23 minute read
FIRST READ
New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned of broad cuts across agencies ahead of a predicted $3 billion deficit next year after releasing his $102.7 billion budget proposal.
NEW YEAR, NEW NYC BUDGET
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams released his $102.7 billion budget proposal on Jan. 12 – the first step of a monthslong cycle in which administration and the City Council will negotiate and fine-tune the details of the fiscal year 2024 budget. Many of the details will change between now and when the new fiscal year begins July 1, but the preliminary numbers reflected a number of looming fiscal challenges for the city. With the city facing what’s likely to be a deficit of nearly $3 billion next year, Adams has said that broad cuts must be made across various agencies. One of the biggest sources of savings comes from eliminating thousands of city government positions that are currently vacant – a move
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WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN FOR METS Correa walks away from Amazin’s, signs with Twins Page 17 HI 42 ° | LO 39 ° INCREASING CLOUDSNEW YORK CITY’S NO. 1 CIRCULATED NEWSPAPER WEDNESDAY January 11, 2023 NOT GIVING IN: Nurses strike continues in Manhattan, Bronx Page 2 An amNY Metro/Bronx Times SPECIAL REPORT
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A YEAR OF AGONY
Bronx residents still coping and rebuilding 12 months a er devastating, deadly Twin Parks high-rise re Pages 10-11
FILE PHOTO/DEAN MOSES
TWIN PARKS, ONE YEAR LATER
The response to the fire at the Bronx’s Twin Parks housing complex that killed 17 people last January was swift. New York City and state strengthened regulations for self-closing doors and space heaters, and raised millions of dollars for the victims. But a year later, residents’ agony continues. Some say they’re still forced to rely on dangerous space heaters and have seen only a small portion of the funds raised to help them rebuild.
– Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, on why Rep. George Santos should step down, via The New York Times
– Democratic Assembly Member Latrice Walker on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal for bail reform, via the Times Union previewed towards the end of 2022.
SHOULD HE STAY OR SHOULD HE GO
Republican Rep. George Santos, the embattled new Congress member from Long Island, is less and less popular. The number of people calling for Santos to resign has grown significantly over the past week and a half. In a crowded joint press conference, Nassau County Republican officials urged him to resign, as did a handful of other House Republican leaders from New York. Still, newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has so far defended Santos, though he has acknowledged he shouldn’t sit on any top committees. Santos meanwhile has repeatedly rebuffed calls to resign.
SKEPTICISM, CONCERNS, SUPPORT FOR LASALLE
The day that the state Senate will hold its hearing for Hochul’s chief judge pick, Hector LaSalle has officially been set for Wednesday, Jan. 18. Still, the tumultuous fight over her nomination is far from over. The majority of the members seated on the state Senate Judiciary Committee have expressed concerns about LaSalle that range from mild skepticism to ardent opposition. It’s become increasingly possible that the 19-member committee – having recently been expanded from 15 – won’t
give their recommendation for his nomination to move on to a vote before the full Senate. Hochul hasn’t liked this prospect. She’s continued to voice her full support of LaSalle, arguing that constitutionally the full Senate should get a say regardless of what the Judiciary Committee decides to do this week.
COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS UP
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in the state hit their highest level in nearly a year as a new, highly transmissible XBB.1.5 variant has spread across New York. The strain, known as the Kraken, is being regarded by health experts as the most transmissible variant yet. And while the subvariant is unlikely to be the sole contributor to the increase in hospitalizations – which neared 4,000 as of Jan. 10 – it is a driving factor. New York City is also currently experiencing its highest COVID-19 fatality average since February 2022. Statewide, nearly 1,600 people have died from the virus since Dec. 1.
Nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx are back to work after going on strike – which is a positive update given a spike in COVID-19.
The moderate renegades
While Democrats and Republicans alike were in Albany for the State of the State, some mostly moderate, anti-party revolutionaries met in the basement of the Hunt & Fish Club in midtown Manhattan to launch an ambitious campaign: get rid of partisan primaries and partisan general elections in New York City. Final Five Voting NYC is hoping to gather 50,000 valid signatures (or really, double that number for a cushion) so they can get a question on the ballot this November. Then convince a majority of voters to approve a new system for city elections. There would be a single, open primary where anybody can vote, and then the top five vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the November general, with ranked choice voting in effect.
