The January 20th Edition of City & State Magazine by City & State

REMEMBERING

Mario Cuomo 1932 - 2015 January 20, 2015

more YEARS Can Andrew Cuomo

Avoid a Sophomore Slump? By Jon Lentz

ANNUAL

STATE LEGISLATIVE Preview

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

Pride of New York

Hunter College New York City Council Member; Chair, Higher Education Committee; Former NYS Assembly Member

Lowell Hawthorne

‰

Bronx Community College President and CEO Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill

Robert T. Johnson

City College of New York District Attorney, Bronx County; Former Acting Justice of New York State Supreme Court

Ayodele Oti

‰

Walter Mosley

City College of New York Award-Winning Author Founder, City College Publishing Certificate Program

Macaulay Honors College at City College of New York Truman Scholar 2011

The City University of New York Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday

VISIT WWW.CUNY.EDU 1-800-CUNY-YES CUNY-TV CHANNEL 75

Baruch College Founder, Chairman Emeritus Mitchell & Titus LLP

Iyanla Vanzant

‰

Colin Powell

City College of New York Former U.S. Secretary of State, Former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff

Bert Mitchell

‰

Ruby Dee

Hunter College Award-Winning Stage, Film Actress and Screenwriter In Memoriam

Inez Barron

Brooklyn College Former Congresswoman and Candidate for Democratic Presidential Nomination In Memoriam

‰

Eric Adams

John Jay College of Criminal Justice Brooklyn Borough President Former NY State Senator

Shirley Chisholm

‰

Philip Berry

Borough of Manhattan Community College Queens College Vice Chairperson, CUNY Board of Trustees President, Philip Berry Associates LLC.

Medgar Evers College, CUNY Law School Best-Selling Author, Inspirational Speaker

CONTENTS

January 20, 2015 6.......

CITY

The sandbox fight over the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal By Seth Barron

8.......

STATE

New York’s underfunded Superfund program By Susan Arbetter

REMEMBERING MARIO CUOMO

20.......

FOUR MORE YEARS

President/CEO Tom Allon tallon@cityandstateny.com

Reflections on the life of the former governor and liberal lion PUBLISHING

Can Gov. Andrew Cuomo avoid a sophomore slump? By Jon Lentz

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

Housing

28.......

Energy and the Environment

32.......

Healthcare

35.......

Education

38.......

Infrastructure

40....... 43.......

Organized Labor

4 4.......

PERSPECTIVES

Publisher Andrew A. Holt aholt@cityandstateny.com Vice President of Advertising Jim Katocin jkatocin@cityandstateny.com

An in-depth look at the 2015 state legislative session

25.......

46.......

CITY AND STATE, LLC Chairman Steve Farbman

10.......

24.......

61 Broadway, Suite 2825 New York, NY 10006 Editorial (212) 894-5417 General (646) 517-2740 Advertising (212) 894-5422 advertising@cityandstateny.com

Events Director Jasmin Freeman jfreeman@cityandstateny.com Business Development Scott Augustine saugustine@cityandstateny.com Director of Marketing Samantha Diliberti sdiliberti@cityandstateny.com

Office Administrator Jeff Stein jstein@cityandstateny.com Distribution Czar Dylan Forsberg

Casinos | Criminal Justice

EDITORIAL

Alexis Grenell on Cuomo’s pink ghetto…Nicole Gelinas on de Blasio’s tax plan…Assemblyman Tom Abinanti on criminal justice reform

Executive Editor Michael Johnson mjohnson@cityandstateny.com Senior Correspondent Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com Digital Editor/Reporter Wilder Fleming wfleming@cityandstateny.com

BACK & FORTH

A Q&A with former Judge Judith Kaye

Albany Reporter Ashley Hupfl ahupfl@cityandstateny.com Staff Reporter Sarina Trangle strangle@cityandstateny.com Editor-at-large Gerson Borrero gborrero@cityandstateny.com Columnists Alexis Grenell, Nicole Gelinas, Michael Benjamin, Seth Barron, Susan Arbetter

Can Andrew Cuomo Avoid a Sophomore Slump?

ANNUAL

REMEMBERING

STATE LEGISLATIVE

Mario Cuomo 1932 - 2015

Preview

January 20, 2015

Art Director Guillaume Federighi gfederighi@cityandstateny.com Graphic Designer Michelle Yang myang@cityandstateny.com

more YEARS

Marketing Graphic Designer Charles Flores, cflores@cityandstateny.com

Can Andrew Cuomo Avoid a Sophomore Slump? By Jon Lentz

ANNUAL

STATE LEGISLATIVE

Web Manager Lydia Eck, leck@cityandstateny.com

Preview

REMEMBERING

Mario Cuomo 1932 - 2015 CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

cit yandstateny.com

@CIT YANDSTATENY

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

Illustrator Danilo Agutoli

city & state — January 20, 2015

PRODUCTION

From the Editor’s desk

Letters to the

Editor

IMPORTANCE OF REFLECTION

Meet the New State Legislators

Exclusive Q&A with Dean Skelos

2015

January 6, 2015

Legislative Launch SPECIAL ISSUE

never met Gov. Mario Cuomo. But I know he was an Michael Gareth Johnson intelligent man, Executive Editor principled on many issues, flexible on others, respected for his political acumen and soaring rhetoric, and beloved for his courage and kindness. I know this from reading the multitude of stories remembering his life and career, including the ones we have included in this issue of City & State. Wayne Barrett, who covered Mario Cuomo for decades, writes about Cuomo’s soul and how he was incredible at listening to people—a trait he has passed on to his son Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Rep. Charles Rangel observes how he transcended political organizations and parties. Harold Holzer, a longtime counsel to Cuomo, tells the story of Mario leaping from a fivefoot stage to restrain a pie-throwing protester at a debate in the New York City mayor’s race. Cuomo’s 1982 running mate, H. Carl McCall, remembers him as cerebral, honest and above reproach. And Michael Klein, a Cuomo aide, tells the story of

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

Mario’s love for playing basketball—which he did with a tenacious energy and fierce competitiveness. When a legendary politician dies it is easy to gauge the impact they had on people’s lives by simply listening to the responses. Instinct tells you when compliments are half-hearted or if people are politely searching for nice things to say. Or when criticism is truly heartfelt or is just a company line. As you read and reflect, you start to get to know a person you never knew. My reflection of Mario Cuomo is that he was not indecisive, as the media portrayed him with the nickname “Hamlet on the Hudson,” but that he was just so self-aware. He was not emboldened to seek the land’s highest office by the love he felt from Democrats. His decisions came from an exhaustive review of evidence, not a gut reaction— in contrast to his daily interactions in which he tested his instincts and intelligence with willing (and sometimes unwilling) sparring partners. It seemed to me he was just comfortable in his own skin. And that is a trait that seems increasingly rare in modern politics.

@CIT YANDSTATENY

In the magazine’s Jan. 6 edition, City & State reporter Jon Lentz interviewed state Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos about his party’s victories during the 2014 elections and the upcoming 2015 legislative session. Who do I thank, other than smart voters, for giving us Senator Skelos? His understanding of the need to “reach across the aisle” and into the Governor’s chambers has made New York one our nation’s most effective. The official Senate page features both leader Skelos and the head of the Independent Democrat conference—think of where our nation would be if we had that cooperation in DC. One of the more encouraging things I have heard in a while is Senator Skelos’s statement that generally Democrat districts have elected Republicans. Yes, it is proof of great candidate selection, but also that our voters elect the best people not a political party! Of course, the merry band he leads, elected from across the state, makes his job a little easier. I don’t know all, but two of the incoming, the aforementioned Rich Funke and my own Tom Croci, are of amazing character and intellect. I can’t wait to see what Dean and our Senate can accomplish for New York. Or as we pronounce it “downstate” on Long Island—New Yawk! —Tom Mariner (via cityandstateny.com) Gotta know that when @SenatorSkelos uses “illegals” the chances of the DREAM Act passing are about nil —Ben Max, Gotham Gazette executive editor (via Twitter) Not exactly an inspiring answer re: #minwage from Ldr. Skelos here. —Mike Durant, New York State director, National Federation of Independent Business (via Twitter) @CityAndStateNY Did the words “SAFE Act” ever cross Skelos’ lips during ur taped interview segments?

Jon Lentz responds: I did not ask about the SAFE Act, and the senator did not bring it up.

Mario Cuomo at the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

To have your letter to the editor considered for publication, leave a comment at www.cityandstateny.com, tweet us @CityAndStateNY, email editor@cityandstateny.com or write to 61 Broadway, Suite 2825, New York, NY 10006. Letters may be edited for clarity or length. cit yandstateny.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS

city & state — January 20, 2015

—Assemblyman Bill Nojay (via Twitter)

STATELY WORDS Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s policy priorities have shifted during his first term, from ending dysfunction, cutting taxes and creating jobs to protecting women’s rights, raising the minimum wage and tightening gun regulations. His first four State of the State addresses reflect those shifts.

2011

“New York has no future as the tax capital of the nation. Our young people will not stay. Our business will not come. This has to change. Put it simply the people of this state simply cannot afford to pay any more taxes, period.”

2012

“Therefore, let’s amend the Constitution so that we can do gaming right. And let’s take the first step this year.” ••• “We will finally build a new the Tappan Zee Bridge— because 15 years of planning is too long.”

2013

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

“It’s simple: no one hunts with an assault rifle. No one needs 10 bullets to kill a deer.” ••• “Protect a woman’s freedom of choice. Enact a reproductive health act because it is her body, it is her choice!”

“At the end of the day, we are one. We are upstate, we are downstate, but we are one. We are Latino, we are African American, but we are one. We’re New York City and we are Buffalo, but we are one. We are Democrats and Republicans but we are one. That is the promise of this great state.”

cit yandstateny.com

city & state — January 20, 2015

2014

CIT Y

COUNCIL WATCH:

SETH BARRON

JUICING DEVELOPMENT

city & state — January 20, 2015

he de Blasio administration was handed an unusual defeat last week when New York City Councilman Carlos Menchaca nixed a proposed master lease that would have granted the city’s Economic Development Corporation control over the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) for the next half century. A social media sandbox fight erupted after negotiations were terminated. Menchaca posted a lengthy explanation of the broken process on his Facebook page, laying explicit blame on EDC intransigence. According to Menchaca, the city refused to address neighborhood concerns regarding playground space and job training, or “to begin a conversation about our vision (similar to the Brooklyn Navy Yard) to create a local entity that would govern over publicly-owned sites like SBMT.” Kyle Kimball, the EDC president, took the odd step of responding to Menchaca on Facebook, accusing the councilman of seeking to establish a local development corporation that would be controlled by Menchaca, “to the specific exclusion” of the local community board. Kimball appears to have since deleted his Facebook comments, though he reiterated his frustration with Menchaca to Crain’s, saying that he was “confounded” by the councilman’s demands. Mayor Bill de Blasio was also reportedly furious about the failure of the project, which would have allowed

New York City Councilman Carlos Menchaca blocked the plan to lease the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal to the city’s Economic Development Corporation. the city flexibility in assigning the kind of short-term maritime leases the industry requires as a proof-of-concept to attract longer-term lessees. In retaliation, the mayor appears to have forbidden Menchaca from attending last week’s roll-out of the city’s municipal ID card program, which was implemented after patient work by Menchaca’s Immigration Committee. Instead of soaking up the good vibes and attention at the Mayor’s press conference in Queens, Menchaca stayed behind at a Transportation Committee hearing, and got to listen to colleagues David Greenfield and Antonio Reynoso squabble about surge pricing.

It is hard to tell exactly what Menchaca was looking for regarding a “local entity that would govern” the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, but his claim that it would resemble the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation is hard to take at face value. The BNYDC was designated in 1981 as the successor to an earlier non-profit corporation that managed the Navy Yard. Since its formation in 1991, the EDC has been in charge of development of city-owned property. It would be highly unusual now for a major development project to be assigned to an unspecified third party, despite its supposed responsiveness to the local community.

Indeed, one suspects what Menchaca wanted to establish is the kind of independent development corporation that sometimes comes about when a private entity wants to build a project in a poor neighborhood. These community-based nonprofits are funded through community benefits agreements that are negotiated between private developers and the local Council member, who consents to development so long as money is steered to favored local groups. The textbook negative example of such a “local entity” is the East New York Restoration Local Development Corporation. This group was formed as the result of negotiations between then-Councilman Charles Barron and the Related Companies, which needed Barron’s approval to build the Gateway II mall in East New York. According to the CBA that Barron hashed out, the ENYRLDC administers the millions of dollars that Related contributes to “the community,” including the kind of job training and placement programs that Menchaca wants implemented in his district. The problem is that the East New York Restoration LDC is staffed from top to bottom with close political allies of now-Assemblyman Charles Barron and his wife, Councilwoman Inez Barron. A community-based group called Man Up! that has received hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars from the Barrons to run a variety of local programs is run by a convicted felon named Andre cit yandstateny.com

CIT Y cit yandstateny.com

he sounds like a classic machine pol, looking to squeeze as much money and influence (“juice”) as possible out of every deal, so he can share it with his political base, or in his own words, “all the way to the ground?” Maybe he acknowledges the double meaning, but prefers to focus only on the one that sounds clean and “progressive.”

Nevertheless, it is impossible to escape the implications of his demand: that his friends on the ground must get a chance to quench themselves at the well, and that he would sooner have no development than one where he lacks control of the dipper.

Seth Barron (@NYCCouncilWatch on Twitter) runs City Council Watch, an investigative website focusing on local New York City politics.

nothing

“In politics...

happens by accident.”

- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin LLC

Lobbying, Strategic Planning, Crisis Management, Private and Public Sector Business Development, Public Affairs, Community Relations, Public Relations and MWBE Consulting Services Albany

111 Washington Avenue, Suite 401 Albany, NY 12210 Telephone: 518.449.3320 Facsimile: 518.449.5812

New York City

120 Broadway, 28th Floor New York, NY 10271 Telephone: 212.652.3890 Facsimile: 212.897.8001

Staten Island

25 Hyatt Street, Suite 202 Staten Island, NY 10301 Telephone: 718.943.1050 Facsimile: 718.943.1051

city & state — January 20, 2015

Mitchell. Mitchell also runs a political consulting firm from the same office, which works only on the Barrons’ campaigns. Man Up! also has the exclusive contract from the East New York Restoration LDC to run job placement programs, and Andre Mitchell is chair of the ENYRLDC’s board. The executive director of the corporation is a former staffer for Charles Barron, and the other board members are close associates or supporters of, or donors to, the Barrons. The problem with local development corporations is that they are open to exactly the kind of patronage and self-dealing that we see in East New York. The Barrons have leveraged a community benefits agreement with a private entity to provide jobs and other goodies to political allies, and thus solidify their small but steady political machine. The Related Companies doesn’t really care: to them the money is just a cost of doing business. As long as the land use application goes through on schedule and the Barrons don’t call any protests, it is unlikely it matters much to the Related executives who gets to run the job training program. Maybe Menchaca has a more noble vision for Sunset Park, but in any case it appears that he has misjudged his opposition. The city Economic Development Corporation is not a private entity that can throw a few million dollars at “the community” to present a veneer of good corporate neighborliness: as a public agency, the EDC actually has fiduciary responsibility for the properties in its portfolio. It is outside of the remit of the corporation to assign a major portto-rail facility to the local control of a Council member, who could appoint his cronies to negotiate leases that would benefit community-based organizations which are essentially private, though technically not-forprofit, entities. A number of Menchaca’s progressive colleagues have, somewhat perversely, congratulated him for wrecking a development that was favored by the Mayor as a job-creating neighborhood revitalization program. Council Members Brad Lander and Ben Kallos each saluted Menchaca for standing up “for the good of the community,” as Kallos put it. Menchaca himself says that he wants to see “progressive juice shared all the way to the ground.” Is Menchaca aware how much

S TAT E

TIME AND MONEY ARE RUNNING OUT FOR TOXIC SITES By SUSAN ARBETTER

SUSAN ARBETTER

city & state — January 20, 2015

he state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program is running out of time. The state’s Superfund program is running out of money. Environmentalists say it’ll be a dirty shame if the Legislature doesn’t act soon on legislation for both programs, which clean up toxic waste sites around the state. Key provisions of the state’s brownfield program will expire this year unless it’s extended, but some red flags have been raised. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and others are concerned that the state has been hemorrhaging hundreds of millions of dollars for development projects that don’t need the lucrative tax credits to survive. Last session the governor proposed several reforms that didn’t pass muster in the Legislature. So when it came time to sign a bill to extend the legislation through 2017, Cuomo opted to take out his veto pen. Judith Enck, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2 administrator, thinks the veto was the right idea. “I think the governor wisely is taking a close look as to whether the brownfield program is getting the biggest bang for the buck,” she said.

While many environmental groups supported the governor’s veto of the brownfield extender bill, the New York Public Interest Research Group did not. NYPIRG and the Assembly had managed to attach $300 million dollars to the extender for the state’s Superfund program, which would have allowed negotiations over Superfund to take place without fear of the program running out of money. “The Superfund program is very different from the brownfield program, but they are linked in a couple of key ways,” explained Laura Haight, a longtime environmental activist. “On the surface, from the public’s perspective, obviously they both clean up contaminated sites. But more than anything, the linkage has become political.” Paraphrasing one activist, brownfields are “sexy” because they

come with a tax credit. The only way to get many lawmakers to pay attention to Superfund is to link it to “sexy.” According to the DEC, the governor is expected to propose “funding Superfund consistent with his prior proposal to continue his commitment to the program and its goals.” What this means isn’t clear. Up until last year, funding for the program had come from long-term bonding. The initial $1.6 billion dollars in funding for Superfund came from the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act. That funding expired in 2001. “Clean-ups at the time virtually ground to a halt,” Haight said. Finally, in 2003 the Legislature refinanced the program for 10 years. But in 2013, it happened again: the state’s bonding authority for the state Superfund program expired. Last year, instead of refinancing the program

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

The governor is banking on the fact that developers and business interests are so enamored of the rich tax credits that they will opt to keep the program with changes rather than scrap it. But not everyone was thrilled with Cuomo’s veto decision. “To me, it’s inappropriate to defund a program like this without having an alternative in place,” said state Sen. Joseph Griffo, a Republican. “The governor has vetoed the bill and indicated he has that alternative plan, which I anticipate we’ll hear more about during the budget proposal.” He’s right. According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Cuomo will once again propose extending the Brownfield Cleanup Program “with appropriate reforms” in his joint State of the State and budget address on Wednesday. There is a notable twist to this story.

