December 7, 2015
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CONTENTS December 7, 2015
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CITY City says school closures possible next year after Merryl Tisch slams Renewal goals By Patrick Wall from Chalkbeat New York
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STATE Officials, advocates clash on proposed $15 minimum wage By Jon Lentz
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BUFFALO Assemblyman gets cold shoulder amid zombie fight By Justin Sondel
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SHELDON SILVER How likely is a successful appeal? … Wayne Barrett on Silver’s career … the history of ethics reforms in New York …
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. That’s how Sheldon Silver’s political career ended. Listening to a jury convict him on seven counts of corruption. Instantly he was no longer an assemblyman. The job he had for 38 years, 20 of those years as leader of the chamber, was now over. On the cover of this issue we wanted to visually communicate Silver’s political death. The use of “Charon’s obol” – the ancient custom of displaying of coins over the eyes in a burial – drove this point home. We selected silver dollars as a reference to the former speaker’s name, as well as the fact that monetary greed helped lead to his downfall. We picked a coin from 1977, when Silver first joined the Assembly, and a coin from 2015 to highlight the cit yandstateny.com
perspectives from Michael Benjamin and Alexis Grenell
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CONSTRUCTION What happens if 421-a expires … ‘notorious’ tax break perseveres amid probe … Buffalo’s blossoming construction boom
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OPINION Steve Levy argues NYPD officers got raw deal in arbitration … Eddie Borges names the sweetest gig in New York City
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BACK & FORTH A Q&A with TV legal analyst Jeanine Pirro
Cover by Guillaume Federighi Photograph: Seth Wenig / Associated Press
city & state — December 7, 2015
Michael Gareth Johnson Editorial Director
dates of his career. Inside the magazine we look at the legacy Silver leaves behind through a series of opinion pieces and accompanying articles that touch on his political successes and failures, as well as the shadow cast over the state Legislature by his trial and conviction. Veteran journalist Wayne Barrett writes about the various ethical red flags that foreshadowed Silver’s ultimate indictment. Columnist Alexis Grenell decries the former speaker’s inaction when it came to sexual harassment. And Michael Benjamin points out that a corruption-free Legislature would require honest effort from everyone in Albany – not just lawmakers. We also explore the chances of Silver’s appeal (not great) and look back at the history of ethics reform efforts in Albany as the calls for action ramp up once again. Also inside the magazine we tackle an important (and lucrative) policy topic – construction. Billions of dollars in state and city funds and tax breaks are at stake each year. Our Albany reporter Ashley Hupfl gives us an update on the negotiations over the 421-a tax credit, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo said would only be extended if real estate and labor could reach a deal on labor costs. We also take a look at the most used tax break in New York City – the Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program, or ICAP. As a mayoral candidate, Bill de Blasio called for it to be axed, but as our staff reporter Sarina Trangle reports, it is still going strong.
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EDITORIAL Editorial Director Michael Johnson mjohnson@cityandstateny.com Associate Editor/Senior Correspondent Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com Opinion Editor Nick Powell npowell@cityandstateny.com Albany Reporter Ashley Hupfl ahupfl@cityandstateny.com Buffalo Reporter Justin Sondel jsondel@cityandstateny.com Staff Reporter Sarina Trangle strangle@cityandstateny.com Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero gborrero@cityandstateny.com Copy Editor Ryan Somers rsomers@cityandstateny.com Editorial Assistant Jeremy Unger junger@cityandstateny.com Editorial Assistant Jeff Coltin jcoltin@cityandstateny.com PRODUCTION
city & state — December 7, 2015
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Manhattan is seeing a building boom, and supertalls, or skyscrapers over 1,000 feet tall, seem to be the new Starbucks. And they have just as many critics, with many decrying the new supertalls for their design, the long shadows they will cast, and their status as conspicuous signs of excessive wealth. No one person is behind the development rush, but Kenneth Lewis would be a good place to start. As managing partner at architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Lewis was the senior designer on the Time Warner Center’s 750-foot-tall twin towers and project manager on the Western Hemisphere’s tallest building, One World Trade Center. Lewis talked to City & State about some of the things architects have to consider when building super tall. - JC
WIND “Once you get above 1,000 feet, wind becomes the critical factor for structure,” Lewis said. One reason why: “It makes the building bend. When it bends, it has to come back.” He said the human body is more sensitive to this movement when it is lying down, so office buildings and residential buildings are made with subtle differences in structure, with offices “tending to be a little looser, a little more movement to them that’s allowable than a residential building.”
MONEY “These buildings start to lose their efficiencies after about 1,200 feet,” Lewis said. Beyond that height, the amount of area in the floor plan that must be devoted to structure or mechanical operations, like elevator shafts, increases compared with the usable area. But just because they are inefficient does not mean they are losing money. “Views are driving value,” Lewis said. “The higher you are in a building, the more money you can ask for it.”
PRESTIGE With the three tallest completed buildings in the world in Asia, and Dubai having twice the number of supertalls than New York, some long for the days when the Empire State Building was the undisputed champion. But as Lewis sees it, Chinese society is urbanizing quickly – “massive cities need iconic buildings,” and New York is no exception. But that doesn’t mean the city’s skyscraper era is over. “We’re about to see another round of this over the next 10 years with the upzoning of Midtown East and the upzoning of Hudson Yards and Midtown West projects and the World Trade Center being completed in 2020. I just see this as the beginning of the next cycle.”
CITYREALTY
Check out our construction spotlight section, starting on page 20. à
GEOLOGY There’s a persistent myth that the buildings are taller in Midtown and lower Manhattan because the bedrock there is stronger, or more accessible than in areas in between, like the Village. “It has nothing to do with that!” Lewis said. The clusters were determined by society, not geology, he said, with access to trade and markets driving development near Wall Street and access to the train lines driving it in Midtown. Lewis said Manhattan’s bedrock is pretty much available at 20 feet below grade in Manhattan. Builders then drive about 10 to 15 feet into the rock to stabilize their construction.
432 PARK AVE. (completed) 1,396 feet
ONE VANDERBILT (expected 2020) 1 Vanderbilt Ave. 1,500 feet
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ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER (completed) 285 Fulton St. 1,776 feet
TWO WORLD TRADE CENTER (expected 2021) 200 Greenwich St. 1,340 feet
THREE WORLD TRADE CENTER (expected 2018) 175 Greenwich St. 1,079 feet
MoMA TOWER (expected 2017) 53 W. 53rd St. 1,050 feet
111 W. 57TH ST. (expected 2017) 1,438 feet
ONE 57 (completed) 157 W. 57th St. 1,004 feet
CENTRAL PARK TOWER (expected 2019) 217 W. 57th St. 1,550 feet
30 HUDSON YARDS (expected 2019) 1,296 feet
35 HUDSON YARDS (expected 2018) 532-560 W. 33rd St. 1,000 feet
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city & state — December 7, 2015
AIRPLANES The primary force dictating supertalls’ heights isn’t gravity, it’s the FAA. Lewis said the agency has placed a 2,000-foot cap on buildings in Manhattan due to its proximity to nearby airports. That means any New Yorker who wants to reclaim the “world’s tallest building” title and top Burj Khalifa’s 2,722 feet will need to do some serious Washington lobbying. Lewis said preliminary plans had One World Trade reaching the 2,000-foot limit before the master plan settled on its current 1,776.
CIT Y
‘STOP BEING RIDICULOUS’ CITY SAYS SCHOOL CLOSURES POSSIBLE AFTER TISCH SLAMS RENEWAL GOALS By PATRICK WALL from CHALKBEAT NEW YORK Outgoing state Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch took a swipe at New York City’s schoolimprovement program Thursday, saying the city is permitting “failure” at certain troubled schools and setting “ridiculous” goals at others. Her comments came after Chalkbeat reported that the city has quietly given the 94 struggling schools in its $400 million Renewal improvement program three years to hit one-year targets. One of the schools, M.S. 53 in Queens, has until 2017 to boost its students’ average reading score from 2.14 to 2.15. “At some point, everyone has to stop being ridiculous,” said Tisch, New York’s top education official, in an interview Thursday. “2.14 to 2.15? I
mean, give me a break.” She went on: “If that’s OK, then their definition of OK and my definition of OK are two very different definitions.” Even though Tisch’s influence over state education policy is waning – she announced a few weeks ago that she will step down from her post in March – city Education Department officials were quick to fire back. Spokeswoman Devora Kaye said the city’s Renewal school goals are more demanding than ones the state has mandated for schools in its “receivership” program, which puts outside groups in charge of low-performing schools that fail to improve. “The concrete targets we’ve set
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city & state — December 7, 2015
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Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch at a City & State forum on education. exceed those set by the state for its receivership program, established under Chancellor Tisch,” Kaye said in a statement. (The state has not yet publicly released the receivership goals.) Mayor Bill de Blasio and city schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña have repeatedly said they will consider closing any schools that continue to flounder after receiving extra student services and teacher training. Kaye emphasized that point Thursday, and even implied that officials are considering shuttering some schools next year. “We will make the difficult decision about where that is necessary for the coming school year,” she said. “We are demanding sustained progress, and will hold schools accountable if it’s not made.” Tisch, who has said she intends to weigh in on contentious education issues before leaving her role, has expressed doubts before about de Blasio’s approach to struggling schools. This spring, she called it a mistake not to shut down certain chronically low-performing schools, and last year she said the state would move to close such schools if necessary. On Thursday, she ratcheted up that critique, saying that it is “deeply frustrating” to watch certain schools go through round after round of interventions without making real progress. “If you sit with persistent failure and you tolerate it, then by definition you are destroying the educational pathways for
some kids,” she said. “At some point, you’ve got to pull the plug.” Tisch is not the only state official to clash with de Blasio over how to improve troubled schools. State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan questioned whether de Blasio had a convincing strategy when lawmakers were debating earlier this year whether to extend his control over the city school system. And de Blasio forcefully rejected Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s receivership scheme, arguing that the city is best qualified to revamp its schools. John King, who recently left his position as state education commissioner, rejected the de Blasio administration’s initial plans for two of its lowest-performing schools. He demanded that the city establish a process to replace ineffective teachers and administrators at schools, which it did through a deal with the teachers and principals unions. King’s replacement, MaryEllen Elia, has signaled that she will give the Renewal program a chance. During a recent tour of a Renewal school, she said the city had put in place supports at the school that have the potential to “make a huge difference.” “Now,” she added, “we have to watch and see what the outcomes are.
Chalkbeat New York is a nonprofit news organization that covers educational change efforts. Visit ny.chalkbeat.org.
cit yandstateny.com
OFFICIALS AND ADVOCATES CLASH ON PROPOSED $15 MINIMUM WAGE
STATE
TAKE A HIKE
Renewing Renewing StRuggling Struggling SchoolS Schools By Michael Mulgrew President, United Federation of Teachers
by Michael Mulgrew By JON LENTZ
President, United Federation of Teachers
Cities and school districtsCities across country a range of and the school districts have acrosstried the country strategies to deal with the problems of poor children and struggling have tried a range of strategies to deal with the problems of poor children schools. Under former Mayor Bloomberg, New York City relied and struggling schools. Under former Mayor Bloomberg, New York City relied on a “shutdown” strategy, eventually closing 150 schools, including on a “shutdown” strategy, eventually closing 150 schools, including some that some that theadministration Bloombergitself administra tion itself had created. the Bloomberg had created. While cheerleaders laudedlauded his approach, the fact is the that fact manyisofthat WhileBloomberg’s Bloomberg’s cheerleaders his approach, our schools – both older ones and those started during Bloomberg’s tenure – many of our schools – both older ones and those started during continue to struggle. Bloomberg’s tenure – continue to struggle.