Supporters say it’s a way to minimize political extremism and play to the median voter. Nevada voters just narrowly approved the system, and versions are in effect in Alaska, Washington and California. The Daily News Editorial Board just endorsed the idea. But even if city voters just approved RCV in 2019, passing Final Five seems nearly impossible. The party organizations would hate it, and so would most of the elected officials elected with their support. If the campaign picks up any steam, expect them, and allies like labor unions, to spend against it.
For now, the movement is quite fringey. There were no elected officials at the launch party Tuesday night, and the room was filled with outsiders and also-rans including former mayoral candidates Sal Albanese, who chairs the organization, and Andrew Yang. But Yang already has an idea for a TV ad to win support: “A New York firefighter looking straight into camera saying ‘I have run into buildings to save my fellow New Yorkers. I’m an independent and I cannot vote for who our next leaders are going to be.’”
New Yorkers for Competitive Elections is registered as a ballot issue committee with the state Board of Elections. While fundraising filings due next week may show more, they had only raised $3,565 through the middle of 2022.
But the Final Five campaign in Nevada was well funded by big givers. And Yang – whose mayoral candidacy got major support from Griffin – is optimistic about their chances if more money comes in. “If we have the resources to get this message out and make this case, we will win,” he said. – Jeff Coltin
THE WEEK AHEAD
TUESDAY 1/17
Campaign finance filings are due for every candidate at state and New York City levels, revealing where who’s been raising and how they’ve been spending. INSIDE DOPE
The filings will be one sign of who’s a real contender in the 2023 New York City Council primaries coming up in June. THURSDAY 1/19
Three major state Senate committees hold a joint public hearing at 10 a.m. to examine the state Climate Action Council final scoping plan on meeting New York’s emissions goals. MONDAY 1/23
The New York City Council Public Safety Committee holds a 10 a.m. oversight hearing at City Hall on the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group.
GEORGE SANTOS’ FAKE, ACTUAL RÉSUMÉ
Somehow this version contains more truths than the real document.
By Caitlin Dorman and Jeff Coltin
After the ongoing George Santos debacle, the Nassau County Republican Party will be looking for a new candidate for the 3rd Congressional District – either in 2024, or sooner. While The New York Times found Santos’ actual, fake résumé, we at City & State have found his fake, actual résumé, as Santos pitches himself to the party again. George A. Devolder Santos Queens ... or maybe Huntington? But also the Hamptons. AnthonyZabrovsky@Hotmail.com linkedin.com/in/Anthony-Devolder
Summary Genius. Visionary. America First. Jew-ISH. Skills • Innovation – Lots of people pad their résumés with boring details like a trumped-up position title, or an embellishment of their responsibilities. How many people do you know who completely fabricate their work experience and educational background? Groundbreaking, trailblazing, never been done before. • Storytelling – I bring more to the table than imaginary experience at Goldman Sachs and a nonexistent master’s degree. I also lie about totally irrelevant stuff, like saving 2,500 cats and dogs. • Perseverance – I don’t give up when the going gets tough. All of New York’s Democrats want me to resign? No chance. All of my fellow New York Republicans want me to resign? Absolutely not. I am committed to serving through a job, even when everyone is begging me (for the good of society) not to. That’s just the work ethic I was raised on (by my mother, who has died on five separate occasions). • Cultural exchange – As a Catholic, I successfully convinced a lot of people I was a “proud American Jew” and the grandson of Holocaust survivors. I learned a lot! Also briefly identified as a Black man. • Team Player – When the GOP needed me in the House chamber, I sat there quietly and knew to vote Kevin McCarthy for speaker 15 times. Just like when I was a star player on the Baruch volley Sorry. Bad habit.
