City & State New York 121018

PULLING WILL THE UPSTATEDOWNSTATE DIVIDE DISRUPT THE DEMS’ KUMBAYA MOMENT?

TOG ET HER? SINGLE-PAYER. MARIJUANA. CHILD VICTIMS ACT. IS IT TIME FOR THE DEMOCRATIC AGENDA?

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

December 10, 2018

DECEMBER 13, 2018 M U S E U M O F J E W I S H H E R I TA G E City & State presents a full-day conference to discuss the ethical challenges facing New York’s public institutions, and explore how public officials, corporations, attorneys, lobbyists, nonprofits and the public can work to create effective policies to address the issue of government ethics and accountability.

PANEL TOPICS: PRIVACY AND CYBERSECURITY SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT AND EMPLOYER ACCOUNTABILITY CONTRACTING PUBLIC TRUST: NEED FOR PROCUREMENT REFORM REGAINING THE PUBLIC TRUST: ADDRESSING THE ETHICS CRISIS IN GOVERNMENT

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

RITA PASARELL

Co-Founder, The Sexual Harassment Working Group

TIMOTHY HOWARD

Co-Chief, Complex Frauds and Cyber Crime Unit, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of NY

State Senator

TODD KAMINSKY

Assemblywoman

ARAVELLA SIMOTAS

Chair, Ethics and Guidance Committee

RSVP at CityAndStateNY.com/Events For more information on programming and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Lissa Blake at lblake@cityandstateny.com

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

NYC Councilwoman

HELEN ROSENTHAL Chairwoman, Committee on Women

December 10, 2018

City & State New York

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EDITOR’S NOTE

JON LENTZ Editor-in-chief

LAST WEEK’S BINDING RECOMMENDATION to hike state lawmakers’ pay is a win-win for Albany. State senators and Assembly members get a $50,000 raise, with salaries eventually hitting $130,000. Even better, they didn’t have to vote on it!

Gov. Andrew Cuomo could ultimately earn $250,000, assuming lawmakers agree with the nonbinding part of the report. The state attorney general, comptroller and lieutenant governor are poised to make $220,000 – the new max for agency heads too. Meanwhile, good-government groups and editorial boards get to tout new limits on outside income – capped at 15 percent of a lawmaker’s public salary – and an end to stipends for committee chairs.

Sure, some legislators may have to quit their day jobs or cut their work weeks – but most of them don’t. Even Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a critic of the pay commission, gets to keep his leadership lulu.

For others, the developments are more disconcerting. We elect lawmakers to pass legislation – not to appoint others to legislate for them, as they did with this commission. Even worse, it appears the commission then overstepped its already dubious authority by banning lulus and outside income. But as is often the case in Albany, it’s the ends that justify the means.

CONTENTS DE BLASIO, THE MANAGER … 6

NYC’s mayor has problems handing out pink slips.

DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY … 8 Will the upstate and downstate Democrats play nice?

GOP MINORITY … 14 CELESTE SLOMAN; NAGEL PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK

Is there anything Republicans can do to block progressives?

SETTING THE AGENDA, PART I …

17 From education to rent to health care, Albany’s biggest priorities for 2019 WINNERS & LOSERS … 38 Who was up and who was down last week

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CityAndStateNY.com

The

December 10, 2018

Latest ESPOSITO’S EXIT New York City Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito recently lost his job amid much confusion. A deputy mayor asked him to resign on Nov. 30. But Esposito refused, and Mayor Bill de Blasio was out of town. De Blasio finally issued a statement days later that Esposito would depart, but stay on until his replacement is found. De Blasio had been planning to replace Esposito for weeks, and his firing had nothing to do with the city’s botched response to a snowstorm, as was originally thought.

STATE LAWMAKERS GET A RAISE

The

As part of an NYPD corruption trial, previously undisclosed emails revealed a much closer relationship between de Blasio and donor Jona Rechnitz, who admitted to bribing the mayor, than de Blasio had described. “Love you brother,” the mayor wrote in one email to Rechnitz. The emails should have been released as part of a Freedom of Information Law request last year. A de Blasio spokesman said the administration did not hide the emails, but it simply did not have them.

Back & Forth Your book, “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age,” is about a new Gilded Age that mirrors the era when monopolies were legal. How are 19th and 20th century monopolies like Standard Oil similar to the big four tech giants – Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple?

Obviously they sell different things. But the way they’ve grown has been similar. Standard Oil grew by acquiring its rivals, and I think that’s how Facebook has grown in many instances, and Google as well. The tech world is kind of divided into fiefdoms, and there’s one company in each space.

That’s unusual for a competitive economy.

A Q&A with author

Tim Wu

The

You write that we need to enforce antitrust laws like the Sherman Antitrust Act to keep the economy competitive. Who might lead the way in an antitrust movement?

I think New York, in particular, can have a reinvigoration of state antitrust, as opposed to federal. I think you might see New York challenge the T-Mobile-Sprint merger that’s going on right now, that for some reason the feds are silent about.

You coined the term net neutrality and now those rules that protect a free and open internet have been repealed by the FCC. Do you think it’s likely that Congress will force a vote on the Congressional Review Act, which could reverse the repeal?

Yes, I think it is. And I think it would be terrific.

One thing you have to know about net neutrality, it’s popular on the left and the right. It’s not like this idiosyncratic, left-wing thing. I think if anyone gets any popular attention behind it, then it will pass.

Kicker

“Would you mark up the price on a lemon times five if the lemon can barely start?”

— New York City Councilman DONOVAN RICHARDS, comparing a subway fare hike to paying extra for a defective car, via the New York Post Get the kicker every morning in CITY & STATE’S FIRST READ email. Sign up at cityandstateny.com.

MIKE GROLL; ED REED/MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY OFFICE; U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE; MIRANDA SITA; WILLIAM ALATRISTE/NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

“LOVE YOU BROTHER”

After 20 years without a pay hike, state lawmakers in New York are finally getting a raise. A compensation commission, made up of four current and former New York City and state comptrollers, recommended that legislators receive a raise to $130,000 phased in over a few years, up from nearly $80,000, which could make New York lawmakers the highest paid in the country. The money will be tied to reforms limiting outside income for lawmakers to 15 percent of their salary and eliminating stipends paid to committee chairs.

THE CITY HALL MOVIE December 10, 2018

City & State New York

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BY CITY & STATE

IT HAS BEEN SAID that politics is show business for ugly people. But when films get made about politics, glamorous film stars often get cast to play real-life politicians – from Julianne Moore playing Sarah Palin to Hugh Jackman playing Gary Hart to Christian Bale playing Dick Cheney (we won’t even get into who’s playing Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Showtime miniseries – since we think our pick is far better). So, with apologies to the 1996 drama “City Hall,” we decided to assemble a dream cast to play leading figures inside the real-life City Hall.

MAYOR

BILL de BLASIO

BRAD GARRETT

FIRST LADY CHIRLANE McCRAY

JADA PINKETT SMITH

PUBLIC ADVOCATE

LETITIA JAMES

LEV RADIN, JOE SEER, A KATZ, KATHY HUTCHINS, DEBBY WONG, JAGUAR PS/SHUTTERSTOCK; CITY & STATE

QUEEN LATIFAH

COUNCIL SPEAKER COREY JOHNSON

JAMES CORDEN

BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT RUBEN DIAZ JR.

COMMON

FORMER COUNCIL SPEAKER CHRISTINE QUINN

ROSIE O’DONNELL

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CityAndStateNY.com

December 10, 2018

De Blasio’s (mis)firings Letting people go is part of a manager’s job. But NYC’s mayor has problems handing out pink slips.

By Rebecca C. Lewis

W

HILE THE NEW YORKER in the White House is famous for decisively shouting “You’re fired!,” the New Yorker in Gracie Mansion has repeatedly had issues with letting people go.

Most recently, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration botched the firing of Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito. Late last month, following the city’s failure to properly respond to a November snowstorm, which left city streets completely gridlocked, one of de Blasio’s deputy mayors, Laura Anglin, asked Esposito to resign.

However, Esposito declined and de Blasio was not around to bring the hammer down, leaving Esposito and the office in a state of limbo until de Blasio finally offered his decision days later. Esposito will stay in his role until a replacement is found.

At least, that is how reporters originally described the series of events. Reporting from The New York Times further complicated matters: The newspaper said de Blasio had a plan for weeks to replace Esposito that had nothing to do with the snowstorm. Anglin prematurely apprised Esposito of that plan. This led to the ensuing confusion, with Esposito reacting poorly and de Blasio not available to immediately remedy the situation.

This is hardly the first time the mayor has

December 10, 2018

ED REED/MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY OFFICE; WILLIAM ALATRISTE/NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL; KRISTINAPIX, SVETLANA FOOTE, HONG VO, MONTICELLO/SHUTTERSTOCK

demonstrated an inefficient or haphazard managerial quality, especially when it comes to handing out pink slips. Baruch College political science professor Doug Muzzio said it’s attributable to de Blasio’s overall decision-making style, which he said tends to be personal. “There seems to be very tight decision-making, so he doesn’t get outside advice, or advice that he respects, and acts on his own gut,” Muzzio said. “And oftentimes, the gut isn’t good enough.”

Although President Donald Trump seems to enjoy firing people, Muzzio drew a comparison between the president, who is also known for running a chaotic administration, and de Blasio. “Both, you know, value loyalty,” Muzzio said. “Both seem to not have either the right advisers or (don’t) listen to them.”

Here are de Blasio’s most bungled firings.

JOSEPH PONTE

Despite significant bad press and a tenure plagued by scandal, de Blasio stood by his former Department of Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte. The mayor appointed Ponte in 2014 in order to turn around the violence-plagued Rikers Island. But Ponte stirred up controversy almost immediately by promoting William Clemons, a scandal-ridden senior correction officer who had years earlier falsified violence data. Clemons resigned just six months after his promotion.

Later in Ponte’s stint as DOC commissioner, the city Department of Investigation released multiple reports detailing mismanagement and misuse of city property. One report found that Ponte regularly used his city vehicle to take personal trips out of state, and that he spent a total of 90 days outside of the city while problems at Rikers intensified.

Another accused the DOC’s head of internal affairs, Gregory Kuczinski, of spying on the DOI, resulting in Kuczinski’s firing.

Through all of this, de Blasio defended Ponte, assuring the public of his confidence in the DOC commissioner even as lawmakers called for Ponte to step down.

Shortly after the second DOI report in May 2017, however, Ponte resigned.

City & State New York

SHOLA OLATOYE

Much like Ponte, former New York City Housing Authority Chairwoman and CEO Shola Olatoye’s tenure with her agency was plagued with scandals, but de Blasio stood by her nonetheless. Under her leadership, from 2014 to 2018, NYCHA failed to perform federally mandated lead paint tests at city-owned apartments, and falsified the documentation saying that the agency had performed the tests, among other widespread management failures that left hundreds of thousands of residents without heat. Later, Olatoye lied under oath to the New York City Council, telling them that inspectors who had performed their duties were certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, when in fact they had not been. The same day the Department of Investigation revealed Olatoye’s lie, de Blasio not only defended his appointee, but praised the work she had done to improve NYCHA. Despite mounting calls for Olatoye to resign, de Blasio took no action. Instead, a series of other high-ranking NYCHA officials stepped down in the wake of the lead paint scandal, including her No. 2, Michael Kelly. But still, Olatoye remained in her post with the mayor’s blessing. Olatoye did resign eventually, months after news of the lead scandal broke, though she denied that had anything to with her decision. On the day Olatoye announced she would step down, de Blasio still came to her defense, continuing his claim that ousted staffers were to blame for the agency’s scandal.

MARK PETERS

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In the case of former Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters, de Blasio actually took definitive action when he decided to fire him in a way that state Attorney General-elect Letitia James found to be Trump-like. James, the New York City public advocate, said Peters’ firing would be like if Trump were to fire special counsel Robert Mueller. De Blasio strongly rejected that comparison, citing a whistleblower report that concluded Peters had abused his powers and gone outside the boundaries of his office.

However, he and Peters had been feuding for months, indicating that personal feelings may have played a role in this decision as well. Although Peters was de Blasio’s 2013 campaign treasurer, he aggressively investigated the mayor’s administration, resulting in a series of embarrassing and damning reports, including Ponte’s misuse of city cars and NYCHA’s lead paint inspection failures. Shortly before his firing, Peters had also planned to investigate whether City Hall had interfered with a long-stalled Department of Education inquiry into yeshivas. Although most agreed that Peters had overstepped his authority, many decried de Blasio’s decision to fire him in November, after close to five years, a highly unusual step for a mayor. After all, the DOI commissioner may be appointed by the mayor, but acts independently of the administration he or she is meant to oversee.

