City & State Magazine, September 17, 2014 by City & State

September 15, 2014

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CONTENT S

CONTENTS

6........

8........

STATE

The Fallout From Primary Night By Nick Powell and Michael Gareth Johnson

CITY

Its Rules Have Changed; has the Council? By Seth Barron

10....... Cablevision Accused of Rigging Union Vote By Nick Powell

....

12.......

BUFFALO

Can New York Resist Elon Musk? By Jim Heaney

14.......

COVER STORY

18.......

BIDDING WAR: A Look at New York’s 16 Proposed Casinos

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Campaign to Win Western New York By Chris Thompson By Wilder Fleming

28...... AGENCY PROFILES 30...... New York City Department of Environmental Protection 36...... New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation 42......

SPECIAL GRADUATE SCHOOL SUPPLEMENT

48...... What Role Will Utilities Play in the State’s Energy Overhaul? By Jon Lentz

54...... Education Leaders Urge Patience on Pre-K By Geoff Decker

58......

Dispelling the Baby Boomers Myth By Ashley Hupfl

59......

ROAD TO SOMOS

60...... The Charms of SOMOS By Rubén Díaz Jr.

61....... SOMOS Goals Are Action-Oriented 62......

By Félix Ortiz

Tell Our Story

A Q & A with Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla

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EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Morgan Pehme mpehme@cityandstateny.com Managing Editor Michael Johnson mjohnson@cityandstateny.com Albany Bureau Chief Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com City Hall Bureau Chief Nick Powell npowell@cityandstateny.com Albany Reporter Ashley Hupfl ahupfl@cityandstateny.com Buffalo Reporter Chris Thompson cthompson@cityandstateny.com Policy Reporter Wilder Fleming wfleming@cityandstateny.com Associate Editor Helen Eisenbach Columnists Alexis Grenell, Bruce Gyory, Nicole Gelinas, Michael Benjamin, Seth Barron, Jeff Smith, Jim Heaney, Gerson Borrero, Susan Arbetter PRODUCTION Art Director Guillaume Federighi gfederighi@cityandstateny.com Graphic Designer Michelle Yang myang@cityandstateny.com

September 15, 2014

Marketing Graphic Designer Charles Flores, cflores@cityandstateny.com

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city & state — September 15, 2014

September 15, 2014

WHAT DEMOCRACY SHOULD LOOK LIKE

city & state — September 15, 2014

little over a week ago, I was riding in a cab with my colleague Gerson Borrero, discussing politics, when the taxi driver politely interjected himself into our conversation to offer a nuanced analysis of the government’s economic policies and how they were adversely affecting the lot of retired By Morgan Pehme people. Editor-in-Chief Gerson and I had had a similar experience the night before while waiting to be seated for dinner. The bartender, overhearing us mention the Legislature, served up a thoughtful appraisal of the virtues of a former Senate leader and an impassioned defense of an elected official who had been accused of wrongdoing. Given that the primary was days away, it was only natural that the people should have politics on their lips; after all, the governor was facing an unexpectedly spirited challenge, the specter of a game-changing corruption investigation hung over the state, and the future direction of New York’s policies in regard to home rule, women’s rights, education and campaign finance, among so many other contentious issues, hinged in part upon how voters would cast their ballots in key districts. What a cheery and inspiring portrait of civic engagement in our state these vignettes would have painted, if only they had taken place in New York. But, no, these interactions were from my recent trip to Puerto Rico as part of City & State’s Road to SOMOS series. And as out of the ordinary as they might seem to us apathetic mainlanders, these exchanges were commonplace in the commonwealth. From San Juan to Ponce, I encountered the most engaged and informed citizens I have come across in the United States—people who ardently believed they had a voice in shaping their government and were eager to use it. This is not just the snap impression of a starry-eyed wannabe de Tocqueville. For those of you unfamiliar with the shining example to the nation that is democracy in Puerto Rico, the island boasts the most active electorate in America. As Slate pointed out in a 2012 article, “Throughout the late 20th century, turnout for Puerto Rico’s quadrennial elections was 50 percent higher than it was for presidential contests in the 50 states. Even in 2008, when participation

increased in the states and dropped in Puerto Rico, the island still turned out at a rate 10 points ahead of the mainland.” In 2000, voter turnout in the commonwealth was over 80 percent—even though by law Puerto Ricans aren’t even allowed to vote in the general election for president! These figures affirm my guidebook’s observation that “Contrary to popular belief, Puerto Rico’s No.1 pastime isn’t baseball—it’s politics.” Meanwhile, in New York, our performance at the polls is akin to the perennial record of my beloved hapless Mets. Turnout in this month’s Democratic primary marked yet another low point in a trend that seems to have no nadir. Fewer than 10 percent of voters came out to the polls—the worst showing of any Democratic statewide primary in a long time. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign tried to spin these pathetic numbers as a reflection of the fact that Democrats “didn’t take the primary seriously,” as NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney noted, 100,000 more Democrats showed up for the 2002 primary when one of their two choices for governor—Andrew Cuomo—had already dropped out of the race. While turnout will be higher in the general election simply by virtue of every voter being able to participate, the numbers are all but certain to be just as depressing. As Dr. Jeanne Zaino wrote recently in Newsday, “Turnout in New York has been well below the national average for more than 30 years. During the last midterm election, for instance, New York ranked dead last in turnout, just below Texas and Utah.” In 2012, she adds, we didn’t do much better, ranking 44th out of the 50 states (plus D.C.) with 53.2 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. We can debate the reasons for our state’s abysmal showing, but what is indisputable is that our elected officials are doing nothing, other than offering lip service, to spur voter participation. Of all the indignities perpetrated upon New Yorkers by our dysfunctional government, this is perhaps the most galling. I strongly hope that Gov. Cuomo (or Governorelect Astorino), Mayor de Blasio, Mayor Brown, Assembly Speaker Silver, Senate Co-Leaders Skelos and Klein (or Klein and Stewart-Cousins) and all the other politicians in this state who are in a position to lead on this issue come down to Puerto Rico this November for the SOMOS conference. In the wake of what will be yet another woeful-turnout election, it will give them an opportunity to see what a true participatory democracy looks like.

Letters to the

Editor

On July 28, City & State partnered with the New York Mets to provide dozens of free tickets for active military members and veterans to attend a game at Citi Field. On behalf of my in-laws, I would like to thank City & State for the two complimentary Mets tickets and the special edition magazine. They had a terrific time at the game and loved being around other New York City vets from various generations at the park. —Rolando Infante (via email) Even though I live in Tucson, City & State is my first read every day! Keep up the great coverage of New York political news. —Barbara Ann Brookhart, Tucson, Ariz. The special spotlight sector on organized labor in the Aug. 28 issue of City & State highlighted the passage of the Farmworkers’ Bill of Rights as one of the top priorities for unions in Albany next session. The Farmworkers’ Bill of Rights has failed in its current form for years, mainly because it is a destructive bill that could cripple our state’s rural economy. Not to mention the fact that it is based on numerous misconceptions of farm life. It may actually come as a surprise to City & State that most farmworkers start a few dollars above minimum wage, which is the going rate, and then work their way further up the pay scale. That is on top of the free housing, transportation, utilities and, often, day care that are frequently provided as well. Because of these offerings, New York attracts workers who choose to come to the same farms year after year to earn as much as they can during our short growing season. That being said, New York agriculture already has the highest cost of production in the eastern half of the country. Farmers can’t simply raise prices if they want to effectively compete. If Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Michigan growers are able to sell their produce at half the price of what New York farms need to make a profit, you will see more farms fail in this state if mandated labor costs keep climbing. The jobs they provide will disappear as well. —Jeff Williams, New York Farm Bureau Public Policy Director, Albany, N.Y.

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.

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HAMILTON UNDECIDED ON JOINING IDC By NICK POWELL

colleague Tony Avella’s defeat of John Liu, and she mentioned Hamilton’s triumph as part of that success. “Jesse Hamilton was successful in Brooklyn; Jesse Hamilton will be a member of the IDC,” Savino said. The IDC is “not an exclusive club,”Klein told reporters after his speech, saying that the conference was open to any Democratic senator who wanted to join. There has been a lot of speculation about whether Hamilton, a district leader and former aide to Adams, would conference with the regular Senate Democrats or the IDC, especially after the IDC’s campaign committee spent $176,000 supporting Hamilton’s candidacy. However, asked if he

would join the regular Democrats in a candidate screening questionnaire from Tenants PAC, which had endorsed him, Hamilton reportedly answered, “Most definitely, yes.” Nathan Smith, a campaign spokesman for Hamilton’s campaign, indicated in a statement that Hamilton would not make a final decision until consulting with his coalition of supporters after the November general election. “The lynchpin of Jesse’s victory was the broad coalition of partners that believed in him and his message of building a safer, more affordable Brooklyn,” Smith said. “After November, Jesse will sit down with

these partners and figure out how best to move forward in Albany on the issues that matter most to Brooklyn families: affordable housing, education and stopping gun violence. One thing that should be crystal clear to everyone: Jesse Hamilton will certainly never vote for a Republican for Senate Majority Leader or any other Senate leadership position.” Hamilton secured 64.9 percent of the vote in his primary race against former Department of Education administrator Rubain Dorancy, who garnered 29.9 percent of the vote. Hamilton has no Republican opposition in the general election.

fter winning the primary election to take over his former boss Eric Adams’ vacant seat in the New York State Senate, Jesse Hamilton is apparently undecided about whether he will caucus with the regular Senate Democrats or the Independent Democratic Conference, despite assurances on primary night from state Sen. Diane Savino that Hamilton would join the IDC. Savino made the claim at IDC leader Jeff Klein’s primary night victory party in the Bronx. Speaking to reporters after Klein’s victory speech, Savino was asked about the IDC’s strong showing in the primary, specifically her

city & state — September 15, 2014

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STATE

GRISANTI LOSS SURPRISE OF STATE SENATE RACES By MICHAEL GARETH JOHNSON

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city & state — September 15, 2014

here were a lot of close state Senate showdowns on primary night, with favorites and incumbents fending off challengers, but one big upset was in Western New York where state Sen. Mark Grisanti was defeated in a Republican primary by his conservative challenger, Kevin Stocker. Stocker received 57.2 percent of the vote to Grisanti’s 42.8 percent. Grisanti, a former Democrat turned Republican, has faced multiple challenges from the right since he upset incumbent Democrat Antoine Thompson back in 2010. He was the last of four GOP senators who voted for same-sex marriage in 2011 who was still in office. Two of the other three were defeated in primaries in 2012, with the fourth choosing not to seek re-election. In 2012 Grisanti held off a challenge from Stocker, an attorney from Kenmore, winning 60 percent of the vote in a campaign where his vote on same-sex marriage dominated the rhetoric. In this year’s primary, that vote was not as much of an issue, but Grisanti faced heavy opposition from within his party for supporting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature gun control legislation, known as the NY SAFE Act. Grisanti’s primary loss has created a close race for the seat, in part because the incumbent senator has pledged to run an active campaign on the Independence Party line. He and Stocker will face off against Democratic primary winner Marc Panepinto. Democrats hold a 92,013 to 53,497 edge over the GOP in voter registration in the district, with roughly 52,000 voters registered in third parties or who are nonaffiliated. In the past Grisanti’s moderate positions have helped him secure votes across the aisle, but in a three-way race, his path to victory will be considerably more difficult. Further complicating the scenario is a potential fourth candidate, Timothy Gallagher, who currently has the Conservative Party line, but could ultimately be replaced by Stocker.

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COUNCIL WATCH:

“HIS AGENDA IS OUR AGENDA”

SETH BARRON

city & state — September 15, 2014

ules reform was intended to change the way the New York City Council performed its primary job: debating and voting on laws. In the old system, the Speaker wielded total authority over the legislative process, from the drafting of bills, to their progress through committee, to votes on the floor. The new system, according to Councilman Fernando Cabrera, “decentralizes power, allowing members to effectively push for legislation that New

Council members have more power, but the mayor’s still in charge Yorkers need.” Sounds great. But if we review the current legislative session, it is remarkable how completely the Council’s work has dovetailed with the agenda of Mayor de Blasio, down to the timing, rollout and terms of debate. The mayor’s dominance of the Council’s legislative calendar is so complete that one Council member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, complained, “The mayor is now running the Council. His agenda is our agenda. The

Speaker is powerless.” Even before his inauguration, Mayor de Blasio imposed a heavy hand on the inner workings of the Council, strong-arming his political ally Melissa Mark-Viverito into the speakership. Immediately upon her election the Council went straight to work fulfilling a key de Blasio campaign promise: expanding paid sick leave. It may have irked the soi-disant progressives that the reviled Christine Quinn had managed to pass a sick leave bill before leaving office, so they quickly— and with virtually no discussion— broadened the law’s scope to fall in line with de Blasio’s pledge to do so. A few Council members grumbled about the hasty changes, but the measure sailed through nonetheless, thereby giving the mayor the opportunity to make his first bill signing be for one of his pet causes. As this year has unfolded, the Council has continually seconded the mayor on his every initiative. When de Blasio announced his plan to reduce traffic fatalities, the Council was there to (sort of) debate and quickly pass a package of bills in support of the mayor’s Vision Zero. The same grandiose rhetoric regarding the legislation echoed on both sides of City Hall, though the details of the bills fell a little short of the operatic heights with which its praises were sung. For instance, Local Law 21, “to amend the administrative code … in relation to a study on left turns,” will doubtless produce a stunning analysis of left turns, but you don’t have to be a total cynic to ask how many lives it will really save. When the mayor chose to take on Albany in order to make the richest New Yorkers pay for universal prekindergarten, the Council was right beside him. It was odd when the

governor offered to fund the program out of general revenues, and then the mayor and Council together insisted that the funding had to come from higher income taxes, even digging in their heels over the issue. Was it, some wondered, really that the progressives wanted the tax in order to pay for UPK, or did they want UPK in order to justify the tax? When the mayor sought to strip charter schools of their use of space in municipal buildings, the Council was happy to hold an eight-hour hearing on the role of charter schools in shredding democracy and imposing “apartheid” on the city. Leading Council members specifically insulted longtime de Blasio political rival Eva Moskowitz, in continuance of the mayor’s campaign strategy to embody school inequity and the achievement gap in her person. The bill to provide illegal aliens with municipal identification cards was another joint production of the progressive regime, with a series of show hearings staged at which first the Council and then the mayor nodded sympathetically as a parade of the un- or misdocumented explained why getting a $6 state ID from the DMV was beyond their capabilities. In early May the mayor unveiled his masterwork, “Housing New York,” which was to explain exactly how he planned to build 200,000 units of affordable housing. June hearings in front of the housing and buildings committee were scheduled for the administration to flesh out the plan’s details, but then abruptly canceled. “We’re trying to make sure we give enough time for the administration to be able to answer all our questions,” explained Jumaane Williams, the committee’s chair and deputy majority leader of the Council. Wouldn’t the publication of the cit yandstateny.com

Even before his inauguration, Mayor de Blasio imposed a heavy hand on the inner workings of the Council, strong-arming his political ally Melissa Mark-Viverito into the speakership. report imply readiness to answer questions about it? And isn’t it the role of the Council to push back against the administration’s unwillingness to talk about this signature plan? In any case, hearings have yet to be scheduled, and nobody is making much of a fuss about it. In August the mayor issued a message of necessity demanding that the Council authorize an unheard-of $42 million disbursement to private bus companies, in order to increase the salaries of school bus drivers and matrons who felt they had had a raw deal in their last contract negotiations. The Speaker immediately took up the issue, pushed it through hearings and had it on the floor for a vote in the space of about a week. Minority Leader Vincent Ignizio commented that the act was likely illegal, and noted that customary process had been radically shortcircuited in response to the mayor’s message. Councilman Dan Garodnick asked why such an expensive problem hadn’t been brought up during the budget process. Progressive stalwarts such as Councilwoman Margaret Chin defended the bill as being in the interest of the safety of children, but ultimately the whole farce was a crude display of de Blasio’s utter dominance of the Council. Reform of the Council’s rules has had a salutary effect on the operations of the body, and Council members praise the Speaker’s leadership. Councilman Mark Weprin, who wanted the job, calls Melissa MarkViverito a “revelation,” and says, “She has gone out of her way to show that she works for the members and not the other way around.” Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who was punished under the previous regime for getting on cit yandstateny.com

Christine Quinn’s bad side, says, “The change has been night and day. Morale is dramatically improved; communication and efficiency are way up. Equitable discretionary funding, the availability of central staff: The Council is truly member-driven now.” Garodnick, who also vied for the speakership, echoes the comments of his colleagues, saying, “The Council adopted some rather significant rules reform which has increased the autonomy of individual members. Also, the preliminary budget response was much more member-driven than I have ever seen.” But a side effect of equalizing discretionary funding and the other member-friendly reforms is that nobody really has to fear the Speaker any longer. As our anonymous Council member revealed, “If [the Speaker] and the mayor went to war, not one member would side with her. Why would they? She is gone in three years, and he may pick the next Speaker, too.” Someone has to fill the power vacuum, and that someone is the mayor. It seems that de Blasio may have chosen a politically reliable one-term Speaker in order to ensure that he could dominate the Legislature and get his agenda through easily. It is ironic that as public advocate he never showed up to preside over the Council in his official ceremonial role as president. Now, as mayor, he rules the Council from a distance, but definitively.

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

By Stuart Appelbaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Appelbaum, President, StuartUFCW By RWDSU, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW or the majority of retail workers, mere survival is a daily struggle. 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city & state — September 15, 2014

WILLIAM ALATRISTE

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CITY

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BROOKLYN WORKERS ACCUSE CABLEVISION OF RIGGING UNION VOTE

city & state — September 15, 2014

rooklyn Cablevision workers, who have waged a two-and-a-half year contract fight with Cablevision, are accusing the company of rigging a third-party poll intended to determine whether the workers were still committed to joining the union, while the company insists the vote was fair and unbiased. The tension between the two sides reached its boiling point on Tuesday when Cablevision CEO James Dolan paid a surprise visit to the company’s Brooklyn headquarters, during which he indicated that he wanted to “find out what you really want,” regarding the workers’ desire to join the Communications Workers of America Local 1109, according to firsthand accounts of the encounter later confirmed by an audio recording of the meeting obtained by City & State. Dolan told the workers that the company would find out their true intentions by commissioning a company, Honest Ballot Services, to conduct a confidential, voluntary, third-party poll, adding that if the vote came out in favor of unionizing, the company would “double our efforts” to get a contract signed. If the workers voted not to unionize, Dolan said he would figure out a way for CWA to withdraw its representation of the workers, even going so far as paying off its legal fees. “Now, if you vote that you don’t want a union, I can’t make the union go away,” Dolan said. “But I will go to the union and I will tell them that this is what your mind is, and I will try to negotiate a way for the union to withdraw. And I am willing to go pretty far to help them do that, if they recognize that they’re not wanted here anymore.” The poll, taken Wednesday evening with the participation of 93 percent of the eligible Brooklyn employees, found that 129 workers did not want CWA representation compared with 115 who favored unionizing. According to a statement released by Cablevision,

Arally in support of Cablevision’s Brooklyn workers joining CWA Local 1107.

Honest Ballot Services conducted the poll at three locations in Brooklyn and certified that it was “anonymous, fair, and accurate.” Cablevision also blasted Mayor Bill de Blasio for his advocacy on behalf of the Brooklyn workers, indicating that the mayor lent his support as a favor to CWA and the Working Families Party for endorsing his candidacy in 2013. “For the first time in nearly three years, our Brooklyn employees have expressed their feelings about the CWA in a vote,” Cablevision’s statement read. “Yesterday, they rejected continued CWA representation. It is time for the CWA to respect our employees’ wishes and withdraw. In addition, Mayor de Blasio is repaying a political debt to the CWA and the Working Families Party, and is advocating the union’s agenda against the wishes of our employees. Mayor de Blasio should tell the CWA and his political friends to stop blocking our employees’ rights. We call upon the Mayor, the Working Families Party and the CWA to act promptly and allow our Brooklyn employees’ voices to prevail.” CWA District One, the umbrella union for Local 1109, released a sharply worded rebuke of Cablevision’s actions, saying that “the conduct of this election would make Vladimir

Putin blush,” and that the vote was illegal because of a pending ruling by an administrative law judge on multiple complaints over unfair labor practices filed with the National Labor Relations Board. “Under no circumstances would the NLRB permit this type of election to take place,” said CWA District One Vice President Chris Shelton in a statement. “No union observers were involved. There was no security in the vote count. This bogus sham was a waste of time and money. What’s really needed is for James Dolan to sit down and bargain a fair contract that includes equal pay with other Cablevision employees.” Workers who took the poll were displeased with the fact that Cablevision did not show them any data on the results of the election, simply telling the workers that they had lost the vote. Others complained that the person conducting the poll sat directly next to them as they responded to the questions, instead of sitting on the opposite side where they would not be able to see the screen. Gabrielle Semel, an attorney representing CWA, said that the union had filed a complaint with the NLRB after the meeting with Dolan and is also seeking an injunction against the company.

