The November 24th Edition of City & State Magazine by City & State

SETTING THE AGENDA

Education / He a l th / E ne rg y

November 24, 2014

P A R T N E R S I N P O W E R The unlikely alliance between Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie By ZACK FINK

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

Louis J. Coletti President & CEO

The Building Trades Employers’ Association represents 27 union contractor trade associations made up of 2,000 union construction managers, general contractors and speciality trade contractors in New York City

Building Tomorrow’s Opportunity Today BTEA Union Jobs: The Best Path to the Middle Class BTEA Contractors provide the building trade union construction jobs that are the best route to a middle-class life in New York City. There is no better way to address income inequality in our city than to increase opportunities to peruse union construction employment”.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AVERAGE

$34,120

Retail Salesperson

$16,910

Waiters and Waitresses

$16,920

Childcare Workers

$19,360

Office Clerks, General

$19,240

Janitors and Cleaners

$20,430

Food Prep and Fast Food Workers

$16,920

Source: NYSDOL, “Analysis of New York State’s 2010-2020 Occupational Projections and Wagesby Education Level,” Appendix2: NY State DOL “Long Term Occupational Employment Projections: 2010-2020,” NYSDOL Occupational Wages ranked by total job openings 2010-2020.

Building Economic Growth

Union Apprentice

A full-time union construction apprentice can expect to earn

$1.6 million

over a lifetime working for a BTEA Contractor than a full-time fast food cook with a high school degree.

Annual Salary Advantage After One Year /20 years /40 Years

CONTENT S

November 24, 2014

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CITY Why Sharpton? By Seth Barron

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STATE Frozen Out? By Geoff Decker from Chalkbeat New York

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61 Broadway, Suite 2825 New York, NY 10006 Editorial (212) 894-5417 General (646) 517-2740 Advertising (212) 284-9712 advertising@cityandstateny.com

BUFFALO

CITY AND STATE, LLC Chairman Steve Farbman President/CEO Tom Allon tallon@cityandstateny.com

Whatever Works: Buffalo’s Acceptance of Charter Schools By Chris Thompson

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PARTNERS IN POWER The Unlikely Alliance of Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie By Zack Fink

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SETTING THE AGENDA A Preview of the 2015 State Legislative Session

20...... Education By Ashley Hupfl

24...... Health By Ashley Hupfl

27...... Energy and Environment By Jon Lentz

28...... Graduate Schools Special Supplement 32......

PERSPECTIVES Jim Heaney on where the information superhighway dead ends … and Jerry Goldfeder on the new third parties

34...... A Q & A with filmmaker Marshall Curry

PUBLISHING Publisher Andrew A. Holt aholt@cityandstateny.com Vice President of Advertising Jim Katocin jkatocin@cityandstateny.com Chief of Staff Jasmin Freeman jfreeman@cityandstateny.com Business Development Scott Augustine saugustine@cityandstateny.com Director of Marketing Samantha Diliberti sdiliberti@cityandstateny.com Office Administrator Kyle Renwick krenwick@cityandstateny.com

Distribution Czar Dylan Forsberg EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief Morgan Pehme mpehme@cityandstateny.com Managing Editor Michael Johnson mjohnson@cityandstateny.com Albany Bureau Chief Jon Lentz jlentz@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

PRODUCTION Art Director Guillaume Federighi gfederighi@cityandstateny.com Graphic Designer Michelle Yang myang@cityandstateny.com Marketing Graphic Designer Charles Flores, cflores@cityandstateny.com Cover: Photo by Mark Lennihan-Pool/ Getty Images

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Web Manager Lydia Eck, leck@cityandstateny.com Illustrator Danilo Agutoli

city & state — Nobember 24, 2014

Columnists Alexis Grenell, Nicole Gelinas, Michael Benjamin, Seth Barron, Jim Heaney, Gerson Borrero, Susan Arbetter

Letters to the THE TRAPPINGS OF POWER

Editor SPOTLIGHT: INFRASTRUCTURE

November 17, 2014

HIGH STAKES

Albany leaders. Tenant groups. Landlord lobbyists. And an ironclad deadline for key housing laws. By JARRETT MURPHY

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city & state — November 24, 2014

hether you think the rumblings about New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer misusing his security detail to ferry his wife is the second coming of Alan Hevesi or a ginned up New York Post By Morgan Pehme special, the allegations Editor-in-Chief prompt the question of why the comptroller— the steward of the people’s money—has a taxpayer-funded squad of police officers driving him around in the first place. Are there audits so pressing that the comptroller must have the latitude to throw on the siren and blow through traffics lights to conduct them? Are the forces of government inefficiency really so vicious? Or are we perhaps worried that some Bond villain will abduct the comptroller and force him to divert the city’s pension dollars to constructing a secret underwater lair? For the sake of the city I certainly hope the Post’s articles are less than wholly accurate. We certainly do not need yet another elected official brought low by arrogance and stupidity, particularly one who thus far has shown an admirable willingness to embrace the role of counterweight to the mayor in a political climate largely devoid of checks and balances. And yet a scenario in which a politician could grow too comfortable with the trappings of power— as meager as they may be—is hardly difficult to imagine; nor is the notion that a taste of this gravy could make an elected swell to the point where he or she becomes imperious. Sadly, rather than growing into the greater responsibilities of higher office, politicians on the ascent all too often merely grow into the awesomeness of their new title. How is it that we even determine which elected officials require a security detail? As those who have been put on the spot are quick to point out, in New York City, it is the NYPD that decides. Yeah, right. I understand why the governor, the mayors of our major cities and their immediate families are worthy of police protection, given the visibility of their positions and the passions they engender. I can see the case

made for assigning a round-the-clock sentry to our United States senators. But barring a specific threat, wasting police resources and squandering public money on guarding any other elected or appointed official in our state strikes me as silly. I mean, how many people can even recognize New York City Public Advocate Letitia James or Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, let alone care enough about them to bear them any genuine malice? Yet nonetheless, every time the Speaker takes a step, tough guys with earpieces spring into action as if she were the president. I’m sure they don’t realize it, but in truth it is the elected officials benefiting from these perks who suffer from them the most. Falling into the bubble of exclusivity is exactly what keeps them from connecting with the people they need to stay in touch with to further their careers. A rumor floating widely about at the SOMOS conference earlier this month was that Gov. Cuomo had offered Christine Quinn Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights Alphonso David’s position when he moves on, but rather than wanting his meaty job, she prefers the largely ceremonial one of secretary of state, because unlike David’s, it comes with some of the goodies, such as a chauffeur, that she had grown accustomed to as New York City Council Speaker. (To his credit, Cesar Perales, the current secretary of state, has declined these accoutrements, though a knowledgeable source tells me they could easily be restored to his successor upon request.) Whether this gossip is true, it has the ring of truth—and that’s sad enough. What I don’t understand is why, in this new progressive era, Mark-Viverito, James and Stringer, all self-proclaimed populists, wouldn’t make a very big public show of saving the taxpayers money by renouncing their security details and doing away with their drivers. That would certainly win them praise from editorial boards and voters alike. I’m not holding my breath for that to occur. The fact is, these politicians are only too happy to accept such perks—while hiding behind the excuse that they are mandatory—because these trifles make them feel powerful. It is lost on them that it is not the trappings of power that make one mighty but what one does with the power one possesses.

@CIT YANDSTATENY

In his cover story for the Nov. 17 issue, City Limits executive editor Jarrett Murphy laid out the battle lines for the looming fight in Albany over New York City’s expiring rent laws. Not surprisingly, Murphy’s article generated great discussion on the Web, including this debate:

Great article, but everyone seems to forget that marketrate tenants and homeowners outnumber regulated tenants, and that the existing rent laws actually create unaffordable housing for the rest of us: [They] drive up market-rate rents by around 30 percent and, by depressing the value of regulated units, pass the property tax burden on to co-ops, condos and market-rate tenants. The existing rent laws also make it hard to knock down a small building and build a bigger one, and encourage elderly tenants to occupy larger apartments. Finally, apartments that exit the rent stabilization system aren’t “lost”—they are now available to anyone, not just the person who got there 50 years ago and his grandkids. —Greg Bronner, NYC Renters’ Alliance for Housing Choice So this “existing rent laws drive up market-rate rents” canard is complete and utter economic nonsense. Marketrate rents are set by the market, a.k.a the marginal price elasticity of demand, or “what people can afford to pay.” Those 960K rent-regulated units are occupied. 2.3 million New Yorkers live there—more than one in four of us. If you evict all those people, they will immediately compete for market apartments, driving rents up in all but a few high-demand neighborhoods with lots of regulated units. —Paul Newell, Democratic district leader Most economists would disagree with your characterization. First, the price elasticity of New York apartments is quite high—a 2 percent increase in the vacancy rate in 2009 knocked 15–20 percent off of marketrate rents. Adding a bit of supply would force landlords to compete for tenants (as they do in the rest of the country), and rents would decline quite drastically. Second, the existing allocation of apartments under rent regulations is wildly inefficient—15 percent of the rent-stabilized two bedrooms are occupied by one person, and plenty of apartments are warehoused and combined in order to avoid having them be subject to the rent-stabilization laws. We think that reforming laws would result in the utilization rate of the existing housing stock, which would be equivalent to a one-time addition of 50–100K new apartments, several years of new housing production. Third, we don’t think that all 2.3 million of the people in rent-stabilized apartments should have rights that aren’t given to the rest of us. A tax-free below-market lease renewable in perpetuity and inheritable by your grandkids and their grandkids, with no income restrictions, seems unfair to the rest of us, and unnecessary for those who make decent incomes. —Greg Bronner, NYC Renters’ Alliance for Housing Choice

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

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE By GABE PONCE DE LEÓN

(l to r) Dr. Katepalli Sreenivasan, dean of the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering; Rachel Haot, New York State chief digital officer; Anne Roest, commissioner of the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications; Eric Gertler, EVP and managing director of the Center for Economic Transformation, NYC Economic Development Corp.

city & state — November 24, 2014

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Teachers are scared to death, sometimes, that the kids know more than they do about technology,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. The need to prioritize professional development in New York City public schools was one of several measures Brewer called for at City & State’s Nov. 18 On Tech event, which was dedicated to exploring the tech outlook in New York State. In an on-stage interview with NY1’s Courtney Gross, the borough president suggested New York follow

Chicago’s lead in adding computer science to its core curriculum. Brewer highlighted the urgency of enhancing the “pipe”—fiber and broadband— coming into public schools, as well as the computer hardware available to the city’s students. The borough president cautioned that the speed of the procurement process must keep pace with that of technological innovation, and called on New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña to create a task force to oversee funds allocated from the Smart

Schools Bond Act, the $2 billion ballot proposition approved by voters earlier this month. A panel discussion followed Fariña and Brewer’s one-on-one interview, moderated by City & State’s Ashley Hupfl. Its inadequacy in city classrooms notwithstanding, advanced technology has already aided the de Blasio administration in implementing one of its signature education initiatives, according to Anne Roest, commissioner of the NYC Department

of Information Technology and Telecommunications. “Finding where the 4-years-olds are so we could do the outreach and get people enrolled required data,” said Roest of the mayor’s universal pre-K program. That the process came together in such a short period of time, the commissioner added, “shows the maturity of the data community in the city.” Roest also said that another high profile de Blasio program, Vision Zero, was shaped in large part by the cit yandstateny.com

engineering.nyu.edu/engineeringis

collection of data, in this case about car crashes and accidents. On the state level, New York Chief Digital Officer Rachel Haot explained how big data played an essential role in the recent relaunch of NY.gov. One of the main challenges, she said, was that “your experience of New York varies widely depending on if you are in a small town or a big city.” The new website anonymously detects user location to provide personalized data sets, such as emergency alerts, road closures, job listings, career fairs and local farmer’s markets. Enhanced data collection inevitably leads to privacy concerns, of course— which New York City addresses by assigning each data set its own steward. The need to carefully vet data can be at odds with public pressure for its release, however. “It’s really important that we be given that latitude to sometimes take our time and get through the data,” said Roest. Another focal point of the discussion alongside privacy concerns was the “digital divide”—or unequal access to broadband technology. Eric Gertler, executive vice president of the NYC Economic Development Corporation, hailed Mayor Bill de Blasio’s announcement this week of the city’s initiative to

convert its 8,400 public pay phones into Wi-Fi hotspots as “a huge addition to wireless capabilities in the city.” Addressing both the “digital desert” and “digital divide,” Gertler said, has been of “paramount importance to the mayor.” “[Broadband connectivity] is up there with running water, with electricity and with the highway system in terms of being a true modern utility,” Haot said. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has committed more than $500 million in his next term toward broadband deployment, Haot said. Coupled with available federal grants, the state could invest as much as $1 billion toward narrowing the digital divide. In New York City access to wireless Internet service—which 95 percent of New Yorkers have— is less of a problem than adoption, which between 60 and 70 percent of the population has done. However, in rural areas across the state—where the incentive for private investment in infrastructure is often lacking— government subsidies may be required to increase access. “At one time digital divide meant the difference between rich countries and poor countries,” said Dr. Katepalli Sreenivasan, dean of the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. “I now see it’s used in a very different context.”

1 1. Haot explained the unique challenges in redesigning NY.gov. 2. Sreenivasan pointed out that the term “digital divide” has evolved in its meaning. 3. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer urged New York’s schools to follow Chicago’s lead in adding computer science to their curriculum. 4. Roest said that the use of advanced technology was important to implementing a number of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s initiatives. 5. NY1 reporter Courtney Gross served as one of the event’s moderators.

city & state — November 24, 2014

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COUNCIL WATCH:

WHY SHARPTON?