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CityAndStateNY.com

December 10, 2018

The new state Senate majority won’t matter if urban and suburban lawmakers don’t play nice.

The

Democ

December 10, 2018

ocratic

Divide

AUTHENTIC TRAVEL/SHUTTERSTOCK

By Zach Williams

T

HE 2018 ELECTION was an assertion of New York City’s political power in state government as much as progressive politics in general. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Queens native, won a third term on the strength of his downstate support, and the Democratic majorities in both houses of the state Legislature are largely made up of city lawmakers. Upstate senators have held significant sway in the Republican-dominated state Senate – but not next year.

This change has assigned a new task to the incoming state Senate Democratic majority, which will hold as many as 40 out of the 63 seats and has an ambitious legislative agenda: keeping the suburbs happy. Though they are only a fraction of their majority, suburban lawmakers make up the difference between Democrats eking out narrow legislative wins or passing bills with ease. Roughly twothirds of the Democratic majority will hail from New York City,

and city Democrats also make up the bulk of the party’s representation in the Assembly. Add to this the fact that Cuomo won re-election despite losing almost every upstate county and it’s not hard to see how rural and suburban voters might worry that they would have less influence under Democratic rule.

This fear of downstate dominance was a common talking point for Republicans leading up to the election. The GOP has continued to promote this idea in defeat as GOP lawmakers scramble for relevance. State Senate Republican Leader John Flanagan warned Democrats won’t renew a 2 percent cap on property tax increases.

Republican state Sen. Catharine Young, who lost her recent challenge to Flanagan’s leadership in a 14-9 vote, said funding for education and transportation will dwindle under Democrats.

These worries are not only partisan talking points. Western New

CityAndStateNY.com

December 10, 2018

York also has less sway in the state Legislature now that its four GOP senators are in the minority and state Sen. Timothy Kennedy of Buffalo is the lone Democrat representing the area. Worries that upstate will lose out under Democratic control has even prompted Cuomo to assert that he is the “voice” for upstate New York in Albany. The thinking goes that if Democrats miscalculate, then they could endanger their Senate majority in the next round of elections – rather than get the chance to relegate the GOP to a permanent minority party through redistricting, once and for all.

“People, for some reason, seem to forget that Andrea Stewart-Cousins has been a suburban legislator for going on three decades now.”

have to do so despite likely contentious battles over funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and ed– m a r k gu m a, ucation, taxes and single-payer health Democratic political consultant care. A misstep could cause a fault line to crack wide The key person in keeping the state Sen- open between New York City and suburate Democrats united is incoming Senate ban Democrats, endangering the party’s Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. long-term prospects of holding the majority.

“There’s no question that some of the Democrats are eager to do big things with their majority, and her mix of patience and fiscal measures are trickier for a whole pragmatism will be needed to push through host of reasons,” said Mark Guma, a Demtheir legislative agenda. She has said in in- ocratic political consultant who helped terviews since the election that she will start knock out several state senators who were the upcoming session with easy wins like members of the now-defunct Independent passing the Reproductive Health Act and Democratic Conference. “But people, for other bills with little fiscal impact that had some reason, seem to forget that Andrea been blocked by Republicans. What comes Stewart-Cousins has been a suburban legnext will likely be determined when the islator for going on three decades now. She conference meets for the first time at a meet- understand the suburbs. She’s lived them. ing scheduled for Dec. 11 in the Albany area. She’s governed them.”

Democrats could take up bills in early 2019 that would give in-state tuition and drivOR NOW, SUBURBAN Demoer’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, crats are optimistic that there will limit outside income for legislators, tighten be a strong counterbalance to city campaign finance laws, expand gun control, lawmakers next year. Interviews eliminate the use of student test scores in with senators, Democratic insiders teacher evaluations, pass sexual harassment and activists show that there is abundant protections and figure out what universal optimism following the elections. “I think rent control means legislatively – but they we can eliminate the us versus them, up-

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state versus downstate, or upstate versus Long Island,” said state Sen. Neil Breslin, a veteran Democratic lawmaker who represents the Albany area.

“We’re all on one team.”

Stewart-Cousins has suggested that she has an open mind about what should be considThe last time ered by the state Democrats held Senate next year. the state Senate, In a recent apthe party was torn apart by pearance on “The infighting. Could it Brian Lehrer happen again?

Show,” she said that legislative action would be relatively quick and straightforward on issues like codifying Roe v. Wade into state law, increasing the waiting period for gun purchases from three to 10 days, reforming bail, passing the Child Victims Act and the state DREAM Act, which would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public universities statewide.

But she hedged on saying definitively that these issues will come up first next year, with Democrats yet to meet as a full conference.

“We collectively have not had a conversation on most of these things and so I will see what is on the table, examine everything carefully,” she said during the radio interview. “Obviously my members will be very, very involved in it.”

Activists are not losing any time in trying to sway lawmakers before they gather, and there is increasing competition over what they will prioritize first. In recent weeks, tenant advocates have marched in the snow to urge legislators to address rent control early on. Others say campaign finance reforms need to happen first in order to limit the influence of landlords and the real estate industry. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has signaled that it’s willing to work with legislators on the Child Victims Act, a bill it had long opposed because it could reopen child sexual abuse claims against the church by temporarily dropping the statute of limitations.

Still others think the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court means that the Reproductive Health Act should be the first piece of legislation taken up by the new Senate majority. “We have not a moment to waste,” said Christina Chang, chief external affairs officer at Planned Parenthood of New York City. LGBTQ advocates also say that Trump administration policies necessitate quick passage of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA.

NAGEL PHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK

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December 10, 2018

City & State New York

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THE PROGRESSIVE BILLS OF 2019 WITH DEMOCRATS IN firm control of both houses of the state Legislature, a number of bills are coming back from the dead.

State Senate Republicans have blocked certain legislation in past years despite support from lawmakers. These include the state DREAM Act, the Child Victims Act and the Reproductive Health Act, among other bills. Early signs suggest that the Democrats plan to pass some of these bills early on in order to make good on campaign promises. Other issues, however, are more contested and could take months of negotiations before a bill is ready for a vote.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the major outstanding issues and where they stand.

DREAM ACT In contrast to a federal bill that would provide a route to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, New York’s DREAM Act would allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public universities and make them eligible for state financial aid programs. This legislation has passed in the Assembly in various forms since 2013, but it has not come up for a state Senate vote since 2014.

CHILD VICTIMS ACT For the past two years, the Child Victims Act passed in the Assembly, which would make it easier for child sex abuse victims to bring criminal charges against their alleged assailants. One part of the legislation would retroactively extend the statute of limitations, which has catalyzed opposition in the Senate. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese

of New York is reportedly reconsidering its longtime opposition to the bill, now that Democrats will take over the state Senate, and proponents are feeling optimistic about the bill becoming law.

NEW YORK HEALTH ACT An effort to institute single-payer health care got a boost over the summer when a Rand Corp. study found that the idea could work in theory.

Given the consequences of effectively replacing private health insurance statewide, this will likely be one of the most contentious legislative issues – though the bill did pass the Assembly in June.

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION With more and more states legalizing recreational marijuana, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers may not want

to miss out on a potentially lucrative revenue stream. Efforts are ongoing within the state Legislature to draft a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana statewide, following the 2014 passage of a medicinal marijuana program for people with certain illnesses.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM Registered limited liability corporations are allowed under state law to donate $65,100 to statewide candidates, even though corporations are limited to $5,000. The upcoming year will show whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic lawmakers will fulfill their promises to end the so-called LLC loophole now that Republicans can’t stop them in the state Senate.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT This bill would update abortion protections in state law and codify the privacy protections stemming from the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade.

The Assembly has passed the bill before, only to see it die in committee in the state Senate.

Hopes are high that the bill will pass in early 2019 because of backlash against the Trump administration and its successful nomination of conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

CONGESTION PRICING There have long been proposals to charge motorists a fee to enter the central business district in Manhattan.

Now with the Metropolitan

Transportation Authority in desperate need of funding for badly needed upgrades, there is more consensus than ever to pass a bill that would raise revenue to pay for billions in repairs to public transit.

The big questions are how to implement congestion pricing and what share of any new revenue would go to the New York City subway system.

ETHICS REFORM Government watchdogs have said state legislators should curtail or eliminate outside income before they consider raising their own pay, which has not been increased for nearly two decades. Also on the table is the elimination of “lulus” – the tens of thousands of dollars lawmakers can receive in stipends for serving in leadership positions.

VOTING REFORM With some of the most onerous voting requirements in the nation, lawmakers have said that state law is due for an update.

Proponents want automatic voter registration, same-day registration and other measures that would make voting easier for citizens and increase civic engagement.

RENT REGULATION Some activists have said that an overhaul of rent regulation should not happen until the power of the real estate lobby is decreased through campaign finance reform.

Whether or not that happens, tenant advocates are eager to eliminate vacancy decontrol and preferential rent – or even try to expand rent control statewide to confront rising housing costs.

CityAndStateNY.com

“We are definitely hopeful that it will pass early in the session,” said Shijuade Kadree, chief advocacy officer at the The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center.

T

HE GOOD NEWS for state Senate Democrats is that they have wiggle room, which is a key difference from the slim majority they held in 2009 and 2010 when they last controlled the chamber.

Similarly, Republicans have had to contend with narrow majorities in recent years, including last year when the GOP had a one-seat majority. In some years, Republicans maintained power thanks to a controversial power-sharing agreement with the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference. More recently, nominal Democrat Simcha Felder continued to caucus with Republicans this year, even as the eight former members of the now-defunct IDC rejoined the mainline Democrats. With six of the eight former IDC members having lost their seats in this year’s elections and Felder’s influence diminished – he may or may not be the 40th member of the Democratic majority – there is little reason to believe that individual senators will be able to exert outsized leverage.

December 10, 2018

It remains to be seen whether progressive anti-IDC victors like Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos and Alessandra Biaggi, all center, will cooperate with their upstate colleagues.

The Democrats’ commanding majority in the state Senate means that they can afford to have some members defect on an issue without endangering the passage of a bill. And while only one issue can be voted on first, it is possible that the Democratic Senate could pass legislation on all these fronts with ease.

Judging by the outcomes on Election Day, social issues don’t seem to be dividing suburban and urban Democrats, although the same may not be true for issues with a significant fiscal impact.

On Long Island, Democrats now control six out of nine Senate seats, largely because they ran as progressives on social issues while at the same time touting their support for tax relief and funding for education and transportation. Several Long Island Democrats beat Republican incumbents by running as unabashed progressives on issues like GENDA, the Child Victims Act, the Reproductive Health Act and gun control.

“We as a state needed to be more progressive and I believe the voters in District 6 really believed that they needed change,” state Sen.-elect Kevin Thomas told City & State after his upset win over Republican state Sen. Kemp Hannon in Nassau County.

This strategy of mixing social liberalism with issues like tax relief extended upstate where progressives notched several wins.

Rachel May handily defeated Syracuse-area state Sen. David Valesky, who drew criticism for having joined the IDC, in the Democratic primary. Progressive policies were also an asset rather than a liability for Rosendale Councilwoman Jen Metzger, who won an open seat in the Hudson Valley vacated by retiring GOP state Sen. John Bonacic.

In past years, upstate and suburban Democrats have at times had to distance themselves from their party in order to appeal to voters. Democratic state Sen. Ted O’Brien, for example, was the only member of his party to vote against the state DREAM Act in 2014, but it was not enough to win re-election against Republican Rich Funke, who cast his opponent as beholden to New York City interests. But issues like immigration and abortion may not have the hold they once had on upstate and suburban voters. This was a year when the Republican candidate for governor even embraced protecting abortion rights. “I think it’s a new game,” said Robin Chappelle Golston, president of Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, the organization’s statewide political arm.

Activists are even optimistic that rent regulation – long an issue that pitted New York City and several suburbs against the real estate interests in the state Senate GOP – now

JESSICA RAMOS FOR STATE SENATE

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December 10, 2018

to limit property tax increases could narrow the options that Democrats have for striking compromises on issues involving spending – especially given Cuomo’s insistence that the 2 percent cap on state budget increases remain in place.

“I think the challenge here will be, can that Democratic conference collaborate in a way where they come up with a common agenda that does not put forth a mushy type of centrism but a vital type of centrism that can re-elect Democratic senators from these hard-to-win seats,” said Bruce Gyory, a Democratic political consultant. “If they can do that, they’ll be in a good place.”

