” As part of this initiative, many state agencies now have a designated Veterans Liaison who promotes veterans’ interests within these agencies and communicates with DVA about new ideas to help veterans and their families. A second key component is our outreach efforts. In our “11/11 Community Conversations,” we travel to locations across the state and set up programs with other state agencies to provide an open forum for service members, veterans and their families to learn about benefits, ask questions, and provide feedback. Lastly, DVA recently initiated and collaborated with designers in the New York State Office of Information Technology to develop a new New York State Veterans App compatible for use on Apple and Android mobile devices. Our app builds upon the governor’s Built to Lead agenda for New York state.
ORING SERVICE HON
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DOUG MCGOWAN
Chairman, United War Veterans Council
YEARS SERVED: 2000-2004 BRANCH: U.S. MARINE CORPS HIGHEST RANK: CAPTAIN
THE NEW YORK CITY Veterans Day Parade, the largest celebration of its kind in the country, traces its roots to the Spanish-American War, and, even further back, to traditions carried out by veterans of the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War. Following a period of steady decline, the parade, along with the United War Veterans Council (UWVC), the nonprofit responsible for its production, was revived in 1985 by a group of Vietnam veterans. In January, Doug McGowan, a former Marine captain and veteran of the second Iraq War, was elected chairman of the UWVC, with the goal of keeping alive tradition while pushing forward with new ambitions. Under McGowan’s leadership, the organization is looking to amp up its veteran advocacy and support efforts while continuing to find new ways to honor their service. “The mission is to mobilize our communities to honor, support and serve American veterans,” McGowan said. “We do that by raising positive awareness and increased understanding of veterans’ needs, and we attempt to unify our veteran groups, community organizations, city, state and federal agencies, and the general public to serve veterans of all eras. We do that through advocacy, support and sustainability.” When terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, McGowan was training to be a Marine. The Upper West Side native had received his commission the previous year after graduating from Tufts University.
In the coming years he would deploy to the Pacific and the Middle East before leaving the uniformed service in 2004 to earn a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. Between 2007 and 2011 McGowan would deploy to the Middle East and North Africa several more times as a civilian working for the U.S. Defense Department and as a government contractor in support of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as on anti-terrorism assignments. He currently works as a risk and control officer in the Markets Division at Barclays Investment Bank. The UWVC is planning to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks in this year’s Veteran’s Day Parade (“America’s Parade,” officially), which is fitting given that the organization has recently passed on the bulk of its leadership responsibilities to post-9/11 veterans. The fact that less than one half of one percent of Americans have served in the armed conflicts of the past decade and a half, McGowan believes, will ultimately afford his generation of veterans a unique position from which to lead. “My generation understands what it means to serve, and we continue to serve because we know that it is only through service to our community that we are going to actually achieve the objectives that we look to achieve together,” McGowan said. “It’s up to us to take the work that has already been done and capitalize on it,” he said.
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LUIS W. OSORIO
Director of Resident and Community Engagement, New York City Department of Youth and Community Development
YEARS SERVED: 1964-1968 BRANCH: AIR FORCE HIGHEST RANK: SERGEANT
BEFORE HE ENLISTED in the Air Force, Luis W. Osorio’s hardscrabble upbringing had begun to catch up with him. The son of a single mother, Osorio grew up in a South Bronx housing project and found himself gravitating toward the street. Joining the military not only helped Osorio get his own life in order, it gave him a deeper appreciation for the value of all human life. “I observed young men from different groups – different classes and races – and everyone of them demonstrated a set of values while under fire, and expressed their commitment and devotion to the United States,” he said. For his service in Vietnam, Osorio would receive two presidential citations. And it was during those two deployments that he pledged to make a positive impact on the lives of others. In his decades of public service, Osorio has worn many hats in city and state government, and many of the qualities that he brings to each new endeavor date back to his time in the military. “I am very disciplined,” Osorio said, “I believe in protocol, and I value the humanity of everybody.” Osorio began his career as a public school teacher, but quickly rose through the ranks of city government. Mayor Ed Koch named him the first executive director
of the juvenile justice system, and he would later serve as the Brooklyn director of Child Protective Services. Mayor Michael Bloomberg would appoint Osorio director of the Cornerstone Initiative, which encompasses 94 community centers in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments around the city. The community centers offer programming for both youth and adults in education, technology, sports and other areas. At that time, Osorio would also take responsibility for resident engagement as well, which entails daily interfacing with NYCHA resident associations. While Osorio admits that his work involves some conflict resolution and mediation, he says that “the bottom line is listening to people – listening very well.” Osorio likens public housing developments to “miniature cities,” each with a culture of its own. And in his experience, there can be no better preparation for understanding the needs of their residents than having been one. “I know what it is to be poor. I know what it is to see your mother struggling to provide her children with a clean and healthy environment. I know what it is to be involved in gangs to protect your siblings,” Osorio said. “I don’t forget my basics.”