SETH BARRON

THE MAYOR’S EMBRACE OF THE POLARIZING FIGURE IS PERPLEXING, TO SAY THE LEAST

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Mayor Bill de Blasio has repeatedly defended his close relationship with Al Sharpton. does not want revealed? Or more realistically, does he have dirt on the mayor’s ugly dealings with Data & Field Services? At least Obama had the good political sense not to go public with his affection for Sharpton until after his re-election. It is very hard to understand why an otherwise successful mayor would align himself so closely with an intensely divisive figure who offers little upside. The half-dozen advisors who have the mayor’s ear may think Sharpton is the real thing, but many New Yorkers

and a great many other Americans still recall the Tawana Brawley sham (which Sharpton consistently defends); the Crown Heights riots (“Pin your yarmulkes back!”); the eight people who died at Freddy’s Fashion Mart (“White interloper!”); the defense of the Dunbar Village gang rapists; his tax problems; his unsavory associates; etc., etc., ad eternum, ad nauseam. Even 75 percent of AfricanAmericans did not count Sharpton as a voice of their community in a 2013 Zogby poll.

If de Blasio’s political career goes Titanic, how quickly will his political allies escape the vortex? Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who at least knows how to show up on time to commemorations, will conceivably be one of the first to jump ship. Charles Rangel has promised to retire in 2016, and Mark-Viverito will be in a good position to contest his seat. Though she has never proven herself to be a dominant primary election campaigner, she will have plenty of money and institutional support

city & state — November 24, 2014

William Alatriste / New York City Council

OP state chairman Ed Cox was surely having a go at Bill de Blasio when he prophesied that the mayor would be the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. At this point it isn’t even clear that de Blasio will be the 2017 Democratic nominee for mayor. Cox was just fantasizing about the Republicans’ best hope for victory. Regardless, it is a near certainty that de Blasio is at the summit of his political career. Doubtless he has broader ambitions, and he obviously relishes the chance to parade himself across the national stage at a Democratic National Convention in Brooklyn—though that opportunity appears increasingly unlikely as the Dems look to swing states Ohio or Pennsylvania as more fruitful ground in a contentious election. Mayor of New York City is the ultimate dead-end job in American politics. Consider the fact that no mayor since New York’s consolidation in 1898 has been elected to anything after leaving City Hall. Furthermore, none of them had announced publicly that Al Sharpton—who has tracked less favorably than George Zimmerman in Rasmussen polls— was among his closest friends and advisors. The quote “The more they criticize him, the more I want to hang out with him”—de Blasio’s birthday gift to Sharpton at the Rev’s 60th— will haunt the mayor forever, at least anywhere outside of the tiny echo chamber he has built around himself. His would-be statewide or national opponents can go ahead and inscribe those words on his tombstone. The mystery of Al Sharpton’s ascension to power is opaque. Does he have photographic evidence of something de Blasio desperately

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THE ENGINEERS REPORT IUOE Local 30 Running the Engines that Run the Region William M. Lynn

Business Manager/Financial Secretary IUOE Local 30 As a 25 year member of Local 30, I am proud to serve as the Business Manager/Financial Secretary of this great local union. Over the course of the 115 years, Local 30 has established a proud tradition of providing the most highly skilled professionals in the field of stationary engineering to the industry.

Mostly unseen to the general public, our members are in the house whenever you and your family attend a major entertainment or sports event in and around New York City. Whether it’s a Broadway show, an event at Madison Square Garden, a ballgame at Yankee Stadium or CitiField, the Barclays Center, Nassau Coliseum, Belmont Racetrack, USTA Open, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, Resorts World at Aqueduct, or Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, Local 30 members are doing their part to ensure the efficient operation of all the HVAC equipment.

As most New Yorkers are aware many, if not most of these venues are recently built or undergone extensive renovations. Those changes were not merely cosmetic. Included with the new sightlines and fresh looks was the addition of state-of-art and energy efficient machinery. Machinery and technology which would be rendered useless if it were not operated under the hands of trained, highly skilled Local 30 engineers. This knowledge and skills are passed on and developed through our New York State Department of Labor approved apprentice training program. Each year more than 100 apprentices are trained under this program. Through classwork and hands-on training these men and women develop the skills to earn their license to operate, maintain and repair these sophisticated machines.

With a jurisdiction covering the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, the lower counties of Upstate New York and all of Connecticut, our members can be found beyond those well-known venues. Local 30 Private Industry members are also hard at work in total energy plants, hospitals, colleges and retail shopping malls throughout our area of jurisdictions.

And, Local 30 Municipal members work in virtually every New York City agency including, but not limited to: Corrections, HHC, CUNY, NYPD, FDNY, OCME, DHS, Health, Sanitation and DCAS, providing essential services for the eight million New York City residents and 50 million tourists, who visit our city annually.

city & state — November 24, 2014

Despite being one of the 154 contracts that went unaddressed by the last mayor, our municipal members have remained vigilant in their duty to supply safe and efficient operation of essential building systems in this fast paced city.

Local 30 continues to grow its membership through an active organizing effort with the support of our International in Washington. Local 30 will stand strong with its 4,000 members, and all organized labor, to provide good wages, benefits and recognition to all the hard working men and women that have a voice through Union representation.

by that time. Congress seems like a natural spot for someone who is addicted to sponsoring resolutions on where to site a Smithsonian Latino museum and sending out letters calling on the president to act on her pet causes. Comptroller Scott Stringer has already distanced himself from the mayor, stubbornly insisting he be permitted to uphold his fiduciary responsibilities in spite of de Blasio’s persistence in asserting that everything will be cleaned up or straightened out later. Public Advocate Letitia James has talked a good game, suing the mayor over charter school approvals and demanding that he fire Bloomberg’s Human Rights Commissioner Patricia Gatling, who was likely on the way out anyway. If we start seeing some high profile exits from inside the administration, that will be the sign that the structure is starting to crumble. For now, as long as Wall Street bonuses are keeping tax revenues flowing, the mayor and his cronies can continue to applaud themselves for having been elected to office. AFFORDABLE HOUSING HEARING SKIRTS REAL SOLUTION

ublic housing parking lots occupy some of the city’s most valuable real estate, but when it comes to addressing the city’s housing crisis, preserving $5 monthly parking spots for NYCHA residents is considered sacred. The City Council finally got around to holding hearings last week on the mayor’s grand housing plan, but a common sense solution to the housing crisis was explicitly kept off the table. In keeping with the trend toward density as a way to build in affordability, NYCHA’s 2013 “Infill” plan proposed leasing a number of NYCHA parking lots and other underdeveloped spaces in premium neighborhoods to developers. The plan seemed like a win-win: NYCHA would get much needed revenue to maintain its decaying physical plant, and the developers would build mandatory mixed income housing—with affordable and market rate units—increasing inventory for lower income New Yorkers. After all, while parking spaces for NYCHA tenants are a great amenity for the residents, it is hard to argue that these parking lots are the most efficient use of space for cash-poor NYCHA. Renting the spots certainly doesn’t bring a lot of revenue:

NYCHA residents pay as little as $60 for unreserved parking spots— per year. Considering that the market rate for parking in lower Manhattan is hundreds of dollars per month, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that subsidizing parking isn’t the best use of NYCHA’s assets. However, when news of the Infill plan was floated, NYCHA tenants and their advocates went ballistic, claiming that a land grab was in progress, and that privatization of public housing, followed by eviction of NYCHA tenants, was in the works. Public housing denizens are highly protective of their subsidized apartments, which are often handed down through the generations. Even attempts to reallocate underutilized apartments, where a senior citizen may live alone in a three-bedroom unit, are met with suspicion and hostility from the tenants and the elected officials who depend on the votes of these well organized blocs. Even though the Infill plan explicitly stated it would not involve the loss of any public housing units, that rents would not go up and that it would result in new, permanently affordable housing, NYCHA residents reacted as though they were about to be put out on the street. Check out the transcripts of the April 2013 Public Housing Committee hearings if you are interested in the highly paranoid contemporary discourse around urban housing and displacement. Council members, including the present Speaker, Melissa MarkViverito, and the current public advocate, Letitia James, filed suit to prevent the Infill plan from going forward. Then Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, calling the plan “counterproductive,” indicated he would put the brakes on any NYCHA land leasing, and the project was basically killed. At the hearing last week the role of NYCHA in the expansion of affordable housing was addressed obliquely and wistfully. Council members clearly understand that some form of infill would be a wise use of the “asset management matrix,” as Speaker Mark-Viverito referred to it, but politically it is a third rail. Too bad, because at the rate it is going, the administration is a long way from attaining 200,000 affordable units.

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

cit yandstateny.com

CHARTER SCHOOLS MAKE A CASE FOR FACILITIES FUNDS By GEOFF DECKER from CHALKBEAT NEW YORK

harter school students bundled up for a field trip to the city’s oldest public park on Nov. 18, but the lesson they received was more about modern politics than history. Seated in school desks beneath a tent in Bowling Green Park, the students were participating in an outdoor demonstration meant to highlight the funding gap that exists among the city’s charter schools. The event, which charter leaders called a “classroom without walls,” took place as the advocates prepare to take their case for more facilities funds to Albany when the legislative session begins in January. “This is a visual—and, given the weather, tactile—metaphor for what charter school leaders have to put up with,” said James Merriman, CEO of the New York City Charter School Center, one of the event’s hosts. New York City is seen as having one of the most welcoming real estate environments in the country for charter schools. Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, most charter schools received rent-free space inside of district buildings, and new and expanding charter schools will have their facilities expenses covered by the city under a new state law. But 67 charter schools were not allotted space under Bloomberg, just over one-third of charter schools citywide. The same schools, which have paid their own facilities bills for years, were given the cold shoulder in last year’s state budget deal, which did not provide anything for existing schools. Private facilities cost those schools $2,500 per student on average last year, according to an analysis by the Charter Center released in conjunction with the event. The students’ lecturers on the chilly day were principals and other advocates who groused that too much of their budgets are spent on facilities, taking away money for teachers, guidance counselors and new technology or sports programs. “With that money, I would expand psychiatric services for the students who have chronic trauma,” said Barbara McKeon, principal of Broome Street Academy, which serves a large homeless and foster care population. Drawing lawmakers’ attention to the facilities funding issue for a second straight year may be a tough task, though. A jumble of finance issues are expected to be on the table in next year’s budget cit yandstateny.com

negotiations, and many lawmakers see another school space problem— overcrowding—as a more pressing concern. Facilities funding will not be the top priority for the charter sector’s most powerful backers. The city’s growthminded charter networks have shifted their focus to lobbying legislators to lift the cap on the number of schools allowed to open in New York City. Most of the schools run by networks operate in city-owned school buildings, none of which participated in Tuesday’s event— although the Success Academy network released a statement of support. “Public school students—charter or district—deserve equitable funding,” said Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz. “Without fair funding for facilities, schools in private space are forced to compromise in ways that negatively impact children.” The event was understated compared with the rally Moskowitz participated in last month, which drew thousands of parents. Charter school leaders also took pains to distance themselves from some of the most common criticisms lodged at the sector: that charter schools are a tool to undermine the teachers’ union and that their enrollment policies unfairly limit the number of high-needs students they serve. “I spend funding that belongs to my students that could go to resources to support my UFT teachers on necessities like cleaning service, utilities and other facilities costs,” said Vasthi Acosta, principal of Amber Charter School in East Harlem, one of 21 city charter schools whose teachers belong to the United Federation of Teachers. Meanwhile, McKeon highlighted the fact that her charter high school sets aside seats for some of the city’s hardest-toserve students. “We are a school for whom 50 percent of the student demographic have been in the foster care, homeless, welfare system,” said McKeon. 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 decision 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

S TAT E

Ira J. Goldstein is the Executive Director of the New York Black Car Fund, Chief Operating Officer of the Black Car Assistance Corp (BCAC), and Treasurer of the Coalition of Transportation Associations (COTA).

Most Common Myths about the Black Car Industry in New York City The Black Car Industry plays an important role in our City’s transportation system. After speaking to many policy makers we feel it is important to dispel the biggest myths surrounding our industry.

Myth: All Black Car Drivers are Bad Drivers To the contrary. Black car drivers are professionals. According to the most recent available study, crash rates were one-third lower for taxicabs and liveries (black cars included) than for the general public. The crash rates per million miles traveled were 4.6 for taxicabs and 3.7 for liveries and black cars compared to 6.7 vehicles involved in reported accidents for occupants of all other vehicles in the City. Taxi and Livery Crashes in NYC, 2004 Schaller. The Black Car Fund even offers payments for drivers to take an enhanced driver safety course at our own Safety Center facility.

Myth: Black Cars Cause Just As Much Pollution as Other Forms of Ground Transportation Most of our trips are long hauls, unlike metered taxis, black cars typically take 2-8 trips in a shift. Black cars cannot take street hails and generally do not cruise empty. There are over 19,000 black cars in the Black Car Fund. Combined with the approximate 4,000 support staff of dispatchers and office support staff and you can see why we are an important part of the transportation infrastructure of this City and the overall economy.

Myth: Black Cars are Only for Executives and the Rich While many clients are high level corporate executives, the majority of black car passengers are actually mid and lower level support staff who are entitled to take a car home because they worked late and mass transportation may be limited or non-existent. People assume that since black car drivers are dressed in suits and driving new-model well-maintained cars, they must be rich. For the most part, some 90% of our drivers are new Americans, immigrants pursuing their version of the American Dream. The Taxi and Limousine Commission mandates that they drive newer model cars and our clients demand clean reliable transportation. But the driver is not rich. They work hard and earn a middle income wage.