With Democrats now having their largest state Senate majority since 1912, there is a strong incentive to avoid fostering factionalism, whether it be ideological or geographic. The primary election losses by former IDC mem– state sen. n ei l br esli n bers made an example of senators who undermined party pears willing to pass campaign finance re- unity, but the lopsided nature of the Demoform along with tenant-friendly legislation. crats’ new majority has nonetheless spurred “This is not going to be cast as a New York talk of how the suburbs and upstate can City versus suburbs, or New York City ver- provide a counterbalance to New York City sus upstate with the Democratic caucus,” lawmakers. “The Long Island Six would be said Michael McKee of the Tenants Politi- smart if they joined arms with suburban cal Action Committee. “I think you’re going lawmakers from other areas of the state to to find a good deal of support from senators pursue a suburban agenda,” Levy said.

Such an alliance could prove especialstatewide to protect tenants.” ly effective on the fiscal front when senaHREE ISSUES in particular tors consider how to increase funding for could pit New York City Demo- the MTA and education. While some form cratic senators against their sub- of congestion pricing – which would imurban counterparts. “When you pose a charge on vehicles entering the cenpoll Long Island voters about tral business district of Manhattan – may what concerns them most, the first three pass next year, it would not be enough to are: taxes, taxes, taxes,” said Lawrence fully fund the MTA’s needed fixes. The Levy, executive dean at the National agency has estimated it will require about Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra $40 billion in new revenue over the next 10 University. Referring to the six Demo- years to modernize the deteriorating subcratic senators who will represent the way system. Assuming that congestion region next year, Levy continued, “The pricing would provide $1 billion or so in ‘Long Island Six’ have to show they are at additional funding for the MTA annually, there would still need to be some type inleast holding the line on taxes.”

Taxes are also a hot-button issue for other crease on gasoline, sales or income taxes, or Democratic senators who represent subur- fees on auto registrations, according to an ban districts – like Stewart-Cousins – that analysis by transportation expert Charles were hurt by the new $10,000 federal cap Komanoff. But a deal to increase funding on state and local tax deductions. “Those for city subways would also need to include of us that face high property taxes like in money to improve service on the Long IsLong Island and the Hudson Valley ob- land Rail Road and the Metro-North viously have very strong concerns,” said Railroad – which each serve millions of Democratic state Sen. Shelley Mayer of suburban customers a year – in order to Yonkers. This bloc of senators who want garner support from suburban lawmakhas a much broader appeal as rents continue to rise across the state. While the real estate industry is battling advocates over preferential rent, vacancy decontrol and other related issues, they have hedged their bets on the GOP by donating more to the other party – even if they have little chance of influencing Democrats, who appear increasingly poised to do more than ever next year to expand tenant protections. Whatever happens on the issue, it does not appear primed to divide Democrats, especially since the party ap-

“I think we can eliminate the us versus them, upstate versus downstate, or upstate versus Long Island.

We’re all on one team.”

T

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ers. The MTA payroll tax is cited as a key reason why two Long Island Democrats lost their Senate seats in 2010 and Democrats relinquished their majority. The tax was subsequently reduced, but it remains unpopular in suburban counties because of the costs it adds to businesses, nonprofits and schools. Reducing or eliminating it could help buy goodwill for senators from Long Island and the Hudson Valley.

A similar give-and-take will likely play out with education. Billions of dollars in Foundation Aid is still owed to districts across the state. How and when that money is allocated determines who gets teachers, art programs and other funding for schools. The primary campaign of state Sen. David Carlucci serves as a warning of what can happen if lawmakers fall short in delivering such funding to their districts. Back when Carlucci was still a member of the IDC, he joined other members of his conference in proposing $1.47 billion in Foundation Aid funding last year. But critics pointed out that a bill that Carlucci supported in March included much smaller funding increases for his district than originally proposed, inspiring a tough primary challenge from educator Julie Goldberg. Carlucci lived to legislate another day, but was quick to mention in an interview with City & State that Foundation Aid is a key priority for his Hudson Valley district in the upcoming year, along with issues like GENDA, voting reforms, rent regulation and recreational marijuana legalization.

Asked whether there had been any talks since the election about how suburban senators might unify on a formal or informal basis, Carlucci said “no.” That’s a sentiment shared by colleagues across the state. The Democrats are firmly in control of state government and they say they are ready to make good on years’ worth of promises, whether on social issues like abortion or addressing tougher problems like MTA funding. But New York state politics has had its fair share of intrigue in the past, and the future of the Democratic majority will depend on just how well Stewart-Cousins and other senators can work together and remain unified in the months before she, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Cuomo get in a room to hammer out the final state budget due in the spring. If the dominance of three downstate Democrats somehow appears unfair to the suburbs or upstate, then new factions could emerge among Democrats. Yet, as Breslin put it, “I think it’s a little bit early to move quickly in that direction.”

But for now, suburban, upstate and urban Democrats alike remain hopeful that they can govern together in relative peace and unity – at least for as long as they can hold it together.

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What’s

Left

December 10, 2018

for the

After losing their majority in the state Senate, New York Repu

F

OR REPUBLICANS in New York, things are looking pretty bad. The party did not exceed 40 percent in a single statewide election last month and Democrats won sizeable majorities in the state Senate and Assembly. Democrats are poised to take action on liberal priorities, including codifying Roe v. Wade into state law, the state DREAM Act, recreational marijuana legalization, bail reform and maybe even single-payer health care.

Blocking Democrats from succeeding in those efforts will be particularly difficult because the tools available to a minority party in the state Legislature are much

weaker than at the federal level. There is no legislative filibuster in the state Senate and – unlike other states – New York does not require a supermajority to constitute a quorum in the state Legislature or to pass a state budget. Changing these limitations by amending the state constitution is also nearly impossible, because the party would need a majority in both houses of the Legislature, or an opportunity to hold a state constitutional convention – which will not happen for nearly 20 more years.

Republicans do have some options to hinder the Democrats’ legislative efforts, but there appears to be little appetite for the party to take an obstructionist

approach. “I would not encourage my colleagues to do that,” state Sen. Fred Akshar said. Instead, GOP lawmakers said they want to speak as loudly as they can in opposition to some Democratic proposals while finding common ground on other issues. Ultimately, the GOP’s political fortunes could depend on whether Democrats raise taxes and increase spending in their drive to enact progressive legislation. If that were to happen, Republicans hope it would alienate enough voters to help them win back enough

GOP? December 10, 2018

City & State New York

15

By Zach Williams

ublicans’ hopes depend on the Democrats screwing up. poses raising taxes. Nonetheless, Democratic lawmakers could push him to compromise on these points. If that happens, Republicans could buttress their arguments that they are the party of fiscal discipline and low taxes rather than simply state-level acolytes of President Donald Trump, whose statewide unpopularity was blamed for Republican losses in the elections.

“I think a lot of the results a couple of Tuesdays ago emanated from personal dislike to hatred for the president among the majority of New Yorkers,” state Sen. Phil Boyle said in November. “We have to show as a Republican Party that we are not Donald Trump.”

Being the minority party has its drawbacks, but it does allow the Republicans to present their own policy agenda without the burden of governing. “You can speak freely about things when you don’t have to guard members,” Republican consultant Bill O’Reilly said. “There’s something liberating about that that could plant seeds for a new Republican Party in New York.”

There are not many mechanisms for Republicans to disrupt legislative business, but a close reading of the state Senate and Assembly rules could give them options in certain circumstances – such as the minority party deploying obscure procedural tactics.

“That stuff has never happened in Albany,” GOP consultant Tom Doherty said.

But it is possible – and it was proven effective by congressional Republicans during the Obama presidency. “It’s hard to look into the future to get that exact, things that would be said or the exact strategy that would be employed,” Republican state Sen. Patrick Gallivan said. “But in a general sense, I think we have to be extremely loud and demand accountability and ensure there is a process and there is debate.”

Assuming rules for the upcoming session remain the same, five GOP state senators could force a slow roll call during final votes. This is just one delaying maneuver that would have added potency toward the end of the legislative session when lawmakers are more rushed. If Republicans made

FOTOSLAZ/SHUTTERSTOCK

state Senate seats to stop Democrats from relegating them to a permanent legislative minority through redistricting.

A big X-factor in this strategy is Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is expected to continue being a moderating influence on the most liberal tendencies of Democratic lawmakers.

He has continued to stand by a 2 percent cap on state spending increases and op-

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December 10, 2018

such moves at the right time, it could also where Republicans still are arguably with- Gov. Nelson Rockefeller was at the height of his powers and Democrats were a deeply help whip up the public against Democratic in striking distance of a majority.

While the Democrats will have a strong divided opposition party – much to the glee legislation. “The challenge is always making people understand,” Republican Assembly- majority next year, their caucus may not of the GOP, The New York Times reported man William Barclay said about potential be as united as it might appear, especial- at the time. Yet Republicans were not always ly on certain issues that divide Democrats in lockstep agreement with the priorities obstructionist moves.

Another option for Republicans is to along geographic and ideological lines. Re- of Rockefeller following the 1972 election, propose amendments to legislation in the publicans could pit New York City Demo- when Democrats lost ground in New York hope of not only taking up time, but forc- crats against their colleagues from upstate and the party’s nominee also lost 49 out of ing Democrats to make politically difficult and the suburbs over issues like Metropol- 50 states in the presidential election. It was a votes. Suppose a Republican lawmaker in itan Transportation Authority funding. “If low point for Democrats, but they would take either chamber proposed an amendment there’s an extreme on one side where they the Assembly within a few years and Repubto an unrelated bill that included language try to pass some very New York City-cen- licans would only elect one more governor in against raising taxes. Even if didn’t pass, it tric legislation, it will have consequences,” the following five decades.

Democrats achieved this turnaround by could provide the GOP with a handy attack said Barclay, who represents an Assembly presenting new leaders with new approachline – that a Democratic opponent voted for district outside Syracuse.

Moderate Democrats might also find com- es to politics. Republicans see a similar need raising taxes – in later elections.

Republicans could also find common mon ground with Republicans in stopping to rebrand themselves for a new era of state ground with some Democrats to pass an progressive pushes for universal rent control politics, or else they risk becoming as irreleamendment that would make it politically or single-payer health care. Swaying nine vant in New York as the GOP has become in toxic to other Democrats – a “poison pill” Democrats to their side to form a Republi- California. “We must recruit strong candidates who can compete and win that might prevent ultimate in every region of the state,” passage of the legislation. state Senate Republican Leader Adopting an obstructionist John Flanagan, who survived a posture in the state Legislature challenge to his leadership, said is not as easy as it would have in a statement. “We are going been had Republicans kept to spend the next two years Democrats to a slimmer maaggressively highlighting the jority in the Senate. If Repubdifferences that exist between licans have to convince eight ourselves and the incoming or nine Democrats to pass an Democrat majority.” amendment or vote down a bill, A robust policy agenda could they will have a steep hill to prove to be the Republicans climb. “The ways the rules are most potent option at a time set up in New York, the opporwhen their power in state govtunity to effectively affect polernment is at its lowest point icy would only happen if you in recent memory. “Although induce enough members of the we don’t have the votes in eimajority party to switch over,” said James Battista, an associ– bi ll o’r ei lly, Republican consultant ther house to stop legislation, we still have a real soapbox and ate professor of political science I suppose we will have to use at the University at Buffalo.

Republicans do have some experience in can-led majority on such issues is plausible – that the best we can,” Barclay said.

With all the seats in the state Legislature pitting Democrats against each other. Most assuming Republicans can remain united in famously, that happened in 2011 with the opposition. However, they might not even up for election in 2020, a policy agenda formation of the state Senate Independent need to do much of the heavy lifting on those with a wider appeal than what Republicans Democratic Conference – a group of break- issues because Cuomo has already fed divi- offered in 2018 could give them a good opaway Democrats who gave control of the sions among Democrats. In October, Cuomo portunity to gain seats or outright control state Senate to the GOP. The Republicans reportedly coerced eight state Senate candi- the state Senate. But the upcoming election held control even after the IDC returned to dates on Long Island to sign a pledge that in- could also mean even more trouble for the the Democratic fold earlier this year because cluded a demand that “New York City pay its state GOP in a year when Trump will likely Democratic state Sen. Simcha Felder contin- fair share for the MTA.” A centrist Demo- run for re-election and Democrats will be ued to caucus with Republicans. There was cratic governor can be a powerful tool for Re- highly motivated to vote.

