15 minute read
FIRST READ
Former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin’s lawyer said his client will be using the same defense that then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio used when he was accused of corruption.
BENJAMIN SETS UP HIS DEFENSE
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After pleading not guilty to federal charges of bribery and fraud, former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin has built up a legal team that may be familiar to longtime politicos. He hired the attorney who represented former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio when federal investigators looked into his fundraising practices. De Blasio never faced charges despite prosecutors convicting a donor of his for bribing the former mayor, so Benjamin is likely hoping for a similarly advantageous outcome in his trial. His lawyer has already begun to offer a defense that successfully kept de Blasio out of trouble, arguing that Benjamin received no personal benefit from the alleged bribery scheme – the money he got all came in the form of campaign contributions. Prosecutors said federal investigators had issued more than
COURSE CORRECTION
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said last week what most New Yorkers paying any attention to the crisis at Rikers Island have been thinking: Something has to change. The feds threatened that absent dramatic, timely reforms carried out by New York City and its Correction Department to tackle problems including violence and insufficient inmate care, they could take it a step further and install an independent receiver to make those changes themselves.
– U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, threatening to take control of Rikers Island, via Gothamist
“It’s not always about the far left.”
– state Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, defending his plan to create a new third-party line for Democratic candidates against criticisms that he is trying to create strife with progressives, via the Daily News 160 subpoenas for records that resulted in 160,000 pages of documents. Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s options to remove Benjamin from the ballot remain limited as the state Senate indicated it would not take up any legislative changes to that end and she has said she won’t ask him to move out of state.
COVID-19 ON THE RISE AGAIN
The number of COVID-19 cases in New York continues to tick up after the discovery of two new omicron subvariants. Hochul warned that the state may be on the verge of another spike, reiterating the ongoing requirement to wear masks on public transit despite the recent court ruling striking down the federal mandate. She also reminded New Yorkers of the masking rules still in place at state-regulated health care facilities, jails, prisons and homeless shelters. If cases continue to rise in New York City, it may cause a change in the city’s COVID-19 risk level. Under a system implemented under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the city’s risk level right now is green, or low risk. But it’s not too far from a risk level of yellow, indicating medium risk. Although it doesn’t automatically trigger new restrictions, the city Health Department has several recommendations for New York City Mayor Eric Adams to consider. Both he and Hochul have expressed
reluctance to bring back onerous mandates, but have remained open to the possibility that a new spike may require them to take additional measures.
A PLAN FOR CARBON NEUTRAL BUILDINGS
In anticipation of Earth Day, Hochul and Adams joined with former President Bill Clinton to lay out a plan of action on how to make New York City high-rises carbon neutral. Although cars may come to mind first when it comes to greenhouse gases, buildings actually account for about half of the state’s carbon emissions. Reducing that footprint will be crucial in hitting the ambitious climate goals created by the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The plan invests $300 million to retrofit buildings across New York to make them more environmentally friendly. So far, over 130 buildings have signed up to go carbon neutral with help from the state, including the Empire State Building, where Hochul, Adams and Clinton made the announcement. It came after Adams unveiled a new Staten Island rooftop garden for Earth Week, one created with help from a $14 million initiative to get more green space on top of city buildings.
Former President Bill Clinton, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a new blueprint last week for reducing emissions from buildings.
NYC receives first opioid settlement distribution
New York City will receive $11.5 million for opioid treatment and prevention services, marking the first payment to the city from the $1.5 billion in settlements the state reached with drug companies. The money was part of $256 million the city will receive from the settlements reached thus far, including $89.9 million this year.
“These funds will have an immediate impact on our communities and for individuals on the ground who are struggling with drug addiction,” state Attorney General Letitia James said while making the announcement alongside New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This is the result of … my office’s litigation against Big Pharma for the devastation and destruction that they’ve caused, not only in New York but all across this nation.”
All 62 counties in the state will receive funding from the settlement, which stems from a 2019 lawsuit filed by James’ office against the founders of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, along with manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids that have fueled the epidemic. The money is required to go toward prevention and addiction services, pursuant to a state law passed in June last year.
The money will be used for inpatient and outpatient treatment and counseling services and to distribute naloxone overdose reversal medication, sold under the brand name Narcan, to law enforcement officers, in addition to educational outreach about the dangers of opioids, fentanyl and prescription misuse.
“There’s no dollar amount that can make up for what we’ve already lost,” James said, noting that 2020 was the deadliest year on record for drug overdoses in the U.S. No amount of money can make up for the loss of loved ones, children, parents, for individuals that have had to pray over and hold funerals all throughout the state of New York. And we need to prevent drug companies from this deception in the future and to hold them accountable.”
