City & State NY_12052016

SETTING THE AGENDA

INFRASTRUCTURE ETHICS REFORM ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM @CIT YANDSTATENY December 5, 2016

STOP 1 WALL STREET

STOP

Wall Wall Street Street is is synonymous synonymous with with greed, greed, corruption corruption and and prioritizing prioritizing wealth over work.

So, it is fitting that an unscrupulous contractor wealth over work. So, it is fitting that an unscrupulous contractor like like Gilbane Gilbane Construction Construction is is building building 11 Wall Wall Street.

Street.

For For the the past past 15 15 years, years, Gilbane Gilbane has has been been associated associated with with public public corruption corruption scandals, scandals, wage theft lawsuits and safety violations…. wage theft lawsuits and safety violations….

CORRUPTION CORRUPTION

Government Government officials officials in in California, California, Arizona, Connecticut, Arizona, Connecticut, and and Ohio Ohio have have been been terminated, terminated, caused caused to to resign resign and/or and/or faced faced civil civil penalties penalties in in connection connection with with scandals scandals involving Gilbane. involving Gilbane.

UNSAFE UNSAFE

RCI RCI Plumbing Plumbing – –a a Gilbane Gilbane subcontractor – subcontractor – was was Fined Fined $11,700 $11,700 in in January January of of 2016 2016 for for three three serious serious safety safety violations. violations.

WAGE WAGE THEFT THEFT

U.S. U.S. Crane Crane and and Rigging Rigging – –a a Gilbane Gilbane subcontractor paid a $500,000 subcontractor - paid a $500,000 settlement settlement for for an an alleged alleged violation violation of minimum wage of minimum wage and and overtime overtime laws laws in in May May 2015.

2015.

Main Main Street Street is is bringing bringing the the ight ight to to Wall Wall Street.

Street.

New New Yorkers Yorkers are are now now rising rising up up against against GILBANE GILBANE Construction.

Construction. Workers, Workers, Politicians Politicians and and Community Community Activists Activists are are taking taking the the fight fight against against greed greed and and corruption corruption back back to to Wall Wall Street.

Street.

We We DEMAND DEMAND that that 11 Wall Wall Street Street be be built built by

by RESPONSIBLE RESPONSIBLE Contractors Contractors with with a a commitment to middle class wages, safety standards, and training requirements. commitment to middle class wages, safety standards, and training requirements.

STOP 1 WALL STREET Visit Visit GilbaneExposed.com GilbaneExposed.com to to learn learn more. more.

City & State New York

December S, 2016

EDITOR'S NOTE / Contents

MICHAEL GARETH JOHNSON Editorial director

One year ago, City & State embarked on a joint project with City Limits to do a series of stories about Rikers Island correctional center. The stories looked at the physical problems facing the jail (its location on an island and its decaying facilities), the practices of correction officers, and the public outcry over disturbing deaths of inmates. We weren't the first media outlets to write about the appalling conditions on the island, but our voice did help drive the conversation forward. Over the past year, many other voices have joined this conversation, including the City Council speaker and city comptroller.

Wherever you stand on the issue, this is a debate our society needs to have, and often. How should we treat criminals - or those accused of a crime?

What level of dignity do all people deserve, even the jailed? And what are the implications of these collective decisions on the long-term safety of our society? We are proud to revisit this issue one year later, and hope this conversation continues for years to come.

8.

BOCHINCHE & BUZZ

The latest gossip from Gerson Borrero

CONTROLLING THE COUNTY COMMITTEES T he Bronx Democrats have been accused of appointing members without permission

16.

CLOSING RIKERS ISLAND Will anything ever change at the city's notorious jail?

24.

SETTING THE AGENDA We conclude our preview of the 2017 state legislative agenda

36.

SLANT Tom Waters questions Cuomo's 421-a proposal

3

4

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

LAST WEEK’S ROUNDUP DINAPOLI PUSHES FOR MORE OVERSIGHT State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have never been the best of friends – and the comptroller’s most recent move is unlikely to make them BFFs. DiNapoli, responding to the recent bid-rigging and fraud scandals tied to the Cuomo administration, is looking to strengthen his office’s oversight role – a move that raised the eyebrows of people who believed DiNapoli isn’t interested in primarying Cuomo in 2018.

BACK& FORTH A Q&A with Fordham associate political science professor

CHRISTINA GREER

C&S: WITH THE CABINET APPOINTMENTS BEING ANNOUNCED, CAN TRUMP BE “NORMALIZED”?

CG: If we listen to what he said he was going to do, and his rhetoric throughout the campaign, I mean (Trump) said he was a racist, there’s Sessions. He said he hated Muslims, well there’s Flynn. He said he hates immigrants, that’s where Rudy or Newt or whomever comes in … and he’s made many anti-Semitic comments, that’s Bannon. And all these people make sense if we think about the rhetoric of the past 15 years.

C&S: TRUMP SAYS THE ELECTION WAS ABOUT THE ECONOMY. DOES THAT HOLD SOME WATER AS A REASON FOR WHY WHITE WOMEN VOTED IN FAVOR OF TRUMP INSTEAD OF HILLARY CLINTON? CG: For all elections, if you poll black, Latinos, whites, and you ask them what the most important issues are, they always say economics. So people are always just like, oh, blacks care about city crime. No, they care about economics.

Latinos care about immigration. No, they care about economics. So we understand that pocketbook issues, how you personally are affected by the economy, matters to people, but in this election using the term economics is a proxy for a lot of other things. I think a lot of folks did not fully estimate and understand the dormant population that exists in this country that want a sort of a white country again, but then there are these middle-class folks who do feel that maybe immigration is too much, or that allowing in Syrians is a bad idea, but maybe that’s not popular to say amongst your educated set, so you just keep it to yourself.

TRUMP’S NEW YORK? New Yorkers who laughed at the idea of Donald Trump successfully running against Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014 aren’t laughing now. State lawmakers are now bracing for how a Trump administration may impact Democrats’ agenda during next year’s legislative session. While he isn’t governor, Trump’s federal policies will eventually filter down to New York – and state lawmakers have to deal with it.

JCOPE CHAIRMAN RESIGNS With New York’s history of corruption, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics gets a lot of criticism. So, it’s understandable the JCOPE Chairman Daniel Horwitz, who has held a position since the body’s inception in 2011 and has been chair since 2013, resigned this week. It’s unclear who will lead the commission next, but one source said Cuomo has tapped another Democrat to serve on the body.

THIS WEEK’S EVENTS

DEC. 6 8 a.m. – New York Nonprofit hosts TechCon and features eight panels that offer advice to nonprofits looking to expand and improve its organization and how best to utilize technology to achieve that goal. It also includes networking opportunities. The Convene, 32 Old Slip, 2nd floor, Manhattan.

DEC. 12 10 a.m. - Association for a Better New York hosts a Gateway Program progress update and panel with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and Regional Planning Association President Tom Wright discussing the new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River. Sheraton New York, Times Square, Metro Ballroom, 811 Seventh Ave., Manhattan.

Upcoming events: Planning an event in the next few weeks that our readers should know about? Submit details to editor@cityandstateny.com. We’ll pick the most interesting or important ones and feature them in print each week.

THE

Kicker

“DO WE WANT TO POINT OUT TO NYDIA THAT HER QUOTE IS WEAK AND ENCOURAGE HER TO JOIN HER MORE COURAGEOUS COLLEAGUES IN ACTUALLY SAYING SOMETHING?” – Josh Gold, consultant on de Blasio’s pre-K initiative, on a quote received from Rep. Nydia Velazquez, in an email acquired by the Post Get the kicker every morning in CITY & STATE’S FIRST READ email.

Sign up at cityandstateny.com.

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

DID YOU MISS IT?

Why is Brooklyn so hot? A lot of credit goes to our Borough 50: the non-elected movers and shakers in the city’s biggest borough. In a nod to Brooklyn’s art scene, we held our celebration in a concert hall in the heart of Williamsburg, with our panel of experts taking the stage usually graced by brass bands, comedians and DJs.

WEEKLY PODCAST WITH FORMER HUD SECRETARY

HENRY CISNEROS

United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg President David Niederman and Brooklyn Democratic Party Chairman Frank Seddio

Kings County Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and Cozen O’Connor Attorney Ken Fisher

ALISON GARBER

The Power Panel featured former Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carlo Scissura, Brooklyn Community Foundation President Cecilia Clarke, BRIC President Leslie Schultz, Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball, and ABNY Executive Director Angela Sung Pinsky

Arab American Association of New York Director Linda Sarsour

Christian Cultural Center Senior Pastor A.R. Bernard

P-TECH Founding Principal Rashid Davis

Brooklyn College President Michelle Anderson

Have photos from an event you’d like to see here? Send them to features@cityandstateny.com.

Henry Cisneros served for four years as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary for Housing and Urban Development and he’s still working on funding infrastructure at Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co. He gave an unfettered take on what a Trump administration could mean for infrastructure in the country and where the president-elect and Democrats might be able to find some common ground.

