10 minute read
FIRST READ
Gov. Kathy Hochul has a 17 percentage point lead over Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin in the race for governor, according to the latest Siena College poll.
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– New York City Mayor Eric Adams, after being questioned by reporters on the lack of transparency in his public schedules, via the New York Post
LATEST POLL HAS HOCHUL WAY UP
Allegations that the governor was involved in a pay-to-pay deal involving the state’s purchase of overpriced COVID-19 tests from a deep-pocketed campaign donor seem to have done little to marr how she’s resonating with voters, though congressional Republicans have vowed to investigate the deal if they retake the House. Still, with a 17-point lead, Gov. Kathy Hochul has only expanded her sweeping edge over Rep. Lee Zeldin since August, according to the latest Siena College poll. She’s held a comfortable lead in most public polls and has even moderately improved her favorability with Republicans. Both Zeldin and Hochul have continued to disagree
AT HOME
A wave of violent attacks against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic has caused some people in New York City to arm themselves with pepper spray and push for more policing, while others attempt to navigate self-protection without partnering with police. This month’s issue of New York magazine looked into this conflict, along with other aspects of what it means to be “at home in Asian America.”
– state Sen. Jessica Ramos, on urging New York City to lift the cap on food vending permits, via The City about which debates they’ll participate in, meaning as of now, none will be held. While Hochul recently agreed to one debate that would be hosted by NY1 toward the end of October, Zeldin blasted her decision to only participate in one debate and has yet to accept the invitation. The candidates’ positions on crime also took center stage as they rolled out dueling endorsements from law enforcement organizations with the Police Conference of New York backing Zeldin and the Police Benevolent Association of New York State getting behind Hochul.
NYC REVERSES COURSE ON SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
After adopting a random lottery system in an effort to combat school segregation under then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2020, New York City schools will again have significantly more power to consider academic performance and test scores in their admissions processes. This marks a major policy shift under New York City Mayor Eric Adams and schools Chancellor David Banks to reward students who perform well. The move has been celebrated by Asian American education advocates in particular, as Asian American students make up a significant portion of the population
of New York City’s highly selective schools. Banks also announced three new selective schools in the South Bronx, Southeast Queens and Brownsville, Brooklyn to expand access to more neighborhoods.
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, RIKERS SCRUTINIZED
Reports surfaced that New York City Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina appeared to have pushed for the compassionate release of Elmore Robert Pondexter, who was seriously ill while incarcerated at Rikers Island, in order to keep the number of deaths reported in city jails from exceeding last year’s toll. There have been 16 deaths at the jail complex so far this year. A few days later, Gothamist published a harrowing report that further illustrated the deplorable conditions that have plagued the jail as the threat of a federal government takeover looms. Never-before-seen photographs included in the report showed a man having defecated in his clothes due to a lack of toilets available to him, another man locked in a cage shower and several incarcerated people dragging sick people to medical care. Hours before the New York City Council held a hearing on a long-awaited bill that would reform solitary confinement in city jails, dueling rallies for people against solitary confinement and correction officers in support of it came to a head outside City Hall.
So far, 16 people have died on Rikers Island this year, sparking rallies about ending the use of solitary confinement and the poor conditions that have plagued the jails complex.
GOP candidates soften their messaging on abortion
Republican candidates in two of New York’s battleground congressional districts who favor placing more restrictions on access to abortion have updated their campaign websites in recent weeks to reflect some exceptions to their relatively hardline stances.
Nick LaLota and Brandon Williams, GOP candidates running New York’s 1st and 22nd congressional districts, respectively, have both made changes to the sections of their campaign websites that address their views on abortion. Where they didn’t previously mention any exceptions to their anti-abortion stances, both websites now mention that the candidates wouldn’t oppose abortion in instances of rape, incest or when the health of the mother is at risk. The changes appear to have been made after last month’s primary election.
Williams, an entreprenuer running against defense policy adviser and Democrat Francis Conole in Central New York, had already expressed during the Republican primary that he was not wholly opposed to abortion in these instances. But that nuance wasn’t previously reflected on his website. Up to at least Aug. 30, Williams’ page on abortion read, “I am pro-life by faith; abortion ends all of the future possibilities of the life it extinguishes. No one is more vulnerable than the unborn and we must protect them.” Whereas that section of the website was previously titled “Pro-life,” it’s now titled just “Life.”
