10 minute read
FIRST READ
Republican Bruce Blakeman, center, had an unexpectedly strong showing in the race for Nassau County executive. He is poised to unseat Democrat Laura Curran.
DEMOCRATS TAKE A DRUBBING ON ELECTION NIGHT...
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A “red wave” washed over the country on Election Day, and New York did not escape dry. Republicans won races across Long Island, picking up the district attorney offices in both Nassau and Suffolk counties and likely the Nassau County executive position as well. In Western New York, Republicans also picked up the Erie County sheriff seat, something that has not happened in many years despite a voter enrollment advantage for Republicans in the county. Even in tried-andtrue blue New York City, Republicans made some gains, picking up at least two new City Council seats and holding onto the three they already had. And on Staten Island, a Trump-loving disgraced former Congress
LET’S EAT
As protesting New York City taxi medallion owners hit their second week of a hunger strike for debt relief, it seemed something eventually had to give. On Day 15, it was the city that ended up giving, announcing a deal to pursue the kind of cityguaranteed debt relief plan that drivers had wanted. With the city finally conceding, drivers celebrated the chance to dig in to their first meal in a fortnight.
– New York City Mayorelect Eric Adams, talking about the City That Never Sleeps, on NY1
– Buffalo Democratic mayoral nominee India Walton, after her apparent loss to Mayor Byron Brown, via Politico member won the race for borough president. Voters also resoundingly rejected three ballot proposals championed by Democrats after the Conservative Party spent $3 million on a campaign to oppose them. One would have tweaked the redistricting process, while the other two would have allowed same-day voter registration and no-excuse absentee ballots. Many of the losses, including the ballot proposals, came as a surprise to many political observers, as well as the sheer size of many Republicans’ margins of victory.
… BUT NOT ALL DEMOCRATS WERE DEFEATED
On the flip side of the coin, New York City Democrats had reason to celebrate with the election of Eric Adams to be the next mayor, as well as progressive leader Brad Lander as the next comptroller. Countless City Council candidates also officially became council members-elect with their general election victories following crowded primaries, with a record 31 women (admittedly some who are Republicans) set to take office next year. At the borough levels, Democrats also secured expected victories everywhere but Staten Island, with Alvin Bragg voted in as Manhattan’s first Black district attorney and Vanessa Gibson as the Bronx’s first female
borough president. Over in Buffalo, the mayoral race was more controversial even if a Democrat technically won in the end. After waging a write-in campaign, incumbent Mayor Byron Brown bested insurgent India Walton, who ran on the Democratic Party line after winning the June primary. Although the writein votes still need to be officially tallied for Brown, he easily won, declaring victory on election night. Walton conceded the next day.
DEAL REACHED ON MUNICIPAL WORKER VAX MANDATE
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reached a deal with union leaders on the mandate that all municipal workers receive a vaccine in order to give workers more time to seek religious or medical exemptions. As part of the deal, those who have applied for an exemption will still be allowed to work and get paid while awaiting approval of their application. However, if it gets denied, they’ll be put on leave even if they appeal the decision. Although the vast majority of city workers have gotten the shot, enough have been placed on leave that some city services have been affected. Most notably perhaps has been the buildup of garbage on the street thanks to shortages in sanitation workers over the vaccine mandate.
De Blasio reached an agreement with union heads over his vaccine mandate, allowing workers more time to seek exemptions.
Rezoning drama in Manhattan
Around the SoHo and NoHo neighborhoods in Manhattan, urgent posters are taped onto some building windows. They read in all caps “SAVE CHINATOWN SOHO NOHO.” They go on: “Protest the gentrification of Chinatown.”
The posters are a rallying cry against the city’s proposed SoHo/NoHo Neighborhood Plan rezoning. But for a plan billed by the city as a rezoning of the well-off neighborhoods known for cobblestone streets and flagship stores of famous fashion brands, the poster brings up one question: What’s Chinatown got to do with this?
With New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in the final months of his tenure, few policy goals remain on his plate. Two of those are the Gowanus and the SoHo and NoHo rezonings to increase the density of residents living in those wealthier areas. Community Board 2 adopted a resolution against the SoHo/ NoHo rezoning by a 37 to 1 vote, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, whose recommendation is part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, said the rezoning still needs work, but sidestepped giving a definitive thumbs-up or thumbs-down. However, the City Planning Commission approved the rezoning unanimously last month, so it’ll now head to the City Council, the final step in the city’s zoning process.