“On the afternoon that I was selected

by President Clinton… I get a call from Gov. (Mario) Cuomo. He says, ‘Look, Henry. Every father will tell you that his son walks on water. But mine actually does. And the only job he wants is to work with you at HUD.’” “I know what I stand for, and where it converges with what a president wants to do that’s good for the country, I’ll be supportive. I think (Trump) deserves a shot. … But I don’t believe in obstructionism for the sake of obstruction. I don’t think that we, Democrats and progressives, ought to say that same thing that Mitch McConnell said about Obama, which is, ‘It’s our purpose to make sure he’s a failed president.’ No, I don’t think that’s good for the country.”

Listen, subscribe and review this week’s podcast by searching for “New York Slant” on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or your favorite podcast app.

5

6

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

WHAT COREY WANTS …

TRUMP AIN’T GIVING

Corey Lewandowski

THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT Corey “The Bully” Lewandoski still has Señor Trump’s ears. But that doesn't mean that the failed and fired Trump for President campaign manager is going to get what he wants from PEOTUS. “He’s asked for almost every position he's not qualified for,” a bochinchero Trump loyalist told B&B. On top of the list of requests by the onetime CNN “political commentator” or talking cabeza was to be head of the RNC. (Wipe that sonrisa off your face). Our source says he's asked for a different top gig each of the at least half-dozen times he's been to Trump Tower.

When the bochinchero – who is no amigo of Trump’s bad boy – was asked what position he thought Corey will end up getting, the respuesta was: “Head cook or bottle washer at the White House.”

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

Julissa Ferreras

7

NOT SO FAST, MIJA

WHILE THE BUZZ on powerful City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras is that she's Mayor Bill de Blasio’s choice to be the next council speaker, there's strong bochinche that the current chair of the Finance Committee is not doing bueno with Queens and Brooklyn counties.

Several independent City Hall bochincheros and one well-connected and seasoned bochinche master spoke at length to B&B about the lack of trust that the Queens County Democratic establishment has for the mayor’s choice. In Brooklyn, similar conversation among bochincheros is that she’s going to have a lot of convincing to do.

Which should be welcome bochinche for speaker wannabes like Corey Johnson, Ydanis Rodríguez and Mark Levine, among others in the growing field.

So it appears Julissa’s aspiración is like we say back home in La Playa de Ponce: “No por mucho madrugar, amanece más temprano.” (It doesn’t matter how early you get up, sunrise isn't getting here sooner.)

YOUNG RITCHIE VS. VIEJO SERRANO? ONE PROVOCATIVE BOCHINCHERO opines that City Councilman Ritchie Torres should challenge veteran Rep. José E. Serrano. Merely speaking of this will scare the 73-year-old congressman into sleepless noches.

Torres, who at the tender age of 28 is considered one of the more promising of members of the council, likely will be or already has been approached about a 2018 run.

Knowing how Serrano operates, he should be dialing a few numbers right about now.

Ritchie Torres

José E. Serrano

CUOMO’S HECKLER TO STRIKE AGAIN? Charles Barron

ONE STATE ASSEMBLY bochinchero tells B&B that while Gov. Andrew Cuomo has his entire administration pulling together mounds of data and strategy for his State of the State show-and-tell extravaganza, Brooklyn Assemblyman Charles Barron is also prepping for another disruptive response.

“He may not be alone next year,” is what this bochinchero says. It seems that the legislative salary increase mishandling by Cuomo has pissed off some of the more moderate Democrats. That may be suficiente for them to join Barron in a shoutdown of the governor.

For his part, Barron isn't saying nada. Stay tuned.

REMEMBER, GENTE, IT’S ALL BOCHINCHE UNTIL IT’S CONFIRMED.

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

ARE YOU SURE?

8

Are you on the Bronx County Committee?

The Bronx Democrats have been accused of appointing members without permission.

Meanwhile, committees in other boroughs barely have enough members to exist.

By SARINA TRANGLE

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

A 62-UNIT BUILDING just south of West Fordham Road in University Heights appears to have an unusually sizeable portion of its residents on the Bronx Democratic Party’s 1,653-member county committee, according to the organization’s documents.

On paper, 17 county committee members live at 2401 Davidson Ave., which would amount to a party official residing in one out of every four apartments.

Such a clustering seems to go against the spirit of county committees, which were created so that New Yorkers have a say in the decisions of their political parties. State law envisions these organizations as so democratically run that New Yorkers vote for their county committee representatives at the election district level – the few-block units Assembly districts are carved into when assigning people to voting machines.

The two to four representatives in each election district are called county committee members, and collectively they form the county committee, which has the power to decide who will lead the party locally and under what rules – as well as which candidates the party will run for public office if a special election is called without enough time to hold a primary.

But within the halls of 2401 Davidson Ave., this representative vision seemed lost. There were no apartment numbers included with the address on the Bronx Democratic Party’s list of county committee members to help neighbors locate their representative. And several residents seemed unaware of the concentration of political clout in their building.

When Liza Ash heard her neighbor Diobelka Sosa was a county committee member, Ash called Sosa. Sosa walked over and said she, her sister and her daughter did not know they were members of the committee.

Ash asked how Sosa could be removed from the county committee, and Sosa nodded.

“I’m not very politically involved,” Sosa said.

they were county committee members and embrace the role. When some of these socalled straw candidates were brought to the Bronx Democrats’ meetings, they were allegedly led to believe they had been invited to a social event, as opposed to arriving at a meeting where they were entitled to participate and vote.

The lawsuit claims the Bronx Democratic Party carried out the scheme by collecting fraudulent petitions, including allegedly adding candidates to petitions that voters had already signed. After the Sept.

13 primary, the Bronx Democratic Party submitted a roster to the city Board of Elections that names its county committee members, which election district they represent and where they reside. The list includes a number of people who previously made it clear in court documents that they never intended to be a candidate for the county committee seat – let alone represent it. And according to election attorneys who discussed City & State’s analysis of the roster, the document contained a handful of prohibited moves, like having one person represent multiple election districts, and irregularities, such as a tendency to find more than a dozen county committee

SOSA AND HER FAMILY WERE not alone. More than a dozen other Bronxites were similarly bewildered to learn that they had wound up a county committee member in 2014 or were candidates for a committee position in 2016, according to a class action filed in federal court Aug. 15, about a month before the 2016 Democratic primaries. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs accuse the Bronx Democratic Party of “misappropriating” their identities and conscripting people unlikely to discover

members in one building, as seen at 2401 Davidson Ave. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Donald Dunn, has a history of opposing petition papers for the Bronx Democratic County Committee, often colloquially called the Bronx Democratic Party. One of Dunn’s clients mounted an unsuccessful campaign against incumbent Bronx Assemblyman Luis Sepúlveda, and another has publicly described herself as unsatisfied with the party’s leadership. They claim in court

9

papers that the county committee has disenfranchised Bronxites by transforming a democratically elected body into an “authoritarian farce” that picks the delegates who select judges and endorses candidates – all but assuring their victory in a deeply Democratic borough. County committee seats are often filled by active members of clubs and district leaders.

Elected officials typically maintain their county committee positions. Some have found a political springboard in the Bronx county committee. The Assembly chose the Bronx Democratic Party’s last leader, Assemblyman Carl Heastie, to serve as speaker. And the current executive committee chairman, Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, sits on a task force that helps craft redistricting plans.

Despite the lawsuit’s focus on the Bronx Democratic Party’s vacant seats, its roster is fuller than the Democratic organizations in other boroughs. The Democratic organizations of both Brooklyn and Queens appear to barely have the minimum number of county committee members required under state election law. Some see the vacancy rates as a reflection of drops in political participation seen nationwide.

SOSA WAL KE D OVE R AN D SAI D S H E H E R S IST E R AN D H E R DAU G HT E R D I D NOT KNOW T H EY WE R E M E M B E RS O F T H E CO M M IT T E E. Others view it as the consequence of limiting committee membership to loyalists, even if the self-defeating instinct threatens their survival.

PLAINTIFFS CONTEND THAT the Bronx Democratic Party has survived for years by installing county committee members without properly putting them before voters. The lawsuit claims Bronx party officials told both state Sen. Gustavo Rivera and Assemblyman Michael

10

CityAndStateNY.com

Blake in 2016 that they and their lawyer were not allowed inside the party’s headquarters when their petition paperwork was being processed because they did not use the organization’s longtime lawyer, Stanley Schlein. Sarah Steiner, the attorney for the two lawmakers, had her clients’ petitions photocopied before handing them over to the county organization. She then compared those to the documents the Bronx Democratic Party submitted to the city Board of Elections and saw that county committee candidates had been added to the petitions. For instance, City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson and Miriam Green, who appears to live in Gibson’s building, were allegedly placed onto a petition sheet for Rivera and other candidates in the 77th Assembly District while the paperwork was in the county organization’s hands. Because there weren’t enough candidates to require a primary, Gibson and Green did not appear on the ballot and were instead automatically elected to county committee seats, as is fairly common for low-level party posts.