In the first six months of 2021, more than 1,200 New York City residents died from drug overdoses, according to data released earlier this month by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In 2020, the Bronx and Staten Island had the highest rates of opioid deaths per 100,000 residents, according to health department data. “Every four hours, a person dies of an overdose in New York City,” city Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said. – Sara Dorn
THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY 4/25
The state Legislature is in session for the first three days of the week, and there are just five weeks left before state lawmakers are done for the year. MONDAY 4/25
The state Senate Elections Committee meets at 1 p.m. for a virtual hearing to consider several bills. INSIDE DOPE
One bill sponsored by state Sen. Zellnor Myrie would make electronic ballot images and cast vote records public within a week of an election. WEDNESDAY 4/27
The New York City Council Committee on Economic Development holds a 1 p.m. hearing on the economic impact of the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center.
By Ralph R. Ortega
PLACE YOUR WAGERS ON THESE LONG SHOT LOCATIONS FOR CASINOS IN NEW YORK CITY.
BRING BACK THE CENTRAL PARK CASINO
The casino started as a 19th century lady’s refreshment saloon. It later included men and became a popular nightspot in the Roaring ’20s. Later, Robert Moses, then parks commissioner, got a court order to demolish it. FLOATING CASINO
Here’s a way to stick it to Russian oligarchs: Repurpose their seized yachts as floating casinos. A $90 million 255-foot yacht was recently seized from a Russian oligarch. Perfect for poker on the East River. IT USED TO BE that for a bus ticket, New Yorkers got $25 cash and an all-you-can eat buffet to enjoy a day at the nearest casinos in Atlantic City. Traveling to New Jersey may not be needed anymore now that New York has its own full-fledged casinos upstate. Policymakers are ready to raise the stakes by authorizing three additional casino licenses in New York City, but it’s unclear where those sites will be located. Here are a few of City & State’s off-the-wall suggestions for where casinos would be a hit in New York City.
LARGEST CASINO IN THE WORLD
Gov. Kathy Hochul proved how the Javits Center could serve as both a convention center and a one-acre rooftop farm. Why not convert the inside into the world's largest casino? If the gamble doesn’t pay off, just scrap those plans before next year’s auto show.
SUPERTALL CASINO
Supertalls are all the rage for the Midtown megarich. Why not construct a pencil-thin building on Billionaires Row and put a different casino game on each floor? Talk about Monte Carlo on 57th Street.
TRUMP APARTMENT CASINO
If investigations by either AG Letitia James or Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg land Donald Trump in the slammer, the state could convert his Trump Tower apartment into a gambling establishment. No need to change the decor!
A Q&A with New York City District Council of Carpenters Political Action Director
KEVIN ELKINS
Unfortunately, 421-a failed ... and 485-w was basically a carbon copy.
Looking back on the state budget process, your union opposed the inclusion of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed extension of the 421-a tax incentive, known as 485-w. Why did the union take a stand? We opposed the 485-w proposal because we felt that with $1.8 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies going towards development that it was critical that the program works so that no tenant – or worker – is left behind. Unfortunately, 421-a failed in both those missions, and 485-w was basically a carbon copy that wouldn’t serve to advance any efforts to make housing more affordable and provide more protections for workers. These include sustainable wages that can support a family, pension and retirement benefits, health care and worker safety requirements.
Tax Day this year was used by advocates and public officials, including state Attorney General Letitia James, to highlight the ongoing problem of wage theft. Please discuss how prevalent wage theft is, particularly for the construction industry, and what’s being done about it on a policy level. It’s not just bad for the construction industry, it’s also bad for the taxpayer, because that’s money that’s being stolen from the government that can go towards funding everything from health care to more school seats. It’s a huge issue across the entire country, and when you have such widespread theft, it lowers wages for everybody, robs the taxpayer of money and allows people primarily from Black and Brown communities to be discriminated against in a way that’s just simply unacceptable in 2022. There’s legislation passed by state Sen. (Jessica) Ramos which increased the penalties for those who commit construction wage theft, which we’re excited about, and there’s definitely pending legislation circulating that would actually criminalize it as well, which we of course support. We have come a long way, but more needs to be done.