State Republican Party Chairman Ed also the infamous coup in 2009, when two publican efforts to put a check on the state Democrats conspired to bring back Republi- Legislature, but some Republicans see how Cox – who like Flanagan survived calls to can control in the state Senate. “I feel like it’s it could also endanger Republicans’ political step aside over Republican losses in the 2018 going to be deja vu all over again,” Republi- opportunities later on. “I think the governor elections – said that the party’s statewide is going to keep control for two years,” Re- candidates offer a good example of the road can state Sen.-elect Daphne Jordan said.

This time around, it will be more diffi- publican Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick ahead for the GOP in New York. It’s not cult to convince many Democrats to switch of Long Island said. “So that these senators about obstruction but rather doubling down on offering an alternative to the policies of sides after six of the eight former IDC in the suburbs can be re-elected.”

But Republicans can take comfort in the progressive Democrats and Cuomo alike, he members lost primaries and their replacements were successful in part by attack- fact that one-party rule does not guaran- said. “We’re going to be doing what we were ing the idea of Democrats allying with the tee partisan cohesion nor political longevi- doing in the campaign and that was, on the GOP. That does not preclude Republicans ty. In the early 1970s, Republicans controlled New York state level, pushing good policy,” from leveraging Democratic divisions in both houses of the state Legislature and the he said. “It’s going to continue to be about other ways, especially in the state Senate, governor’s mansion. Four-term Republican what New York needs.”

“You can speak freely about things when you don’t have to guard members.

There’s something liberating about that.”

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December 10, 2018

City & State New York

17

SETTING the AGENDA

2019

PART 1

A

S THE CALENDAR YEAR comes to a close, it’s time to plan ahead for the upcoming state legislative session. In the past, Democratic lawmakers have talked up progressive bills – single-payer health care, legalizing recreational marijuana, codifying Roe v. Wade into state law – that have had no shot of advancing in the Republican-controlled state Senate. But in 2019, things will be different. On Election Day, Democrats won an impressive majority in the chamber, putting them in control of both houses for the first time in years.

The legislative process will be dramatically different, although not every progressive bill will reach the governor’s desk – or get signed upon arriving there.

In this annual Setting the Agenda feature, we outline everything you need to know about the top bills on the table. In this first installment of a two-part feature, we kick things off with a focus on health care, education, criminal justice and rent regulations.

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S ET TING THE AG ENDA

EDUCATION

A

NUMBER OF EDUCATION issues will crop up for state lawmakers in January – how many charter schools should be allowed in New York City, whether to redesign teacher evaluations, the question of reforming discipline in schools, just to name a few. But in the eyes of some newly empowered Democrats in the state Legislature, one problem must be

WHAT WE OWE the CHILDREN A decade ago, New York was ordered to provide more school aid. Next year, it could arrive.

by Annie McDonough solved first: school funding.

In the budget deal made this past spring, lawmakers agreed on a $1 billion bump in education spending – considerably higher than the $769 million increase that Gov. Andrew Cuomo had proposed.

In the past, the Assembly has proposed larger increases – $1.5 billion in 2018 – while the Republican-controlled state Senate has proposed education spending that usually falls somewhere in between the governor and the Assembly.

In the upcoming budget

negotiations, however, Cuomo will have to contend with two Democratic-controlled chambers, and the incoming state Senate will likely fight for increases to education spending that rivals the Assembly.

“There are many districts that need and are owed additional funding,” said state Sen. Shelley Mayer, who has been the top Democrat on the Senate Education Committee. “Clearly, that’s going to be a focus of many of our urban districts, and some of our suburban districts, and I suspect there are others that really either are owed or need additional funds in order to provide a sound and basic education.”

That language – a “sound basic education” – was used in a 1993 lawsuit against the state by a group of parents and advocates called the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which asserted that the state’s education funding was unconstitutional because it failed to provide students in New York City schools with the opportunity for a “sound basic education.”

The lawsuit dragged on for 13 years until 2006, when the state Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, ruled in Campaign for Fiscal Equity’s favor, requiring the state to direct more money to New York City classrooms – $1.93 billion plus inflation, to be exact. In a move to address the constitutional mandate of providing a “sound basic education,” the following year New York enacted the State Education Budget and Reform Act of 2007, promising an additional $7 billion in school funding statewide over four years, with $5.5 billion going to Foundation Aid – a formula that calculates funding by district based on the cost of education, student need and local ability to pay.

Those plans stalled when the recession hit in 2009, and education advocates argue that while the state has recovered from the blows of financial crisis, school funding never returned to what was promised more than a decade ago.

VISIT OUR OPEN HOUSE DECEMBER 13

New York City Schools Must Be Fully Funded Public school leaders have the critical responsibility to utilize their resources to create optimum learning possibilities for all students. That means providing a safe, clean environment and ensuring that pedagogical and support staff have the training and resources required to meet all educational needs. These are responsibilities and challenges NYC school leaders wholly embrace. Yet, even the most talented and creative among them are limited in what they can accomplish if they are hamstrung by insufficient financial resources.

Fair Student Funding (FSF) is the longstanding formula used by the NYC Department of Education to allocate funding to schools. For the last 10 years, many of our schools have not been fully funded at 100% of the City’s own formula.

Some schools lack hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding,

critical importance while several lack of fully funding NYC over a million schools, and Mayor dollars. City leaders de Blasio subsehave been quick to quently responded point out the State’s to CSA’s and the debt to our schools Council’s recomsince the 2006 State Supreme Court mendations with a $125 million annual ruling that found it investment in FSF. had underfunded them. State leaders Our school leaders similarly blame the are appreciative City for the way in Mark Cannizzaro of any efforts to respond to the needs which it prioritizes President, Council allocations. The of students, but of School Supervisors that investment was bottom line is that and Administrators, NYC children are Local 1: AFSA, AFL-CIO simply a first step being short-changed. since it only lifted To make matters worse, this lack the floor to 90%. How is it that some of our students are worth of funding ties up our principals full funding and others are not? with time-consuming budget appeals throughout the summer Chancellor Richard Carranza was right when he said: “New that unnecessarily hinder their York City understands that ability to begin planning rich educational programs for the public education is not an exfollowing year. pense but an investment… The Earlier this year, I testified increase (in FSF) is an important step in putting our schools on a before the NYC Council on the

path to Equity and Excellence for All, and to addressing unacceptable and historical inequities in the way our schools have been funded.” CSA whole-heartedly agrees that our schools are investments, not expenses, and we whole-heartedly believe that if we are to have true equity and excellence for all, we must finally address the current funding inequities. Whether the State brings our schools to 100% through Foundation Aid and the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, or the City establishes an alternative solution, we must immediately find a way to fully fund NYC schools.

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ON THE SYLLABUS

MAYORAL CONTROL

TEACHER EVALUATIONS

ONE ISSUE DEPENDENT on the new Democratic majority in the state Senate is teacher evaluations. There is now a moratorium on incorporating some English language and math test scores in teacher evaluations. But as the ban is set to expire in June, some Democrats want a more permanent solution than extending the ban.

Earlier this year, the Assembly passed a bill that would eliminate the use of test scores in evaluating teachers and principals. Despite the Senate’s version of the bill being sponsored

by Republican state Sen. Carl Marcellino, the measure stalled, leaving many eager to take it up again next year. “We have a new group of senators. I think there’s a very strong desire to put into statute that students are not going to be subject to excessive testing because of this demand,” state Sen. Shelley Mayer said. “Teachers are not going to have to be judged unduly by the success or change in school testing.”

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE REFORM

WHILE DE BLASIO has implemented discipline reforms that have significantly reduced the number of overall school suspensions, legislation to enact similar reforms in the state Legislature has stalled. Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, chairwoman of the Education Committee, sponsored a bill on the subject, but this new session may be the best time to advance restorative justice alternatives. A report showing that black students receive relatively longer suspensions for the same offenses as other students has pushed the issue of equity in discipline to the fore, giving Democrats the opportunity to make the kind of headway that may not have been possible in Republican-controlled Senate. “The school discipline and police presence within our schools – that’s an issue that has to be discussed in the open,” state Sen.-elect John Liu said. “And possibly result in legislative remedies.”

NEW YORK CITY public schools fall under the purview of the mayor’s office, but retaining that control has always been a fight between Mayor Bill de Blasio and the state Legislature tasked with approving its extension on a regular basis. The last extension of mayoral control of schools, approved in 2017, was only set to last two years. Though Republicans have used legislative approval over mayoral control extensions as an aggressive bargaining chip with the mayor, not all Democrats are firmly on the other side of the issue. “I don’t want to call it control,” state Sen.-elect Robert Jackson said. “Let’s call it mayoral authority with oversight. Oversight by the City Council, oversight by the state of New York, not control.” While de Blasio will likely have an easier time reauthorizing mayoral control with two Democratic-controlled chambers – and for longer than the one- and two-year extensions lawmakers have granted in the past – new members like Jackson may still level a challenge in negotiating the terms of what “control” is.

CHARTER SCHOOLS

THE CHARTER SCHOOL movement could slow to a crawl in the coming session, as a slate of incoming Democrats are unlikely to push for raising the current cap on charter schools both in New York City and the state as a whole. “There are plenty of charter schools in this city already – some of them do well, some of them don’t,” state Sen.-elect John Liu said. “Just like some noncharter public schools do very well, and some don’t.

We currently have a good mix of noncharter schools as well as charter schools. And there’s no compelling reason to upset that balance.”

State Senate Republicans have favored increased funding for charter schools, but with a new Democratic majority, the Senate is likely to turn its attention away from charters, which are controversial – allegations of weeding out difficult students and focusing too heavily on test preparation have dogged some of the city’s high-performing charters. “There’s a very strong sense that the charter world benefited unfairly by Senate Republican leadership,” state Sen. Shelley Mayer said. “It was just sort of a gravy train for them, quite frankly.” While Democrats like Liu and Mayer are careful to point out that they’re not opposed to charter schools, they will prioritize funding and resources for traditional public schools next year.

“Some people like the governor may say, ‘Well, we’ve already dealt with CFE.’ But I will tell them to their face: ‘No you have not.’”

– state Sen.-elect ROBERT JACKSON, who was a lead plaintiff on the 1993 Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit

The advocacy group Alliance for Quality Education estimates that more than $4 billion is still owed in Foundation Aid. One of the state Legislature’s newest members is particularly close to this issue, as he was involved with Campaign for Fiscal Equity from the beginning. Robert Jackson, the newly elected state senator in the 31st District, was a lead plaintiff on the 1993 lawsuit, and has been involved in the fight first while serving on Community School Board 6, then as a city councilman for 12 years. For Jackson, securing the necessary funds as calculated by the Foundation Aid formula is key.

“I’m looking to see that that happens this session,” Jackson said. “It’s a continuous struggle and continuous battle, because you’re going to have some naysayers that say that New York City is receiving too much money. Or, some people like the governor may say, ‘Well, we’ve already dealt with CFE.’ But I will tell them to their face: ‘No you have not.’”

To be sure, education funding in New York is already a contentious issue, considering New York spends more per student than any other state. Aid for the 2018-2019 school year is expected to total more than $26 billion, including an increase of $618 million through Foundation Aid. Democratic leaders in both the state Senate and Assembly will fight for even steeper increases next year. “Clearly, there’s a strong appetite to have the state meet its full obligation under the CFE lawsuit to fund schools to the extent that we’re required to do so,” state Sen. Shelley Mayer said. Mayer, who first won the 37th Senate District seat in a special election in April, has only served on the Senate Education Committee for a few months, but has six years of experience as an assemblywoman representing Yonkers.

“The Assembly Democratic Conference always fought tooth and nail to get more money for school funding,” she said. “We just couldn’t always get all that was deserved. So I’m hopeful that this is a great moment to move forward on this very basic priority for every district. That’s the No. 1 issue.”

Still, lawmakers striving for more school funding will likely encounter some pushback in the

December 10, 2018

City & State New York

SETTING THE AG ENDA state budget process, a series of negotiations in which the governor and state Legislature hammer out agreements on everything from an opioid tax to investments in water infrastructure. Making school aid stand out as a priority will always be a challenge, Jackson said, but one he’s hopeful he’ll win.

“People are going to have their own priorities – we have to fund the MTA, we have to fund the New York health care act, we have to pass the Reproductive Health Act, we must deal with environmental concerns in our state and our country, we have to deal with the DREAM Act, we have to deal with the Liberty Act – all of these are major issues,” he said. “But right now, you’re talking about stuff that we should pass into law.”