Those who are saying that Chinatown will be negatively impacted argue that the rezoning will lead to more displacement of residents while also claiming that the proposed rezoning area does, indeed, include a portion of the historic neighborhood, pointing to areas along Canal Street and east of Lafayette Street. But the city’s planning department has held steadfast that Chinatown is not part of the rezoning area. Some housing advocates go so far as to say that opponents are trying to muddy the waters by throwing a lower-income neighborhood into the conversation.
Casey Berkovitz, a board member at pro-housing advocacy group Open New York, told City & State that the SoHo and NoHo rezoning is necessary, with neighborhoods like those not contributing enough to the city’s tight housing stock.
“Anything we can be doing to create affordable housing, to create new housing in extremely well-served, wealthy, high-amenity areas, and to racially and socioeconomically integrate what are extremely white wealthy neighborhoods … is a step in the right direction,” Berkovitz said. – Gabriel Poblete
THE WEEK AHEAD
WEDNESDAY 11/10
City & State hosts the virtual Power of Diversity: Women 100 event at 5 p.m., featuring Reps. Yvette Clarke and Carolyn Maloney, among others. WEDNESDAY 11/10
State lawmakers are chatting up the future of sales of zeroemission vehicles at a 10 a.m. hearing at the Legislative Office Building in Albany. MONDAY 11/15
Local election boards will begin counting absentee ballots, which will determine the final winners in some outstanding races. INSIDE DOPE
Long Island Republicans won big on Election Day, but absentee ballots might help Nassau County Executive Laura Curran narrowly win a second term.
POLITICIANS ARE JUST LIKE US:
A review of the cutest costumes. HALLOWEEN EDITION
ONE COULD ARGUE that politicians are always wearing a mask of sorts, but we appreciate Halloween as an opportunity for our local elected officials to inhabit a persona more entertaining than “I support the New York Health Act, but I secretly don’t.” From dressing up as their favorite musical icons to getting creative with construction paper, here are a few of the best outfits.
By Caitlin Dorman
New York City Council Member and future Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson embodies the spirit of Angela Davis. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie as Prince and state Sen. Jamaal Bailey as Drake tease a musical showdown. Rep. Carolyn Maloney dresses as a magician. For her next trick: paid family leave.
New York City Council Member Peter Koo and his staff celebrate his last Halloween in office as the characters from Pixar’s “Up.” New York City Council Member Brad Lander imagines his near future as a New York City’s “Controller.”
A Q&A with New York City Council Member-elect
LINDA LEE
You’re expected to take office in January to represent New York City Council District 23 in eastern Queens. What was your path to running for office? I’m still at my nonprofit organization. I am the president and CEO of KCS, Korean Community Services. I was working at a statewide health foundation before that, went to grad school (and got a) master’s in social work. So I always had an interest in public service (and the) nonprofit world. But I never even imagined politics or any elected official role. It was doing the work on the ground.
To be honest, it was folks like Congresswoman Grace Meng and other electeds that were like hey, you should run for something. I was like (laughs) y’all are crazy. There’s no way. But as I thought about it more and more, I was like, maybe this is something I’d consider down the line. But it was really the pandemic that was the final deciding factor for me. This city needs to get back on track, and if anything, what COVID did was further uncover the disparities that were already there. I was like, I’ve got to at least try. A lot of the issues that I see on the backend being a service provider in New York City, there’s so many things we could be doing better and more efficiently. That was the driving factor. Are you going to be one of the first Korean American City Council members? There’s never ever been a Korean council member before. And in my district, I’m the first woman and person of color, because there’s always been a white man who has won the seat. So I think that’s why I feel more pressure. I feel proud, but also, a duty to represent well.
You ran against Jaslin Kaur in the primary, one of the candidates who was endorsed by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. Did you run against her politics in what is essentially a suburban district? Thankfully, for me personally, what I believe and what I want to see happen in the district is very much in line with where the district is. Public safety was a big issue. And I think I’m on the same page with folks in our district, which is not for defunding (the police). Because when you say that, it’s a trigger word.
The City Council speaker race is coming up. Do you have any preferred candidates? What I can speak to is the people that came out to help me personally were Justin (Brannan), Keith (Powers) and Carlina (Rivera), which are the three names that have been brought up since early on. Although I have to say, Justin is the only one that formally endorsed, whereas Keith and Carlina were very supportive and helpful, but Justin is the one that came out and endorsed and actually did a lot of the door-knocking and everything.
What council committees are you looking at for 2022? I would love, if I could, to chair the Aging Committee. It’s sad to me that (the) Department for the Aging has the lowest budget out of all social services. And not just by a little bit, it’s a lot. So Aging is the one I would definitely want to chair. I would love to join Mental Health, Education as well as Parks.– Jeff Coltin
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