Myth: Drivers are Interchangeable Employees Most black car drivers are independent contractors and small business owners with a significant investment in the business. Most Black Car drivers own their cars. They also usually own shares or “radio rights” in a cooperative corporation or are a franchisee. Since approximately ninety percent of the driver population are immigrants, the black car industry is their version of the American Dream. Throughout the years the black car industry has served as an entry point for immigrants to own and operate their own business. The only thing that has changed is the countries that they are immigrating from.

Myth: Black Car Drivers are not Well Educated Many of our drivers have advanced degrees from their countries of origin, in fields like engineering and mathematics. Our driver’s also speak many languages. Engage your driver in a conversation and you might be pleasantly surprised.

city & state — November 24, 2014

FROZEN OUT?

B U F FA LO

WHATEVER WORKS

THOUGH NOT UNIVERSALLY LOVED, CHARTER SCHOOLS MORE WIDELY ACCEPTED IN BUFFALO THAN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE By CHRIS THOMPSON

city & state — November October 28,24, 17,2014 2014 2014

n Sept. 10 teachers from the Buffalo public schools walked the line outside a meeting of the Buffalo Board of Education. They were staging what they called an “informational picket”— not the first time they have done so—to call attention to a remarkable fact: Buffalo’s teachers have not had a new contract in 10 years. This is just the latest manifestation of the sorry state of Buffalo’s schools. This past summer the district reported that only 56 percent of its 32,000 students graduated from high school in the 2013–14 school year, as opposed to the New York State graduation average of 77.8 percent. And with 2012’s graduation rate as low as 47.8 percent, and Buffalo school district officials caught artificially inflating graduation numbers back in 2010, suspicious state officials are currently auditing the district’s figures. Faced with such dismal facts, many Buffalo parents and school leaders have embraced what is still a profound and divisive controversy in New York City: charter schools. According to Kyle Rosenkrans, the interim president of the Northeast Charter Schools Network, 17 percent of Buffalo’s schoolchildren now attend charter schools, as opposed to six percent of New York City students. He may actually be understating the numbers. According to the Buffalo school district’s 2013–14 budget analysis book, fully 24 percent of the city’s children now attend charter schools. While New York City’s residents still remain loyal to their public schools, almost one in four Buffalo parents have simply given up on the public school system and are now trying out a new education model. “We’ve been able to grow at a fairly fast clip,” Rosenkrans said. Charter schools may be particularly attractive to the city’s East Buffalo black population, which comprises 51 percent of the city’s students. For example, Denise Stevens, an AfricanAmerican cook’s assistant at Buffalo’s Sisters of Charity Hospital, sent her

Developer and former GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino, a recently elected member of the new school board majority in Buffalo, has promised radical reform, including the expansion of charters. first-born son through the public school system, and he just barely got his degree. According to Stevens, public school teachers simply did not put in the work to focus on the special needs of young black males. “Oh, God, it was horrible,” she said. “The teachers didn’t really have patience with special issue kids. … I would go into the school and sit in the back, and a lot of the teachers would just get rid of the kids. They didn’t want to take time out to find out what was going on. Culturally, they didn’t take the time to find what was going on with African-American kids.” When her younger daughter was ready for school, Stevens enrolled her in East Buffalo’s King Center Charter School. Stevens says that over the last seven years King Center’s teachers have worked overtime to enrich her daughter’s education and teach her about her black heritage. “You ever see a place where the people have a real passion, and stay after hours?” Stevens said. “Where they don’t just treat it like a job—they take the time after hours? They teach them about our culture. They teach them about our history. That kind of moves me.” But according to Phil Rumore, the president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, parents have been given

a false impression of Buffalo charter schools’ performance. Buffalo’s charter schools, he claims, have the right to deny entry to or expel any underperforming student. Last spring the union published a study that concluded that local charter schools were systematically turning away English as a Second Language students, as well as students with learning disabilities, to cook their graduation numbers. “They can kick out students from the charter schools and send them back to the public schools,” Rumore said. “And you know when that usually happens? Right before exams. … There shouldn’t be a charter school that has absolutely no ESL students. They shouldn’t be able to kick students out whenever they don’t want them. Other than that, we love them.” Immediately after the union published its study, the Northeast Charter Schools Network aired a series of radio ads promoting Buffalo’s charter schools. Rosenkrans still bristles at the critique. “We’re under a state obligation to recruit high-need students, including ESL students,” he says. “We have to report to the state on our progress, and if we’re not meeting our obligation, the state has to intervene. They haven’t so far. There’s no basis for this criticism other than sloppy statistical analysis.”

Charter school supporters have their own complaints, mostly about the amount of money they get from the state. In September a group of charter school parents filed a lawsuit against the state Education Department, charging that the Department’s funding formula only provides them with 60 percent of the funds it provides to the average Buffalo public school. According to Terrence Connors, the lawyer representing the parents, the state must finance charter schools fairly if Buffalo is to keep on its new path to prosperity. “The economic rebirth of Buffalo, the momentum we have achieved in Western New York is palpable,” Connors said. “But we’re not going to achieve the momentum we want until our schools are better. We have to make sure that our schools are more and more creative. And charter schools can work.” Even as Buffalo begins to claw its way out of its economic doldrums, its schools remain a constant source of tension. This spring a new school board majority, led by developer Carl Paladino and Buffalo ReformED chair and retired GatewayLongview CEO James Sampson, took power and promised radical new reforms, with charter schools at the center of their agenda. Superintendent Pamela Brown promptly resigned, 63 teachers were laid off, and the teachers union threatened a lawsuit. A group of community leaders and parents recently rallied to claim that the state Education Department has shortchanged the Buffalo school district to the tune of nearly $140 million. And of course, there is the question of Buffalo’s iffy graduation numbers. Throughout these fights, Buffalo’s charter schools continue to gain popularity, unlike the response in some other parts of the state. Seals Nevergold, a member of the school board faction that recently lost power, was initially skeptical of charter schools. Now she recognizes that they are here to stay: “I see them as a viable alternative,” she said. “At this point, Buffalo is fairly saturated with charter schools.” cit yandstateny.com

PARTNERS IN POWER

THE UNLIKELY ALLIANCE OF ANDREW CUOMO AND CHRIS CHRISTIE By ZACK FINK

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the Islamic State was gaining ground in Syria and Iraq, and the suggestion was that the dangerous terrorist organization was determined to strike here. (That the primary goal of ISIS is actually to establish an Islamic State in the Middle East is one of many facts that rarely seem to get in the way of Western interpretations of Islamic movements.) Begging the question of what exactly our security precautions have been over the past 13 years and whether they had suddenly grown lax,

the review seemed beside the point. Beyond gathering human intelligence through infiltrating groups such as ISIS to stop attacks before they happen, there is little local law enforcement can really do besides staying visible and vigilant. Anyone who has ever traveled on a major holiday has experienced the embodiment of this policy. Earlier that day Gov. Cuomo’s office sent word to me, along with NY1 photographer Bryan Terry, that we were to attend a private ultra-highlevel security meeting with the two

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ept. 15, 2014, a scant few days after they had crossed paths at remembrance ceremonies for the anniversary of 9/11, the governors of New York and New Jersey prepared for a joint press conference in New York City. The topic at hand was the top-to-bottom regional security review Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Chris Christie had ordered. Ostensibly the meeting was precipitated by events overseas that warranted a new level of vigilance at home. The organization known as

governors, which would take place before their scheduled press avail. Arriving well in advance, we were eventually whisked up to an upper floor conference room packed with New York and New Jersey law enforcement officials, many of whom I recognized or knew from my 13 years covering New Jersey politics. Cuomo arrived first. Taking the long way around the room, he entered from the opposite side of where we had set up our camera, joking to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson as he passed us that they should not have let me in. We prepared to get the money shot of Christie and Cuomo sitting beside the secretary, but there was only one problem: Gov. Christie was nowhere to be found. After we spent some time filming a conspicuously empty chair, restless Homeland Security flacks told us to head downstairs with the rest of the media. Swimming into action, Cuomo’s communications director, Melissa DeRosa, pulled us aside to await Christie’s arrival. DeRosa is a person who, if she wants something done, it gets done: She was going to make sure we got the shot of Christie and Cuomo together. Christie finally arrived, cell phone attached to his ear. As we were led back into the secret meeting room, he took his seat at the table, not looking up as he ended his call and continued to fiddle with his phone’s keyboard. He was clearly preoccupied. If it was such an important security meeting, shouldn’t his head have been a little more in the game? After we were escorted downstairs to the lobby for the press conference, we got an unexpected heads-up: The two governors would be talking to the media a full 45 minutes early. That was the only surprise as far as the press conference went. The governors vowed to work together to review the regional security plan

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and refused to answer any off-topic questions. (Note to politicians: Do not tell people what they are allowed to ask you, especially when making the point that terrorists want to kill us because they hate our freedom.) It wasn’t clear why the two governors, whose tenure as the heads of neighboring states has overlapped for four years but who had never before held a press conference together, chose to do so now. Or why, less than 10 days later, they held another on the same subject, rather than simply issuing a press release on either occasion. “Definitely weird, and a little crazy,” noted a former aide to one of the governors. Odder still, they held a third joint press conference a few weeks later, this time to announce a new quarantine policy for those health workers who had treated Ebola patients in Western Africa and who were returning to Port Authority-run airports in New York and New Jersey. The mandatory quarantine policy they instituted (apparently softened as it was rolled out over the next few days following the hastily called late-October presser), was roundly criticized by scientists, the White House and organizations that send doctors into the field to treat Ebola. Interestingly, much of the public seemed to back the governors at the height of the Ebola scare in the days following New York City’s first confirmed case of the virus. The partnership between Christie and Cuomo is a fascinating case study in the transcendence of political ideology for the sake of personal expediency. There are larger forces at play that draw the governors together, like the shared bridges and tunnels of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which literally connect their two states. But there is also something more practical. These two big personalities, both of whom have a reputation for rough play, could have chosen to go to war many times over any number of issues the last four years, but instead opted to work together. Neither man seems inclined to provoke a battle with the one guy who could probably take the other one down.

DIFFERENT STYLES, SAME OBJECTIVE

n the surface, Christie and Cuomo could not be more different. Christie is brash, outspoken and always eager to pick a fight in public. One Trenton State

The photo Cuomo’s press office was determined to get: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson flanked by Cuomo and Christie. House veteran is fond of describing the New Jersey governor as someone who “likes to begin a conversation by tossing a hand grenade into the room.” Cuomo is in many ways his exact opposite. Much stealthier in how he handles people and situations, he is a behind-the-scenes operator, someone who gets what he wants from people by decidedly not making a scene. Both men have been labeled bullies. While Christie comes at you head-on, however, Cuomo quietly turns the screws out of public view. Christie would be the type of assassin who bludgeons you to death with a baseball bat, making a bloody mess, whereas Cuomo would kill you quickly and quietly with one bullet to the back of the head—a shot you would never see coming. As Bridgegate taught us, Christie’s methods are often sloppy and can burn a trail. Cuomo rarely leaves fingerprints. His knowledge of Bridgegate and any role he may have played in covering up the scandal remains a secret. If Christie is perhaps the more naturally gifted politician, Cuomo is considerably shrewder. Christie enters a room and immediately wins over the crowd with his signature straight talk and endearing personal stories. Michael Aron, a political reporter in New Jersey for more than four decades who has studied crowd reactions during Christie’s town hall meetings, says, “Invariably everyone is smiling. It’s a gift that could carry him to the presidential nomination in 2016.”