“People talk about they’ve been doing this, but I’ve never seen any proof that they did it before, and because it’s such a huge violation of the law to change something on a petition after the petition’s been signed by the witness, I didn’t really believe that it happened,” said Steiner, who is also the outgoing chairwoman of the New York City Bar Association’s Election Law Committee. “The fact that it’s a county committee member doesn’t mean that it’s unimportant just because it’s a small office.”

Rivera said his lawyer’s deposition spoke for itself, and declined to comment further.

Through a spokesman, Blake declined to discuss the case.

In a phone interview, Green acknowledged that she was a county committee member before saying she knew nothing about the lawsuit and hanging up. Gibson did not respond to a request for comment.

The Bronx Democratic Party also allegedly took steps that prevented people from learning they had been named candidates for county committee positions and later won the seats, according to the lawsuit. For the past several elections, Mark Lindsay said in court papers, he worked as a poll coordinator at sites near his Crotona Park home, where he lives with his father, Phillip Lindsay, and mother, Henrietta Lindsay. The trio appeared on the 2014 primary ballot for county committee seats in their Assembly District, but further away in another

December 5, 2016

• In New York, the most local level of party governance is the county committee.

• State law allows any large political party – one that receives at least 50,000 votes during the most recent gubernatorial election – to create county committees.

• The idea behind a county committee is that, by electing local partisan representatives to the organization, party members are able to have a say in who their party endorses, the rules that govern it and who leads it.

What is A COUNTY COMMITTEE?

how DO PEOPLE GET ON A COUNTY COMMITTEE? • County committees hold elections every two years, which coincide with primaries.

• Candidates for county committee seats must be a registered member of the political party and reside in the Assembly District that contains the election district they intend to represent, but they do not need to reside in the election district itself.

• To run, candidates must collect signatures from voters registered with the party who also reside in the election district they aim to represent.

The number of signatures required varies based on how many voters are registered with the party in that area.

• District leader candidates follow the same process, but they need 500 signatures.

election district. Mark Lindsay said this prevented him from seeing their names while working at the polls. State law does not require county committee members to live in the election district they represent, just the larger Assembly District. The Lindsays’ street name had also allegedly been misspelled on petition paperwork.

The lawsuit suggested this inaccuracy prevented them from receiving legally required notices mailed to them stating that they had been elected county committee members and were now entitled to attend the party’s organizational meeting.

• It is common for county committees to petition for multiple candidates on one sheet. For example, the sheet may note that signatures are on behalf of state Senate, Assembly and internal party candidates.

• During petitioning, a witness must sign the document, swearing that he or she saw the voters sign the petition on the date indicated on the paperwork.

• Once petitioning is done, if nobody else successfully petitions for the post, the candidate automatically qualifies for the county committee or the district leader seat.

• If there are multiple qualified candidates, their names appear on the primary ballot in the election districts they’re aiming to represent, and members of that party vote to decide which candidate gets the seat.

“My wife has Alzheimer’s disease and I am her primary caregiver,” Philip Lindsay said in court papers. “Because of the progression of her disease, she has not been capable of serving in any elected position since well before 2014. I am certain she has no knowledge whatsoever that her name and identity were being used as a candidate for member of the county committee.”

A substantial portion of the county committee candidates’ addresses were inaccurate or incomplete, according to the lawsuit.

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

Who is on the Bronx County Committee?

In the Bronx Democratic County Committee, positions include: • county committee members, the most grassroots representatives who help decide party rules and elect the leaders of the organization.

• district leaders, who are charged with overseeing affairs in an Assembly district and who are automatically part of the organization’s executive committee.

the cluster Many of the Bronx Democratic County Committee members appear to cluster in certain buildings and parts of Assembly districts. Under state law, this practice is perfectly proper. County committee members do not need to reside in the election district they represent – just the larger Assembly District that contains their seat. The clustering, however, likely limits representation in other parts of the Assembly District.

WHAT DOES

THE COUNTY COMMITTEE DO?

• County committees hold elections every two years, which coincide with primaries.

• Candidates for county committee seats must be a registered member of the political party and reside in the Assembly District that contains the election district they intend to represent, but they do not need to reside in the election district itself.

• To run, candidates must collect signatures from voters registered with the party who also reside in the election district they aim to represent.

The number of signatures required varies based on how many voters are registered with the party in that area.

• District leader candidates follow the same process, but they need 500 signatures.

• It is common for county committees to petition for multiple candidates on one sheet. For example, the sheet may note that signatures are on behalf of state Senate, Assembly and internal party candidates.

• During petitioning, a witness must sign the document, swearing that he or she saw the voters sign the petition on the date indicated on the paperwork.

The 2016 Bronx Democratic County Committee roster shows: Concentrations of members can be seen in Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz’s district, where the bulk of the 274 county committee members had a residential address in whiter, more affluent parts of the district like Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil. Just one member’s address was in Wakefield, a more black and middle-income community. (Dinowitz, chairman of the Bronx Democratic County Committee, said the political club he belonged to included many Riverdale residents who hold county committee seats, but that he would welcome “greater interest” from those in other parts of his district.)

At least 13 county committee members have addresses at 801 Tilden St. in Williamsbridge

At least 17 county committee members live at 790 Concourse Village W. and another 13 reside in the same Concourse Village development, at 780 Concourse Village W.

17 members at 2401 Davidson Ave.

Throughout the city Occupancy rates for the Democratic County Committee in each borough:

11

66% BRONX

59.8% MANHATTAN

48.5% STATEN ISLAND

27% BROOKLYN

Note: Seats filled through nominations were excluded because the New York City Board of Elections does not have paperwork from all of the borough organizations showing who was nominated to fill which vacancies within the party.

12

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

IN COURT DOCUMENTS, SARAH STEINER, AN ATTORNEY FOR TWO DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT CANDIDATES, CONTENDED THAT, AFTER PETITION PAPERWORK IN THE 77TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT WAS SIGNED BY VOTERS, SHE PHOTOCOPIED IT AND GAVE THE ORIGINALS TO THE BRONX DEMOCRATIC PARTY. AT THAT POINT, SHE SAID NO COUNTY COMMITTEE CANDIDATES WERE LISTED ON THE TOP OF THE SHEET.

THE COURT CASE depicts most of these straw county committee members as vulnerable, unsuspecting residents. For instance, Patricia Jones attended a post-primary party at Eastwood Manor with her daughter in 2014, which she believed they had been graciously invited to until she heard from the plaintiffs’ attorney, Donald Dunn, according to court documents.

Dunn informed Jones she and her daughter had been elected county committee members, which entitled them to represent local Democrats at the organizational meeting by voting for the party’s new leadership slate. As Jones learned more, she questioned her district leader, according to the suit. Jones said in court papers that the district leader told her this year that she would not be permitted to work at election polls unless she helped gather signatures on petitions, the same documents Jones contended were used to propel her to the party position without her permission.

Jones worried that without income from the polls, she would not be able to finance holiday celebrations for her grandchildren.

The county Democratic Party also appears to have targeted the politically savvy, including retired Assemblyman and former Bronx Democratic County Committee parliamentarian Michael Benjamin. “I was never asked to be a county committee member, and I was surprised when I got a postcard making me aware that I was invited to the county committee meeting,” said Benjamin, who won his old Assembly seat in 2003 by helping appoint loyalists to the county committee and then receiving its nomination ahead of a special election.

“I did reach out to the county leader and made him aware that I got the postcard,

WHEN SHE CHECKED ON THE PAPERWORK THE PARTY FILED WITH THE CITY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, SHE CONTENDED SHE SAW THAT TWO COUNTY COMMITTEE CANDIDATES HAD BEEN ADDED: VANESSA GIBSON, WHO IS ALSO A CITY COUNCILWOMAN, AND MIRIAM GREEN.

and he said he would look into it.”

Crespo, the current county leader, did not respond to a request for comment about the case or the conversation with Benjamin.

Borough political parties cannot run candidates for any position without their consent, according to election attorneys.

But lawyers note that there isn’t one clear standard for getting this permission. Aaron Maslow, an election lawyer who has not represented the Bronx Democratic County Committee and who started “cleaning petitions” for U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer before Schumer was elected to office, said he had petitions for Brooklyn Republicans seeking seats on the state GOP committee deemed invalid in the 1990s because county committee candidates were put on the paperwork without their permission. Similarly, Martin Connor, formerly the state Senate Democratic minority leader and now an election attorney, said that in 1980s he threw an incumbent assemblyman, Albert Vann, off the Democratic line because petitioners had put county committee candidates from a rival political club on Vann’s paperwork without their knowledge. Vann won on the Liberal Party line. After that, Connor said his political club always gets written consent from such candidates.

Schlein, the Bronx Democratic Party’s longtime lawyer, declined to talk about the lawsuit. The party’s executive director, Anthony Perez, and counsel, Marissa Soto, did not respond to requests to discuss the case. The lawsuit describes Schlein as the chief orchestrator of the county committee’s alleged wrongdoing, but Soto is also accused of altering petition paperwork and submitting fraudulent documents. She is listed as the lead attorney for the Bronx

Democratic Party in the lawsuit. In court filings, Soto and Schlein argued that the lawsuit contained a lot of hyperbole and personal attacks. Once these dramatics were set aside, they said the federal courts should not have jurisdiction over the matter, given that the federal lawsuit was really “a New York State Election Law proceeding in disguise.” Dunn had already argued many of the allegations in the state court system and lost, according to the county organization’s court filings.