“Once the union becomes the collective bargaining representative, it’s unlawful for the employer to try to undermine the collective bargaining representative, and so we’ve filed charges on that,” Semel said. Meanwhile, the mayor’s office, in response to Cablevision’s accusations, released a statement saying, “Mayor de Blasio continues to stand with CWA, and finds these new allegations against Cablevison deeply troubling.” The conflict between Cablevision, CWA and the Brooklyn employees dates back to January 2012, when Brooklyn Cablevision workers, hoping to bring their wages more in line with their competitors at other cable giants like Verizon and to receive better health and retirement plans, voted 180 to 86 to join the CWA local. After the Brooklyn vote, a similar vote was conducted among Cablevision employees in the Bronx, and though that effort was defeated 121 to 43, CWA organizers accused Dolan of threatening the technicians with termination and excluding them from training and job opportunities if they voted to join the union, while also offering them raises. Roughly a year after the initial vote, in January 2013, a group of 22 Brooklyn workers, frustrated with the glacial pace of the collective bargaining sessions, asked for a meeting after attempting to discuss their contract situation with Cablevision management. When the employees allegedly refused to go back to work after the company rebuffed their request, they were fired. The mass firing, which happened to coincide with the beginning of the 2013 campaign, attracted widespread attention from the Democratic mayoral candidates, including de Blasio, and resulted in a citywide effort to get the workers their jobs back, which they eventually did several months later. CWA also filed a number of unfair labor practice charges against Cablevision with the NLRB. cit yandstateny.com

ABLEVISION 99 FACEBOOK PAGE

By NICK POWELL

cit yandstateny.com

THE ENGINEERS REPORT

CITY

meeting on Tuesday after one worker noted that Dolan had no problem paying professional basketball players exorbitant salaries (Dolan is the principal owner of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers). “[Basketball players] are very singular, and that’s why they command the salaries that they do,” Dolan said. “Now, you’re skilled too. ... There’s value to what you learned and value to what you do. And, yes, I’d love to see you make more money, I’d like to see us all make more money. But the way that we do that is that we become more successful. We work at putting better products and better service out there, and more people who want us than want Verizon, and we build the company. And the way you can make more money, the way we’d like to make it happen—you can prove yourself: You become more valuable to the company; you make a bigger contribution and you get paid more. It doesn’t just come to you because you’re sitting here.” One of the Brooklyn cable technicians at the meeting, Andre, who declined to give his last name in order to protect his job, did not buy Dolan’s explanation, noting that it is difficult to deliver the kind of top-notch service that Dolan expects when the CEO does not provide his workers with the best equipment available. “Somebody asked a question about a test meter that other [cable] systems are using which people feel we need, to do a better job to service the customer and better the system, and [Dolan] said he cannot supply that because he has to go through the CWA,” Andre said. “This is a tool we need to be more efficient.” Andre has been in the thick of the fight with Cablevision from the very beginning, and was one of the 22 workers to get fired and rehired last year. When asked what keeps him motivated to continue pushing for union representation through all of the legal battles and sniping from both sides, Andre said that both his mother and father were union members and instilled in him a fighting spirit. Andre also wants to see himself and his colleagues get paid the same wages as their competitors in Long Island, the Bronx and New Jersey. “It’s a just cause, that’s what keeps me hanging on,” he said. “I’m good at what I do, I live in Brooklyn, I work in Brooklyn, but Verizon workers are in the game too and they’re doing the same work and you’re asking us to do the same thing as us but we’re getting paid less. ... That’s what’s keeping me in it.”

Crane Safety Begins with Local Experience, License & Oversight Ed Christian,

Business Manager and President IUOE Local 14-14B Whether it is hoisting steel or cement 80 stories above city streets, or operating heavy equipment hundreds of feet below ground in a water tunnel or new subway line, the 1,600 members of IUOE Local 14 play a vital role in building the New York City of the future. Under the best of conditions, operating a tower crane is demanding and dangerous. Doing so in an environment where buildings are practically sitting on top of one another with an endless stream of traffic and pedestrians moving below further complicate the challenge. Even when using the most advanced technology, crane operators must remain constantly focused, patient and maintain a steady hand. The necessary skills and discipline can only be developed through intense study, training, and hands-on experience. That is why over the course of 100 years, the City of New York developed the most rigorous and demanding urban testing and licensing procedures for crane operators in the United States. Just as importantly, New York City vigorously protected and defended its regulations and authority to administer its rules and licensing when challenged. Just last year the City saw its authority upheld in the Supreme Court of the United States when challenged by the Steel Institute of New York. In their legal memo the attorneys for the city wrote: “The necessity for effective and vigilant governmental oversight over the use of cranes, derricks and hoists in New York City is clear…it is incumbent upon the City of New York to do everything within its power to protect the public safety.”

Yet, even as the City was defending its jurisdictional rights in the highest court in the land, the Department of Buildings was about to issue new regulations relinquishing its oversight responsibilities by adopting the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) “national standard” crane licensing. We agree NCCCO national standards are fine, and they serve as an excellent baseline. But there is a big difference in operating a crane in a Nebraska suburb and operating a crane atop a 60-story skyscraper in midtown Manhattan. Even those in the Department of Buildings recognized it was foolish to ask a crane operator from Montana or Iowa to work on a crane 900 feet above midtown Manhattan. Their solution was to require two-years of experience in “an area of comparable urban density.” With nearly 6,000 skyscrapers, 50 million tourists, four million people on the streets of Manhattan every day, and hundreds of miles of subways and underground infrastructure, there is no other area of “comparable urban density” in the United States. We believe the new regulations which were announced in 2012, and which have yet to be implemented will, if enacted, place the safety of our members, construction crews, the public and property at risk. We are not alone. Led by Council Member Ben Kallos who, with some 30 other members of the City Council, and Public Advocate Letitia James have introduced legislation that will restore City oversight of testing and licensing, taking into account the specific operational challenges unique to this great and growing city.

city & state — September 15, 2014

CITY

Shortly after the workers were shown the door, despite having tentatively agreed on a handful of contract issues, roughly 30 percent of the Brooklyn employees filed a petition with the NLRB to decertify from CWA, meaning that they no longer wanted union representation. But because the NLRB had found Cablevision’s actions in the Bronx illegal, along with the firing of the Brooklyn workers, the board filed a formal complaint. The board also charged that Cablevision was negotiating in bad faith without any intention of reaching an agreement. The complaint effectively dismissed the decertification petition until an administrative law judge makes a definitive ruling—which labor lawyers say could take anywhere from three months to a year. From Cablevision’s standpoint, the unfair labor practice charges were a tactical measure by CWA to stall the decertification, and the company has filed its own complaints against the union. The company remains unconvinced that a plurality of their Brooklyn employees still want CWA representation. CWA has countered this skepticism by pointing to an advertisement the union ran in the Daily News in June 2013, with the names of 174 workers who support joining the union, six fewer than the original January 2012 tally. Cablevision has disputed the accuracy of the ad, claiming that it has heard from a number of workers who say they did not authorize their names to be used in the ad. More recently, in July, 189 workers sent signed petitions to Dolan stating that they “did not understand why Cablevision has not yet agreed to parity in wages for the Brooklyn workers.” Once again, Cablevision has taken the position that these petitions do not constitute a vote and will not be treated as such. The company added that the petition only references wages, not whether the workers still want union representation, despite the fact that the petition includes the sentence “We are sticking together with CWA to demand justice.” Meanwhile, bargaining sessions between the two sides have continued, with roughly one session in each of the last six months. According to Cablevision, the two sides have tentatively agreed on as many as 50 contract provisions, though none pertaining to the issue of higher wages. Dolan attempted to explain his hard-line stance on giving out higher pay during the impromptu

B U F FA LO

SUBSIDY CITY

ELON MUSK KNOWS HOW TO WRING MONEY OUT OF MUNICIPALITIES. IS NEW YORK NEXT?

JIM HEANEY

city & state — September 15, 2014

ew York, beware. Elon Musk knows how to squeeze governments for subsidies. Earlier this month Tesla Motors, which Musk heads as chairman and CEO, got Nevada to cough up $1.3 billion—yes, B as in billion—to help subsidize construction of a plant in Reno that will manufacture batteries for Tesla’s electric cars. Musk did so in a very public, brazen move in which he pitted five states against one another to see which one would ante up the most generous subsidy package. Nevada officials dug deep, swallowed hard and came up the “winner” (so to speak). Musk is also chairman of SolarCity, which is in line to cash in on the Buffalo Billion program. In June SolarCity bought Silevo, a fledgling solar panel manufacturer that had previously committed to building a plant in Buffalo. The state had already agreed back in November to build and equip plants for Silevo and Soraa, an LED lighting manufacturer, at a cost of $225 million, but since purchasing Silevo, SolarCity executives have floated the prospect of a bigger plant employing more people— which, of course, would require more government assistance. How much more, and what type of assistance, nobody is saying. SolarCity officials have been mum—in public, anyway—and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not gone further than to say that accomodating the company would involve an expanded incentive package. At one level the refusal by company

and state officials to discuss specifics is understandable. But also ominous, given the company’s ravenous appetite for government handouts, and the fact that SolarCity has not made an iron-clad commitment to building in Buffalo. Consider this July 22 report in ValueWalk, an online investment website: “Several other cities across the country—including locations in California and Texas—are also under consideration as the site for SolarCity Corp’s new solar-panel facility.” Also consider the carefully chosen words Musk and two other SolarCity honchos published in announcing their purchase of Silevo in June: “We are in discussions with the state of New York to build the initial manufacturing plant, continuing a relationship developed by the Silevo team.” Translation: The location of the plant apparently is in play. Advantage: SolarCity. And as Musk showed with the Tesla project out west, he is not shy about exploiting his upper hand. There is a lesson in this for New York, according to Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First, the subsidy watchdog that has been bird-dogging the Tesla deal in Nevada. While SolarCity is not Tesla, Musk has an important role in each company, and the carmaker has displayed “a real skill to get a state to overspend on a trophy deal,” said LeRoy. The $225 million deal on the table in Buffalo is “generous, there’s no doubt about it,” LeRoy said. “I would urge the state to be cautious as to what else it does.” Musk has the governor right where he wants him, however. As he has done with all of the Buffalo Billion projects, Cuomo has raised expectations with his chest beating over SolarCity’s purchase of Silevo. The announced projects do have the potential to generate investment and employment in the long run, but thus far they have in fact produced only a handful of jobs, nearly three years after the governor

SolarCity chairman Elon Musk announced his Buffalo Billion initiative. Cuomo faces re-election in November, and while Republican Rob Astorino doesn’t pose much of a threat, the governor clearly wants to have a deal with SolarCity to tout. More precisely, he doesn’t want to have to explain his failure to deliver. So overpay he might. In doing so, he would undermine what many consider the fresh thinking behind his approach to the Buffalo Billion. Rather than doling out subsidies to companies in the hope that something good would happen—which passed for economic policy for more than a generation—Cuomo has sought to replicate the model used in Albany to seed a nanotechnology industry. In a nutshell, the approach spends public money to build and equip facilities that attract anchor tenants—and, in turn, smaller companies—to form a critical mass. We’re talking some 50 companies, and 15,000 nanotech jobs, in and around the Albany region. There has been a downside, as the state’s investment of $1.3 billion hasn’t been enough to satisfy some companies. They’ve wanted additional subsidies, and in some cases they’ve gotten them. GlobalFoundries, for example, received a state subsidy package in 2006 worth

$1.4 billion. The Global deal amounted to old-fashioned smokestack chasing, a strategy panned in economic development circles that involves government not so much attracting jobs as buying them, at a huge cost to the public treasury. There’s plenty of evidence of this strategy in Western New York, such as the sweetheart deal state and local officials offered Yahoo! to locate a data center in Lockport. That deal added up to more than $2 million a job—for not that many jobs. Few if any regions can afford to pony up for subsidies with this kind of price tag. Certainly not Western New York, which is desperate to expand its tax base to take pressure off its homeowners and businesses, who pay some of the highest property tax rates in the nation. Thus, it will be interesting to see what kind of deal Cuomo strikes with SolarCity. Yes, it would add jobs. But at what cost to the public treasury, and at what burden to the local taxpayer? Jim Heaney is the founder, editor and executive editor of Investigative Post, a nonprofit investigative reporting center focused on Buffalo and Western New York.

cit yandstateny.com

CUOMO’S CAMPAIGN TO WIN WESTERN NEW YORK

t’s Kickoff Day for the Buffalo Bills’ 2014 season. And because the Bills are playing in Chicago, Ralph Wilson Stadium is empty, and it’s TV time for Western New York. Across the street from the sprawling Boulevard Mall, more than 200 men, women and children are packed in a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, sporting Bills jerseys, scarfing down wings and drinking tall glasses of Bud Lite. In between touchdowns, political commercials flash on the screen: “He’s a RINO—a Republican in Name Only. We can’t trust Mark Grisanti.” cit yandstateny.com

But no one pays attention. This is Tonawanda, a middle-class suburb just north of Buffalo. Buffalo’s Italian-American population moved here after World War II, leaving the city behind and never looking back. And as Buffalo’s factories shut down, and crime and urban blight blossomed in their wake, many residents of Tonawanda started fearing the city’s center and took up arms for protection. When Andrew Cuomo first ran for governor in 2010, he easily defeated his opponent, Erie County developer and Tea Party personality Carl

Paladino, racking up 62.6 percent of the vote to Paladino’s 33.3 percent. Cuomo dominated in practically every corner of the state minus a few small counties upstate (Hamilton, Fulton and Schoharie) and in the Southern Tier (Tioga, Steuben, Allegany). That is, excluding Western New York. In Erie County, Paladino blew Cuomo’s hair back, beating him with 172,322 votes to Cuomo’s 113,459. And while Cuomo took Buffalo proper, it was in the suburbs where he really got trounced. In Tonawanda, for example, Paladino ran

up a tally of 15,630 compared with Cuomo’s 9,575. Since assuming office in January 2011, Cuomo has focused intensely on Western New York, both politically and from a policy standpoint. While he has never expressly stated it as one of his aims, it is a commonly held belief among pundits that the governor has made a concerted effort to win Western New York this time around—and win it big. The theory is that the governor wants to run the table in every region of the state, and in so doing

city & state — September 15, 2014

By CHRIS THOMPSON

lingering resentment persists among some area residents toward Albany and downstate bigwigs who have long treated Erie County as a useless appendage. Additionally, social and cultural issues such as gay marriage and gun control still resonate strongly with older suburban white voters. Will all the money Cuomo has committed to Erie County ultimately trump decades of distrust? Only Election Day will answer that question.

I Cuomo welcomed President Obama to Buffalo when he visited the city in August 2013.

city & state — September 15, 2014

demonstrate the broad popularity of his centrist, pragmatic approach to governing and his appeal to voters across the ideological spectrum and geographic divide. On paper, Cuomo has done everything in his power to pull Western New York into his column this cycle, showering it with attention and economic development dollars. In practice, however, he still has a way to go before he’ll be able to seduce Tonawanda voters like Keith Stewer. Stewer, a supervisor at a local steel plant, left Buffalo Wild Wings at halftime with his young son, heading for home. As he walked to his black pickup truck, he explained why he is not likely to vote for Cuomo anytime soon. “With the gun control issue, I started getting more interested in politics,” Stewer said, referring to the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013— commonly known as the NY SAFE Act—a law spearheaded and signed by Cuomo that bans the possession of high-capacity magazines and requires ammunition dealers to conduct background checks of their clients. “I live in North Tonawanda, and there was a double murder last Friday night. They’re not worried about the innocent guy who goes to work and pays his bills. They’re making the good guys seem like criminals. I guess I just don’t understand why.”

n the four years since Western New York gave him the stink eye, Andrew Cuomo has dedicated an astonishing amount of time and

resources to one of New York State’s previously most neglected regions. Indeed, most local politicos and businessmen agree that in at least five decades no governor has put more energy into revitalizing Erie County than Cuomo. He has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on redevelopment projects, personally intervened to help keep the Buffalo Bills in town, and resolved the dispute between the Niagara Falls Seneca Casino and the state of New York, freeing up hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent on a desperately impoverished city. Along the way, Cuomo has logged an impressive number of man-hours in Buffalo, working retail politics at a feverish pace, while simultaneously wading into the region behind the scenes. While the impact of Cuomo’s efforts is debatable, what is indisputable is that Buffalo is on the move for the first time since the 1950s. Though unemployment remains a stubborn 6.4 percent, new green technology industries are sprouting, and the city’s medical research sector is about to take off. Developers are renovating old brick warehouses into hotels downtown. Cranes—honest to goodness cranes— can be seen along the city’s skyline in increasing numbers. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether Erie County’s residents will credit Cuomo for the area’s budding resurgence. Most of the money the governor has earmarked for Buffalo has yet to result in jobs, and for now is only an abstract commitment, one that will not produce tangible benefits for years to come. Moreover, despite the governor’s focus on the region, a

f you talk to Cuomo’s Buffalo supporters, they will tell you that the governor’s 2010 loss in Western New York can largely be summed up in two words: Carl Paladino. The lion’s share of New York City voters may have regarded the Republican’s nominee as a logorrheic lunatic, but in Erie County, Paladino is a well-respected businessman and developer who provides tons of jobs and generously helps charities. His offthe-cuff populist swagger, combined with crusades like successfully suing the State Thruway Authority to remove

a hated toll on drivers entering Buffalo, has a certain charm for residents of Erie County. “There is only one reason Cuomo lost here, and that’s because Carl Paladino is a well-entrenched local favorite,” says Tony Masiello, who served in the state Senate for 13 years before becoming Buffalo’s mayor for another eight. “If Carl Paladino wasn’t the candidate, [Cuomo] would have cleaned up.” But according to Michael Caputo, who served as Paladino’s campaign manager in 2010, Paladino didn’t just beat Cuomo because people knew his name. Paladino articulated a common grievance: that Buffalo was sick and tired of being taken for granted by the rest of the state and that it was high time someone paid attention to it. “If you’re from downstate, people tend to dismiss Paladino as a bigot and a loudmouth,” Caputo says. “But Western New York—the people who are isolated from Albany and downstate—was extremely angry about taxes, corruption, spending and the business environment. People

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of millions of dollars worth—into the local economy. The most prominent component of Cuomo’s approach is his vaunted “Buffalo Billion” initiative. Pledging to earmark $1 billion in state funds over 10 years to spur economic growth in Erie County, the governor has already allotted $168 million for a concentrated investment in the city’s high-tech and clean energy sector. The centerpiece of this plan is $118 million to fund “Riverbend,” a project that will convert two old steel and metallurgic coke processing facilities near downtown into a campus for solar energy production; the California-based clean energy firms Soraa and Silevo have already promised to move in. Over time, according to the governor’s office’s projections, the investments will create 1,200 biotech, high-tech and clean-energy jobs. That certainly sounds like a promising start. But Michael Caputo claims that Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion plan is more gimmick than substance. The governor, Caputo says, is merely taking ordinary budget reallocations and corporate welfare, dressing them up as an unprecedented investment program, and pitching them to naive Erie County voters. “It’s basically packaging and branding and marketing government money,” he says. “I mean, he’s got a Madison Avenue level of public relations on this one. He’s marketing it like a breakfast cereal.”

served by a policy that embraces longterm job creation, not one-shots,” he says. “We’re talking lowering taxes, getting regulations out of the way, so businesses can come here and flourish. It’s no accident that Texas is exploding with population and jobs, and Rick Perry is coming here to lure businesses away.” Paladino, never one to mince words, derides the Buffalo Billion as nothing more than bribery. “This is as crooked as the day is long!” he declares. “The day after the election, he’ll forget about Western New York.” But where Cuomo’s enemies see cynicism and shortsighted payola, his friends and supporters see a smart, deliberate dose of economic stimulus. In Jack O’Donnell’s opinion, the Buffalo Billion represents a break from the old model of spreading the pork around to whoever can supply votes in November. He considers it a savvy, strategic attempt to nurture new industries on a meritorious basis. “Rather than do a big road project on the West Side and some infrastructure improvements on the Union Ship Canal, you spend that money in the same place, in a way the yields an exponential return,” he says. “Instead of just creating those construction jobs, the idea is to make an infrastructure of industry and ideas. … By focusing in one area and coordinating it, you’re able to bring in these industries that are high growth, high job creation.”