Work Experience
House of Representatives Member of Congress, New York’s 3rd District
• Jan. 2023 – Until I get thrown outSuccessfully found the way to my office (after some trial and error). Managed to be the most unpopular person in the room, even while in the presence of Matt Gaetz. Remembered to vote when my name was called (almost always). Self-employed Tenant Jan. 2015 – Present • Succeeded in not paying months and months of rent in multiple locations. Thank you eviction moratorium <3. The Devolder Organization Principal May 2021 – Sept. 2022 • Scammed rich Floridians.
The One57 Group Principal 2021 • Consulted Tina Forte to a whopping 27% of the vote against AOC in 2022. Self-employed Loving Boyfriend June 2014 – Feb. 2015
• Everyone says it’s the thought that counts when it comes to gifts. The important thing is that those plane tickets to Hawaii were real to me. I might have been able to afford real ones too if I’d had more time to leverage the money I got from pawning that cellphone. Education High school dropout with a GED to millionaire member of Congress! Honestly! It’s a pretty good story. Just don’t ask where the millions came from.
A Q&A with Assembly Member BRIAN CUNNINGHAM
What was your reaction to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address? One of the things that came up for me was the commitment to mental health care – which the governor brought up with the $1 billion investment – to really work on the prevention side. There are several things that are affecting the mental health system. Normalizing health care is really important because we’re coming out of COVID-19. Communities, like my Black and brown communities, oftentimes don’t look at mental health as a part of health care, so we really want to help bolster that part of it and make sure that people want to normalize it. Also, we want to make sure people with severe mental illness are able to access the care they want to make sure they are safe for themselves and also safe for the communities.
What are your legislative priorities as the new session begins? One big thing for me is always going to be maternal health. The state Legislature has done a good job of codifying a woman’s right to choose, but it also has to do with making sure women, especially Black and brown women, are able to have a baby safely. There are too many Black and brown women dying, both pre-birth and post-birth, as a result of not having strong protections on the maternal health side. The other piece that we can’t escape, and is the elephant in the room, is New York is becoming more and more unaffordable. Inflation has created a circumstance where omelets now cost an arm and a leg. It’s really important that we do more to support the efforts to raise the minimum wage and tie it to inflation, so we can continue to see the minimum wage grow and small businesses supported. The other piece I’m going to focus on is energy and making sure we have a planet that is sustainable and breathable, and we begin to work on some of the radical environmental racism happening in communities of color.
What are some of the biggest lessons you learned last session that you’re hoping to apply to your first full session as an Assembly member? The biggest lesson I learned was getting things going early and submitting your bills on time. We were fortunate to pass four pieces of legislation that were signed by the governor. Our goal has been to get legislation out earlier. The big thing that I knew coming in – but I think it’s become crystal clear now – is making sure you’re talking to people that agree with the policy and also the people that disagree with the policy. Sometimes we only talk to the chorus of believers and advocates who have the same principles and tenets. What I’ve learned to do now is expand that scope and talk to folks who disagree with me – whether that be my Republican colleagues, members of my own Democratic conference who are not quite there on the legislation, or people who are fighting against legislation – to figure out how I can perfect the legislation and not miss any blind spots. – Shantel Destra
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A Q&A with Brendan McGuire
Eric Adams’ top lawyer is trying to keep the mayor – and the city – out of trouble.
By Jeff Coltin
NEW YORK CITY Mayor Eric Adams hasn’t been formally accused of any ethical wrongdoing in his first year in office. But he’s certainly raised some eyebrows.
From hiring his brother, to having a city lawyer represent him on the rat issues at his Brooklyn home, to seeing his chief of staff leave after just one year and launch a consulting and lobbying firm, to all the allegedly less than upstanding businesspeople that he likes to spend his evenings with, the good-government groups have had a lot to comment on.
So it’s notable that Adams’ top lawyer was former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s top deputy overseeing public corruption in the Southern District of New York. As the chief counsel to the mayor and City Hall, Brendan McGuire understands Adams is closely scrutinized, but he said you’ve got to look at the big picture. Adams has appointed the right people. And the city isn’t for sale.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
You used to run the public corruption unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District. I would imagine that people working there might have an idea that everybody who works in government, they’re all scoundrels trying to take from the public fisc. Has your perspective changed since you’ve entered the administration?