Notes Nick Acocella, another veteran New Jersey reporter, “In politics, you need three things. You gotta get the policy right, you gotta get the politics right, and you gotta get the joke. And Chris Christie gets all three.” Cuomo, by contrast, will not open any doors for himself by sheer force of personality. Believed to harbor presidential ambitions, the governor will need a solid record to run on—which is precisely why he has been systematically trying to restore confidence and functionality to government in Albany the last four years by publically being the adult in the room but privately using the full power of the office behind closed doors to force and cajole a stubborn Legislature into doing things on his terms. While there are clear differences between Cuomo and Christie, there is much that binds them. Both embrace a pragmatic brand of politics that transcends party or ideology. In his autobiography, All Things Possible, Cuomo writes about adopting a “tell it like it is” strategy for his first gubernatorial campaign in 2002— words that are Christie’s reflexive mantra. Cuomo’s memoir also restates one of his core beliefs about politics: “The left-right debate misses the mark and is a trap for the Democratic Party.” Christie has also tried to govern from the center. His positions on issues like immigration (he supports a path to citizenship) and the environment (he believes climate change is real) seem

much more moderate than those of the current crop of Republicans likely to vie for their party’s nomination for president in 2016. Christie has also been non-partisan in his hiring. He recently brought former Democratic Gov. Jim McGreevey’s onetime chief of staff Jamie Fox into his administration as the new commissioner of transportation. Fox is known in New Jersey for a storm-the-beach brand of partisan politics. He is also a very effective manager, and Christie puts competence above partisanship any day. One former Christie aide joked of Fox’s hiring, “You know the rule down in Trenton: If you spend enough time down at the State House, eventually the administration just hires you.” Christie took office in January 2010 with New Jersey facing a structural deficit of $11 billion. With the economy sputtering, the new governor immediately seized the opportunity to cut costs by tapping into public resentment of public employees. He promptly went to war with the New Jersey Education Association, New Jersey’s largest teachers’ union, and the Communications Workers of America, which represents state workers. Christie insisted that public sector unions and everyone else who cared to work with the new administration “come to the center of the room.” (Translation: Be prepared for givebacks because the gravy train is over.) Christie immediately proposed a one-year pay freeze for teachers and higher contributions toward healthcare costs. cit yandstateny.com

He then went even further by calling for an end to teacher tenure and raising the retirement age for state workers. When Cuomo took office in 2011 the Democrat and son of liberal icon Mario Cuomo seemed to take a page from his Republican counterpart across the river. With New York facing a similarly large $10 billion deficit in early 2011, the new governor locked in a three-year wage freeze on base salaries for 66,000 members of the Civil Service Employees Association. It was even harsher than Christie’s deal with the 35,000-member CWA, which instituted a pay freeze for the first year but allowed a 1 percent hike in the second year. Christie also moved quickly to freeze the rate of increase for state spending and to cap local property taxes at 2 percent each year. A year later Cuomo adopted virtually the same policy— prompting Christie to mention him in his 2011 Budget Message: “Across the Hudson River, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget also cuts the actual dollars spent by the state—for the first time in 14 years. Why? The reason Governor Cuomo gave is simple. He said, ‘New York is at a crossroads, and we must seize this opportunity, make hard choices, and set our state on a new path toward prosperity.’ The challenge, the change, and even the choice of words are similar to where New Jersey was one year ago.” Christie, a man who has started fights with too many governors across cit yandstateny.com

the nation to count, has never attacked Cuomo personally or criticized his policy choices. The two are known to communicate frequently, and despite their different party affiliations have adopted an unspoken “non-aggression pact.” “Ultimately it’s not that Cuomo and Christie are such good friends,” says one Republican insider. “They just both represent the non-partisan incumbency party.” Larger money interests trump party or politics, a universally recognized state of affairs. “In the U.S., there is basically one party,” leftist linguist/philosopher Noam Chomsky once said: “the business party. It has two factions, called Democrats and Republicans.” The ties between the governors actually run quite deep, beginning with the lobbying and public relations firm Mercury Public Affairs. Christie’s political guru Mike DuHaime, the architect of Rudy Giuliani’s failed 2008 bid for the presidency, is a partner at Mercury. Having somehow avoided scrutiny in the Bridgegate scandal, DuHaime will likely take the lead on Christie’s 2016 campaign. Another Mercury partner who played a role in Giuliani’s campaign, Michael McKeon, went on in 2010 to head up “Republicans for Cuomo,” a group that was resurrected this year for Cuomo’s re-election. McKeon previously served in the Pataki Administration, as did Thomas Doherty, yet another partner at Mercury. In 2013 the firm hired Karen

Hinton, wife of Cuomo’s then–director of state operations Howard Glaser. Hinton quietly resigned a few months later after the New York Post disclosed her hiring at a “substantial six-figure salary.” The Post claimed the governor was upset about the hiring, though he was likely more upset about the fact that it was reported. “Republicans for Cuomo” faded into the background in 2011 after Cuomo’s election, and a new group appeared called the Committee to Save New York (CSNY), led by none other than … Mike McKeon. With the financial backing, according to sources, of groups such as the Real Estate Board of New York, the Business Council of New York State and the Partnership for New York, CSNY proceeded to run TV ads promoting Gov. Cuomo’s agenda. Its tax status left the Committee free to raise unlimited amounts of money. Meanwhile, independent of the group, Cuomo was able to raise money for his own re-election campaign three years hence. So even as CSNY defended the governor over the airwaves for his controversial fiscal tightening policies, Cuomo spent his own time and resources raising money to defeat any potential challenger in the next election. (He would go on to raise an astronomical $45 million, by far the largest sum of any governor in the nation up for re-election this past year.) Despite a pounding from the press about a complete lack of transparency from Cuomo, CSNY’s exact donor list and the amounts given to it were

ONE HAND WASHES THE OTHER

n September 2013, more than a year before Cuomo was up for reelection, Tishman Speyer President and Co-CEO Rob Speyer summoned a select group to discuss the 2014 election: State Republican Chairman Ed Cox, Republican Senate Conference Leader Dean Skelos, then–state GOP Executive Director Michael Lawler and Republican Senate Counsel Robert Mujica. Speyer began the meeting by telling the attendees that he had “been friends with Andrew Cuomo for 20 years,” according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, so as not to upset any of the parties involved. The governor had asked him to call this

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Cuomo reportedly did not want to face Rob Astorino (pictured above right, with his running mate, Chris Moss) as his opponent in his bid for re-election, and if he had to, he did not want Astorino getting any help from the RGA, chaired by Christie.

never revealed. In 2012 the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE), which had been created by the governor and the Legislature in 2011, adopted new disclosure rules for 501(c)(4)’s like the Committee to Save New York, but the look-back period was very limited. (For some reason the new disclosure laws were not part of the original legislation establishing JCOPE.) While the Committee never had to disclose its donor list, tax filings showed that CSNY had paid nearly $140,000 to Mercury for “communications.” The Committee quietly melted away before those new donor laws would have forced it to be more transparent. Cuomo shares with Christie such big-time donors as Ken Langone, founder of Home Depot, who tried to convince Christie to run for president in 2012. In 2003, when Langone was chair of the New York Stock Exchange compensation committee, he personally approved a $140 million compensation package for NYSE CEO Richard Grasso—a “golden parachute” that came in the wake of major corporate scandals including Enron and WorldCom. Then–Attorney General Eliot Spitzer demanded that $100 million of it be returned to taxpayers. But Cuomo took what one insider described as a “different tack” with Grasso and Langone in his role as then–attorney general in 2007. After the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court, ruled that Grasso was in fact entitled to his $140 million, in July 2008, Cuomo said he had no intention of appealing the decision, and he was true to his word. Spitzer’s case was over, and Langone and Grasso likely became Cuomo’s new BFFs.

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meeting, Speyer explained, because like them, Cuomo wanted to keep the State Senate in Republican hands. If the party ran a candidate who could potentially beat Cuomo in 2014, however, the governor would spend $40 million to defeat that candidate and Senate Republicans. Skelos responded first: The person they were considering was Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, he said. At this point, Astorino had not yet won re-election in Westchester. “Well, that is the one candidate you can’t run,” said Speyer. It was “a load of shit,” Lawler jumped in to say, that they could not run a real candidate without risking losing the governor’s support for the Senate. After a heated back-and-forth, the meeting ended with no agreement. Some time later Speyer received a call from Cox, who is the son-in-law of former President Richard Nixon: Astorino was their candidate, Cox said, and he was running. Jumping quickly off the phone, Speyer called back 20 minutes later with a direct message from Gov. Cuomo: “FUCK YOU! FUCK REPUBLICANS! AND FUCK RICHARD-FUCKING-NIXON! I WILL GO AFTER YOU!” Asked about the exchange, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said, “That is a reporter’s conspiratorial delusion.” Eventually the governor would commit to a progressive agenda to win the backing of the Working Families Party, which was on the verge of endorsing Fordham professor Zephyr Teachout to punish Cuomo for his centrist approach to governance and propensity for collaborating with the GOP. Facing the defection of the left— the faction that votes most prolifically in Democratic primaries—Cuomo pledged publicly to push for a veritable wish list of liberal priorities including campaign finance reform, the DREAM Act and a bill codifying abortion rights in New York State. More importantly, Cuomo agreed to put his weight behind state Democrats’ foremost aim: taking over complete control of the Legislature by winning the State Senate. However, critics charge that once Cuomo got the WFP nod, he paid little more than lip service to his promise. When it came time for the governor to actually campaign for the Democrats’ Senate candidates, Cuomo failed to show up for incumbents in key races like Cecilia Tkacyzk’s and Terry Gipson’s in the Hudson Valley. While he did make a campaign appearance for himself in Rochester during which

he spoke warmly of Democratic State Sen. Ted O’Brien, who was at his side, some viewed the half-hearted effort as too little too late. All three incumbents lost, swinging control of the Senate firmly into Republican hands. Insiders say that was likely the governor’s hope all along. Just as he had used it in his first term, a Republican-controlled Senate would continue to provide Cuomo with both a foil to blame for measures he could not or did not actually want to pass, and the ability to frame his victories as bipartisan achievements, a valuable record for a potential candidate for national office to claim in an era of fiercely partisan gridlock. THE RISE OF CHRISTIE Like Cuomo, who withdrew when he first ran for governor in 2002 after making a blunderous remark about George Pataki, Chris Christie suffered setbacks on his eventual road to success in New Jersey. In 1994 Christie was elected to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders. He then ran unsuccessfully for the state Assembly. Three years later, after picking fights with people on the county legislative board and facing difficulties, in particular with members of his own party, he was voted off the Freeholder board. In 2001, however, Christie’s old friend George W. Bush tapped him to be Newark’s U.S. Attorney. (Christie had befriended the younger Bush

while volunteering for the elder Bush’s 1992 presidential campaign.) In his seven years on the job, Christie truly shone, amassing a staggering record of convictions against public officials. He won all 130 of his public corruption cases. During some of these high profile prosecutions—which included convictions of former New Jersey Senate President John Lynch and Cory Booker’s predecessor as Newark’s mayor, Sharpe James—Christie also proved adept at holding blustery press conferences. New Jersey may be essentially a blue state in its presidential vote, but its selection of governors over the years has been bipartisan. Republican governors such as Tom Kean and Christine Todd Whitman thrived for two terms each. By contrast, at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, incumbent Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine was wildly unpopular. With many financial back office jobs located in New Jersey, it is often those lower-level employees who are thrown out the door first when mass layoffs hit, and this was the case back in 2008. And as a result, New Jersey was hit particularly hard as unemployment skyrocketed. Though he had previously been head of Goldman Sachs, Corzine was not well-regarded by the business community, which was unhappy over his raising of the state’s sales tax in 2006. The fight over that tax increase was so contentious that New Jersey shut down its government for six days. Eventually Corzine got his 1

percent increase, but though he had won the battle, he had lost the war. Rumblings about Christie’s political ambitions had begun shortly after he became U.S. Attorney, and key business community members such as MetLife’s Tom Considine (who served on a number of boards) decided to back Christie for governor in 2009. To avoid antagonizing Corzine and the Democrats, Considine and others helped Christie stealthily, funneling money through the national Republican Governors Association. The organization would pour millions into Christie’s ultimately triumphant race. Christie would later name Considine his commissioner of Banking and Insurance. A BRIDGE BETWEEN GOVERNORS What happened between Cuomo and Christie in regard to the Bridgegate scandal remains a mystery. In September 2013 Cuomo’s handpicked executive director at the bi-state Port Authority, Pat Foye, sent an email identifying lane closures on the Fort Lee side of the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 as a violation of law. “I believe this hasty and ill-advised decision violates Federal Law and the laws of both States,” Foye wrote. However, Foye did not inform outside authorities about this potential violation of law—which is now under investigation by the U.S. Attorney in Newark, Paul Fishman. Accounts

What happened between Cuomo and Christie in regard to the Bridgegate scandal remains a mystery.

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that has been addressed by the recent resignations.” The governor made very few subsequent public statements on the matter, and held very few press availabilities in Albany during the first three months of 2014 when the Bridgegate scandal was exploding on the national stage. Cuomo had his own agenda. He was focused on getting re-elected. He clearly didn’t want to face Astorino, and if he had to, he didn’t want Astorino getting any help from the RGA. As Cuomo remained mostly silent about Bridgegate, Christie granted him his wish. LOST CAUSES The month before Foye’s testimony, Christie was formally elected head of the RGA in Arizona at the organization’s annual conference. As one of the RGA’s biggest success stories, he was a natural to be its chairman. Astorino met with Christie at the event, and Christie reportedly assured Astorino he would assist in the Republican’s challenge to Cuomo. Asked about that meeting on a conference call later in the month, however, Cuomo said, “I can tell you this: I spoke to Governor Christie this morning, who told me the exact opposite. And I’ll leave it at that.” In March 2014 Astorino formally announced his candidacy for governor. In the months that followed, Christie and the RGA did absolutely nothing for him, a snub so blatant Christie was asked about it in July while campaigning for Thomas Foley, the Republican candidate for governor in Connecticut. When questioned why he wasn’t helping Astorino, Christie said he did not invest in “lost causes.” Ouch. Reaction from the Astorino camp was initially measured. Reaching out to Christie and his people through back channels, they essentially said, “What’s done is done. Now please fix it.” The response from Camp Christie was in effect: “No.” The man charged with promoting Republican candidates for governor had apparently developed an inflated sense of his own job security. Christie made his comments dismissing Astorino just two days before revelations about Cuomo’s interference with the Moreland Commission. If there were ever a time for Republicans to rally behind their candidate in New York, it was that week. Christie also spoke infelicitously