Ongoing remediation work at 154 South Ogden St., a brownfield site in Buffalo, in 2013.

cit yandstateny.com

Susan Arbetter (@sarbetter on Twitter) is the Emmy awardwinning news director for WCNY Syracuse PBS/NPR, and producer/ host of The Capitol Pressroom syndicated radio program.

Our Perspective Our Perspective A Pro-Worker A Pro-Worker Legislative Legislative Agenda for 2015 Agenda for 2015

STATE

Superfund on a year-to-year basis, rather than borrowing. The other issue, according to Anne Rabe, is staffing levels at the DEC. “They (DEC) don’t have the resources to get out there and investigate sites and do enforcement actions and hold polluters’ feet to the fire,” said Rabe, who founded the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. Rabe, who is now a community leader working to clean up two Albany-area federal Superfund sites, NL Industries and General Electric’s Dewey Loeffel landfill, works handin-glove with Barbara Warren, the executive director of the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. Warren agrees with Rabe’s assessment of DEC. “What’s disturbing to me is that everything is largely turned over to the responsible parties to do their own work and then the DEC ends up accepting a lot of stuff they shouldn’t accept. It’s like the fox guarding the chicken coop,” Warren said. “Would people accept this from the police? This all relates to health. It’s appalling. This is like the environmental police— we’re shortchanging the environmental police.” In spite of these worries, the DEC reports no slowdown in cleanups, and insists it has the necessary staff to manage Superfund projects in progress as well as the incoming applications. Their numbers indicate that 26 state Superfund projects were completed last year, compared with 27 in 2013; 29 in 2012; 25 in 2011 and 33 in 2010. But there is no question that New York is at a crossroads when it comes to cleaning up toxic waste sites. “At both the state and federal level there is not enough money to go around. That is fundamentally the problem,” said the EPA’s Enck. Region 2, which includes New York State, is home to 85 federal Superfund sites, the most in the nation. “So it’s not like we’re sitting on our hands looking for more sites,” Enck said. “State policy makers should not think that by not funding state Superfund that EPA can just step in and take over some of these sites, because that is definitely not the case.”

By Stuart Appelbaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, By Stuart Appelbaum, President, RWDSU, UFCW Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW

t’s 2015, several years into the supposed economic recovery, and yet far too many working people are still t’s 2015, several years into the supposed struggling to survive. The RWDSU endorseseconomic a legislative recovery, andYork yet far many people are still agenda in New Citytoo and Stateworking that can help lessen struggling to survive. The RWDSU endorses a legislative economic inequality. agendaHourly in New York City and State that can specifically help lessen employees in New York State, economic inequality. those in the retail industry, often are scheduled for on-call employees in NewtoYork State,tospecifically shifts. Hourly Employees are required be ready work on those in the retail industry, often are scheduled for on-call short notice, but aren’t paid for the time that they've made shifts. Employees are for required to be ready toreport work on themselves available their employer. In a short notice, butRetail aren’tAction paid for the time that they've made released by the Project, workers described themselves available their employer. report no pay their frustration at clearing their schedule forfor possible work onlyIntoa receive the Retail Action Project, workers described and no work during thereleased time theybyinitially made available. Many workers describe their frustration at clearing their schedule for interferes possible work to receive no pay situations in which unpredictable scheduling with only school and no work during they initially Many workers describe commitments, child the caretime availability, or a made secondavailable. job. situations which scheduling interferes with school The in New Yorkunpredictable State Predictable and Stable Schedules Bill would help commitments, child care availability, orItarequires second job. affected workers throughout the state. that employers pay workers a TheofNew State Predictable and of Stable would help minimum fourYork hours at their regular rate pay ifSchedules they don’tBill notify workers affected workers throughout the state. It requires that employers pay workers within 24 hours that they won’t be needed when scheduled for on-call shifts. a minimum of four hours at their regular rate ofFair paySupermarket if they don’t in notify workers In December, 2013, workers at Trade Queens when scheduled for on-call shifts. within 24 hours that they won’t be needed suddenly lost their jobs when the store changed hands. The new owners fired 50 In December, 2013, workers Trade Fair Potential Supermarket Queens union workers only two weeks beforeatChristmas. NewinYork City suddenly lost their jobsthe when theofstore changed The new change owners hands fired 50 legislation prohibiting firing workers whenhands. grocery stores union workers only two before Christmas. Potential New York City would have stopped thisweeks injustice. legislation prohibiting the firing of workers when grocery stores change Grocery job retention legislation will help sustain the stability of a hands would havethat stopped workforce formsthis the injustice. cornerstones of communities in New York City, and job retention legislation help sustain the stability of a of protectGrocery consumers by ensuring qualifiedwill workers with proper knowledge workforce forms the cornerstones of communities in New City, and sanitation that procedures and health regulations are handling the York product. protectThe consumers byAccountability ensuring qualified workers with car proper knowledge Car Wash Act would require washes in Newof York City sanitation procedures and health regulations are handling the product. to obtain operating licenses. The city already requires that businesses in dozens Car Wash Accountability Act would require car washes in New York of otherThe industries – including restaurants, towing companies, car garages, dryCity to obtain operating licenses. The– city already requires that businesses in dozens cleaners, and even thrift shops follow this elementary step. This industry of other industries – including restaurants, towingofcompanies, car garages, dry handles hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth consumer property every day, cleaners, and even thriftenvironmental shops – followrisks this impacting elementarywater step.and Thissafety, industry and also poses serious relating to handles hundreds of thousands dollars’ worth of consumer property every day, water usage, sewage discharge, of and the use of caustic chemicals. and also poses serious environmental risks impacting waterin and safety, relating to Also, wage theft is rampant in the industry, resulting potential water usage, sewage discharge, and the use of caustic chemicals. judgments that the city’s police powers can help to enforce. The Car Wash Also, wage rampant in the industry, resulting inoversight potentialfor the Accountability Act theft finallyisputs in place basic, common-sense judgments that the city’s police powers can help to enforce. The Car Wash protection of workers and the community. Accountability Act the finally puts in placetool basic, common-sense oversight theand Unions are most powerful workers have to create betterfor jobs protection of workers and the community. better lives. New York City Labor standards on retail developments that receive Unionssubsidies are the most powerful tool workers to create better jobs and government would help working peoplehave by requiring employers better lives. New York City Labor standards on retail developments thatnegotiate receive maintain neutrality when it comes to workers’ efforts to join unions and government subsidies wouldstandards, help working people by requiring employers contracts. And, under these labor organizations would be prohibited maintain neutrality when it comes to workers’boycotts, efforts to joinany unions negotiate from engaging in picketing, work stoppages, and otherand economic contracts. And, under these standards, labor organizations would berequiring prohibited interference in the operation of the facility. Potential city legislation from engaging inwould picketing, workeconomic stoppages, boycotts, and any other economic these standards promote growth by removing labor uncertainty interference in the projects operation of the facility. Potential city legislation requiring from development and by creating a clear, unobstructed path to union these standards would promote economic growthbetter by removing uncertainty membership for workers. More union jobs mean pay andlabor conditions for from development projects and by creating a clear, unobstructed path to union more of the city’s workers. membership for workers. Moreagenda union jobs better pay and conditions for A pro-worker legislative can mean help workers throughout New York more of workers. share in the the city’s prosperity that is currently being enjoyed by far pro-worker legislative agenda can help too few.A Empowering and protecting workers willworkers throughout New York share in theour prosperity that is currently being enjoyed by far strengthen communities. too few. Empowering and protecting workers will strengthen our communities.

For more information, visit For more information, visit www.rwdsu.org

www.rwdsu.org

city & state — January 20, 2015

through long-term bonding, Cuomo proposed a single year bonding of $90 million dollars. At the time, Haight, who was formerly with NYPIRG, testified at a legislative budget hearing that the reduced funding (down 25 percent from previous authorizations of $120 million a year) was too little. Additionally, she said, providing only a single year of funding was “a radical shift from how Superfund has been financed in the past.” The question now is whether Cuomo will again propose just one year of financing for the Superfund or make a long-term commitment to the program. Haight and other environmentalists are pushing for big money and a longer time frame because Superfund cleanups take years to complete and communities need the assurance that these sites will be remediated. “It’s absolutely imperative that the state’s Superfund be refinanced because New York has a toxic legacy that needs to be addressed at a much faster pace than has been happening,” Enck said. “There are 886 state level Superfund sites and the cleanup process can be daunting.” Whatever the governor decides has to be decided soon. The state Superfund “will have approximately $56 million in funds that are not obligated at the end of FY 2014-15,” DEC said in an email. “This funding is sufficient to cover at least the first six months of FY 201516.” But that only takes the fund through September 2015. “It means this budget is a make or break budget for the Superfund,” Haight said. “We’re perilously close to the brink of running out of money for cleaning up the state’s most contaminated sites.” Because Superfund is used to reclaim former toxic sites upstate, Griffo is also eager to see the program funded. “It’s my hope that state’s Superfund program can be replenished as soon as possible so that these projects can resume and upstate can benefit,” he said. But there are two other concerns surrounding the state’s Superfund program. The first is the state’s debt ceiling, which according to figures from the Division of the Budget could be reached relatively soon. The number is a moving target, with some state-supported debt retiring and some being accumulated, but it safe to say the state’s capacity to borrow is projected to decline. Whatever the number, the state’s enormous debt could be used as a political reason to continue funding

REMEMBERING

Mario Cuomo 1932 - 2015

city & state â&#x20AC;&#x201D; January 20, 2015

OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES

s governor for 12 years, Mario Cuomo had a tremendous impact on New York. But the impact the lawyer from Queens had on those who worked or interacted with him was equally significant, if not more so. In this special section, City & State has compiled a series of personal stories from former aides, fellow politicians and veteran journalists, shedding light on his character, his complexities and his passions. The recollections illustrate how Mario Cuomo moved peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;personally and on a policy level, through debates over legal theory and fouls on the basketball court. We hope you enjoy reading.

cit yandstateny.com

DAVID WEPRIN

COURTESY OF DAVID WEPRIN

he year was 1970. The celebrated New York columnist, Jimmy Breslin, in the prime of his illustrious career, pleaded with me, then deputy mayor under John Lindsay, to meet a “brilliant, impressive” young Queens lawyer representing a group of homeowners who had been fighting for years a city plan to condemn 69 homes in their community in order to build a high school and athletic facility. The lawyer, Mario Cuomo, then 38, was arguing passionately that the city’s plan would effectively destroy the charming Italian-American community of Corona, Queens. A few days later Cuomo was sitting at a coffee table in my City Hall office, using ash trays, pencils and other random items to demonstrate how the scope of the project could be reduced to affect only 14 homes, each of which would be moved by the city to new sites a block or so away. I was intrigued— not only by Cuomo’s creativity but also by how he articulated his case with heartfelt feelings for the powerless. Even with Mayor Lindsay’s support, a stubbornly resistant city bureaucracy opposed any changes to the plan and raised a series of obstacles. At several contentious meetings in the Corona community and within city agencies, Cuomo masterfully rebutted each one with clarity and patience, and with sustained pressure and persuasion from City Hall, all parties finally came around. The Corona Compromise was announced in early December with much fanfare, and after overcoming some additional state legislative hurdles, was largely executed as Cuomo envisioned. Corona was saved, and to ethnically sensitive New Yorkers, Cuomo was a hero. Breslin would later write that for Cuomo, “out of the Corona experience came Forest Hills.” For while Corona was still being settled, a low-income housing project in Forest Hills, which Lindsay strongly supported, was becoming the center of a volatile controversy with racial connotations over fears that the largely Jewish neighborhood would be invaded by cit yandstateny.com

three high-rise apartments, to be populated primarily by black and minority residents. The protests became ugly, with threats of violence bringing the dispute to national attention, where it was viewed as a battle between whites and blacks. Lindsay, sticking to his fervent belief in low-income housing, had been battered for months over the issue, and by May of 1972 was persuaded that he had to reduce the toxic polarization with some kind of mediation. After his success in Corona, Cuomo was on the short list of possible mediators, and Lindsay asked me to call him. Cuomo was amazingly well informed on the issues and sufficiently interested to stay on the phone with me, asking wide-ranging questions, raising tangential issues, discussing the personalities of the opposing factions’ leaders, speculating on how they would receive him and repeatedly asking for assurance that he would be an independent agent. Reporting back to the mayor, I told him that I thought Cuomo would accept the assignment if Lindsay called him directly and pressed him for an immediate answer. Within days, Cuomo was in command, announcing to a skeptical press that he would wrap up the process in six weeks. He did, indeed, produce a report by the end of July, proposing a compromise that reduced the project by half and earmarked 40 percent of the apartments for the elderly. By October it gained all necessary approvals and the project went forward successfully, while tensions gradually evaporated. Forest Hills brought Cuomo national recognition and made him a rising personality in New York politics. His patient attention to detail, the clarity he brought to complex issues, his ability to calm community tensions and his devotion to the disadvantaged and the powerless were all qualities that would go on to captivate New York voters in the 1982 governor’s race. The rest, as they say, is history.

Richard Aurelio was a deputy mayor under New York City Mayor John Lindsay.

Gov. Mario Cuomo (center) with David Weprin (right) and his brother Mark Weprin (center left) and Keith Fink (left), the son of the late Assembly Speaker Stanley Fink, at Mark Weprin’s college graduation ceremony in June 1982.

y fondest memories of the late Gov. Mario Cuomo were in 1977, during the sweltering summer days when our families would get together and work around the clock in our effort to get Cuomo elected as the next mayor of New York City. The countless days spent on his driveway in Holliswood, formulating voter outreach plans, the many meals we shared, discussing anything and everything—those were simply the best days I can remember of us spending time together as neighbors and as a family. It was apparent why my father, the late Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin, believed Mario Cuomo could one day become the first ItalianAmerican president of the United States. His deeply rooted passion for public service was combined with an incredible ability to articulate thoughts and ideas. Cuomo’s words flew effortlessly and touched all who were listening, making each person feel that they were the most important individual in the room. To

us, Mario Cuomo was just a regular guy from Queens wanting to make New York a better place, not just for himself, but for everyone, including the underprivileged and the working class. In essence, he was a true fighter for the unheard voices. Today, I have the utmost privilege of representing the Assembly district where Cuomo and his family lived, and which my father Saul held. I learned everything I know now from standing on the shoulders of these two giants I call my greatest mentors. I will always be grateful to Cuomo for giving me the opportunity at a young age to serve in his first administration as deputy superintendent of banks. Mario Cuomo was my mentor, my neighbor and my friend. He constantly helped guide me to be a better public servant. You will always be missed and loved, governor. May you forever rest in peace, and may your memory be a blessing for us all.

David Weprin is a state assemblyman representing the Hollis-Jamaica area in Queens.

city & state — January 20, 2015

RICHARD AURELIO

HAROLD HOLZER

city & state — January 20, 2015

COURTESY OF HAROLD HOLZER

t’s not hard for me to choose my most unforgettable experience with the late, great Mario Cuomo: that would be our 1990 collaboration on “Lincoln on Democracy,” our book of Abraham Lincoln’s greatest words on freedom, self-determination and opportunity. The inspiration for it came—well, from Mario himself, of course—though the seed was planted by the Polish Solidarity union teachers who visited the governor in Albany and asked him to help restock their nation’s library shelves, bereft of inspiring history after half a century of Communist censorship. The governor’s reply: What do you need most? The answer: Lincoln—can you send us books? That’s when the brainstorm came to him—don’t just buy and ship existing books; do a new one. To make a very long story very short, he called me (I was on his staff then, but working in a different field) and asked if I would collaborate with him (no royalties, he cautioned; those would go to the state). I hesitated for about a quarter of a second. The result has been printed (and reprinted) in English, Polish, Japanese, Indonesian, Hebrew and Korean. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. even called it “splendid.” Not only had Mario Cuomo conceived an instant and enduring Lincoln classic, he had— knowingly, I will always believe— helped me in return to elevate my own reputation in the Lincoln field. After “Lincoln on Democracy” I could write just about anything I wanted. Publishers grew receptive. Audiences responded. And I owe that to Mario Cuomo’s genius and generosity. I also got to work with him on the brilliant Lincoln speeches he delivered in Springfield and Gettysburg. As a ghost writer? Not exactly. He asked me to craft outlines, but they weren’t good enough. So he wrote them himself. I still have, and treasure, one of the handwritten manuscripts he drafted on loose-leaf paper, the gift of a generous boss who suspected I wanted a souvenir and needed the documentary proof a historian might later produce if anyone ever questioned the governor’s authorship. We collaborated on a second

Harold Holzer and Mario Cuomo at Cuomo for Mayor headquarters in September 1977. Lincoln book in 2004 and had just begun a new project in 2014 when his failing health—and my own repeated and imperfect shoulder surgeries— conspired to delay us until it was too late. It’s hard to believe there will be no further partnerships. But the Mario I want to remember now is not the aging warrior who believed he had one more book in him, or even the statesman-politicianscholar who sensed a brilliant Lincoln project when a Polish teacher merely requested the loan of a book. I want to recall the Mario I saw in action in the very auditorium where Lincoln had delivered the 1860 speech that made him president: the Great Hall at Cooper Union. On that evening 38 years ago in 1977, Mario was not so much an intellectual giant but a physical one. I’ll never forget what happened. I was Bella Abzug’s campaign press secretary at the time, and the extraordinary Democratic candidates for mayor—Bella, Mario, Abe Beame, Ed Koch, Herman Badillo and Percy Sutton—were meeting for the heavyweight championship of debates. No one remembers a word of the actual debate. The vivid, indelible

memory is of a crazed spectator who suddenly raced down the aisle and hurled what turned out to be a harmless lemon pie in the direction of the candidates. The missile struck Bella and Beame, by the way. Beame scraped off the chiffon; Bella couldn’t resist swabbing a piece with her forefinger and sneaking a taste. But by that time, Mario was, shall we say, offstage. For, I swear, at the very moment the pie was flying toward the debaters, Mario Cuomo was flying through the air in the opposite direction, his athlete’s body soaring toward the protestor, knocking him to the ground, holding him until startled security forces took over and hauled the pie-thrower out. Then Mario calmly dusted himself off and climbed back onto the stage to resume the discussion. There was no live TV coverage that night. If any cameras recorded the incident, the tape has long since vanished. The New York Times didn’t even mention it. Yet I couldn’t get the scene out of my mind. Mario later confessed to me that it had been a reckless thing to do—after all, the nut could’ve been armed and dangerous. But what I saw that night was a selflessly brave man of action, someone who

could not only string together pearls of verbal wisdom, but was willing to risk all to literally wrestle opponents to the ground. Someone much like Lincoln, the wrestler, debater, and—well, who could then tell what the future held? I congratulated Mario after the debate. If he acknowledged me I don’t remember. It didn’t matter. I was still working for Bella—that is, until she lost the primary and Mario brought me on to do his press work in the runoff and the general election (we lost both). But that night changed my life even if it didn’t alter Mario’s. That night, the daring young man from Queens claimed the stage that had made Abraham Lincoln a star. And that night, Mario Cuomo brought the three of us, inexorably, together. Thank you Mario, God bless, and wherever you are, please let Lincoln get a word in edgewise and don’t do anything foolish if someone throws another pie.