In contrast, the de Blasio administration has listened to teachers and memIn contrast, the de Blasio has listened to teachers and bers of school communities. Weadministration know that it is difficult, but struggling schools members Weand know that and it isadifficult, but can succeed of – if school providedcommunities. the proper support resources, team struggling succeed – if provided approach thatschools brings allcan a school’s stakeholders together. the proper support
andcity’s resources, and aprogram, team approach that all of a school’s stake The new Renewal created with thebrings assistance the UFT and holders together. community voices, is designed to focus on some of the neediest schools in the system. Early returns show that these schools have stabilized and in many The started city’s onnew Renewal program, created with input from cases the road to real improvement.
stakeholders, is designed to focus on some of the neediest schools
MICHAEL GARETH JOHNSON
Students in these Early schoolsreturns start out show with deficits. Nearlyof 20 percent are English in the system. that many these schools have Language Learners and almost a quarter are classified as special education. stabilized and in some cases are started on the road to improvement. Thousands live in shelters or are doubled up with relatives. Many are hungry, lack winter in clothes, have medical including glassesNearly and hearing aids. Students theseorschools startneeds, out with deficits. 20 percent Many have parents who areLearners unemployed or who workalong hours are at miniare English Language and almost quarter classified mum-wage as special jobs. education. Thousands live in shelters or are doubled up
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with relatives. lack winter or as have medical Teachers at theseMany schoolsare seehungry, these problems not as clothes, excuses, but issues needs, glassestoand hearing whotoare that needincluding to be addressed ensure that allaids. kids Many have anhave equalparents opportunity unemployed or who work long hours at minimumwage jobs. learn.
At City & State’s minimum wage forum, state Sen. Jack Martins would not rule out a wage hike, but said the case for a statewide $15 minimum has not been made.
Renewal schools are being paired with non-profit agencies to deliver services Teachers at these schools see these problems not asWhat’s excuses, like health care and counseling to students and their families. more,but as issues that need to be addressed to ensure that all kids have an equal the nearly $400 million the administration is investing in these schools over opportunity to learn. the next three years includes funds for hiring teachers, academic coaches, social workers and other professionals, along with professional development for Renewal being to paired withchildren non-profit to deliver the staff onschools the skillsare necessary work with facingagencies these challenges.
services like health care and counseling to students and their families.
minimum wage gains momentum and expands beyond the fast food industry, New York is poised to take the lead as the first state to adopt the wage floor for all workers. But before the Fight for $15 movement can declare an unconditional victory in New York, a $15 minimum wage will first have to be approved in Albany, where Republicans holding a majority in the state Senate have raised serious concerns about the proposal. In a preview of that battle, City & State last week hosted a panel of lawmakers, policy experts and representatives of business and labor groups in a debate over the potential impact of a $15 minimum wage. Driving the issue is Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who in recent months has unilaterally imposed a $15 minimum for fast food and state workers and cit yandstateny.com
called for the same wage level for all workers. In a sign of his commitment to the wage hike, the governor has invoked the name of his late father, dubbing the effort the Mario Cuomo Campaign for Economic Justice. In keynote remarks at City & State’s event, Alphonso David, the counsel to the governor, noted that employees in New York earning the current state minimum wage, which is set to rise from $8.75 to $9 at the end of the year, take home an annual income of around $18,000. David then cited yearly cost estimates of $11,000 for housing for a family “of modest means” in New York state; $9,000 for food; and $6,000 for clothing and other expenses. “That doesn’t add up,” David said. “It goes well beyond $18,000 a year. Furthermore, the minimum wage has been outpaced by rising
The UFT has played an active role in this program. Union staff visit all renewal While regularly, in 2013-14 nearly failed to meet targets forand student schools meeting withone-third teachers and principals, offering advice achievement, Quality Report that now helping to resolvethe any2014-2015 problems asSchool the schools implement theirshows individual 87 percent of the renewal schools are moving in the right direction, improvement plans.
measured by struggling better attendance, more family involvement Turning around schools is hard work, particularly in the faceand of other criteria. As a group, they showed gains in both reading and amath on years of cutbacks and systemic indifference. These schools will require state tests.strategic intervention built on sound education practice, including multi-year custom-tailored supports for each school’s particular needs. But overall the Many of theseareschools a long to go.soTurning them around renewal schools making have progress, and way the results far are encouraging.
is difficult, particularly in the face of years of cutbacks and systemic indifference. These schools will require a multiyear strategic in tervention built on sound education practice, including custom Federation A Union of Professionals tailoredUnited supports forof Teachers each school’s particular needs. With its Renewal program, New York City is taking on tough work that no one in the country has attempted before on this scale.
city & state — December 7, 2015
As the nationwide push for a $15
While in 2013-14 nearly one-third to meet for student is achieveWhat’s more, the nearly $400failed million thetargets administration investing ment, the 2014-2015 School now 87 percent the in these schools over theQuality next Report three shows years that includes funds forof hiring renewal schools are moving in thesocial right direction, by better attenteachers, academic coaches, workersmeasured and other professionals, dance, involvementdevelopment and other criteria. a group, along more withfamily professional forAsthe staffthey onshowed the skills gains in both reading and math on state tests. necessary to work with children facing these challenges.
STATE
inflation and the higher cost of living since the 1970s, effectively eroding the purchasing power of millions of workers and families. So there should be no denying the fact that the minimum wage is unlivable.” David said that many older workers – and not just teenagers – would directly benefit from the governor’s proposed wage hike. Nearly half of New York residents who live outside of New York City and earn less than
$15 an hour are at least 35 years old, he said, and a substantial majority are at least 25 years old. Of this upstate group of workers that make less than $15 an hour, about half are parents or married, he added, and many are the sole providers for their families. “So from an individual and a demographic perspective, it’s clear we have to raise the minimum wage,” David said. “On top of condemning millions of people to live in poverty and hardship, an
insufficient minimum wage also forces them to rely on public assistance to make ends meet, which creates a problem for government, and it creates a problem for all of us in this room.” The Cuomo administration’s across-the-board wage proposal, announced in September, would be phased in over several years, hitting $15 at the end of 2018 in New York City and the same level in mid-2021 for the rest of the state. The phase-in
VETO DISMISSES RIGHTFUL CONCERNS ABOUT DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SERVICES
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CSEA is not alone in expressing bitter disappointment in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent veto of legislation (A.7332) that would have ensured a better future for individuals and families living with developmental disabilities.
concern and criticism from parents, staff and other advocates across the state – much of it expressed publicly at a series of recent public hearings.
OPWDD needs to listen to the concerns that have long been raised. Families are rightly This legislation, passed unanimously by both concerned that their loved ones will continue houses of the legislature, would have compelled to receive the care they need. Staff are rightly the Office of People with Developmental concerned that they will be able to provide the Disabilities (OPWDD) to show a true care that is needed and have the help to do it. commitment to the well being of individuals with developmental CSEA represents disabilities by about 18,000 ensuring access to a workers in the range of treatment THE NEEDS OF developmental and living options disabilities field. that appropriately Most are delivering consider their needs. MUST BE ADDRESSED state operated services, but we also Instead, the veto represent nearly continues the 2,000 employees in state’s misguided not-for-profit agencies who are contracted by reading of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead the state. All are concerned about the state’s ruling concerning care of individuals with future plans for the system. developmental disabilities. While that ruling requires care be provided in the least restrictive The answers are not simple and unilateral environment, it also holds that the needs of decisions by New York State won’t make it individuals must be addressed. There are many any easier. individuals in state operations in particular, who have a wide range of multiple disabilities and health related needs who need more intensive care and supervision.
city & state — December 7, 2015
INDIVIDUALS
CSEA believes that the state selectively interprets Olmstead to diminish its obligations to provide appropriate levels of care. The Administration’s murky plans for future housing, services and supervision have raised intense
DA N N Y D O N O H U E , P R E S I D E N T
Danny Donohue is president of the nearly 300,000 member CSEA – New York’s Leading Union – representing workers doing every kind of job, in every part of New York.
would follow the same timeline as the pay increase for fast food workers across the state. The governor is planning to introduce minimum wage legislation in the 2016 legislative session, which begins next month. The Democratic-led Assembly, which regularly introduces legislation to raise the state’s minimum wage, has rallied behind Cuomo. Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, a Long Island Democrat, said her conference expects to pass the measure in 2016. “It’s simple,” Solages said. “Why do we need a $15 minimum wage? Because no one who works fulltime should live in poverty. It’s that simple.” But critics say the tradeoffs that come with such a large wage hike would create too many burdens for many employers, especially in upstate New York and for small businesses and nonprofit social services providers. The potential jump from $9 to $15 is an unprecedented hike, they say, which increases the risk of substantial job losses as employers try to adapt to the growing costs. Carlo Scissura, the president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, said that while he personally supports the governor’s proposal, his members are evenly split. Scissura said those that were worried about the hike want to pay their employees more, but that they already face rising costs on multiple fronts. “So if it was just an increase in the minimum wage, great,” Scissura said. “Well, so OK, if it was just the paid sick leave, great. Well, now it’s this, and now it’s that. I think when you add up all of these mandates, business owners are now saying hold on a minute. Now we’re not sure any more.” State Sen. Jack Martins, the Republican chairman of the state Senate Labor Committee, would not rule out a smaller increase to the state’s minimum wage, but echoed concerns about the impact on small businesses and other employers. “Workforce development to me is incredibly important,” Martins said. “It’s something that’s missing in this dialogue. We keep talking about increasing the minimum wage and giving people the opportunity to not only earn more and be able to support their families, and for me it is critically important that we do so in a way that allows people to develop the skill sets necessary to fill those jobs that are available across New York state.” cit yandstateny.com
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BUFFALO
THE COLD SHOULDER ASSEMBLYMAN REBUFFED IN HIS CRUSADE AGAINST ZOMBIES By JUSTIN SONDEL
fighting neighborhood blight, and we look forward to working with the assemblyman to do so.” Kearns, meanwhile, has been compiling a list of his own as part of his push to prevent homes from falling into disrepair. His list, which he admits is imperfect, has grown to over 2,000 properties in Erie County. Kearns said a DFS representative indicated over the phone that its list had about 200 properties when they spoke in October. “They’ve only got 200 properties,” Kearns said. “How in the hell can I have 2,000?”
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An aging home on the East Side of Buffalo. Data on such properties can be hard to come by.