What makes increasing school aid a somewhat simpler issue, in Jackson’s view, is that the state’s commitment to Foundation Aid increases has already been established.

While Jackson is poised to be a leader on education issues in the Senate, he’s not the only one eyeing the education committee chairmanship. The outgoing Senate Education Committee chairman, Republican state Sen. Carl Marcellino, lost his re-election bid in November and Jackson and Mayer are both strong contenders to replace him, with Jackson having chaired the New York City Council Education Committee, and Mayer advocating for public schools in the Assembly.

“It’s up to the leader, and I’m sure she’ll make a decision in the coming weeks,” Mayer said.

“I look forward to whatever she decides.” What’s clear, no matter who leads the committee, is that Senate Democrats will be a force for the governor to reckon with.

“It’s important that we, as a Senate, focus less on the partisanship, and collaborate with our colleagues across the aisle,” said John Liu, state senator-elect in the 11th District. “But make no mistake, we are a firm Democratic majority, and many of the issues that we as Democrats, and the majority of New York state residents as a whole, care about, have been pushed off to the side too long.

Those priorities, educational and otherwise, will now come to the fore.”

■

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

the COSTS of CHILD

SEXUAL ASSAULT Will New York finally let victims seek justice after age 23?

by Jeff Coltin

I

N THE POLITICAL WAR over the Child Victims Act, state Sen. Brad Hoylman is calling on his opponents to surrender. “Here’s a challenge I would like to make to those organizations like the Boy Scouts and the New York (Roman Catholic Archdiocese): Lay down your swords,” the Manhattan Democrat told City & State. “Don’t lobby against this bill.”

Hoylman is the lead sponsor of the bill that would lift the statute of limitations on young sexual assault victims seeking to sue their alleged predators beyond the current age limit of 23. And since a version of the bill was introduced more than a decade ago, the Boy Scouts of America and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese have been two of its main opponents. The opposition fears the bill would financially devastate the institutions, both of which have histories of adult leaders assaulting youths in their care.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is sympathetic to those concerns, telling reporters in November that “nobody wants to see a

diocese or the Catholic Church bankrupt, so how (the bill) is done is very important.” Nonetheless, Cuomo has been vocally supportive of the bill in recent years, and listed it among his top priorities for the 2019 legislative session – even though his backing hasn’t been enough to make it law. Although the Assembly approved the bill in 2018 with vast bipartisan support, the state Senate’s Republican majority never brought it up for a vote.

Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, the lead sponsor of the bill in the Assembly, claims she was genuinely surprised by the Senate Republicans’ hesitation. The Democratic lawmaker said she thought “the #MeToo movement and the outrage of constituents about the way women have been treated,” combined with the 90 percent public approval for the bill according to a February Quinnipiac University poll, “would force Republicans to strategically position this as a must-do. And they didn’t.”

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CORRECTION CORRECTIVES GUN CONTROL

DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS in the state Senate battled last session over how to respond to the mass shooting that left 17 people dead in Parkland, Florida. Broadly, the GOP pushed for school safety measures while Democrats hoped to impose new limits on firearm ownership. With Republicans out of power, incoming state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters in November that there’s broad consensus in her caucus around banning bump stocks, loosening restrictions on background checks for prospective gun owners and legalizing extreme risk protection orders, which let judges issue temporary orders barring someone from possessing a gun. They’ll likely have an ally in Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned on expanding the SAFE Act.

PAROLE REFORM

OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE issues legislators hope to pass next session include reforming the state Parole Board, which Democrats generally think is too tough on prisoners and too often makes decisions that are arbitrary at best and racist at worst. State Sen. Brad Hoylman also has a bill to encourage the release of some prisoners over the age of 55.

LIMITING CASH BAIL

LIMITING COURTS’ ABILITY to require a fee from arrested New Yorkers to get out of jail and ensure they’ll make their court dates seems like a radical idea, but it has gained widespread support among Democrats, including Cuomo. The governor supports eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, seeming to sign on to state Sen. Michael Gianaris’ Bail Elimination Act. State Sen. Luis Sepulveda, who is expected to chair the Senate’s criminal justice committee, called cash bail “inherently unfair.” “Whether you’re in (jail) shouldn’t depend on the size of your bank account, or your family’s bank account,” Sepulveda said.

50-A REPEAL

MANY LEGISLATORS ALSO want to repeal Civil Rights Law Section 50-A, which has been used by law enforcement agencies like the NYPD to hide internal discipline from public review.

SPEEDY TRIAL REFORM AND DISCOVERY REFORM

DEMOCRATS ARE ALSO hoping to finally pass a pair of bills that would enact stricter time limits on prosecutors to bring criminal cases to trial and to make prosecutors disclose evidence earlier in the trial process.

Democratic state Sen.-elect Zellnor Myrie, an attorney, said selling reforms of these obscure legal practices to the public is key to their passage. “We want to let people know what evidence the government has against them,” he said. “Let’s make sure that everyone knows what evidence is for them and against them so that they can make informed decisions when you’re talking about taking away someone’s liberty.”

LEGALIZE SAFE INJECTION SITES

ASSEMBLYWOMAN LINDA ROSENTHAL is championing a bill to legalize safe injection sites – a controversial proposal that would designate sites where illegal drug users could inject drugs under the supervision of medical professionals. The bill faces legal questions and loud opposition, but Rosenthal thinks she can convince naysayers. “Substance abuse disorder is a disease,” she said. “And more and more people are coming to realize it.”

“I thought, last year, the #MeToo movement would force Republicans to position this as a must-do. And they didn’t.”

stituted lookback windows That’s in part because of like California and see the powerful opposition from results.” the insurance industry, Because of the heavy which would stand to lose subject matter and the money from a rash of — Assemblywoman LINDA ROSENTHAL organized opposition, the payouts, and from Agudath bill isn’t likely to pass imIsrael, a Jewish interest mediately after the session group, as well the Catholic opens. Hoylman said he Church and the Boy Scouts. would like to see it “sooner rather than be sent to Cuomo’s desk. Now advocates Like Hoylman, Rosenthal called on oplater,” and state Sen. Michael Gianaris conand opponents will be debating the bill’s ponents to reconsider, noting that 30 perfirmed the bill has widespread support in cent of children sexually abused are victims language, such as whether to include the chamber. But the usual timeline of laws a one-year “lookback window” so that of family members. “You want to cover being crammed into the state budget and past victims could bring lawsuits even your people, that’s one thing,” she said of then again in “The Big Ugly” at the end of the bill’s opponents. “But their efforts have if they’re older than 23. Cuomo voicing the session may be upended with Democrats concern about the bill’s financial impact ramifications for everyone who’s been the having full control of state government. on the church was rebuked by victims of victim of abuse. That’s a double whammy.

Whenever the bill starts to move, sexual abuse and the Daily News editoIt’s self-interest to the highest degree.”

Rosenthal said she wants to make sure rial board. Hoylman also questioned the With Democrats taking the state Senate sexual abuse survivors are included in governor. “The facts are that the one-year majority, the terms of the battle have conversations. “It has to be palatable to lookback window does not result in shifted. Incoming state Senate Majorthem,” she said. “They’re the ones we’re bankruptcies for our treasured and highly ity Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is valued institutions,” he said. “All you have fighting for. The perpetrators should not a co-sponsor of the Child Victims Act, be writing this bill.” to do is look at other states that have inmeaning that a bill is almost guaranteed to

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Campaigns Include:

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December 10, 2018

S ET T ING THE AG ENDA

HEALTH CARE

the PROGRESSIVE WHITE WHALE Has single-payer health care’s time finally come?

by Rebecca C. Lewis

W

ITH THEIR new majority in the state Senate, Democrats are finally preparing to pass long-stalled progressive legislation.

Perhaps the most expansive and expensive item on the agenda – and among the most controversial – is the New York Health Act, which would establish a single-payer health care system in the state, and one study estimated it would cost $139 billion in 2022. Many incoming lawmakers campaigned on the promise that they would get it done, but even if it does pass, it likely won’t be implemented right away.

The Democratic-controlled Assembly has passed the legislation every year since 2015, but in that time it never came up for a vote in the state Senate thanks to the Republican majority. Now that the chamber will be in Democratic hands, the legislation seems far more likely to pass.

A single-payer health care system means that a single entity covers the cost of all health care, which is still delivered by private or nonprofit providers. Everyone pays into a single plan run by the government, which in turn is the only provider of coverage paying claims. Assemblyman Richard Gottfried’s single-payer bill has proposed one public option and a ban on the sale of

private insurance unless it offers additional coverage not included in the state plan.

One major obstacle the New York Health Act must overcome is a less than enthusiastic governor. Although Gov. Andrew Cuomo has expressed support for single-payer health care as a concept, he has repeatedly said that it would be better implemented at the national level. In a recent interview on WCNY, he expressed doubt that the state would be able to finance the $150 billion program, since that would nearly double the state’s budget. “There will be rhetorical desire to do things,” Cuomo said. “Governmentally there will have to be a reality test to get all things to fit in the budget.”

Although this sounds like it could put a serious damper on the future of the legislation, Gottfried called the governor’s stance “a perfectly reasonable position for a governor,” noting that Cuomo is already far more progressive than other governors by simply supporting the concept of single-payer health care. Gottfried said he has been in talks with the administration and expects those conversations to accelerate now that passage is more realistic.

Gottfried said that stakeholders who have remained quiet in the past are coming forward to voice their concerns. Most

GNYHA congratulates Governor Andrew Cuomo and all the members of the 2019–20 Legislature on their successful elections

As always, Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) looks forward to working with the Governor and the State Legislature on policies to improve the lives of New Yorkers and expand quality health care for all.

We believe the agenda must include: • • •

•

Strengthening the Medicaid program in the State budget Guaranteeing funds for our State’s financially struggling safety net hospitals Providing access to affordable health care for the 5% of New Yorkers who remain uninsured, including: • immigrants without access to health insurance • those who, even with subsidies, cannot afford health insurance • those who are eligible for Medicaid but struggle with enrollment barriers Reducing administrative health insurance burdens for consumers, providers, and health insurers

At the same time, the State must follow the Hippocratic Oath: First, Do No Harm. Our health care system will suffer if: •

•

The Legislature passes a “single payer” bill that disrupts health insurance for the 95% of New Yorkers who are already covered. We must instead vigorously pursue realistic health coverage solutions for the 5% of uninsured New Yorkers.

Costly, unnecessary mandates are imposed on financially struggling hospitals, including: • Forced nurse staffing ratios—which Massachusetts voters roundly rejected last month by a vote of 70%–30% • Medical liability bills pushed by the New York State Trial Lawyers Association • Bills proposed by the insurance industry that would reduce payments to hospitals and threaten access to care

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December 10, 2018

recently, Gottfried and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, the bill’s Senate sponsor, have been negotiating with New York City public unions over concerns that union members would pay more or have fewer benefits.

“What we’re talking about is modifications just to accommodate concerns that people are raising now that it looks like it can easily pass both chambers this session,” Gottfried told City & State. “People who we haven’t heard from are starting to come forward and say, ‘Gee, could you add this nuts and bolts?’ or ‘Tighten it up here.’’”

Gottfried said making tweaks to the bill will continue at least a couple weeks into the session, which begins in early January.

However, Gottfried said that he and Rivera will not make any major structural changes to the bill and said the Assembly is “well positioned” to pass the bill this upcoming session.

Rivera expressed more caution, telling City & State that he feels confident that the chamber will engage in meaningful conversations about the bill, which it has never done before, but did not want to make any promises about a timeline for passage. “This is not a simple thing that we’re trying to do,” Rivera said. “We

want to make sure that we don’t put anything up for a vote, to be signed by the governor, unless it’s ready to go.”

Bill Hammond, a health policy expert at the right-leaning Empire Center for Public Policy, argued that no amount of change to the New York Health Act would actually make the legislation viable. “I think (Gottfried and Rivera’s) posture right now is not to acknowledge the sacrifice, it’s to make it even more attractive to whatever interest group thinks they’re going to lose,” Hammond told City & State. He added that any changes would likely add to the already astronomical cost of the bill.

But Gottfried maintained that a single-payer system will lead to lower overall health care spending despite the introduction of a new payroll tax because the average New Yorker would no longer pay insurance premiums and copays. He cited the Rand Corp. study, commissioned by the New York State Health Foundation, which found total health care spending could be lower under the New York Health Act than under the status quo. “To me, the issue is not about where your check goes,” Gottfried said. “What people really care

about is how much are they going to have to spend, and how much they will be able to keep under the New York Health Act.” However, Hammond pointed out that since there is no precedent for the system in the country, the details of the new tax plan have not been worked out yet and it is hard to accurately predict the cost of the program, so the Rand study could be wrong. He added that it also hinges on the federal government providing waivers to in order to divert Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid funding into the single-payer system, an unlikely prospect with the current administration. “There’s all kind of doubt and uncertainty about who’s going to pay more and who’s going to pay less,” Hammond said.