E Cuomo succeeded in getting the Legislature to provide the seed money for UB 2020, an initiative which will move the University of Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to downtown Buffalo. with Western New York since the election,” Langworthy says. “He’s come out here a lot and has spent a lot of state attention. Which is a good thing, but I think it’s driven by the governor’s obsession to win the hearts and minds out here.” The governor has not just been listening to the concerns of Western New Yorkers. He has also been pumping public money—hundreds cit yandstateny.com

Nick Langworthy won’t say no to state money coming into the region. But he argues that the Buffalo Billion initiative is no substitute for longterm responsible economic policies that will nurture new businesses for the indefinite future. Dangling one-time subsidies, he says, will only work until the subsidies dry up. “I think this investment has been a long time coming, but we would be better

veryone likes to talk about the Buffalo Billion project. It is a billion dollars, after all, at least in theory—not to mention a euphonious alliteration that brings to mind the city’s beloved Buffalo Bills. However, perhaps surprisingly, when asked what the governor has done for Western New York, Cuomo’s supporters don’t tend to bring up the Buffalo Billion first. They talk about UB 2020. For years administrators with the University of Buffalo had been planning to move their School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to downtown Buffalo, in order to integrate their work with private biotech firms and to develop the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus into a state-of-the-art center of medical research. Partnering with Buffalo General Hospital and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the project would ultimately commit $375 million to create 3,000 new jobs and build what dreamers hope will put

Buffalo-Niagara in the same sentence as Johns Hopkins. But first they needed $35 million from the state. Much to the frustration of UB 2020’s proponents, the efforts to secure this funding had long been stalled in the state Legislature. According to Mark Schroeder, a former assemblyman and Buffalo city comptroller, neither governors Eliot Spitzer nor David Paterson could convince the Legislature to allocate the seed money to get the project started. When Cuomo came to Albany, however, he leveraged his popularity and mandate to break the logjam. “I can assure you that UB 2020 never, ever could have happened without this governor,” Schroeder says. “Shelly Silver had no interest in it, none. And the very liberal Democratic Assembly members from New York City had contempt for this opportunity. It took the governor to convince the Speaker that one of the most important components to Buffalo was UB 2020.” According to Tony Masiello, UB 2020 has inspired a cluster of synergistic downtown development, with local businessmen building new projects in conjunction with the medical campus. “You’ve got Paladino, Nick Sinatra, Lou and Paul Ciminelli, all buying up property around there and transforming it into new mixed-use space,” he said. “This isn’t just pie in the sky. This is actual money being spent. They’re putting the face on the steel now.” In addition to UB 2020, Cuomo has been fostering other economic development projects in Buffalo, mostly by dropping a bundle in state subsidies. In December 2012 he gave the Buffalo Bills $54 million in stadium renovation funds in return for a 10-year extension on their lease at Ralph Wilson Stadium, buying time to negotiate with whoever bought the team to keep it in town. The governor also convinced the New York Power Authority’s board of trustees to offer low-cost hydropower to Western New York to lure businesses to or retain them in the region. As a result, Yahoo! announced plans to expand its Lockport data center and inject $130 million into the local economy. Cuomo’s Start-Up NY program, which offers a 10-year break from sales and property taxes for businesses that move to certain underserved parts of New York State, recently bore fruit for Buffalo; eight biotech and high technology companies have promised to move

city & state — September 15, 2014

were starting to understand who Shelly Silver was. And so Carl’s angry veneer played well.” Jack O’Donnell, who ran U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Buffalo office and is now a lobbyist with the firm Bolton– St. Johns, has spent years with his ear to the ground in Erie County politics. He agrees that Paladino tapped into Western New Yorkers’ widely held feelings toward statewide politics. “A lot of folks here feel like we’re not at the table. Their aspirations and fears are not being heard in Albany,” O’Donnell says. “It was a scream in the dark, if that makes any sense.” A scream the governor heard loud and clear—and has done his utmost to answer. As to why he has heeded the cry when so many other governors have largely ignored it, there is ample speculation: Perhaps Cuomo plans to run for president and wants to demonstrate that he can win in areas that lean red. Maybe his aim is to equal or eclipse his father’s legacy as a three-term governor, and he is trying to shore up every part of the state as a deterrent to any would-be challengers. Maybe he wants to show that he was able to turn around a Rust Belt city— an enigma so many other politicians have grappled with yet failed to solve. Nick Langworthy, the chair of the Erie County Republican Committee, believes Cuomo can’t stop thinking about the region because it rejected him. “He’s been downright obsessed

into the tax-free zone around the University of Buffalo. The three major credit rating agencies seem to like what they see happening. Over the last two years, Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard and Poor’s have all upgraded Buffalo’s credit rating. In March, when Moody’s announced its most recent report on Buffalo’s creditworthiness, it singled out Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion program as a significant factor.

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2012 endorsement by the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund—though she has since distanced herself from the NRA, engendering the organization’s ire. While the ultimate test of Cuomo’s courtship of Western New York will be the general election, based on the results of the primary, it appears that all of his overtures have not been in vain. Though Cuomo’s opponent, Zephyr Teachout, defeated him in 31

The governor made sure to play a visible role in ensuring the Bills stayed in Buffalo.

hile Cuomo deliberately did little campaigning during the primary to downplay the threat posed by his challengers, he hit the trail relatively hard in Erie County. His campaign launched a massive television advertising buy in the days leading up to the Sept. 9 primary election, deluging Buffalo with the most money of any market besides New York City. And in a move emblematic of his focus on the region, on the eve of the primary Cuomo held the final rally of his campaign in the Erie County town of Orchard Park. By his side at the event was Kathy Hochul, the Buffalo native and former congresswoman Cuomo had added to his ticket in May as a replacement for his first term lieutenant governor, Robert Duffy. Cuomo’s choice of Hochul, whom the governor hailed as a “hometown hero” at the rally, was widely perceived by political observers as part of his effort to woo Western New York, while simultaneously serving as an olive branch of sorts to voters in places like Tonawanda, who harbor anger at the SAFE Act, since as a right-of-center member of Congress Hochul had trumpted her

of the state’s 62 counties, the governor dominated in Western New York, winning 69.6 percent of the vote in Niagara County and a whopping 76.3 percent in Erie County. Hochul, who celebrated her victory over Teachout’s running mate Tim Wu at a series of parties in Buffalo, did even better in the region, pulling over 70 percent in Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Niagara, Wyoming, Livingston, Gennesee, and Orleans counties. In her home county of Erie, Hochul polled just shy of 80 percent, almost 20 points higher than her statewide total. Just after midnight on primary night, outside the Buffalo Irish Center, Hochul explained what Cuomo had done to garner the support of Democratic voters in the region. “The governor’s recognized that Western New York has experienced benign neglect from Albany,” Hochul said. “He’s felt very strongly that this is an area with great potential, but needs more attention. … People hear lots of promises, and after election time has come and gone, it’s disappeared. Not with this governor.” While the primary numbers would seem to augur the result Cuomo

has worked so hard to achieve in Western New York, it will not be only Democrats who vote in the general election. To many Republicans and independents in the region, Cuomo still comes over as a liberal downstater, who is out of touch with their values and who has zealously imposed his social agenda upon them. To these voters, all of Cuomo’s efforts to appeal to Western New Yorkers—even with the massive advantage in campaign cash he has over his GOP opponent, Rob Astorino—might not be enough to put him over the top. “I think there’s still a very good chance he’ll lose Erie County,” says Langworthy. “I think that people are a lot smarter than some politicians give them credit for. They know when their votes are trying to be bought.” For many of the governor’s critics, nothing illustrates the negative perception they have of him better than Cuomo’s stance on gun control. When he signed the SAFE Act into law, Cuomo signaled to many Western New Yorkers that he was prepared to take from them one of their most cherished freedoms. That may not have been the message he meant to deliver, but that was nonetheless how it was received. “The day after the SAFE Act was passed, I went out and bought another gun,” says Frank Boncore, an electrical inspector and the secretary for the Buffalo chapter of the Shooters Committee on Political Education. “And I’m telling all my friends, all my acquaintances: Cuomo can be beat. There were 4,000,000 voters in 2010. There are 6,000,000 gun owners in New York State. We have to wake up our people, and we can win.”

In the old days, you’d get to know the politician. These days, it’s all about advertising. They used to come around and knock on your door. You don’t get that anymore.” Buffalo Wild Wings offers the courtesy of a public address system outside the restaurant, so its patrons can keep up with every moment of the action even in the parking lot. The game’s announcer squeals, “On Kickoff Weekend, we are headed for overtime in Chicago!” Alex Solomon, a Buffalo-based hospital administrator in his 30s, takes in a little air before heading back in to catch the final minutes of the game. A libertarian who grew up in the nearby suburb of Amherst, he wouldn’t vote for Cuomo if you paid him. “He’s a politician—his job is to get re-elected,” Solomon says. “I’m not a Democrat, I don’t trust the man, and I think he’s just trying to bribe us.” Solomon appreciates the money Cuomo has poured into the region— “Usually, spending money on an area doesn’t hurt it”—but it doesn’t change his mind about the governor. “I know a lot of guys who are veterans, and they’re like, ‘Why are we arming the police and taking away guns from citizens?’ ” Solomon says. “The government is just getting into our lives too much.” The crowd cheers over the PA, and the residents of Tonawanda start spilling out of the restaurant. Solomon’s buddies stalk past him, and he breaks away from politics to ask the most important question of the day. “Did we win?” “Oh, yeah.”

ack at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Tonawanda, the Bills are about to head into sudden death. Outside, the sun is burning down on the parking lot, and fans are starting to burn out on the game. Dan, a manager at a nearby copier company who declined to give his last name, shared his thoughts about Cuomo before he walked to his car. “I think the Democrats have ruined everything,” he says. “They take from the rich and give to the poor. And you have to work harder and harder to make it.” Dan didn’t vote in the last gubernatorial election; he didn’t see the point. “New York, it’s always Democrats, it’s always going to be some New York City Democrat. …

Cuomo reaplced Robert Duffy as his running mate for lieutenant governor with Erie County “hometown hero” Kathy Hochul. cit yandstateny.com

CITY & STATE EXPLORES THE 16 PROPOSALS FOR FULL-FLEDGED CASINOS IN NEW YORK STATE

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

BIDDING WAR By WILDER FLEMING

cit yandstateny.com

city & state — September 15, 2014

ew York is looking to expand its gambling market at a time when many gaming analysts say the northeastern United States is facing market saturation. Four Atlantic City casinos have folded so far this year, and those that have survived have had to contend with the 26 other casinos that have opened in the last decade alone. As states like New York attempt to lure away the gaming dollars pouring into the coffers of neighboring governments, and revenues are spread thinner across the board, states have seen their fortunes decline despite an overall increase in gambling. It remains to be seen just how successful (or disastrous) the plan to allow up to four new full-gaming casinos in three regions of Upstate New York will be, but the 16 applicants for licenses know as well as anyone that plunking down a giant casino just about anywhere is not the safe bet it used to be. Market conditions in each region must be analyzed in order to gauge the optimal size of each facility, and developers are searching for the winning combination of amenities and novel attractions that will draw crowds to their resort. Despite evidence showing that given a choice between two casinos, gamblers will pick the closer one, most of the bidders are trying to sell comprehensive vacation destinations—somewhere people would also want to travel to for reasons other than, or perhaps in spite of, gambling. The language of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Upstate NY Gaming Economic Development Act focused on revitalizing local economies—and for some developers that is indeed the goal. Others think the winning bids will be the ones that generate the most revenue for the state, and have suggested casinos so large and close to New York City that some of the more modest upstate proposals probably could not survive their existence. Despite their differences, the bidders share some common threads. They all emphasize extensive partnerships with their communities. (The idea is, ostensibly, to employ local workers and construction materials, promote businesses and generally encourage casino-goers to explore the surrounding region.) All of them claim to take the treatment of gambling addiction seriously, and promise to create environments that will discourage problem behavior. They promote their wage packages and job benefits, and to varying degrees the utilization of minority- and women-owned businesses and workers. In the following pages, City & State takes a look at what sets the 16 proposals apart. It should be noted that all projected gaming revenues and job numbers were provided by the developers, often stemming from the calculations of independent gaming consultants. Because of the tenuous nature of such calculations, the included projections are also fairly narrow in scope, and do not take into account the full economic impact each operator claims their casino would have on the region and the state.

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

THE SOUTHERN TIER AND FINGER LAKES REGIONS Clinton Franklin St. Lawrence

Essex

Lewis Hamilton

Warren

Niagara

Oneida

Orleans Wayne

Monroe

Herkimer

Genesee

Onondaga

Livington

Yates

Seneca

Ontario Erie Wyoming

Schuyler Allegany

Saratoga

Fulton Montgomery

Madison

Schenectady

Cayuga Otsego

Cortland

Chautauqua

Washington

Oswego

Tompkins

Albany

Schoharie

Chenango

Steuben

Greene Chemung

Tioga

Rensselaer

Broome

Columbia

Delaware

Ulster

Dutchess

Sullivan

Putnam

Orange

Pennsylvania

Westchester Rockland

New Jersey

city & state â&#x20AC;&#x201D; September 15, 2014

Nassau

wo casino licenses are being sought in the Southern Tier region and one is being pursued in the northern Finger Lakes region in Seneca County. Both bidders in the Southern Tier say the operations of a Finger Lakes casino will have a minimal effect on them, and the lone developer in Seneca agrees. While these three Western New York developers are competing head-to-head per the rules of the Upstate New York Gaming and Economic Development Act, in theory two of them could win approval to build. Both Southern Tier applicants would expand upon existing businesses and argue that they could not co-exist without some cannibalization of each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s markets. One went so far as to say it could not continue to exist if the other is selected. cit yandstateny.com

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

TRADITIONS RESORT & CASINO BROOME COUNTY Resort & Casino

THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

LOCATION: Johnson City, within the Binghamton metropolitan area, right off the Southern Tier Expressway (Route 17). The casino would be eight miles as the crow flies from the Pennsylvania border or 20 driving miles via I-81.

INVESTMENT: $212 million

APPLICANT: Traditions Resort and Casino, LLC, an affiliate of Traditions at the Glen Resort and Conference Center OPERATOR: Gaming & Leisure Advisors, LLC, an affiliate of Seneca Gaming Corp., which already runs three casinos in Western New York on behalf of the Seneca Nation of Indians

FINANCING: $80 million sale-andleaseback of property through Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc.; “highly confident” letter for a $175 million loan from global financing firm Jefferies (no commitment) ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $135 million EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 546 direct jobs, 396 indirect jobs Permanent: 842 direct jobs, 361 indirect jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $33 million

TIOGA DOWNS RACETRACK & CASINO TIOGA COUNTY THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

LOCATION: Directly off the Southern Tier Expressway (Route 17) in the Village of Nichols, two miles north of the Pennsylvania border

INVESTMENT: $187 million FINANCING: Through EPR Properties (no more information available)

APPLICANT: Tioga Downs Racetrack, LLC

ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: N/A

OPERATOR: Same as applicant

EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 1,200 jobs Permanent: 900 direct jobs, 240 indirect jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: N/A

THE PROPOSAL: Tioga Downs has been in the racetrack gambling business since 1996, and owner Jeff Gural says the business has been profitable for the past two years. The expanded casino would be located on the current Tioga Downs property, which is a 30-minute drive to Binghamton, and Gural touts broad community support for the plan. It would feature 1,000 slot machines and 50 table games, a 136-room hotel, five restaurants, two lounges, an events center and an 18-hole golf course. The casino would be operational within 180 days of being awarded a license, according to developers, with some nongaming amenities ready within a year. In addition to the taxes and fees paid to the state, Gural has promised to donate $500 million annually to local charities through the Tioga Downs Southern Tier Charitable Foundation. In Gural’s view the Southern Tier can only support one casino; if Traditions wins, he contends, Tioga Downs will probably go out of business. Mohegan Sun in Pennsylvania is 107 miles away, but according to Gural it still cuts into Tioga Downs’ revenues. cit yandstateny.com

LAGO RESORT & CASINO SENECA COUNTY

THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

LOCATION: Town of Tyre, off Exit 41 of the New York State Thruway and near the northern tip of Cayuga Lake and the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Lago would be a 50-minute drive from Syracuse and Rochester, and a two-hour drive from Buffalo.

INVESTMENT: $425 million

APPLICANT: Rochester-based Wilmorite, Inc., owned by Thomas Wilmot OPERATOR: JNB Gaming, LLC FINANCIAL PARTNERS: Peninsula Pacific Strategic Partners, Beach Point Capital Management

FINANCING: $63 from Wilmorite Inc. and Peninsula Pacific; $27 million from Beach Point Capital Management; $335 in debt financing from Credit Suisse

ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $263 million in first year; $348 million by 2026 EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 1,200 direct jobs, 600 indirect jobs Permanent: 1,230 direct, 632 indirect ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $6.4 million local, $83.9 million to New York State

THE PROPOSAL: The developers of Lago envision a true destination resort experience—an extension of the region’s tradition of tourism. The newly constructed casino, which would feature 2,000 slots and 85 table games, would also be billed as a gateway to the area’s vineyards and other man-made and natural attractions. The resort would feature a four-star hotel with 208 rooms, fine dining and a 1,700-seat entertainment venue. Buffets and other dining options would place an emphasis on locally sourced wine and food. The developers maintain that 100 percent of the financing for construction and operation is fully in place, as are the union labor agreements, and the shovel-ready project would be completed 18 months from the date a license was awarded. If they are given the go-ahead, Wilmorite and its partners plan to work with Finger Lakes Community College to devise a curriculum to train dealers, midlevel management and other positions for employment at the casino. The company claims it will generate more money than either of the Southern Tier proposals—despite being 75 miles from the Native American-owned Turning Stone casino near Utica—because of its relative proximity to Syracuse and Buffalo, and because of area attractions such as lakes and national parks. The project also has the advantage of being relatively isolated geographically from other casino proposals. Although the plan has broad support from local government and businesses, a group calling itself Casino-Free Tyre opposes the plan.

city & state — September 15, 2014

THE PROPOSAL: Traditions Resort & Casino would be an expansion of the already established Traditions at the Glen Resort and Conference Center, which is adjacent to a 200-acre wildlife reserve and currently features an 18-hole golf course, 40 hotel rooms, a spa and numerous dining options. The proposed casino would feature 1,200 slot machines and 50 gaming tables, as well as 160 new hotel rooms and an outdoor entertainment venue. Traditions at the Glen owner Bill Walsh touts the area’s restaurants, theaters, museums, sports venues and wineries, and says his company has reached out to local businesses with the idea of encouraging casino goers to explore the surrounding region as well. Traditions downplays the cannibalizing effect its casino would have on the nearby Tioga Downs Racetrack, located some 30 miles west along the Southern Tier Expressway, arguing that its status as a destination resort will draw customers from Pennsylvania and Ohio. (Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is located in Pennsylvania 77 miles to the south.)

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

THE HUDSON VALLEY AND CATSKILL REGIONS Clinton Franklin St. Lawrence

Essex

Lewis Hamilton

Warren

Niagara

Oneida

Orleans Wayne

Monroe

Herkimer

Genesee

Onondaga

Erie Wyoming

Livington

Yates

Seneca

Ontario

Schuyler Allegany

Saratoga

Fulton Montgomery

Madison

Schenectady

Cayuga Otsego

Cortland

Chautauqua

Washington

Oswego

Tompkins

Albany

Schoharie

Chenango

Steuben

Greene Chemung

Tioga

Rensselaer

Broome

Columbia

Delaware

Ulster

Dutchess

Sullivan

Putnam

Orange

Pennsylvania

Westchester Rockland

New Jersey

city & state — September 15, 2014

Nassau

he counties of Sullivan and Ulster in the Catskills have been economically depressed for decades, and would-be casino developers hope a destination resort and casino could help restore the region’s former status as a vacation destination. They believe that two casinos in the region would have a synergistic effect on each other, while casinos in the Capital Region would have little to no effect on their business. They warn, however, that if even a single casino license is granted in the Hudson Valley’s Orange County to the south, their business plans will no longer be viable, in part because they think banks would be leery of lending to them in that event. Experts say that as far as sheer revenue for the state is concerned, Orange County is the most sensible location because of its proximity to New York City’s estimated $4 billion untapped gambling market. But while Orange County also boasts some of the poorest municipalities in the state—such as Newburgh, which is in dire need of economic stimulus—those seeking to build casinos in the Catskills warn that any casino placed there would command nearly the entire New York City customer base. For them, a new casino in Orange County would mean no casinos in the Catskills. cit yandstateny.com

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

STERLING FOREST RESORT & CASINO ORANGE COUNTY

APPLICANT: Genting Group

PROJECTED ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: N/A

OPERATOR: Genting Americas

EMPLOYMENT: Construction: N/A Permanent: N/A

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $238 million to the state, $37 million a year to local school districts

INVESTMENT: $1.5 billion

THE PROPOSAL: Genting’s second and preferred bid is by far the most expensive proposal before the state. The resort and casino will sit on a 238-acre site on the edge of 23,000acre Sterling Forest State Park and will combine ecotourism and an environmental sensibility with posh accommodations appealing to both regional and international patrons. During its presentation to the state Gaming Board, Genting emphasized its targeting of the Asian, especially Chinese, markets in particular—Asian high rollers have reinvigorated the Las Vegas market with an affinity for Baccarat, and Genting plans to create a destination resort that will attract jet setters to venture the short distance north from New York City. Company officials have even touted their fleet of 10 private jets, which they can use to attract high rollers. Developers also called the city “the most significant opportunity in the United States” in terms of untapped gaming potential. The company will even finance the construction of a new Thruway interchange to expedite traffic in the area.