about the RGA’s specific distribution of its resources in the various races across the country. “We don’t invest in landslides,” he said, which was certainly not true in his own case: The RGA spent roughly $1.7 million on Christie’s landslide victory over Democrat Barbara Buono in 2013—a race he more than likely would have won handily without such excessive spending. (Christie ultimately defeated Buono by 22 points.) Nor has Christie been consistent in regard to his approach to supporting other “lost causes.” Astorino was consistently down 20 points or more against Cuomo; but in June Christie passed him over to campaign in New Hampshire for gubernatorial candidate Walt Havenstein, whose polling was even worse, down 26 points at the time. (Havenstein ultimately was defeated by the incumbent Maggie Hassan by 5 points.) Christie also campaigned— as one could argue the head of the RGA should—for Neel Kashkari in California, who ended up losing by 18 percent of the vote. The RGA also spent hundreds of thousands on ads in New Mexico, according to sources, even though Republican Gov. Susana Martinez was always solidly ahead; and more than $800,000 in Iowa, where Terry Branstad won by 22 points. Rather than quietly accepting being hung out to dry by Christie, Astorino eventually fired back, telling reporters at a Lower Manhattan Press conference in July, “If Governor Christie is unable to help a Republican candidate for governor, then maybe he should consider stepping down as chairman of the RGA.” Astorino went on to say aloud what many had been thinking: that Christie and Cuomo were working together to keep Bridgegate quiet, and part of that bargain entailed Christie staying clear of New York governor’s race, despite his unique ability to assist Cuomo’s opponent. “I think whatever Governor Christie knew or didn’t know is probably the same for Governor Cuomo and if there is anything being held back that Governor Cuomo knows and he’s holding that over Christie’s head, I don’t know,” said Astorino. Though generating a brief buzz, Astorino’s allegations were petered out and he chose not to repeat them as the campaign wore on. QUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY Beyond the politics of Bridgegate and the election year posturing lies a far

more serious structural problem at the Port Authority. The agency’s mission is to ensure the safe transfer of people and goods throughout the region. The Bridgegate scandal revealed that career employees at the bi-state agency feared for their jobs if they interfered with the activities of certain gubernatorial appointees. For an agency dedicated to keeping the region moving and its economy sound, that would seem to be a big problem. That the lane closures appear to have been ordered by the governor’s office’s Bridget Kelly, who famously wrote in an email, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” only highlights how desperately reform is needed. So how did the Port Authority get into its current predicament? Jameson Doig, author of a book about the agency’s history, Empire on the Hudson, says that while the Authority has always been a backwater of patronage, Gov. Christie took the practice to new heights, appointing more than 70 people—primarily those who helped him out in the 2009 election—to jobs within the agency, both high and low level. He used the Authority as a patronage mill, “sort of the way Frank Hague operated in Jersey City,” said Doig, referring to the famously corrupt mayor who was said to have a desk at City Hall in Jersey City with a drawer that slid open to both sides of the desk for people coming into the office to drop off bribes or payoffs. When the Port Authority was established in 1921, Doig notes in his impeccably researched book, commissioners were appointed to six-year terms, a measure designed to transcend politics and insulate its staff from the political whims of governors from one party or the other. Until the mid-1970s the board chose the Authority’s executive director. In the late ’70s, however, the agency began to involve the governors more, eventually dividing up the roster so that New York’s governor got to appoint the executive director and New Jersey’s governor the board chairman. That practice worked until the 1990s, when New York Gov. George Pataki opted to appoint George Marlin, a financier who had been helpful to him in securing the Staten Island vote. Sources say then–New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman was “appalled.” She decided New Jersey needed to appoint a deputy executive director to keep an eye on Marlin, and the position stuck, creating political chaos between the two states as they battled over everything from resources to patronage appointments.

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differ as to whether Foye even went to the Port Authority Inspector General with this information. Foye claims he sent an email to the IG’s office, the law enforcement arm of the bi-state agency, but there is no evidence of his having done so. It was not until the scandal became public months later that the office finally opened an investigation. The U.S. Attorney will ultimately determine whether Christie knew about the lane closures ahead of time. Less clear is what Cuomo knew about the lane closures, and what he did or didn’t do to investigate them. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Christie called Cuomo in December to ask him to advise Foye to back off. Sources say those conversations took place a lot earlier, however—and some have speculated that Cuomo promptly brought Foye to heel in the early autumn of 2013, while Christie was in the middle of his re-election campaign, giving him time to sort out the mess on his end. The scandal didn’t blow up until after he was safely re-elected. Did Cuomo take deliberate action to protect Christie? Officially Cuomo says he did not find out about the lane closures until sometime in the autumn of 2013 when he “heard it on the radio.” Considering his own executive director called the lane closures a violation of New York law, it seems odd that a governor whose job description includes oversight of the Port Authority might have missed that fact. Indeed Cuomo, about to face his own re-election campaign, seemed to have the incoming head of the RGA over a barrel. According to the widely reported narrative, Christie’s top two appointees at the Port Authority, Bill Baroni and David Wildstein, had shut down access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee as part of a half-cocked revenge scheme against Fort Lee’s mayor for failing to endorse Christie for re-election. That charge has not been proven in a court of law, but Baroni and Wildstein resigned several months after the closures, after erroneously claiming the lanes had been shut down because of an innocuous traffic study. In December Foye testified before the New Jersey Legislature’s special investigatory committee in Trenton that there was no traffic study. Wildstein resigned before Foye’s Dec. 9 appearance, Baroni just after it. Asked on Dec. 12 about the resignations, Cuomo said, “To the extent there was misbehavior by officials at the Port Authority, I think

city & state — No ve m b e r 24 , 2014

To have the deputy executive director answering to the New Jersey governor, and the executive director answering to New York’s governor was precisely the kind of situation that could lead to something like Bridgegate. Though Baroni was deputy executive director, he reported not to Executive Director Pat Foye, technically his boss, but directly to Christie. “That took us off the rails,” notes one insider. The fragmentation and divided staff loyalties made the once impossible now inevitable. In Doig’s history Cuomo gets credit for viewing the Port Authority as semiindependent, declining to install his own patronage appointments by the dozens. He did, however, apparently look the other way when it came to Bridgegate. In the end Cuomo seems to have gained a considerable amount from Bridgegate, avoiding the personal embarrassment Christie suffered while managing to wrest control of projects dear to his heart, such as the renovation of New York’s airports. Cuomo wanted New York State to control the revamping of Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, and with Christie’s apparent authorization, he got his way. With Vice President Joe Biden at his side at an Oct. 20 event at a school near LaGuardia, Cuomo detailed his new airport proposal. “I spoke to Governor Christie about this months ago, where I said I thought the Port Authority was not moving quickly enough on these airports. I said to him, ‘The airports are in my state, and I would prefer to take responsibility.’ ... And he said, ‘That’s fine.’ And I said, ‘Look, if you want to be responsible for the assets in your state, I am fine with that.’ And he said, ‘Great,’ all around. He could not have been more cooperative in that discussion, and this was over a year ago.” According to that time frame, the discussion between the two governors must have taken place right around the time Bridgegate flared up. It also seems likely that Cuomo was able to convince Christie to do the three aforementioned Homeland Securityrelated press conferences with him in the weeks leading up to Cuomo’s re-election day. We may never know if this plausible tit-for-tat is part of a larger framework under which the Port Authority still operates, or an omertà between the two men to keep hidden what they knew about the scandal— but it certainly looks like high-level collusion. Foye’s testimony last year, which

Cuomo announced at an Oct. 20 event with Vice President Joe Biden that Christie had agreed to let him take control of the renovation of LaGuardia and Kennedy airports.

broke open the scandal, was before the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee. Created specifically to investigate Bridgegate, the committee has subpoena power but cannot prosecute. Baroni’s testimony before the committee was technically not under oath, which may make indicting him on a perjury charge more difficult. Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski of Middlesex County, the committee’s mild-mannered co-chair, began investigating the lane closures in his capacity as chairman of the powerful Assembly Transportation Committee. (In New Jersey, committees actually have power to hold public hearings on critical pieces of legislation, something that is never done under the current leadership in New York State; bills are merely reported out of committee or laid aside.) Although Wisniewski has managed to make a name for himself by leading the investigation against Christie, by his own account, “The investigation has stalled.” The Select Committee has very limited ability to call any meaningful witnesses, according to Wisniewski, because of the U.S. Attorney’s ongoing investigation. Foye’s scheduled testimony last summer was canceled due to his cooperation with the U.S. Attorney’s office. Investigators consider Foye the key to unraveling the entire mystery. “We don’t want to start bringing in collateral witnesses,” says Wisniewski. The Select Committee’s subpoena power will expire in 2016, but Wisniewski expects it to wrap up its work much sooner. Christie has

criticized the work of the Committee, accusing it of conducting a witch hunt, replete with strategic leaks to the press. Wisniewski, also known in political circles as “The Wiz,” considers it “wonderfully ironic that Christie is decrying leaks, considering he is the man who wrote the book on them,” a reference to the extensive conversations Christie was known to have with reporters from his work phone when he was U.S. Attorney in Newark. ROOM FOR REFORM? With the investigation on hold, reform-minded legislators in both states believe they have the best opportunity in years to make lasting changes at the behemoth that is the Port Authority. This past year a package of reform bills unanimously passed both houses of Albany’s Legislature. The legislation would make the Authority subject to open public record laws of both states, require that its meetings be open to the public, establish audit and finance committees within the body, and mandate an annual report by an independent auditor that gets sent to the governor, state comptroller and each state’s Legislature. While certainly not perfect, the legislation is the best chance of reforming the Authority in modern history. Initially, it was held up in New Jersey. The bill passed the state Senate, but was blocked by Wisniewski, who felt the reforms didn’t go far enough, sources say. Wisniewski maintains that the Port Authority requires a

governance change: “Right now the executive branch in both states has the sole authority to appoint commissioners, leading to a very myopic agency,” he says. “They only see what is in front of them for the short term.” If New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund, which funds transportation projects, were broke, for example, governors would raid the Port Authority, the way Christie diverted funds set aside for Access to the Region’s Core (ARC), the stalled rail tunnel project under the Hudson River to Manhattan, to rebuild the Pulaski Skyway. The latter is not even a Port Authority asset like the Holland Tunnel but merely an access road to the tunnel. Wisniewski recommends that the Port Authority commissioners rather than the governor be given the authority to choose the executive director. That is the way most boards operate, he says, noting that the Port Authority would be better off if the two governors had less control. “When you want to make significant change to any organization, you don’t start small, then go big. It’s a winnowing process—a compromise process.” Insiders say Wisniewski likely harbors ambitions beyond his current station, and some believe he held up the reform legislation because he intends to run for governor and needs to plant his flag. “Wisniewksi wants to be the author of any reforms that come out of Bridgegate,” said one New Jersey Democrat. Wisniewski disputes this take; he is simply “reluctant to agree” that the current bills constitute a reform package, he says. “I agree with everything in the bill, but it doesn’t do enough.” In late October, the New Jersey Assembly dropped its opposition to the package. The bill has moved out of committee and has now passed the full Assembly. That means identical pieces of legislation have now passed a total of four houses in two states, no small feat. The big question now is how willing the two governors on whose watches the Bridgegate scandal unfolded will be to sign monumental legislation that will likely water down their control of the very agency that draws them together. Zack Fink has been the state house reporter for NY1 since January 2012, covering news in both New York City and Albany. Prior to working at NY1, Zack spent 13 years as a political reporter in New Jersey. cit yandstateny.com

GET A HEAD START ON THE 2015 STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION As Miguel de Cervantes once said, “To be prepared is half the victory.” For many organizations, advocates and interest groups, by the time the focus shifts to the next year’s legislative agenda in Albany, the top players have already set the priorities and the battle lines have been drawn. So it is with Cervantes’ maxim in mind that City & State presents its annual Setting the Agenda special section, an in-depth analysis of the most pressing issues that will be debated in Albany during the 2015 legislative session. Now that the dust has settled from the 2014 elections and the balance of power in the Capitol is becoming clearer, we launch this substantive conversation with legislators well before the policy debates are overshadowed by political posturing and spin, the rush to pass a state budget and a flurry of lastminute deal-making. We have also reviewed the notable achievements and failures of the past session, and invited leading advocates to stake out their ground for next year’s legislative showdowns. In this issue and the next, we profile a number of the top policy areas that state lawmakers and the Cuomo administration will be grappling with in 2015. This first installment covers education, healthcare, energy and the environment. We delve into timely questions—from the future of hydrofracking to how to rein in healthcare costs to tweaking teacher evaluations and the state’s Common Core education standards. The 2015 session will be here before you know it. Get ready.

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SETTING THE AGENDA

city & state — November 24, 2014

SETTING THE AGENDA

EDUCATION By ASHLEY HUPFL

WHAT GOT DONE IN 2014

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA

• Delaying impact of Common Core tests • Smart Schools Bond Act • School aid increase • Charter school protections

• Tweaks to teacher evaluations • Further school aid increases • Continued review of Common Core

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espite reaching a hardfought agreement on teacher evaluations aligned with the Common Core tests during the 2014 legislative session, more tweaks to the teacher evaluation system are once again expected in the upcoming session along with a school aid increase in the state budget. During the last session, state lawmakers approved legislation that delays the use of students’ performance on Common Core tests as a criterion for grade placement and as a factor in teacher evaluations for teachers rated “ineffective” or “developing.” The debate lasted until just hours before the end of the legislative session when Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers were finally able to reach an agreement. Cuomo has yet to sign the approved bill, however, even though the current school year has already started—which means school districts have been left in limbo. The teacher evaluation system was criticized again by student advocates when the 2012–13 teacher evaluations released in August rated 94 percent of teachers either “effective” or “highly effective,” while only 31 percent of students grades 3–8 statewide were proficient in English Language Arts and math, based on state tests. Cuomo said this October that a lot more needed to be done to make the teacher evaluation system strong and meaningful. “It will be very interesting to see

what happens with that bill,” said state Sen. John Flanagan, the chair of the state Senate Education Committee. “That could be a precursor to many things that are going to be discussed.” Until Cuomo signs the teacher evaluation bill or proposes new tweaks to the system, it remains unclear what action will be taken next by the state Legislature. “Clearly by far and away the number one issue we’re going to have is the proper and fair funding of education,” Flanagan said. “The

Senate Republicans are going to be remarkably consistent, as we have been, as the most outspoken group by far on the reduction and elimination of the Gap Elimination Adjustment.” In its 2014 one-house budget proposal, the state Senate majority proposed increasing school aid by $811.9 million, which included restoration of $541 million of the GEA, $217 million more than was proposed by Cuomo. “Education should be New York’s number one priority, and one way we can demonstrate that is by spending the most money or state dollars in that area,” Flanagan said. “And I think that it is also very fair and reasonable to suggest, ‘Well, let’s have a discussion about the money and where it’s going and how it’s working out.’ ” The Assembly’s one-house budget proposed last year had an increase of $970 million, with $367 million allotted to reduce the GEA.