Harold Holzer is the senior vice president for public affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation. cit yandstateny.com

here did Mario Cuomo come from? That was my initial thought when the future governor emerged on the political scene in 1978. My own experience had taught me that any aspiring public servant had to rise slowly through the world of organized politics. Mario Cuomo was not part of that system. But now, Gov. Hugh Carey had replaced Lt. Gov. Mary Anne Krupsak with Mario Cuomo, a relative outsider, as his running mate. I was stunned. The only thing that Mario had in common with Gov. Carey and me was that he attended St. John’s Law School. But Mario proved that you don’t have to go to the political clubs to find someone who can best uphold the principles we believe in. For those of us who selected politics as a lifelong endeavor, Mario made us proud to serve the public. He eloquently gave voice to the people whose needs too frequently go unheard and to the values of integrity and honesty that we

need most from our leaders. The ideas Mario Cuomo avowed transcended political parties. His “Tale of Two Cities” speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention is often referred to as one of the great liberal speeches, but by labeling the address “liberal” we fail to understand the universality of its message. Mario’s speech was about the principles our Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution. He stood for every individual’s ability to pierce through racism and poverty to achieve success. The values of the American Dream, which Mario championed tirelessly, defined his life and legacy. A second generation Italian-American, he rose to prominence through perseverance and hard work. But if not for our tradition of welcoming new immigrants to our shores, New York would have missed out on a transformational leader. We must honor Mario’s legacy by ensuring future generations have access to the opportunity he was afforded. Mario was committed to removing

Print. Mail. Win.

supportive and caring community. It was from this community that Mario Cuomo came. And it was from this community that he built his vision of government. A government, he declared in 1984, that should be “the idea of family, mutuality, the sharing of benefits and burdens for the good of all, feeling one another’s pain, [and] sharing one another’s blessings.” So many people have come to this country from faraway places. When they achieved success they forgot where they came from. But Mario was different. He was proud of his origins. Proud that his parents were immigrants. Proud that they sailed into New York harbor with nothing but a dream that their son would succeed. The Statue of Liberty’s beacon burns at the gateway to America, through which his parents passed, as a symbol for what Mario Cuomo represented— access for all to the land of opportunity.

Rep. Charles B. Rangel, the dean of New York’s Congressional Delegation, is serving his 23rd term in Congress as representative of the 13th Congressional District that includes Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

# 1 S ’ K R O Y NEWrce for Union Sou . l i a M t c e r i D & t n i Pr

Now Offering A Full Line Of Promotional Items:

MAILERS • DOOR HANGERS • YARD SIGNS • LABELS • BUTTONS • LAPEL PINS

ALL PROUDLY UNION MADE FOR ALL INQUIRIES EMAIL: GSALZMAN@WPPRINTING.COM OR CALL: 718-370-8000 AND ASK FOR GREGG SALZMAN

www.WPPRINTING.com

cit yandstateny.com

city & state — January 20, 2015

CHARLES RANGEL

the obstacles standing between working class families and the American Dream. He raised the minimum wage and ushered in the “Decade of the Child” with initiatives to make education and healthcare affordable for all. Today we are fortunate to have Gov. Andrew Cuomo leading our state’s effort to fulfill his father’s vision. When I hear the current Gov. Cuomo speak, I am reminded of his father. The two are so much alike in substance and style. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s commitment to restoring economic mobility and providing affordable education to all children are precisely the issues his father prioritized. For my part, I will continue to work vigorously to advance Mario’s goals in Congress. I will fight to raise the federal minimum wage, protect the Affordable Care Act, ease the crushing burden of student loans and reform our immigration policies. Everyone in America deserves a living income and access to affordable healthcare and education. Everyone—regardless of background, race, religion or gender— deserves an equal opportunity to succeed. When Mario’s parents settled in Queens, they were welcomed by a

WILLIAM O’SHAUGHNESSY

city & state — January 20, 2015

His favorite word was “sweetness” ... as in, you can make a community stronger, wiser—and sweeter—than it is. Although his stature and standing as an icon in the pantheon of liberal Democratic lions is secure for all the ages, he did admire—and was highly regarded by—many Republicans, including me. He told me he didn’t want anything named for him … except maybe “a stickball alley in some remote section of Queens.” The governor’s favorite songs were “Stranger in Paradise” and Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke’s lovely “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” He also liked Ray Noble’s “Love is the Sweetest Thing.” He was there for the funerals of my mother, my brother and my stepson. And now I will pray at his. I loved the man.

William O’Shaughnessy is president and editorial director of Whitney Media.

William O’Shaughnessy with Mario Cuomo, who is presumably pointing to O’Shaughnessy’s socks, or lack thereof.

hen I would staff Mario Cuomo, I would not eat. I was so nervous I feared I would not be able to control my Irish stomach. So inevitably I would be standing on the tarmac with my stomach growling and flip-flopping as he would get off the plane in Syracuse. He would politely greet me and I would dutifully give him a prosaic briefing, and then we would get in the car. He was always in front and I was always in back. Once he was seated, the contest began. Front seat Socrates would start asking me questions—never on topics for which you would, or even could, be prepared. The first time I staffed him, the radio played an advertisement for an Indian bingo casino, and he asked, “Stephanie, can Indians vote?” I haltingly answered by reasoning that they were members of a sovereign nation, but they also were residents of the U.S. and “that’s the rub of it.” He laughed and said, “Yup and you rubbed right into it.” Sometimes it was something we drove by that would prompt him. Once we drove by the long-polluted Onondaga Lake and he asked me why the state should be responsible for cleaning a lake contaminated by others. Other times it was sui generis, such as when he asked me how I would define faith. I don’t remember how I answered, but I remember word for word his explanation of it, which ended with, “It is believing in something with your very being even when you don’t have absolute proof it exists.” I was always relieved to have the respite the events would give me in between car rides. Watching him in action was a high point of the job—hearing him always say “thankyouverymuch” as if it were one word and giving so-called prepared remarks tweaked with something I said to him and, of course, watching him interact with all kinds of people: union leaders telling him of the need to redistribute wealth and he citing all the money the state had invested in parks; rhetorical death matches with conservative newspaper editors and at the end his saying, “Boy, that was fun”;

and once a woman with a Caribbean lilt running up to him and saying, “Governor, I’m from Jamaica,” and without missing a beat, the governor responding, “No kidding, me too.” He had a gift of making others in his presence feel special, and it was that much more exceptional because he was so extraordinary himself. We’d get back in the car and the questioning would start again. While his visits and his Socratic dialogue gave me great anxiety, I relished the challenge to score rhetorical points and internally I would keep track: Governor 10 points, me one (maybe). Eventually I was just so pleased that I was competitive. What was it that he made me competitive in? Thinking through ideas and using them to help people we serve. He did this by action and in thought and demonstrated it to hundreds of people who worked for him. Yes, I was lucky, but, in truth, we were all lucky to have him serve. As the years went by I went on to law school, started a law career and then ran for office. Sound familiar? I rarely saw Mario Cuomo after his last election, but he had a special place in my heart and life. He was akin to the North Star, a bright shining light, at a distance, that gives direction. I will be forever grateful I had the opportunity to work for him and for the direction he gave me.

Stephanie Miner is the mayor of Syracuse.

A young Stephanie Miner with Gov. Mario Cuomo.

cit yandstateny.com

COURTESY OF WILLIAM O’SHAUGHNESSY AND STEPHANIE MINER

ith great sadness … The Boston Globe once called him “the great philosopher-statesman of the American nation.” And I can’t do better than that. My mind drifts back many years to the day a largely unknown New York secretary of state, Mario Cuomo, came by WVOX for an interview. I’m afraid I kept him waiting for about 20 minutes—something he always kidded me about and never let me forget. When making a point during the interview, he looked across the microphone and said, “Look, even a Republican who doesn’t wear socks should be able to understand this.” We had many late night and early morning conversations—not always about the great issues of the day, but often about our souls, our sons and our daughters, and life in general. I’m absolutely convinced that hundreds of years from today when the dust of centuries has settled over our cities, people will discover some of his magnificent and soaring speeches and say, “There was ... someone.”

STEPHANIE MINER

E.J. KESSLER

ometimes, a remark you chance to hear prompts you to think in ways that change your life. So it was when, as a recent college graduate and disaffected Jew, I heard New York’s newly minted Gov. Mario Cuomo speak at a Democratic gathering at a riverfront restaurant in Haverstraw in 1983. Since Cuomo died on Jan. 1, America has commemorated him as the ringing orator who thrilled the 1984 Democratic Convention with his keynote and the Aquinian philosopher who put Catholicism at the center of his politics. But New Yorkers can conjure a more protean, intimate speaker who could gab for hours, loosing profundities about history, society and other faiths.

In Haverstraw, Cuomo stood in the middle of the floor, shedding his jacket, rolling up his sleeves and loosening his tie. After so many years I couldn’t tell you how long he spoke, but it was at length and without notes. A man at the peak of his instrument, he improvised like a trumpeter blowing jazz. The crowd surged around him, rapt. During a disquisition on world history, Cuomo said: “The Jews are like the canary in the coal mine. You can tell everything about the health of a society by the way it treats its Jews.” His remark struck me like a hammer. As a child, I had attended synagogue and Hebrew school. I had heard the murmurs of relatives about our family murdered in Poland. But I had left all

that behind as a college bohemian. Or so I thought. “That was the governor of New York?” I asked my parents, incredulous, after the speech. In the years since, I often have thought about Cuomo’s observation, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that it has informed my life’s work. About a year after his speech, I left for a year in Israel, coming home to earn an advanced degree in Middle East Studies. Later, I worked for several Jewish organizations, became a journalist and reported for 10 years for The Forward, the national Jewish weekly. I’ve covered many political speeches, but I’ve never heard another one like his.

Some New York Jews are eulogizing Cuomo as a friend of the Jewish people who forged laws that helped the Orthodox. Others are remembering the liberal who, like the prophets, spoke out for the poor and dispossessed. Still others recall Cuomo’s rivalry with the greatest American Jewish politician of the day, Edward I. Koch. For me, Cuomo will always be the virtuoso who touched my heart and inhabited my head. As recent events show, his 1983 remark remains as relevant as ever.

A longtime journalist, E.J. Kessler now works in New York City government.

FREDERICK LANE

t was past midnight when the phone rang. An unmistakable voice asked, “Is this Professor Lane?” “It is,” I responded, groggy from being awakened and fearing the worst. It was very early on Saturday morning in April 1981, the weekend of the Annual Conference of the New York State Political Science Association. Lt. Gov. Mario Cuomo

was scheduled to be the luncheon banquet speaker later that day. “The governor has called a special session of the Legislature,” Cuomo told me. “I know that nothing is going to happen, but I can’t be seen as talking to a group of academics in New York City when I’m supposed to be presiding over the Senate in Albany. But, don’t worry. We will find you a replacement.”

“I understand,” I said. “Thank you very much.” And the conversation ended. The next day I didn’t tell anyone, fearing that attendance at the luncheon would suffer. After two sessions of panels in the morning, the academic and practitioner conferees assembled at a Chinese restaurant on Third Avenue near Baruch College, the site of the conference. At precisely 12 noon, a tall,

handsome, almost gaunt gentleman entered the restaurant and asked for me. It was former Rep. Herman Badillo. He said simply, “Mario Cuomo sent me.”

Frederick S. Lane, professor emeritus of public affairs at Baruch College, was president of the New York State Political Science Association from 1981 to 1982.

ario Cuomo was one of a kind. There will never be another great leader with his immigrant background and perspective. He was the hardest working person I have ever been around. For example, most people understand that he was an extraordinary public speaker, but few saw that he would go through ten, eleven or even a dozen drafts of those speeches. My first in-depth contact with Mario was when he “interviewed” me for the opportunity to run for lieutenant governor with him in 1986. Although I had interacted with him when I served as mayor of Jamestown and he was secretary of state, we had little contact when I was in Congress during his first term as governor. I thought there was cit yandstateny.com

no substance to the rumors that I was on the short list of possible lieutenant governor candidates, especially since I had endorsed my friend, Ed Koch, in the 1982 primary against Cuomo. I was surprised when I was asked to come to his World Trade Center office to discuss the campaign. Our discussion lasted about an hour and a half, and he did 90 percent of the talking. As I came to understand him better, I believe he wanted it absolutely clear that we shared the same perspective about the role of the lieutenant governor. I do not recall a single tough question he asked me and I’m not aware that he interviewed anyone else for the position. But we started our relationship “on the same page.” Ours was a working relationship.

Of course, I got to know Andrew, Matilda and the whole family. But my interactions with Mario were in the office and out among our constituents. In this situation, if you’re clearly No. 2, it’s best if the principal has absolute integrity and a strong work ethic. Mario had both. That is not to say that he didn’t have a sense of humor. For example, I once had the temerity to suggest that we have a retreat with the senior staff and perhaps others. Mario said, “Can you imagine me sitting around in short pants?” I am often asked why he didn’t run for president or seek a U.S. Supreme Court appointment. I think there are three different answers. In 1988, his back was bothering him and he always wanted to sleep in his own bed. In 1992,

he wanted to run but New York was in an extremely difficult budget hole, and he felt that the “rationale” (his word) wasn’t there for seeking the presidency. As for the Supreme Court, I simply do not know why he told President Clinton that he didn’t want to be considered. He had previously told me and a few others that he really wanted that appointment. Maybe it was just that he was the ultimate New Yorker and couldn’t see himself working and living in Washington, D.C. Gov. Mario Cuomo was a great man who gave me an incredible and unforgettable opportunity. I will miss him.

Stan Lundine served as lieutenant governor under Gov. Mario Cuomo.

city & state — January 20, 2015

STAN LUNDINE

PATRICIA SALKIN

ANNE ERICKSON

Patricia Salkin and Mario Cuomo in 1989.

city & state — January 20, 2015

was the president of the College Democrats at the University at Albany during Mario Cuomo’s 1984 campaign for governor, and I was quickly enraptured by his sense of social justice and commitment to people. From the beginning I believed that he wanted to make New York a better place to live, to raise a family and to realize the American Dream. I worked as a volunteer coordinator on his first two campaigns, and I worked harder than I had ever done before, because he was just what New York needed. He was always a charismatic speaker, and when he delivered a message in public, much like President Clinton, you had the sense that he was talking to you. His messages were powerful because they touched on issues important to all. I never intended to stay in Albany after graduation, but the fact that Cuomo was the governor drew me to work for his administration. As a law student I worked in two different state agencies, and as a young lawyer I was fortunate to work on important human rights issues—like making sure we did not forget rural New Yorkers who could not access electricity to power their homes. After I left state service, Cuomo’s commitment to integrity in government inspired me to teach and write on government ethics. He was a

true pioneer. I was also fortunate enough to spend time with Cuomo’s family. I got to see an iconic giant of a governor who, like the rest of us, was also a human being who loved his family and cherished time at home—looking no different than my own dad. He was a family man, a partner in every sense of the word with his wife Matilda, and he cared about each of his children. He could work the room at public events and still be 100 percent engaged with his family. He was grounded. He did not think of himself as larger than life—though many of us viewed him that way. He was proud of the accomplishments of others and was a true people’s governor. I did not work with him daily on the second floor, and I may not have been in his presence on a regular basis. But when, a dozen years later, I waited in line at one of his book signings for another chance to say “Hello” and “Thank you,” he remembered my name and immediately placed me in context.

Patricia Salkin volunteered on two of Mario Cuomo’s political campaigns and held jobs in two state agencies during his tenure as governor.

but it happened.) Child Health Plus? Definitely! Nutrition assistance? He told us to work that out with Dr. Axelrod, his commissioner of health. The Child Assistance Program? Yes, families should have more financial support—Mike Dowling took the lead on that one—and on it went. Cuomo surrounded himself with amazingly talented and committed policymakers. And how I remember his State of the State address announcing the Decade of the Child: I had to sneak into the Assembly Chambers for that one—I never did get an official pass to any of his State of the States but I always seemed to get in somehow! He was a true statesman who believed in and led the family of New York. Well beyond the power of his words were the results of his actions—lasting, real results. Even if we wished then that they could be more, they were so much more than we realized!

Anne Erickson is president and CEO of the Empire Justice Center.