While Dunn did not respond to requests to discuss the lawsuit, in court papers he said state law only allows candidates who claim they have been treated unfairly and voters who live in the election district in question to challenge a petition. He said this narrow criteria prevented the plaintiffs from having their cases heard, particularly because some were listed as candidates in election districts where they do not reside.

The attorney urged the court to intervene before the Sept. 13 Democratic primary. Dunn requested that, until the 2018 primaries, the court order the Bronx to be governed like areas that lack county committees, where the state party committee fills that role. He also asked that candidates slated to compete in most Democratic primaries and all otherwise qualified Democratic contenders be placed on the general election ballot. Finally, he argued that an appropriate amount of financial compensation for his clients should be determined during the trial.

In early September, Judge Kimba Wood did not grant Dunn’s requests. But

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

The Evidence THE PETITIONS

13

STEINER ALSO SAID IN COURT PAPERS THAT AFTER VOTERS SIGNED A DIFFERENT PETITION SHEET IN THE 77TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT THAT ALSO DID NOT INCLUDE ANY COUNTY COMMITTEE CANDIDATES, SHE PHOTOCOPIED IT AND GAVE IT TO THE BRONX DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

WHEN SHE REVIEWED THE SHEET FILED WITH THE CITY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, STEINER CONTENDED FOUR COUNTY COMMITTEE CANDIDATES’ HAD BEEN ADDED: ROSELLA GREGG, AILEEN GREGG, APRIL GREGG AND KEVIN GREGG.

THE texts

PATRICIA JONES, WHO IS SEEKING TO SIGN ONTO THE LAWSUIT, SAID IN COURT PAPERS THAT SHE WAS ELECTED TO THE COUNTY COMMITTEE IN 2014 AND NAMED A CANDIDATE FOR A SEAT IN 2016 WITHOUT HER CONSENT. JONES ALLEGED THAT WHEN SHE CONFRONTED HER LOCAL DISTRICT LEADER, YUDELKA TAPIA, ABOUT THIS, TAPIA TOLD HER IT WAS UNTRUE.

Wood said she could order a new election later, if evidence showed it was appropriate, according to the Daily News.

AFTER THE SEPT. 13 primaries, the Bronx Democratic Party gave the city Board of Elections a list of the new county committee members, which appears to include 10 individuals who, in court papers, had previously indicated they were listed as county committee candidates without their consent. The documents also had other irregularities. In at least a dozen instances, the party appears to have

one person representing multiple election districts, according to a City & State review of the roster and related voter registration cards. Election attorneys said an individual may only serve one election district. At least five county committee members have residential addresses listed on the roster that suggest they do not live in the Assembly district containing the election district they represent, as is required. Though completely permissible, the party appears to have many of its county committee members clustered in certain buildings and parts of Assembly

ADDITIONALLY, JONES CONTENDED TAPIA TEXTED HER SHE WOULD NO LONGER GET WORK AT THE POLLS UNLESS SHE HELPED WITH PETITION WORK. A COPY OF THE TEXT EXCHANGE FILED AS EVIDENCE SHOWS TAPIA WRITING THAT JONES HAD “TO COME TODAY TO SIGN,” REFERRING TO A PIECE OF PAPER VOLUNTEERS MUST SIGN BEFORE THEY GO COLLECT SIGNATURES ON PETITION PAPERWORK, OR “YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO WORK IN THE NEXT 3 ELECTIONS.”

districts, likely leaving other parts of the district with relatively few representatives.

Maslow, an election attorney who has never represented the Bronx Democratic County Committee, said the volume of apparent errors seemed as if it could be accidental. But Steiner, the lawyer who represented just two of the Bronx legislative candidates, disagreed.

“It’s a mess,” she said. “To me, it looks like a lot more than just a few typos.”

Both attorneys said they were surprised the city Board of Elections did not flag these issues during a customary review of

14

CityAndStateNY.com

the petition paperwork for obvious shortcomings or errors. The Board of Elections disqualified 360 other county committee candidates during its administrative review of the Bronx Democrats’ documents, according to a court declaration from Crespo. The Board of Elections did not respond to requests for comment.

DUNN’S COMPLAINT CONTENDS that the Bronx Democratic Party sought to make some candidates solely county committee members on paper, making their seats functionally vacant. The numerous vacant seats show the Bronx Democratic Party’s leadership assumed privileges bestowed on county committees without welcoming and engaging truly elected representatives of their constituents, as state law requires, according to the suit. Indeed, the laws that spell out the powers of county committees also state that at least a quarter of their county committee seats must be filled through biennial elections.

Outside of elections, the Bronx Democratic Party and its counterparts in other boroughs may fill vacant county committee seats at their meetings. The Bronx organization’s bylaws say the district leader – or other party officials representing the area where a seat is vacant – can nominate qualified Democrats to assume that seat.

County committee members who join this way are not considered elected, according to election attorneys. In contrast, those who wind up on the county committee by filing an uncontested petition or by winning a primary are viewed as elected.

Although the lawsuit emphasizes there are many vacancies in the Bronx, the borough is outperforming New York City’s other Democratic organizations. About 66 percent of the Bronx Democratic Party county committee seats were filled through an election, according to the 2016 party call listing internal party positions open to Democrats and the 2016 roster it submitted to the city Board of Elections before the organization met and had the opportunity to fill vacant seats. The Manhattan Democratic County Committee had 57.3 percent of its committee seats filled through an election; the Staten Island Democratic County Committee, 47.6 percent; Queens (28.5 percent) and Brooklyn (27 percent) appear to be approaching the elected member minimum written into state law, according to the most recent party rosters they filed with the city Board of Elections.

When asked to comment on the lawsuit, irregularities in the organization’s paperwork and its occupancy rate, consultant

December 5, 2016

ALT HO U G H T H E L AWS U IT E M P HAS IZES MANY VACANC I ES I N T H E B RO NX ... QU E E NS AN D B ROO KLYN AP P EAR TO B E AP P ROAC H I NG T H E E L ECT E D M E M B E R M I N I M U M WR IT T E N I NTO STAT E L AW. George Arzt, in a statement representing the Bronx Democratic Party, touted the organization’s relatively high percentage of elected county committee members.

“The Bronx Democratic Party believes there is no better evidence of our successfully meeting our goals than the actual Election Day results,” Arzt said. “The Bronx Democratic Party has the highest percentage of elected county committee members in New York City, the highest turnout out of any county in New York state for the eventual 2016 Democratic presidential nominee in the primary election, and some candidates who have won the general election with 98 percent of the vote. The Bronx Democratic Party is proud of the work that our local political clubs and hundreds of volunteers have done with the leadership of our elected officials this year and we plan to continue to collaborate, support and promote the Bronx electorate and its interests in 2018 and beyond.”

Some election attorneys said they were surprised by the abundance of vacancies in Queens and Brooklyn, although they were aware of county committees’ waning influence. Maslow said reforms over the past 15 years have limited the patronage powers – and, therefore, the strength – of Democratic county committees. Others attributed their decline to the governor calling fewer special elections, which empower county committees by allowing them to forgo a primary and pick their party’s nominee, or to a broader decline in political involvement.

Nonetheless, Jeff Feldman, the executive director of the Brooklyn Democratic County

Committee, said he did not view the vacancy rate as a threat – or a test of party strength.

He said party leaders worked to fill seats and the vacancy rate may show a drop-off in participation on a “grassroots level.” But Feldman contended the 25 percent threshold would likely be meaningless if challenged in court. “The United States Supreme Court has, on numerous occasions, drawn a bright line to say that the Legislature is disinterested, legally, from attempting to enforce their will on the internal management of political parties,” Feldman said. “No one has taken the trouble to particularly contest this statute under the election law.”

Others say Feldman is missing the message. In an argument that echoes the Bronx lawsuit, Anusha Venkataraman, president of the reform-oriented New Kings Democrats political club in Brooklyn, said county leaders seem interested in limiting or controlling who joins the committee so their incumbency is not threatened. She said the Brooklyn Democrats could attract more people if they were open to those with ideas that might challenge their traditions or willing to democratize their operations.

“They need to let go a little bit to allow it to evolve or else the party’s going to die in Brooklyn and maybe beyond,” she said, noting that this year New Kings Democrats and other groups urged about 100 people to petition for county committee seats and that many were successful. “And it’s a great sign that there are people in the room who’ve petitioned to be there that want a change.

They don’t want to ditch the system entirely, but want to make it better.”