Calling it a “true environmental casino” and the “next big national park hotel,” developers say they will build a new wastewater treatment system that will mitigate the problems with dirty storm water around the Town of Tuxedo and surrounding environs. They will also restore the natural marshland existent on the property, and 10 percent of the resort’s power will be generated from solar panels. Several environmental groups have come out in opposition to the proposal, but Genting notes that the property was already previously developed and has been designated by the Town of Tuxedo for further development. Company officials say they have been open and have engaged with all concerned parties and are continuing an ongoing dialogue with groups like the National Resources Defense Council to see if they can address their concerns. (The plan to restore the wetlands supposedly stemmed from talks with environmentalists.) Genting is also offering to pay a one-time $450 million licensing fee to the state—$380 million more than the minimum required—and $30 million annually above and beyond its other commitments for improvements to state parks.

TIOGA DOWNS IS PROUD

CLINTON

of its contributions to New York’s economy – statewide and regionally.

FRANKLIN ST. LAWRENCE

ESSEX

Our ongoing successes are based on genuine relationships, realistic promises kept, and broad-based local support.

JEFFERSON

LEWIS HAMILTON

WARREN

OSWEGO NIAGARA

ONEIDA

ORLEANS

FULTON ONONDAGA

GENESEE

WYOMING

ONTARIO

SENECA

ERIE

HERKIMER

WAYNE

MONROE

LIVINGSTON

Tioga Downs is committed to continuing its many contributions to our economy, and the well being of our neighbors in the Southern Tier. The past eight years have shown us to be a trusted community partner & casino operator, as demonstrated by the enthusiasm of those supporting expansion to a full gaming facility under the careful rules and regulations put in place by state officials and the voters of New York when they passed casino legislation and then Proposition One.

SARATOGA

MONTGOMERY

SCHENECTADY

MADISON CAYUGA

YATES

CORTLAND

OTSEGO CHENANGO

RENSSELAER

ALBANY

SCHOHARIE

TOMPKINS SCHUYLER GREENE CHAUTAUQUA

CATTARAUGUS

ALLEGANY

STEUBEN

COLUMBIA

DELAWARE CHEMUNG

For more information on Tioga Downs’ application for a full gaming license, please visit:

www.tiogadowns.com/allin

TIOGA

BROOME ULSTER DUTCHESS SULLIVAN

PUTNAM

ORANGE ROCKLAND

WESTCHESTER

BRONX SUFFOLK

NEW YORK

TIOGA DOWNS

NEW YORK

Rt. 17, EXIT 62, Nichols NY 13812 • 888-WIN-TIOGA (888-946-8464) cit yandstateny.com

NASSAU

KINGS

RICHMOND

QUEENS

city & state — September 15, 2014

LOCATION: Town of Tuxedo, some 44 miles northwest of New York City on the edge of Sterling Forest State Park

FINANCING: Genting Malaysia Berhad, of which Sterling Forest Casino & Resort is a wholly owned subsidiary, will fully fund the project; no third party financing

WASHINGTON

THE BASICS

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS:

LOCATION: Town of Newburgh, near the intersection of I-87 and I-84 and several miles from Stewart International Airport

INVESTMENT: $670 million

LOCATION: Village of South Blooming Grove, just under 60 miles from New York City near the intersection of I-87 and Route 17, and 9 miles from Woodbury Common Premium Outlets

INVESTMENT: $750 million

APPLICANTS: Hudson Valley Casino and Resort, LLC, an affiliate of Rush Street Gaming, LLC, and Saratoga Casino and Raceway OPERATOR: Neil Bluhm, chairman of Rush Street Gaming

THE LIVE! HOTEL & CASINO NEW YORK ORANGE COUNTY

HUDSON VALLEY CASINO & RESORT ORANGE COUNTY

FINANCING: “Highly confident” letters from six banks (no commitments) PROJECTED ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $538 million EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 2,500 jobs Permanent: 2,500 direct jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $244 million to state and local coffers

THE PROPOSAL: Rush Street Gaming and Saratoga Casino and Raceway are involved in separate bids in the Capital Region, but they have also come together with a separate plan to build a much larger casino in the Town of Newburgh. The developers highlight the struggles of the adjacent City of Newburgh and surrounding municipalities, where well over 20 percent of residents live below the poverty line. The plan has the backing of the city’s mayor, and the Town of Newburgh has even entered into a deal with the neighboring city to transfer 15 percent of its gaming tax revenue to address public safety and crime reduction. Furthermore, the developers argue, the proposed location is some 20 miles north of Route 17—the main artery to the Catskills from New York City—meaning the location should not cannibalize a casino in Sullivan or Ulster Counties as much as if it were located further south. The casino will feature a 300-room four-star hotel and 150,000 square feet of gaming space (the number of slots and tables is unclear), as well as restaurants, a spa, multiple entertainment venues, convention facilities and retail stores.

APPLICANTS: OCCR Enterprises, LLC, a joint venture of the Cordish Companies and Penn National Gaming OPERATORS: 50/50 joint venture between the applicants

LOCATION: Town of Montgomery, near the intersections of I-87, I-84 and Routes 747 and 17K, just under 90 minutes from New York City and near the City of Newburgh APPLICANT: Genting Group OPERATOR: Genting Americas OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

FINANCING: Genting Malaysia Berhad, of which Resorts World Hudson Valley is a wholly owned subsidiary, will fully fund the project; no third party financing ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: N/A EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 1,900 jobs Permanent: 3,000 direct jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $227 million to the state

city & state — September 15, 2014

INVESTMENT: $1 billion

THE PROPOSAL: Malaysian gaming giant Genting, which already owns Resorts World New York City at the Aqueduct Raceway in Queens, has two proposals in Orange County—the one in Montgomery is further north from New York City than the other, and is billed as an option to appeal to the gaming commission board: The communities in northern Orange County are more distressed than those further south, and one of the ostensible goals of the 2013 Upstate NY Gaming Economic Development Act is to boost flagging local economies. Genting boasts average salaries of $80,000 at its Queens casino, and promises to offer comparable living wages to its workers in Orange County as well. The company also claims that over 30 percent of its goods and services are sourced from minority- and women-owned businesses, and offers a multilingual problem-gaming program. The 370-acre site would place an emphasis on ecotourism—wetlands would be maintained on the property and guided nature tours provided. Building materials would be locally sourced. The casino would feature 3,500 slots and 290 tables, 1,304 hotel rooms and dining, spa and entertainment facilities.

PROJECTED ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $687–780 million EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 2,800 jobs Permanent: 3,264 full-time, 1,444 part-time ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $147 million to the state

THE PROPOSAL: The Live! is the paradigm of the type of casino that would-be developers in the Catskills argue would make their proposals futile. It would be located off Route 17 shortly after it splits from I-87, which would in theory lasso the flow of New York City gamblers headed along the main route to Sullivan and Ulster Counties. The applicants, who own Maryland Live!, argue that placing a large casino at this location makes the most sense in terms of generating revenue for the state: New York City has an untapped gambling market valued in the billions by most estimates, and market research shows that gamblers habitually weigh the proximity of the casino over other factors. The Live! will also seek to attract New Yorkers who currently spend their time at Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and it will cater to an upscale customer more concerned with gaming and high quality hospitality than carnival rides or outdoor sports. As such it will feature VIP gaming rooms and a 320-room five-star hotel. There will be over 3,000 slot machines, 270 table games, and a 3000-person entertainment venue. The Live! has also tapped Brooklyn pizzeria Fornino and flea and food market Smorgasburg to locate there.

RESORTS WORLD HUDSON VALLEY ORANGE COUNTY THE BASICS

FINANCING: $1.25 billion credit agreement among Penn National Gaming, Inc. (borrower), Bank of America (lender) and other parties

GRAND HUDSON RESORT & CASINO ORANGE COUNTY THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

LOCATION: Stewart International Airport in the Town of New Windsor, near the intersection of I-87 and I-84 and 5 miles west of Newburgh and 60 miles north of New York City

INVESTMENT: $700 million

APPLICANT: New Windsor Casino & Resort, LLC, an affiliate of Greenetrack, Inc. OPERATOR: Full House Resorts, Inc.

FINANCING: N/A ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $568 million EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 1,800 jobs Permanent: 2,300 direct jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $181 million to New York State

THE PROPOSAL: Luther “Nat” Winn Jr., the Alabama-based CEO of Greenetrack, Inc., would build a 450,000-square-foot casino on the abandoned portions of the underused Stewart International Airport with the intention of drawing customers via air and boosting activity in the surrounding communities of New Windsor and Newburgh, which is down on its luck economically. Currently no real estate taxes are paid on much of the disused land around Stewart. The casino would have 3,000 slot machines and 100 table games, along with restaurants and lounges, a conference center and a 350-room hotel. Greenetrack will also build a sports and aquatics center with an Olympic-size pool, which it says will be for the benefit of the surrounding community. Winn plays up the time he spent in the Catskills as a teenager washing dishes at area hotels. He also has more mature ties to the New York region—he sits on the board of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Greenetrack hopes to draw gamblers from New York City, Connecticut and New Jersey. cit yandstateny.com

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

7 World Trade Center • 250 Greenwich Street • New York, NY 10007

Brief:

City & State and partners host top New York agency heads to discuss the current public project construction landscape, major upcoming RFPs and bids, and the ever-expanding role of technology in construction.

8:00am

Registration and breakfast

8:45am

Opening remarks by City & State and Lead Sponsor Representative

9:00am

City & State’s Policy Reporter Wilder Fleming interviews NYC Department of Housing & Development Commissioner, Vicki Been*, on the broad scope of HPD’s work, implementation of the ten-year affordable housing plan, and how HPD is coordinating with State and Federal counterparts to disburse/invest Sandy relief dollars.

9:45am

City & State Albany Bureau Chief, Jon Lentz interviews New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald about major transportation projects underway throughout the State, as well as significant pending/upcoming projects, including Interstate 81, major railway infrastructure improvements and upgrades, etc. City & State City Hall Bureau Chief, Nick Powell, interviews New York City’s Health and Hospital Corporation President and Executive Director Ramanathan Raju on the ever-changing delivery of and accessibility to healthcare in New York City and the expanded use of technology in HHC hospital infrastructure.

11:15 - 12:00pm

Post event networking

For more information on programming or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jasmin Freeman at jfreeman@cityandstateny.com or 646-442-1662. .

cit yandstateny com

city & state — March 24, 2014

10:30am

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

MOHEGAN SUN AT THE CONCORD SULLIVAN COUNTY

MONTREIGN RESORT AND CASINO SULLIVAN COUNTY

THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

THE BASICS

LOCATION: Near Kiamesha Lake, a few miles from the Village of Monticello off Route 17 (near I-84), 90 miles northwest of New York City and about 25 miles to the New Jersey and Pennsylvania borders

INVESTMENT: $500 million

ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $255–321 million

LOCATION: Town of Thompson, near Kiamesha Lake off Route 17 (near I-84), 90 miles northwest of New York City and about 25 miles to the New Jersey and Pennsylvania borders

EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 3,000 jobs Permanent: 1,200 direct jobs

APPLICANT: Montreign Operating Company, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire Resorts, Inc.; EPR Properties

ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $84 million to New York State

OPERATOR: Same as applicant

APPLICANTS: Mohegan Resorts New York, LLC; The Cappelli Concord, LLC OPERATOR: Mohegan New York Gaming, LLC, an affiliate of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority

FINANCING: N/A

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

FINANCING: Equity from EPR Properties; $150 million public rights offering backed by Kien Huat Realty III Limited (an investment company that owns 62 percent of Empire’s common stock); commitment letter from Credit Suisse to raise $478 million ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: N/A EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 4,000 jobs Permanent: 3,000 direct and indirect jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $109 million to New York State

INVESTMENT: $1 billion

THE PROPOSAL: Mohegan Sun seeks to capitalize on the property’s status as a formerly pre-eminent resort—the Concord Hotel was once one of the region’s largest hotels, but it has been closed since 1998. The developers hope to again lure vacationers to this 118-acre tract in the Borscht Belt by creating an air of nostalgia for an area that was once a premier vacation and entertainment destination. The casino would feature 1,800 slot machines and 50 table games—including a VIP gaming area—as well as seven restaurants and a 252-room hotel. The site is adjacent to the classic Monster Golf Club. The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority plans to capitalize on its extensive regional customer database, player rewards programs and high brand recognition in the New York City metropolitan area. The Mohegan Tribe has already spent $100 million on predevelopment, according to Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority CEO Mitchell Etess, and expects the casino to be fully operational within 18 months of receiving a license. But if a casino is placed in Orange County, the developers contend, they will not be able to go forward with their plans.

24 THE NEVELE ULSTER COUNTY THE BASICS LOCATION: Town of Wawarsing, just outside the Village of Ellenville, near the junction of Routes 209 and 52 APPLICANT: Nevele-R, LLC DEVELOPERS AND OPERATORS: Angelique Brunner, CEO of Nevele Resort, Casino & Spa, and COO Kathy Meci OPERATOR PROJECTIONS INVESTMENT: $582–640 million

THE PROPOSAL: Empire Resorts, Inc. proposes a massive resort complex called the Adelaar on the site of the former Concord Hotel (and on land adjacent to the Mohegan Sun bid), of which the Montreign Resort and Casino will be the centerpiece. They would immediately develop 700 acres of a sprawling 1,700-acre piece of land to include an indoor, family-centric waterpark with non-gaming lodging and amenities, a 200,000-square-foot entertainment village, opportunities for tubing, skiing, riding ziplines—and the list goes on. The company also proposes to redesign and lease the nearby Monster Golf Course. Empire Resorts is the only applicant that already owns a casino in Sullivan County—The Monticello Raceway—which the company argues gives it the upper hand in evaluating the needs of the market and it has worked out two contingency plans involving smaller investments should its ultimate proposal prove too unwieldy: the first alternative should another casino license be awarded in Dutchess or northern Orange County, and the smallest proposal if a casino is also built in southern Orange County a short drive from New York City. The applicants claim no changes would be made to their $1 billion dollar proposal should a second casino be placed in the Catskills, and that their project is shovel-ready and would open with 24 months.

FINANCING: Combination of developer equity and expected debt financing from Deutsch Bank

CAESARS NEW YORK ORANGE COUNTY

ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: N/A EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 1,000 jobs Permanent: 2,250-2,440 direct jobs, 1,000 indirect jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $99 million to New York State (figure includes income and sales taxes), $9.8 million to Ulster County (includes income and occupancy taxes) and $5.2 million to the Town of Wawarsing in the first year of operation

THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

LOCATION: Town of Woodbury, 53 miles from New York City near the intersection of I-87 and Route 17, with easy access to the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets

INVESTMENT: $880 million

APPLICANT: Caesars Growth Partners, LLC, a joint venture between Caesars Acquisition Co. and Caesars Entertainment Corporation

city & state — September 15, 2014

OPERATOR: Same as applicant

THE PROPOSAL: The Nevele Grande Resort was once the anchor resort in the Eastern Catskills, but it closed in 2009 after 106 years in operation. Like much of the region, Ellenville was built on tourism and has fallen on hard times as the area’s popularity as a vacation destination dipped. The developers hope to attract customers to the 500-acre property not just for the gambling, but also for outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking and horseback riding. A now-defunct golf course will be revitalized. The casino itself will feature 2,000 slot machines and 80 table games, along with a nightclub, several restaurants and a steakhouse, but the aesthetic will be more natural than flashy, in keeping with the rugged surroundings. The developers claim the project has widespread support, having received 57 letters of support from seven counties, according to the developers. It is the only bid in Ulster County, and the applicants agree with their Sullivan County counterparts—Mohegan Sun at the Concord—that while two casinos in the Catskills would be welcome, one in Orange County would probably ruin any chances of securing financing from the banks.

FINANCING: “Highly confident” letters from four banks (no commitments) PROJECTED ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $750 million EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 1,500 jobs Permanent: 3,000 direct jobs ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $234 million to the state

THE PROPOSAL: Caesars Entertainment is vying for a location only a couple of miles from The Live! and is similarly looking to capture the New York City market to the fullest extent possible, given the geographic limitations of the governor’s gaming act. Caesars argues it can rely on its brand recognition (53 properties in seven countries and 100 million annual customers) to attract international gamers as well. The casino will feature 300 luxury hotel rooms, suites and villas, along with 2,580 slots and 190 table games, a spa, convention center and entertainment venues. Caesars enjoys a slightly closer proximity to the highly popular Woodbury Commons shopping outlets than The Live! does. But the company has also seen several of its casinos shut their doors in recent years, and considerable debt is expected to lead to a major debt restructuring in the near future. cit yandstateny.com

A Grand Partner for New York

REVITALIZING THE GATEWAY TO THE HUDSON VALLEY

The Grand Hudson Casino and Resort is a shovel ready site, with permits in hand to begin construction. This world-class offering includes a 350 room hotel, 120,000 square feet of gaming space a luxury spa and health club as well as an entertainment and performing arts center. Once completed, it will produce $181 million for the state of New York in taxes and gaming fees. The Grand Hudson is a NYS Smart Growth compliant project that will not require costly new infrastructure development projects. Instead it will rely on existing, unutilized infrastructure already in place at its site at Stewart International Airport. Stewart Airport has been repeatedly highlighted by local town and regional economic development plans as an underutilized state asset. The Grand Hudson will serve as a catalyst to develop Stewart Airport into a regional economic engine, driving growth in the Mid-Hudson Valley.

A VETERAN TEAM, COMMUNITY MINDED

Greenetrack, a certified MBE in New York, has a proven ability to utilize casino-style gaming in combination with focused community development programs to radically transform economically struggling areas. The Grand Hudson will offer 2,500 well-paying, permanent jobs that offer amazing benefits alongside training and employment partnerships, internships, and advancement programs. Our operator, Full House Resorts, has a fantastic history of local hiring, ensuring these jobs go to local residents in struggling communities close by such as neighboring Newburgh. The Grand Hudson will also offer special scholarships, tutoring and mentorship programs along with education partnerships with local colleges to help educate the next generation of local leaders and entrepreneurs.

To learn more visit: GrandHudsonResort.com cit yandstateny.com

city & state â&#x20AC;&#x201D; March 24, 2014

A REGIONAL PARTNER DRIVING REGIONAL GROWTH

The Grand Hudson has overwhelming local support from local leaders, businesses and organizations and is in an ideal location to promote regional economic growth and tourism. A buy local approach with a focus on promoting area attractions will turn the Grand Hudson into a showcase for visitors to experience the best the Mid-Hudson Valley has to offer. A network of partnerships with local restaurants, hotels, and retailers, as well as agreements with nearby live entertainment venues will encourage growth regionally, not just locally. As part of the proposal, construction of a new sports complex will help develop local athletes and provide an attraction that will draw regional and national competitions and tournaments. Financial support for counties, communities and school districts will further strengthen local foundations as The Grand Hudson Casino and Resort provides the spark to ignite cross-county, regional development.