COURTESY OF PARTICIA SALKIN AND ANNE ERICKSON

had the honor and pleasure of meeting Mario Cuomo a number of times. The first was as a young reporter for the then fledgling Legislative Gazette—he took the time to really engage and listen, making it more of a conversation than an interview, and I will never forget his graciousness toward a young college kid. I think all the “young Gazette” reporters from those early days have memories of Mario: how his press secretary would guard his time but somehow always found a few minutes for one of us; how Cuomo, who never went “out” as far as we could tell (and we all lived by legislative receptions!), spent hours at the Lark Tavern during our first Legislative Gazette fundraiser, as we tried to scrape together enough money for darkroom equipment. Later, when I became an advocate working on children’s issues, he was challenging, yet principled and pragmatic, and he would meet with us as he hammered out new and expanded programs for those in need. Prenatal care for poor uninsured women? Of course we can! (Took a few years,

From left, Tim Russert, Gov. Mario Cuomo and Anne Erikson.

cit yandstateny.com

MICHAEL KLEIN

COURTESY OF MICHAEL KLEIN

had the privilege of working for Gov. Mario Cuomo during his third term in the early ’90s. Like so many of us, I was in awe from the first day. The non-stop schedule, the great speeches, the intense focus on service and the relentless push from the governor to make the world a better place. It was the best job I will ever have. But in many ways, it was only later that his fierce dedication to people and competition came to light. During his third term, I began to play in the highly secretive and competitive basketball league that was a true passion for Mario Cuomo. He was a gifted athlete: strong, relentless and strategic. He was perhaps an even better coach and teacher. From his early days at St. John’s and his professional baseball contract to softball with staff and the Legislature to his inner obsession— basketball. The Governor’s League, later called New Yorkers Basketball, evolved after he left office and moved

back to New York City in 1995. For nearly a decade, I had the honor of being a captain and leading the league in its organization, but the guv was a force a nature. I would bring players in. His son Chris (an outstanding player, but don’t tell him I said that) would bring players in— most of whom were half the governor’s age and yet, no one was ever as strong or as tenacious or able to call a foul, mostly because to win a call you had to out-debate the guv … and let’s just say that was a challenging moment for each that tried. There were daily negotiations about which players would complete the teams for the weekend games—the best players seemed to always end up on his roster. The guv was ferocious on the court and had a classic two-handed three-point shot to boot. He drove to the hoop with the will of a freight train. If you dared to drive to the hoop past him, you had to be prepared for a hit. Many players have scars, injuries and bruises still. I tore my ACL and had to have knee surgery one season, and remember perfectly that while on the floor in pain, he applied pressure and bent my leg and asked, “Does this hurt?” I shouted, “Yes!” This was a week after the guv had accused me of “mashing his clavicle” during a game. As he told The New York Times, “It was a week after my regrettable accident that he had his regrettable accident. They were not related. Post

hoc, propter hoc—all that gives you is coincidence. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it in Latin and in English.” He would often joke that players needed two forms of health insurance to enter the league. Mario Cuomo loved sports. He was so proud of one of his premiere accomplishments: Riverbank State Park in Harlem, a true urban oasis filled with sports and cultural facilities to help kids and adults alike. It was at this park, and in gyms across the state, that I had the honor of forming the New York Midnight Basketball program for him, an aggressive effort to help young men and women who were vulnerable to the dangerous and tempting streets of the ’90s. The guv would attend and speak with the players and get personally involved in making sure everyone went on to school, a new job or career and steered clear of the awful fate of some of their peers. The guv did this for years after

leaving office. I will never forget the way the gyms filled with young people and adults who wanted to hear the guv talk about life and the path forward. He always changed lives. Mario Cuomo was much more than a governor. He is a way of life, a sure way to succeed if you follow his lead—hard work, honesty, extreme dedication to family and an tireless spirit to help, help whomever you can and as often as you can. Live life every day with a purpose. Basketball was clearly just a release, a vacation from the quest to make a difference. What I learned, and so many others did as well, is that his form of basketball was life changing and a permanent lesson in how to win—on and off the court.

Michael Klein is a managing director at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP. He served as a regional representative to Gov. Mario Cuomo.

...Track Confidently!

Why is LRS the BEST choice for bill tracking?

MATTERS!!! Call today for your FREE trial-ID! Above, Mario Cuomo drives to the hoop. Below, Cuomo, with Michael Klein, was proud of Riverbank State Park in Harlem. cit yandstateny.com

(800) 356-6566 or (518) 455-7677 http://nyslrs.state.ny.us

city & state — January 20, 2015

Because your...

JERRY GOLDFEDER

astounding!” After hearing himself utter that oxymoronic line, he repeated it. He thought it was great, and started laughing. “The enormity of their pettiness!” With that, he was finished with the conversation. He simply continued laughing and hung up. In early 2010, I found myself in an elevator with the governor, just us. He didn’t say hello. Instead, he blurted out, “Jerry you are wrong. Your analysis is wrong.” I had just published a scholarly article in the New York Law Journal on whether the state Senate had the authority to expel Sen. Hiram Monserrate, so I instinctively knew he was referring to my piece. I told him that he should review the court cases I had cited to support my analysis, and proceeded to explain why my thesis was correct. After about five minutes, I was finished. He looked at me. I looked at him. He said nothing. Instead, smiling broadly, the door to his floor opened, he walked out. I was a bit dumbfounded. But then I realized that I’d finally passed his test.

Jerry H. Goldfeder is special counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and served as special counsel to Andrew Cuomo when he was state attorney general.

COURTESY OF JERRY GOLDFEDER

e slapped me on my back so hard I thought I would fall over. “Welcome back, Jerry!” the voice boomed. I turned around. It was the governor. In the spring of 1984 I was the deputy campaign manager for Walter Mondale’s primary campaign in New York and the governor had come to headquarters to urge us on. Earlier that year I had run U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston’s presidential campaign, but it went nowhere. After Cranston dropped out, I signed on with Mondale over Gary Hart. The governor was glad to see me, of course. He also, not so delicately, reminded me that I should have been with his candidate from the start. In 1997 the governor and I were on the phone talking about the proposed New York state constitutional convention. Voters decide every 20 years whether to have such a convention and very few of us supported the idea. The governor was going on and on about how no one understood that this was a great opportunity to rewrite our laws. All I could do was—figuratively—nod my head, “Uh-huh.” Finally, he exploded: “These people are so petty. The enormity of their pettiness is

Jerry Goldfeder and Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1983.

city & state — January 20, 2015

first met Mario Cuomo nearly four decades ago when I was a state senator representing northern Manhattan and he was considering a campaign for mayor of New York City. One could sense immediately his strength of character. His passion to both do good and do right were obvious from the very beginning. He lost that election but was soon in Albany as lieutenant governor, and that’s when I developed an enduring partnership and friendship with him. We ran together in 1982, as he battled Ed Koch for the Democratic nomination for governor and I sought the party’s nomination for lieutenant

governor. Though I did not win my campaign, I was able to work with and for Gov. Mario Cuomo in a number of capacities during his first two terms. He was always principled, cerebral, honest and above reproach. Mario Cuomo was a champion for diversity and civil rights, and his devotion to the plight of the less fortunate brought important societal issues to the forefront of discussion, both here in New York and nationally. As one of the most gifted speakers of our time, he painted a picture of American life that remains vivid and powerful to this day. In his last term as governor, when I became state comptroller, we certainly

had our fair share of disagreements. But they were honest and professional. While our perspectives and positions may have differed based on our roles and duties, there was never a doubt in my mind that we were both fighting for the same ultimate goal—what was best for New York and New Yorkers. New York is my adopted hometown—albeit for the last 50-plus years—but New York was Mario Cuomo’s hometown. You could hear it in his voice. Feel it in his passion for public service. See it in his character. Like our city and state, he was tough, fair and direct. Yes, New York helped define Mario Cuomo. And then, for a generation, Mario Cuomo helped

define New York, both in the halls of government in Albany and as New York’s ambassador on the national stage. Mario Cuomo changed New York and he changed it for the better. Although he’d been out of elected office for two decades, his legacy still lives on. His voice may be silent now, but his timeless words and ideals have shaped our state and will be with us forever.

H. Carl McCall is chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees and a former state comptroller and Democratic nominee for governor. cit yandstateny.com

COURTESY OF WILLIAM O’SHAUGHNESSY AND STEPHANIE MINER

CARL MCCALL

Support Student Aid! Each year, more than 370,000 students depend on state student aid programs to pursue their college aspirations.

Yet, state investment in important and highly successful financial aid and access programs like the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), Liberty Partnership, the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) and its collegiate counterpart, the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), has not kept pace with need – leaving the futures of many of our most talented minds in doubt.

It is time to make our students and their futures budget priorities. For the fiscal year 2015-16 Budget, we urge Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature to: ■ Raise the maximum TAP award to $6,500 ■ Restore TAP funding for New York State’s graduate students

If New York State is to remain the center for research, technological development, and job creation, it must wisely steward its investments for the better.

We can think of no better investment than our college students. Support state student aid.

cit yandstateny.com

eeo

city & state — March 24, 2014

■ Increase funding levels for the HEOP, Liberty Partnership, STEP and C-STEP programs by 30%

city & state — January 20, 2015

redictably, Ed Koch beat Mario Cuomo in The New York Times obit contest. Until the Times changed it a day later, the front-page introduction to the Cuomo obit described him as a “prickly personality.” Koch’s 2013 obit branded him “brash, shrewd and colorful” in its headline. Ask anyone who knew both about which one was more “prickly.” As usual, the Times was channeling Koch, a pallbearer at the funeral of the Times executive editor who managed the coverage of the two (Mario doesn’t appear on the list of attendees). Endorsed by the Times for a fourth term in 1989 after the worst scandals in modern history, Koch taped a 2007 interview for his favorite paper that was sealed until his death—a highly unusual license to rant. In it, he addressed the Cuomo he ran against four times. “You prick,” Koch spit at the camera. Then he pounded Cuomo again for posters he said appeared in Queens in the 1977 mayoral race— “vote for Cuomo not the homo”— though there’s not a shred of evidence that Mario had anything to do with it. The Times repeated this urban legend in its obituary, a smear without a source beyond Koch himself, who first claimed he’d seen the posters 12 years after the election. There have been other, telling, farewells to Mario. Most of them have been about his poetic mouth, which often seemed directly connected to the hearts of those within its reach. Self-conscious Cuomo thought people were focused on another body part, his “baggy ears,” which he actually used to listen, one of his and his son’s many joined pleasures. Sometimes, when we were just chatting, I’d go on and on with one of them and then abruptly pose a question just to see if they were paying attention. My words would come back at me as if they were recorded. As eloquent as Mario was, he also knew how to be sagely quiet, taking it all in without giving any of himself away. Son Andrew echoes his intaking silences. But Mario’s lifeblood organ was his soul—a reservoir of conscience battling a conniving world. He never left Albany while governor, I always

thought, because he feared he might not be able to force himself to come back, despite an oath he said he often repeated in his mind. He was no saint in a brothel, but he might have been one of the few at the Capitol who knew what sin was. And he had to make the government work, like a chef with nothing but tawdry leftovers to cook. Chained to a wide Republican majority in the state Senate, Mario flattened income taxes, built a record number of upstate prison cells, froze welfare payments, and finessed budgets with band aids and surgical social cuts. He said he taught his son the politics of the practical, but it was a lesson so distant from his soul that he rued it later. I wrote in Mario’s first term that when he died, the state would name a prison after him, but he came to wish he hadn’t doubled the prison population and was pleased when his son started emptying them. He became the prison builder to compensate for his staunch opposition to the death penalty, which became the hammer Koch used to beat him in a primary, runoff and general election in 1977, when the Son of Sam, a serial killer who captivated the city with mad murders, was arrested in August.

Remarkably, at a time when death was a bipartisan bromide, Mario stood against the wind for 12 years, until the governor who beat him, George Pataki, could gleefully welcome its return. If we are looking for a list of Mario’s accomplishments, start with an end to official revenge killings, a veto of the soul. Continue on to his Notre Dame speech, when every word was a prayer for tolerance, a careful reconciliation of a church he loved with a constitution he loved at its point of collision, the abortion issue. “We know,” he said to Catholics, “that the price of seeking to force our beliefs on others is that they might try someday to force theirs on us.” The convention speech he gave in San Francisco in 1984 was not so much “the tale of two cities” as it was the tale of two Cuomos—the one his soul yearned for, which he could express on a national stage, and the one who governed New York, where every dollar was a decision. He could be as courageous when he left Albany as he was cautious in his second floor office, where he lived two-thirds of each day in a swamp of paper, a phone attached to one of those huge ears. His hero was Saint

Mario Cuomo with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Matilda Cuomo at Riverbank State Park’s 20th anniversary celebration.

Thomas More, the “heavenly patron of statesmen and politicians” who, as chancellor to Henry VIII, was beheaded for refusing to put the king at the helm of the church. But the only way Mario could get himself executed in Albany was to refuse to pass a budget, an annual trash heap of deals. It was courage alone that made him governor. He was lieutenant governor as 1982 approached and Gov. Hugh Carey’s expected departure opened the door for him. But Rupert Murdoch used the New York Post to literally draft Koch for governor, just a few months after he’d been re-elected mayor. Koch was 50 points ahead in early polls. The bonanza of real estate and Wall Street money was tumbling into Koch coffers. David Garth, the campaign guru who had promised to manage Mario’s media, switched camps, casting Cuomo as such a loser he might not even get the votes at the state convention necessary to put him on the ballot. Twenty-four-year old Andrew managed a delegate triumph and months later Mario rode the minority vote to a stunning win. I was in Syracuse at that state convention and in San Francisco for the Democratic National Convention. I wrote scorching copy about Mario and Andrew over decades and was still the only reporter I could see at Mario’s 82nd birthday at the Executive Mansion in June. While governor, Mario had gone many months at times refusing to talk to me, a sulk that would eventually become a smile again. I got the smile one last time at the party, a beam really, the embrace of old combatants who understood the tug of war now in a way neither did when they were on the battlefield. He was so lean he was fragile. I was so sick I was in a wheelchair. There was already the whiff of pending demise in the air but he was content, allowing Matilda, Chris and Andrew to deliver the family speeches. It was another of his blessed silent moments, listening for the welcoming of his Lord.

Wayne Barrett covered the Cuomos for nearly four decades, primarily for The Village Voice. cit yandstateny.com

DARREN McGEE / OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

WAYNE BARRETT

CUOMO 2014

FOUR MORE YEARS

CAN GOV. ANDREW CUOMO AVOID A SOPHOMORE SLUMP?

f Gov. Andrew Cuomo were a student, his first-term performance would have put him near the top of the class. The governor earned high marks from progressives by legalizing same-sex marriage and enacting a groundbreaking gun control law. At the same time, he kept spending cit yandstateny.com

in check and passed a property tax cap, both conservative priorities. He excelled where others failed, cutting deals to quiet potential foes in the healthcare industry and negotiating deftly with legislative leaders. And he got his work done on time, signing four straight on-time state budgets. But although Cuomo may have been

the model student as a freshman, it will be tough to avoid a sophomore slump. Second-term executives typically have already achieved their biggest victories in their first few years in office, at the height of their popularity. Incumbents run for re-election on their records, not on ambitious new policy goals, and expectations

are lower if they win. Over time, key administration staffers grow exhausted, and replacements may not prove to be as effective. As more and more programs and initiatives are launched, the complexity of governing increases—as does the importance of delegating, which insiders say is not Cuomo’s strong suit. And year by year,

city & state — January 20, 2015

By JON LENTZ

city & state — January 20, 2015

state lawmakers begin to identify and exploit the governor’s weaknesses. What it all adds up to is diminishing returns in the Executive Chamber, said Bob Bellafiore, a communications consultant and former aide to George Pataki. “You’ve identified the big things you want to attack, and you’ve attacked them in the beginning, like the governor did with same-sex marriage—that was a big policy win, pulled the rabbit out of a hat— the property tax cap, economic development upstate, funding for Buffalo, last year some big victories on education with teacher evaluations and charter schools,” said Bellafiore, who experienced a second term transition under Pataki. “But as time goes on, you have to be more and more creative in finding those big ticket items.” In fact, Cuomo’s reputation was already beginning to fray as his first term drew to a close. One test was the shaky rollout of the Common Core education standards, which gave ammunition to gubernatorial challengers Rob Astorino and Zephyr Teachout despite Cuomo’s efforts to deflect blame. His centrist approach left others feeling disillusioned. His gun control law, applauded in New York City and its suburbs, angered many upstate voters. Liberals grew disenchanted with the governor over his failure to pass the Women’s Equality Act, the Dream Act and public financing of campaigns— while also blaming him for not doing enough to elect Democrats to the state Senate. This past fall Cuomo won re-election, but his approval rating dropped and he garnered far fewer votes than in 2010. “He’s going to have to find a way to put some polish on the fender here that was lost during the campaign,” said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies. “He won by 13 points, which most people in most races would consider a substantial margin, but his first four years had set expectations very high and he needs to show that he is ready to be a strong leader and take on some tough problems.” Still, a sophomore slump is not inevitable. After re-election some politicians focus on consolidating earlier accomplishments, said Bruce Gyory, a Democratic consultant. Instead, Gyory said, Cuomo should aggressively attack remaining problems, such as the state’s crumbling infrastructure and underperforming education system.

The state has started to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge, but it is unclear how it will be paid for.

“One of the reasons second terms, for both governors and presidents, have tended to fall flat is that governors and presidents haven’t used second terms to tackle big issues,” Gyory said. “There are better results when you continue to put forward major initiatives and tackle big issues.”

AGING INFRASTRUCTURE One way that Cuomo could regain some momentum early on, experts say, would be to invest the $5.1 billion from bank settlements in critical infrastructure projects across the state. Legislative leaders, editorial boards and budget watchdogs have coalesced around using the windfall for muchneeded transportation infrastructure projects. The need for upgrades on aging subway lines in New York City and upstate roads and bridges has been well documented. The ongoing construction of a replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge, which the Cuomo administration has yet to fully explain how it plans to fully fund, could also get a big chunk of the money. “There’s also a tremendous econometric bang for the buck, because it not only creates building trades construction jobs, but it injects money into local economies,” Gyory said. “We got a little taste of that with the positive impacts of the shovel-

ready projects with Obama stimulus, and in New York it would be a great way to get the second term moving.” Of course, while the $5.1 billion windfall may seem like a lot, it only goes so far. The new Tappan Zee Bridge will cost $4 billion all by itself and the MTA capital plan has a $15.2 billion deficit over five years—and that’s just the top of the list of infrastructure needs. Other funds will need to be found somewhere, and ideas like congestion pricing in New York City, however unlikely it is to pass given the politics of the proposal, could re-emerge. The administration may also raise tolls on the Tappan Zee, but Cuomo has been reluctant to specify how much tolls might go up to help fund the new span. The bridge project and the MTA will ultimately be competing with each other for scarce dollars—and both will be competing against other priorities like education and healthcare. “The danger is if the governor is tempted to use some of this windfall settlement money for the bridge to keep toll hikes down, but then that takes away money that should go to the MTA,” said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute. “A lot of the MTA projects can’t pay for themselves, and so more of the windfall projects going to roads and bridges upstate and some of it for the MTA would be a fair, political way to split it.”