“After we’ve been shortchanged in the past, plus all schools were further reduced through the GEA, this is the year we drill down and address the particular needs of districts and certainly urban districts like Yonkers,” Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, a member of the Assembly Education Committee, said. “Really, this is time to get on fair footing and get the amount we need to provide services. That’s the number one issue for me, and I hope it’s the number one issue for the Assembly.” Cuomo has said he would increase school aid once again. The 2014–15 enacted budget included a $1.1 billion (or 5.3 percent) increase in school aid. However, he recently has said he would like to tie school aid to district performance and more robust teacher evaluations. “We’re now saying to the public education system, ‘You have to perform, and you’re not just going to

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You are right to trust your teachers, New York. A recent poll shows New Yorkers trust teachers to do what’s best for their students more than anyone else. And they should. Our public school teachers are consistently rated among the best and most highly educated teachers in the nation. Besides earning college and graduate degrees, they must pass rigorous background checks, multiple certification exams and required training courses. They must also complete 175 hours of professional development every five years. Few states demand as much of their public school teachers as New York does. No wonder our state earns high marks for its exemplary teaching force, stringent standards and credentialing rules — typically ranking in the nation’s top 10.

No wonder New Yorkers trust their teachers. They’ve earned it. Karen E. Magee, President Andrew Pallotta, Executive Vice President Catalina R. Fortino, Vice President Paul Pecorale, Vice President Martin Messner, Secretary-Treasurer

www.nysut.org

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

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Two Cities, Two Students: One Future? By Ralph da Costa Nunez, President Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness New York City has many tales to tell. One is familiar— Mayor de Blasio’s “Tale of Two Cities”— but the other is not: the Tale of Two Students, the housed and the homeless. In a city of have-a-lots and have-nots, what does it mean when some students have homes— and more than 80,000 children do not? Of New York’s 1.1 million public school students, one in 12 are homeless. Many live doubled up with extended family or are temporarily housed in hotels or motels. But more than 25,000 live in family shelters on any given day, some remaining there for a year or longer. Homeless children attend school in every district and every borough. If all of New York’s homeless children went on a field trip to Madison Square Garden, they’d fill it— four times over. This difficult situation is not new. Homelessness has climbed steadily for decades, and skyrocketed in the Bloomberg era: For every five homeless families in 2008, there are eight today. Day to day, homeless kids miss more school— nearly five full weeks of instruction every year, on average. Homeless, chronically absent students score lower on standardized tests, including state exams tied to promotion, and Regents exams, tied to high school graduation. The damage is great, and the irony is bitter: Even as school provides a powerful vehicle out of poverty, the children who have the most to gain are also the most vulnerable.

Yet New York City persists as a glittering magnet for seekers of the American Dream, whether they’re born in the Bronx or Brazil, Bolivia or Botswana. Our leaders hold out education as the great equalizer and crucible of opportunity— but homeless children struggle with obstacles housed students do not. They bear steep consequences, in academic success and their adult futures. Homeless children are far more likely to be required to repeat a year of school as their housed peers— and nearly three times as likely to drop out. The city (and taxpayers) pay, too: In the 2012– 13 school year, more than 6,200 homeless children had to repeat a grade— at a total cost to the city of over $135,000,000. Again and again, the children of New York hear that they are the city’s future. But for homeless students the future is less bright. The nurturing stability of school, a welcome oasis for children whose home lives are anything but, is undermined by near-constant moves: One in eight students transfer from one school to another every year. One in five transfer twice or more, making stable connections and school relationships impossible. Mayor de Blasio has the opportunity to be a 21st century education mayor and to develop strategic approaches to stem this colossal waste of human potential. He has already shown this with his universal pre-K and afterschool initiatives. Children in shelters are children first. Their futures must be our paramount concern, because they too are the future of New York City. But without real progress, today’s homeless children risk becoming a left-back generation, the next generation of homeless families, with children of their own, failing in school and filling tomorrow’s shelters.

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The city stands poised for change: The mayor’s proposal to create 80,000 new affordable-housing units and preserve another 120,000 is an enormous first step. But homeless children and their families need more than housing alone can provide. New York has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set a progressive example among the nation’s big cities. Our epidemic of homelessness is not going away, and the youngest New Yorkers pay the highest price: New York City has proportionally more homeless children than any other big American city— more than Chicago, Los Angeles, or Boston. We know that the mayor agrees this is one statistic where New York should NOT lead the nation and instead, that our city will become a laboratory for providing homeless families with the tools, resources and supports they need to break the cycle of homelessness— and thrive.

ICPH

Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness www.ICPHusa.org

The Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness is a New York City–based think tank focused on the impact of public policies on poor and homeless children.

get funded for process; you’re going to get funded for performance,’ ” Cuomo said in October. “That is a big deal, and that is a big shift.” Cuomo has long been a proponent of charter schools. During the gubernatorial campaign he called the K–12 public education system a “public monopoly” that he would like to break up using charter schools. “Do I think we’re going to have charter schools in every community across the state of New York? No, I don’t,” Flanagan said. “The [charter school] cap in New York is 460, and we’re not close to that. So when I hear talk about lifting the charter school cap, I’m thinking, ‘Okay, is it worthy of discussion?’ It’s not like I don’t see instances where that need is not being met.” One of Flanagan’s main priorities is to ensure equitable funding for Chapter 853 schools operated by private agencies, and to provide day or residential programs for students with disabilities. The average person is not aware of the problems those schools face, according to Flanagan, and because of that, they get lost in the school aid debate. “It’s not the easiest topic, but their funding has been a problem, and will continue to be a problem, so we need to find ways to address that,” he said. There are still many issues as a result of the flawed rollout of the Common Core standards that need to be dealt with, legislators said. “I think there’s going to continue to be review of various previsions of Common Core based on objections from districts, superintendents and parents. I think some of the decisions by the [state Board of] Regents are going to be subject to debate and review, although I don’t know what the outcome will be,” Mayer said. “I think we have lots of implementation difficulties—including the cost of implementation—and I think a lot of those issues will remain on the table.” Both Flanagan and the state Department of Education has said more needs to be done to help English language learners and specialneeds students. “Common Core, for example, includes ELL and students taking exams at a time and juncture that is inappropriate for them,” Flanagan said. “Our federal government could have done stuff in this area, and they haven’t done anything. So I think we need to put the onus on our federal delegation to step up to the plate.”

EXPER

DUE PROCESS SAFEGUARDS OUR STUDENTS’ EDUCATION KAREN E. MAGEE, PRESIDENT OF NEW YORK STATE UNITED TEACHERS

If the hasty rollout of Common Core taught us anything, it may have been the value of teachers speaking out against policies and programs that are not in their students’ best interest. Teachers across the state spoke out collectively, with clarity and expertise. The public—especially parents—needed to know this premature implementation was penalizing students who hadn’t even been exposed to material on which they were being tested. Without the right to due process that tenure ensures, many of those teachers would have thought twice about defying their local school boards or administrations to take their concerns public. In fact, some of those teachers who chose to act in the best interest of students might have been forced to look for new jobs. Tenure is a safeguard that ensures good teachers can speak up for their students. It is a safeguard that protects academic freedom, enabling good teachers to challenge students to be the best they can be without fear of being fired for political or arbitrary reasons. It helps ensure that our students are entrusted to true professionals. It’s ironic that the lawsuit making its way through a New York court seeks to strip all teachers of due process by claiming tenure protects incompetent teachers, when the truth is that it protects good teachers from

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REMOVE BARRIERS TO ACHIEVEMENT: OUR WORK IS NOT DONE YET JAMES MERRIMAN, CEO OF THE NEW YORK CITY CHARTER SCHOOL CENTER

Last spring, we reached a milestone in leveling the playing field for public school students and ensured a future for the New York City charter school sector. Thanks to Governor Cuomo’s leadership, and the good work of our legislature, new and expanding charter schools in New York City are set to receive public space or public funding. But our work isn’t done. Three stubborn barriers to treating charter schools like full partners in the enterprise of educating our students persist. First, there is still a “charter cap” that

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arbitrarily limits the number of effective schools that can be opened. Second, many charter schools in New York City and across the state that educate tens of thousands of mainly low-income students do not receive any form of facility funding, unlike the 3,000 public schools managed by school districts. That’s why ensuring equality in facilities funding and eliminating the charter cap once and for all are among the charter sector’s key goals as we look forward to the next legislative session. Third, we need to make sure that charters have parity in funding, whether it is for operating or capital expenses. It’s no secret that many charter schools are among the highest performing public schools: small wonder that for the past two years demand from parents has grown, to the point that 50,000 charter school students are on wait lists in New York City alone. We shouldn’t artificially restrict the ability of parents to choose a school that works for their child; nor when it comes to funding should we send the message that if a student goes to a charter school, he or she is somehow less deserving of our public support. But beyond our legislative goals this session—which we and our partners will work tirelessly to achieve—we also feel it is well past the time for the political discussion to change. Having access to a high quality public school is something that everyone should support. It is neither a Republican nor Democratic issue. Parents don’t care whether the public school they have chosen is a charter or one that is managed by a school district. They care that it works. This is as true to schools as it is when they seek a college, a hospital or if they must rely on other social services that are provided through government and the dense net of non-profit institutions, without which New York State simply could not function. Who delivers that service doesn’t matter; what matters is that it works. If we keep that one, simple principle in mind, the politics and policy choices we must make to move forward in educating our children become much clearer.

By Sandra Wilkin, President of Bradford Construction and M/WBE Advocate

New York State Executive Article 15-A, the statute that creates entrepreneurial opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE), sunsets Dec. 31, 2016. Without reauthorization, a law with a proven record of creating jobs, keeping small business sustainable and mentoring companies in planned growth will vanish.

SETTING THE AGENDA

unjust firing. The hedge fund managers, Wall Street bankers and conservative foundations—bankrolling efforts to strip all teachers of their due process rights— choose to ignore the fact that tenure is just one of the many rigorous standards and safeguards that ensure a quality teaching force in New York’s public schools. Teachers and their union have zero tolerance for those who tarnish the profession. But tenure is a necessary safeguard that protects good teachers, and it is a priceless safeguard for students.

ENSURING THAT ARTICLE 15-A KEEPS ON RISING

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now,” as one of President Clinton’s favorite time management experts, Alan Lakein, so aptly put it, and that’s why planning for reauthorization of 15-A should be at the top of the Agenda for 2015--along with a disparity study, due for delivery to the governor and state legislature no later than Feb. 15, 2016. MWBE programs were designed to provide equal access to capital, support services, and government procurement and contract utilization for certified MWBEs. Originally rooted in caselaw and executive orders signed by Presidents Johnson, Nixon and Kennedy, the Supreme Court determined the applicable legal standards and constitutionality of MBE programs in 1989’s City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. As a result, government needs to establish strong market-based evidence of discrimination, its own compelling interest in a remedy and narrowly tailored programs to eliminate it.

New York State’s last disparity study was in 2010. Known as “The State of Minority- and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise: Evidence from New York,” the report documents how between “April 2004 to March 2008, MWBEs were utilized in state contracting at rates far lower than their availability would indicate.” This matters in the construction industry, an economic sector with a long-documented history of implicit or explicit exclusion that also serves as a bellwether for economic opportunity, expansion and job creation with every school built, road constructed or new housing start. In “Cuomo Touts Progress,” in the Oct. 1, 2014 edition of this magazine, Ashley Hupfl reports that “… a quarter of state contracts going to MWBEs … equals about $2 billion of the total $8 billion given out each year.” This means that MWBE programs are helping co-pilot the economy. Under Governor Cuomo, Hupfl writes, target goals are getting more ambitious: From 20 percent, to 25 percent, and now to 30 percent. Cuomo says of these changes: “… [T]here is still more to do and we have not yet hit our height.” To determine our height, many of us eagerly await the state’s next disparity study. The next study will not only tell us what we’ve achieved, but it may also indicate what heights we can hope to reach-if we start planning for the disparity study and reauthorization now.

city & state — November 24, 2014

ERT ANALYSIS

AFTER SUNSET:

SETTING THE AGENDA

HEALTH By ASHLEY HUPFL

city & state — November 24, 2014

n the wake of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement in April that the federal goverment had approved an $8 billion Medicaid waiver so that New York can apply that money to reform the state’s healthcare system, the main goal of the state Senate during the 2015 legislative session will be to implement major healthcare system changes. Meanwhile, the Assembly will seek to pass publicly funded, single-payer health coverage. With the waiver, the state will overhaul the current system to fully implement the Medicaid Redesign Team reforms, such as promoting community-level collaborations and lowering avoidable hospital admissions by 25 percent over the next five years. “Watching that will be a great thing,” state Sen. Kemp Hannon, chair of the Senate Health Committee, said. “We’re dealing with very difficult populations at the moment, and so it requires a great deal more of thought and configuration.” Assemblyman Richard Gottfried agreed, saying he expected legislative proposals to arise during the implementation process. “I haven’t seen an agenda for legislative action beyond monitoring and helping to shape implementation,” Gottfried, chair of the Assembly Health Committee, said. “The state is making a massive move toward integrated delivery systems and care coordination. I think that’s a strong concept, but the Legislature and all New Yorkers need to make sure this is implemented in ways that protect individual healthcare providers and individual patients.” Gottfried will be focusing on getting his bill, titled New York Health, to the Assembly floor for a vote. The

bill would provide publicly sponsored single-payer health coverage, like Medicare, for everyone in the state. In 2011 Vermont became the first state to move to a single-payer system, which will be up and running in the state by 2017. “I think virtually every problem that we face in healthcare in New York—whether as patients or