“I should be able to get that information. I’m a friggin’ legislator.” - Assemblyman Michael Kearns Assemblyman Michael Kearns is hoping to compare data on “zombie properties” with the Department of Financial Services, but he hasn’t had any luck in getting them to share their information. Kearns is waging a campaign to shame banks in his district by placing lawn signs identifying the financial institution in front of derelict properties they either own or are in the process of taking through foreclosure. He is also pushing legislation that would make banks more accountable for the condition of the property during the foreclosure process. Kearns asked DFS to share its list of properties gathered in a registry the agency is compiling as part of an agreement with 11 major banks struck in May that would see them voluntarily adhere to a set of best practices outlined cit yandstateny.com
in the deal. But Kearns was rebuffed verbally when requesting the documents in early October, he said. “They won’t give me the list,” Kearns said. “I had to FOIL it.” Kearns filed a Freedom of Information Law request with DFS and the state attorney general’s office on Oct. 10, asking for the lists of addresses collected for vacant, distressed, abandoned, foreclosed, unoccupied or zombie properties submitted to either office. The attorney general’s office replied, saying it did not have such a list. A spokesman from the office told City & State in an email that the office is not responsible for the registry outlined in the agreement. In a letter to Kearns’ office dated Oct. 15, George Bogdan, the records
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city & state — December 7, 2015
DAVID TORKE
access officer for DFS, acknowledged the request and wrote that the office would respond within 20 business days. The assemblyman said he has yet to receive any further response. As part of the agreement, the data was supposed to be shared with state and local officials. “I should be able to get that information,” Kearns said. “I’m a friggin’ legislator.” A DFS spokesperson told City & State that the agency received the request and “is working diligently to comply. We are keenly aware of the importance of identifying zombie properties and
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER city & state — December 7, 2015
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THE LONG SHADOW OF
SHELDON SILVER Sheldon Silver was in a position of power for more than 20 years. You can get a lot of things done in that time. You can pass legislation that vastly changes the lives of millions of New Yorkers. You can make lives better. You can also use that position of power to enrich yourself. On Nov. 30, a jury found Sheldon Silver guilty of just that – collecting roughly $4 million in kickbacks because of the power and access he held as speaker of the Assembly. After the verdict, one juror was reported as saying he was shocked at the amount of money Silver was able to earn in referral fees at his law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, suggesting Silver could not have the public’s interest in mind if he was getting so rich. It seems that the majority of the jurors felt the same way – even if some legal experts didn’t, suggesting the case was built on circumstantial evidence that didn’t rise to criminality because there was no smoking gun. A debate over the letter of the law has already begun, but it matters little. For Silver, his time as an assemblyman is over. His felony conviction immediately triggered his dismissal from the chamber he ruled for two decades. The next step for him is an appeal, which even if he wins will do little to change the court of public opinion, which had already ruled before the verdict was read. So his future becomes nothing more than a sidebar to the larger story: his legacy and the impact his corruption conviction has on the future of Albany. Defenders of the former Assembly speaker will argue he was a steward of progressive ideals through times when those principles were under attack. Even those who despise him will admit he was effective in delivering for unions and fighting for funding to help some of New York’s most vulnerable people – even if those budget victories drove up state spending, leading to higher taxes, as his detractors argue. When evaluating Silver’s legacy it is impossible to ignore the allegations of sexual harassment and even rape against members of his conference and his staff. It is
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- Michael Gareth Johnson
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THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
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city & state — December 7, 2015
without dispute that Silver helped keep these incidents quiet, which even the former speaker’s biggest supporters have to admit has tainted his time in office. All of this is of course trumped by the arrest, trial and conviction. Will his downfall be a warning that finally resonates with lawmakers and spurs change in Albany? Or has that change already begun? Most insiders say the culture had started to change in the Capitol before Silver was convicted, or even arrested. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s fight against Albany corruption at least made lawmakers more cautious, even if there was no appetite to implement full-scale reform of the system. But not everyone is buying into the “scared-straight” narrative. Good-government groups, emboldened by the verdict, have once again called for comprehensive reform of election campaigns and how business is done in Albany – some calling for it to happen immediately through a special session. Gov. Andrew Cuomo threw cold water on that idea, saying lawmakers will be back in January and can address it in regular session. When they do return, it seems unlikely there will be any support for advocates’ top recommendation – a full-time Legislature that bans all outside income. Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan has said he doesn’t want such a setup. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has said his conference has not reached a consensus on the issue. Historically, public pressure has been ineffective in persuading the chambers to make meaningful change, with the Assembly, Senate and governor often accepting only incremental changes to ethics laws. History often repeats itself in Albany – even more than in other places – so it is likely we will see yet another ethics deal passed in 2016. And it is equally likely that bill will do little to change the overall culture of the Capitol. And it’s almost a sure thing that it will do nothing to deter U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara from his crusade.
BUT WILL HE WALK? SUCCESSFUL APPEAL UNLIKELY, EXPERTS SAY
city & state — December 7, 2015
By ASHLEY HUPFL Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s nearly 40-year political career ended on Nov. 30 when a jury found him guilty on all counts in his federal corruption trial. Legal experts told City & State that the case compiled by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and his office was strong, but undoubtedly he was also convicted in the court of opinion and not solely on the legal argument. “I think he was probably disadvantaged because of who he is,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “The closing argument was, you know that he’s guilty, you know he’s corrupt just by virtue of the fact that he’s a leader in Albany. That’s like two strikes against you right out of the gate. So much of his energy was devoted to scheming, you have to wonder how he got any governance done.” Silver was convicted on seven counts, including honest services fraud, money laundering and extortion,
relating to two different schemes. The first involved funneling cancer research funding to Columbia University’s Dr. Robert Taub. In exchange, prosecutors said, Taub referred mesothelioma patients to Silver’s law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, and Silver would collect a percentage on the referral fee. The second scheme involved two real estate development firms, Glenwood Management and the Witkoff Group. Prosecutors said Silver convinced them to move legal services to a firm that would give Silver kickbacks. In exchange, Silver met with the firm’s lobbyists and ultimately supported housing and rent regulation bills favorable to the firms. Silver now faces up to 120 years in prison, or 20 years for six of the seven counts against him. Though a successful appeal still seems unlikely, the honest services fraud piece is Silver’s best chance at an appeal, legal experts said. Former state
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno was ultimately acquitted of his 2009 conviction on two counts of honest services fraud in light of the Skilling v. United States Supreme Court decision. “We’re now five years past the Skilling decision and (Silver) was charged with full awareness of what the (U.S.) Supreme Court now requires for a theft of honest services conviction and they were able to present the case in the right way and the jury was instructed properly,” said Jennifer Rodgers, executive director of Columbia Law School’s Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity, who previously served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District. “We shouldn’t have a ‘Joe Bruno problem’ and I should say they also charged the alternate theory of extortion, as well.” Albany Law professor Vincent Bonventre said he “wouldn’t bet” on a successful appeal by Silver’s lawyers, but argued they could have a potential
cit yandstateny.com
MARY ALTAFFER/AP
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
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case if it is taken to the U.S. Supreme Court on the honest services fraud law. “I think if this case does get to the U.S. Supreme Court and they re-examine the law, especially in this case, I think it is certainly possible the court is going to make clear that when we talk about bribery or kickback, we are talking about that there must be some actual agreement, some actual understanding beyond a reasonable doubt that someone offered something to a politician and the understanding between them is that the politician would do something very specific in return,” Bonventre argued. A defendant can also file appeals based on insufficiency of the evidence, mistakes made in the judge’s ruling or a problem with the jury. The three legal experts said an appeal based on insufficient evidence is highly unlikely. Several issues came up with the jury during deliberations. Of the three juror issues, the strongest grounds for an appeal is based on a juror who told the judge the other jurors were bullying her and told her to “use her common sense.” If that juror were to say she voted that Silver was guilty under pressure just because the other jurors forced her and she wanted to leave, that could be the basis for a successful appeal for the defense. However, the defense wanted that juror to stay on the jury. “When a juror says, ‘They’re bullying me, they’re telling me to use my common sense,’ they’re not talking about whether or not the government proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, they’re saying, ‘Oh come on, use your goddamn head! This guy’s guilty!’” Bonventre said. Although all three legal experts discussed potential appeals, the odds are stacked against Silver. The hardest part is over for the government, since the appellate court has different standards of guilt: not “beyond a reasonable doubt,” but whether “some rational juror could have concluded the government proved its case,” Bonventre said. O’Donnell pointed out that because of his wealth, Silver has a better chance of a successful appeal than most, “but most have no case at all on appeal.” Silver has millions of dollars at his disposal, but the case “has been vetted and gone over and every legal issue has been teased out (by the U.S. attorney’s office),” O’Donnell said. “It’s a reminder that for really any criminal defendant, you only get one shot for the most part, and that’s at trial.”
FEB. 24 Silver pleads not guilty to the charges against him. His attorneys ask for the charges to be thrown out, accusing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of making prejudicial public statements.
MARCH 5 Bharara’s office responds to claims from Silver’s lawyer, saying the U.S. attorney’s statements “violated no ethical rule,” and “did not unfairly prejudice the defendant.”
APRIL 23 Federal prosecutors file a superseding indictment adding four new criminal counts, but only one new accusation not in the original complaint. The new charge accuses Silver of transferring more than $287,000 in proceeds from criminal activity into investments not disclosed to the public.
OCT. 16 In a pretrial motion, Caproni rules prosecutors can submit into evidence documents showing Silver took action on behalf of a real estate developer to block a methadone clinic planned near one of its lower Manhattan buildings.
NOV. 23 Closing arguments are made in the case.
cit yandstateny.com
FEB. 3 Carl Heastie is elected the new Assembly speaker.
APRIL 10 Federal District Court Judge Valerie Caproni rejects Silver’s request to dismiss the case, but criticizes Bharara for the comments he made, saying the U.S. attorney “strayed so close to the edge of the rules governing his own conduct that defendant Sheldon Silver has a nonfrivolous argument that he fell over the edge to the defendant’s prejudice.”
APRIL 28 Silver pleads not guilty to new charge. Trial date set for Nov. 2.
OCT. 28 The jury selection process begins, with potential jurors filling out a questionnaire to identify potential bias or conflict of interest.
NOV. 24 Jury deliberations begin.
FEB. 19 Silver is indicted on three criminal counts. Two conspiracy charges from the original criminal complaint were not included in the indictment.
JULY 24 Caproni denies a request from Silver’s lawyers to toss out the charges, after they argued that his outside work stretched the limits of ethics rules but did not rise to the level of criminal prosecution. Caproni writes: “Evidence that Silver went to lengths to conceal his allegedly ill-gotten gains is evidence both of Silver’s knowledge that the money that he received constituted ‘criminally derived property’ ... and evidence of Silver’s consciousness of guilt regarding his allegedly fraudulent and extortionate activities.”
NOV. 3 NOV. 4 Jury selection Opening is completed. statements are made.
NOV. 30 Silver is found guilty on all charges.
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
JAN. 27 Silver says he will step down as Assembly speaker after a failed bid to retain power by delegating his duties to a “Gang of Five” veteran lawmakers. Retains his Assembly seat.
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NOV. 18 Prosecution rests its case against Silver.
city & state — December 7, 2015
JAN. 22 Sheldon Silver is charged on five criminal counts, accused of using his position of power to obtain millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks masked as legitimate income.