EDUCATION REFORM Education funding, a major portion of the state budget, is a perennial point of contention and one that Cuomo will have to confront for another four years. In addition, even if the Common Core controversy subsides as some expect, there is a long list of public school reforms the governor is considering—which is sure to make education one of the most high-profile and heavily lobbied policy areas in the second term. Cuomo is poised to push for changes to the state’s teacher evaluation system, and his clash with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio over charter schools could be revived this year. Another question mark is mayoral control of schools in New York City, which is set to expire in June. Plus, Senate Republicans are again prioritizing the Education Investment Tax Credit, and there has already been talk of stripping the Legislature of its control over appointing members to the Board of Regents. “If you just had to deal with school aid, that would be sort of a normal policy headache,” said Bellafiore, who works with groups supporting charter schools and the Education Investment Tax Credit. “Let’s consider school aid the beer they have to drink every year, cold or warm. Then you drop into that cit yandstateny.com

THE STATE SENATE Republicans won outright control of the state Senate this past fall, and they will dictate much of what does and does not get done for the next two years. During his re-election campaign Cuomo called for public financing of elections, the Dream Act and the full, 10-point Women’s Equality Act. But Republican Senate candidates ran against the measures, and will likely let them die. Democrats have also called for changes to the grand jury system after the police officer who killed Eric Garner with an illegal chokehold was not indicted. Senate Republicans have dismissed such concerns, and instead will focus on protecting police officers, citing the recent murder of cit yandstateny.com

his own boots on the ground while he deploys his administration’s boots on the ground.”

PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS

Like his father, Cuomo is seen as a potential presidential candidate.

two NYPD officers. “If he’s going to focus on the one piece of the Women’s Equality Agenda that the Senate Republicans objected to, and if it’s an all or nothing approach, that will continue to fail,” said John McArdle, a political consultant who worked for the Senate Republicans for years. “If he continues to focus on, as he did in the first two years, some of the issues like the state’s economy, he got the tax cap adopted, the bread and butter issues, keeping the budget within the affordability range in terms of spending, he’ll have more success.” Some progressives are biding their time and banking on Democrats re-taking control of the upper chamber in two years, which would remove Republicans from the negotiating table entirely. But even though Republicans have made clear that they oppose public financing and other proposed ethics reform, the issue of public corruption is unlikely to fade away, said Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College. “I’m not sure that many people, particularly on the left, feel that he did an adequate job addressing it,” Zaino said of Cuomo’s efforts to combat public corruption. “That’s going to be a continuing issue: how does he go about trying to ‘clean up Albany,’ particularly after the Moreland debacle? In my mind, that’s a huge challenge for him, both from a perception standpoint and a reality standpoint.”

UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENTS As always, there are events that simply cannot be planned for. Natural

disasters, terrorist attacks, disease outbreaks, prison riots, corruption scandals, bankruptcies, shootings, deaths—they can come at any time, and without any notice. President George W. Bush was panned for his response to Hurricane Katrina. President Barack Obama’s response to the BP oil spill was seen as lackluster. Closer to home, in the wake of the Eric Garner case and the shooting deaths of two police officers, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is now struggling to control a deeply dissatisfied police department. “Recognize Lincoln’s old admonition—that I have not controlled events, events have controlled me—is accurate,” Gyory said. “Regardless of the term, you have to be ready to react to major events that you can’t predict.” Cuomo has a track record of reacting quickly and decisively to unexpected events, from Superstorm Sandy and Tropical Storm Irene to the recent blizzard in Buffalo. The governor’s strengths are the nuts and bolts of governing, observers say, which has proven to be an asset when storms or other crises strike. The exception may be U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s probe of the governor’s involvement in the Moreland Commission, and it is unclear so far how the scandal will ultimately play out. “He has a good track record of making his entire administration pivot to the crisis,” Gyory said. “That’s a governing art. That’s not easy or automatic thing to do. He doesn’t just come in and do airport press conferences. It’s boots on the ground. He stayed in Buffalo that whole week. He was on Long Island in and New York after Sandy, and after Irene he was in the upper Hudson. He keeps

Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state, is widely expected to run for president in 2016, blocking any chance that Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a longtime ally of the Clintons, gets into the race. But if she opts not to run, Cuomo would instantly become one of the Democratic frontrunners. Or, if Clinton runs and loses to a Republican, the conversation would immediately turn to Cuomo 2020. “Even now he’s on the short list of four or five top Democratic contenders, after Hillary Clinton, obviously, and so I think he absolutely would, even barring something unforeseen in the intervening years,” Zaino said. “It’s clear that, unlike his father, he really does have ambitions to potentially move in that direction—not in the short term, necessarily, but in the long term.” Some observers question the common wisdom that Cuomo wants to seek higher office, noting that his push for the SAFE Act, the landmark gun control law, and the hydrofracking ban would not play well in battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. But if Cuomo is angling for a shot at the presidency, it will undoubtedly shape his second term and potentially a third term as well—but shifting away from the dogged focus on New York that he had in his first term could prove to be a liability. He is already planning to travel overseas more, perhaps burnishing his foreign affairs credentials, and his legislative priorities could quickly pivot to a more national focus. “That’s going to be real challenge for him,” Zaino said. “It’s always difficult, speaking of second terms, to have designs on higher office and do the job that you’re elected to do at the same time. I’m wondering if that’s going to take him off track if he thinks about things like Democratic primaries—I’m not saying necessarily 2016, but beyond, with the Democratic Party changing as it is, where is he going to fit in that changing reality? I guess he’ll probably try to still pass some more liberal social issues and continue on his more conservative economic agenda. But it’s a tightrope for somebody to walk.”

city & state — January 20, 2015

a shot of charter schools and a shot of mayoral control and pretty soon this drink is going to be pretty potent. So yes, education is going to be a big deal, even without these extra shots.” While some major education issues will be settled this year, experts predicted that deep disagreements over the state’s education funding formula will not be resolved easily. “The state clearly has issues in delivering education adequately and fairly, and that includes the funding of it, and that’s going to be a major task that nobody has solved, including his father’s predecessors and successors,” Levy said. “We’re still a very segregated education system, with haves and the have-nots beginning to increase in a way that not only could be seen as wrong, but economically dangerous for the state and the communities in which these schools are located.” A related issue is the local property tax cap, which is also expiring. Some school districts have struggled to deal with the additional constraints on spending, which could make it a tougher task politically to renew the cap in Albany. The tax cap is also intertwined with spending the state requires of school districts, and local officials complain that state government has yet to implement significant measures to ease such spending mandates. “You can pass a property tax cap on a bumper sticker campaign,” Bellafiore said. “Well, now it goes beyond the bumper stickers and into real operations, not just of the state government but of the local governments that are affected. That has a lot to do with the state’s growth and viability and success.”

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

t’s shaping up to be another big year in Albany. The clash between the de Blasio administration and the NYPD will shift upstate, where lawmakers will consider changes to the grand jury system, new protections for police officers and countless other criminal justice reforms. Education, a perennial hot-button issue, could grow even more intense, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo taking aim at everything from teacher evaluations to charter schools to public school funding. And rent regulations are scheduled to expire in June, setting up another major battle—and a potential frenzy of late-session horse-trading and deal-making. In this annual state legislative preview, City & State surveys the political landscape on these and many other high-priority and high-profile measures. We identify the key issues in such areas as energy, healthcare, infrastructure and organized labor—including in-depth features on important but overlooked policy debates. The session is already getting underway. So get ready.

city & state — January 20, 2015

CONTENTS:

26...

28...

HOUSING How the rent regulation battle affected the 2014 elections By Jarrett Murphy

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

Reforming the Brownfield Cleanup Program By Wilder Fleming

32...

35...

38...

HEALTH

Lawmakers weigh ban on clinics in national retail chains By Ashley Hupfl

EDUCATION

Can Cuomo convince school districts to consolidate? By Ashley Hupfl

INFRASTRUCTURE Will New York renew design-build? By Ashley Hupfl

40...

LABOR

Scrutinizing workers’ compensation By Jon Lentz

CASINO 43...

43...

Casinos? Check. Up next? Horse racing. By Jon Lentz

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

What’s in store for criminal justice reform? By Wilder Fleming

cit yandstateny.com

NYSAFAH - Building Homes and CommunitiesOne Exploited Worker and Unhappy Homeowner At a Time.

NYSAFAH and Its Members Have Built Many Things Over The Years:

A Pool of Exploited Immigrant Workers

A Record of Federal and State Wage Law Violations that Have Paid Out Over $13 Million in Back Pay A Reputation for Suing Hard-Working Homeowners for Exercising Their Civil Rights

GREATER NEW YORK L.E.C.E.T. IS READY TO HELP EXPOSE THE TRUTH ABOUT NYSAFAH.

With facts, real reports and the chorus of exploited workers and unhappy homeowners, 2015 will be the year to stand up and shout:

NYSAFAH, CLEAN UP YOUR ACT! GREATER NEW YORK LABORERS-EMPLOYERS COOPERATION AND EDUCATION TRUST, GNYLECET, IS A JOINTLY MANAGED TRUST FUND OF THE MASON TENDERS DISTRICT COUNCIL AND ITS 1500 SIGNATORY CONTRACTORS.

cit yandstateny.com

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR PATRICK PURCELL 212.452.9300 EMAIL: GNYLECET @ AOL.COM

city & state — March 24, 2014

The time has come for a careful inspection of what NYSAFAH and its members have really been building.

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

HOUSING

ROUND ONE

HOW THE LOOMING RENT REGULATION BATTLE AFFECTED THE 2014 ELECTIONS By JARRETT MURPHY from CITY LIMITS

city & state — January 20, 2015

erhaps the best scene in the 1981 film “Reds” is near the beginning, when an insufferable gasbag, after harumphing to a dinner crowd for a few minutes about how bloatedly excited he is to die in the Great War, turns to Warren Beatty and thunders, “What would you say this war is about, Jack Reed?” Beatty stands up, chews a little, waits. “Profits,” he finally says. Speech over. One could say the same thing about the looming battle in Albany over rent regulations—that it’s about profits or, more accurately, just plain money. Money is what landlords say they need to make more of. Money is what tenants say they have no more to pay. And money was the weapon of choice during the first round of the 2015 rentregulations battle—the 2014 election. Belligerents in the rent-regulations fight spent at least a million dollars on campaign contributions during calendar year 2014, showering candidates and parties with donations ranging from a couple hundred bucks to six figures. Neighborhood Preservation PAC, one of two political action committees associated with the pro-landlord Rent Stabilization Association, sent checks worth $373,000 during the year; RSA PAC, the group’s other spending vehicle, added another $326,000. Housing New York PAC, which is linked to another property owner organization called CHIP (Community Housing Improvement Program), spent a quarter of a million. A smaller landlord-backed entity, Affordable Housing PAC, threw in another $29,550. Badly outspent was Tenants PAC, which contributed $51,350 to a baker’s dozen of candidates. Did all these players get what they paid for? The full answer won’t be known until June 15, the deadline for renewal of the regulations on 990,000

Housing interests spent more than $1 million to influence state legislative races in 2014. rent-stabilized apartments in New York City. Legislators could let the laws lapse but it is more likely they’ll be renewed and—in ways impossible to predict—strengthened, weakened or left alone. Some evidence on the payoff from those campaign checks is already in, however, in the form of election results. Seven of the candidates supported by Tenants PAC—including Justin Wagner, Ted O’Brien, Terry Gipson and Oliver Koppell—lost their races. State Senators Adriano Espaillat, George Latimer, Marc Panepinto, Gustavo Rivera and Toby Ann Stavisky won, though the PAC’s support for all but Latimer and Panepinto was very modest. The two Rent Stabilization Association PACs also bet on a few losers, like gubernatorial runner-up Rob Astorino, failed attorney general candidate John Cahill and tough-luck Senate candidates Fernando Cabrera, Joe Dillon and Anthony Senft. But they hedged their bets in the attorney general’s race, giving $20,000 to Eric

Schneiderman, and in the state Senate George Amedore, Martin Dilan, Rich Funke, Jeff Klein and Michael Venditto won with significant backing from the PACs. State Sen. Jeff Klein, leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, received $15,000 from the two RSA-affiliated PACs, the most of any Democrat and second most overall. Tenant organizations have long painted Klein as a pawn of landlords. In a statement, Klein’s spokeman said, “Campaign donations play no role whatsoever in shaping the senator’s legislative agenda. Senator Klein kept low- and middle-income seniors in their homes by expanding the SCRIE program, passed legislation that enhances penalties for tenant harassment, is proposing a major expansion of the Mitchell-Lama program and supports the continuation of strong rules and regulations of rent stabilization and rent control.” What’s not debatable is that Klein will play a different role in this legislative session because the

Independent Democratic Conference no longer holds the key to Republican control of the Senate. Indeed, the two Rent Stabilization Association PACs spent $277,000 in combined support for the Republican Party’s effort to win outright control of the state Senate and it paid off handsomely, in that it dashed tenant leaders’ hopes of having both houses controlled by more tenant-friendly Democrats. The very success of the GOP Senate effort means that the individual senators—whether supported by either the Tenants PAC or the landlord campaign vehicles—will likely have little impact on the outcome of the rent-regulations debate. In fact, with the Senate unlikely to even consider any tenant-friendly version of renewal, tenant advocates are focusing instead on the Assembly. Their hope is that Speaker Sheldon Silver takes an aggressive pro-tenant negotiating stance against his counterpart in the Senate, Dean Skelos. And for Silver to take a tough line, the thinking goes, his Democratic caucus has to take a tough line with him. Tenants PAC donated to only one Assembly candidate—Lori Boozer of Brooklyn, who lost. The Assembly has long been a reliable supporter of pro-tenant legislation, but in an interview last fall Rent Stabilization Association leaders said they had been chipping away at the pro-tenant advantage in the Assembly. The association’s PACs sent donations to 12 Assembly candidates, 11 of whom won. The biggest recipient was Mark Gjonaj, a real-estate broker and Democrat representing the 80th district in the northwest Bronx, who netted $2,500 from the RSA PACs. “My campaign donations do not influence at all how I carry out my legislative responsibilities,” Gjonaj cit yandstateny.com

certainty is a close second. “My belief is that it’s done intentionally,” Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, told me in October. “You’re always going to have a sunset [of the rent laws] because the elected officials don’t want us to forget about them—on both sides. They want to reinforce to tenants that they’re there to protect their interests and that’s why they should vote for them when it’s time for re-election, and also to others to say, ‘If you want us to be fair and not extreme you should also support us.’ ” In fact, there seems to be some appetite in Albany for making rentregulations battles an even more regular occurrence. “I’d rather have it every two years, because it adds excitement to the legislative session,” Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos told City & State in a recent interview. Excitement and a little more cash for the campaign coffers—what’s not to like?

AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITY MUST BE EMBRACED By Michael Locker, President, Locker Associates. (New York, New York, January 20, 2015) Last May, Mayor Bill de Blasio released an ambitious $41 billion ten-year affordable housing plan for New York City. The Mayor’s plan to build 200,000 units includes the construction of 80,000 new apartments and the restoration of 120,000 more. If the Mayor’s plan is implemented it will provide half a million New Yorkers with the opportunity to live in affordable housing. In addition, the program would create an estimated 194,000 construction jobs and 7,100 permanent positions. The proposed plan was received with enthusiasm by housing advocates, the real estate and construction industries, and the media.

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

said. “I am an independent person.” Gjonaj is a harsh critic of the rent regulations regime, calling it a “failed system” that provides benefits based on which apartment someone lives in rather than their ability to pay. He stresses, however: “I am not going to let the rent laws lapse.” The threat—albeit mostly theoretical—that rent laws will lapse adds to the drama that always accompanies the rent regulations debate, which played out with typical brinkmanship in 2011, as it had in 2003, 1997 and 1993. Given that New York City has been in what is legally considered a housing emergency for decades, one wonders whether it’s helpful to revisit every four or eight years what is clearly a permanent part of New York’s regulatory regime. Sometimes legislators shift the laws to favor landlords. Occasionally they give tenants a break. All that’s guaranteed is uncertainty. And like other businesspeople, developers and property owners like profits best—but

The plan responds to the urgent need for affordable housing in the City, and BALCONY firmly stands behind it. The plan does not, however adequately address one critical issue: What Kind of Jobs Will Be Created? According to the Mayor’s plan the Office of Workforce Development will assign a designated development senior contractor manager who will ensure the selected developers work with City agencies to implement hiring practices that ensures fair wages. During the Bloomberg administration, however, using a similar screening process, many affordable housing developers hired non-union workers, paying them $10-$15 per hour, thereby putting them at the poverty level for New York City according to the Mayor’s own Annual CEO Report on poverty in New York City. In addition, construction work is particularly dangerous and those workers lacked the experience and training to do the work safely and expeditiously. Construction workers and union members, like so many New Yorkers, are themselves in need of affordable housing and will benefit greatly from the program. It is the opinion of BALCONY that union workers possess the necessary experience and expertise, and are in the best position, to carry out this program competently and at a reasonable cost.

HOUSING ISSUES

And the unions are not driving a hard bargain. Last August, the President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, Gary LaBarbera, proposed cost savings of 40 percent if union labor was entrusted with executing the Mayor’s plan. The Council reported that this idea was supported by 80 percent of its member unions. Furthermore, the NYC Building Trades recently came out in support of a local hire policy where at least 30% of the work hours on large city funded projects would be done by NYC residents. 1 Unions obtain, protect, and enforce fair wages and a safe work environment, as well as compensation and care in the event of injury on the work site. They offer a progressive agenda that serves to help workers from all levels of educational and economic backgrounds. Additionally, unlike many private employers, the unions provide benefit packages that include healthcare, pension funds, and life insurance.

BALCONY believes that it is important to avoid the mistakes of the Bloomberg administration. The Mayor must be proactive in implementing a protocol that will promote the development of affordable housing while protecting the needs of the workers who will build this housing and who form the core of New York’s blue-collar workforce. Project labor agreements negotiated between the Mayor and the unions would allow both sides to achieve their shared mutual goals of creating affordable housing and providing decent working conditions. The Fiscal Policy Institute and others have proposed changes in the 421A tax exemption, the real estate transfer tax and the mortgage recording tax on residential properties to more equitably distribute the tax burden and to generate additional revenues for the City. This revenue increase should be dedicated to increasing subsidies for affordable housing, making it possible both to finance more units and to hire union labor. Finally, with union labor comes the ability to finance affordable housing through the investment of union pension capital from investors like the New York City Employees’ Retirement Systems. Since 2002, the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) has invested $830 million of union and public employee pension capital in the construction of 29,400 New York City housing units, creating over 6,000 jobs, including 3,600 on-site union jobs.