Please discuss in more detail how wage theft impacts the most vulnerable workers. This is often about the people who do not have the protection of a union, which has mechanisms in place to protect workers. Again, it’s primarily people from Black and Brown communities, and especially those who are undocumented, who are taken advantage of. They get paid well below the minimum wage. They aren’t given the means to advocate for themselves or even understand that they’re being discriminated against. And they’re retaliated against in cases where they do speak up, which is why it’s been so critical to have policy leaders join us out there passing legislation to give people the tools they need to fight back and get the wages that they deserve, the wages that they’re owed. It’s a worker issue, which is why we’re so invested in it. – Ralph R. Ortega
ENJOYNZ, BETTMANN, JERRY TRUDELL THE SKYS THE LIMIT, DAVID RAMOS, MICHAEL LEE/GETTY IMAGES; DASHINGJACK/WIKIPEDIA; NEW YORK CITY DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS An advocacy campaign including City & State First Read provides a targeted way to reach decision makers in New York government and politics. Campaigns Include:
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What Tom Suozzi believes is ‘reasonable’
The Democratic candidate for governor has embraced rightwing talking points on Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.
By Rebecca C. Lewis
REP. TOM SUOZZI, who is running against Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary for governor, called a controversial new Florida law aimed at discouraging discussions about sexuality and gender in classrooms “reasonable.” Dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by its opponents, Democrats and LGBTQ activists have rallied against the bill as a discriminatory attempt to prevent any LGBTQ topics from being discussed.
Suozzi was asked about the law while appearing as a guest on WABC’s “Bernie & Sid in the Morning” on April 14. “I want to ask you about this Florida law, the Parental Rights Act, which prohibits teachers from talking sex, genitals, stuff like that, with kids kindergarten to third grade,” Sid Rosenberg said to Suozzi. He referenced the bill’s formal name, the Parental Rights in Education Act, as well as right-wing talking points about the intent of the law being to protect children from age inappropriate sexual discussions in the classroom. Suozzi responded by echoing the same talking points.
Suozzi followed up his reply with an assurance that he is not anti-gay. “I’m very much in favor of equal rights, I’m very much in favor of treating gay people fairly and treating them like the human beings they are,” he added without directly addressing the controversy surrounding the Florida law. When Rosenberg began bemoaning policy “based on 3% or in some cases 1% of the population” – an apparent reference to LGBTQ-centric legislation – Suozzi quickly took the conversation in a different direction to criticize Hochul’s Buffalo Bills stadium deal.
As written, the law does not explicitly prohibit the discussion of genitals nor being gay. “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” reads the section of the law. Republicans have said the law is fairly innocuous and simply serves as a means to prevent “groomers” from indoctrinating kids. The term has become a common dog whistle among the right when discussing LGBTQ issues,
In contrast to Rep. Tom Suozzi’s comments, New York City Mayor Eric Adams held an event, right, inviting LGBTQ Floridians to move to the city.
– state Sen. Jabari Brisport
falsely connecting them with pedophilia. On the left, most view the legislation as a thinly veiled attempt to censor any LGBTQ discussions in classrooms.
The comments from Suozzi came not long after other prominent Democratic leaders in New York took strong public stances against the Florida law. New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled an ad campaign in support of gay New Yorkers and in opposition to the statute. Billboards reading “Loud. Proud. Still Allowed,” and “People say a lot of ridiculous things in New York. ‘Don’t Say Gay’ isn’t one of them,” will go up around the state.
Hochul has also opposed the Florida law. “The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill that far-right Republicans in Florida are pusing through is hateful, discriminatory, and dangerous,” the governor said in a February tweet. When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation in March, Hochul called it a “cruel and shameful political stunt” in another tweet. Her campaign referred to these public statements when asked for comment. A spokesperson for the gubernatorial campaign of New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams – who himself had been criticized for his previous comments on same-sex marriage – wrote in a statement: “It’s dangerous for any leader not to see Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law for what it is: a direct, hateful attack on the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a statement to City & State, Suozzi did not walk back what he said on the radio. “Let me be clear, as I said on the radio, I fully support LGBTQ and equal rights,” Suozzi said. “I absolutely do not support the Florida governor in most policies he supports. But I think it is reasonable that kids in kindergarten and first grade are not taught about their sexual orientation in school. … Maybe this isn’t a politically correct position but it certainly seems like common sense to me.” The statement once again did not address the concern by many other members of his party that the law will lead to discrimination against LGBTQ students in school. Suozzi added: “It’s the far left and the crazy right who are making this a divisive issue.”
Suozzi’s stance on the “Don’t Say Gay” law shocked gay Democratic lawmakers in New York. “I think his comments are bone chilling,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman, who has passed a number of prominent LGBTQ rights bills, told City & State. “I think every LGBTQ New Yorker should be put on notice that Tom Suozzi is no friend to our community.”
State Sen. Jabari Brisport expressed similar outrage. “One in three trans youth have considered suicide and a queer nightclub in Brooklyn was recently set on fire,” Brisport said in a text message. “Tom Suozzi should be finding ways to support the LGBTQ+ community, not validating Ron DeSantis’ bigoted moves.”■