I’m not nearly the cynic that you are, or that you think prosecutors are. When you do public corruption work, it actually helps you realize that the vast majority of public officials are decent, hard-working, honest people. Because you do have so much exposure to them, you’re able to really intrude in a lot of ways – legally – but intrude in the way in which they conduct their business. So I didn’t come in with that view.
At the same time – and I think it’s a testament to why the mayor recognized the importance of having someone with my profile in this position – there are obviously ways to do things the right way, and there are ways to do things in a different way. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s corrupt. It doesn’t mean it’s unethical. But you can do things that are less than consistent with integrity, and less than consistent with the way in which good government should be practiced. Over this past year in City Hall, I have been really impressed by the degree to which this team has been willing to buy into a culture of good government, a culture of integrity, doing things the right way, even if no one may be looking. There’s obviously a lot of external scrutiny on those in City Hall, and rightfully so. And so one of the messages that we have been emphasizing from the get-go is that every choice you make matters. And it’s not just for you, it’s for your team, it’s for the mayor. And I like to think that we’ve built a strong foundation in that regard.
Brendan McGuire defended the administration’s culture of good government.
I want to ask about a couple of specific ethical concerns, like the rat violation. A deputy chief counsel represented Adams before the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings for his personal rat issues. You oversee OATH, and Rahul Agarwal works for you. Didn’t that look like the mayor is using government staff for his personal issues? Is that allowed?
I can understand that impression. I’d make a distinction of what you said, which is that Rahul (Agarwal) came to represent the
mayor. It was made clear that, given the exigency of the circumstances, the mayor had a hearing scheduled that he was to personally appear on, and then due to city business was unable to call in. And when Rahul did call in, he made clear that he wasn’t appearing for the mayor, he was simply notifying so that folks weren’t going to be stuck on the line waiting for the mayor. So that may strike some as a distinction without a difference. But given the time sensitivity that we were under at the time, I had asked him to call in, so that folks weren’t waiting on the mayor. And again, that is something that the mayor has handled and will continue to handle on his own. To the extent he needs any assistance with that, he’ll take that up with a personal representative. (Editor’s note: Agarwal did not only alert people that the mayor could not make it – he also filed a motion to vacate on Adams’ behalf. Asked after the interview to clarify, a spokesperson in the City Hall communications office declined to comment.)
Another potential ethical challenge is about to face the office, and that’s chief of staff Frank Carone leaving and starting his own private firm. He told Politico that he’s not going to lobby the mayor, he’s not going to appear before the office – though his staff might appear before the mayor’s office. Has the mayor’s office set standards with regard to Carone?
Yes. We have met with, and will meet with, all outgoing senior officials, not just with Frank, but also with Lorraine Grillo, who we’re also very sorry to have leaving. This is very important. And this is an area that we are very much focused on. One of the benefits of having a more robust chief counsel’s office than in the past, is you have a lot of lawyers who are able to interface with the Conflict of Interest Board on a regular basis, which is what we do. They are a very important agency. And they provide guidance to city employees on these kinds of issues. And so in consultation with them, we have provided a set of guidelines, and will provide to other departing senior level officials. And folks like Frank, folks like Lorraine, they very much understand the importance of this. And so I don’t expect that it will be an issue. And I think that we will obviously be very sensitive to it. But there is every reason for me to believe that both of them, as well as others, are not going to want to put the administration in any kind of difficult situation through their next jobs.
Carone was saying that he has clients lined up, he told Politico that. It seemed to me like that meant he was soliciting business while he was chief of staff. I’m wondering if you’re aware of that situation, if you’ve talked with Frank, with COIB, about the specifics of him starting his own private firm while still chief of staff?