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City & State New York
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YOLANDA ROBINSON Director of Executive Operations, Office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli
YEARS SERVED: 1964-1968 BRANCH: AIR FORCE HIGHEST RANK: SERGEANT
YOLANDA ROBINSON grew up in the inland city of White Plains. By her own admission, the only thing she knew about boats was how to ride in one. “I was a land-lover,” she said. “The closest I got to a boat was the Circle Line.” That landlocked upbringing, however, did not deter Robinson from volunteering for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary once her children had gone off to college. What she lacked in boating knowledge she made up for in her commitment to public service and volunteerism. “I’ve always thought volunteerism leads to more wonderful things,” she said. “One of the things I teach my children is you may not be paid for every great job that you have,” said Robinson, who is now certified for boat crew in Flotilla 6-4 out of Verplanck. As an auxiliarist, Robinson patrols the Hudson River, alongside members of her flotilla, with the principal purpose of promoting boat safety. But the Coast Guard Auxiliary also participates in search and rescue operations, conducts aerial patrols and provides relief during public emergencies, such as a natural disasters or oil spills. With major construction underway on the Tappan Zee Bridge, Robinson’s flotilla has stepped up to provide additional “eyes and ears on the water in order to promote safety.”
Robinson serves as the public affairs officer for her flotilla, as well as assistant publications officer for the First Southern District, which encompasses much of the northeastern seaboard. To carry out those duties Robinson draws upon her extensive experience in both government and the media, which included stints in television as a news reporter and anchor for News 12 Westchester, as well as a radio talk show host at WJAZ-FM, WFAS-AM/FM and WBLS/WLIB. Robinson has also served as a spokeswoman for former Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, with whom she worked to create a weekend school in Southwest Yonkers that provided children and adults with a spectrum of educational opportunities. She would go on to work in the administration of Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young and currently serves as director of executive operations for New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. As an auxiliarist, Robinson has learned skills such as radio transmission and how to use speed and distance to calculate when her boat will arrive at a given destination. But one thing is certain: Robinson is thrilled with where she is right now. “I look at it as a learning opportunity,” she said. “The Coast Guard Auxiliary provides me with a constant education and training in order to carry out our duties. More importantly, I love serving my country.”