■

Subscribe to the Weekly Slant Podcast The New York Slant Network podcast features interviews with elected officials, activists, and public figures from across New York State and New York City. From politics to policy, we discuss wide ranging topics with New York’s most influential leaders.

www.nyslant.com

Slant_CS101416_FP.indd 1

10/14/16 12:58 PM

16

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

F E

D N

I

I

THIS YEA

MOVEMENT

RIKERS ISLA

MAINSTREAM

ANYTHING EVE

THE CITY’S NOT

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

YEAR, THE

ENT TO CLOSE

SLAND WENT

EAM. BUT WILL

VER CHANGE AT

NOTORIOUS JAIL?

N

I

T

17

D

E

L

Y

By JEFF COLTIN

18

CityAndStateNY.com

L

December 5, 2016

AST FALL, a group of New School students decided to participate in some subway vandalism.

After noticing the official MTA subway map didn’t have Rikers Island labeled, they began posting stickers around the beige oval near LaGuardia Airport in Queens. “Rikers is here,” the red circles said, and below that, “#SeeRikers.”

In April the project really started grabbing attention, getting write-ups in The Atlantic, Fusion and Untapped Cities. When the MTA released new maps in November to add the W line, something else was added, too: Neighborhood labels were back, and so was Rikers’ name.

The past 12 months have revealed a lot of New Yorkers who want to treat Rikers Island a little more like a neighborhood.

Some mean it literally, hoping to clear the island of its notorious jails to build housing.

Others, more broadly, hope to reform Rikers and make it a place that New Yorkers can be proud of, rather than a dysfunctional, violent and isolated remnant of an older New York.

But outside of the subway map, nobody yet has gotten their wish.

Just as the movement to shut down Rikers was re-emerging in November 2015, City & State published a series evaluating the idea of

ONE YEAR ON 11/20/15:

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer calls for “safely and responsibly” closing the jails on Rikers Island.

closing the island’s jails and moving inmates elsewhere. In the year since, there have been three massive changes regarding the operation of Rikers, each one big enough to shake up the island on its own. The dormant movement to shut down the jail was revived, with support from some of the city’s biggest political players. A federal monitor began overseeing reform in the jails. And the president of the correction officers’ union, long considered an opponent to reform, was arrested and replaced with a new leader.

And yet, the overall picture of Rikers Island looks the same as it did in 2015. To be sure, real, lasting change is often slow, but the turbulence of the last 12 months has not yet brought real change – and by some measures the situation has gotten even worse. The leadership of Rikers – City Hall and the Correction Department – was given an opportunity, but hasn’t been able to capitalize. Rikers Island itself seems to be held in indefinite detention.

HOWEVER YOU HASH it out – #ShutDownRikers, #CLOSErikers, #ClosingRikers – the notion of getting rid of Rikers has clearly entered the mainstream.

Considered for periods under the Koch and Bloomberg administrations, the conversation was all but dead outside of some activist circles until early this year. Closing

RIKERS 2/11/16: New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito supports closing Rikers in her State of the City address and announces the formation of a criminal justice reform commission.

November 25, 2015

2/14/16: Gov. Andrew

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

11/24/15: City & State

and City Limits publish “Closing Rikers Island,” a series about “a small but influential set of voices” calling to shut down the jails.

Rikers became front-page news on Feb. 11 when New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito made jail reform a major topic of her State of the City address, ultimately saying, “We must explore how we can get the population of Rikers to be so small that the dream of shutting it down becomes a reality.”

Mark-Viverito created a commission led by former state Chief Justice Jonathan Lippman to consider ways to reform and ultimately shut down the island. That same week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo admitted he was intrigued by the idea, calling it a “big solution” to a “big problem.” Real estate developers, arguably the most powerful force in the city, quickly made no secret of salivating over the 415-acre island’s potential, sharing mockups with Crain’s New York Business of the island redeveloped with housing, extended runways for nearby LaGuardia Airport and even a velodrome.

Criminal justice activists, some of whom had long been calling for the closing of Rikers, seemed energized. After months of social media activism and a protest at a Board of Correction meeting, the Campaign to Shut Down Rikers held its first rally Feb. 23 in City Hall Park. Gabriel Sayegh, a longtime advocate with the Drug Policy Alliance, cofounded the Katal Center for Health, Equity and Justice at that time and partnered with

Cuomo calls the proposal to shut down Rikers “intriguing.” Two days later, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio calls it “unrealistic” and too costly.

3/31/16: DNAinfo New York reports the city has studied six sites for new jails as alternatives to Rikers Island. Local leaders air their displeasure.

5/31/16: A federally

appointed independent monitor for Rikers Island releases a report documenting improvements, concluding that “real reform is underway and building momentum.”

6/8/16: Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook is arrested on corruption charges. Former COBA Vice President Elias Husamudeen takes over.

6/30/16: The

Department of Correction ends solitary confinement for 18-year-old inmates, following the ending of the punishment for 16to 17-year-olds in December 2014.

7/21/16: De Blasio announces plans to move 16- and 17-year-olds off Rikers Island to others jails, but the plan is expected to take four years or more.

8/11/16: The DOC ends solitary confinement for 19- to 21-year-olds, a goal voted on by the Board of Correction and originally set for January 2016.

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

other advocacy groups on the #CLOSErikers campaign, then less than a year old. With Mark-Viverito and Cuomo’s support, he said, closing Rikers was “all of a sudden being presented as a realistic direction … and the only person who hedges is de Blasio.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio threw cold water on the idea of closing Rikers days after Mark-Viverito’s speech. The mayor, who is ultimately in charge of Rikers Island and the Department of Correction, called it a “noble concept” but noted the significant financial and logistical challenges that would be involved.

For a mayor with clear aspirations of being a national standard-bearer for progressive causes, de Blasio’s caution on Rikers confused advocates like Sayegh. He noted that people called de Blasio’s plan for universal pre-K crazy and unrealistic, but he stuck with it.

“For that guy to come out and say (closing Rikers) is too big,” Sayegh said. “The level of hypocrisy is too much to bear almost!”

Glenn Martin, founder of the #CLOSErikers campaign and executive director of nonprofit JustLeadershipUSA, used the same argument. “We will not allow the mayor to hold himself out as national progressive while maintaining Rikers Island in his backyard,” he told City & State.

Martin thinks the closure of Rikers is in line with de Blasio’s values, and the mayor

just needs to be shown a path to get there.

“He may not be there now,” Martin said, “but I’m confident we’re going to build the kind of community pressure that’s going to get him there.”

This is not to say de Blasio is alone in his hesitation. Shutting down Rikers would most likely necessitate a major overhaul of sentencing and bail in the criminal justice system to reduce the city’s inmate population, which now averages a little under 10,000.

And with the vast majority of them detained in 10 jails on Rikers Island, the city would need to build multiple new jails elsewhere in the five boroughs to supplement its three offisland facilities. Building these jails would be expensive and take years to complete, and, assuming the usual land review procedure is followed, local City Council members would have to approve putting the jails in their districts. The de Blasio administration has identified potential sites for new jails in the Bronx, Staten Island and elsewhere, but as Queens City Councilman Paul Vallone put it at a November hearing, “There’s not a council member in the city who’s going to say, ‘Put that facility in our district. We really want it there.’ It’s never going to happen. Never.”

De Blasio, of course, has an election to worry about, and many of the sites that would be considered for new jails are in

8/18/16: The Daily News reports the DOC failed to get inmates to needed mental health appointments close to 40,000 times over the preceding four months.

8/28/16: The Daily

News finds that Rikers leaders routinely downgraded reports of violent incidents in order to give the impression of reform.

the outer-borough neighborhoods where he needs to earn votes in order to win reelection next year. While a push to build in northeast Queens or Staten Island may lose de Blasio some votes, there’s reason to believe the real Rikers-related challenge could come from his left. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, whose name has been floated as a possible Democratic primary challenger to de Blasio, has not shied away from talking about Rikers, calling for it to be closed in November 2015, a few months before MarkViverito’s speech, and recently releasing an audit showing a rise in both violence and spending per inmate.

“If the mayor doesn’t get a challenge, who cares?” said Bill Cunningham, a former aide to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, now with Dan Klores Communications. But he says if there’s a candidate who wants to talk about criminal justice issues a few months from now, “then the mayor might feel some political heat.”

This debate around new facilities has become the main focus of the conversation around closing Rikers in the last few months as de Blasio and Correction Department Commissioner Joseph Ponte scrambled to get on the same page. There is consensus among stakeholders in Rikers that at least some of the jails on the island are old and poorly designed and need to be either renovated or

9/27/16: Cuomo

says he’s “intrigued” by the idea of the state buying Rikers in order to expand the runways at LaGuardia Airport.

10/31/16: The federally appointed independent monitor for Rikers releases a second report noting some progress but continued “problematic, excessive, and unnecessary uses of force.”

9/1/16: De Blasio holds a press conference on Rikers Island announcing that some supervisors will carry stun guns, among other new security measures.

9/24/16: Hundreds of people march through Queens and up to the entrance of Rikers Island in support of the Close Rikers movement.

19

10/12/16: After a Village Voice report, the de Blasio administration confirms it has resumed construction of a new jail facility on Rikers that was put on hold January 2014.