Yeah. So he did not start the private firm while chief of staff. I think, as he made clear in the press release, this was a company that he is sort of revamping, that he had previously had. So of course, I’m sure he spent some time thinking about what his next step was going to be. And as I understand it, he’s beginning to kind of build it out, he made mention of getting office space. But he was not actively soliciting clients while chief of staff. I think he is someone who has a set of relationships that I think as he’s starting out here, he’s in contact with clients. I think that’s not uncommon for folks in the consulting space or legal space or elsewhere. But no, he did not, during his time here, did he spend time setting up the business. (Editor’s note: McGuire was wrong about this, according to Carone. The former chief of staff told City & State in an email that the city regulations are narrow construed. He was negotiating with potential clients that had city business, such as Northwell Health, while still employed by the city. But this was allowed, Carone said, because he was not working on any “particular matters” involving those prospective clients while chief of staff.)
Broadly on this point, Adams has a target on his back as the mayor, everybody knows that. And a lot of the flack he’s gotten in the press, or just from the public, has been about who he chooses to spend time with. Are you worried about those optics, of spending time with the Petrosyants brothers, for one example? Or is your job just the letter of the law?
It is not just the letter of the law. And the mayor, I think, has been clear on this. There are inferences made, that I think frankly have distorted the nature of his relationships with some of these people. Whether he’s either met someone in the past, or even if he has spent time with someone – oftentimes, this comes from a place of decency and generosity with the
McGuire, far right, is helping the city determine how to handle the current influx of migrants.
man. He is trying to mentor people. People may or may not choose to accept that explanation. But I think it’s an unfair leap to say OK, if you are spending time with people who may have violated the law in the past, or behaved improperly in the past, that therefore you are and that therefore, as a public official, there is something corrupt about that.
I think it is fair to ask questions about it. But I don’t think it’s fair to jump to the conclusion that, because you’re choosing to spend time with people who are trying to restart their lives, in effect, that therefore there’s something wrong with that, or there’s something somehow corrupt with you.
Back in September, when many asylum-seekers were coming to the city, you said the administration felt it was time to “reconsider the practices that the city developed that flow from the right to shelter.” Has the city adjusted anything about the practices regarding the right to shelter since then, whether it’s for asylum-seeking migrants or for New Yorkers that previously lived here? No. 1, the right to shelter evolved from a late 1970s case that was filed that was obviously
the result of a focus on domestic unhoused New Yorkers. And at no point, as this case law has evolved, could anyone on any side of the issue predict that there was going to become a day when tens of thousands of individuals from the border would be bused here. No. 2, as the mayor has said, the city’s shelter system is now really nearing a breaking point, if not at a breaking point, with a record high. Not only those who may come, but those who are already in the system – New Yorkers as well as asylum-seekers – the services and the care of those people are going to be compromised, all of them, if we don’t identify a solution, and obviously if the federal government doesn’t identify a solution very soon, that will enable us to handle any additional influx.
And the answer is not just open up more hotels, because you need more than just physical space. You need staff who is trained. You need other types of services and resources. We are not in the business of trying to come up with a half-baked plan, even though some may say just keep opening up more buildings. It’s a big city. That doesn’t work.
When does somebody become a New Yorker? Is there a legal difference between somebody who takes a bus to New York from the border, from somebody who may have already been here?
It’s a fair question. It’s a way to frame it. We think about it less as “Who’s a New Yorker?” There’s many different definitions, but a lot of us would say one of the things that we love about New York is that it’s a low bar to becoming a New Yorker. We don’t intend to change that, and obviously this city has a rich history of welcoming those from all over.
But more than that, it’s figuring out what is the right solution for this highneed population, which has different needs than the individuals that are here in the city who may have a homelessness problem that is recurring, or may have mental illness or other things, but many of whom already have roots or connections to the city. This is a different group with a different set of needs. And so you can’t just do a onesize-fits-all approach. And so from a legal standpoint, it’s important to recognize that difference. And then consider, OK, what are the options here? Because we all feel a moral obligation to do what we can for anyone who comes into the city. But if you’re going to govern the city responsibly, you have to then consider, OK, legally, what are we required to do? Despite the fact that we may morally be trying to do everything we can to help them rebuild their lives. ■