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JEFFREY ROTH
Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Veterans’ Services YEARS SERVED: 1999-PRESENT BRANCH: ARMY (NATIONAL GUARD) HIGHEST RANK: MAJOR
MILITARY SERVICE WAS always highly valued in Jeffrey Roth’s family. His father and grandfathers all served, as did his brother, whose tragic death at the U.S. Army Airborne School brought home to Roth, under the worst circumstances, how powerful the bond could be between those who serve. “This was a group of people that was like a family, and they really took care of us,” recalled Roth, who was 17 at the time. As an undergraduate at Michigan State University, Roth joined the ROTC. Once again, the connection to a community inspired him, and Roth has served in the National Guard since 1999. It was always about more than just community, though. In high school and college, Roth participated in humanitarian work around the world, experiences that enabled him to see the ways in which policy could have a direct impact on people’s lives. After studying public policy and urban planning in graduate school, Roth entered city government as a policy analyst at the Mayor’s Office of Operations, and from there moved to the New York City Fire Department, where he would earn recognition for his work on a computer algorithm that enabled the FDNY to prioritize which of the city’s nearly 1 million buildings to inspect. Based on his own experience, Roth believes that military training can come in handy when solving government problems. “It teaches you how to perform in complex, ambiguous, volatile, intense environments. In the military, you are put in situations that are
really difficult and you have to problem-solve and be creative in how you come up with a solution or way out,” Roth said. “And I have found that in the public sector you are often given big problems with no readymade solution, and not a lot of resources, so you also have to rely on that same creative problem-solving.” Earlier this year, Roth was named deputy commissioner of the newly inaugurated Department of Veteran’s Services, which succeeded the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs. For Roth, his position in the new agency uniquely aligns his military and government experience while presenting the intriguing challenge of “a start-up in city government.” Once the department is running at full steam, it will focus on three primary “lines of action”: tackling problems around housing and homelessness, providing integrated health care, and promoting employment, education and entrepreneurship. In other words: “How do we make New York City a place where veterans want to come and build their businesses and grow their families?” Roth explained. Beyond ensuring that veterans know which government benefits and support services are available to them, Roth believes the new agency must tap into the desire among so many of them to “continue to serve” and “be a part of something.” “It’s going to be paramount for this agency to find ways to leverage that desire among our veteran community and find ways to help them thrive and flourish and continue to serve,” Roth said.
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JOHN SOLLAZZO Board Member, USS Intrepid YEARS SERVED: 1959-1964 BRANCH: U.S. NAVY HIGHEST RANK: LEADING SEAMAN OF THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE USS INTREPID
JOHN SOLLAZZO grew up with a natural affinity for boats and open water. Something about the U.S. Navy always inspired the Staten Islander, and when he was old enough to enlist, Sollazzo would receive the sort of commission dreams are made of: to serve aboard one of the country’s iconic battleships. The USS Intrepid, now decommissioned off the West Side of Manhattan, is a familiar sight to many New Yorkers, who know it as an air and space museum; but Sollazzo recalls with enduring fondness life aboard the ship during its seafaring days. “When you were on the Intrepid, it was like you were in a floating city,” Sollazzo said. “I mean, it had everything, and you were in a community when you were on board. I knew everybody on that ship – that’s the type of person I am.” Sollazzo credits those years serving as a leading seaman aboard the Intrepid with setting his life on a positive course as a family man and an engaged member of his community. “On a ship you’re in closed quarters, and there’s camaraderie, the love for each other, this togetherness,” he recalled. Though Sollazzo would leave the Navy to marry his lifelong sweetheart, his experience aboard the aircraft carrier turned out to be ideal preparation for a career in the New York City Fire Department. Not only was it critical that he know how to put out a fire in close quarters, but living aboard a battleship prepared him for the task of facing peril, of living and working alongside those with whom he served. “When you are fighting a fire, you only think about protecting the building, and getting anybody inside out of the building,” Sollazzo said. “You don’t think about yourself. You think about your brother firefighter who is next to you. There is no other job like being in the fire department, the brotherly love that we had for each other.”
DUE TO A PERSONAL MATTER, JOHN SOLLAZZO WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO TAKE PART IN OUR PHOTO SHOOT. HE CAN BE SEEN IN THE PHOTO ABOVE WITH VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN.
Since his retirement from the FDNY, Sollazzo has remained engaged on issues concerning firefighters, serving as the national president of the United Retired Firefighters Association, as well as its Staten Island chapter. For the past half-century he’s been a fixture in the island’s local politics. Dubbed “Mr. Democrat” by some, Sollazzo has run, by his own count, some 25 to 30 political campaigns, and is currently vice chairman of the Staten Island Democratic Party. He also serves as a community mayor, a position he uses to ensure that Staten Islanders with disabilities have access to supports they need, as well as recreational activities. “They call Staten Island the forgotten borough, but it’s so rich in the quality of people,” said Sollazzo, noting that he’s seen the island’s population more than double over the course of his life. “I have seen the change, and I have accepted the change,” he said. “And I choose not to go away from what’s here.”
Last Chance!
This coming Wednesday, July 13th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm Join City & State as we give special thanks to our heroes at an award reception honoring 10 of New York’s outstanding veterans. Featuring Keynote address by Loree Sutton, MD, Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs.