10/18/16: COBA sues the mayor, New York City Council and Board of Correction, asking for a formal procedure for correction officers’ complaints to be heard, claiming they go ignored.

20

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

C&S: DO YOU HAVE A SENSE THAT THE CONVERSATION AROUND CLOSING RIKERS IS OVER WITHIN THE DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION? EH: I don’t even know why it ever started. I think it was over before it started. With de Blasio or whoever was there before him. It was never real. Closing Rikers is not a realistic proposal. It’s not realistic.

ELIAS HUSAMUDEEN Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association president

C&S: YOU TOOK OVER AS COBA PRESIDENT FIVE MONTHS AGO AND JUMPED RIGHT ON THE ATTACK. YOU SUED THE CITY, YOU’RE CALLING FOR COMMISSIONER PONTE’S OUSTER – DID YOU JUST NOT LIKE THE GUY

replaced. Ponte said he preferred building new facilities to renovating old ones in a Sept. 16 speech at New York Law School, but shared a sort of ambivalence over where new facilities would be built. “We’ll hear a lot more about the on- and off-Rikers model,” he said, “but as we speak, we do need new facilities.”

A month later, Ponte’s prayers seemed to be answered as the Village Voice reported that prep work had resumed on a brandnew, 1,500-bed jail on Rikers Island. Asked about it at a press conference two days later on Oct. 14, de Blasio punted, saying he didn’t know anything about a new facility, but he once again questioned the practicality of closing Rikers.

While it’s still unclear how much work has been done on the potential new jail on Rikers, Ponte shed some light on the reason for the administration’s hesitations at a Nov. 14 City Council hearing. “I think as we look at construction and kind of the movement to close Rikers all those things politically have to be taken into consideration,” he said. “So the 1,500-bed facility is still at a pause right now.”

One year after the movement to shut down Rikers resurfaced, all eyes are on Lippman’s 27-member commission, which is expected to publish its first report early this spring. While much of the conversation seems to be on pause, anything is possible once the recommendations come out. The de Blasio administration could resume construction on Rikers, getting Ponte closer to his desired jail, or de Blasio could decide – in an election year – that closing Rikers is a necessity. The activists are doing their best to remind the mayor they’re still here,

FROM THE BEGINNING? EH: It’s not a like. It has nothing to do with like. I’ve been a correction officer for 30 years. I’ve been a member of the union for 20 years. I really didn’t call for his ouster. I basically said to him, “lead, or leave.” Now if you want to call that calling for somebody’s ouster, it’s fine. “Lead or leave,” you know, “take a dump or get off the stool.” As far as everything else is concerned, this is not a new issue for me. This is an issue I’ve been dealing with in my capacity on this board, on the union for a while.

This union, its members, we’re not against programs. We’re not against Ponte! We’re not against anybody as long as you remem-

including holding a Dec. 4 vigil outside Gracie Mansion, but for the moment City Hall seems to be waiting.

THE PAST YEAR on Rikers gave City Hall another opportunity for big change in the form of a court mandate. In late October 2015, an independent monitor began overseeing the Department of Correction as part of a settlement the city reached with the U.S. Attorney’s office. The “Nuñez settlement” came out of a class-action accusing the Department of Correction of widespread civil rights abuses, including excessive and unnecessary use of force by correction officers on Rikers detainees – much of it occurring before de Blasio took office.

The first report issued by the monitoring team on May 31 called the settlement an effort to “dismantle the decades-long culture of violence” on Rikers and ensure the safety of both staff and inmates – especially young inmates. These goals, and the idea that Rikers needs reform, face none of the opposition that shutting down Rikers does. In a statement, de Blasio even hailed the agreement as a “strong step toward our goal of reversing the decades of abuse.”

The two reports released so far have been largely positive. The first report credited the Correction Department with making “significant strides toward developing and implementing the foundational steps necessary to establish enduring reform.” The second report, released on Oct. 31, likewise noted “the department’s accomplishments during this monitoring period demonstrate their commitment to reform.”

But the monitoring team was not entirely

ber that safety is the no. 1 priority. The problem with Ponte, with the mayor, with anybody, is that they seem to forget that my safety, the inmates’ safety, everybody’s safety is no. 1.

C&S: WORK ON THE NEW JAIL ON RIKERS IS HALTED. SHOULD IT BE? EH: I have to commend the committee. (Ponte) is saying (the pause) is based on politics. You’re the goddamned commissioner of the Correction Department.

You’re responsible for the care, custody and control of inmates, not politics. So the construction of a 1500-bed facility is on pause because the commissioner said something about politics.

satisfied. The second report noted that the DOC continued to struggle with issues that gave rise to the judgment in the first place: excessive and unnecessary uses of force and violence at jails holding young inmates.

The DOC was finally moving in the right direction, but it was still far from the finish line.

The tone was less forgiving at a Nov. 14 oversight hearing on compliance with the Nuñez settlement. Members of the City Council Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice questioned the department’s leadership for an hour in hostile tones.

Throughout the hearing, City Council members and those they called up to testify criticized both the slow pace of change and the reforms themselves, like the ending of punitive segregation – better known as solitary confinement – for 16- and 17-yearold inmates.

Criticism of the reform agenda has even come from those who know the department best, including Bernard Kerik, who served as DOC commissioner from 1998 to 2000.

In a phone interview with City & State, Kerik said that Rikers Island has the same amount of violence today as it did when it had double the current inmate population of around 9,000. “They brought in Joe Ponte,” he said, “to reduce the violence, stop the corruption, enhance morale within in the agency. And in all three of those categories it’s either gotten worse or nothing’s changed.”

The Department of Correction under Ponte had been attempting to reform Rikers Island before the independent monitor began overseeing the island, but this past year under the monitor was an

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

opportunity to shake the island free of its toxic reputation. While some indicators have shown improvement, violence on Rikers has not gone down in the 13 months since the oversight began. As Ponte said at the City Council hearing, “I’m not sure who’s trying to paint a rosy picture, but we have work to do and clearly we all admit to that.”

THE SINGLE BIGGEST change on Rikers Island this year may have come with the arrest of Norman Seabrook, who had been president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association – the biggest union on Rikers – since 1995. Seabrook was accused of investing the union’s pension fund into a risky hedge fund in exchange for kickbacks – including $60,000 in cash hand-delivered in a Ferragamo bag. Endless stories have been told about Seabrook’s power in the jails. He was known to shut down all traffic on the single bridge on and off Rikers Island in order to make his demands heard, or even to keep certain detainees from going to court and testifying against his officers.

Seabrook was not afraid to criticize Ponte, particularly on issues of officer safety, and was a strong opponent of efforts to end solitary confinement for younger inmates.

After Seabrook’s arrest in June 2016, his second-in-command, Elias Husamudeen, took over as president. For Ponte and the DOC, it was an opportunity to start anew and push for a healthier relationship than they’d had with Seabrook, who The New York Times called a “roadblock to reform.”

But any hopes for a new era of good feelings were quickly tempered. Husamudeen had been a part of COBA’s leadership since 1995, faithfully serving Seabrook as treasurer and vice president. While he may lack his old

JOSEPH PONTE New York City Correction Commissioner

boss’s taste for Ferragamo handbags, by all accounts Husamudeen shares similar views on advocacy for members and antagonism for city leadership.

In less than five months as president, Husamudeen has brought a lawsuit against the mayor, the City Council and the Board of Correction, which oversees the DOC, alleging that correction officer complaints were not being investigated. He has taken out radio and newspaper ads riffing on de Blasio’s “tale of two cities” campaign message, saying that while violence is down in New York City, it’s up on Rikers. And Husamudeen has taken up Seabrook’s calls for Ponte to resign.

Martin of the #CLOSErikers Campaign said Seabrook’s arrest hasn’t changed much.

“I think that the union has a set of messages that don’t change just because their leadership changes, unfortunately. When I listen to Elias talk, it could be Norman talking or it could be any other member.”

Ponte and the DOC leadership seem to be coming to the same conclusion. At the Fire and Criminal Justice Committee’s oversight hearing on Nuñez settlement compliance, City Council members used Husamudeen’s testimony to confirm their misgivings about the department’s reform efforts on Rikers.

For some 45 minutes, Husamudeen eagerly shared his thoughts on how ending solitary confinement would mean “open season” on correction officers, on the disturbing lack of mental health training for his officers and more. Husamudeen praised the Committee, and Chairwoman Elizabeth Crowley in particular. “Finally they’re asking real questions,” he said. “That committee up there today, they did their job. They really did. They asked the questions that are on the mind of my members.”

C&S: WAS ELIAS HUSAMUDEEN BECOMING PRESIDENT OF COBA AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A FRESH START, OR JUST MORE OF THE SAME TENSE RELATIONSHIP? JP: I think we all want the same thing. So they may in some cases disagree with the approach, but we want safe, humane jails.

I don’t think the union would argue against that. We want overtime levels that are appropriate.

We want to increase our staffing numbers so we can achieve that.