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

THE CAPITAL REGION

Clinton Franklin St. Lawrence

Essex

Lewis Hamilton

Warren

Niagara

Oneida

Orleans Wayne

Monroe

Herkimer

Genesee

Onondaga

Livington

Yates

Seneca

Ontario Erie Wyoming

Schuyler Allegany

Saratoga

Fulton Montgomery

Madison

Schenectady

Cayuga Otsego

Cortland

Chautauqua

Washington

Oswego

Tompkins

Albany

Schoharie

Chenango

Steuben

Greene Chemung

Tioga

Rensselaer

Broome

Columbia

Delaware

Ulster

Dutchess

Sullivan

Putnam

Orange

Pennsylvania

Westchester Rockland

New Jersey

city & state â&#x20AC;&#x201D; September 15, 2014

Nassau

evelopers in this region of the state agree that the proposed downstate casinos in the Catskills and the Hudson Valley will have a negligible effect on their projected revenues. If selected, the lucky casino(s) in this area would have to contend with tribal gaming operations in the area, a planned casino in Western Massachusetts and casinos in Connecticut. cit yandstateny.com

RIVERS CASINO & RESORT AT MOHAWK HARBOR SCHENECTADY COUNTY

THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

THE BASICS

LOCATION: DeLaet’s Landing along the Hudson River waterfront, directly across from downtown Albany

INVESTMENT: $280 million

LOCATION: City of Schenectady at Mohawk Harbor

FINANCING: Fully funded by developers; no third-party financing

APPLICANT: Capital Region Gaming, LLC, an affiliate of Rush Street Gaming, LLC

ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $260 million

OPERATOR: Same as applicant

EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 967 direct jobs, 393 indirect jobs Permanent: 900+ direct jobs, 700+ indirect jobs

DEVELOPER: The Galesi Group

FRANCHISOR: Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment CONSULTANT: Global Gaming Consulting

ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $100 million, $10 million of which will be local

THE PROPOSAL: The plug for the Hard Rock Rensselaer is its internationally recognized brand name and full financing from the developers for the shovel-ready project—no reliance on the banks means the project will go forward no matter the economic climate. Because of market saturation in the northeast, the developers emphasize the need for a true destination resort, not just a place for locals to gamble—and they argue that the Hard Rock brand would attract even international visitors. They project that the casino will take 12 months to build, and note that their recently completed “Rocksino” in Cleveland, Ohio, was built ahead of schedule in just 10 months. Hard Rock Rensselaer would feature 1,500 slot machines and 50 table games, along with 100 luxury hotel rooms. A 250-seat Hard Rock Cafe, upscale steakhouse and more casual dining options. Hard Rock claims a loyalty program with over 480,000 members within a 200-mile radius of the proposed gaming site, and the casino would be located within minutes of Albany-Rensselaer train station.

EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 739 jobs Permanent: 1,070 jobs

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS INVESTMENT: $300 million (casino only)

CAPITAL VIEW CASINO & RESORT RENSSELAER COUNTY THE BASICS

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS

LOCATION: The 330-acre Howe Caverns property off Route 7 and I-88 outside the Town of Cobleskill and a 45-minute drive west of Albany

INVESTMENT: $330–450 million

DEVELOPER: Howe Caverns Resort and Casino, LLC OWNER: Michael J. Malik Sr. OPERATOR: Full House Resorts, Inc.

FINANCING: N/A

APPLICANTS: Churchill Downs Inc. and the Saratoga Casino and Raceway

EMPLOYMENT: Construction: 3,000 jobs Permanent: 1,700 jobs

OPERATORS: Joint venture between the applicants

THE PROPOSAL: This casino, resort and indoor-outdoor waterpark would be built on 110 acres of the 330-acre iconic Howe Caverns property, which, according to the applicant, already draws 200,000 visitors a year. Michael Malik and Full House Resorts, who both have prior experience developing and managing regional casinos, envision the resort’s layout as “together but separate.” This means a site that encourages families with children to visit so the younger members will enjoy the waterpark, arcade and surrounding natural wonders like the caves, while the adults can play at the casino’s 1,200 to 1,500 slots and 35 to 50 table games. The casino and the waterpark will occupy the same property, but with separate entrances—each of which will have its own 250-room hotel, restaurants and amenities. The developers also argue that their location will have the least negative effect on Saratoga Racino’s current business—$15 million per year—half or less of the projected impact that any other proposal would have on the raceway. Howe Caverns has already spent some $4.5 million in developing its land over the years, which means that the basic infrastructure is mostly in place, and it has the green light from the state to build. The developer does not go into details of project financing, but says in its application to the state: “The fact that a competitive bidding process is unfolding with the location of four licenses still to be determined makes the capital funding environment difficult to pin down.” cit yandstateny.com

LOCATION: East Greenbush, a 15-minute drive from Albany across the Hudson River, near the intersections of Route 4 and 20, and I-90

PROJECTED ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $131 million

ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $50–60 million

ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $82 million

THE PROPOSAL: The Rivers Casino & Resort would be part of a larger mixed-use development that is already going up along the Schenectady waterfront. The developers imagine a “waterfront renaissance” in the city, which has been economically depressed following the close of factories and the movement of manufacturing jobs out of state and overseas. They claim the city has the lowest per capita income of any of the Capital Region’s host communities. The current waterfront development is now being built to house retail outlets, residential buildings and tech space. The casino would feature 1,150 slots, 66 table games and a 150-room hotel, along with fine dining, an entertainment lounge and other amenities. Rush Street Gaming has built $2.5 billion in gaming projects over the last 10 years, including the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, to which they compare their Schenectady proposal. The Galesi Group has been active in the Capital Region for 45 years. The project has the support of the city and county legislatures and local business. If it goes forward, Schenectady County Community College will offer courses in dealing and casino management.

HOWE CAVERNS RESORT AND CASINO SCHOHARIE COUNTY

THE BASICS

ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $223 million

OPERATOR PROJECTIONS INVESTMENT: $320 million

FINANCING: 25 percent equity, 75 percent third-party financing. ANNUAL GAMING REVENUE: $217 million ($306 million when combined with Saratoga Raceway) EMPLOYMENT: Construction: up to 1,000 jobs Permanent: 1,000 jobs. ANNUAL GAMING TAXES AND FEES: $5.7 million for the Town of East Greenbush and Rensselaer County; $24 million for the Capital Region (Statewide: N/A)

THE PROPOSAL: Saratoga Casino and Raceway and Churchill Downs Inc. trumpet the latter’s long-established brand (est. 1875) and successful record of opening profitable casinos nationally. Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Ky., is home to the world-renowned Kentucky Derby, and the company also maintains four other racetracks and six casinos across 10 states. Capital View would feature 1,506 slot machines and 56 tables games, along with a 100-room three-star hotel and a convention center. Entertainment space would be limited to 1,000 seats in deference to Albany’s other theatres and venues— such as the Palace Theatre, Park Playhouse and Times Union Center—with which the casino has entered into sponsorship agreements. Both companies claim conservative financial profiles and strong union ties. Their labor agreements are fully executed and ready to go, should they be chosen. The average salary offered to their employees will be $50,000 per year, with an emphasis on hiring minorities and women, and contracting with minority and women-owned businesses. Capital View is also one of the few casino proposals facing organized opposition. A group calling itself Save East Greenbush says it has 3,000 petition signatures opposing the project, and has filed a lawsuit challenging a June 12 vote in which the town board adopted a resolution in support of the casino. The developers say they have engaged with area residents and have even changed their building plans based on community input.

city & state — September 15, 2014

FRANCHISEE: Och-Ziff Real Estate

FINANCING: Rush Street is putting up “substantial” equity behind it; six “highly confident” letters from major banks (no commitments)

SP OTLIG HT: C A SINOS

HARD ROCK RESORT & CASINO RENSSELAER COUNTY

AN INSIDERS’ GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY’S AGENCIES AND AUTHORITIES

AGENCY FOCUS SPOTLIGHT ON:

city & state — September 15 , 2014

f you are a New York City resident and have ever been a patient at or visited one of the city’s 11 public hospitals—or filled a glass of water from your sink faucet—you already have interacted with the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Both agencies are in the process of adjusting to exciting and challenging developments in their respective fields. The DEP is charged with safeguarding the natural resources and key infrastructure that city residents take for granted—such as clean drinking water—all with the looming threat of climate change hanging overhead. The HHC has the unenviable task of managing a vast and complex $6.7 billion healthcare system that includes 11 acute care hospitals, five nursing homes, six diagnostic and treatment centers, and more than 70 communitybased primary care sites, not to mention an affordable health insurance plan, MetroPlus Health, that the agency provides to New Yorkers across the five boroughs. Meanwhile, recent obstacles such as adapting to a new regulatory environment—courtesy of the Affordable Care Act—and the city’s rapidly growing undocumented immigrant population only add to HHC’s precarious financial state. With the assistance of the respective agencies, City & State has put together a comprehensive insiders’ guide to both the HHC and the DEP, to give our readers a snapshot of the functions of each agency and familiarize them with some of the projects and initiatives that will impact the lives of everyday New Yorkers. This special section includes interviews with DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd, who is in her second go-around as head of the agency, and Dr. Ramanathan Raju, the president and CEO of HHC. Each spotlight also introduces you to the individuals in key leadership positions within their respective agencies, as well as providing you with expert analysis by the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission of the fiscal challenges these agencies face going forward.

cit yandstateny.com

AG ENC Y FO CUS: DEP

COMMISSIONER Q&A

EMILY LLOYD Commissioner New York City Department of Environmental Protection

cit yandstateny.com

when we detect a jump in water consumption, which may indicate that there is a leak somewhere on their property. Over the last three years this Leak Notification Program has saved homeowners more than $55 million.

significantly reduce sewer overflows. Green infrastructure is more costeffective, and it provides benefits that traditional gray infrastructure cannot, such as cleaner air and shade to cool the city.

C&S: Are there new environmental challenges you have to deal with this time around as commissioner? EL: New York is truly a city of islands, and one of our greatest natural resources is our local waterways. In order to open as much of our waterfront as possible for all New Yorkers, we must address the stormwater that can overwhelm our combined sewer system when it rains, impairing water quality in the harbor and its tributaries. Key indicators show that New York Harbor is cleaner today than it has been in more than a century, thanks to the more than $10 billion we have invested over the last decade in traditional infrastructure projects. Still, sewer overflows remain our top harbor water quality challenge. To further reduce these overflows, and continue to improve the health of New York Harbor water, we launched the Green Infrastructure Plan—an innovative way to manage stormwater that is also affordable for New Yorkers. Over the next two decades we will invest $2.4 billion to install thousands of green infrastructure installations, as well as an estimated $2.9 billion in traditional gray infrastructure upgrades, that will

C&S: When you talk to environmental advocates, one of the main problems they say needs to be addressed is the condition of the city’s aging sewage and water infrastructure. Does the agency have a long-term plan to address this concern? EL: DEP maintains a vast system of infrastructure that extends from the far reaches of the five boroughs to more than 125 miles northwest of the city. Over the last decade, DEP has invested more than $20 billion to upgrade this infrastructure and ensure that it remains in a state of good repair. Over the next four years, DEP is budgeting for more than $2 billion for sewer and water main upgrades alone. Further, Mayor de Blasio has committed an additional $300 million to accelerate these upgrades, which will put us on track to replace the oldest infrastructure over the next 10 years. C&S: The previous administration started an organic waste to renewable energy initiative. Are there plans to expand this program? EL: Yes, we are very excited about the

potential benefits of this initiative and work is under way to expand the pilot program. Last summer, partnering with the Department of Sanitation and Waste Management, we began injecting between 1.5 and 2 tons of preprocessed organic waste into the digester eggs at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant each day. The digester eggs act like giant stomachs and break down sewage sludge into its most basic elements: carbon dioxide, water and methane gas. We currently reuse approximately 40 percent of the methane to heat the plant and the digester eggs, but the remaining 60 percent is flared into the atmosphere. Partnering with National Grid, we plan to capture that excess methane and purify it into pipelinequality renewable natural gas. This will be injected into the local natural gas distribution system to heat local homes. We plan to increase the daily load to 50 tons of organic waste each day by next summer and, over the next three years, expand it to 250 tons each day. Together these partnerships have the potential to produce enough natural gas to heat nearly 5,200 New York City homes, reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90,000 metric tons—the equivalent of removing nearly 19,000 cars from the road—and help city government reach its goal of reducing municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2017.

city & state — September 15, 2014

C&S: This is your second stint as commissioner of DEP. Has the agency changed at all since you last ran it, from 2005 to 2008, from a philosophical or managerial standpoint? Emily Lloyd: One of the significant advances the department has made during the last six years is in the area of customer service, where we have empowered our 836,000 ratepayers with near real-time information concerning their water consumption. In the past, water meters had to be read by an inspector, which meant visits to each individual property, and often, when the inspector could not gain access, estimated bills. And when the technician finally did gain access to the property and got an actual reading of the water meter, in many cases what would follow was a significant “catch-up” bill. This led to many billing disputes. We have now substantially completed the installation of wireless meter readers throughout the five boroughs that transmit water consumption data to DEP in near real time. This information is also available to our customers via our My DEP Account website, and through a new mobile app. This means that nearly all bills are now based on actual consumption, and we have seen the number of billing disputes drop by 41 percent since 2008. The technology has also allowed us to send alerts to homeowners

AG ENC Y FO CUS: DEP city & state — September 15 , 2014

LEADERSHIP

STEVE LAWITTS First Deputy Commissioner

KEVIN McBRIDE Deputy Commissioner for the Bureau of Police and Security

JIM ROBERTS, P.E. Deputy Commissioner for Water and Sewer Operations

PAUL RUSH, P.E. P.E. Deputy Commissioner for the Bureau of Water Supply

Lawitts supervises DEP’s Mission Support offices, including budget, revenue collection, procurement, information technology, human resources, labor relations and fleet. A seasoned manager, he also served as DEP’s acting commissioner in 2008 and 2009.

A 35-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, McBride is responsible for the security of all oversees DEP’s infrastructure, both in the city and upstate. He oversees the DEP Police, its Division of Emergency Response and Technical Assessment, and the security division.

Roberts oversees 1,250 professionals and is responsible for the in-city distribution of drinking water, and collection and management of storm and wastewater. In addition, he manages three in-city reservoirs, the three city water tunnels, the groundwater system in southeast Queens, the soon to be commissioned Croton Filtration Plant, and over 14,000 miles of water and sewer infrastructure.

Rush runs the operation and maintenance of New York City’s 19 upstate reservoirs and three controlled lakes, which store a total of 580 billion gallons of water. The nearly 1,000 employees he supervises maintain infrastructure across the city’s 1.2 million acre watershed, which includes 300 miles of aqueducts, 29 water supply dams, 57 bridges, 99 miles of road and seven upstate wastewater treatment facilities. Rush also manages the water quality division, which tests the city’s drinking water roughly 560,000 times annually to ensure that it is clean and safe. Rush is DEP’s primary liaison with upstate officials who lead the communities where the city’s reservoirs are located.

VINNY SAPIENZA, P.E. Deputy Commissioner for Wastewater Treatment

ANGELA LICATA Deputy Commissioner for Sustainability

DIANA JONES RITTER Deputy Commissioner for Organizational Development

Sapienza oversees approximately 1,900 employees and is responsible for ensuring that the 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater produced in New York City every day are cleaned to federal Clean Water Act standards. He manages 96 pump stations and 14 wastewater treatment plants around the five boroughs. Sapienza is also responsible for the Marine Unit which includes 6 sludge vessels, and the Marine Sciences section which regularly tests the quality of New York City Harbor water.

Licata runs several critical initiatives, including the implementation of the Green Infrastructure plan to manage stormwater more naturally and reduce sewer overflows, and restoring wetland habitat throughout the city, especially in and around Jamaica Bay. Licata also oversees enforcement of the city’s air and noise codes, and manages the department’s citywide water conservation initiatives.

Jones Ritter is responsible for facilitating excellence in human resource services, recruitment, professional development and training, succession development, performance management, and the engagement of the workforce. In addition, she leads department-wide efforts to increase organizational effectiveness to help achieve strategic goals and manage change.

ERIC LANDAU Associate Commissioner for the Bureau of Public Affairs Landau oversees intergovernmental relations, community affairs, economic development, education, marketing and special events. He serves as the agency’s primary contact for all elected officials, community boards and local organizations. cit yandstateny.com

city & state â&#x20AC;&#x201D; March 24, 2014

cit yandstateny.com

BUILDING OUT THE SEWER SYSTEM AND BLUEBELTS IN SOUTHEAST QUEENS AND STATEN ISLAND

REPAIRS TO THE DELAWARE AQUEDUCT

The post-World War II residential and commercial development of portions of the city, most notably southeast Queens and Staten Island, outpaced the extension of the city’s sewer system, and many of these neighborhoods are not yet equipped with catch basins and storm sewers to drain precipitation from the roadways. DEP is committed to building out the sewer system in these neighborhoods and to include the use of ecologically sound Bluebelts to naturally filter stormwater where appropriate. In southeast Queens, construction continues on a comprehensive $6 billion drainage system. DEP is also working with local community groups to accelerate smaller sewer extensions where feasible. Over the last 10 years DEP has built Bluebelts for approximately one-third of Staten Island’s land area, and this past spring ground was broken on the largest ever expansion of the south shore Bluebelt. Later this year construction is expected to begin on the first Bluebelt for the midisland.

The 85-mile-long Delaware Aqueduct is an essential component of the city’s water delivery system, as it conveys more than half of the daily drinking water from upstate reservoirs to the in-city distribution system. During its 70 years of service, portions of the tunnel have developed leaks and are in need of repair. After years of study and planning, last year excavation began for the construction of a 2.5 mile bypass tunnel around a portion of the leaking tunnel. The project will include shutting down the Aqueduct in FY 2021–22 to connect the bypass tunnel and supplemental water supplies and conservation programs that will be implemented in the coming years. The overall project is currently budgeted at $1.5 billion.

IMPLEMENTING THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN An alternative approach to improving harbor water quality, the plan combines traditional infrastructure upgrades and the integration of green infrastructure to capture and retain stormwater runoff before it can ever enter the sewer system and contribute to sewer overflows. With the ambitious goal of capturing the first inch of rain that falls on 10 percent of the city’s impervious surfaces in combined sewer areas, DEP will build thousands of green infrastructure installations throughout the city. Over the next two decades DEP is planning for $1.5 billion in public funding—and another $900 million in funding connected to new development or redevelopment—for targeted green infrastructure installations, as well as approximately $2.9 billion in cost-effective gray infrastructure upgrades. It is expected that these investments will result in a greater reduction in sewer overflows, at a lower cost, than a traditional infrastructure upgrade alone.

city & state — September 15 , 2014

ACTIVATING THE CROTON FILTRATION PLANT Water from Croton water supply reservoirs, the city’s first upstate supply, has not been delivered to the five boroughs since 2008, as it now requires filtration. The $3.2 billion Croton Filtration Plant, which is to be built beneath Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, will have the capacity to filter up to 290 million gallons of water a day, or nearly 30 percent of the city’s daily demand. It will play an essential role in ensuring the city has a reliable supply of high quality drinking water during the shutdown of the Delaware Aqueduct, and during future water shortages. The plant’s filtration systems are now being started up and tested. It is expected that it will go into service in 2015.

MAINTAINING THE FILTRATION AVOIDANCE DETERMINATION The Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) allows DEP to provide unfiltered drinking water from the Catskill and Delaware water supply reservoirs. Based on the principle that it is more costefficient and effective to protect water quality at its source in the watershed, DEP has invested $1.7 billion over the last two decades in a comprehensive set of watershed protection programs that allow it to maintain the FAD and avoid having to build and operate a filtration plant for this source water, estimated to cost more than $10 billion to construct and more than $100 million per year to operate. Going forward DEP will continue our vital partnerships with local governments and nonprofits in the Catskills and Hudson Valley to protect the creeks and streams that feed the reservoirs as well as the lands that surround and protect them. cit yandstateny.com

NYC DEP

AG ENC Y FO CUS: DEP

PROJECTS

AG ENC Y FO CUS: DEP

DEP BUDGET ANALYSIS By RAHUL JAIN from the CITIZENS BUDGET COMMISSION

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) operates an extensive infrastructure system that provides water and sewer services to New Yorkers. Unlike other city agencies, DEP is financed entirely by user charges. The challenges for DEP’s leaders include: • Containing the rate increases necessary to finance the agency. Since 2002 water and sewer rates have more than doubled. • Achieving lower rate increases by setting new priorities for capital investments and through better managing capital projects. Debt service for capital investments is the largest item in the DEP’s budget, and its growth is also driving another expense: its rental payment to the city.