LaLota, the former commissioner of the Suffolk County Board of Elections, is running against Democratic Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming on Long Island. Up until at least Aug. 31, a page on LaLota’s website titled “Protecting Life” focused on support for the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent reversal of Roe v. Wade and called for New York to ban third trimester abortions and institute stricter parental notification requirements for minors.
This section of LaLota’s website has since been expanded. “I do not oppose abortion in cases of rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life,” the page now reads.
But the updated page also goes into more detail about aspects of LaLota’s position on abortion that don’t appear to have softened at all. It now mentions that he doesn’t oppose just third trimester abortions, but second trimester abortions too. – Annie McDonough
THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY 10/3
The Assembly Transportation Committee is holding a public hearing at 10 a.m. in the Legislative Office Building to discuss complete streets. MONDAY 10/3
The Brooklyn Democratic Party reconvenes to finish its biannual organizational meeting, after the first was cut short, at noon at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge. INSIDE DOPE
All local political committees have been meeting across the state in the past couple weeks to set rules and elect their leaders. WEDNESDAY 10/6
The New York City Council Land Use Committee is expected to vote on the Bruckner rezoning – a closely watched proposed residential development in the East Bronx.
By City & State
The fifth annual Nonprofit FundCon event, hosted by New York Nonprofit Media, helped executives improve their fundraising strategies and increase their fundraising opportunities. Held on Sept. 22 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan, the all-day event featured panels on fundraising, accounting, event planning and new technologies. As more events and requests for donations have moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was also a focus on online messaging and storytelling that would appeal to multiple generations.
From left, panelists Nathan Tuchman, Shivonne McKay Annan, Kate Randi and Devon Daniel
Sanctuary for Families Executive Director Judy Harris Kluger Attendees from America Needs You and other organizations listen to the panels.
Queens Deputy Borough President Ebony Young, center left, and other attendees.
Nonprofit FundCon
Strategies for creating trust and relationships with key donors
Karin Kunstler Goldman, seated, greets people at FundCon.
A Q&A with Assembly Member
RODNEYSE BICHOTTE HERMELYN
The Brooklyn Democratic Party’s meeting last month didn’t exactly go as planned and had to be postponed. Do you have any comment on this, or why this keeps happening? In this particular case, the Wi-Fi erratically performing was beyond our control. So this caused a couple of hours of delay in check-in because our computers were programmed to run and update registration (in) real time. This was the first in-person organizational meeting held under my leadership and it’s a learning experience. Yes, there were a couple of snafus, but we’re going to come back around Oct. 3 strong. So sometimes meetings like this can be complex, especially, you know, when you have a number of people who are completely always trying to be dilatory or disorderly, you know, I mean, that’s typically their goal.
You passed a law in 2020 requiring hospitals to admit anybody in preterm labor, even if they’re uninsured. You recently introduced Mickie’s Law. Can you explain the name behind the bill, and the motivation, the story behind it? Mickie’s Law would ensure that mothers who encounter fetal death get the treatment that they need to remove the dead fetus, especially in the event of an emergency. In this particular case, with Mickie, there was a couple who was in the second trimester and lost their child. And when it was time to remove it, they went to the hospital. The hospital would not allow it to happen, because it was a Christian hospital, and they considered removal of a dead fetus was abortion.
Why is it that it takes them so long to deal with these kinds of situations that you think they would attend to immediately? Well, in many cases, it’s all about the money. They don’t want to have to deal with increasing malpractice insurance. And they don’t want to enter into a situation where they might be liable for a death. And then there’s a level of racism with what I went through, which is why I passed the Jonah Bichotte Cowan Law, after my son. They treat Black women definitely worse than white women. I was a victim of that, having to come out of a hospital – a top end hospital, Columbia – that pushed me out and said, we can’t service you because of insurance. And we can help you get rid of the baby, but we can’t service you to help save you and to help save your baby. I left, and I went to a local hospital in Brooklyn; it was a safety net hospital, and they took care of me. They were just beautiful people. Although I lost my son, or delivered my son there, it was still an experience that was comforting that eased my pain. And so I wrote the law to make sure that other women don’t go through this ever, ever, ever again. – Erik Lazo and Jeff Coltin
THE YMCA OF GREATER NEW YORK CONGRATULATES THE 2022 NONPROFIT POWER 100 HONOREES!
Special thanks to YMCA of Greater New York President & CEO Sharon Greenberger for everything she does to empower youth, improve health, and strengthen communities. Her leadership, vision, and compassion have strengthened the YMCA and enabled us to make a positive impact in the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.