We want better training for our staff, we want staff to be safer at work and have better working

21

IN JANUARY 2015, former New York City Correction Commissioner Martin Horn wrote an op-ed for criminal justice news site The Marshall Project that now seems prescient. “If a federal monitor is appointed, and if Norman Seabrook were no longer the president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, the problems and failures of the city’s jails would continue to exist,” he wrote. While today Rikers has a federal monitor and Seabrook is out as president, as Horn explained then, there have been monitors in the past, and Seabrook was merely the latest in a long line of colorful union leaders.

In an interview with City & State, Horn, who served as DOC commissioner from 2003 to 2009, stood by his previous prescription for reform. “It’s not either reform Rikers Island or get off Rikers Island. It’s do both,” he said. In his estimation, if the mayor decided to shut down Rikers, it would take 10 years to actually get all the inmates off the island into new facilities. “In those 10 years, a lot of damage could occur. So you’ve got to deal with Rikers Island today. At the same time that you think about, as you should, getting off.”

Reforming a jail system is slow work, and City Hall is certainly trying, but the situation around Rikers Island looks remarkably like it did a year ago. The de Blasio administration will enter 2017 much like it entered 2016: a new Rikers jail on hold while activists seethe; a combative COBA president calling for a new commissioner; complaints of increasing violence against both correction officers and detainees; and reform proceeding all too slowly.

But at least Rikers is back on the map.

conditions and better conditions for inmates – more humane. I think sometimes it’s the approach that’s different.

C&S: REFORM IS SLOW. CLOSING RIKERS COULD TAKE A DECADE. HOW DO YOU ENSURE WHAT YOU’VE DONE CONTINUES AS THE NEXT COMMISSIONER INEVITABLY TAKES OVER? JP: There’s no way for me to guarantee that. We don’t operate in a vacuum, so I think a lot of the stuff we’ve done here in reducing punitive seg, how we manage 16- and 17-year-olds, those are

■

national trends. So I don’t see that changing. That’s not a New York City thing. It’s not something that was like a Joe Ponte idea. It’s stuff that – when I was in Maine, we were talking about reducing reliance on punitive seg(regation) in adult prisons. The juvenile system in Maine that manages 14-to-21-year-olds had already eliminated punitive seg 10 years earlier for that age group. So it’s stuff that’s happening across the country. I don’t think that because I’m here or not here that the trend will change. Once we put in place good, safe alternatives then I think that will stay there for the future.

NYC Mayor de Blasio to

You’re too expensive.

Do these num 2015 17* Construction Deaths

2017 e r o M y n a M w Ho ! e i D t Mus

W

Co Bro Br

We do our job. It’s time you did

Workers have families and deserve to go home to th

*Of the 29 construction deaths (17 in 2015 and 12 in 2016), 26 were wo 1802.Local46_citystate_ad.indd 1

to Union Construction Workers:

ve. The numbers don’t work!

umbers work?

2016 12* Construction Deaths

Where is the outrage?

Mayor Bill deBlasio Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz

id yours!

o them safely.

Local 46 Metallic Lathers & Reinforcing Ironworkers Business Manager: Terrence Moore • President: John Skinner Business Agents: Kevin Kelly, Ronnie Richardson, Michael Anderson and John Coffey 1322 Third Avenue @ East 76th Street New York, NY 10021 212-737-0500 • www.ml46.org

re workers who were employed by non-union contractors.

12/2/16 12:28 PM

24

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

SETTING THE

AGENDA CONTENTS

26 ETHICS

IN THE WAKE OF NEW SCANDALS, CUOMO RENEWS CALL FOR ETHICS REFORM

28

INFRASTRUCTURE HOW TO BALANCE MAINTENANCE WITH MEGAPROJECTS

32

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

WATER QUALITY AND CLEAN ENERGY REMAIN PRIORITIES IN NEW YORK

35 EXTRAS

A FEW MORE ISSUES SURE TO BE DEBATED IN ALBANY

December 5, 2016

City & State New York

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has convinced lawmakers to pass marriage equality, a higher minimum wage and paid family leave – but he couldn’t persuade Democratic state Sen. Simcha Felder to break his alliance with the state Senate GOP. Felder will once again conference with the Republicans, dealing a blow to the Democrats’ seemingly never-ending fight to gain control of the chamber.

With many of the same issues from last year sure to be rehashed during next year’s session, it can be difficult to keep track of what got done in 2016, and what still needs to be achieved. In City & State’s previous issue, we previewed the latest on labor, health care and education. This issue features infrastructure, energy, ethics and more.

See you in January!

25

26

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

SETTING THE AGENDA

BUSINESS AS USUAL?

In the wake of new scandals, Cuomo renews his call for ethics reform

By ASHLEY HUPFL

ANDREW KISTKIST

U.S. ATTORNEY PREET BHARARA’S OFFICE HAS PROSECUTED A NUMBER OF HIGH-PROFILE ELECTED OFFICIALS IN NEW YORK FOR ETHICS VIOLATIONS, INCLUDING FORMER LEGISLATIVE LEADERS SHELDON SILVER AND DEAN SKELOS. HE RECENTLY FILED CHARGES AGAINST FORMER CUOMO AIDE JOE PERCOCO AMONG OTHERS IN A WIDERANGING BRIBERY INVESTIGATION.

WHEN SHELDON SILVER and Dean Skelos were arrested within weeks of each other in 2015, good-government advocates hoped that corruption charges against the leaders of the Assembly and state Senate would finally lead to robust ethics reforms in Albany.

However, the 2015 legislative session came and went without any major changes, and the following year’s session produced more of the same. It was “business as usual.”

Good-government groups and some lawmakers will once again push for ethics reforms during the 2017 legislative session.

There is a glimmer of hope: In mid-November, Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement vowing to propose stricter ethics reforms, including a 15 percent outside income cap for lawmakers, campaign finance reform, public financing for candidates and broadening JCOPE’s authority to cover local government.

“I have no doubt that the political establishment will oppose it. The Legislature will say they have passed more ethics reform under me than ever before, and that is true,” Cuomo said in the statement. “We have passed four ethics laws and we have

“EVERY YEAR NOW FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS THERE HAVE BEEN AGGRESSIVE AND ADMIRABLE PROPOSALS PUT FORWARD AND THEN THEY NEGOTIATED IN A CLOSED ROOM. A FEW THINGS HAPPEN – MORE DON’T – AND THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS REMAIN.” – State Sen. DANIEL SQUADRON a tighter system than ever. But it is still not enough. That is understandable. We do not have the public trust.”

State Sen. Daniel Squadron called the list a good starting point for negotiations.

“It’s a good list to start with, but we’ve seen this movie before and most of these things don’t happen,” Squadron said. “Every year now for the last two years there have

been aggressive and admirable proposals put forward and then they negotiated in a closed room in the way things happen in Albany. A few things happen – more don’t – and the fundamental problems remain.”

Squadron has sponsored a bill to close the so-called “LLC loophole,” which he says allows nearly unlimited and often

ANDREW KISTKIST

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

anonymous corporate dollars to be donated to political campaigns.

He also supports broader campaign finance reform and more public financing of campaigns.

“I think a good goal for this session would be coming out of it having changed enough that we don’t have the annual cry for changes WHAT GOT DONE in how Albany —Pension forfeiture works and eth—Stronger independent ics reform, but expenditure reforms that we actual—New lobbying disclosure ly change some reforms laws and do it in —Required 501(c)(4) a way that really organizations to disclose sources fundamentally of funding changes the way things work.”

WHAT’S ON THE Republ ica n s AGENDA and Democrats — Close the LLC loophole in the state Sen— Public financing of ate are currentcampaigns ly awaiting the —Campaign finance reform final recount of — Limiting outside income — Reforming the state’s two Long Island contract procurement process races to determine which

party will hold the majority in the chamber. Squadron said that if Democrats win the majority they will enact rules changes to allow bills brought by the party in the minority to more easily reach the floor for a vote.

Cuomo and Squadron also noted the need to reform the process for procuring state contracts. Earlier in the year, two former close aides to Cuomo were arrested on corruption charges for soliciting bribes from companies seeking state contracts. Because of this, Cuomo is likely to feel renewed public pressure to push more procurement reforms next year.

Cuomo announced he would appoint a “chief procurement officer” to review all state contracts for wrongdoing and would no longer accept campaign contributions from companies seeking state contracts.

There is sure to be a bitter debate between legislative leaders and the governor over limiting outside income. Members of the state Senate and Assembly objected when a legislative pay raise commission, led by three Cuomo appointees, opted not to increase salaries for lawmakers unless more ethics reforms were enacted, including a cap on outside income. Currently state law-

27

makers are paid $79,500 annually.

“To end decades of chronic conflicts of interest – both perceived and real – legislators should no longer be allowed to serve two masters,” Cuomo said in a statement.

“We must enact strict limits on outside income to end chronic conflicts of interests that have plagued the New York state Legislature for many years. If you’re going to be a public servant, you shouldn’t be able to have other interests on the side.”

State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have both criticized the commission’s ruling, arguing a pay raise should not be tied to legislative action, and promised to focus on issues that “truly matter” to New Yorkers.