ESCALATING WATER AND SEWER RATES

he DEP is one of three entities governing the city’s water and sewer system. The leaders of all three are accountable to the mayor, but each agency has distinct responsibilities. The DEP operates and maintains the system; the New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (WFA) borrows to finance capital investments; and the Water Board sets rates for customers to meet financing needs. This arrangement was established in 1984, when the Water Board and the WFA were

created to help the city enter capital markets after its fiscal crisis. User fees replaced property-tax-based charges. Between fiscal years 2002 and 2015, water rates grew from $1.44 per 100 cubic feet (Ccf) to $3.70 Ccf, an increase of 157 percent. Rate hikes have averaged 7.7 percent annually since 2002, with double-digit increases from 2008 to 2011. The rate increases have been driven by growing debt service required for WFA bonds. Debt service grew

225 percent since 2002 to $1.6 billion, or 45 percent of the system’s operating costs. Debt service is now a greater expense than operations and maintenance. The third largest budget item is a “rental payment” to the city for infrastructure made from user fees. In recent years this payment has been set at 15 percent of debt service. The shifting cost structure underlines the tremendous increase in the DEP’s capital program, which was financed entirely by debt. Debt outstanding rose from $12.1 billion in

fiscal year 2002 to $30.4 billion at the end of fiscal year 2014, a 151 percent increase. The DEP’s $25 billion capital program included infrastructure upgrades such as the extension of the third water tunnel and the expansion and replacement of water mains and sewers, but most capital dollars were devoted to completing large federally mandated projects to address combined sewer overflows and to avoid additional filtration of water.

Annual rate change (left) Water rate ($ per Ccf)

16%

$4.00

14%

$3.50

12%

$3.00

10%

$2.50

$2.00

$1.50

Water rate and annual rate change, Fiscal Years 2002–15

The Must-Read Morning Roundup of New York Politics and Government Our morning email delivers daily exclusives from City & State, as well as a curated summary of the day’s most pertinent headlines, editorials, news tidbits, schedules and milestones from across the

$1.00

$0.50

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

2012

2013 2014 2015

$0.00

SOURCE: NEW YORK CITY WATER BOARD, NEW YORK CITY FY2015 WATER AND WASTEWATER RATE REPORT (MAY 2014) cit yandstateny.com

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city & state — September 15, 2014

political landscape in New York—all before 7 a.m.

$597 million, was completed for $1.6 billion in 2013, four years behind schedule. High and growing debt service increases affect the organization’s rental payment. As debt service has grown, so has the rental payment, reaching $233 million in fiscal year 2015—7 percent

of all expenses. The basis for calculating this payment, and its size, have been sources of controversy. The city should consider other options for setting the rental payment. Rahul Jain is a senior research associate at the Citizens Budget Commission.

New York City Department of Environmental Protection capital commitments, Fiscal Years 2002–15 Nonnmandated

Mandated

$0.4

$4.00 $3.50

$0.6

$3.00 $2.50

$0.6

$0.5

$1.6 $0.8

$0.3 $1.4

$0.3 $1.2

$0.4 $0.9

$1.2

$1.6

$2.5

$3.3

$2.2

$1.5

$0.4

2012

$1.3

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

$1.2

$0.00

$1.3

$0.50

$1.1

$0.4

$1.00

$0.9

$1.50

$0.4

$2.00

2013 2014 2015

investments, the DEP is undertaking a Green Infrastructure Plan to save $1.4 billion over the next 20 years. Limiting mandated investments will allow the DEP to target other infrastructure needs, such as expanding sewers in underserved areas in Queens and Staten Island, and upgrading sewers and water mains, most of which are more than 50 years old and in need of replacement. While less driven by federal mandates, future capital investments and the associated debt service will still be expensive. Limiting future rate increases will require the DEP to improve the management of projects to keep the agency on budget. Several mandated projects were plagued by delays and cost overruns. For example, an Independent Budget Office analysis of the Croton Water Filtration Plant found the project was poorly scoped, underestimating expenses and leaving out project components. The plant was completed at a cost of $3.2 billion, $2 billion more than initial estimates. Similarly, the Catskill Ultraviolet Filtration Plant, initially budgeted at

$0.5

o keep future rate hikes low, the DEP should set new capital priorities and improve its capacity to deliver capital projects on time and on budget. In addition, city leaders should re-examine the basis for the agency’s rental payment. The opportunity to contain and alter capital investments stems from the completion of expensive mandated projects required to meet water quality standards set by the federal government. These include a filtration plant, facilities to handle combined sewer overflows and the upgrading of sewage treatment plants. As these projects have been completed, the pressure on rates has eased: This year the Water Board approved a 3.35 percent rate increase, the lowest since fiscal year 2006. Mandated projects are anticipated to require less than $200 million annually beginning in 2016, assuming the city will successfully fend off additional mandates. As part of the strategy to limit new “gray” infrastructure

$1.2

AG ENC Y FO CUS: DEP

STRATEGIES FOR CONSTRAINING FUTURE RATE INCREASES

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AG ENC Y FO CUS: HHC

COMMISSIONER Q&A

DR. RAMANTHAN RAJU President and CEO, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation

cit yandstateny.com

our patients. So I came back with a great appreciation for the system, more than what I had when I was here. C&S: In your previous HHC stint, you oversaw a cost-cutting program to deal with the rising deficits plaguing the system. How would you characterize the system’s current financial state? RR: There’s no public hospital system in the country that is always in the red; no system is in the black, ever. It has to do with the clientele that public hospital systems really deal with. After being a doctor I also got my MBA: If you want to succeed in a market, you control the market. In a public system, your market is the market nobody else wants. If you are really going to take care of more uninsured and undocumented and underinsured people in the system, the system will always be in the red, which is inevitable. But normally what happens is the governments usually come to the rescue to take care of people, and help the public systems. That method of compensation, what we call the disproportionate share of money which is given to the public systems to take care of people, is sort of going away. It’s getting smaller and smaller, and by 2020 it’s going to reach a state where it is very difficult. It is based on the premise that the Affordable Care Act gives a lot of people insurance, so once people have insurance, you don’t really need to support the public hospitals because there will not be anybody uninsured. But there are three groups of people who will be uninsured in spite of the ACA. One is undocumented immigrants, because they can’t be part of the Affordable Care Act—even if they wanted to be, they can’t buy products on the insurance market. The

second part of it is people who can’t afford to buy the premium, because the premiums are very high, and the penalties are very low—if I am living paycheck to paycheck I would rather pay the penalty than pay the premium, because the premium is about five times more than the penalty. Then there is a group of people who we call “young invincibles.” These are the people who are younger. They don’t believe they will need healthcare, and they will not choose to buy healthcare unless the healthcare is given to them as a part of the employer’s plan. When these three groups of people get sick, they will probably be uninsured. So in a public system which basically takes care of everybody, doesn’t turn anybody away, government needs to support the system to take care of these groups of people. But under the Affordable Care Act, unfortunately a [disproportionate share of] dollars are going to go down, and that is going to present a huge problem for us. Naturally, the Health and Hospitals Corporation is looking at a large deficit because we continue to provide the mission of not turning anyone away, but at the same time the money we need to support this is going to slowly disappear. But we are looking at other avenues by which we are able to compensate and carry out our mission, to keep the system financially sustainable. C&S: Can the community health centers fill in the gaps in serving the undocumented immigrant population, or are there other means within the system that can help alleviate that burden? RR: Every quality health center in New York City serves undocumented immigrants in our society. But the

New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation has got a large portion of them that seek care and get care. It has to do with the fact that that’s our mission, that we will serve everybody irrespective of their economic status, irrespective of their race, color, ethnicity and immigration status. That is a fundamental mission of the Health and Hospitals system. That mission is not for sale; we are not going to move away from it. The undocumented, uninsured problem will be a bigger problem, because as we are able to get insurance status to people because of ACA, we need to take care of this group of people who are absolutely essential to take care of. We have to really work together to make sure they stay healthy, because in an urban society like ours, our health depends on each other’s health. If you are in a subway or a restaurant, the person who is next to you or the person who cooks your food, if that person is sick, you are going home sick. They are part and parcel of our society, and economically they work hard and contribute to society, so it is our responsibility to keep them healthy. C&S: Four years from now, when Mayor de Blasio is up for re-election, what is the legacy you want to leave for him to point to, to say, ‘This is where we made real improvements to the health and hospitals system’? RR: My vision is in four years, every New Yorker will have geographically convenient access to healthcare all around the city. There will not be any healthcare deserts where people do not get healthcare or cannot get access to healthcare. That will be the legacy.

city & state — September 15, 2014

City & State: You’re returning to HHC after a two-year stint at the helm of the Chicago public hospital system. Did your experience there change any perceptions you may have had about HHC? Ramanathan Raju: I was in New York for about 30 years before I went to Chicago. This analogy kind of [stays] with me: When you are in your home, you look at your home. You live there for many years, you look at the wall, you look at the ceiling—it’s a little cracked, it’s got paint peeling off. You look outside, it doesn’t look as good. Then you always say, “My house is getting old; it’s not right.” Then you start looking at the house from the outside, and you say, “You know, my home is generally better than my neighbor’s home. My portico looks better, my grass looks greener.” So sometimes to appreciate a system, you need to go outside a system; then you see how great the system is. That is the revelation I got when I was coming back. I was amazed at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corp for two major reasons. One was the sheer size of it: There are not many systems in the country that have this big of a clientele and the systems to take care of [it]; [they’re] not as well integrated as New York City is. Second, the cultural competency and diversity is very striking. This is probably one of the only systems in which you speak more than 180 different languages and you have people coming from all over the world to be in there. If anybody walks into our system from any part of the world, I’m pretty sure somebody in my system would be from that part of the world and probably speaking their language. I always used to say this: Our patients look like us, and we look like

AG ENC Y FO CUS: HHC city & state — September 15 , 2014

ANTONIO MARTIN Executive Vice President and Corporate Chief Operating Officer

ROSS WILSON, M.D., FRACP, FCICM Senior Vice President, Quality Corporate Chief Medical Officer

LARAY BROWN Senior Vice President, Corporate Planning, Community Health and Intergovernmental Relations

Martin oversees broad operational areas such as information technology, operations, professional services and affiliations, contract administration and control, corporate support services, internal audits, materials management, and organizational innovation and effectiveness. He directly oversees the activities of the senior vice presidents at HHC’s six healthcare networks, seeking to improve operational efficiencies throughout the organization.

Wilson oversees the Division of Medical and Professional Affairs, and is chiefly responsible for the quality of health services and clinical leadership at HHC. In addition, Dr. Wilson is the CEO of HHC ACO, Inc., the corporation’s accountable care organization, formed in 2012.

Brown directs strategic planning efforts for HHC, as well as the formulation and execution of legislative initiatives and advocacy strategies. She has spearheaded numerous initiatives, including comprehensive psychiatric emergency programs, a Staten Island community health center, a new long-term care hospital and nursing facility in Harlem, and affordable apartments for HHC’s longterm care and hospital patients.

LAUREN JOHNSTON, R.N., MPA, NEA-BC, FACHE Corporate Chief Nurse Executive Senior Assistant Vice President, Office of Patient Centered Care

BERT ROBLES Corporate Chief Information Officer, Senior Vice President, Information Technology

ARNOLD SAPERSTEIN, M.D. President and CEO, MetroPlus Health Plan

In addition to establishing the strategic vision and goals for HHC’s front-line nursing staff, Johnston oversees women’s health services, patient, employee and physician satisfaction surveys and improvement processes, healthcareassociated infection prevention, continuing education of staff and providers, and clinical improvement initiatives.

Robles serves as HHC’s leader of information technology, responsible for HHC’s advanced and complex IT services. HHC was an early adopter of electronic health records, and Robles is currently overseeing the implementation of a new Epic electronic medical record system across the corporation.

Saperstein leads the highly rated MetroPlus health plan, HHC’s wholly owned managed care organization. MetroPlus has been the top choice of New York City residents signing up for health insurance through the state’s “New York State of Health” website under the federal Affordable Care Act.

LEADERSHIP

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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

www.nysna.org cit yandstateny.com

nynurses

@nynurses

city & state — March 24, 2014

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.

AG ENC Y FO CUS: HHC

BELLEVUE HOSPITAL CENTER

Location: 462 1st Avenue, Manhattan 2013 Stats: 828 beds in service 450,854 clinic visits 115,797 emergency room visits 26,271 inpatient discharges Did You Know: Bellevue is the oldest hospital in the United States, founded in 1736.

CONEY ISLAND HOSPITAL

HHC HOSPITAL NETWORK HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER

KINGS COUNTY HOSPITAL CENTER

Location: 506 Malcolm X Boulevard, Manhattan 2013 Stats: 272 beds in service 250,953 outpatient visits 76,451 emergency room visits 13,267 discharges Did You Know: The hospital is credited with saving the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1958, after a woman stabbed him in the chest while he gave a speech at a bookstore on 125th Street.

Location: 451 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn 2013 Stats: 627 beds in service 557,490 outpatient visits 145,078 emergency room visits 26,781 discharges Did You Know: Kings County has claimed many “firsts” in medicine, such as performing the first openheart surgery in New York State and housing the first Level 1 trauma center in the U.S.

NORTH CENTRAL BRONX HOSPITAL

Location: 2601 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn 2013 Stats: 310 beds in service 268,075 outpatient visits 57,269 emergency room visits 11,471 discharges Did You Know: Because of the diverse population the hospital serves, interpreter services in more than 130 languages can be provided at any time of the day or night.

city & state — September 15 , 2014

ELMHURST HOSPITAL CENTER

Location: 7901 Broadway, Queens 2013 Stats: 576 beds in service 508,035 outpatient visits 148,512 emergency room visits 25,468 discharges Did You Know: In 2008 Elmhurst opened its state-of-theart cancer facility, the Hope Pavilion. It also houses the World Trade Center Clinic, which treats people who have health problems as a result of 9/11.

LINCOLN MEDICAL CENTER

Location: 234 East 149th Street, Bronx 2013 Stats: 362 beds in service 408,061 outpatient visits 172,320 emergency room visits 24,489 discharges Did You Know: The hospital expanded its emergency department in 2014, which includes larger adult, pediatric and psychiatric areas, and a “Fast Track” urgent care treatment area for adults with non-emergencies.

METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL CENTER

QUEENS HOSPITAL CENTER

Location: 3424 Kossuth Avenue, Bronx 2013 Stats: 232 beds in service 158,826 outpatient visits 58,971 emergency room visits 7,105 discharges Did You Know: The hospital’s sexual assault response team delivers forensic and counseling services to sexual assault victims, and landed the hospital the city’s first SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner) Center of Excellence designation from the state Department of Health.

Location: 82-68 164th Street, Queens 2013 Stats: 293 beds in service 334,230 outpatient visits 99,670 emergency room visits 14,362 discharges Did You Know: The hospital opened a new $53 million, 142,000 square-foot Ambulatory Care Pavilion in 2007, which houses enhanced Centers of Excellence in Diabetes and Behavioral Health as well as primary care, pediatrics, psychiatry, ophthalmology and dentistry clinics.

WOODHULL MEDICAL CENTER

Location: 760 Broadway, Brooklyn 2013 Stats: 349 beds in service, 380,460 outpatient visits, 124,236 emergency room visits, 15,372 discharges Did You Know: Woodhull’s North Brooklyn Health Network heads the nationally recognized North Brooklyn Asthma Action Alliance, a coalition that partners with national organizations, community groups and healthcare facilities to deliver a high standard of asthma care to the community.

Location: 1901 1st Avenue, Manhattan 2013 Stats: 331 beds in service 337,789 outpatient visits 68,866 emergency room visits 15,033 discharges Did You Know: Located in East Harlem’s “El Barrio,” the hospital includes La Clínica del Barrio, a bilingual family health center that offers primary care and other medical services in a neighborhood setting.

JACOBI MEDICAL CENTER

Location: 1400 Pelham Parkway South, Bronx 2013 Stats: 477 beds in service 339,347 outpatient visits 115,975 emergency room visits 21,669 discharges Did You Know: Jacobi founded the first Emergency Medical residency program in New York City, as well as the city’s first hospital-based paramedic training program. cit yandstateny.com

city & state â&#x20AC;&#x201D; March 24, 2014

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AG ENC Y FO CUS: HHC

HHC BUDGET ANALYSIS By ELIZABETH WYNER from the CITIZENS BUDGET COMMISSION The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a public benefit corporation created in 1969 to manage public hospitals and other health facilities more efficiently. Currently more than one million patients annually receive care at HHC facilities, and 413,900 are enrolled in MetroPlus, the managed care insurance plan HHC launched in 1985. As a vital component of the safety net for the city’s poor, HHC faces two challenges in coming years: • Containing costs to close operating deficits. HHC’s financial plan indicates a fiscal year 2015 budget gap of $700 million, which is projected to grow to $1.7 billion by fiscal year 2018. • Adapting to significant state and federal policy changes that require alterations to its business model. The effects of state and federal changes to the Medicaid program are still unclear, but they threaten some of HHC’s revenues and require changes to its financial practices.

LOOMING DEFICITS

city & state — September 15 , 2014

HC’s budgeted expenses for fiscal year 2015 are $8.9 billion. Almost half that total is for the salaries and fringe benefits of personnel directly employed by HHC. Another 37 percent is for other costs related to running its facilities, such as energy and nonmedical services. The other major expenditures are affiliation contracts with medical schools and physician groups, malpractice claims and depreciation. HHC revenues are projected to total $8.2 billion in fiscal year 2015. The majority—62 percent, or $5 billion— are payments for the provision of specific services, primarily from the state for people enrolled in Medicaid, but also from the federal Medicare program and other insurers. About one-third, or $2.7 billion, is composed of premium payments for MetroPlus. MetroPlus revenues increased from $485 million in fiscal year 2005, largely due to growing enrollment. Grants and an appropriation from the city comprise the remaining 5 percent of revenue. This year’s $700 million budget gap is projected to grow to $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2018. Expenditures are projected to grow 5 percent annually, due largely to increasing employee compensation. By contrast, revenue growth will average just 1.9 percent annually. While MetroPlus enrollment and revenues are expected to continue to grow substantially, declines in fee-for-service payments and other revenue shifts darken the picture. To narrow these budget gaps, HHC plans a $200 million cost containment program, with the savings projected to grow to $400 million by fiscal year

2018. Its leaders have yet to identify how they will achieve these targets, however, and seeking even greater efficiencies will be necessary to sustain the agency’s operations.

ADAPTING TO HEALTHCARE REFORMS

olicy changes at the state and federal levels are contributing to HHC’s uncertain financial future. HHC’s dependence on Medicaid makes it especially vulnerable to these shifts. More than half of HHC’s revenue—60 percent—is from Medicaid, including fee-for-service payments, premiums for MetroPlus, and Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) supplemental payments. On the federal level, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will reduce DSH payments beginning in 2017. These payments will be reduced with the expectation that New York’s population of uninsured patients will decrease as more individuals are covered under the ACA. HHC expects reductions in DSH payments to total $2.6 billion from 2017 to 2024. At full ACA implementation an estimated one million people will remain uninsured in New York City, many of whom will continue to depend on HHC facilities for care. On the state level, New York’s Medicaid program is entering its fourth year of major reform following the work of the Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT). One goal is to move all Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care plans, almost entirely eliminating fee-for-service Medicaid payments. MRT rate cuts for Medicaid and limits on personal care services and

certain therapies have reduced patient volume at HHC for these services, also decreasing revenue. The state is also in the first year of a special program that waives certain Medicaid requirements and allows the state to invest $8 billion in federal funds over five years to improve patient care. The majority of the funds, about $6 billion, will be directed to Delivery System Reform Incentive Payments (DSRIP) to networks of providers that reduce avoidable hospitalizations among Medicaid patients. Seven HHC hospitals have been identified as lead organizations for DSRIP networks being developed. HHC hopes to draw heavily on DSRIP funds, and its financial plan assumes $1.6 billion in additional federal

aid from the program during fiscal years 2015 to 2018. HHC’s participation in DSRIP has the potential to provide a much needed influx of funding; in order to earn the money, however, HHC must meet stringent performance targets. If HHC is unable to control expenditures and respond to the changing healthcare landscape with a revised business plan, it will incur growing deficits. This would either force a reduction in the services HHC provides New Yorkers or require substantial added subsidies to the organization from municipal taxes.

Elizabeth Wyner is a health policy associate with the Citizens Budget Commission.