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
PRELUDE TO INDICTMENT SILVER’S CAREER A TAPESTRY OF CORRUPTION
city & state — December 7, 2015
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The sphinxlike former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who presented no defense at trial just as he answered no questions for decades, was convicted last week a few feet from where his public career started 45 years ago. He is now gone from our lives, his Assembly seat as vacant as his eyes, completing his shuffle from Manhattan State Supreme Court, where he began as a law secretary in 1971, to the federal courthouse on Foley Square, where 12 of his peers finally got a chance to judge seven of his felonies. In the dying days of Tammany Hall, Silver laid claim to this patronage law secretary perch, a job routinely parceled out to machine Democratic clubs like the one he had joined on the Lower East Side. Five years later, he was the choice of the last Tammany county leader, Frank Rossetti, to replace Assemblyman Anthony DiFalco, whose father, Surrogate Judge Sam DiFalco, was already under indictment and would soon be indicted again, charged with fixing cases for Anthony’s law firm. A creature of the most corrupt clubhouse culture in city history, Silver had lost a 1974 City Council race against reformer Miriam Friedlander, only to be installed in DiFalco’s suddenly unoccupied seat two years later. His biography reads like a prelude to an indictment. Never facing a serious challenge
JUDY SANDERS/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
WAYNE BARRETT
“Silver’s defense argued at trial that everything he did was par for the course. The truth is he seeded the course.” over his nearly 39 years in the Assembly, Silver was elevated to a leadership post in 1987, when new Speaker Mel Miller made him chairman of the Codes Committee. Five years later, Miller would surrender his seat when he was convicted of defrauding his legal clients. Miller’s conviction was overturned years later on a technicality and he became a potent Albany lobbyist, feasting on his ties to Silver’s Assembly. He had been doing television stints as a Silver apologist since the January arrest. Silver became speaker in 1994, when Saul Weprin died in office
after only two years as Miller’s replacement. Weprin, the only speaker to give up his law practice, is also the only one in nearly three decades to serve without facing criminal charges tied to his practice. Silver weathered scandals in recent years when he repeatedly used state funds to buy the silence of women who made sexual harassment claims against Assembly leaders, and virtually no one in his Democratic conference, including its many champions of feminist causes, would publicly fault him. His lucrative arrangement with
the personal injury princes at Weitz & Luxenberg, whose name partners were leaders of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, was fodder for editorial boards, which regularly highlighted the brazen conflict of interest. Silver was so indifferent that he named Arthur Luxenberg to a panel that screened top judges. His law firm bonanza was simultaneously deplored and celebrated – with former Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno telling a prospective client that he was inspired by his counterpart’s trial lawyer paychecks to jump-start his own consulting cit yandstateny.com
and handling multimillion-dollar Weitz & Luxenberg cases, all of it abetted by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, who won the highest judicial post in the state with the help of his lifelong friend Silver. Working with Rapfogel, Silver blocked any affordable housing on a fallow, city-owned, 20-acre site near Grand Street in an attempt to prevent a black and Latino influx, ultimately favoring a commercial project championed by a developer who hired Rapfogel’s son. When The New York Times exposed this 40-year history of politically wired obstruction, reporting that Silver was the attorney for the group opposing the housing, Silver said the paper had confused him with a Sheldon E. Silver, who’d since died, and who had written letters for the group. The Times’ letter, it turned out, was on Silver’s Assembly letterhead, and his legal work for the group was verified by countless other letters. Had Silver’s lawyers made any attempt to portray Silver as a man of character at the trial, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara would have undoubtedly seen to it that the Sheldon E. Silver farce had made it into the court record, probably during the testimony of Michael Whyland, Silver’s spokesman who led the media attack on the Times story. The perpetually vacant lot was hardly the only example of Silver’s history of homegrown exclusion. The federal courts found the Grand Street projects themselves, run by Silver allies, discriminated against black and
an ignominious history on race and harassment issues. Of all of Silver’s crimes, the most disturbing was his abuse of cancer research funding, steering it to a doctor who sent him lucrative asbestos referrals. Everyone has felt cancer in their lives – afflicting family, friends or themselves. Silver’s brother succumbed to the disease shortly before the speaker started trading precious funding for millions in his bank account. Every dollar spent on research to fight cancer should be awarded on the comparative merits of the research, carefully vetted by medical experts. Silver’s half-million in grants were delivered in a dark alley, a silo of secrecy, payoffs without conscience. The Assembly’s Democratic conference is filled with highminded, so-called progressives. Faced with the greatest moral test of their lives, they looked away for years, shrugged, wrestled to find fine lines, and prospered from their silence, too ambitious or fearful to take on the elephant in their conference, a leader who advertised his conflicts, if not his criminality. They have replaced Silver with Carl Heastie, the longtime Bronx Democratic boss who just fixed the selection of the new district attorney,
orchestrating resignations and sidestepping voters so the local party plutocrats, including Heastie, don’t have to look over their own shoulders. Heastie also backed out of a budget deadline deal to pass a bill that would have started the process of amending the constitution to prevent state convicts like Silver from collecting their pensions. The Assembly passed a different version of the bill that passed in the Senate, effectively killing the reform. The speaker has said he sees no need for ethics reform legislation, saying “it comes down to an individual’s morality,” a climate-like denial contradicted by 98 percent of all scientists or anyone else with open eyes in New York. Like Silver, Heastie is a proud son of corruption, reared by a Bronx machine that lives to loot. Some call this guilt by association. Others call it associating with the guilty – which Silver proved often leads to becoming guilty oneself.
Wayne Barrett covered New York politics for 35 years and co-authored “City for Sale,” a chronicle of the great municipal scandal of the ’80s.
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
firm, leading to his own indictment. Silver’s defense argued at trial that everything he did was par for the course. The truth is he seeded the course. Silver’s top aide and close friend Patricia Lynch left him to immediately form a lobbying firm that became a cash-guzzling turnstile to his Assembly office. One of Lynch’s clients, Cablevision, was fined $75,000 for not reporting gifts to Silver, including visits to its Madison Square Garden luxury box for Rangers games. Cablevision also hired Silver’s daughter. Lynch wound up paying a half-million dollars to settle a 2010 case with then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who accused her of inappropriate attempts to influence the state pension fund, which was run by Silver allies. She was barred from future dealings with the fund. Another Silver benefactor, Caesars, paid a $25,000 fine for discounting the speaker’s Las Vegas junket. William Rapfogel, Silver’s boyhood friend, is in prison, convicted of stealing up to $9 million from a Jewish charity for the poor that Silver blessed with millions in state funding. Rapfogel’s wife, Judy Rapfogel, was Silver’s chief of staff in the Assembly until he forfeited his office on conviction and claimed she knew nothing about stockpiles of cash her husband hid in their bedroom, which is in the same Grand Street building where the Silvers live. Silver’s influence with two Assembly members, Herman Farrell and Bruce Wright, who ruled the
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Manhattan Democratic Party for decades, occasionally led to party designations for judges like Martin Shulman, another Grand Street neighbor and buddy of Silver’s. Shulman wound up working in a special asbestos litigation conference cit yandstateny.com
Latino applicants in a suit that named Ralph Lippman, the father of the chief judge, as a defendant. The poetic irony of the Silver verdict was that a jury of mostly blacks and Latinos, and mostly women, convicted a man with such
city & state — December 7, 2015
SHANNON DECELLE
“The poetic irony of the Silver verdict was that a jury of mostly blacks and Latinos, and mostly women, convicted a man with such an ignominious history on race and harassment issues.”
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER city & state — December 7, 2015
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LAWMAKERS CAN’T CLEAN UP ALBANY ALONE
MICHAEL BENJAMIN Last July, I wrote for City & State that the “confluence of money, backdoor dealing and secret behind-closeddoor deals allows the abuse of power which harms our civic and legislative culture.” On Monday afternoon, the jurors in former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s federal corruption trial reached the same conclusion.
Preet Bharara With each new conviction of a state lawmaker, I am no longer disappointed to see the public and media’s contempt for politicians repeatedly justified. With each conviction, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara continues to show why he is New York’s best and only hope for uprooting corruption in
politics, government and business. The scope of the indictments and convictions of legislative leaders should cause New Yorkers to question the laws they championed, negotiated and steered into enactment. New Yorkers should reject being bound by the laws advanced by corrupt legislative leaders and their enablers. Shouldn’t New Yorkers be able to distinguish between the work product of an honest Legislature and that of one influenced by venality and corruption? I certainly would hope so. On the heels of Silver’s conviction, good-government groups, editorial boards and pundits have called on state lawmakers to get their respective houses in order by enacting campaign finance reforms and bans on outside income. Not surprisingly, no one in the reform choir has called on special interest groups and lobbyists to reform their practices, especially their enabling behaviors. The inhabitants of the Albany culture are more than lawmakers, their staff and public employee unions, a fact consistently noted by savvy bloggers such as True News’ Gary Tilzer. The Silver trial testimony revealed that Dr. Robert Taub, lobbyists Brian Meara and Richard Runes, and Charles Dorego and other Glenwood Management executives got hot under the collar when they learned of Silver’s secret kickbacks. But instead of going to the authorities, they looked the other way or wrote legal memos to protect themselves. No one thought to call the cops. Instead, Preet Bharara had to come knocking at 5 a.m. The infamous “side letter” that Glenwood Management lobbyist Runes had drawn up was devised as a way to prevent public disclosure of the kickback given to Silver by real estate
Dr. Robert Taub tax firm Goldberg & Iryami. Runes testified that he was fearful of Silver’s wrath if he nixed the fee arrangement. It was the secret agreement that convinced the holdout juror of Silver’s guilt.
Richard Runes Runes’ behavior and decisionmaking, as well as Taub’s reluctance to stop referring patients to Weitz & Luxenberg, reflects Albany’s “go along to get along” culture. Those we elect to the state Legislature can, must and will do better. But they cannot be expected to do it alone. Everyone has a role to play in
maintaining a corruption-free Legislature. The media and prosecutors know the importance of their roles. Special interest groups, lobbyists and campaign donors must become honest brokers. They, too, must play a role in changing a culture that too many are willing to suffer quietly, if not enable. Those groups and individuals registering with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics should be required to agree to a code of conduct that includes whistleblowing when they have direct knowledge of corruption and influence-peddling. Black and Hispanic clergy should do more than offer prayers of protection for elected officials. They must keep the question of honest services front and center for every lawmaker and candidate that graces their congregation. We get the government and officeholders we deserve. We deserve better. The public must demand better. Furthermore, it is not a diminution of Speaker Carl Heastie’s leadership if he decentralizes the power and sway of his office. His power as leader is derived from the Democratic conference that elected him speaker. Nothing will change Albany until all the players stop playing the game. Perhaps Silver’s conviction is the “severe punishment” that political scientist Kenneth Sherrill suggested is necessary to force change. I look forward to the day when New Yorkers can distinguish between an honest Legislature and a dishonest one.