WHAT GOT DONE IN 2014

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA

• $8 billion federal Medicaid waiver • Legalization of medical marijuana • Combating heroin epidemic

• Implementing Medicaid Redesign reforms • Single-payer health coverage • Regulating urgent care and retail clinics

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program alone, Hannon noted. “The insurance industry and its allies have always opposed this concept,” Gottfried said. “Fortunately, they do not control the Assembly, and I think this issue will help hasten the day where they don’t control the state Senate, either.” Both Hannon and Gottfried said the commercialized delivery of outpatient care needs to be confronted in the upcoming legislative session. In recent years there has been a significant expansion of urgent care clinics, as well as retail clinics in pharmacies and supermarkets. Currently the state has no laws addressing these emerging outpatient options. Although outpatient clinics can serve an important purpose as an alternative to an emergency room visit for minor ailments, Gottfried is concerned about large retail chains taking business away from smaller primary care doctors. Walmart, for example, has recently opened five primary care locations in South Carolina and Texas, and plans to expand more nationally. “Right now there is nothing in New York law to stop that from happening

here,” Gottfried said. “I think that kind of development would be very harmful to healthcare in New York. I think it really makes a difference whether your doctor is responsible to himself or herself or is responsible ultimately to corporate executives and stockholders.” Along with the new emerging outpatient services and Medicaid waiver reform, there are ongoing issues with New York’s health information technology. The state has been rolling out SHIN-NY, a secure network for sharing clinical patient data across the state, and I-STOP, which monitors the prescribing of controlled substances to combat drug abuse. “Lots of questions concerning that— How it would work? Who would be able to access the content? How people would opt in to their individual records or opt out, privacy concerns—all those need to be done,” Hannon said. “There’s a work group going on that the Legislature is a part of, but the more we discuss it, the farther we get down the road to where it can be resolved—and it has to be resolved.” Several additional policy areas will

also be addressed in 2015. Last month Cuomo unveiled a new task force to end HIV/AIDS in New York. The state aims to provide better access to condoms, promote public outreach campaigns and offer other initiatives to end the epidemic. The state Senate also created a task force last year to prevent Lyme disease. More than 450 new cases of Lyme disease were documented in 2014 in New York, and the federal Centers for Disease Control estimates that number will continue to rise. Hannon would like to continue the state’s efforts by carrying out recommendations in the task force’s report. Additionally, Hannon proposes to address the potential hazards of electronic cigarettes by making sure they are covered by the Clean Air Act and ensuring their liquid nicotine refills have proper labels that identify the substance as dangerous and addictive. “Right now you pick it up and it doesn’t look any different from some kind of cherry juice enhancer for soda or something,” Hannon said. “We need to monitor all that and move forward.”

SETTING THE AGENDA

providers or employers or taxpayers— is made worse and more difficult to solve because of our insurancebased healthcare system,” Gottfried said. “I think moving New York toward a common-sense universal public coverage program is enormously important.” The bill last passed the Assembly in 1992 and now faces major hurdles, including the Medicaid waiver and the federal requirements from the Affordable Care Act. Gottfried is also unlikely to get much support in the Republican-controlled state Senate. “The major difficulty of that— single-payer—is the federal government has the rules for two of the biggest sources of medical payment in the state: Medicare and Medicaid,” Hannon said. “The challenge, then, if you want to change the system is, How do you get the federal government to change their Medicaid and Medicare [requirements] and not scare the population that’s being covered by [the two programs]?” There are 5.8 million people in the state covered under the Medicaid

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SETTING THE AGENDA

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HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS TRANSFORMING CARE THROUGHOUT NEW YORK STATE

JILL FURILLO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION

DENNIS P. WHALEN, PRESIDENT OF THE HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK STATE

Across the state, 37,000 registered nurses of the New York State Nurses Association share a common goal: to protect patients and quality of care. Our organizational agenda seeks to accomplish this goal in several important areas. The Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act is key to furthering our efforts to support the professional judgment of registered nurses at the bedside and for protecting patient care. Staffing ratios—the number of patients each nurse cares for based upon patient acuity—are a top priority for NYSNA in 2015. The ratios we seek are based upon scientific evidence of outcomes. Virtually every nurse in every facility has a story to share about shortstaffing and the potential harm that results. We also support New York Health, legislation that would provide universal access to healthcare for all New Yorkers. This single payer proposal would make patient needs the priority for all healthcare decisions and eliminate commercial insurance costs and barriers. NYSNA seeks to protect the rights, working conditions and economic security of nurses and other healthcare providers, as well as all working people in New York. With regard to registered nurses, NYSNA supports legislation to limit their hours of work, prohibit mandatory overtime and otherwise allow them to fulfill their professional duties under fair and decent working conditions. Overall, NYSNA seeks to expand the role of the public and direct care providers in regulatory matters at the state and local level, so as to enhance an equitable distribution of healthcare resources and address the public’s health needs.

This is a time of tremendous transformation and reform for healthcare— an opportunity to continue our progress toward making our system as effective and efficient as it can be. Through innovative patient-centered, coordinated care models, New York’s hospitals and health systems are providing state-of-the-art care that meets patient needs and reduces costs. Numerous initiatives are underway, including those from the Medicaid Redesign Team, the Medicaid waiver and Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program and the State Health Innovation Plan. Additionally, over the past year the state has been aggressively working to reduce the number of uninsured by establishing the New York State of Health marketplace, making insurance coverage available to a broader range of the population—coverage that must be meaningful and affordable. Hospitals and health systems have embraced the goals of these reforms in spite of the numerous challenges they face—the fiscal condition of New York’s hospitals is among the worst in the nation. Additional capital and operational transitional support are critical to the continued transformation of our healthcare system. Nonetheless, providers continue to be steadfast in their mission to deliver highquality care around the clock and remain prepared to respond to the next emergency or natural disaster. Hospitals continually implement the latest approaches to enhance patient care and collaborate with community partners to keep populations healthy, prevent illness, and coordinate patient care. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the governor and the legislature on these critical issues.

11/20/14 5:14 PM cit yandstateny.com

WHAT GOT DONE IN 2014

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA

• Renewing Energy Vision process started • Increase to Environmental Protect Fund

• Hydrofracking • Renewing the Brownfields program • Child Safe Products Act • Renewable energy

uring his first four years in office, Gov. Andrew Cuomo delayed action on several major environmental issues—but that may change in coming weeks and months. With New York’s residents and politicians sharply divided over highvolume hydraulic fracturing, the Cuomo administration has extended on multiple occasions a moratorium on the method of drilling for natural gas while continuing its review of the environmental and health impacts. Last month the governor said the state health department’s study would be due by the end of the year, although he has blown past such deadlines before. At the same time, state lawmakers are again gearing up to push for a variety of bills of their own that would address hydrofracking, as the controversial process is often called, from a total ban to restrictions on how fracking waste is disposed. However, the Republicans’ success in securing an outright majority in the state Senate this fall could make it harder to pass new restrictions, given that there is strong support for fracking in their conference. “Obviously an issue now that’s going to resonate even more than it did in the past is hydrofracking,” said state Sen. Tony Avella, a Democrat who was named vice chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee earlier this year. “I still have my legislation in there to ban it. I also have the moratorium bill which the Assembly passed, so that’s also a major cit yandstateny.com

consideration. It will be interesting to see what the Republican-controlled Senate now does on hydrofracking, and what the governor does. That’s going to be the top issue in terms of the environment.” This past session lawmakers also sought to renew the state’s expiring brownfield program, which provides incentives to clean up toxic industrial sites in order to pave the way for new development. No compromise was reached in Albany, but the governor and lawmakers pledged to take the issue up again this coming year as the 2015 expiration date for the program looms. “The other issue, and I don’t know how this relates to the Republicancontrolled Senate, is the Child Safe Products Act, which I worked very hard on to get passed even though it wasn’t my bill,” Avella said. “We need to work very hard to get that passed.” The legislation, which bans toxic chemicals in children’s toys, was held up in the state Senate in 2014 as Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos blocked it from coming to the floor for a vote. Environmental groups have identified it as a major priority but gained little traction with voters as they tried to make it an issue on the campaign trail. While several environmental issues were set aside, the Cuomo administration has been proactive on the energy front during its first term. In 2011 the governor signed a new power plant siting law, and he has also created a $1 billion green

bank, expanded incentives to develop solar power and launched an “Energy Highway” to upgrade the state’s aging transmission grid. Most recently the administration began an ambitious effort to overhaul how the state produces its energy, aiming to rely more on renewable power such as wind and solar, and shifting from traditional power plants to more distributed generation. The plan, dubbed Renewing Energy Vision, is moving through the state’s Public Service Commission, but it is also spurring legislative action. “I think whoever’s the chair is going to agree that we have to work on the shared renewables bill, which will help, particularly, the solar industry,” said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who has chaired the Assembly Energy Committee over the past two years. “We want to continue as we have in New York to promote and to grow our alternative energy markets.” Paulin said that her other top legislative goal is to build on a pilot project in Westchester County that allows municipalities to come together to share contracting for power resources in order to lower prices and prioritize renewable energy. “We’re playing with it, and we’re

looking at it,” Paulin said. “I think it’s a fabulous concept.” The Cuomo administration has spearheaded a number of initiatives, but some policy changes may depend on which state lawmakers get top committee assignments in Albany. State Sen. George Maziarz, the longtime chair of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, declined to run for re-election this year, and state Sen. Tom O’Mara, who supports hydrofracking, has been mentioned as a potential replacement. There are also key vacancies on the environmental conservation committees in both houses after Assemblyman Bob Sweeney retired and state Sen. Mark Grisanti lost his re-election bid. Assembly Members Deborah Glick and Steve Englebright are two potential successors to Sweeney. Even Paulin, the Assembly Energy Committee chair, said she is not yet sure whether she will be returning to the same role. “I’m likely to have a conversation with [Sheldon Silver] about continuing after he’s elected Speaker, and I’ve certainly enjoyed being the committee chair,” she said.

SETTING THE AGENDA

By JON LENTZ

city & state — November 24, 2014

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

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City & State magazine continues our Graduate and Continuing Education Supplement series with the fourth and final edition of 2014. Within this supplement you will find timely information regarding top flight graduate programs, continuing education classes, weekend course programs and more. Look for our next special supplement to publish in early 2015. Happy Thanksgiving!

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ou may know a weekend warrior. How about a weekend scholar? Chances are if you haven’t met one yet, you will soon. A small but growing number of graduate schools of public policy and management schools around the country are making it possible, and more likely, for mid-career managers and executives in city and state government and other sectors to go back to school while they continue working full-time, with the introduction of weekend executive master of public administration (MPA) degree programs in addition to the traditional weekday evening format. This month NYU Wagner, the graduate school where I am a professor of practice, began accepting applications for a new weekend executive MPA program that will hold classes on 28 Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m, September to June—a manageable but rigorous one-year commitment. Our expectation is that we will attract many seasoned professionals from New York and as far away as New Haven, Philadelphia and other regional cities served by the I-95 corridor and Amtrak. Still, one might well ask: Given the considerable demands of family, commuting and work, why would anyone think seriously about becoming a weekend scholar? In large part, it’s a matter of

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positioning oneself in a time when a master’s degree is not only critical for enhancing one’s management and leadership skills but also is essential for advancing in virtually all sectors and fields. The deeper reason, perhaps, comes closer to what many public serviceoriented managers and executives are about—not status per se, but making an impact. Most of us desire to make a sustainable and scalable impact that truly matters, whether the issue is improving education in low income and middle class communities, updating transportation systems, opening new paths to affordable housing, reducing health disparities or preparing coastal areas for rising sea levels. When it gets right down to it, the managers and executives who make the investment to return to school are determined to gain greater capabilities and knowledge in the face of global and urban complexities and scarcities and bring about innovative solutions when confronted by many seemingly intractable problems. Executive MPA students at NYU Wagner are pushed to test assumptions and theories, develop talents for successful policy implementation, and deepen their understanding of strategic leadership. NYU Wagner was founded more than 75 years ago. It’s named for threeterm Mayor Robert F. Wagner, and to this day has a close connection to city and state government, with many

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city & state — November 24, 2014

GORDON J. CAMPBELL

GRAD SCHOOL SUPPLEMENT

alumni filling leadership positions throughout the de Blasio and Cuomo administrations. The school prides itself on equipping the next generation of leaders in public service, while its executive MPA program accepts mid-career professionals who have had at least seven years of managerial experience and 10 years of professional experience overall—propelling them toward higher leadership positions, new job functions and sometimes a change of field. Among this year’s class of evening executive MPA scholars are a ranking member of the New York Police Department; a Rockefeller Foundation official; a director of the environmental group NRDC; and an executive vice president of a global industrial and technology conglomerate. I could cite others, but suffice it to say the current class is a formidable mix of professionals from the public, nonprofit and private sectors, many parts of the New York metropolitan area and several countries as well. Notably, the program, which I direct, will also be a space where students will be able to informally

provide mentorship to one another and form a professional network. During each of the 14 Saturdays of the fall and the 14 that follow in the spring, those enrolled will experience, in addition to the school’s engaged and influential faculty, a tailored executive package, including a weekly speaker series, catered lunch and executive/ life coaching. It is an exciting and transformative path they will have chosen. No time to return to school? Really? Think again. Gordon J. Campbell is a professor of practice at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, the director of the school’s executive MPA program, and chair of the New York City Board of Correction. He has more than 30 years of experience in public and nonprofit leadership and management, serving most recently as president and CEO of United Way of New York City, and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Homeless Services.