FISCAL YEAR 2013

Medicaid Fee-for-Services 32%

Non-Medicaid Sources 40%

DSH Supplemental Pool 19% Medicaid Sources 60% Medicaid Managed Care 19%

Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, and Partnerships in Care 19% cit yandstateny.com

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New York Law School We are NeW York’s LaW schooL

ADAM KOTSKO

hen I was in grad school, I faced near-constant financial problems. My income was barely adequate, and the variety of streams it came from meant that my access to the money I’d already earned was often delayed in unpredictable ways. My one advantage was a good credit rating. I had gotten my

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first credit card as an undergrad, and I used it sparingly and paid it in full nearly every month. After a semester abroad, I was carrying a balance, and I took out a small bank loan to pay it off. So I had drawn on a significant amount of credit and used it responsibly. I understand that not everyone starts from this point, so my strategies may be inapplicable for many people. My goal was to keep my spending within the limits of my income and subsidized student loans. Like most grad students, I maintained a pretty austere lifestyle, but nonetheless there were times when I was forced to engage in deficit spending. My strategy for coping with the difficulties of financial management during these periods was based on three simple principles: 1. Think short-term: Long-term questions like how I was going to pay everything off were moot. The important thing was how I was going to keep

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city & state — September 15, 2014

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THE LIFE OF THE MIND IN THE HEART OF THE CITY

IDEAS UNBOUND

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meeting my immediate obligations until 6x9 Ideas Unbound ad_Layout 1 12/12/13 12:12 PM Page 1 the next influx of cash came. 2. Favor liquidity: Given my access to credit, the only hard constraint was the availability of cash (meaning money in my checking account). If given a choice between going further into debt or making a cash payment that would quickly put me at risk of not being able to meet another cash obligation, I always chose going further into debt. 3. Preserve the credit rating: This meant always paying every bill by whatever means necessary. If I missed a single payment, that could lead to a decline in my credit-worthiness, leading to higher minimum payments and a decline in liquidity that could further endanger my ability to meet my ongoing obligations. To make this strategy work, I maintained at least three credit cards at all times. My intention was to have one credit card as my “rolling account,” which I would aim to pay off every month. The other two gave me room to bounce money back and forth. I absolutely refused to ever have a debit card for a variety of reasons. First, if the credit card company was willing to give me a free loan every month for my day-to-day purchases, why not take it? Second, if I did wind up carrying a balance, the consequences were likely to be less expensive than if I overdrew my checking account. Finally, if someone stole my debit card, that gave them access to my actual money. At times, I would not be able to pay the full amount of my “rolling account,” and so I would do a balance transfer. This actually helped my short-term liquidity because the balance transfer satisfied the need to pay that account for that particular month. I always timed my balance transfers to take advantage of the ability to “skip” a payment out of my checking account. Balance transfers do normally carry a fee, but the priority under the emergency circumstances of grad school is not to minimize your debt load but to maintain your ability to keep rolling over your debt on favorable terms. Making sure to keep rolling over balance transfers with new offers does have the long-term benefit of minimizing your interest payments, but in the short term, it also reduces your minimum payment, hence helping the all-important liquidity. If your card has cash-back rewards, it helps to stockpile these so that you can get a free minimum payment out of it every once in a while. Informal credit can be helpful, too. Periodically paying for group outings on your card and taking cash can reduce the need for ATM withdrawals for cash-

gc.cuny.edu cit yandstateny.com

hugely important. Now that I’ve gotten a job, I’m on pace to pay off my credit card debt over a period equal to how long I was in grad school—meaning that it was essentially “income smoothing” on a very long time frame. My student loans are excessive, but I can still pay them off within the normal 10-year period without living in abject poverty. And this has all been possible even though my salary at both places I’ve worked has been far below average. So I think that this strategy, though stressful and far from ideal, has turned out basically successfully for me. In short, contemporary academe puts even the most fortunate grad students and young job-seekers in an impossible financial situation. We shouldn’t make it worse by adding further constraints due to our prejudices about credit card debt or our false belief that our academic calling makes us unemployable anywhere else. Adam Kotsko is an assistant professor of humanities at Shimer College. This article originally appeared on InsideHigherEd.com.

Hunter College: Creating Tomorrow’s Urban Leaders Located in the heart of Manhattan, Hunter College is the largest college in the City University of New York (CUNY) system. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest public colleges in the country and is famous for the diversity of its student body, which is as diverse as New York City itself. Most Hunter students are the first in their families to attend college, and many are inspired to give back to New York through their choice of career. The highly ranked Hunter College School of Education, for example, is committed to serving the educational needs of students in New York. The School of Education offers teacher preparation in early childhood and childhood, adolescent and creative arts, TESOL and Bilingual, Literacy, and many Special Education areas, as well as programs in School Leadership, School Guidance, Mental Health, and Rehabilitation Counseling, and Educational Psychology. For more information: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/school-of-education.

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only settings, maximizing the amount of money available in your checking account. Having a roommate with a more stable financial situation can also help if he’s willing to let you delay paying your portion of the rent until that next check comes in (thanks, Mike!). I always avoided taking direct loans from friends and family members, however, because I knew I would never actually pay it back, at least not within a reasonable amount of time. Between the stress of being indebted to an evil bank and the stress of letting my financial situation ruin an important personal relationship, I always went with the former. For this system, it helps to be as anal-retentive as possible. I always paid my minimum payments for my credit cards within a day or two of receiving my statement, just to be safe. I set up as many other bills to charge my credit card automatically as possible. I also kept up the seemingly antiquated discipline of maintaining a written check register, to prevent overdrawing my checking account. Given how badly the downward spiral of overdrawing your account can become, that’s

Hunter also has a superb Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP) department, which provides an unmatched combination of coursework, research, critical and analytical thinking, community engagement, and professional development opportunities. UAP offers two graduate degrees: a Master in Urban Planning; and a Master of Science in Urban Affairs. Both programs combine theory and practice in order to provide an in-depth understanding of urban planning and policy. UAP also offers an undergraduate urban studies major that prepares students for higher education and careers in public service. For more information: www.hunter.cuny.edu/uap.

THE WAY TO REACH ELECTED OFFICIALS For advertising information, please contact Jim Katocin at 212.284.9714 or Jkatocin@cityandstateny.com

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It’s a CUNY Trifecta! Brooklyn College, Queens College and Baruch College Named Nation’s Top Three “BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK” Schools The top three “Best Bang for the Buck” colleges in the nation are colleges of The City University of New York, according to the Washington Monthly magazine. The magazine’s 2014 survey ranked Brooklyn College number one in the nation. Queens College and Baruch College placed second and third place nationally, matching their performance in the 2013 survey. “The CUNY schools are legendary for having educated wave after wave of first-generation students, many from immigrant backgrounds, from Jonas Salk to Jennifer Lopez. “These three colleges continue that tradition,” Washington Monthly reported in its September issue. “They are a great value for students who can gain admission.” CUNY Chancellor James B. Milliken said, “ It comes as no surprise that CUNY colleges are nationally recognized as offering tremendous value. With a world-class faculty, low tuition, new facilities, and a well-earned reputation with employers, graduate and professional schools, CUNY students and their families are well-aware of the extraordinary opportunity they enjoy.” Nearly six out of 10 full-time undergraduate students attend tuition-free, thanks to federal and state aid that fully cover CUNY’s exceptionally low tuition. And, while students and their families nationally are struggling with more than $1 trillion in student loans, 80 percent of CUNY’s graduates who move into the workforce leave debt-free.

Washington Monthly analyzed 1,540 U.S. colleges and universities and culled 386 that delivered the “Best Bang for the Buck.” These colleges do “the best job of helping nonwealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices.” To make the cut, colleges met four criteria: · Actual graduation rates that met or exceeded the rate that would be predicted given the number of lower-income students admitted. · A student loan-default rate at or under 10 percent, to ensure that graduates earn enough in the workforce to cover their student loans. · At least 20 percent of students received federal Pell Grants, which go to students of modest means, typically with household incomes below $50,000. · At least a 50 percent graduation rate, “hardly an exacting standard, but a fair one considering that we’re requiring that a fifth of their student body have lower incomes.” The study’s lead author, Robert Kelchen, an assistant professor of higher education in the Department of Education Leadership, Management, and Policy at Seton Hall University, writes in the magazine’s commentary that public colleges dominate the rankings. “They take eighteen of the top twenty spots, and include such well-known names as the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Texas A&M, and the University of Washington, alongside lesser-known schools like Murray State University in Kentucky and Wayne State University in Nebraska. These institutions tend to be in states that have historically been unusually committed to building affordable higher education systems.” Rounding out the top 10 after the CUNY colleges are: 4–California State University-Fullerton 5 Amherst College 6–University of Washington-Bothell 7–University of Florida 8–Georgia Institute of Technology-Main 9–University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 10–California State University-Long Beach

GRADUATING TO MAYOR Bill de Blasio (2014–present)

De Blasio received his undergraduate degree in 1984 from New York University, where he was a metropolitan studies major. Coursework in that urban studies program included classes like “The Working Class Experience” and “Politics of Minority Groups.” He was also deeply involved in student activism on campus. In 1987 de Blasio received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where he focused on Latin

Michael Bloomberg (2002–13)

Bloomberg received his undergraduate degree, a bachelor of science in electrical engineering, from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. At Hopkins, Bloomberg served as president of his class, as well as of his fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi. To help pay his tuition, Bloomberg took out loans and worked as a parking lot attendant. In 1966 Bloomberg received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Rudy Giuliani (1994–2001)

Giuliani graduated in 1965 from Manhattan College, where he majored in political science and minored in philosophy. At the time Giuliani was considering the priesthood, and he also studied theology in college. He served as president of his class during his sophomore year and was later elected president of his fraternity, Phi Rho Pi. He received a J.D. in 1968 from New York University Law School, where he served on the school’s law review.

David Dinkins (1990-1993)

Dinkins, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, attended Howard University on the G.I. Bill, graduating with a B.S. in mathematics in 1950. Although initially not a serious student (who vowed, “Don’t let your education interfere with your recreation”), Dinkins went on to graduate with honors. He received a fellowship to study mathematics at Rutgers, but after a semester decided instead to pursue a career in law. He moved to New York to study at Brooklyn Law School while working at night, and received an LL.B. in 1956.

city & state — September 15, 2014

For the complete list with details, see http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_ guide/rankings-2014/best-bang-for-buck-all-schools-rank.php. For more information, visit www.cuny.edu/value About The City University of New York: The City University of New York is the nation’s leading urban public university. Founded in New York City in 1847, the University comprises 24 institutions: 11 senior colleges, seven community colleges, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, the CUNY Graduate School and University Center, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the CUNY School of Law, the CUNY School of Professional Studies and the CUNY School of Public Health. The University serves more than 270,000 degreecredit students and 218,083 adult, continuing and professional education students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program, is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 300 high schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The University offers online baccalaureate degrees through the School of Professional Studies and an individualized baccalaureate through the CUNY Baccalaureate Degree.

Ed Koch (1978–89)

Koch attended the City College of New York from 1941 to 1943, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II, serving in the infantry in Europe. He returned to New York City in 1946. Despite having only completed two years of college, he was admitted to New York University Law School under the G.I. Bill, with an NYU professor noting that “two years at CCNY is four years at any other school.” Koch received his law degree in 1948 from NYU. In 1981 City College awarded him a bachelor’s degree.

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Andrew Cuomo (2011–present)

Cuomo attended college at Fordham University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1979. During his college years, he also helped manage his father Mario’s unsuccessful campaign for mayor of New York City in 1977. Cuomo went on to attend Albany Law School, receiving his J.D. in 1982. In addition to his family political work, Cuomo held various jobs during college and law school, including landscaping and automobile repair, and even did a stint as a security guard.

David Paterson (2008–10)

Paterson studied history as an undergraduate at Columbia University, where his impaired vision caused his academic performance to vary widely. At times he was honored on the Dean’s List, while at others he nearly flunked out of school. After temporarily leaving college to work at a credit union, he returned to Columbia to receive his B.A. in history in 1977. He later attended law school at Hofstra University, where he received a J.D. in 1982.

Eliot Spitzer (2007–08)

Spitzer attended Princeton University, receiving his B.A. in 1981. While an undergraduate, he was elected head of the school’s student body, and worked at summer jobs including tomato picking in upstate New York and digging ditches and mopping floors at Georgia Tech. After Princeton, he went on to receive a J.D. in 1984 from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor on the school’s law review. At Harvard he also worked for Professor Alan Dershowitz on the Claus von Bülow case, which was later depicted in the book and film Reversal of Fortune.

George Pataki (1995–2006)

Pataki received his undergraduate education at Yale, where he studied history and was closely involved in campus political life. He served as a member of the Yale Political Union and chaired its Conservative Party. Pataki’s athletic pursuits on campus included basketball, touch football and track. After graduating Yale in 1967, he attended Columbia Law School, where he served as editor of the law review. He got his J.D. in 1970. Pataki was awarded academic scholarships to attend both schools.

Mario Cuomo (1983–94)

Cuomo attended St. John’s University in Queens as a scholarship student, majoring in English and excelling as a baseball player. His outstanding academic and athletic skills led him to be voted “Best All-Around Student” by classmates. While still in college, in 1951 Cuomo was recruited by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but after being hit in the head with a baseball, he returned to school, receiving his B.A. in 1953. Cuomo also attended law school at St. John’s, where he graduated tied for first place in his class, getting his J.D. in 1956.

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city & state — September 15, 2014

Metropolitan College offers day, evening and weekend classes, as well as a

REV’ED UP

UTILITIES SEE KEY ROLE IN ENERGY OVERHAUL, BUT WILL THEY BECOME MONOPOLIES? By JON LENTZ

1. Con Edison’s Robert Schimmenti; 2. Anbaric Transmission’s Clarke Bruno; 3. New York City Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia; 4. DEP’s Anthony Fiore; 5. NYPA’s Robert Lurie; 6. National Grid’s Christopher Cavanagh

city & state — September 15, 2014

new initiative to overhaul New York’s energy market will be built on an ambitious expansion of distributed energy production, including microgrids, smaller natural gas facilities and renewable resources like solar and wind, and a shift away from large traditional power plants. But among the questions that have yet to be worked out is how much the restructured market will rely on utility companies—and how to ensure that the built-in knowledge and expertise of companies like Con Edison and National Grid do not give rise to a

monopolistic system that prevents others from developing their own distributed power sources. The Public Service Commission (PSC), which is overseeing the planning process for the Cuomo administration’s so-called Reforming Energy Vision initiative, issued a key report last month that tentatively endorses an active role for utilities, including in the development and ownership of distributed energy resources. “I’d say that was one of the most controversial issues, and will continue to be one of the most

controversial issues in the staff’s straw proposal,” Gregg Sayre, a commissioner with the PSC, said at City & State’s recent “On Energy” panel discussion, co-sponsored by Entergy, Con Edison, National Grid, West Point Transmission and Anbaric Transmission. “On the pro side, clearly the utility has the relationship with the customer and understands where resources are needed, and may have economies of scale in delivering these customer services that competitors wouldn’t have. On the con side, those very things give the utilities a competitive advantage that

some believe is unfair.” A closely intertwined question is who will be tasked with coordinating the new distributed energy system. In line with earlier suggestions that utilities serve as the traffic cops of the new system, the PSC report tentatively designates them to take on that task as well. The report also outlines potential monopolistic abuses if the utilities run both the new platform and their own distributed energy resources, however. The PSC warned of several problems that could arise in such a scenario, including a reluctance by the cit yandstateny.com

utilities to provide system or customer data to potential competitors who want to build their own distributed energy resources and the possible imposition of anti-competiton barriers, such as “burdensome interconnection requirements and outmoded tariffs.” “Where a utility has a stake in [distributed energy resources] and also owns the distribution system and operates [distributed system platform] markets, the utility may have incentives to favor its own facilities,” the report concludes. Yet the report does not rule out utility ownership of distributed energy cit yandstateny.com

resources, especially since experienced companies can help the state expand more quickly. Instead it lays out a set of criteria that must be met in an attempt to reduce anti-competitive behavior. “On the two most controversial issues, the staff recommendation first is that the utility itself should be the operator of the distribution system platform,” Sayre said. “Second, on the issue of utility ownership of behindthe-meter DER, the staff recommends ownership only pursuant to a plan that’s reviewed and approved by the PSC as being in the public interest. But utility subsidiaries would have greater

city & state — September 15, 2014

1. New York AREA’s Richard Thomas; 2. State Sen. Kevin Parker; 3. Gregg Sayre of the New York Public Service Commission

LET’SLET’S HOPE HOPE COOLER COOLER HEADSHEADS PREVAIL PREVAIL WITH WITH A SMARTER A SMARTER SOLUTION SOLUTION FOR THE FORHUDSON THE HUDSON BEFOREBEFORE THEY THEY TURNTURN OFF OUR OFFELECTRICITY. OUR ELECTRICITY.

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city & state — March 24, 2014

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1 Burlington Free Press: “Robert Burlington F. Kennedy Free Jr.:Press: Pollution “Robert of Lake F. Kennedy Champlain Jr.: is Pollution theft” byofJoel Lake Banner Champlain Baird,isMarch theft” by 30,Joel 2013. Banner Baird, March 30, 2013. 2 Karin E. Limburg, Kathryn A. Karin Hattala, E. Limburg, Andrew W. Kathryn Kahnle, A. and Hattala, JohnAndrew R. Waldman, W. Kahnle, “Fisheries and John of the R.Hudson Waldman, River”, “Fisheries State University of the Hudson of New River”, YorkState College University of Environmental of New York Science College and of Forestry. Environmental Science and Forestry. cit yandstateny.com

city & state — March 24, 2014

TH N TY.

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city & state — September 15, 2014

1. New York AREA’s Richard Thomas; 2. State Sen. Kevin Parker; 3. Gregg Sayre of the New York Public Service Commission

Using energy wisely saves you money, and lessens the load on our system. So if that’s a catch, you have to admit, it’s a pretty good one.

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city & state — March 24, 2014

ENCOURAGING CUSTOMERS TO USE LESS ENERGY? WHAT’S THE

BACK TO SCHOOL EDUCATION LEADERS URGE PATIENCE FOR DE BLASIO’S PRE-K PLANS By GEOFF DECKER from CHALKBEAT

New York City Deputy Mayor Richard Buery (left) said ,“This is my favorite panel ever,” after being showered with praise for his efforts in rolling out pre-K around New York City.

city & state — September 15, 2014

ne day after the de Blasio administration’s handling of prekindergarten contracts was called into question, New York City Deputy Mayor Richard Buery got a warm reception from the state’s top education officials at a Thursday morning discussion event. “You’re all officially my favorite panel ever,” Buery said at City & State’s “On Education” event. “Enjoy it,” teased New York City Charter School Center CEO James Merriman, one of the panelists. “Next year, let’s see.” Merriman’s lighthearted quip came after he had heaped praise on Buery for his management of the city’s $300 million plan to offer full-day pre-K seats to more than 50,000 4-year-olds. The support was part of a wave of praise that came in from elected officials and advocates for Buery and Mayor Bill de Blasio, on the heels of New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer stoking concerns over student safety, because his office had vetted only 30 percent of the pre-K contracts awarded. Though optimistic in their

predictions for pre-K, the officials on the panel worked to manage expectations about the rollout of thousands of new seats. Buery said he anticipated that problems would arise, and others cautioned that student achievement would not be transformed immediately. “While we should hold the mayor and his team accountable for results, let’s give them a little room, too, please,” said Merriman. His remarks underlined the tension the city faces as it emphasizes the longterm implications of pre-K for its school system while also trying to prepare the public for short-term problems with increasing full-day programs by 150 percent. Support for de Blasio’s aggressive pre-K expansion has come from the widespread agreement that more needs to be done to address learning gaps that develop between poor and middle-class students at early ages. But some skepticism about the pace of the plan’s implementation has persisted, especially around basic concerns over child safety and more challenging issues regarding curriculum standards and cit yandstateny.com

city & state â&#x20AC;&#x201D; March 24, 2014

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Public Charter Schools Help Students Succeed in College and a Career 56

On the 2013-14 state tests, charter schools made gains in English and unprecedented gains in Math, with proficiency up more than 8 points from the previous year! CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor for University Relations Jay Hershenson (above) delivered opening remarks; New York City Charter School Center CEO James Merriman (below)

Learn more and check out the interactive data at

city & state — September 15, 2014

www.nycCharterSchools.org

It’s about great public schools. CityState4.875x12final.indd 1

teacher quality. “We have a K-through-12 problem in the city, and we don’t want to have a pre-K-through-12 problem,” said Tenicka Boyd, a panelist and parent organizer with StudentsFirstNY whose daughter attends P.S. 321 in Park Slope. “I’m interested in teachers in UPK having an ambitious curriculum, an engaging curriculum, engaging students on day one.” Joining Merriman, Buery and Boyd on Thursday were the state’s top two education officials, Commissioner John King and Chancellor Merryl Tisch, along with United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew. The event was marked by fairly harmonious discussion in which even the

panel’s adversaries agreed on a divisive education issue: testing policies. One year ago the political discourse around education was dominated by broad disagreement over the new learning standards and the state’s new tougher math and English tests. Those issues have not gone away, but they have dropped further down in the pecking order. The panel’s moderators focused this year’s conversation on pre-K and technology in schools. Fully an hour passed before they turned to testing and the Common Core, a subject that nonetheless provoked plenty of comments. Everyone on stage agreed the state needed to push forward with its

9/16/14 2:54 PM cit yandstateny.com

SPECIAL AGENCY

SPOTLIGHTS: 1.