Michael Benjamin is a former assemblyman who represented parts of the Bronx. Follow him on Twitter @SquarePegDem.
cit yandstateny.com
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
SHED NO TEARS FOR SHELDON SILVER
I’m not sad about Sheldon Silver. Just like I’m not sad about the passing of Vito Lopez. I’m upset for the women he abused. Sadness implies empathy for Silver at the expense of his victims, and robs him of responsibility for his crimes. As if the possibility of a life sentence somehow diminishes the 40 years he spent earning it. For the various elected officials and others who have expressed sadness for Silver, there is perhaps a misconception that corruption is a victimless crime, or at least one in which the victim is an abstraction. Whereas Lopez may have violated the women who worked for him, Silver simply violated the “public trust.” But Lopez and Silver’s crimes are not mutually exclusive. The unchecked power that allowed Silver to manufacture personal profit from a taxpayer-subsidized slush fund is exactly what enabled him to protect sexual predators over female staff. It’s an extension of the very corruption he was convicted of. Silver’s crimes were only possible because his colleagues in the Assembly, and the two other “men in the room,” accepted it as politics as usual. These enablers had to be comfortable with Silver’s defense that corruption is “conduct which cit yandstateny.com
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sheldon Silver shake hands March 20, 2013, as the legislative leaders announce the 2013-14 budget agreement.
is normal, conduct which allows government to function.” Or what U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has deemed a “culture of corruption.” When Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down the Moreland Commission last summer in exchange for a weak ethics deal, it was egregious proof of Bharara’s claim. Despite brazenly obstructing the commission’s work, the governor now contends that his actions actually helped convict Silver, telling a room full of students at Harvard that “one of the state leaders was indicted because of one of the laws that I passed that required more disclosure.” But on Tuesday, Cuomo
contradicted himself by suggesting that the same ethics laws he had no problem taking credit for would not deter a public official with corrupt intentions. “I don’t care how strong the law is,” he said. “If a person is going to break the law, a person is going to break the law.” If that’s so, then why wouldn’t Cuomo let the Moreland Commission, which he convened to “investigate and prosecute wrongdoing,” continue its work? In a feat of Cuomoian logic he countered, “The Moreland Commission was not an investigative, prosecutorial, commission.” Right. In reality, the only reason Silver’s career finally ended is because
one person refused to tolerate the pervasive quid pro quo in Albany. Mere hours after Silver’s guilty verdict, Bharara accepted an award at the Citizens Crime Commission, where he quoted Teddy Roosevelt, who served in the state Assembly from 1882 to 1884: “No man who is corrupt, no man who condones corruption in others, can possibly do his duty by the community.” What happened to Silver is not sad. It’s justice.
Alexis Grenell is a Democratic communications strategist based in New York. Find her on Twitter @agrenell.
city & state — December 7, 2015
JUDY SANDERS/OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
ALEXIS GRENELL
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
THE FAIR-WEATHER REFORMER ON REDISTRICTING “It is imperative that an independent redistricting process produce new district maps for New York state after each census and I would veto any lines not developed through such a process. Independent redistricting will help restore public trust in government.” January 2012
www.CityandState.Careers
“I’ve done it, they said no. I just lost, is what happened. It’s not that they didn’t hear me, and not that I didn’t advocate, (the Legislature) just rejected my suggestion. … I’m not an arm-
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twister. I’m a cajoler at best.” February 2012
ON JCOPE “This bill is the tough and aggressive approach we need. It
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provides for disclosure of outside income by lawmakers, creates a true independent monitor to investigate corruption, and spells out tough, new rules that lobbyists must follow. Government does not work without the trust of the people, and this ethics
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overhaul is an important step in restoring that trust.” June 2011 “Different agencies do different things. JCOPE was never
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designed to be the investigatory, prosecutorial agency. JCOPE was not supposed to do the job of the U.S. attorneys or the
Take a “Modern View” of the NYS Legislature. We did.
district attorneys. That’s not (what) JCOPE is all about.” May 2013
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED … 1906: New York enacts legislation requiring lobbyists to register for the first time.
a population of at least 50,000. 2003: Gov. George Pataki issues an executive order requiring all state agencies and authorities to publicly disclose information on procurement lobbying.
city & state — December 7, 2015
1977: The Temporary State Commission on Lobbying is created to collect lobbying filings and issue advisory opinions.
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1987: The Ethics in Government Act creates the New York State Ethics Commission, which oversees state officers and executive branch employees.
1999: The state Legislature strengthens the law regulating lobbying after a $75,000 fine is imposed on Philip Morris for underreporting lobbying spending, a record at the time. The law requires lobbyist filings every two month, institutes an auditing system and extends to counties and cities with
2007: Gov. Eliot Spitzer signs the Public Employee Ethics Reform Act, creating the Commission on Public Integrity, which replaces the state lobbying and ethics
cit yandstateny.com
Issue spotlIght:
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
ON PUBLIC FINANCING OF ELECTION CAMPAIGNS “I would not say that I see an especially easy glide path to passage for this bill. I think it has nothing to do with the merits. I think on the merits, this is a powerful proposal. It’s long overdue. It’s needed.” June 2013
“I support it. We need a Legislature that supports it, we don’t have that now. And if New Yorkers really care about public finance, what I’ve been urging them to do is elect legislators who support it.” October 2014
THE SHADOW OF SHELDON SILVER
educate NY’s publIc offIcIals oN Your orgaNIzatIoN’s socIal respoNsIbIlItY INItIatIves to help theIr coNstItueNts
ON A FULL-TIME LEGISLATURE
sociAl rEsponsibiliTy And corporATE ciTizEnship’s posiTivE sociAl impAcT:
“The cleanest solution is to end the conflict rather than attempting to police or regulate it ... would be to say we have a full-time Legislature, to pay them a decent salary and ban outside income.” February 2015
Technology | Education | Environmental Sustainability | Improving Communities | Healthcare | Housing | Philanthropy | Community Economic Development | Culture
ThE spEciAl sEcTion FEATurEs covErAgE oF:
compTrollEr sociAl rEsponsibiliTy: City & State looks at how State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and City Comptroller Scott Stringer have used their offices to promote social responsibility in government and applied pressure to private sector to affect socially responsible changes.
“I spoke about it last year. There was no appetite to do it in the Legislature.” December 2015
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Top TrEnds in sociAl rEsponsibiliTy: What are the biggest social responsibility trends across New York from 2015. sociAlly rEsponsiblE policing And communiTy building: Key takeaways from NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton’s speech at the City & State CSR Responsible 100 event on December 15.
pensions for officials convicted of a felony who were elected after the legislation was signed. 2013: Cuomo creates the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption.
penalties and disclosure and institutes a pilot matching fund program for the 2014 state comptroller race.
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Emily lloyd Commissioner, NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Topic: How DEP is pushing private business on becoming more sustainable Alphonso dAvid Counsel to Governor Cuomo Topic: Raising the Minimum Wage minErvA TAnToco NYC Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Topic: How Technology Initiatives are Changing NYC
2014: Cuomo shutters the Moreland Commission in return for legislation creating an enforcement unit at the
2011: Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the Public Integrity Reform Act, creating the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which succeeds the Commission on Public Integrity. The law also increases required financial disclosure, raises penalties and requires the forfeiture of
public oFFiciAls’ pErspEcTivEs FEATuring:
nys compTrollEr ThomAs dinApoli Topic: Boardroom Diversity council spEAkEr mElissA mArk-vivEriTo Topic: How Progressive Government is Key to Pushing Social Responsibility
state Board of Elections. It also makes it a crime to bribe a public servant, increases
2015: Cuomo announces ethics measures passed in the state budget, including new disclosure requirements, stricter limits on personal use of campaign funds, per diem reform and extension of the lobby law to municipalities with a population of at least 5,000.
(Public Officials pending confirmation)
a d deadlINe : dec. 15 | I ssue date : dec. 18
EducATE, AdvocATE & inFluEncE nEw york’s public oFFiciAls For advertising information, please contact Jasmin Freeman at (646) 442-1662 or jfreeman@cityandstateny.com.
city & state — December 7, 2015
commissions. The law increases penalties, sets a stricter gift ban, prohibits agency heads from seeking public office and tightens other restrictions.
SPOTLIGHT:
CONSTRUCTION 20
CONTENTS:
23
26
30
WHAT HAPPENS IF 421-A EXPIRES?
DESPITE DE BLASIO’S CAMPAIGN PROMISE, ICAP STILL GOING STRONG
TAKE A TOUR OF THE CONSTRUCTION BOOM IN BUFFALO
By Sarina Trangle
By Justin Sondel
By Ashley Hupfl
city & state — December 7, 2015
In good times and bad, New York is always building. The whims of the economy definitely impact the rate of construction and development, but it never derails the industry. In part, this is because the state and New York City have taken concrete steps to make sure the building industry is supported – and regulated. Tax breaks help offset the risk many developers face. Legislation strives to make workplaces more safe. Combined, they allow for a steady growth of public projects like affordable housing and school construction, or private development like luxury high-rise apartments or fancy new malls. In this special section, we look at the timely issues shaping the landscape.
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Another year of New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) behaving badly is passing.
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Safety Innovation
Safety Culture
Overall Project Safety
Turner Construction Company – Passive/Perimeter Netting System NYU Science Building
Tishman Construction, an AECOM Company 5 Manhattan West Innovative Façade Replacement
Lend Lease US Construction LMB, Inc. Columbia Manhattanville
Skanska New York Presbyterian Hospital
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Durr Mechanical Construction Technology Training
J.T. Magen & Company Interior Renovation 140 West Street
Lend Lease US Construction LMB, Inc./Sorbara Construction 56 Leonard Street
Honorable Mention Tishman Construction, an AECOM Company Shaft Permitting at One Riverside Park
Tishman Construction, an AECOM Company 3 World Trade Center WOLFFKRAN Crane
Honorable Mention
Hardhat Hero – Public Safety Award Juan Lopez Enterprise Association Steamfitters Union, 638
BTEA members SAFELY build $ billions of dollars of high-rise buildings every year. Here are the facts - firms that are NOT BTEA contractors account for:
63%
of all Stop Work Orders
63%
of all reported accidents
62%
of hazardous violations
(10 stories and above)
SAFETY • INTEGRITY • VALUE Building Trades Employers’ Association | 1430 Broadway, Suite 1106 | New York, NY 10018 | 212.704.9745 | www.bteany.com
By ASHLEY HUPFL As the days creep closer to the Jan. 15 deadline for the real estate industry and unions to come to an agreement on wage rates at construction sites that receive the 421-a tax abatement, some stakeholders are already preparing for the repercussions of the tax break’s potential expiration next month. If the program does expire, experts told City & State, it will not significantly affect high-end developers in Manhattan or high-valued parts of the outer boroughs, but potential development projects in emerging neighborhoods will suffer. “If you are anybody else, you’re probably either dead in the water or you’re going to be in a position where you’re forced to go back and either renegotiate with your bank or your seller,” said Kenneth Fisher, a land use and real estate lawyer. “In emerging neighborhoods, and I would use Crown Heights as an example, you simply can’t sustain the rents if you have to basically take the first $700 to $1,000 a month (in collected rent) and apply that to taxes. It’s just not enough to support the operation of the building, the acquisition costs and the financing. So, those are the neighborhoods which will see development come to a halt.” A recent report by New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy found that the expiration of the 421-a tax break could
lead to a disruption in the supply of housing by market-rate builders, but likely would not disrupt construction in areas currently dominated by condominium development, like Manhattan. The report also found that even if construction costs increase, the development of rental housing could become more expensive. Earlier this year the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo failed to reach an agreement on the 421-a tax abatement, which provides a tax break on new buildings to encourage development and spur affordable housing. Then, just before the end of the 2015 legislative session, Cuomo announced the tax break would be extended for six months while the construction unions and real estate industry come to an agreement on pay rates for workers. After six months of negotiations, it’s been reported that discussions have stalled and people involved are increasingly preparing for no deal to be reached. However, the two parties insist they are still negotiating and are hopeful of reaching a compromise. “These are ongoing, good-faith negotiations and we are not going to discuss them publicly,” Jamie McShane, a spokesman for the industry group Real Estate Board of New York, said in a statement. “The negotiations mark a great opportunity to engage in
RICHARD CHANDLER
Commissioner, New York City Department of Buildings
23 ON COMMUNITY CONCERNS AMID CITYWIDE REZONING ... “We in the City Council strongly support Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build and preserve a historic amount of desperately needed affordable housing. Obviously, the administration needs to change the zoning in New York City to achieve the mayor’s important goals. The council’s charter-mandated role is to ensure that, in the rezoning process, the interests of local communities are met before we sign off on any zoning changes. We are aware of and sensitive to the legitimate concerns raised by local community and borough boards, especially with respect to additional building height, waiver of parking requirements, and the appropriate range of affordability. “In the Land Use Committee, we regularly make adjustments to the administration’s proposals based on specific neighborhood concerns. We have been speaking to the administration for the last six months and some of our recommendations have already been incorporated. As we move forward, we in the council will ensure that the administration’s plan is improved and its details modified to reflect the needs of each of the five boroughs. As chairman of the Land Use Committee, I look forward to working closely with my fellow council members and the Department of City Planning to incorporate individual community feedback to improve these plans. “The challenge is simple: This is the first citywide rezoning in decades. It’s not easy satisfying every part New York when you are rezoning the whole city at once. However, we are committed to doing just that.”