Rivera dismissed the idea that the New York Health Act depends on receiving those federal waivers, saying they would be helpful, but not necessary. “We believe, both my colleague and myself, believe that there are ways within the system that we could actually extend the New York Health Act as a wraparound service that would ultimately not require waivers,” Rivera said. He added that since the single-payer system would take years to

The realities of Single Payer: higher taxes, fewer jobs Heather C. Briccetti, Esq. President and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.

With the new year around the corner and a new majority in the New York State Senate, government-run health insurance advocates are clamoring for action.

For months we have been barraged by rhetoric supporting such a system. It’s useful to now separate myth from fact. Government-run health insurance is not synonymous with universal coverage. We know this because New York has nearly achieved universal coverage under the current health insurance structure.

That’s right, as of today, over 95 percent of New Yorkers have health care coverage. Of the remaining 4.5 percent, roughly half are eligible to receive coverage under existing plans and choose not to. Furthermore, the current

proposal would be frighteningly expensive. Since neither the bill nor its sponsors have ever addressed the actual costs, multiple outside studies have been used to estimate them. The results are scary. Starting at just under $100 billion per year, and climbing all the way to a quarter of a trillion dollars, the cost is far more than the entirety of our current state budget, necessitating tax increases larger than any in history. Other studies point to a potential loss of 150,000 jobs in the state. Thankfully, polls show that despite the rhetoric, there is not some great groundswell of public opinion pushing for these changes.

The fact is other states have already tried this and failed under

the enormity of the financial impact. Lawmakers in California proposed and ultimately rejected a similar plan when its true costs were revealed. Similar stories played out in Vermont and Colorado. Government-run healthcare advocates often point to universal coverage plans and mandates that exist in other countries as something worth emulating here. In fact, the majority of countries that offer universal coverage do so with a mix of private and public insurance; the exact same as our current system. But the proposed plan is far more extreme, outlawing private insurance all together.

Single payer systems throughout the world tend to have greater social inequalities in accessing

care, based on wealth and other factors, than does the US. This will be exacerbated in rural areas under a New York single payer scheme, as falling reimbursement rates to hospitals will force small rural medical centers to shut their doors.

Improving our current system and reaching total coverage is a goal everyone can and should get behind. Decimating our economy with massive tax increases and job losses while putting access to our health system in the hands of bureaucrats through government-run healthcare is simply the worst way to approach it.

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Single Payer Health Care Will Be a DISASTER for New York’s Businesses Health care costs are a top concern for business owners across New York.

Now, a push for a single payer health care system is threatening to wreak even more havoc on the state’s small businesses, many of which are struggling to survive in the second highest taxed state in the nation.*

What’s at Stake?

$139 Billion TAX INCREASE

150,000+ LOST JOBS

CONSUMERS LOSE CHOICE

A single payer plan relies on a hefty new payroll tax, would require a tax increase of $139 billion in the first year alone, a 156% increase in the taxes the state currently collects, and up to $210 billion by 2031 . These tax increases would be on top of the $82 billion already spent on health care. †

Single payer would eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs. In addition to the health care industry, supporting businesses would see job losses, which will hurt communities across NYS. More than half of all insured New Yorkers receive health care benefits through their employers. Single payer would take away consumers’ ability to choose their health care and replace it with a government-run, one-size-fits-all approach.

New Yorkers deserve access to high-quality, affordable health care.

A single payer system is not the answer. * The Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index ranks New York 49th - second worst state in which to do business. †

RAND Corporation “Assessment of the New York Health Act”; August 2018

December 10, 2018

City & State New York

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MEDICAL MATTERS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT

ALTHOUGH THE Reproductive Health Act has passed in the Assembly the past two years, it has yet to come up for a vote in the state Senate. A priority for many Democrats in the chamber – and, importantly, for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who said he wants it done in January – the bill would update the state’s abortion laws and codify federal protections into state law. Although abortion rights are guaranteed under the landmark Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision, the laws on the books in New York were passed in 1970, three years before that decision. Although the state’s laws were considered progressive at the time, they have not been updated since.

Democrats have argued that if a bloc of conservative judges on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion rights in the state would revert back to those passed in 1970. State Sen. Gustavo Rivera told City & State that he hopes the legislation will be addressed early in the upcoming session now that it has the votes to pass. “I would be willing to move that very quickly because I believe that it is very important, particularly with what’s happening on the national level,” said Rivera, who is likely to be named chairman of the state Senate Committee on Health.

OPIOID EPIDEMIC

AS THE opioid epidemic continues to take lives across the state, state Sen. Gustavo Rivera told City & State that the state Senate intends to resume its work with the Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction – first created in 2014 – and that state Senate Republicans could participate as well. When led by Republicans, the task force did not include Democrats. Additionally, Rivera said that the state Legislature will continue to explore the concept of harm reduction. The idea accepts that drug use will always be a part of society, but that society can take steps to cut down on the negative consequences of drugs. Namely, Rivera hopes to have productive conversations about a bill he sponsors to create safe injection sites, a highly controversial proposal to create legal locations where illegal drug users can get high in a supervised environment. “I believe that there is plenty of evidence-based programs that can be expanded and be created,” Rivera said. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio championed a pilot program to open four such sites in the city, but the idea still faces major hurdles.

RECREATIONAL & MEDICAL MARIJUANA

THE STATE HAS been slowly inching closer to legalizing recreational marijuana. Most notably, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been coming around on the issue. Although he used to consider marijuana a “gateway drug,” the Cuomo administration this year released a report in favor of legalization, set up a working group to draft legislation and hosted a series of listening sessions across that state to gain public input. Although legislation to legalize the drug has never passed either chamber, public support has grown substantially, and candidates, such as former gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon, campaigned on the promise of legalization. The state Legislature now appears poised to pass legislation that would regulate and tax marijuana.

However, the future of the state’s existing medical marijuana program remains in limbo. Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, who sponsored the bill creating the program, said that in the coming session, strengthening and expanding the program will be “a major focus,” as will ensuring that it continues to run smoothly alongside potential legalization. “So how we do that, I don’t know yet. But I know there is a lot of concern and brainpower being focused on it,” Gottfried told City & State. State Sen. Gustavo Rivera said he hopes that recreational legalization would also open the door for additional research to expand the drug’s medical efficacy.

NURSE STAFFING RATIOS

THE ISSUE OF nurse staffing levels within hospitals has long been a priority of the New York State Nurses Association, a powerful union in the state. However, a bill on the subject has never passed the state Senate and rarely passes the Assembly. The main component of the bill would create a set ratio of patients per nurse to ensure that nurses are not overworked by caring for too many people, and to ensure that patients are receiving adequate care. However, other powerful interests have also opposed the legislation, including business groups and hospitals, who argue that while the bill addresses real problems with how care is administered, nurse staffing ratios are the wrong remedy. Like many pieces of legislation that have languished under Republican control of the state Senate, Democratic control of the chamber could give the bill a better chance to become law. “We’ve passed it before and I trust we will do it again,” said Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, who has long been a supporter of nurse staffing ratios. “And it’s very exciting that we now have a shot at having that pass the state Senate.”

“People who we haven’t heard from are starting to come forward and say, ‘Gee, could you add this nuts and bolts?’ or ‘Tighten it up here.’”

Despite the put into place, he many obstacles remained hopeful — Assemblyman RICHARD GOTTFRIED the legislation that a different, appears to face, more sympathetic Gottfried said that administration he and Rivera would be in the have learned from their previous mistakes, be added to the legislation that he and White House by then. such as not including a revenue stream, Rivera will introduce and that it will be Another sticking point in evaluating and they remain confident New York will worked out after the bill’s passage since and passing the New York Health Act is lead the country in single-payer health the program will take years to implement. the fact that the previous legislation concare. “Anything has to start with sometained no specific language on tax rates for He added the absence of this information body,” Gottfried said. “And New York is will not pose an impediment to passage the proposed payroll tax, forcing Rand to ideally suited to be the state that begins and that it could be easily added in if it use a hypothetical tax schedule. Gottfried single-payer coverage.” becomes necessary. said no language about tax brackets will

■

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December 10, 2018

City & State New York

S ET T ING THE AG ENDA

RENT REGULATION

it’s TENANTS’ TURN With Democrats seizing the state Senate, real estate braces for the worst.

by Jeff Coltin

W

HILE SOME OF THE politicians, staffers and advocates in Puerto Rico for the annual Somos el Futuro conference painted houses and read to schoolchildren for a day of service, Real Estate Board of New York President John Banks and Rent Stabilization Association President Joe Strasburg sat at a table by the El San Juan Hotel pool shooting the breeze with Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo.

The two biggest opponents of rent regulation couldn’t be blamed for hanging out with Oddo, who was one of the only Republican elected officials at a conference dominated by Democrats. Because after Democrats won 39 state Senate seats in the November elections, seizing power for the first time since 2010, Banks and Strasburg are bracing for what the new majority could do about the rent regulation law set to expire in June 2019.

Democrats will control the state Senate, Assembly and governor’s mansion when the session begins in January, and they have made strengthening rent regulation a top priority. And there’s widespread agreement on the left that not only does the current law governing rent control and rent stabilization need to be extended, but that certain aspects of the law need

to be tweaked to better favor tenants over landlords.

State Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins – who’s set to be majority leader in the upcoming legislative session – said rent regulation had to be a priority.

“We have to make sure that we have a product that really ensures that tenants have housing,” she said outside the El San Juan Hotel in Carolina, Puerto Rico. “It’ll be a better product than it’s been before, I can say that.”

Elsewhere at the Somos conference, a member of the Cuomo administration went into greater detail during a conference panel about affordable housing.

“The conversation has already heated up, in a good way, about four topics: preferential rent, vacancy bonuses, the vacancy decontrol threshold and major capital improvements,” said Betsy Mallow, executive deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of New York state Homes and Community Renewal, the state agency focused on affordable housing. The four topics are all various ways, often described as loopholes, that landlords can raise rents higher than would typically be allowed for rent-regulated apartments.

Certain newly elected state senators, such as Brooklyn Democrats Zellnor Myrie and Julia Salazar, campaigned

31

Here’s what happens when landlords have the money to maintain their buildings: • They hire local contractors.

• Contractors employ local residents.

• Local residents support neighborhood retail.

• Tenants get quality, affordable housing.

• Buildings stay on the tax rolls.

• The City hires more firefighters, teachers and police officers.

Here’s what happens when landlords don’t have the money to maintain their buildings:

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December 10, 2018

heavily on expanding the rent regulation law, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who governs the city with the vast majority of rent-regulated apartments in the state, has continually named that as one of his priorities for the city in Albany. How far Democrats will go – whether they pass a simple extension of the current law or go as far as universal rent control – is sure to be the topic of much internal debate.

One influential Democrat already has his starting point for negotiations. Vacancy decontrol and preferential rent are gone, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told Banks, Strasburg and Oddo after walking up to their table by the pool. Banks, who represents the interests of real estate devel-

City & State New York

33

opers, and Strasburg, who represents the interests of landlords, had been describing a dire outcome for New York City if the state were to strengthen rent regulation.

Landlords would stop improving or even maintaining buildings if rents are held artificially low, Strasburg argued, and some major building owners would move out of state, taking their tax dollars with them. A growing number of privately owned buildings around the city would start to look like the New York City Housing Authority, where tenants live in poor conditions because of decades of government neglect.

Here, Heastie broadly agreed, without getting into specifics. “We can’t do something that’s going to disincentivize landlords,” he said.

The last time rent regulation was set to expire in 2015, legislators debated beyond the end of the session before finally passing a bill that tenant advocates derided as a giveaway to landlords. With a divided Assembly and state Senate, real estate interests were able to appeal directly to Republicans, who were generally more sympathetic to their arguments.

Now tenant advocates are feeling hopeful about making their own arguments, including Benjamin Dulchin, executive director of the Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development, who spoke on the Somos housing panel with Mallow. “With the change of leadership in the Senate,” he said, “we have the first chance to fight on even ground.”