* 421-A TAX CREDIT: The property tax abatement for residential developers is set to expire on June 15, and it is expected to be part of negotiations in a broader rent regulation deal.

cit yandstateny.com

* J-51 TAX EXEMPTION: This exemption gives owners a tax break for renovating properties if they enroll in rent stabilization and is set to expire on June 29.

* 2 PERCENT PROPERTY TAX CAP: The legislation will expire in 2016 unless rent regulations are extended by the legislature in 2015.

Mr. Locker is founder and President of Locker Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in helping trade unions deal with difficult business issues. Major clients include the Metallic Lathers Local #46 and Buildup NYC (BUNYC) coalition. BALCONY is a 501(c)(4) non-profit. Contributions are not tax deductible and BALCONY makes no political endorsements nor campaign contributions.

Lou Gordon, Director | 4 West 43rd St., New York, NY 10036

BALCONY HOUSING CONFERENCE FEATURING: • COMMISSIONER VICKI BEEN – NYC Dept. of Housing Preservation & Development • COMMISSIONER DARRYL TOWNS – NYS Homes and Community Renewal • NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE LETITIA JAMES Speakers will include City and State officials, developers, contractors, pension fund holders, bank representatives, energy providers, labor unions, and housing experts to discuss the Mayor’s proposal. Continental Breakfast Served February 4 | 8am- 12pm | BALLROOM, 4 West 43rd St. For Tickets and Sponsorship, contact BALCONY: LOUG@BALCONYNEWYORK.COM 212-219-7777 WWW.BALCONYNEWYORK.COM

city & state — January 20, 2015

* RENT REGULATIONS: The laws governing rent levels for nearly a million apartments in New York City and thousands more in other parts of the state are set to expire in June.

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

CLEARING THE WAY TO CLEAN UP NEW YORK REFORMING THE BROWNFIELD CLEANUP PROGRAM By WILDER FLEMING

city & state — January 20, 2015

n the final days of 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have extended a state program that gives tax credits to developers in exchange for cleaning up vacant, polluted sites before building on them, setting the stage for a new round of negotiations with the Legislature over the program’s fate this session. The measure, which the governor blocked on the night of Dec. 29— the last possible day he could exercise his veto power in 2014—would have kept the so-called Brownfield Cleanup Program alive through March 2017. Now it is due to sunset by the end of 2015. But Cuomo’s move has been welcomed by environmental and other groups, who say the program is ineffective in its current state—both as an efficient cleanup mechanism and as a vehicle for helping downtrodden upstate urban communities, which was a goal of the program in the first place. “The problem is that the biggest tax credits have gone to projects in up-market areas that probably would have been built anyway, while downmarket communities—inner city and upstate—continue to be burdened by contaminated lands,” said Val Washington, board president of New Partners for Community Revitalization, an organization working to renew lowand moderate-income neighborhoods by redeveloping brownfield sites. Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of the Environmental Advocates of New York, told City & State last spring that on top of providing tax breaks for lavish projects such as the Ritz-Carlton hotel in White Plains, the program has been far from economical, costing New York more than $1 billion over its 10-year lifespan while only around 150 brownfield sites have been developed under the program. Still, the overall value of the program

has been widely acknowledged—not just by the governor but by lawmakers in the Assembly and Senate as well. Yet while Cuomo included in his 2014 budget a proposal to reform and extend the program for another decade, the measure was not included in the final deal struck with the Legislature in March. And although legislators indicated interest in hammering out a long-term plan during the remainder of the session, nothing ever materialized—hence lawmakers’ attempt to extend the program in its current state through 2017, and the governor’s refusal to accept what was essentially an act of kicking the can down the road. The reasoning behind such a shortterm fix is simple: Developers line up projects based on the knowledge that tax credits will still exist when the job is finished, and with the program set to expire this year, it is no longer possible for new projects to reach completion in time to qualify. “You’ve got contaminated properties that are sitting out there, not only in Western New York but throughout the state, that the developers now will be reluctant to make a commitment to, not knowing if they’ll be able to proceed with the program or not,” said state Sen. Pat Gallivan, a Republican who represents an area between Rochester and Buffalo. The proposal for a temporary extension came after months of closeddoor talks, but one reason lawmakers did not agree on a more lasting deal might have to do with another environmental cleanup initiative—the state Superfund program, which has long been a priority for the Assembly and which is also nearing the end of its funding. Last year, Robert Sweeney, the Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, told City &

State that the Assembly always tied Brownfield Cleanup and Superfund together, and while the governor put forth a robust brownfield extension in his budget, his Superfund funding proposal was for only a single year, essentially the same Band-Aid approach that he eventually vetoed in the case of the brownfield program. Sources said the Assembly would not accept the one-year Superfund extension as presented in Cuomo’s budget. “The Assembly felt that you just can’t have one without the other, and in the end we got nothing,” Laura Haight, an environmental analyst from the New York Public Interest Research Group, told City & State at the time. While the brownfield program is essentially an economic development program, making it a clear priority for Senate Republicans as well as Assembly Democrats, Superfund is solely aimed at designating, monitoring and cleaning up of the state’s most toxic sites—a clear imperative from an

environmental and health perspective, but without the obvious economic benefits. Whether or not the Assembly will continue to couple the brownfield and Superfund cleanup programs isn’t clear. (Nor is it clear how, or if Superfund will be extended.) But according to Iwanowicz, there will likely be action on reforming the brownfield program. “We’re expecting the governor to re-propose his reform package that he put out last year around this time,” Iwanowicz said. “We need to also figure out a long-term funding stream for cleaning up Superfund sites too.” Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos is on board with the brownfield extension, at least. “That’s something that we should approve,” he told City & State in an interview several weeks ago. “But approve for a 10-year period so developers can come in and understand what they’re going to do when they make their investment and so that many of these blighted areas can be remediated and improved.”

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT ISSUES *SHARED RENEWABLES: Many owners of homes or small businesses cannot afford to install solar panels on their roofs—or perhaps they do not want to. Legislation from Assemblywoman Amy Paulin would modify the net metering law to allow residents to tap into community solar installations sited off their property. Paulin has said that her other top legislative priority is expansion of a pilot project in Westchester County that allows municipalities to collectively share power contracts with the aim of lowering prices and prioritizing renewable resources. These initiatives could complement Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision initiative, which is seeking to fundamentally restructure the state’s energy grid and how New Yorkers consume our power.

cit yandstateny.com

INDIAN POINT IS ONE OF THE SAFEST PLANTS IN THE U.S.

The United States has the most heavily tested and regulated nuclear facilities in the world. And the Nuclear Regulatory Commission just gave Indian Point its highest safety rating — for the 5th year in a row. One reason is the investment we’ve made in recent years, building backups to the backups and adding layers upon layers of safety and security throughout Indian Point.

Indian Point Energy Center

POWERING NEW YORK cit yandstateny.com

city & state — March 24, 2014

When you consider what’s vital for New York’s future, think about safety first. We certainly do. Learn more about all that we do for New York at SafeSecureVital.com

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

When You Are Thinking Of A Successful Reception, Meeting Or Lobby Day....

Stylish, Contemporary Award Winning Cuisine And Service Skytop Facilities Overlooking Albany Able To Handle Events Up To 500 People

*CHILD SAFE PRODUCTS ACT: The measure, which would ban certain toxic chemicals found in children’s toys, found resistance in the state Senate, where Republican Leader Dean Skelos blocked it from coming to the floor for a vote. Proponents are optimistic about its chances this year.

*OIL TRAIN REGULATIONS: The dramatic increase of freight trains carrying crude oil through New York has drawn increasing concern about safety and environmental hazards from advocates and public officials alike. While Cuomo wrote a letter to the White House imploring the federal government to strengthen regulations of crude oil transport, the state Legislature may act on the issue as well. A number of Assembly bills were drafted or introduced last year, focusing on heavier fines for train safety infractions, making sure companies carry enough liability insurance to clean up potential accidents, and increasing the state’s oil spill fund—but it is not yet clear if any of these have a chance of passing.

We Have Rooms To Suit All Of Your Event Needs, We Are One Of Three Union Houses In Downtown Albany Call Today For A Quote or Walk Thru...

city & state — January 20, 2015

*STAFFING DOWN: A December report from state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found that staffing levels at the state Department of Environmental Conservation have been falling since 2003, and funding, which has barely kept pace with inflation, is now projected to decline. In the meantime, the agency’s responsibilities have grown. The comptroller recommended a “reconsideration of appropriate funding levels,” but it’s an open question if the governor will heed the call in his budget proposal.

Or Just Ask Your Fellow Political Associates Who Return Year After Year For Their Reception Needs

Proud Presenter Of City & State’s, 2015 State Of The State Cocktail Reception January 20th

*ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND: Last year the fund, which is dedicated to restoring and protecting the natural environment around the state, was increased for the second year in a row—from $153 million to $162 million. While still significantly diminished from a 2009 peak of $255 million, the sum is nonetheless an improvement upon the $134 million flat-line that occurred between 2010 and 2013. It remains to be seen if funding will be boosted again this year.

*GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION: An executive order from the governor’s office mandating that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced 80 percent by the year 2050 was issued in 2009. But with no law on the books to give it teeth, the order remains an ideal with no clear organizing principle for how to get there. With the passage of just such a law by the New York City Council in 2014, environmental advocates are now hoping to see action on legislation that would provide a similar roadmap for the state. But although bills to this effect have been floating around in the Assembly for years, it is unclear if the issue will be seriously considered in 2015.

cit yandstateny.com

Connect21: An energy blueprint for the future. Connect21 is a framework that links customer needs and policy goals with technology solutions through three broad approaches: • Putting customers in charge with tools and information to help them control their energy consumption.

• Working with our regulators toward a new paradigm for how we regulate this industry. • Collaboration between utilities, regulators and partners to incent utilities to embrace innovation and take risks.

Connecting America’s Energy Network to the 21st Century We believe our Connect21 vision advances natural gas and electricity infrastructure beyond its 20th century limitations to create a more customer-centric, resilient, agile, efficient and environmentally-sound energy network.

Please join us.

Learn more by visiting us.nationalgridconnecting.com #Connect21 cit yandstateny.com

city & state — March 24, 2014

By embracing policy and technological innovation, this initiative will drive improved energy productivity, create jobs and strengthen local economies. That’s worth working for, and we stand ready to roll up our sleeves.

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

HEALTH

BIG BOX HEALTHCARE

A LAWMAKER AIMS TO BLOCK HEALTH CLINICS IN NATIONAL RETAIL CHAINS. By ASHLEY HUPFL

city & state — January 20, 2015

ne of the next big things in medical care is offering healthcare services inside retail stores such as CVS, Price Chopper and Walmart, which recently opened primary care clinics in stores in Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. But if Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried has his way, New York will preemptively ban or at least regulate such primary care services offered by major retails chains. “We are seeing more and more so-called ‘retail clinics’ opening in chain pharmacies, even in supermarket chains,” Gottfried told City & State in December. “The issue of commercialized delivery of outpatient care needs to be confronted. Whether it’s urgent care clinics or retail clinics in pharmacies or supermarkets, there’s a real need to protect consumers and protect the ability of ordinary primary practices to stay afloat.” New York State law already bars publicly-traded or business corporations from owning medical facilities or employing physicians and other professionals. However, some retail chains in New York have found loopholes to get around the law by renting space inside their retail stores. In such instances the businesses provide extensive marketing, brand and management services, including electronic health record services, but do not legally own the clinic, Gottfried explained. The lawmaker said the he is also concerned the vast resources of major corporations will ultimately put small primary care clinics out of business. “We rely very heavily on the professionalism of a healthcare practitioner to protect us when we are in their hands,” Gottfried said. “While no group of professionals is entirely immune to being focused on the bottom line, I’d be rather concerned

about who is controlling my healthcare if my doctor were an employee of a big corporation as opposed to being answerable to other healthcare professionals.” Gottfried has not yet introduced any legislation to ban the retail clinics in 2015, but he is planning to reintroduce a bill co-sponsored with Assemblywoman Amy Paulin this session. The bill would define a retail clinic as an “Article 28” healthcare provider and would limit them to providing unscheduled drop-in services. Regulating the clinics as Article 28 facilities, which include nursing homes and hospitals, would subject them tight restrictions and regulatory

oversight by the state. Gottfried said despite his opposition to the corporate ownership of healthcare, he would support this bill as an alternative as banning retail clinics is not expected to gain much support in the state Senate. State Sen. Kemp Hannon, the chair of the Senate Health Committee, said he could not comment on Gottfried’s proposal without more specific details, but he did say that he supports giving retail clinics greater latitude to offer healthcare services. “I don’t know if he has any specific reforms in mind or if this is a situation of the liberal Democrats in Manhattan opposing Walmart,” Hannon said. “I think the point ought to be, ‘What do

we do to promote primary care in a quality basis and an accessible basis?’ ” The state Senate’s one-house budget this past session included a provision that would have expanded eligibility to open limited healthcare services in retail settings to hospitals and federally qualified health centers. The Democratic-controlled Assembly did not support the measure. “In New York, some of the drug stores can [open retail clinics]] now in many ways,” Hannon said. “They just don’t think they have enough latitude to do it well.” Proponents argue that retail clinics can offer readily accessible, highquality healthcare for basic ailments cit yandstateny.com

NYSNA: Caring for ALL New Yorkers

Here in New York City and throughout our state, nurses are uniting to improve care for our patients. We’re working together to end healthcare inequality and to raise standards so that every New Yorker has access to quality care. Through our union, the New York State Nurses Association, we’re creating a better future for nurses and our patients:

Æ Safe RN Staffing. Having enough nurses at the bedside is key to safe patient care.

In our union contracts and in the legislature, we’re working to ensure that every patient has access to the care of a nurse whenever they need it.

Æ Community Voices. We believe that our communities should have a voice in decisions that

impact their access to care. Healthcare decisions should be based on community needs, not on the bottom line. That’s why we’re advocating to strengthen community voices in care.

Æ Quality Care for ALL. Every patient deserves equal access to quality care regardless of

income, borough, or insurance coverage. We’re working with fellow healthcare unions, patients, community leaders, and elected allies to stop the devastating tide of hospital cuts and closures in underserved communities.

www.nysna.org

nynurses

@nynurses

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

at lower costs than in hospitals and physicians’ offices. Walmart’s primary care clinics also boast of having Saturday and Sunday hours in some locations. “As of April 2014, we had approximately 100 of these clinics in Walmart stores across the U.S. As part of these efforts, we continue

to work with health systems in our stores and have a very flexible relationship with medical providers in local communities,” Bill Wertz, a spokesman for Walmart, said in an email. “These services are critical in helping our customers manage their health in an affordable way while at the

same time ensuring they are seeing the right health care professionals that can provide the proper care they need.” Walmart is not actively seeking to open a primary care clinic in New York, but Gottfried sees his push as a preemptive strike. “There are certainly lobbyists for

some of the pharmacy chains who have talked to me about wanting legislation to allow them to do a much broader range of services,” Gottfried said. “It is, to me, virtually inevitable that once this kind of thing starts to crop up in other states, that it will happen to New York unless we do something about it.”

HEALTH ISSUES * $8 BILLION FEDERAL MEDICAID WAIVER: The Cuomo administration last year was granted the federal waiver to use savings from the state’s Medicaid Redesign Team initiative to fund reforms to the state’s healthcare system. During the 2015 legislative session, there will be focus on implementing major system changes.

* MEDICAL MARIJUANA: After the state legalized a limited medical marijuana program at the end of the 2014 legislative session, the state is now faced with rolling it out safely and effectively.

* SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH COVERAGE: Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried will push to repeal the federal Affordable Care Act and will once again push for a single-payer healthcare system.

* ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES: Senate Health Committee Chair Kemp Hannon will fight to have electronic cigarettes covered by the Clean Air Act and require clearer warning labels for the liquid nicotine refills.

city & state — January 20, 2015

hanys_half page horizontal_011415_outlined text for publication.indd 1

1/14/2015 9:30:43 AM cit yandstateny.com

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

EDUCATION

MERGING IDENTITIES

CAN CUOMO CONVINCE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO CONSOLIDATE? By ASHLEY HUPFL

Gov. Andrew Cuomo established the New NY Education Reform Commission in 2012.

CSA looks forward to another productive session, working with our elected officials in Albany to improve schools. CSA is dedicated to ensuring every student receives an excellent public school education. On two key educational issues, CSA weighs in:

JUDY SANDERS/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

1. Education Investment Tax Credit: As part of a consortium of labor unions, CSA strongly opposes this bill. Creating a tax credit for those who make donations to parochial and private schools would cost the state millions of dollars. We can’t afford to give away money when we still fail to adequately fund our public schools. 2. NYC Mayoral Control of Schools: CSA supports continued mayoral control of the NYC school system but encourages changing the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) to better balance the representation and to include more parental and community involvement.

Great Schools Begin With Great Leaders! cit yandstateny.com

35 Council of School Supervisors & Administrators

LOCAL 1: AMERICAN FEDERATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, AFL-CIO www.csa-nyc.org 40 RECTOR ST., 12TH FL., NEW YORK, NY 10006 TEL: 212 823 2020 | FAX: 212 962 6130 ERNEST A. LOGAN PRESIDENT MARK CANNIZZARO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RANDI HERMAN FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

city & state — January 20, 2015

hile the governor and the state Legislature continue to clash over Common Core, teacher evaluations and charter schools, an equally contentious education issue on the agenda this year is the potential mergers of some of the state’s roughly 700 school districts. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pushed for consolidation even before he became governor, arguing some districts could benefit academically and financially by merging with their neighbors. Just last month the Cuomo administration sent a letter to state education officials identifying a number of potential areas for reform—including merging school city and state.qxp_Layout 1 1/16/15 4:11 PM Page 1 districts.