DAVID GREENFIELD
Chairman, New York City Council Land Use Committee
cit yandstateny.com
CONSTRUCTION
IF 421-A EXPIRES, NON-MANHATTAN DEVELOPMENTS COULD BE HARDEST HIT
ON IMPROVING SAFETY AMID AN INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION FATALITIES ... “Construction across the city is at a record high. Unfortunately, this growth has brought with it an increase in construction accidents, many of which are avoidable. Even one construction-related fatality is too many, but the six so far this year under our jurisdiction – the largest number since 2008, during the last building boom – are a call to action. My department is cracking down on bad actors in the industry and taking unprecedented steps to remove problem construction professionals from job sites. “Mayor Bill de Blasio is investing $120 million over three years to bolster our enforcement and development capabilities. We will be hiring more than 100 additional inspectors in the next year. We are transitioning to a risk-based project review model that helps us to easily flag more complex projects for frequent enforcement inspections. We have already begun taking proactive disciplinary actions against repeat offenders, changing the mentality that violations are just the cost of doing business, and showing that the department will go after the licenses of problem construction professionals. “Almost every time a department inspector shows up at a job where an accident has occurred, they discover an instance where an owner or contractor was cutting corners and not following the code. It only takes a few moments to clip into a harness, and minimal effort to install guardrails to prevent falls. These simple measures can mean the difference between life and death on a work site.”
city & state — December 7, 2015
DEAL OR NO DEAL
CONSTRUCTION
“Even with a tremendous amount of effort ... the issue didn’t move last session. It tells you that it’s not clear how this will be resolved.” - Hank Sheinkopf, political consultant
24
frank and honest discussions about how we can build much more affordable housing, ensure construction workers are treated fairly and create job opportunities for residents of the city.” Gary LaBarbera, the president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, offered a similar assessment. LaBarbera, whose organization is negotiating directly with REBNY on 421-a, said meetings are scheduled and that he wants the program to continue. “Really all I can say is that we are meeting,” he told City & State. “We are negotiating. It is our goal and our hope that we will be able to reach an agreement. The negotiations have to this point been in what I would consider
good faith.” If 421-a expires, the state Legislature and the governor will have to take up the issue once again. Observers were hesitant to guess how negotiations within the Legislature will play out, given the changes in leadership and recent arrests and trials of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos. “What we’ve seen thus far is even with a tremendous amount of effort from both the real estate development companies and the construction trades that the issue didn’t move last session,” political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said. “It tells you that it’s not clear how this will be resolved.”
Sheinkopf also said the successful conviction of Silver will only make lawmakers more wary of a deal. One state lawmaker briefed by the building unions in recent weeks said the two sides had been close to reaching a deal. The lawmaker said that discussions had centered on project labor agreements with different wages depending on where the work takes place. A number of state lawmakers declined requests for comment. The uncertainty of 421-a’s future has created a lot of “angst” in the
development community, Fisher said. “I think that there will be many people who are looking for an agreement to be in their stockings Christmas morning because they don’t like uncertainty,” he said. “But I think the ripple effect of the uncertainty will continue to be felt regardless of what the outcome is.”
Senior Correspondent Jon Lentz contributed to this report.
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city & state — December 7, 2015
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Craig F. Stewart Senior Director, Capital Programs, MTA COMMITTEE MEMBERS Honorable John H. Banks III Honorable Robert C. Bickford Honorable Fernando Ferrer Honorable Susan G. Metzger, Ph.D.
cit yandstateny.com
Linking communities. Connecting cultures.
George Washington Bridge Rehabilitation New York, New York www.parsons.com
CONSTRUCTION
A STUDY IN SUBSIDIES
DESPITE DE BLASIO’S VOW, ‘NOTORIOUS’ TAX BREAK PROCEEDS AS USUAL
By SARINA TRANGLE
city & state — December 7, 2015
26
As a candidate, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would eliminate a tax break with “notoriously weak payoffs” called the Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program. Despite reforms unveiled in 2008 that curtailed ICAP’s use in Manhattan and limited retail projects’ eligibility, de Blasio said in 2013 that the initiative was still struggling to successfully target industrial firms in the boroughs. He said ICAP remained too Manhattan-centric and benefited hotels, retail and other projects that did not need assistance to flourish. And he claimed it was on track to authorize $250 million in forgone tax revenue annually. Now two years into his term, de Blasio’s office says it is studying the abatement and will put forth suggested improvements next year. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has convened a task force to examine ways to evaluate economic development programs, including ICAP. And while these evaluations are underway, projects that do not hinge on obtaining the abatement are progressing through the program’s application process as usual. After all, ICAP – which promotes building and revamping commercial and industrial sites by agreeing not to tax some of the increase in property value generated by such work – is an as-of-right benefit. Such benefits are available to all applicants that meet specific criteria, unlike business incentives, which are administered at the discretion of a board. The initiative grew out of the Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program, which was created in the 1980s to spur construction when the city was less attractive to developers. The study for the mayor’s office, being conducted by the city Economic Development Corporation, is focusing on whether ICAP and other incentives are encouraging the behaviors they are meant to promote, are accessible
to the proper parties, and are aligned with the administration’s policy goals. The administration hopes to have recommendations to act upon next year, according to de Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell. The state government, however, has ultimate authority over ICAP. And without renewal in Albany, new ICAP applications will no longer be accepted in 2019, according to the city Economic Development Corporation. But as the study continues, de Blasio’s administration is not shying away from using ICAP. The Economic Development Corporation issued a request for proposals last month encouraging those seeking to transform a site near Union Square into a tech hub to consider ICAP. And at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Brooklyn Health Center in March, de Blasio saluted the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council’s plan to take advantage of ICAP to build the $100 million facility that will include the medical center, retail and commercial space. John Turchiano, a spokesman
for the union, said the health center’s construction was not contingent on receiving ICAP benefits, for which it has received a three-year conditional approval; the union hired Skanska USA, a construction giant, to manage the all-union project before even filing preliminary ICAP paperwork. (Skanska has since been soliciting three bids from minority- and womenowned businesses for each component of the project subcontracted out, as is required of large ICAP recipients. Compliance reports show Skanska requested bids from 56 MWBE firms and awarded subcontracts to four.) Meanwhile, ICAP has become a focus of the City Council’s task force on economic incentives. The group is developing an evaluation system to review various business incentives and is conducting a trial run of the evaluation on ICAP. “It is important to keep these programs working their best,” City Council Finance Committee Chairwoman and task force member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland said in a statement. “The task force is
developing a process for continuous review of the effectiveness of ICAP and other similar tax breaks, which will help us to make these programs more efficient going forward.” It is unclear whether the task force is on schedule to release a report by 2016, as was its initial goal. A spokeswoman said Mark-Viverito views industrial and commercial development as “critical” to the economy and described the task force as “a first step in strengthening the council’s ability to conduct its charter-mandated role of effective and meaningful oversight of these tax breaks.” Keeping the benefit from going to banks, retail and other businesses that do not rely on it may make sense, according to Jonathan Bowles, the executive director of the think tank Center for an Urban Future and a member of the task force. “They make their decision not on incentives, but on where the market is, and so a lot of times those kind of businesses that are getting ICAP were just getting extra benefits,” Bowles cit yandstateny.com
Thank You For Your Service Dan Ferrato USMC/Metallic Lather Local 46
Hard Hats. Strong Women. Building the Future.
Since 1978, NEW has prepared, trained and placed women in careers in the skilled construction, utility, and maintenance trades. NEW provides a pipeline of qualified workers to the industries that build, move, power, green, and maintain New York. Over 1,300 NEW graduates have been placed in New York City building and construction unions in the past 10 years alone. NEW helps women achieve economic independence and a secure future. NEW graduate Nani Noverita, with the Metallic Lathers and Reinforcing Ironworkers Local 46, is currently helping to build the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement. For her, a career in the skilled trades means the difference between poverty and financial security. “I am a Metal Lather with Local 46. Being a tradeswoman, to me, means money in the bank, being self-sufficient, and to never be homeless again. It means independence and empowerment! �
Nontraditional Employment for Women | www.new-nyc.org | Kathleen Culhane | President | kculhane@new-nyc.org
CONSTRUCTION
Manhattan properties, compared with 10 percent of ICIP recipients. Data published by the city does not clearly delineate what sorts of projects are getting ICAP benefits, nor does it list addresses. But it is no longer as economically viable to use the incentive for renovation work, according to real estate lawyer Robert Altman, who previously worked for the City Council. Altman said he advises about one-third of clients against seeking the benefit through renovation work, unlike under ICIP, when it consistently paid to do so. Altman said he would like to see benefits for manufacturers enhanced. And he disputed the idea that it was not worth shoring up retail – the area is traditionally viewed as “under-retailed,” he pointed out – or bolstering the hospitality industry, especially now that the euro’s decline could impact tourist traffic. “New York City, unlike a lot of other cities, has been constantly able to reinvent itself,” Altman said. “Why do you think that is? We encourage enough development to be able to be flexible, to reinvent ourselves, and we do that through these as-of-right economic development programs. … I’m not adverse to tweaking … but you eliminate it at your peril.” Seth Pinsky, who helped craft ICAP while leading the city Economic Development Corporation and now sits on the council’s task force, also described the abatement as
The Brooklyn Health Center’s construction was not contingent on receiving ICAP benefits. an important tool for promoting industrial jobs and wages for an administration concerned with alleviating rent burdens. As much as the administration belabors the ICAP formula, Pinsky said, it will never be possible to craft as-of-right benefits that account for every future market trend.
“You only have the advantage of understanding the situation in which you live, in the time you’re looking at it,” Pinsky said. “And the one inevitability is that those conditions are going to change, and so your perfectly calibrated program will probably be un-calibrated within a short period of time.”