BRIEF:

1. Buery, UFT President Michael Mulgrew and state Education Commissioner John King shared some laughs during the two-hour discussion; 2. Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch; 3. New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña delivered the event’s opening keynote address. implementation of Common Corealigned tests, a rare instance of unity in relation to one of the state’s most divisive education issues. Mulgrew, who last year was among the harshest critics of the state’s testing system, lent some support to the tests. “Are there much more authentic ways for children to show that they have learned things? Yes, there are,” Mulgrew said. “But testing is still a valid instrument. You have to do it both ways.” Tisch also took a moment to forcefully dispute the characterization of the standards’ rollout as “flawed.” Some districts handled the change well by bulking up their training and curriculum development, she said, while others did not. cit yandstateny.com

“It became a tagline that caught on,” she said. “I would say to you that the implementation of Common Core was uneven.”

• Q&A with the agency principal / commissioner. • Dossiers of deputy commissioners or procurement personnel. • Cheat sheet on agencies biggest projects at current. • A Citizens Budget Commission does an analysis of the agencies budget. • Listing of active RFP’s.

September 29 (Ad Deadline, 9/25): Spotlight on NYS Dept. of Health & NYSED October 13 (Ad Deadline, 10/9): Spotlight on NYS Dept. of Transportation & DASNY

Chalkbeat New York is a nonprofit news organization covering educational change efforts in the communities where improvement matters most. The Chalkbeat network has bureaus in New York, Colorado, Indiana, and Tennessee. Its mission is to inform the decisions and actions that lead to better outcomes for children and families by providing deep, local coverage of education policy and practice. Visit ny.chalkbeat.org for more information.

To promote your organization to leadership to the above agency leaders in these special agency spotlights, email AHolt@cityandstateny.com or call 212-894-5422 for advertising opportunities.

city & state — September 15, 2014

City & State magazine is publishing 6 special minispotlights in September and October each including:

BOOMSTATE

REPORT FINDS NEW YORK’S BABY BOOMERS ARE AN ECONOMIC BOON, NOT A BURDEN By ASHLEY HUPFL

city & state — September 15, 2014

or many years U.S. economists and lawmakers have warned of the looming economic drain the country’s baby boomers would become once they reached retirement age, as the largest generation to date to be dependent on entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. At a Sept. 10 forum entitled “Boomtown,” co-hosted by City & State and AARP New York, however, Jody Holtzman, senior vice president of thought leadership at AARP, disputed this notion as “fearmongering.” “It’s only in Washington [D.C.] ... that addressing the unmet needs of over 100 million people is an unaffordable financial burden. In the private sector, serving the unmet needs of over 100 million people is called an opportunity,” Holtzman said. “The lie that we can’t afford people over 50 is just ridiculous.” The event, which addressed the importance of baby boomers to New York’s economy and the necessity of creating the conditions that will keep them from moving elsewhere in their retirement years, coincided with the release of a new report by AARP New York entitled “State of the 50+ in New York State.” Among the panelists were key representatives from AARP’s national office, as well as local thought leaders like Stephen Acquario, the New York State Association of Counties’ executive director, and Gary Fitzgerald, president of the Iroquois Healthcare Alliance. New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli gave the forum’s keynote remarks. In 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau found that one in seven people living in New York were age 65 or older, and projected that by 2035 that number would rise to nearly one in five. Despite the hefty size of this demographic, AARP New York’s

1. 1.

1. New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli 2. AARP EVP Debra Whitman 3. AARP SVP Jody Holtzman

report found that rather than adversely affecting the state’s fiscal well-being, boomers are actually a key source of economic growth and prosperity. New Yorkers age 50 and older account for $3.1 trillion in consumer spending and another $1.6 trillion in healthcare spending. Moreover, they generate tens of millions of jobs, trillions of dollars in salaries and wages, and contribute $1.75 trillion in federal, state and local taxes. They are also critical engines of entrepreneurship; New Yorkers 45 to 65 years of age create more business start-ups than fellow residents in their 20s. Though New York benefits immensely from baby boomers’ contributions to the state, both from an economic and societal standpoint, it is in grave danger of losing this population to other parts of the country. AARP’s

survey found that 60 percent of people 50 and older said they are “extremely” to “somewhat likely” to leave the state once they retire. “This is really troublesome, because [of] … how important those dollars are to the state’s economy and to the state’s future,” said forum panelist Dr. Debra Whitman, AARP’s executive vice president for policy, strategy and international affairs. “That’s bad news for New York State.” The main concerns New Yorkers age 50 and older have about remaining in the state are housing affordability, property taxes, utility prices and healthcare affordability, according to AARP’s report. Additionally, as these costs rise, it is all the more difficult for people of this age group to save enough of a nest egg to allow them to retire. More than a quarter of the respondents to AARP’s

survey said they are not confident they will ever be able to afford to retire, and more than half say their retirement will be delayed. “Because we’re getting so little action in the U.S. Capitol on this issue, we really need to see the states take up this mantra of helping their active workers save for their futures,” Whitman said. As an extra incentive for politicians to take action, Whitman pointed out that it is in lawmakers’ self-interest to pay attention to the needs of the over-50 population. In the 2010 gubernatorial election, 52 percent of New Yorkers age 50 and older turned up at the polls—a rate nearly twice that of their 18–49-year-old counterparts. “Older people vote,” Whitman said. “[It] is important for politicians and for the entire state to understand what it really is these voters are interested in.”

cit yandstateny.com

GERSON BORRERO

hen I was first approached months ago by City & State’s editor-inchief, Morgan Pehme, and its publisher, Andrew Holt, about the winter SOMOS El Futuro Conference in Puerto Rico, I kept waiting for the one word that most of us covering politics in New York State have used at some point to describe this annual Latino legislative event: junket. But that word never crossed thzeir lips. Instead they explained that their intention was to commit to serious longterm coverage of the conference and events surrounding it as a window into Latino politics in New York. I immediately signed on. Our engaging initial conversation included a discussion of some of the good achieved by the gathering, some talk about the negative headlines and, of course, the bochinche (gossip) that is an intrinsic component of most of these cit yandstateny.com

events. What most struck me from that original talk and our ensuing meetings was the genuine interest in the potential that both Andrew and Morgan saw for the Latino community. To be clear, we also talked about what could be reported in terms of misconduct or improper behavior of these New York Latino pols. There are many of us in the Latino community who have followed, attended, reported upon, criticized and denounced SOMOS at various points during its 27 years of existence. The Road to SOMOS/El Camino a SOMOS coverage in City & State will include all of the above, and many aspects of the legislative event that our readers—as well-informed as you all are—don’t know about the New York State Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force under which SOMOS operates. Our purpose with the SOMOS coverage is to report about the event in the weeks that lead to this year’s conference in San Juan. This journalistic endeavor is not a drive-by to report on the “gotcha” occurrences that could happen—but be assured, if questionable things happen, we’ll do our job in reporting them just like the rest of our fine colleagues in other media. I’m particularly pleased that City & State wants to tell as much as it can of the whole story of a community whose growth potential and promise they clearly see as part of the nuevo New York. Now about the bochinche part of

SOMOS... I’ve been a witness to some things that have been reported, and others that haven’t. We’ve already had some very positive feedback about The Road to SOMOS, and some rumblings from concerned políticos who fear that, given my history reporting in my columns about the conference, I’m out to get them. I assure you that this isn’t the goal of this endeavor, nor is it the aim of City & State. We just report on what public servants and elected officials do on their own volition, and investigate, when need be, to uncover wrongdoing. To give one example: At one of the conferences I witnessed a major political figure, who was married at the time, returning from a night of fiesta in San Juan. He was in a small group and was as happy as piña coladas can make anyone who has had more than his limit. I never reported that fact, or that he was accompanied by some very beautiful dancing friends. Why not? Because this is the same guy I had seen engaged in an all-day higher education plenary and workshop; who had dutifully attended the full morning and afternoon sessions. He had been a thoughtful and eager participant in the conference, treating the program with the seriousness it deserved. So although by nightfall he was drunk as you can be—and it was not hard to speculate what was in store for the rest of his evening—I kept what I saw to myself.

I wasn’t as kind when I reported how a certain New York City elected official had arrived at the JetBlue counter with her detail and jumped the line. Here’s an excerpt from how it was described on Page Six of the Post on Nov. 13, 2006: The JetBlue check-in counter at JFK was packed with political types headed to the annual post-election pilgrimage in San Juan, at 5:11 a.m. Thursday, when security personnel escorted City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to the front of the line to pick up her boarding pass. That infuriated El Diario columnist Gerson Borrero, a fellow passenger who figured that Quinn cut ahead of about two dozen people, including Comptroller Bill Thompson and state Democratic chairman Denny Farrell. “If the city comptroller can stand on line, why couldn’t she just wait along with everyone else?” he demanded. With the Road to SOMOS series, we’re starting out with the best possible intentions of stimulating the potential that New York State legislators have for all the people for whom they work. Our plan is to report on what Latino elected officials are doing to further the agenda of the Latino community. I am excited to be a part of this City & State initiative, which recognizes the tremendous promise of this state’s Latino community. Gerson Borrero is a contributor to City & State and the editor of its Road to SOMOS/El Camino a SOMOS series.

THE ROAD TO SOMOS / EL C A MINO A SOMOS

THE HIGH ROAD TO SOMOS

city & state — September 15, 2014

In this issue City & State debuts The Road to SOMOS/El Camino a SOMOS, a project dedicated to beginning the conversation that will take place at the SOMOS conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico from November 5-9. To sign up for the weekly email that accompanies this series, go to cityandstateny.com.

THE ROAD TO SOMOS / EL C A MINO A SOMOS

CULTURE, CONVERSATION AND CAMARADERIE: THE CHARMS OF SOMOS

RUBÉN DÍAZ JR.

city & state — September 15, 2014

ach year we come together after the general election to participate in the “SOMOS El Futuro” conference. We come together not merely as Latinos but as elected officials and community and business leaders from all walks of life, to discuss the future of our city, our state and our nation. I have grown up with SOMOS El Futuro, having attended this gathering since I was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1997, right through to my time as Bronx Borough president and continuing to this year. This conference is more than a getaway. It is a chance for us to convene not just for the purpose of recognizing our shared Latino heritage but to discuss our vision for the future of this city and this state. I have always enjoyed sharing the company of Latinos from all over New York State at SOMOS El Futuro. One may not typically think of places

like Syracuse, Dunkirk, Hempstead or Elmont as growing Latino communities, but they are. Through my years in attendance, SOMOS El Futuro has given us a chance to meet, swap stories and build relationships we otherwise might be unable to, and that bonding remains one of my favorite parts of this conference. SOMOS El Futuro also gives myself and other elected officials a chance to show off the progress and successes of our districts and communities. This is especially important to me as the leader of the New York State county with the largest percentage of Latino population. We have a great story to tell. We have seen considerable development in the Bronx since I first took office in 2009. We have helped to develop $600 million in housing and to create more than 14,000 new jobs. Such numbers were unheard of in our borough, even just a decade ago. That is the promise of the “New Bronx.” Indeed, we have seen considerable white-collar development come to the Bronx, as well, and we welcome it. The Hutchinson Metro Center, our borough’s premiere office space, continues to expand. The healthcare industry, which employs so many doctors and executives, nurses and technicians, remains our borough’s largest employer. Hospitals and healthcare facilities in our borough are expanding, not closing. We have been incredibly aggressive

in our efforts to find people work. In August my office, in partnership with the State Department of Labor and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC), announced a new jobs initiative, New York Works, which connects Bronx job seekers directly with local employers looking to hire. Already this initiative has paired dozens of Bronxites with available jobs, and has shown itself to be a real success in just a matter of weeks. Initiatives such as this should be examined for expansion to other counties, and SOMOS El Futuro is a great place to start that conversation. As we discuss our agenda and our shared heritage, we will also celebrate

our culture. When I was in the state Legislature, I hosted some of the best concerts SOMOS El Futuro has ever seen. This included a “hip-hop meets salsa” concert, which used different style of music to bridge the gap between generations. This conference has been an important event since it was founded, and remains so today. From substantive conversation to salsa concerts, SOMOS El Futuro is one of the pre-eminent gatherings of thought leaders in the nation, and I am proud to lend my voice to the conversation. Rubén Díaz Jr. is the borough president of the Bronx.

Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. (right) at a past SOMOS conference with former Democratic District Leader Kenny Agosto in 2010.

cit yandstateny.com

SOMOS’ GOALS ARE ACTION-ORIENTED

FÉLIX ORTIZ doors to market businesses with the potential of expansion and growth. Many different people serve in state and local government, all with the goal to guide public policy. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio were able to work together with the state Legislature to enact universal pre-K in less than one year, with vital help from Hispanic leaders and so many others. Change can happen if we meet the challenge. SOMOS’ goals are very direct and action-oriented: We want to train our

Print. Mail. Win.

youth, create political empowerment, develop civic coalitions, shape our education system, advocate for better housing, reform the immigration system, pass the DREAM Act and provide scholarships, internships and apprenticeships. Our fall conference, for the second consecutive year, encourages Puerto Rican students to participate in our internship exchange program. There are 3.4 million Hispanics residing in New York State, and we have a strong message. We are proud professionals who have earned a place

at the table, and we will be heard. We are diverse, but we are united. We want a seat in the boardrooms of America, and we will accept nothing less. We want leadership roles in our political parties, and we will accept nothing less. We want our youth to share in the opportunities of education and jobs, and we will accept nothing less. We want our seniors protected and cared for, and we will accept nothing less. We are united in our message and have strength in our voices. I urge my fellow New Yorkers to help us harness our energy and become a part of the process. We will gather information, formulate ideas and policies and move forward our agenda in Albany. We have come a long way, but we must move forward with the challenges ahead. We will be heard. We will accept nothing less. After the busy election season ends, people will turn to SOMOS to begin strategizing for the 2015 legislative session. We want you to join us! Félix Ortiz, a native Puerto Rican, has served in the New York State Assembly since 1995. He is a past chairman of the SOMOS conference and the current chair of the New York State Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

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THE ROAD TO SOMOS / EL C A MINO A SOMOS

“WE WILL BE HEARD”:

city & state — September 15, 2014

am proud to serve as chair of the New York State Assembly/ Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. In that capacity, it is my pleasure to again work closely with SOMOS El Futuro on the upcoming November conference. Every year, SOMOS hosts major conferences in the spring and fall. This year’s San Juan meeting promises to be our best yet. Elected officials and government leaders, business professionals, labor leaders, academics and activists make the trip from New York to San Juan in November not only to be at one of the year’s premier civic events but because we want to make a positive difference for the Hispanic people and the larger community. By the end of the meeting, we will have formulated policies to help make New York the leader in education, healthcare, housing and jobs and economic growth. After San Juan, we will work hard in Albany and across the state to enact these recommendations into law and to establish them as models for the entire nation. The fall conference also promotes the opportunity to bridge economic and community development among territories by sharing best practices and replicable models, as well as opening

TELL OUR STORY I

n November 2012, Alejandro García Padilla defeated the incumbent, Luis Fortuño, by less than a single percentage point to become the 11th governor of Puerto Rico. Prior to his election, Gov. García Padilla, the president of Puerto Rico’s Popular Democratic Party and a member of the Democratic Party on the national level, had served in the Senate of Puerto Rico and as the secretary of the commonwealth’s department of consumer affairs in the administration of Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. As part of City & State’s Road to SOMOS/El Camino a SOMOS project, the series’ editor, Gerson Borrero, sat down with García Padilla in his office in La Forteleza, the governor’s official residence.

them to the front as well.

62 A Q&A WITH

city & state — September 15, 2014

ALEJANDRO GARCIA PADILLA City & State: First of all, how are you? Has being governor met your expectations? Alejandro García Padilla: I’ve got to say that as soon as I took possession [of the office] after the election, I almost asked for a recount [laughs], because it was much worse than anticipated. We found a deficit of 24 percent— $2 billion—and public corporations in bankruptcy. But 18 months later we have reduced the deficit to zero without laying off public employees, and we have been working with public corporations to look for efficiencies and cost-effective ways so that they can become sustainable with their own income. C&S: What would you say to Puerto Ricans who are part of the diaspora who are concerned about the present and future prospects of the island? AGP: They have to look at the objective evidence. The average unemployment has dropped from 16 percent to 13 percent, and while it is still high, it’s dropping.

Crime has been reduced by 30 percent in the last 20 months. I remind you that the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 were the most crime-ridden in our history, and we had the highest unemployment in the last 60 years. But now we are seeing the opposite: Crime is down to historic lows and unemployment, although more slowly than crime, is also declining. In that sense, the main elements that make a person move from a place—quality of life, public safety and the chances of getting a good job—are improving. If they listen to the partisan political discourse, which is always from behind barricades, which is always hostile, which is always insulting, then they will stay away. They [should look at] the objective elements: increased tourism, a 52 percent uptick in cruise ships, over 8 million visitors coming through Muñoz Marin airport. Agriculture is on the rebound, and manufacturing is rising. We have areas where we are still behind—car sales, cement sales, in those areas we are still behind—but we are working to bring

C&S: You’re not a magician and you don’t have a crystal ball, but nonetheless what do you see in Puerto Rico’s future? AGP: An economically developed and more educated Puerto Rico. A safer Puerto Rico. The government and the political parties must be committed to the welfare of the people, not the other way around. There are those who suggest that people sacrifice their own welfare to the parties’ ideals. Look, a report by the United States Congress’ General Accountability Office recently concluded that statehood would destroy the economy of Puerto Rico, that we would lose $12 billion and would gain $5 billion. In other words, that’s a bad business decision. So what we have to do is use all political and social instruments, in terms of the powers of the commonwealth, but at the same time improve education, improve the ability of the country to promote more and better jobs in the service of the people, and that’s what we’re doing. That’s why Lufthansa chose Puerto Rico for their only MRO [maintenance repair overhaul] facility in the hemisphere. We compete with Mexico. We compete with all the states in the southern United States. We compete with other jurisdictions in Central America. Honeywell is expanding here, Eli Lilly is expanding here. Pfizer, BristolMyers, General Electric, CooperVision, Covidien, St. Jude Medical, to mention a few, are here. We are refocusing our efforts toward enhancing our competitive advantages. C&S: To what degree is the administration of President Obama, with whom I understand you have had discussions, aware of Puerto Rico’s reality? What has the White House done to help further your objectives? AGP: President Obama has been an ally of my government and an ally of

Puerto Rico, without a doubt. … The Presidential Task Force is no longer a group focused on determining Puerto Rico’s status. It’s a mechanism of interaction with the American public and agencies to achieve and boost economic development in Puerto Rico, and we are working together. The president is very attentive. The times I’ve met with him he demonstrated a detailed awareness of Puerto Rico’s realities. President Obama is a person of great sensitivity, and in that sense deserves, especially from us Latinos, our support in all his efforts. In fact, now that the congressional midterm elections in November are approaching, my appeal to Latinos—particularly to Puerto Ricans—is to register to vote and get out the vote. Don’t allow retrograde agendas to prevail against the interests of Latinos in particular. C&S: What can legislators from New York do to help Puerto Rico? AGP: Latino legislators and Puerto Rican legislators in the city and state of New York may contribute to the strength of Puerto Rico and to its future development by allowing for the truth to be known. The other day the president of an American television network that is in Puerto Rico told me he was wondering how he could help me, and I asked him, “How are you doing in Puerto Rico?” He told me, “300 percent better.” I told him to say that. Tell the story. … Puerto Rico was about to be Greece or Detroit, but we took the right steps and changed our direction toward a path of progress. That is the new Puerto Rican reality. Legislators in New York can help me by letting the world know about the new Puerto Rican reality, beyond partisan factions.

To view this interview in its entirety, including the governor’s remarks on the high cost of energy on the island, go to cityandstateny.com.

cit yandstateny.com

PRESIDENCIA RD

The following interview was conducted in Spanish, and has been translated into English by Borrero. It has been edited for space and clarity.

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