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW city & state — January 20, 2015

But such mergers are challenging, largely due to fact that residents want to retain local control of their schools, which provide a sense of community identity. “It’s a goal that people think is important, but in the end it’s been very difficult to achieve because local people want to have local control of their schools,” said Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan, the chair of the Education committee. “I’m sure the governor will try to strike that balance, I’m sure the Legislature will try to strike that balance, and I’m sure people will be vocal about their community schools.” What is clear is that a number of school districts across the state are facing declining enrollment. In his letter to the state Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch and outgoing state Education Commissioner John King, Cuomo’s State Operations Director Jim Malatras notes that many districts are enrolling fewer students and asks how the state can restructure the public education system through mergers, consolidation and regionalization. State Senate Education Chair John Flanagan acknowledged that local communities often oppose consolidations, but added that dwindling student numbers must be addressed in some way. “There are a lot of challenges in that effort, a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of heartache that goes with it. The whole process of consolidation is cumbersome,” Flanagan said. “When you have enrollment that is declining—and in a lot of areas we do—that’s a cold, hard reality we need to address.” The state already offers significant incentives in the form of school aid to districts that agree to merge. Schools can receive a 40 percent increase in state aid for the first five years that a newly-merged district is in operation and the extra aid slowly decreases each year afterwards for nine more years. Despite the prospect of additional school aid, most mergers ultimately fail due to other concerns, such as residents fearing a loss of control or even a sense of community. “If the governor or any of the advocates for mergers want to place this on a financial equation they’re not going to be persuasive,” Timothy Kremer, New York State School Boards executive director, said. “If you looked at the costbenefit analysis it might all make sense on paper for them to merge with another district, but put to a vote, those local communities mostly vote them down and it [is] usually an emotional sort of thing

where you don’t want to lose your identity.” There are several steps districts must take to consolidate. First, residents in each district must approve the potential merger in a straw vote. Then the merger would go to a final vote, and it must garner a majority in each individual district. If it fails to pass in only one of the districts, the merger cannot go forward. Advocates for mergers have proposed eliminating the straw vote requirement and simply having one official vote for residents and changing the law so the collective majority of all districts involved in the merger would determine the outcome, instead of a majority in each district. “That is absolutely going to be a critical part of the discussion,” Flanagan said. “How that vote is structured is monumentally important. If you’re a higher performing school district the reality is you’re not going to want to join up with a lower performing school.” As an alternative to school district consolidation, Flanagan raised other possibilities that will be discussed this year, such as expanding the existing BOCES model, establishing regional high schools and offering more distance learning. Since school district mergers so often fail, the governor could also propose mandatory consolidation of school districts whose enrollment is under a certain number. “I’ve got to believe there would be a huge, huge political pushback, community pushback against forced mergers. People would hate that idea,” Kremer said. Flanagan said he could see the idea being on the table this year, but added that he did not expect it to pass. Of course, Cuomo may not shy away from such a controversial education proposal, given his track record during his first term. The governor has had a contentious relationship with the state’s teachers union and has gone as far calling the public school system a “public monopoly” and has criticized the amount of funding that is spend on public education. “He is, I think, frustrated by the amount of money we spend on public education and what he deems to be mediocre results and I think he’s banking on the fact that people statewide share that point of view. I don’t believe they do,” Kremer said. “When you’re talking about charter schools, mergers, talking about taking on the teachers’ unions and things like that … he’s rolling the dice a bit.”

COMMON SENSE POLICIES FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS By James Merriman CEO, New York City Charter School Center

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” That bit of wisdom, a paraphrase of Einstein, is a good rule of thumb in the charter school debates. The shrillest voices tell us charter public schools are the educational equivalent of silver bullets—or leeches. That’s both too simple and untrue. They are neither. Fortunately, New York has rejected such reductionism in creating its public charter school eco-system. While some states ban charter schools, and others let just about anybody open one, our state has created new choices while keeping a close eye on equity, quality, and integrity. It’s careful work that takes constant monitoring. It’s also a work in progress. Our schools are still expanding their work with special-needs students. Our authorizers are still refining their charter renewal standards which we need to make sure are strong enough. Our oversight laws are still evolving, with 35 schools under audit, for the first time, by the New York City Comptroller. But two truths are self-evident. First, enrolling at a public charter school because a parent believes that it is a better choice for her child doesn’t make that child less deserving of public support. That’s why lawmakers should ensure that charter schools receive parity in funding with traditional district schools, including fair funding for facilities. Second, high-quality public schools should not be prevented from opening. That’s why lawmakers should finally eliminate the arbitrary charter school cap, which has no effect on school quality but treats some of our most promising public schools like a virus to be contained. That’s wrong at best and offensive at worst to the hard working teachers and leaders who chose their commitment to public education on the charter side of the fence. Why should any public school have to cut teacher salaries to pay the rent? Why should we set the size of the charter school sector without regard to quality? The teachers unions will answer by changing the subject in a dozen different ways given that the merits aren’t something they want to argue. I can only reply with the timeless poetry of Avril Lavigne: “Why you gotta go and make things so complicated?” Charter school policy, like education policy in general, can be complicated. Sometimes though, it is just plain common sense.

Visit NYCCharterSchools.org cit yandstateny.com

It’s about fair funding It’s about fair funding of public schools, Governor. of public schools, Governor. EDITORIAL / LETTERS MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015

EDITORIAL / LETTERS MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2015

In a Jan. 5 editorial, The New York Times In a Jan. 5 editorial, The Yorkhelp Times called on the governor to New face and fix called onproblem the governor to face andpublic help fix the real with New York’s the real problem withfunding. New York’s public schools: inadequate schools: inadequate funding. “Governor Cuomo’s forthcoming State of the “Governor Cuomo’s forthcoming State of the State address is expected to focus on what State expected to focus on what can beaddress done toisimprove public education,” can be done to improve the Times Board wrote. public education,” the Times Board wrote.

“If he is serious about the issue, he’ll have he is serious about theconcerns issue, he’ll to “If move beyond peripheral andhave to move score-settling beyond peripheral concerns and political .... and go to the heart political score-settling .... and go to the heart of the matter.” of the matter.” “...that the state had not met its “...that the state had not met its constitutional responsibility to ensure constitutional responsibility adequate school funding...” to ensure adequate school funding...”

It’s time to move beyond politics, Gov. Cuomo. It’s time to beyond Cuomo. Support ourmove future. Fairlypolitics, fund ourGov. public schools. Support our future. Fairly fund our public schools. For more info and to take action, go to mac.nysut.org For more info and to take action, go to mac.nysut.org Karen E. Magee, President Andrew Executive Vice President Karen E.Pallotta, Magee, President Catalina Pallotta, R. Fortino, Vice President Andrew Executive Vice President Paul Pecorale, Vice President Catalina R. Fortino, Vice President Martin Messner, Secretary-Treasurer Paul Pecorale, Vice President

www.nysut.org www.nysut.org Representing more than 600,000 professionals in education, human services and health care Martin Messner, Secretary-Treasurer Representing more thanRoad, 600,000 professionals in education, human services and health care 800 Troy-Schenectady Latham, NY 12110-2455 n 518-213-6000 / 800-342-9810 www.nysut.org n Affiliated with AFTn/ NEA / AFL-CIO / 800-342-9810 800 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, NY 12110-2455 518-213-6000 www.nysut.org n Affiliated with AFT / NEA / AFL-CIO

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

EDUCATION ISSUES * CHARTER SCHOOLS: Increasing the charter schools cap in New York City will likely be debated this year. When referring to the public education system being a “public monopoly,” Cuomo said he would like to bust the monopoly by using charter schools.

* TEACHER EVALUATIONS: Cuomo in December vetoed his own teacher evaluation bill he negotiated in 2014 that would have temporarily removed the Common Core-based student test scores from the evaluation scores of teachers who rated poorly. Cuomo has indicated that he will pursue aggressive reforms to the teacher evaluation system instead.

* COMMON CORE: English Language learners and special-needs students still are struggling with the new Common Core standards and related state tests. The Common Core-related state tests released in August found only 11 percent of ELL students passed math and 3 percent passed the English Language Arts tests. Only 9 percent of special-needs students passed the math test and 5 percent passed the ELA test.

* SCHOOL FUNDING: Lawmakers and advocates have said they will continue to push for the elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment, a move that would further boost school funding, and fight for fair and equitable school funding for all students.

INFRASTRUCTURE

INTELLIGENT DESIGNS WILL NEW YORK RENEW ITS DESIGN-BUILD LEGISLATION IN 2015? By ASHLEY HUPFL

city & state — January 20, 2015

ew York’s design-build law has been heralded as a costcutting and time-saving tool to help spur road and bridge projects across the state over the past few years. But state lawmakers failed to renew the design-build legislation during the 2014 legislative session and the law expired at the end of December, leaving its fate uncertain going into 2015. Before the design-build law was enacted, the design and construction of projects had to be bid out separately by the state Department of Transportation. When the designbuild law was passed in late 2011, it allowed a contractor to submit a single bid for both the design and construction of projects, which

proponents argue cuts costs, saves times and spurs innovation. The 2011 law also authorized several other state agencies to use designbuild, including the New York State Thruway Authority, which used the project delivery method on the Tappan Zee Bridge. Officials told City & State that the project has seen an estimated $1.5 billion in savings thanks to the design-build law. “In addition to bringing innovation and creativity to the projects and to the industry, it’s held both the department and the industry more accountable,” state Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald told City & State in September. “When you use best value, which is how you look at a designbuild project, it’s not just low bid.

It’s price, plus schedule, innovative means and methods, and now what I’m hearing from the contractors is they are looking at how they put their bids and proposals in in a much more thoughtful way.” Now, as supporters gear up to renew the legislation in 2015, there is a major holdup: a provision that would require all major design-build projects rely on project labor agreements. Project labor agreements generally results in contractors using union labor. Andrew Cuomo’s 2014-15 executive budget would have made the designbuild law permanent and also extended design-build to local governments for projects over $50,000. However, in his 30-day amendment, the governor dropped the permanent extension and

limited design-build to a three-year extension. The governor also included language mandating that project labor agreements be used on all design build projects worth more than $10 million. Mike Elemendorf, the president and CEO of the state chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America, is a staunch supporter of design-build legislation, but he said that he is opposed the governor’s push to require project labor agreements. He argued that such agreements make it nearly impossible for non-union contractors to bid on projects and undermines collective bargaining, among other issues, for union contractors. “I fully expect that the governor will be talking about design-build

cit yandstateny.com

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

next Wednesday when he unveils his agenda and that there will be a designbuild proposal and we look forward to that,” Elmendorf said. “We hope it takes into account the very, very strong opposition that came from virtually every segment to the [project labor agreement] language that came late in the process last year.” Legislators in the state Senate have said they want to spend the state’s $5 billion windfall from bank settlements on the state’s infrastructure and transportation systems. Since proponents argue design-build saves money on construction projects, renewing design-build could allow the state to spread the wealth and fund more projects. “As Senate Transportation Chair, I would certainly like to us consider any legislation that will save taxpayer dollars and increase the state’s competitiveness, including designbuild,” state Sen. Joseph Robach said in an email. “The important thing is that we continue to have dialogue about this process and other ways we can improve our state’s aging infrastructure, while creating jobs for the hard working men and women of New York.”

New York’s design-build law expired at the end of December and now industry leaders seek to permanently renew the legislation.

INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES

* MTA FUNDING GAP: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has a $15 billion gap in its five-year capital plan, and it is unclear how it will be closed. One possibility is using some of the funds from the bank settlements, but the transit system could also resort to higher tolls and fares.

cit yandstateny.com

* TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE: Cuomo successfully launched a project to build a replacement Tappan Zee Bridge after it had been stalled for years. But some observers are worried about how the state will pay for the $3.9 billion project and how high tolls on the Thruway Authority might go up to help fund it, and the state has yet to fully explain where the money will come from.

city & state — January 20, 2015

* BANK SETTLEMENTS: State lawmakers, budget experts and editorial boards have called for investing the $5.1 billion state windfall from bank settlements on fixing the state’s crumbling infrastructure. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that he would be open to using some of the funds on state infrastructure projects.

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

LABOR

JUST COMPENSATION?

SCRUTINIZING THE NEW YORK’S WORKERS’ COMPENSATION SYSTEM By JON LENTZ

city & state — January 20, 2015

protected from expensive lawsuits. In 2012, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that workers’ compensation premium rates had fallen for the first time in four years, dropping by 1.2 percent. However, business groups have focused on how much claims have risen, noting that New York’s rates are far higher than in many other states. A 2012 study from the Public Policy Institute of New York State, an affiliate of the Business Council, found that the 18.8 percent assessment on premiums was nearly five times the average imposed in other states. The study’s author write that the 2007 reforms were intended to balance increased benefits to injured workers with policy and administrative reforms that provide premium reductions for employers. “However, concerns have been raised by the business community that this legislation has been too slowly implemented and that the measures

intended to result in tangible cost savings to employers, estimated at over 10 percent at the time of the reform, have not been realized,” the author concludes. “In fact, the only postreform years to show any cost savings to employers have been those in which the loss cost rate was established in spite of actuarial findings.” Others have complained of bureaucratic delays, longer wait times for injured workers to get access to treatment and stagnant or reduced reimbursements and a growing amount of paperwork for doctors, which is prompting some of them to leave the system. “So I’m going to take a look at that, because the workers comp system is supposed to be about doing two things: one, if workers give up their right to sue, and in exchange they should entitled to have access to treatment quickly so they can recover and get back to work,” Savino said. “That’s what

workers comp is supposed to be about.” Of course, Savino has yet to be assigned to chair the Labor Committee again this year, and it’s an open question whether she’ll keep the role—and whether she’ll be able to spearhead the legislation in the Senate—now that the Republicans have an absolute majority. For the past two years Republicans shared power with the Independent Democratic Conference, of which Savino is a member. Assuming she does stay on, the lawmaker said she would hold hearings and explore the issue before introducing legislation. “In 2007 … there were a whole bunch of stakeholders that had an investment in the reform, so those are the people that I’m going to want to hear from now,” she said. “That was then, this is now. Has it worked? If it didn’t, what doesn’t work, what did work, and let’s see what we can do moving forward.”

JUDY SANDERS/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

n early 2007, New York officials announced a deal to overhaul of the state’s costly workers’ compensation system. Gov. Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders touted a groundbreaking compromise with business and labor groups to improve the laws, saying the new reforms would reduce premiums for employers and increase maximum payments to injured workers. “We are delivering on our promise to reform workers’ compensation in ways that both reduce costs to employers and increase benefits,” Spitzer said later that year. “This reform is an essential part of reviving the state’s economy and encouraging businesses to create more jobs here.” But over the years, complaints and concerns about workers’ compensation in New York have continued—and this year lawmakers are poised to take another look. State Sen. Diane Savino, who has served as chair of the Senate Labor Committee in recent years, and Assemblyman Carl Heastie, who chairs the Assembly Labor Committee, both said that exploring the issue would be a top priority in 2015. “One of the things that we’re definitely going to be looking at on the Labor Committee this year is workers’ compensation,” Savino told City & State several weeks ago. “In 2007, the state adopted what is called the workers’ comp reform package that was supposed to accomplish a few things: reduce premiums for employers, improve access to treatment for workers, etc. Depending on who you’re talking to, it has not lived up to its stated goals.” Workers’ compensation takes away the right of workers to sue when they are injured, but the tradeoff is that they are then guaranteed swift access to healthcare—or, in some cases, payments to cover lost wages—in order to help them quickly return to their jobs. Employers, which are required to have workers compensation insurance, are then

cit yandstateny.com

YOUR LINK TO RECOVERY SERVICES!

The founders of Local Link Marketing LLC have over 30 years combined experience in addiction treatment, marketing of premier rehabilitation services, and early-intervention training for leadership.

OUR TEAM PROVIDES: Early Intervention Training Interventions Treatment Options Continued Care Assessment and Insurance Verification/Precertification

Substance and Alcohol Abuse Testing and Treatment for Employees, Union Members, and their families. If you care about a person, Local Link is the contact to make. MKLocalLink.com

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

* UNEMPLOYMENT: Assemblyman Carl Heastie said he would be focusing on unemployment and underemployment, which continue to plague pockets of New York even as the overall unemployment rate gradually declines.

* MINIMUM WAGE: The state is already implementing an increase to its minimum wage, which will rise to $9 an hour at the end of the year. Some lawmakers have called for a further increase, while a proposal to allow municipalities to raise it up to an additional 30 percent above the state level—a key issue in places like New York City with a higher cost of living.

ORGANIZED LABOR ISSUES

I love to care for people! Caring about people is what I do. It’s in my blood. For several

of our clients family * WAGE THEFT PROTECTION ACT: State Sen. Diane Savino said she would monitor the effectiveness of the 2011 law, which required employers to provide written notice to their workers of their rate of pay and other key information. Some business groups have called the legislation burdensome, and a deal was struck to drop the written notification in exchange for tougher penalties for underpaying workers.

is rare, and if they need a little extra care, someone with compassion has to do it. Why not me? I treat them as if they’re one of my family members. At the end of the day, we all know that we’re trying to reach one goal – and that’s if we can get someone functioning

Meet Maria

more independently, outside in the community. Then

city & state — January 20, 2015

we did our job! * SCAFFOLD LAW: A perennial issue in Albany is the controversial law governing settlement payments for workers hurt on the job. Supporters say the legislation is necessary to protect workers and incentivize employers to ensure safe working environments, while critics say it needlessly drives up costs.