ON THE PROPOSED FUND TO BE GENERATED BY AIR RIGHTS TRANSACTIONS IN A REZONED MIDTOWN EAST ... “The improvement fund is intended for upgrades of vital pedestrian and transportation infrastructure, placemaking initiatives, and arts programming. Pedestrian infrastructure could include plazas and pocket parks, as well as wayfinding designs that help people get around and create a sense of place. East Midtown tends to be disorienting for the uninitiated. Interactive wayfinding signage could highlight transit options and landmarks as well as plazas and other places of respite. Improving the experience of Midtown streets, transit and other public spaces would help attract new companies and retain existing firms. “In addition, the fund could support public art. East Midtown’s value as a business district depends on its accessibility as well as its image. Public art and performing arts programming would help make it a truly vibrant public space.” ON THE MIDTOWN EAST STEERING COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE AN INDEPENDENT BODY TO OVERSEE THE FUND ... “We need an independent body because currently, there is no clearly logical entity to take on the function of supervising the fund. There are many public agencies that might plausibly take on that role, but each has limitations, the greatest of which is that none of them has the authority over the others that’s needed for a fully coordinated placemaking effort. “In addition, the governing entity should give a voice to the many constituencies that contribute to the excitement and energy of East Midtown – local residents and business interests, as well as city government. The body’s membership should include representatives of the mayor and other elected officials, but also include highly qualified outside voices, including the community boards and representatives of the citywide civic community.”
DANIEL GARODNICK
City Councilman
cit yandstateny.com
29
city & state — December 7, 2015
NEW YORK HOTEL AND MOTEL TRADES COUNCIL
said. “ICAP and its predecessor, ICIP, have been as-of-right for so long that I think that some people do just expect it. In some parts of the city and in some industries, incentives continue to make sense to stimulate development and investment by business. But as the city changes and as the market expands well beyond Manhattan, it’s totally worth raising the question of whether the same incentives that existed 15 years ago need to exist today.” For all the concerns voiced by de Blasio as a mayoral contender, ICAP does not yet appear to be as costly or controversial as anticipated. The benefit came under scrutiny when the city Economic Development Corporation found in 2007 that more than 75 percent of ICIP recipients, which collectively received $2.8 billion in tax breaks, would have been viable without the subsidy. Soon there were reports of fast food restaurants, gas stations, established Manhattan department stores and even strip clubs receiving the abatement. In 2011, the watchdog group Good Jobs New York called it “the most expensive economic development subsidy” in the city. Last fiscal year, however, ICAP projects collectively amounted to $14.3 million in forgone tax revenue – far less than the $250 million figure de Blasio forecasted as a candidate. In comparison, the Chrysler Building received $21.9 million in tax benefits that year, and 1,285 property owners in a solar electric generating system abatement program collectively saved $3 million. ICAP’s value, however, is expected to grow as it adds applicants. And last fiscal year, 9 percent of the 302 ICAP abatements were for
CONSTRUCTION
BUILDING IN BUFFALO
BUFFALO
city & state — — December December 7, 7, 2015 2015
30
Since Gov. Andrew Cuomo set in motion his plan to make major investments in the Western New York economy with his Buffalo Billion initiative, announced during his 2012 State of the State address, various projects have started to take shape, while others remain in the planning stages. While the Cuomo administration has claimed victory with the Buffalo renaissance, pushing the state-subsidized collection of projects as a national model, it remains to be seen whether the plan to spark the economy by investing in key emerging markets will blossom into a long-term success story. Still, it’s hard to deny that the perception of the region is changing for the better as more of these projects gain a foothold. City & State has mapped some of the more significant developments in the works or recently completed throughout the city of Buffalo. - JS
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTER 683 NORTHLAND AVE. The development center was deliberately located in a once-vibrant manufacturing corridor in one of the city’s poorer neighborhoods, a move that state officials say will provide an opportunity for people in need of quality jobs. Slated to open in 2017, the $44 million center – funded with $29 million in Buffalo Billion money and $15 million from the New York Power Authority – will bring together a number of state agencies, education outfits and manufacturers to train a workforce set that is aging out in industries where Western New York is experiencing growth.
MEDICAL INNOVATION & COMMERCIALIZATION HUB AND INSTITUTE FOR GENOMICS BUFFALO NIAGARA MEDICAL CAMPUS An effort to capitalize on the University at Buffalo’s research work, these initiatives, each supported with $50 million in Buffalo Billion funds, are located in the heart of the growing medical campus just east of downtown. The state has signed anchor tenant Albany Molecular Research Institute, which will use the state-owned innovation hub for its work. The company is expected to invest $200 million into the Buffalo operation, and hire 250 employees, according to the state’s original estimates – though that has been slow to take shape, as only about 20 employees are currently working out of the Buffalo office. The nearby genomics institute involves a partnership with Manhattan’s New York Genome Center which will increase the computational infrastructure for both institutes and is expected to spur development of new companies on the medical campus, creating 500 jobs, according to state projections.
BUFFALO MANUFACTURING WORKS 847 MAIN ST. On the edge of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, this Buffalo Billionfunded manufacturing center provides a space for training and experimentation, where students and businesses can access state-of-the-art technology. This allows businesses to test production changes that could increase their efficiency or profitability without having to make the upfront investment in costly equipment like 3-D printers. The $53 million investment is expected to create or retain 3,500 jobs over the next decade, according to state officials. cit yandstateny.com
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION HUB KEY CENTER With IBM as an anchor tenant, the IT center takes over a large part of the recently vacated Key Center, where the state is spending $55 million to create a facility where Big Blue and other companies will partner with the SUNY Polytechnic Institute to train future industry workers and current staff while working to develop new software. State officials have said that the company expects to have 50 employees working out of the Buffalo offices by the end of the year, but the center should house 500 employees within the next five years.
PROJECTS OUTSIDE THE CITY WONDERFALLS NIAGARA FALLS Cuomo announced during the summer of 2014 that Uniland Development in partnership with Delaware North Companies had won the rights to redevelop 200,000 square feet of the former Rainbow Centre Mall building downtown and would receive an unspecified amount of funding from the state. The group plans to build a tower on top of the building that will house a hotel and redevelop the existing building into a water park, restaurants and retail space.
WESTERN NEW YORK SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PARK ALABAMA, N.Y. The state is investing $33 million to upgrade infrastructure at the shovel-ready site in an effort to attract nanotechnology companies to the 1,000-acre parcel.
cit yandstateny.com
CONSTRUCTION
BYRON BROWN
Buffalo Mayor
31 DOWNSTATE NEEDS: ON YONKERS’ AGING SCHOOLS ... “Yonkers has the oldest school buildings in the state, and growing enrollment is overcrowding our classrooms. It’s time to build new schools. In Yonkers, nearly one-third of our schools were built before 1920; half before 1940. Our schools are so outdated that we have identified $2 billion in facility needs, including $500 million just to bring our school buildings up to basic state standards. “We know that school buildings impact learning. Air quality, temperature, natural light and noise levels all affect student performance. In Yonkers, our students are not only being taught in overcrowded classrooms, but in overcrowded basements, converted auditoriums, cafeterias and mobile trailers, yet we don’t have the ability to build new schools. The reason is because Yonkers is fast approaching its constitutional tax limit, not to be confused with the tax cap. We are currently just 13 percent below our limit. Even if we wanted to build just one new school – and we need many more – we couldn’t afford the debt service on the construction. “The state has financed school reconstruction programs in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse up to 94 cents on the dollar, even as those school districts shrink while Yonkers’ grows rapidly. I plan to ask the Legislature to pass a 10-year, multiphase school reconstruction act for Yonkers. With nearly 27,000 students, it’s time for the state to recognize the reality of Yonkers’ critical infrastructure needs and make the investment necessary to help rebuild our schools.”
MIKE SPANO
Yonkers Mayor
city & state — — December December 7, 7, 2015 2015
RIVERBEND 1339 S. PARK AVE. Far and away the largest investment from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative, $750 million – $350 million in capital, $150 million in tax breaks and $250 million in unspecified state funding – has been committed to building one of the largest solar panel manufacturing facilities on earth. The plant, which is expected to cost more than $900 million in total and is more than 1 million square feet, will be owned by the state, but used by Elon Musk’s SolarCity. The company has pledged to invest $5 billion in the endeavor, which officials say will create nearly 1,400 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs. With construction well underway, the company hopes to start operations sometime in the second half of 2016.
ON WHAT BUFFALO IS DOING TO ENSURE THAT CONSTRUCTION KEEPS GOING AFTER THE BUFFALO BILLION-FUNDED PROJECTS EVENTUALLY COME TO AN END ... “The Buffalo Billion provided a significant additional shot in the arm for the city, but it’s not the be all and end all for development in the city. There was significant development in the city of Buffalo before the Buffalo Billion. We are working to continue development in the city of Buffalo. “The brilliance in the way Gov. Andrew Cuomo structured the program is it brought international attention to the city of Buffalo that certainly created additional momentum. There is momentum for specifically these Buffalo Billion projects, but there’s also momentum from developers who are renovating buildings, building things new that don’t involve Buffalo Billion resources at all. So that’s what we need to do. We need to keep churning the development in the city of Buffalo. The Buffalo Billion projects are going to end at some point, but we don’t want the development that’s taking place in the city of Buffalo to end, and so we’re doing a variety of different things – like the Cars Sharing Main Street project (reopening the street to two-way traffic) – to accelerate the pace of development in Buffalo.”
OPINION
OPINION
STINGY ARBITRATORS SHOULD TIGHTEN BELT FOR OFFICERS ELSEWHERE
32
city & state — December 7, 2015
New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch. Officers received a 1 percent raise last month. As a former assemblyman who once cast the only “nay” vote to extend mandatory arbitration to settle police wage disputes, I had conflicting emotions in hearing about the arbitration ruling granting New York City police officers a mere 1 percent annual salary increase. For once, the arbitration panel did not give the store away. But in erring on the side of fiscal responsibility, the arbitrators got it completely backwards. New York City officers are hardly overpaid. The belt tightening is needed mostly in other departments around the state, such as those on Long Island, where arbitrators had at one point given starting salaries that were higher than where New York City officers capped out. It is remarkably counterintuitive that police covering relatively safe suburbs could be earning over $200,000 annually while New York City cops, who face far more danger and confrontation, receive
unsatisfactory wages. These sort of illogical outcomes stem entirely from the well intentioned, but highly abused, mandatory arbitration system. The arbitration laws were instituted in 1974 as a supplement to the controversial Taylor Law, which was crafted in response to union strikes that crippled the city’s finances. The laws stated that unions would forgo the ability to strike and gave independent panels the power to quickly settle disputes to keep workers on the job. New York City police unions, however, were excluded from the law. The result was a game of salary leapfrog between Nassau and Suffolk county police departments. An arbitrator would grant huge raises to one county only to have the adjoining county ask for more the next round – using the other county’s award as a new market value that needed to be topped. Mandatory arbitration became an
unforeseen boon to the unions. County elected officials, who were supposed to be adversaries of the unions at the bargaining table, were unduly influenced by union endorsements and donations. Local electeds were more than happy to punt the salary decision off to the arbitrator without so much as a fight. When the arbitrator granted increases far above inflation, the unions got what they wanted, while the electeds got their continued flow of donations and would simply blame the arbitrator for the taxpayer hit. The salary and terms became so outlandish that Long Island contracts contain provisions granting salaries over $200,000 per year, with 100 paid days off, six weeks vacation, pensions exceeding $150,000 per year, and severance pay up to a quartermillion dollars for unused sick and vacation days. These numbers were inconceivable to New York City cops. In 1998, New York city cops were finally granted mandatory arbitration.