ENDING THE VACANCY BONUS

ENDING VACANCY DEREGULATION

■

RENT REGS RUNDOWN UNIVERSAL RENT CONTROL

THIS WAS THE buzzy term of the Democratic primaries, with candidates like Cynthia Nixon saying they would push for the policy. Apartments have to meet certain criteria to be rent stabilized under current laws, such as being in a building with six or more units built before 1974, with rent below the current maximum of $2,734. There is no strict definition of universal rent control, but it broadly means legally capping how much landlords could raise any tenant’s rent during the lease renewal process – in any apartment. Some legislators, such as state Sen.-elect Julia Salazar and Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, are all for it. “We need to give tenants as much power as we can when the dynamics are so unbalanced,” Rosenthal told City & State. But other Democrats, like state Sen. Luis Sepulveda, reflect the feelings of other legislators who are concerned about the policy’s potential effects, especially on small-time landlords. “I want to protect people that need rent regulations,” Sepulveda told City & State. “But let’s see what’s brought before us before we start deciding for it or not.”

CLOSING THE PREFERENTIAL RENT LOOPHOLE

NEWLY EMPOWERED DEMOCRATS are also taking aim at the so-called loophole that allows landlords to raise the cost of rent at the time of a lease renewal far more than they would normally be allowed to in rent-regulated apartments by charging an initial rent below the legal maximum. These lower-than-allowed rents are called “preferential rents” – and though it sounds positive for tenants, the rent spikes are often used to encourage tenants to leave, which can ultimately net the landlord more money. The Assembly passed a bill last year that would prohibit such spikes, and the state Senate and Cuomo would be expected to sign on next year, since Cuomo pledged to the Metropolitan Council on Housing to make the “preferential rent the rent for the life of the tenancy.”

EVEN IF APARTMENTS stay under rent regulation, current laws let landlords raise an apartment’s rent as much as 20 percent when a tenant leaves. Cuomo promised to limit or eliminate the so-called vacancy bonus in an August campaign questionnaire from the Metropolitan Council on Housing. That’s a bit stronger than his 2015 promise in a Daily News op-ed to “further limit vacancy bonuses to ensure landlords aren’t rewarded financially for schemes to force tenants out.” Eager to be seen as helping tenants, legislators are expected to favor elimination instead of higher limits. “For years and years, empowered by the Republicans, the state Senate has given landlords a blank check,” Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal said.

ENDING MAJOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BONUS

LANDLORDS CAN RAISE stabilized rents up to 6 percent to pay for “major capital improvements” to the building. Tenant advocates often accuse landlords of making cheap or superfluous changes as an excuse to hike the rent, which can then remain high long after the investment has been paid off. But to minimize the risk of disincentivizing landlords from caring for old buildings, state Sen. Michael Gianaris, state Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ deputy, has a bill to pay for those improvements through tax credits instead of rent increases. Tax credits for landlords may prove controversial though, and a slight tightening of regulations on major capital improvements might prove more palatable for Cuomo, who hasn’t said anything publicly on the issue lately.

AS LONG AS state legislators don’t enact universal rent control, perhaps the biggest question is whether to raise threshold for high-rent deregulation or cut out that option entirely. The last two times lawmakers extended rent regulations, they raised the upper limit of the monthly rent beyond which an apartment can be deregulated upon vacancy. The threshold is currently $2,734, up from $2,000 in 2011. Raising the so-called vacancy decontrol threshold is seen as a compromise measure to please landlords, but Salazar said tenant advocates – and she herself – won’t accept that this year. “The only acceptable thing is to end vacancy decontrol altogether,” she told City & State. This would mean that all rent-regulated apartments would stay that way, and some deregulated apartments would be brought back under the provision.

This scenario seems likely, since a bill doing so passed the Assembly last session and state Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is the lead sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. Cuomo, notably, has also expressed his support. Asked on WNYC in November if he would sign a bill ending vacancy decontrol, the governor said he would. “Reforming the rent regulation system – especially vacancy decontrol – can make a major difference,” he said.

“We have the first chance to fight on even ground.”

— BENJAMIN DULCHIN, Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development executive director

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SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/ her is 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11288.

The principal business address of the LLC is 420 West 46th st, NY NY 10036. Purpose: any lawful act or activity Notice of Qualification of Division7, LLC, Fictitious Name: Division7 NY, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/10/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/05/18.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: c/o eResidentAgent, Inc., 99 Washington Ave., Ste. 805A, Albany, NY 12210, also the registered agent upon whom process may be served.

Address to be maintained in DE: 1013 Centre Rd., Ste. 403S, Wilmington, DE 19805.

Arts of Org. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State - Division of Corporations, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19001. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of Kiamie 44 East, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/29/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 31 E. 32nd St, NY, NY 10016.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Accolade HR, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/30/2018. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Elissa P. Domnitz, 80 East End Ave Apt 6F, NY, NY 10028. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose

Notice of Qualification of FANATICS RETAIL GROUP FULFILLMENT, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/05/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Florida (FL) on 11/26/08.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. FL addr. of LLC: 1201 Hays St., Tallahassee, FL 32301. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Clifton Bldg., 2661 Executive Center Circle, Tallahassee, FL 32301.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

TROY KRISTENSEN, L.P. (“LP”) filed Certificate of Limited Partnership with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on 11/5/2018. LP office location: Westchester County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against LP may be served. SSNY shall mail process to LP, c/o Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers 1511 Central Park Avenue Yonkers, New York 10710. The name and address of each general partner is available from SSNY. The latest date upon which the LP is to dissolve is 12/31/2099.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

M DeLeo Insurance Agency, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 11/01/2018.

Office loc: Richmond County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Maria De Leo, 36 Leggett Place Staten Island N.Y. 10314. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of ATEM LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/18.

Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

TROY

KRISTENSEN

GP,

LLC (“LLC”) filed Articles Of Organization with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on 9/21/2018.

LLC

office

location:

Westchester County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: LLC, c/o Municipal Housing Authority

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

for the City of Yonkers 1511 Central Park Avenue Yonkers, New York 10710. Purpose: Any

Lawful

Purpose.

35

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL #1314537 FOR LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 175 E 83RD ST AKA 171 E 83RD ST NY, NY 10028.

NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. BHOG NY LLC. Notice of Formation of Izoline North America LLC filed with SSNY on 10/29/2018. NY office location: Kings County.

SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Michael Ziskin, 2670 National Drive, Brooklyn, NY, 11234. Purpose of LLC: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Qualification of 3BM1 Restaurant Management, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/25/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 7/5/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: 990 Spring Garden St., Ste. 600, Philadelphia, PA 19123, principal business address. DE address of LLC: c/o Universal Registered Agents, Inc., 12 Timber Creek Ln., Newark, DE 19711. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of formation of Eagle Strong Group, LLC was filed with SSNY on March 29, 2018. Office location: Richmond County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to P. O. Box 100372, Staten Island, NY 10310, Attn: Mark Oyelaja. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

DEVELOPING MINDS ADVENTURE CASTLE, LLC, Arts of Org. filed 9/13/2018.

Office Loc. Westchester County, SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Wendy White, 112 Cooper Drive #1A, New Rochelle, NY 10508. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of Adellis Property Group LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 11/5/18. Office location: New York County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 300 Park Ave, NY, NY 10038.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

36

CityAndStateNY.com / PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES

Notice of Formation of DDP1 LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/13/18.

Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 405 Lexington Ave, NY, NY 10174.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HCCI Victory Plaza Member LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/26/18.

Office location: NY County.

Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc., 256 W. 153rd St., NY, NY 10039, principal business address. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of Formation of DEP International LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/26/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 71 W. 23rd St, Fl. 17, NY, NY 10010.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of NORTHGATE P R E S E R V A T I O N CLASS B, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/13/18. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207.

Purpose: Any lawful activity Notice of Qualification of NET@WORK CLOUD SOLUTIONS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/13/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/12/18.

Princ. office of LLC: 575 Eighth Ave., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: IT Consulting.

Notice of Formation of TUCKERBELL & Company LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on September 28, 2018. Office locations: Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall Mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: Johnathan Tucker. The principal business address of the LLC is: 15 Belle Ave 1st Fl, Ossining, NY 10562. Purpose: any lawful act or activity Notice of Qualification of 632-634 East 11th Street Owner LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/27/18. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Slate Property Group, LLC, 38 East 29th St., 9th Fl., NY, NY 10016, Attn: Martin Nussbaum. Address to be maintained in DE: National Registered Agents, Inc., 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Arts of Org. filed with the DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of AA 733 Amsterdam LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/9/18. Off. Loc.: NY County. SSNY has been desig. as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy to is: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: Any lawful act Notice of Qualification of 308 East 38th Street Sole Member LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/25/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 8/24/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 152 W. 57 St, Fl. 17, NY, NY 10019. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403B, Wilmington, DE 19805.

Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice

of

Formation

of

480-4B LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 11/16/18.

Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

served.

SSNY

shall

mail

process to: 336 W. 37th St, Ste 200, NY, NY 10018.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

December 10, 2018

Notice of Formation of Kaleidoscope Creative Partners LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 11/9/18.

Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 521 5th Ave, Ste 1804, NY, NY 10175.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of WEST 30TH SERVICES MANAGEMENT LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/18. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 208 W. 30th St., Ste. 701, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

AOG Design, LLC Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company (“LLC”).

Articles of Organization filed New York Sec. of State (“NYSS”) 11/16/2018.

Office loc. New York County.

NYSS designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

NYSS shall mail a copy of any process to c/o The LLC, 348 West 36th Street, New York, New York 10018.

There is no specific date set for dissolution. Purpose: to engage in any lawful activity or act. Name and Business Address of Organizer is John R. Marvin, Esq., 44 West Market Street, P.O. Box 151, Rhinebeck, NY 12572.

Notice of Qualification of SABAL CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/31/15.

Princ. office of LLC: 4 Park Plaza, Ste. 2000, Irvine, CA 92614. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Commercial real estate mortgage loan origination.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Formation 144 King Street, LLC Arts of Org. Filed with Secy. of State of NY 11/16/18. Ofc Loc.: West Co. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC, 980 Broadway #638, Thornwood, NY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION Strategic Intelligence LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 7/25/18.

Location: Westchester. SSNY designated as agent for service of process on LLC. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: LLC, 62 Frederick Ln, Scarsdale, NY 10583.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of ZHPH LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/13/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Philip J. Michaels, c/o Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, 1301 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10019.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LITTLE BLACK BARN FARM, LLC, Art. of Org. filed with SSNY 11/27/2018. Office loc: Westchester County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Andrew B. Christopherson, Esq., 111 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1800, Milwaukee, WI 53202 Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of Vatine LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 10/15/18.

Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 750 Park Ave, Apt 9B, NY, NY 10021.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of FIFTH AVENUE CAPITAL V LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/14/18. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 521 5th Ave, Ste 1804, NY, NY 10175.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Qualification of JL HAMBURG 1301, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/15/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/13/18.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207.

DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of LUMINARY PRODUCTIONS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM NOTICE OF FORMATION of NYC Ferry Fleet, LLC filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/30/18. Office location: New York County. The principal business address of the LLC is: 110 William Street, New York, New York 10038.

SSNY has been designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail service of process (SOP) to c/o New York City Economic Development Corporation, 110 William Street, New York, New York 10038.

New York City Economic Development Corporation is designated as agent for SOP at 110 William Street, New York, New York 10038.

Purpose: any lawful purpose.

BEAR MOUNTAIN MANAGEMENT, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/09/2018. Office loc: NY Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Alicia Crawford, 100 S Bedford Road, Suite 340, Mount Kisco, NY 10549, Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of 43 Kingston Avenue Investors LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 64 2nd Ave., 2nd Fl., NY, NY 10003.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of 43 Kingston Avenue HPG Sponsor LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/16/18. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 64 2nd Ave., 2nd Fl., NY, NY 10003.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of Parcel B West Moderate Income LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/9/18. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 777 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. LLC formed in DE on 11/7/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc., 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LLC: 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of Qualification of Parcel B West Affordable Opportunity Zone Fund LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/9/18.

Office location: NY County.

Princ. bus. addr.: 777 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. LLC formed in DE on 11/7/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc., 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LLC: 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: all lawful purposes.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL #1314937 FOR LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 134 W BROADWAY NY, NY 10013.

NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. WB CAFÉ INC. KH AGC Holding LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/18/2018.

Office loc: Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC, Attn: Adam Brodsky, 3 W 57th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10019. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES / CityAndStateNY.com

December 10, 2018 PEACH AND BLUP, LLC, filed with SSNY 8/6/2018.

Office loc: Richmond County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: United States Corp. Agent, Inc., 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228 Notice of Formation of Muckroe Properties LLC. Art. Of Org. filed with SSNY on 11/20/18.