Pier A Harbor House • 2 2 Batter y Place • New York , NY 10004
Meet the 2016 Honorees: Vicki Bello, Director, Veterans Upward Bound Program & Veteran Services for Adult & Continuing Education, LaGuardia Community College (CUNY) Michael Drake, Veteran Peer Coordinator, Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs Gregory Fewer, Bureau Chief, New York State Homes & Community Renewal (NYSHCR) John Martinko, Director, Capital Markets, Drexel Hamilton John Mathena, Senior Wealth Director, BNY Mellon Doug McGowan, Chairman, United War Veterans Council Luis Osorio, Director, Resident & Community Engagement, New York City Department of Youth & Community Development Yolanda Robinson, Southern Hudson Valley Regional Director, State Comptroller’s Office Jeffrey Roth, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Veterans’ Services John Sollazzo, Board Member, U.S.S Intrepid
Sponsored by:
Come meet the honorees: RSVP at CityandStateNY.com/Events
Veterans are welcome to attend free of charge, use the code: Veterans16 Want to be seen at this event? Contact Lissa Blake at Lblake@cityandstateny.com to learn more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Veterans_CS070516_FP.indd 1
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A fresh perspective on opinions/ Edited by Nick Powell
LONDON LEAVERS, AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR NEW YORK
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By NICOLE GELINAS
ho lost London? In last month’s Brexit vote, 40.1 percent of London voters chose to leave the European Union – a remarkably high result. Yet London Leavers have legitimate complaints. London, like New York City, is feeling the strain of being a physical and economic oasis in a world gone mad. Compared with the rest of the United Kingdom, London is young, rich and cosmopolitan. The city’s average age is 34, compared with 40 for the country as a whole, and its percentage of elderly residents, at 11.3 percent, is far smaller than the nation’s 17 percent average. In comparison, Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, voted by 74 percent to stay. One reason for the tepid result: whether you’re of Viking, Pakistani, Nigerian or Chinese descent, you can’t help but think that London is already full. Last year alone, Britain took in more than 335,000 migrants from around the world.
FORMER LONDON MAYOR BORIS JOHNSON HELPED LEAD THE BREXIT CHARGE.
Just like New York, London attracts a disproportionate share of these migrants, and keeps breaking population records as a result. The capital surpassed 8.6 million people last year, up from a low of 6.8 million in 1981. New York City is on a similar trajectory, going from 7.1 million people in 1980 to 8.5 million today. The stress of this surge is most obvi-
ous in housing and transit. Sadiq Khan, the city’s first Muslim mayor, won office in May on a platform of improving those two things. The problem isn’t just that more people equal higher house prices. The city’s housing stock has become a repository for the world’s ultra-rich – in large part because of Western governments’ post-2008
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bailout policies. Since the financial crisis, the world’s governments have kept interest rates low. People who want to put their money in the safest assets, such as German government bonds, can expect negative interest rates. So rich people figure that the most lucrative safe bet is Western real estate – so they have bought a lot of it. On the day of the referendum, the news came out that even as the U.K. had grown to a record population, the population in Chelsea and Kensington, two of London’s richest neighborhoods, had shrunk. Absent global oligarchs had displaced people who lived there. It would be one thing if these distortions were part of a free, capitalist society. But since 2008, the British government has owned big chunks of two of the country’s largest banks, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds. As in the United States, the British government chose to bail out investors in the banks, even as budget cuts meant shorter library hours and longer ambulance waits. Because London is more dependent on the national government than New York, the city has suffered from these service cuts far more acutely than New Yorkers have. If you can’t live in Chelsea, you’ve got a long commute – on ever-more crowded trains. London’s Tube, like New York’s subway, is smashing ridership records. But New York actually had more room to absorb new riders than London did. We have express-track subway lines, meaning that we can run more and faster trains on some lines to ease crowding. New York now carries 1.8 billion people a year on its subways, with London at 1.3 billion. London is building new capacity to catch up – and its famous double-decker buses take up the slack. But above ground, the streets are also jammed. Earlier this month, a New York Department of Transportation report noted that speeds in Gotham’s central business district are slower than they’ve ever been. That’s true in London, too, with cars moving at just 7.4 miles per hour. London, like New York, has seen a surge in for-hire vehicles from Uber and its competitors clog up its streets – and London, like New York, has vacillated about what to do about it. Then, too, there is terrorism. As in New York, the vast majority of migrants and their British-born children are