On the line every day. People working together to make a better New York for all. LOCAL 1000 AFSCME, AFL-CIO DA N N Y D O N O H U E , P R E S I D E N T

9112_Maria 7.458x10 Clr_CS.indd 1

SMART | DYNAMIC | CARING | DEDICATED cit yandstateny.com

1/14/15 2:49 PM

BRIDGING THE DIVIDE WHAT’S IN STORE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM? By WILDER FLEMING Lentol, a Brooklyn Democrat who chairs the Codes Committee. “And so I think we’re going to wait to see what the governor suggests, although we’re not duplicative of the things that he’s going to suggest.” Still, Lentol is eyeing some reforms that he says would go a long way toward mending the public’s distrust of the police, and which he hopes to see action on this session. One is a measure that would make it mandatory to videotape interrogations of suspects in custody. “In the 21st century it is hard to believe that confessions are not taped, even though it is a requirement in many other jurisdictions other than New York,” Lentol said. “It would add a lot to the climate of what goes on when somebody is arrested, to determine whether or not there is a false confession that may lead to a wrongful conviction.” Lentol also wants to reform police lineups. Currently, the officer who conducts a lineup is permitted to know the identity of the suspect, which critics say can lead to a manipulation of the outcome. In contrast, Lentol

would like to see the implementation of a double-blind standard—where the organizing officer has no idea who the real suspect is. Finally, Lentol would like to address the court’s process of discovery. As it now stands, prosecutors are not required to show their evidence to the defense until the eve of the trial—a rule critics say tips the scales in their favor because it prohibits lawyers from preparing an accurate defense beforehand. Lentol would like to see New York adopt an open-file policy, as other states have, which requires evidence be exchanged between the prosecution and the defense far in advance of a trial. But, he says, the District Attorneys Association is opposed to most if not all of these measures: “They would rather change their practices to good practices than have legislation forcing them to do one thing or another,” he said. “Unfortunately the Republicans in the Senate have always agreed with them.” One thing Lentol and Senate Republicans seem to agree on is that a special prosecutor is not needed when trying police officers accused of committing

CASINOS? CHECK. HORSE RACING? AT THE GATE.

he state Legislature has already done the heavy lifting on gambling in recent years, paving the way for three—or, once again, perhaps four—full-fledged commercial casinos in upstate New York. The remaining business that is now before the state’s legislative committees on racing and wagering is less glitzy, but there is one major issue that it could confront this year: what to do with the New York Racing Association. The nonprofit entity, which runs the state’s three biggest horse racing operations at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga, has been widely criticized as

cit yandstateny.com

crimes, at least not in most cases. “The authority already exists in the law for someone to appeal to the governor, and it’s been done before,” Lentol said. “But you can’t do it in every case because otherwise, what would you need to have district attorneys for?” For their part, Senate Republicans will hold a series of public hearings, which, in the words of Senate Codes Committee Chair Michael Nozzolio, will aim to “strengthen our criminal justice laws to protect our citizens and police officers.” Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, in a previous interview with City & State, said that he did not see the need for any changes to the grand jury process. He said that he is not categorically opposed to grand jury reform, but stressed extreme caution. “I’ve met with [Manhattan District Attorney] Cy Vance and others, and we’re going to have a discussion about potential reform,” Skelos said. “We’ll work with them. I’m not saying no to reform. What I’m saying is we have to move cautiously when we look at changing the grand jury system.”

CASINO

By JON LENTZ dysfunctional and poorly run. Following a ticket payout scandal in 2012, Gov. Andrew Cuomo created a temporary state reorganization board to reform it. The public oversight board’s threeyear task of reorganizing NYRA comes to a close this year, and state officials will have to determine what to do next with the organization. Last month NYRA projected it would have an operating surplus, something it had not achieved in over a decade, citing successful efforts to cut costs and increase revenues, but also bolstered by expanding revenue from the slot-machine casino at Aqueduct. “They’ve been talking about

privatizing,” said Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, the chair of the Racing and Wagering Committee. “I’m totally opposed to the privatization of NYRA, but it depends on what privatization is. If it’s similar to what it was prior to this board taking over, that would be fine. But if it’s selling the franchise to, say, Twin Spires or Churchill Downs, I’d be opposed to that.” Cuomo took the lead in reorganizing NYRA, but he had to partner with lawmakers to create the oversight board. Any further steps would also require the input of the Legislature. “Right now the state does own the

land,” Pretlow said. “We were actually in control of the board of directors of NYRA, and we can make any changes that we want legislatively.” State Sen. John Bonacic, Pretlow’s counterpart in the Senate, said he expects further reforms at NYRA and added that he would be monitoring developments. He declined to go into specifics. “The current NYRA board will be presenting official recommendations on the future governing structure of NYRA,” Bonacic said. “We will review these recommendations and decide how to proceed from there.”

city & state — January 20, 2015

ome of the biggest stories of 2014—the death of Eric Garner at the hands of a New York City police officer, the failure to indict that officer and the subsequent assassination of two cops in Brooklyn—have fueled calls to reform the state’s criminal justice system. But while there is clamor for change, the essence of the problems and what to do about them varies depending on who you ask—a divide reflected in the striking breach between City Hall and the NYPD’s rank-and-file. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to address both the problems that led to a grand jury’s failure to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Garner, and the need for greater police protections following the slaying of officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The governor has suggested he would look at police training, improving security for law enforcement and changes to the grand jury system, including the role of district attorneys. Cuomo will likely rollout his plans at the State of the State address on Jan. 21. “There are a lot of balls in the air right now,” said Assemblyman Joseph

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

PERSPEC TIVES

ANDREW CUOMO’S PINK GHETTO

city & state — January 20, 2015

n the last election, Gov. Andrew Cuomo became the poster child for feminism. Rallying women to his newfound cause, the governor created the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) in “answer to the assaults on the basic rights of women and our lack of progress,” as per the website. No, he didn’t include any women in the decision-making process. Nor did he consult any experts on the complex history of the women’s rights movement. But he got into a pink bus and listened to a lot of Destiny’s Child. Beyoncé could be heard banging her head against a wall. When the WEP burst into existence many speculated that the governor’s true motive was to undermine the Working Families Party. But the policy gains of the feminist agenda itself sustained far greater damage. Sexism, like racism, is a relational issue. Women are not the primary cause of their own discrimination, although the “fix the woman” model is a popular solution to structural inequality. Avivah Wittenberg-Cox is the CEO of 20-first, a consultancy that works with companies to achieve gender balance. “The 20th century was all about women waking each other up, but the 21st century is about men, companies, and political organizations recognizing the consequences of this revolution,” she says. She’s a

Gov. Andrew Cuomo next to the Women’s Equality Express bus during a campaign stop in Queens in October.

partnership which understands that gender equity is a competitive advantage for companies. Over 60 companies have pledged to hand over employee data to the compact for an independent gender audit. Imagine if the governor channeled his tremendous clout to make gender audits a condition of any state contract, making wages, promotions and related policies transparent? Instead of just blaming the state Legislature, Cuomo could secure commitments from his corporate donors to implement robust paid parental leave policies, on-site childcare and flexible work schedules. Top Cuomo donors like Verizon, Cablevision and AT&T offer as little as zero to six weeks paid leave for new mothers, while enjoying big tax breaks and legislative benefits. The governor’s top real estate donors wouldn’t even return calls requesting information on leave policies. Incidentally, the same donors overwhelmingly backed a GOP state Senate, which only supports

nine out of 10 planks of the Women’s Equality Act. But rather than offer actionable solutions, the governor repeats an oversimplified and imprecise slogan that women only earn 77 cents to a man’s dollar. Gender policy doesn’t fit easily onto a bumper sticker. The research is extensive and the data can appear conflicting. It requires a serious and sophisticated understanding to effectively advance an agenda. At this point, the very least the governor can do for women is nothing at all: let the WEP die.

Alexis Grenell (@agrenell on Twitter) is a Democratic communications strategist based in New York. She handles nonprofit and political clients.

cit yandstateny.com

CUOMO 2014

ALEXIS GRENELL

proponent of gender mainstreaming or the normalization of equality through systematic reform. The approach conceives of men as major stakeholders in social advancement, rather than bystanders in support of “women’s issues.” Yet, men were few and far between at events for the WEP. Targeted mail went exclusively to women. I personally received an avalanche of pink postcards, while the male voter at my address got flyers touting the governor’s record on tech, infrastructure and jobs. After the election, the governor’s campaign told Capital New York that the party’s next step was to more actively engage female voters, even though women are already 54 percent of the electorate. Essentially the WEP problematizes women, which undermines the reality of gender inequality and excludes men from the solution. To make matters worse, the campaign’s stated vision for a women’s party is to “advocate for initiatives, programs and legislation that advances their cause.” The possessive noun— their—creates a pink ghetto. “If you marginalize us into a separate party then it’s just our problem, not everybody’s issue,” explains state Sen. Liz Krueger. But the WEP is more than just condescending; it’s counterproductive. “Anything that bundles everything about women into a single bucket is not going to be effective,” says Wittenberg-Cox. Take economic issues. In New York State, women’s workforce participation is just 56 percent. But increasing participation isn’t just about advancing women. For Cathy Minehan, chair of the Boston Women’s Workforce Council, it’s all about the bottom line: “There’s a gap between the skills that businesses need for the future and the existing labor force.” That’s why Minehan started 100% Talent: The Boston Women’s Compact, a public-private

TOM ABINANTI

heard the all-too-familiar story again the other day. The police responded to a call by an inexperienced day care worker for assistance in calming a non-verbal 20-something-year-old man with a developmental disability who had become agitated over some petty annoyance. The police didn’t know what to do, either. After their firm commands went unanswered by the fearful and confused young man, the

police wrestled him to the ground and kept him handcuffed there until his mother and social worker arrived. The officers ignored his mother’s suggestions. Fortunately, they accepted the social worker’s urging to take the young man to the hospital. The doctor in the emergency room recognized the young man’s disability and sent him home. Thankfully, it ended without tragedy—but sometimes, it doesn’t. Incidents like this and other highprofile incidents illustrate the need to reform the criminal justice system from beginning to end. Improving the system is a challenge, however. We are in a time of extreme political divisiveness where reasoned discourse about anything seems impossible—criminal justice reform included. Some prefer to instead speak only about better protecting police officers. Yes, we need to better protect those who protect us and that discussion is equally important, but separate. The need for criminal justice reform must not be overshadowed by the need to better protect our police. Criminal justice reform issues are not new, but the urgency is. Today, we more frequently seek

police intervention for quality of life infractions and non-criminal disturbances. We need action. First, we need more appropriate responses. We need police officers who are better trained—in assessing the real nature of the situation into which they are thrust, in recognizing signs of developmental disabilities or mental illness and in employing de-escalation techniques. We need police continuously trained—at the academy, at roll call, in pre-arranged face-to face encounters with people with such infirmities. We need crisis teams composed of highly trained law enforcement and mental health specialists. The tight local budgets of recent years have virtually eliminated these valuable response teams. Second, we need a new system of independent review of law enforcement action when something does go wrong. We, both the public and police, need to feel that each and every investigation—and any subsequent action—is fair. We need a new unit in the state Attorney General’s office to review all instances of alleged misconduct by law enforcement, whether on or off duty, so we can be sure of uniform application of New York law that is free of local bias for

or against police. The current system always places local district attorneys in the untenable conflict of having to judge the conduct of the very police officers they rely on daily to prosecute their ongoing cases. Third, we need an improved grand jury system. Critics rightfully complain that the grand jury system has failed in its intended purpose of checking the unlimited power of local district attorneys. We need to restrict the use of grand juries to certain types of cases, grant more control to the courts and require disclosure of some basic details, such as the specific charge and legal instructions provided to a grand jury. Everyone needs a fair criminal justice system—the public, the overwhelming majority of police who do their jobs well and our democracy.

PERSPEC TIVES

A FAIR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Assemblyman Tom Abinanti represents the 92nd Assembly District, which consists of the towns of Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant in Westchester Couny.

ENDING WITH A GOOD START?

NICOLE GELINAS

ayor Bill de Blasio dubbed his first business initiative of 2015 a major tax reform to bring more jobs to New York City. Much of the fix is good. But it should be the first step, not the last. The problem is that real tax reform involves tax cuts, or, at least, fixes to the city’s spending so that tax rates can stay the same. But de Blasio’s earlier budget decisions make these goals harder to achieve. The biggest part of de Blasio’s fix was to cut through red tape. (Albany is likely to approve the measures; Gov. cit yandstateny.com

Andrew Cuomo signed into law similar changes for state taxes last year.) The city and state codes will now agree on “the most important areas of tax computation,” according to the city. That change will save small businesses having to pay someone to do their taxes twice. Another good feature is a tax cut for manufacturers and small business. Companies that make stuff will no longer pay the city’s 8.85 percent business income tax. Manufacturers with less than $10 million in income will pay 4.425 percent. Other small businesses—companies with less than $1 million in income—will pay 6.5 percent. In theory, it’s bad practice to use the tax code to favor certain businesses over others. But in practice, manufacturers and small businesses struggle against far larger firms in more lucrative industries to find affordable real estate and to pay New York salaries. It’s worth giving them a break, especially if it keeps some middle class jobs. Moreover, manufacturing is not as negligible as people might think. Manufacturing firms comprise 3.1 percent of city business taxpayers, according to the latest figures, but pay 8.6 percent of business income taxes. That’s nowhere near the 22.1 percent

of business taxes that the financial industry pays. But it’s higher than what construction firms pay—7.6 percent. Another change should encourage bigger companies to create jobs in New York. The city will now determine a corporation’s tax based on where the company’s customers and sales are, not where the company’s operations are. It’s kind of like how states have forced Amazon to pay sales tax on behalf of its customers to level the playing field— but this time, it’s a business tax. This move will increase taxes on larger firms, by curtailing their ability to use tax havens such as Delaware. It’s in line with what Western governments around the world are trying to do to close ridiculous tax loopholes. Companies are hardly going to give up access to some of the richest consumers on the planet— New Yorkers—to preserve this tax avoidance. The problem is just how modest these changes are. The city’s business income tax for bigger companies is still 8.85 percent—insanely high, considering that most cities don’t levy any business income tax. As E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center wrote last fall, the city tax rate “effectively doubl[e]s the total corporate [state] tax for businesses in

the state’s economic heart.” Plus, business-income and banking taxes only comprise 8.1 percent of the city’s $49.4 billion in annual tax revenue. Most city revenues come from property levies, personal income taxes and sales tax. Our state and local personal income tax rates as well as our sales tax rate are still close to the top of the charts. It would be good—and progressive—for the mayor to cut sales taxes, in particular, which would help poorer consumers and smaller retailers. It would be good, too, to cut taxes for market-rate apartment owners (and ensure savings are passed through to tenants). An income tax cut, too, would help entrepreneurs who compete with Wall Street for office space as well as housing. But de Blasio can’t do big tax reform—because of his spending. So a good start may be the end.

Nicole Gelinas (@nicolegelinas) is a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal.

city & state — January 20, 2015

SETTING A PRECEDENT

C&S: I did not know that. JK: Yes. But I also withdrew my name from that.

The following is an edited transcript.

City & State: What is your favorite memory of former Gov. Mario Cuomo? Judith Kaye: It’s when I got the call telling me that I was his choice to be the first woman judge of the high court of the State of New York, which was not everybody’s expectation. And it was a bold, gutsy choice, I must say. So, beyond that, I was on the court for 25 years, and I can’t pick a single memory because we had many wonderful meetings and lunches and times together. He was just a totally unique, remarkable, outstanding human being.

city & state — January 20, 2015

progressive society and a progressing society. He would have been a terrific Unites States Supreme Court Justice. And did you hear that when he withdrew, he told them to call me? Did you hear that?

appointed Judith Kaye to the New York State Court of Appeals, making her the first woman to serve on the state’s highest court. A decade later she was elevated to chief judge, a role in which she implemented groundbreaking court reforms and weighed in on issues like same-sex marriage and the death penalty. Two weeks after Mario Cuomo’s death at the age of 82, City & State Senior Correspondent Jon Lentz spoke with Kaye about her historic appointment, Mario Cuomo’s legal background and how both Cuomo and Kaye had a shot at the U.S. Supreme Court—and how both shot it down.

C&S: When he appointed you, you became the first woman to serve on the state’s highest court. What did that mean to you? JK: Well, it was just a historic moment in time. The court was then about 140 years old, and there had never been a woman on the court. Mario pledged that he would try to put one on. One thing I will say about him is that it’s very significant that he served as a clerk at the Court of Appeals. He was

A Q&A WITH

JUDITH KAYE law clerk to Judge Adrian Burke upon his graduation from law school, and he was there for two years. Fabian Palomino was his co-clerk. And when you spend two years at the Court of Appeals, you really get a sense of the place, especially if you love the law and the justice system, as he did. And he was a great scholar of the legal system, a great practical observer of the legal system. With those two years he watched how the Court of Appeals did its business. He could see what strengths were required for a judge of the Court of Appeals. He had a unique vision of the Court of Appeals, and he loved the Court of Appeals. So I think that helped me enormously, if you consider that I traveled an irregular route. By that I mean that I didn’t come up through trial court, intermediate appellate court. What was unique

about me was not only my gender, it was also the fact that I came directly from 21 years of private practice in law firms in the City of New York. So it took guts for Mario to do what he did. What could come close to being named a judge of the Court of Appeals? Wow! I don’t know that others would have done what he did back then anyway, back in the year 1983. It was a very, very bold act. C&S: Obviously, he was nearly a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court himself. JK: Yes, you’ve heard the back and forth about that and I have too. I think he would have been a great justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was so thoughtful about the law and our system, and how it works to serve society, and works to serve a

C&S: Why? JK: Why did I withdraw my name? Because I had just become chief judge of the State of New York. It would have been the year 1993, and I, first of all, loved the position to which I had just been appointed. Second of all, I thought it would be a chaotic and terrible thing for the Court. We had just endured the arrest of our chief judge and the chaos that followed, and I did not think that putting my interest ahead of the Court, of being the chief judge, was the right thing to do. But Mario has boasted about that. And in fact it was Bernie Nussbaum who was the general counsel to President Clinton. And he called me when I withdrew my name, and he said, “What is it with you people in New York?” He said, “It must be the water!” I remember that line. But anyway, Mario—oh goodness— he was such a distinctive thinker and leader. So I can’t think of a match that fills the model of Mario. And you can understand why in my life he held such a very special place.

To read the full interview, including Kaye’s thoughts on Cuomo’s farreaching impact on the Court of Appeals, go to cityandstateny.com.

cit yandstateny.com

COURTESY OF JUDITH KAYE

n 1983, Gov. Mario Cuomo

JE SUIS CHARLIE

This cover is a tribute to those killed in the terrorist attacks in Paris, honoring the lives of the artists at the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo all other journalists and performers who hold free speech and expression dear. City & State Art Director Guillaume Federighi, who spent much of his life in France, designed the cover drawing inspiration from the unique style of Charlie Hebdo and the iconic Statue of Libertyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a gift from France. CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

January 16, 2014

Some politicians in City Hall and Albany are at it again – making “affordable housing” all about politics. Rather than offer real solutions, they roll out tired plans that are unrealistic and counter-productive. Rent freezes, stricter regulations, exorbitant real estate taxes and other misguided policies and laws are bad for tenants, neighborhoods and affordable housing. Those old approaches haven’t worked for the last 70 years and they won’t work now. Burdensome rent regulations and policies make it impossible for landlords to provide affordable housing. They prevent landlords from improving and preserving the aging housing stock – the bulk of affordable housing – that tenants and neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan depend on. When landlords can’t make repairs and improvements to the apartments in their buildings, local companies that landlords hire, have less work. That translates into fewer jobs, which hurts families and affordable housing in our Brooklyn neighborhoods. Now, some politicians in City Hall and Albany want to create even more rent regulations. Let’s stop playing politics with our affordable housing.

It’s time for new solutions to an old problem.

RSANYC.org