Offc Loc: Westchester Cty. SSNY desig. as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, c/o James Sheerin, 32 Major Applebys Rd, Ardsley, NY 10502.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose Notice of Auction Notice of Auction Sale is herein given that Citiwide Self Storage located at 45-55 Pearson Street, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101 will take place on WWW. STORAGETREASURES. COM Sale by competitive bidding starting on January 4, 2019 and end on January 11, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. to satisfy unpaid rent and charges on the following accounts: Contents of rooms generally contain misc. #3A14 – Steven Broiles -Unit contains: Canned food, 15 crates, 10 boxes, coffee and tissue; #3L24 – Andres Helm - 10+ bags, boxes, luggage, shopping cart, misc. furniture; #9C32 – Spencer Brownstone Gallery – Nothing visible.

The contents of each unit will be sold as a lot and all items must be removed from the premises within 72 hours. Owners may redeem their goods by paying all rent and charges due at any time before the sale. All sales are held “with reserve”.

Owner reserves the right to cancel sale at any time.

Notice of Qualification of Granite Bridge Partners GP I, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 8/8/18. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 6/5/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: The LLC, 350 Park Ave., 23rd Fl., NY, NY 10022, principal business address. DE address of LLC: c/o Cogency Global Inc., 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1314874 FOR LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 988 MANHATTAN AVE BROOKLYN, NY 11222.

KINGS COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. SIRE RESTAURANT GROUP LLC. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1314848 FOR LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL LIQUOR, WINE, & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 197 GRAND ST NEW YORK, NY 10013.

NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. MARGHERITA CORPORATION. Notice of Qualification of Granite Bridge Partners LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 8/8/18.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in DE on 8/17/17.

NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: The LLC, 350 Park Ave., 23rd Fl., NY, NY 10022, principal business address. DE address of LLC: c/o Cogency Global Inc., 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Qualification of Granite Bridge Private Equity Fund, L.P. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 8/8/18. Office location: NY County. LP formed in DE on 6/12/18. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Granite Bridge Partners GP I, LLC, 350 Park Ave., 23rd Fl., NY, NY 10022, principal business address. DE address of LP: c/o Cogency Global Inc., 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904.

Name/address of genl. ptr. available from NY Sec. of State. Cert. of LP filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice of Auction

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, PURSUANT TO LAW, THAT THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS WILL HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING ON WEDNES DAY, DECEMB ER 26, 2018 AT 2:00 P.M. AT 42 BROADWAY, 5TH FLOOR, ON A PETITION FOR BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE, INC. TO ESTABLISH, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE AN UNENCLOSED SIDEWALK CAFÉ AT 279 AMSTERDAM AVE IN THE BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN FOR A TERM OF TWO YEARS. REQUEST FOR COPIES OF THE REVOCABLE CONSENT AGREEMENT MAY BE ADDRESSED TO: DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, ATTN: FOIL OFFICER, 42 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10004.

Notice of Auction Sale is herein given that Access Self Storage of Long Island City located at 2900 Review Avenue, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101 will take place on WWW. STORAGETREASURES.COM Sale by competitive bidding starting on January 04, 2019 and end on January 11, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. to satisfy unpaid rent and charges on the following accounts:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1315019 FOR WINE & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL WINE & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 628 HUDSON ST NEW YORK, NY 10014.

NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ONPREMISE CONSUMPTION. HUDSON CAFÉ MIR & MG LLC. Notice of Formation of ISO VENTURES LLC filed with SSNY on 10/22/18.

Office: King’s County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 1 North 4th Place, #25A, Brooklyn, NY 11249. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice is hereby given that a license, number 1315064 for a restaurant wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell wine and beer at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 500 W 33rd St., Unit#RU419, New York, NY 10001 on premises consumption.

Shake Shack New York LLC d/b/a Shake Shack

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Contents of rooms generally contain misc. #230-George Laws; 2 black bags, large plastic tote, 1 folding chair, #455-Sandro Gomes; 5 small boxes, 1 luggage, 1 metal table, 1 office chair, 2 chairs, ironing board, 1 twin box spring, 1 bar bell, 1 bottle of tide detergent, 1 bottle of down and 1 clothing rack., #465-Brandie Hopstein; 2 full size box springs, 1 Queen mattress, 1 luggage, 5 bags, 1 purse, 1 bag of shoes, 2 makeup cabinets and 1 piggy bank, #2429-Sydny Frowner; 20 bags, 15-20 plastic totes, electronic keyboard, and a small end table, #3427-Brian Lemna;10 small boxes, 1 pair of sneakers, 1 guitar case, 1 rain coat, 1 microwave, and one DC comic poster, #6218-Rachel Rendeiro; Cooler, plastic totes, toaster oven, picture frames, clothes, and misc. items.

The contents of each unit will be sold as a lot and all items must be removed from the premises within 72 hours. Owners may redeem their goods by paying all rent and charges due at any time before the sale.

37

W Capital 1 LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 12/06/2018.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 119 W. 24th Street, New York, NY 10011. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

BWH Group LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 12/06/2018. Office loc: Kings County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 1252 East 19th Street, Unit 2A, Brooklyn, NY 11230. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

PUBLIC NOTICE New York City Dept. of Consumer Affairs Notice of Public Hearing Notice is hereby given, pursuant to law, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a public hearing on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018 AT 2:00 P.M. at 42 Broadway, 5th floor, on a petition for NINO AQ LLC to ESTABLISH, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE an unenclosed sidewalk cafe at 3501 DITMARS BLVD ASTORIA, NY 11105 IN THE BOROUGH OF QUEENS FOR A TERM OF TWO YEARS. REQUEST FOR COPIES OF THE REVOCABLE CONSENT AGREEMENT MAY BE ADDRESSED TO: DEPT. OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, 42 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10004 ATTN: FOIL OFFICER

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

Cellco Partnership and its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to collocate wireless communications antennas at three locations. Antennas will be installed at a top height of 70 feet on a building with an overall top height of 72 feet at the approx. vicinity of 465 E 167th St, Bronx, Bronx County, NY 10456. Antennas will be installed at a top height of 51 feet on a building with an overall top height of 51 feet at the approx. vicinity of 94-67 Corona Ave, Elmhurst, Queens County, NY 11373. Antennas will be installed at a top height of 59 feet on a 53-foot building at the approx. vicinity of 221 East 35th Street, New York, New York County, NY 10016.

Public comments regarding potential effects from these sites on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Alison, a.cusack@ trileaf.com, 10845 Olive Blvd, Suite 260, St. Louis, MO 63141, 314-997-6111.

AT&T proposes to modify an existing facility (new tip heights 54.7’) on the building at 311-313 East Broadway, New York, NY (20182163).

Interested parties may contact Scott Horn (856-809-1202) (1012 Industrial Dr., West Berlin, NJ 08091) with comments regarding potential effects on historic properties.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

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December 10, 2018

CITY & STATE NEW YORK MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING CEO Steve Farbman, President & Publisher Tom Allon tallon@cityandstateny.com, Comptroller David Pirozzi dpirozzi@cityandstateny.com, Business & Operations Manager Patrea Patterson, Administrative Assistant Jenny Hochberg

Who was up and who was down last week

PRODUCTION Art Director Andrew Horton, Senior Graphic Designer Alex Law, Junior Graphic Designer Aaron Aniton, Digital Content Coordinator Michael Filippi, Digital Content Coordinator Ariel Tu

BILL DE BLASIO “Love you brother.” Who said it? Not the voters who just gave the mayor a 43 percent approval rating. No, Bill de Blasio said it to corrupt donor Jona Rechnitz. That drama was overshadowed by the did-he-didn’the firing of Emergency Management Commissioner Joe Esposito. You’d think de Blasio could’ve let him go in person, but as the Times pointed out, the mayor barely even bothered to meet with any of his commissioners this year – or even show up at his office.

THE BEST OF THE REST

THE REST OF THE WORST

JIM CONIGLIARO JR.

ALBERT ALVAREZ

He leads the Uber and Lyft drivers who got bumped over NYC’s minimum wage.

If you (allegedly) set up an elaborate straw donor scheme, try to steal more than $5K.

ANDREW CUOMO

LOUIS CIMINELLI

SUE SERINO

JOE ESPOSITO

MARK WEPRIN

CHAD LUPINACCI

Sorry, haters. A poll says Queens wants Amazon after all. The $3B subsidy? Eh. A whole month later, state Sen. Sue Serino finally beat Karen Smythe – by 695 votes.

He and his Greenberg pals landed the biggest kahuna of them all: Amazon.

Another Cuomo crony behind bars for the Buffalo Billion. Next up: Alain Kaloyeros!

ADVERTISING Vice President of Advertising Jim Katocin jkatocin@ cityandstateny.com, Account/Business Development Executive Scott Augustine saugustine@cityandstateny.com, Event Sponsorship Strategist Danielle Koza dkoza@ cityandstateny.com, Sales Associate Cydney McQuillanGrace cydney@cityandstateny.com, Junior Sales Executive Caitlin Dorman, Junior Sales Executive Shakirah Gittens EVENTS events@cityandstateny.com Sales Director Lissa Blake, Events Manager Sharon Nazarzadeh, Senior Events Coordinator Alexis Arsenault, Marketing & Events Coordinator Jamie Servidio, Director of Events Research & Development Bryan Terry

Vol. 7 Issue 47 December 10, 2018

PULLING WILL THE UPSTATEDOWNSTATE DIVIDE DISRUPT THE DEMS’ KUMBAYA MOMENT?

TOG ET HER? SINGLE-PAYER. MARIJUANA. CHILD VICTIMS ACT. IS IT TIME FOR THE DEMOCRATIC AGENDA?

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

December 10, 2018

Cover design Andrew Horton Cover image Matveev Aleksandr/Shutterstock

Losing your job is never fun, but usually you at least know for certain you’ve been axed.

Innocent until proven guilty, but 2018 is a bad year to be accused of sexual assault.

WINNERS & LOSERS is published every Friday morning in City & State’s First Read email.

Sign up for the email, cast your vote and see who won at cityandstateny.com.

CITY & STATE NEW YORK (ISSN 2474-4107) is published weekly, 48 times a year except for the four weeks containing New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas by City & State NY, LLC, 61 Broadway, Suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2763. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices.

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ASSEMBLY; LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

LOSERS CARL HEASTIE You’d think that every state lawmaker is psyched that they’ll likely get a pay raise. Who doesn’t like more money?

(63 percent more money, to be exact.) But since we can’t name the entire Legislature a winner, Carl Heastie takes the cake. The Assembly speaker has long been an advocate for a pay hike. The only downside for Heastie is that the commission recommended the increase be tied to a limit on outside income, and the speaker has been a lot less enthusiastic about pesky ethics reforms.

OUR PICK

OUR PICK

WINNERS

New York City public advocate candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito wants to legalize marijuana and use the tax money to fund the subways in a plan she’s calling Weed for Rails. At the same time, the MTA is diverting attention from its own poor management and lack of government support by blaming its woes on the small percentage of fare evaders. Solution: Make it cool to pay, by selling MetroCard-branded rolling papers.

For more winning ideas, read on!

EDITORIAL editor@cityandstateny.com Editor-in-Chief Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com, Managing Editor Ryan Somers, Senior Editor Ben Adler badler@cityandstateny.com, Special Projects Editor Alice Popovici, Digital Director Derek Evers devers@ cityandstateny.com, Copy Editor Eric Holmberg, Staff Reporter Jeff Coltin jcoltin@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Zach Williams zwilliams@cityandstateny. com, Editorial Assistant Rebecca C. Lewis rlewis@ cityandstateny.com

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THE THE CLOSER CLOSER YOU AT YOU LOOK LOOK AT SINGLE PAYER, PAYER, SINGLE PAYER, THE SCARIER SCARIER THE IT GETS IT GETS Despite what some want you to believe, a New York State government-run Single Payer health care system isn’t “Medicare For All.” Here’s what it really means: Higher taxes for everyone — A mindboggling $139 billion in new taxes the first year alone —and better health care for hardly anyone.

Less access to the health care you want, need and deserve.

You Lose your current plan.

SEEN ENOUGH? SO HAVE THE EMPLOYERS, PROVIDERS, TAXPAYERS AND UNIONS WHO OPPOSE THIS COSTLY GOVERNMENT-RUN IDEA.

LEARN THE FACTS ABOUT SINGLE PAYER

VISIT REALITIESOFSINGLEPAYER.COM