For fifty years, Metropolitan College of New York has broken new ground in attracting and teaching talented and ambitious students looking to make a difference in their families, communities and at work. MCNY is well known for our human services, business, education, and public administration degrees. Our curriculum blends the theory of the classroom with direct applications of course work to work in the field every semester. And we offer the full range of courses, in the fall, spring and summer semesters, so students can attend year round and get to graduation much faster than they could at most other colleges. These courses are taught by smart, expert, and caring faculty who are leaders in their respective fields. But the work of the College does not stop there.

city & state — November 24, 2014

MCNY develops partnerships and interacts with government agencies, unions, and other colleges and universities in the US and internally, to help develop their staffs, offer our expertise, create study-travel options, promote new opportunities to union members, and place students in the field. In partnership with the Fire Department of New York, we have brought our emergency management courses to the FDNY training facility on Randall’s Island. We are preparing health workers to progress toward their Bachelor degrees through a partnership with their union, 1199SEIU. Through the Administration of Children’s Services, city workers are taking courses while at work. And we are collaborating with the University of West Indies in Barbados to develop programs in the Caribbean and in the Caribbean diaspora in New York City. Every day I get to see the direct effect of our College on our students, and the contributions they make in turn. Our half-century commitment to opening up opportunities to advance and work toward social justice is enhanced by our partnerships. Join us! Daniel Katz, Ph.D. Vice President for Academic Affairs Chief Academic Officer (212) 343-1234 Ext. 2200 www.mcny.edu

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PERSPECTIVES

TWISTED WEB

ack in the day, the Internet was fancied as an information highway. Today, throughout New York State, citizens have been given little more than a path. A new study by the Empire Center for Public Policy has documented how badly local governments have botched the opportunities presented by the Internet to inform citizens and taxpayers. The Center graded the website of 500 counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts. No fewer than 427 earned an F.

a “need to know” basis only. So it is with government websites across the state. “Most websites are missing a lot of information that we would consider critical to the taxpayer’s right to know,” Tim Hoefer, the report’s author and executive director of the Empire Center, told my colleague Charlotte Keith. “I often make the analogy between a taxpayer and local government and a stockholder in a company: You wouldn’t deny a stockholder the ability to come and look through the books, nor should you a taxpayer.” The report considered the websites of all the state’s 62 cities, the 57 counties outside of New York City, and the most populated towns, villages and school districts. The center graded websites in 10 categories for the availability of basic information and the ease of navigation. “We’re talking about things like budgets, spending information, contact information [and] public meeting notices,” Hoefer said. Governments across the board were graded especially poorly for their failure to post contracts online, be they labor or business agreements. Only 1 percent of websites posted such information. Even easy-to-post data,

such as contact information for officials and departments, was missing from 65 percent of websites. Counties scored slightly better than other units of government but still had a failure rate of 72 percent. School districts scored the worst, with 92 percent earning an F grade. The state’s largest population centers fared poorly, aside from New York City, which earned a B. The City of Albany and its school district both received F grades. Ditto for Binghamton. The cities of Buffalo and Syracuse received F grades for their municipal websites and a D for their schools. The City of Rochester’s website was graded a D, while its school district received an F. The poor grades ought to shame local governments and school districts into action, but I doubt they will. The Empire Center hopes to issue another report card next year, and perhaps that will spur some to act. Personally, I’d like to see the Empire Center evaluate state departments and authorities, which I suspect would make local governments look almost good by comparison. Jim Heaney is the founder, editor and executive editor of Investigative Post.

JIM HEANEY

Thirty-six others received a D. Not one earned an A. Pathetic. You can attribute some of the problem to the resistance to innovation and change that is found in government from top to bottom. I mean, the words best practice and government usually aren’t found in the same sentence, especially here in New York State. But the problem runs deeper. Governments at all levels, from Washington to village town halls, have become increasingly hostile toward the notion of the public’s right to know. This plays out in all sorts of ways. If you’re a reporter, or a taxpaying citizen, seeking a public document often involves a bureaucrat demanding you file a request under the Freedom of Information Law. You’re then likely to wait an inordinate amount of time to receive said document. Likewise, if you want to talk to an elected official or government employee, there is a good chance you will be directed to a flack who, more often than not, will thwart any effort to talk to someone who can actually answer questions truthfully. Government, you see, has become a game of spin, in which reporters and citizens are treated as folks to inform on

city & state — November 24, 2014

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

Be the first to know. www.cityandstateny.com/subscribe for more information.

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JERRY H. GOLDFEDER

hirty years ago there was a TV program called Eight Is Enough. It comes to mind because now that the gubernatorial candidates of the Stop Common Core Party (Rob Astorino) and the Women’s Equality Party (Andrew Cuomo) each exceeded 50,000 votes, they join the currently constituted parties on the ballot, giving New York a total of eight political parties. One can say voters here have a rich variety of choices. One can also say the ballot, already crowded, will be even more confusing. This is especially true because ours is one of only a handful of states that permits “fusion”— allowing parties to cross-endorse one another’s candidates. This can lead voters to wonder what a candidate or party actually stands for. The election of 2014 certainly proves this point. Gov. Cuomo appeared on four lines—Democratic, Working Families, Independence and Women’s Equality—prompting the question of whether he stood for the principles of each of these parties. And if the answer is yes, one may ask, What does the Independence Party have in common with the Democratic or Working Families parties? Moving down the ballot, voters found candidates who were nominated by both the Democratic and Conservative parties; the Working Families and Conservative parties; and the Republican and Working Families parties. One could not be faulted for being puzzled by these somewhat odd combinations. The best explanation is that although each political party has its own set of principles, each party, and the candidates they support, is engaged in realpolitik as well. Every now and again there is a call to repeal New York’s fusion law.

cit yandstateny.com

Jerry Goldfeder practices election and campaign finance law at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.

PERSPECTIVES

Publishing Setting the Agenda PART TWO

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This special issue features: · An introduction to each industry. · Influential public officials to the industry or issue. · A 2014 analysis + 2015 legislative forecast. · Perspectives from industry sector representatives.

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city & state — November 24, 2014

IS EIGHT ENOUGH?

In fact, most states actually prohibit a candidate from appearing on more than his or her own party’s line, and the United States Supreme Court has allowed such bans. Our fusion law, however, was approved by the New York Court of Appeals in 1910, which ruled that a legislative effort to end the practice was “plainly invalid and unconstitutional.” As a result, candidates were freely able to petition to run on more than one party’s line. In the mid-1940s, however, a concern arose that activists from one party were attempting to wrest control of other parties. This led to the Wilson-Pakula law, still in effect, which permits non-enrollees to run only if a political party approves. This restrictive use of fusion seemed to be working fine until last year, when Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith was accused of attempting to bribe the leadership of the Republican Party to authorize him to run on its line for mayor. In response Gov. Cuomo proposed repealing the Wilson-Pakula law, which would have permitted a candidate to run on another party’s line without permission of its leadership. This “reform” would have brought New York back to pre-1947 fusion voting, and might have led to the kind of party raiding the Wilson-Pakula law sought to eliminate. The governor’s proposal, however, seemed to gain no traction. So now we have eight parties that can cross-endorse candidates for public office. But Stop Common Core and Women’s Equality are somewhat different from previous new parties. In contrast to the Liberal, Conservative and Working Families parties, which grew organically from existing major parties and were initiated by activists with an articulated political philosophy, the two new parties appear to have been created as add-on ballot lines for the purpose of the 2014 election. It remains to be seen whether either will attract sufficient adherents who are prepared to abandon their current enrollments and build a mature political party infrastructure throughout the state. Only time will tell whether the two new parties will go the distance.

WHEN PASSION MEETS REALITY

career as a writer and director of documentaries auspiciously, when his debut film, Street Fight (2005), which followed Cory Booker’s first bid for mayor of Newark, was nominated for an Academy Award. Since then he has made three other feature length pictures: Racing Dreams (2009), the Oscar-nominated If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011), and his latest, Point and Shoot, which is currently showing theatrically in limited release in New York City and select other cities across the country. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Point and Shoot chronicles the story of Matt VanDyke, a 26-year-old American who while exploring the Middle East on a motorcycle joins the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya during the Arab Spring. City & State Editor Morgan Pehme asked Curry what impact he is aiming to achieve with his films, what surprises he has experienced in making them, and whether he thinks Cory Booker has changed since the days Curry followed him on the campaign trail.

city & state — November 24, 2014

The following is an edited transcript. City & State: You have picked rather disparate subjects for your movies. Is there a through line or a unifying theme in your films? Marshall Curry: Only in retrospect have I figured one out or thought of one. I think I am interested in people who have strong passions, and I’m particularly interested in the moment when their passion slams into reality. With Cory Booker, he was this young idealist who discovered how politics was really fought in Newark. Racing Dreams is about kids who dream of becoming NASCAR drivers but discover how hard that can be. With A Tree Falls, you’ve got a guy who is passionate about environmentalism

about policy decisions that he has made from time to time and things that he has said from time to time, just as I do with everybody in government. There’s nobody who I agree with 100 percent of the time. But by and large I feel like he is the same essentially idealistic person who he was when I was filming him.

A Q&A WITH

MARSHALL CURRY and discovers what happens when you cross lines. And with Point and Shoot, you have somebody who has a lot of strong passions and then bangs into reality. C&S: I presume that your goal with your films is both to entertain and inform, but are you also aiming to have any tangible real world effects with them? MC: I always want them to have an effect, but it’s not necessarily an effect like a campaign film might have. I’m not trying to pass bill X-Y-Z or overturn a Supreme Court decision. I love films that do that, but that’s not what I do with mine. What I’m interested in is exploring complicated issues and complicated people, and I think there’s a real world value to that.

I think elevating conversations and giving people insights into characters and situations that they don’t know about has a real world impact, but it’s not the same as a more polemical film might make. I try to make films that feel more like novels than editorials. C&S: Clearly, Cory Booker has come a long way since Street Fight. You saw him at a fledgling point in his career when he was a sort of paragon of idealism. What are your thoughts on where he is now and his current approach to politics? MC: In some ways he’s a different person than he was during that time. He was very politically green; he was figuring out how politics worked. But in many ways I think he is still the same person. I disagree with him

C&S: Obviously, you have no sense how real life is going to unfold when you embark upon a film. Have you found yourself surprised at how your stories play out when you’re chronicling them? MC: They’re always surprising, but when I go into a project I usually do have a sense of what’s going to happen. With Street Fight one of the reasons that I made it is because an election has a built-in narrative arc. You know at the beginning of the film that two people declare that they’re going to run, over the course of the film some things are going to happen, there’s going to be a debate, there’s going to be assorted moments of conflict, and at the end somebody’s going to win and somebody’s going to lose. And while I would never have imagined when I started that film that my camera would get broken by a Newark police officer, I did have a sense that there would be a dramatic and fascinating story that would tell us something about democracy and inner city life. So I always try to predict, as much as I can, what might happen before I make a film. Part of what makes me decide that this is worth spending a year or two years on, or raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for, is my instinct about what might happen. And then usually 30 percent of the things that I imagined happen, and 70 percent of the film is a surprise.

The read more of this interview, including Curry’s take on why journalists should be like referees, go to cityandstateny.com.

cit yandstateny.com

DAN KOEHLER

arshall Curry started his

The Must-Read in NY Politics Since 2006 See how it all started.

launches in 2008

City Hall + The Capitol

merge in Dec. 2011 to become

2011

City & State

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2008

The Capitol

2009

2006

launches in 2006

After the success of City Hall News,

2010

City Hall News

Jan. 2014: magazine arrives!

THIS THIS THANKSGIVING THANKSGIVING THIS THANKSGIVING

WE’RE WE’RE THANKFUL THANKFUL WE’RE THANKFUL for Nurses Nurses for for Nurses

Across the city nurses are working night and day to care for all New Yorkers. it’s the flu, a natural disaster, we all Across the cityWhether nurses are working night and day or toEbola, care for know that nurses willit’s bethe there care for all in need. Across the city nurses are working night and day toor care for all New Yorkers. Whether flu,toaprovide natural disaster, Ebola, we New Yorkers. Whether flu,toa provide natural disaster, we know that nurses will it’s be the there care for or all Ebola, in need. That’s why we’rewill taking a moment to thank the know that nurses be there to provide carenurses for allfor in need. incredible care they provide.

That’s why we’re taking a moment to thank nurses for the That’s why we’re taking acare moment to thank nurses for the incredible they provide. Have you incredible benefitedcare from the care of a nurse? they provide.

HaveTHANK you benefited from the care of a nurse? A NURSE TODAY. Have you benefited from the care of a nurse?

THANK A NURSE TODAY. THANK A NURSE TODAY.

Go to Thankful4Nurses.org to tell us your story.

Go to Thankful4Nurses.org to tell us your story. Go to Thankful4Nurses.org to tell us your story.

www.nysna.org

www.nysna.org www.nysna.org

nynurses

nynurses nynurses

@nynurses

@nynurses @nynurses