Unfortunately, just when they thought they would start to catch up to the relatively exorbitant salaries of Long Island cops, they got hit with one of the stingiest arbitrations for law enforcement ever seen in New York state. Here are four ways for arbitrators to get it right the next time: • Give underpaid New York City cops a decent bump, while holding the line on the Long Island salaries that are already in the stratosphere. • Remove the Long Island provision that allows officers to cash out unused sick days and adopt the New York City rule that gives unlimited sick, where justified, without any cash outs. • End the process of allowing employees to factor overtime into the salary upon which a pension will be based. • Reform rules that allow for tax-free salaries for workers on disability, thereby netting them more income than officers who are working. State legislators can do their part during the upcoming 2016 legislative session, when they will have the opportunity to pass bills presently in committee that would significantly change the mandatory arbitration process. The Legislature can simply allow the arbitration law to expire by refusing to renew it (as is required every two years). My lone vote against continuing arbitration almost 15 years ago was before there was a focus on the abuses of this system. Now that the public is more keenly aware of the $200,000 police officers on Long Island, perhaps more than just a single nay vote will be cast.
Steve Levy is president of Common Sense Strategies, a political consulting firm. He served as Suffolk county executive, as a state assemblyman, and host of “The Steve Levy Radio Show.”
cit yandstateny.com
A KATZ
By STEVE LEVY
OPINION
$250 FOR 12 MINUTES: THE SWEETEST GIG IN NEW YORK CITY By EDDIE BORGES
DATE
MEETING STARTED
of Citywide Administrative Services report that revealed, for the first time, significant racial disparities in city hiring under de Blasio, the senior staff answered with a resounding “no.” Two days later, the commission literally locked the door to keep out a reporter who returned with more questions. The following day, Nov. 5, the commission denied public access to their public meeting, which had been posted on their website. Commission member Arva Rice did not return a request for a comment left at her office at the New York Urban league, where she serves as president. Fellow commissioners Angelina Cabrera, Malini Cadambi Daniel at the Services Employees International Union, and Elaine Reiss at Brooklyn Law School, did not return requests for comment. An investigation of the Equal
MEETING FINISHED
TOTAL MEETING TIME
TOTAL PER DIEMS PAID
2014 April 3
9:48 a.m.
10:12 a.m.
24 mins.
$1,275
Aug. 14
9:43 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
17 mins.
$1,275
Sept. 18
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
60 mins.
$1,075
Oct. 30
10:16 a.m.
10:39 a.m.
23 mins.
$750
Dec. 18
9:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
30 mins.
$775
Feb. 5
9:37 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
23 mins.
$750
Feb. 19
9:50 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
70 mins.
Not provided
March 12
9:45 a.m.
10:40 a.m.
55 mins.
$750
May 18
9:45 a.m.
10:40 a.m.
55 mins.
$1,000
May 22
9:40 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
20 mins.
Not provided
June 26
9:40 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
20 mins.
$750
July 30
9:27 a.m.
9:52 a.m.
25 mins.
$750
Sept. 21
9:55 a.m.
10:07 a.m.
12 mins.
$1,000
2015
AVERAGE MEETING LENGTH
cit yandstateny.com
33 mins.
Employment Practices Commission clarifies why it does not want to rock the boat by investigating the troubling racial disparities in de Blasio’s hiring practices. Commissioner appointments at the Equal Employment Practices Commission are apparently the sweetest gigs in New York City. The bimonthly commission meetings are so short that they end before the ink on their rubber stamps can dry. The average length of Equal Employment Practices Commission meetings is 33 minutes, according to meeting logs that staff members were extremely reluctant to share. Furthermore, nearly three-quarters of their meetings were 30 minutes or less. Fifteen percent of the meetings were shorter than 20 minutes. The 12-minute meeting? It was on Sept. 21. It ran from 9:55 a.m. to 10:07 a.m. It actually takes more time to process the paperwork for the commissioners’ per diem than the amount of time they spend to conducting city business. City records show that commissioners collected a $250 per diem for each meeting. The chair collects a $275 per diem. With an average meeting time of 33 minutes, that makes the commissioners’ rate about $500 per hour while the chairman’s rate works out to about $550 per hour. This “money for nothing” arrangement is clearly why the staff refused to turn over the commission meeting minutes for more than two weeks, a direct violation of the City Charter, and the state’s Freedom of Information and public officers laws, said Robert Freeman, executive director of the Committee on Open Government. Freeman would know – he wrote the law 41 years ago. Unfortunately, while this kind of civic malfeasance is poor optics for a commission designed to hold city agencies accountable for their hiring actions, the law does not provide a minimum work or time requirement for commissioners to collect their per diem. Meanwhile, Equal Employment
Practices Commission Executive Director Charise Terry said they will not review the 36-page EEO-4 report the Department of Citywide Administrative Services prepared and submitted to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Sept. 25 because, “We do our own audits where we ask a lot of questions.” The biannual EEO-4 report is the principal tool by which the U.S. government monitors local government compliance with federal law. The report submitted by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services validates the concerns of the city’s Hispanic leaders about the pronounced pattern of racial disparities in city hiring since Bill de Blasio took office in January 2014. New York City’s population is one-third white, 29 percent Hispanic, 25 percent black, and 19 percent Asian, according to the most recent U.S. census. According to the EEO-4, during Bill de Blasio’s first full fiscal year as mayor, 42 percent of new hires were black, 28 percent white, 20 percent Hispanic, and 9 percent Asian. Despite the significant, and troubling, racial disparity that these numbers in the report reveal, the Equal Employment Practices Commission said it would not ask its sister agency for a copy of the report for review and action. “We don’t look at it,” said Deputy Director Juanita Garcia Quinoñes. That’s the last word on why the Equal Employment Practices Commission will not fulfill its mandate to investigate the racial disparities that lock out the city’s poorest population from jobs that would contribute toward lifting individuals, families and communities out of concentrated poverty in places like the South Bronx, the home of the poorest congressional district in the U.S. Eddie Borges is directing a documentary about Mexican and Puerto Rican childhood poverty in New York City.
33
city & state — December 7, 2015
Take a moment to think of something that you can do in only 12 minutes. Walk home from the subway? Make dinner? Give the kids a bath? It’s tough, but keep your mind outta the gutter – this is serious. Here is a 12-minute activity that never occurred to you: participating in a meeting where you are responsible for reviewing whether the 60 agencies that constitute New York City government are in compliance with federal equal employment laws. If you can manage two of those meetings a month, you are qualified to serve as a member of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Equal Employment Practices Commission. Half of the commission members are appointed by the mayor, and half by the City Council. Rest assured, there will be no heavy lifting. When asked if the commission will review the recent Department
BACK & FORTH
CHASING JUSTICE In
city & state — December 7, 2015
34
2000,
then-Westchester
think that it’s better that the truth come out now than someone who’s not telling the truth have it blow up in their faces in L.A.
County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro reopened an 18-year-old cold case on the mysterious disappearance of Kathleen Durst, wife of wealthy Manhattan real estate heir Robert Durst. Her office never brought the case to trial, but that case and two subsequent slayings became the subject of a 2015 HBO documentary “The Jinx.” Robert Durst has since been arrested and awaits trial on a federal weapons charge in Louisiana and a first-degree murder charge in California. Pirro, now host of “Justice with Judge Jeanine” on Fox News, recently released a book on her investigation, “He Killed Them All: Robert Durst and My Quest for Justice.” Pirro spoke with City & State’s Jeff Coltin about her idea of justice and developments in the case. The following is an edited transcript. City & State: Your new book about Robert Durst, who has been accused of killing his wife, Kathleen Durst, his friend Susan Berman, and a neighbor, is titled “He Killed Them All.” Do you believe he is guilty of murder in all three cases? Jeanine Pirro: Certainly that’s for a jury to decide! My mission from the start has been to find Kathleen Durst. It was a case in 1982 that was poorly investigated. It was a substandard investigation where everyone was willing to believe that a fourth-year medical student just weeks away from graduation fell off the face of the earth or ran off with another guy! And that was the end of it. I’ve been determined since the first time my assistant D.A.s came in to tell me about this case, and (asked) did I want to reopen it. I am determined to give her family some closure, to find out what happened to Kathleen. Her mother is over 100 years old now. And Kathleen deserves a burial and a decent farewell. C&S: Why publish the book now? JP: I think the book coming out now is really a reflection of the fact that he admitted he killed them all. There were things in “The Jinx” that certainly
C&S: You’ve been accused of – and praised for – trying Durst in the court of public opinion – JP: I never did that. C&S: Well, do you think public outcry plays a positive role in legal convictions? JP: I think the conversation is already in the public if you watch “The Jinx.”
A Q&A WITH
JEANINE PIRRO would have helped in 1999 when my office began the investigation. He was asked by (“The Jinx” director Andrew) Jarecki, “What were they looking for in the lake?” (Pirro’s team searched Truesdale Lake in South Salem for evidence.) His answer was not “my wife,” not “my wife’s body,” not “a body.” He said “body parts.” No one was even thinking body parts in 1999. Until Morris Black (Durst’s neighbor, whom he killed and chopped into pieces) came along in 2001, no one thought this guy was chopping up bodies. (Durst said Black was killed accidentally during a struggle and was acquitted of murder.) C&S: Durst is likely to go on trial next year in Los Angeles for the death of Susan Berman. Do you think with the new evidence
uncovered by “The Jinx” and with what could be revealed in that murder trial, could the Kathleen Durst disappearance case be reopened? JP: Well with that, you’d have to ask the present D.A. C&S: The Times reported that your new book could actually help Durst’s defense, writing “the statements in her book could be used to undermine (witnesses’) credibility with the jury.” One lawyer said “she’s giving the defense team more ammunition for cross-examination.” How would you respond to that? JP: That’s not true at all. I’ve spent 15 years investigating Robert Durst and I have remained silent. I’m commenting now on things that happened, and I
C&S: Do you think there are two types of justice? Legal, and a different kind of societal justice in cases like this? JP: The only justice that counts is the justice in a courtroom. And for too long, Robert Durst was able to avoid justice because of money and power, and his ability to get away with it. I think the most important thing is you had a guy with enormous wealth and enormous power. And today we talk about unequal justice, and we talk about it primarily in terms of color. That’s part of the discussion going on today. Well, there’s another problem in the system. And that is the unequal justice of the rich versus the poor. That power and money can influence justice. It did in Texas. I believe in 1982 there was a belief that women really didn’t count and whatever the criminal said was fine. Instead of speaking to the victim’s family or the defendant or the guy who is reporting his wife missing five days later, they just said, eh, she probably ran off with another guy. And that, I think, is a sad commentary. Robert Durst walked into the 20th Precinct in New York City five days after his wife goes missing – as he says – carrying a magazine with a picture of his father in it as one of the most powerful men in New York. Why? It’s like the second line in the police report!
For the full interview, visit cityandstateny.com.
cit yandstateny.com
Carlo Scissura, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Commissioner Loree Sutton, Mayor’s Office of Veteran’s Affairs
Ritchie Torres, Councilman
Suri Kasirer, Kasirer Consulting
Mike Klein, McKenna Long, Aldridge
Andrea Stewart Cousins
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