City & State New York
hardworking and peaceable. The tiny minority that is not peaceable has mercilessly killed in the name of radical Islam. In July 2005, 52 people died in London’s bus and Tube bombings. Three years ago, British soldier Lee Rigby was beheaded outside his London barracks. Londoners, like New Yorkers, are accustomed to diversity. But it is not unreasonable for voters to worry about the long-term security implications of accepting millions more migrants, both legal and illegal, from the Middle East over the coming decades. That’s something that it would have to do as part of the European Union. Ultimately, the central question is this: With London’s population set to grow to 11 million by the middle of the century, what is the cost to existing Londoners’ quality of life? As Adair Turner, a grandee of London’s financial world, told the Financial Times earlier this month, “If immigration” – and, relatedly, population – “were the only issue, I could be a Brexiter. … If you ask people what is the biggest determinant of their standard of living, often it is the length of their commute. Some people say, ‘Oh, we’ll just build on the greenbelt.’ But people love the greenbelt. I think large-scale immigration of people who are willing to work in unskilled jobs also probably reduces the wage rate of the people who are there already.” Indeed. Lord Turner presumably voted to Remain – but, then, his money insulates him from these real-life population pressures. Less wealthy incumbents of global cities are competing with the world’s human and financial capital for ever-scarcer resources. The world’s global political and business elite pronounced itself stunned by the overall Brexit vote. But city-planning elites should be concerned, too. People will accept growth – but only when it comes with government that can competently manage that growth. Neither London nor New York has proven that it can do that.
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Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal. Follow her on Twitter: @nicolegelinas. Nicole Gelinas is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal. Follow her on Twitter: @nicolegelinas.
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LOSERS ADRIANO ESPAILLAT - The handshake at Sylvia’s makes it official – Espaillat beat the Lion of Harlem’s chosen successor by a nose and brought the Harlemcentered district into the Heights. First DominicanAmerican member of Congress and first to enter the country undocumented looks pretty good on a resume. Does anybody else hear bachata music?
THE BEST OF THE REST KRINER CASH - Got the Buffalo School Board to agree he’s doing a good job NYDIA VELAZQUEZ - Behind-the-scenes dealing on the Puerto Rico relief bill paid off SUSAN MURLEY AND ROBERT NOVICK - Lawyers getting big checks to represent state in Buffalo Billion probe DEAN SKELOS AND SHELDON SILVER - Supreme Court ruling gives them a glimmer of hope
OUR PICK
OUR PICK
WINNERS
With Independence Day falling on a Monday this year, many New Yorkers got three- or even four-day weekends. But for four members of the de Blasio administration, the weekend was about more than just celebrating our nation’s independence – they can celebrate their freedom after quitting the administration. Best wishes to Maya Wiley, Nilda Mesa, Emily Lloyd and Scott Kleinberg. We hope you kick off the new chapter in your lives by reading Winners & Losers.
STEVE PIGEON – The longtime Buffalo-area politico has for years been accused of dirty tricks and flouting election law, and this week, it caught up with him. He now stands accused of offering political favors to state Supreme Court Justice John Michalek in exchange for information and influence over cases. For many of his enemies in Western New York, seeing Pigeon arraigned on nine felony counts, including bribery and extortion, must have been satisfying. It seems as though the pigeons have finally come home to roost. THE REST OF THE WORST RANGEL, ISRAEL AND HANNA - Retiring congressmen go 0-3 in picking successors PATRICK SICONOLFI AND JACK FREUND - Rent freeze for second year hurts landlord leaders FERNANDO MATEO - Bundled for de Blasio, then said a friend did it ADAM CLAYTON POWELL IV - Tried to raise campaign cash an hour before losing
WINNERS & LOSERS is published every Friday morning in City & State’s First Read email. Sign up for the email, cast your vote and see who won at cityandstateny.com.
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