“It is unfortunate that the governor’s appointees to the New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation once again felt the need to demand legislative action in exchange for an increase in compensation,” Flanagan and Heastie said in a joint statement. “Despite the governor’s appointees’ refusal to discharge their duties, the Legislature will continue to focus on issues that truly matter to New Yorkers and help move our state forward.”

■

GET AN ON-THE-SPOT DECISION ON YOUR APPLICATION. Immediate Decision Days now through December 28 at our Manhattan and Bronx locations.

Our accelerated graduate degree programs, flexible schedules and scholarships can help you make an immediate impact on your career and in your community.

• Business

• Public Affairs and Administration

• Education

• Emergency and Disaster Management

RSVP ONLINE: WhatsYourPurpose.NYC or call 877-957-6981

MCNY296_IDD_HalfPage_Ad_7.25x4.75_4C_CityandState.indd 1

11/29/16 10:18 AM

28

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

EVAN EL-AMIN

SETTING THE AGENDA

WHAT GOT DONE —$27.1 billion multi-year capital plan —$400 million for CHIPS funding — $8.3 billion for the MTA Capital Plan

HIGH-WIRE ACT Funding mega-projects while maintaining infrastructure is a tricky balance for N.Y.

By ASHLEY HUPFL AMID A GROWING national discussion on how the United States can afford to maintain its infrastructure, New York politicians will be focused on supporting the state’s existing infrastructure and ensuring continued funding for current projects.

During 2016-17 budget negotiations, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders agreed to a $27.1 billion multi-year capital plan for the state Department of Transportation to ensure parity in funding for the MTA’s $26.6 billion Capital Plan, which was approved earlier this year.

“The legislation that we pass in this building is important, the work we do in this building is important. What is just as important, if not more important, is the actual construction that this state does – the development, the building, the infrastructure,” Cuomo said during a press conference in March. “Upgrade your infrastructure, it’s the single-best common denominator to help economic growth.”

Since taking office, Cuomo has approved several massive construction projects, such as the reconstruction of the Tappan Zee Bridge, a new transportation hub at Penn

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA — Reauthorizing design-build legislation — Expanding designbuild for New York Citybased projects — Phase two of the Second Avenue Subway — Increasing CHIPS funding

“UPGRADE YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE, IT’S THE SINGLE-BEST COMMON DENOMINATOR TO HELP ECONOMIC GROWTH.” – Gov. ANDREW CUOMO Station and Farley Station and a new LaGuardia Airport. The first phase of the longplanned Second Avenue Subway is set to open in December.

Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez, chairman of the Assembly Subcommittee on Infrastructure, said one his biggest priorities for the next legislative session is ensuring that the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway continues to move forward.

Many transportation advocates and budget analysts have expressed concern about the rising cost of maintaining the state’s infrastructure while funding these larger projects.

“The mega-projects do end up staking a

substantive amount of new capital dollars. We know in our current (MTA) Capital Plan, $22 billion of it approximately is going to “State of Good Repair,” Rodriguez said. “So, the balance of that is going to either service enhancements or new capital, which is not a lot of money when you’re putting $22 billion just to keep everything running.”

To supplement the MTA Capital Plan and support new infrastructure projects, Rodriguez will once again introduce his “Move NY Fair Plan.”

The plan calls for a standard toll ($5.54 with E-ZPass or $8 without) around

NEW STANDARD OF CONSTRUCTION

WDF Inc. is one of the nation’s leading plumbing, HVAC contracting, and specialty general contracting companies; proudly servicing New York State for more than 80 years. Our diversity initiative is at the forefront of our corporate mission. We have built a state-of-the-art compliance program and a strong and passionate team of professionals to execute our plan. As an equal opportunity employer, our staff reflects the value we place on connections with people and businesses from all backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. Our commitment to inclusion is mirrored in our never-ending pursuit to provide opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned, local, and disadvantaged businesses in our procurement of goods and services on all of our projects.

If you are an M/W/L/DBE interested in doing work with us, please contact our M/W/L/DBE & EEO Officer, J. Naomi Glean,at (914) 776-8000 or NGlean@wdfinc.net.

30 North MacQuesten Parkway • Mount Vernon, New York 10550 Tel: 914.776.8000 • Fax: 914.668.5602 • Email: Info@wdfinc.net • www.wdfinc.net

WDF_CS071116_FP.indd 1

7/8/16 1:03 PM

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

Manhattan’s central business district, a new tolling point on 60th Street in Manhattan and a per-mile surcharge on taxi rides in Midtown and Lower Manhattan to provide an extra $1.35 billion annually in new revenue.

“We think it is tremendously important to think about how we provide additional funding for regional transportation initiatives,” Rodriguez said. “There are some that are covered in the MTA Capital Plan, but we also know that we want to do more outside of the MTA Capital Plan, and this an opportunity for us to support the plan but also to do more and not to rely strictly on fare increases, which is what MTA is doing right now.”

Another top issue during next year’s state budget negotiations will be the reauthorization of design-build, which is set to expire in 2017 after a two-year extension was passed in 2015. Many state lawmakers were disappointed when legislation to extend the authority to use design-build projects in New York City failed to pass the state Legislature in the previous session.

Upstate transportation advocates applauded Cuomo’s inclusion of $27.1 billion to the state Department of Transportation, but there will likely be a push to increase

THE FIRST PHASE OF THE SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY IS SET TO OPEN IN DECEMBER.

the state’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) funding. The 2016-17 state budget agreement included $400 million over a fouryear period for local projects distributed based on the CHIPS formula.

“Another area of concern that we continue to hear on the local municipality level is the CHIPS funding,” Rodriguez said. “That’s how they rely on getting their matches for local investments in roads and bridges, so those are

important programs.”

State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Robach declined to respond to repeated interview requests.

Despite being a New York City lawmaker, Rodriguez stressed the importance of equitable funding throughout the state.

“It isn’t a situation where there are two New Yorks,” he said. “There’s only one New York, and I certainly recognize that both of those areas need to be funded appropriately.”

■

LICA Urges Lawmakers: Turn Promises into Progress Lately, there’s tons of talk about infrastructure. But all too often, talk is easily derailed or detoured, leading to yet another dead-end. Even in best-case scenarios when promises are kept, the road to real progress is often blocked due to insufficient planning, bureaucratic bickering or yards of red-tape.

No one knows the true details of what a Trump infrastructure plan may bring. But with all the talk of “change” this election year, the Long Island Contractors’ Association urges our state and local lawmakers to lay the groundwork to be ready to turn promises into progress.

On behalf our 160+ members, our industry partners and the 2.7 million residents of Long Island, LICA hopes to see our legislative leaders take action to ensure that our region can capitalize on whatever infrastructure opportunities may materialize: • PREPARE: Begin actual planning/design for necessary infrastructure projects so they are shovel-ready • PRIORITIZE: Create a list of planned projects and prioritize those that are most critical and/or beneficial • PROVIDE: Provide the funding needed & release approved capital project lists at time of budget approval Long Island Contractors’ Association, Inc. 150 Motor Parkway, Suite 307, Hauppauge, NY 11788 631-231-LICA (5422) • www.licanys.org • info@licanys.org

The Voice of Long Island’s Highway & Infrastructure Professionals

PATRICK CASHIN/MTA

30

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

MARC HERBST Executive Director, Long Island Contractors’ Association, Inc.

LAWRENCE ROMAN CEO, WDF Inc.

AS ONE OF the first modern suburbs in the nation, Long Island, with its 2.7 million residents, is vital to our state’s economy. Our roads, bridges and tunnels are the only means of maintaining a good quality of life and will ensure our ability to contribute in the years ahead. Yet, each year, we are forced to chase funding to properly repair, replace and renovate our aging infrastructure.

Even when funding IS available, our industry is often unable to put shovel to dirt. Why? It’s clearly not for a lack of projects that need to be done, but rather that very few projects are ready to move forward. The problem?

State engineering departments don’t want to spend money drawing plans if funds aren’t available to build the design.

And Washington doesn’t want

to spend money on projects that don’t exist on paper. It’s a Catch-22, an endless cycle that needs to be broken and resolved – or perhaps “repealed and replaced” as this seems to be a popular theme with the incoming administration.

Another obstacle infrastructure faces is lengthy delays caused by over-regulation. At every step – from concept through construction – there are unnecessarily lengthy processes, procedures and paperwork. We need the governor and the Legislature to address the root cause of this problem: mountains of regulatory red tape that do nothing to enhance safety or increase efficiency.

We also recognize that the road to true economic stimulus and job creation is built by more

than the crews who are hired to build it. We must develop infrastructure projects that will provide the greatest benefit to commerce and industry, thereby sparking investment and far broader, long-term job growth.

Remember, it wasn’t the construction jobs to build the Triboro (RFK) and George Washington bridges that helped end the Great Depression. Rather, it was the construction of those spans that enabled New York to become the economic capital of the world, making it a truly transformative infrastructure achievement.

This session, we urge our lawmakers to work hand in hand with members of our industry to plan and prepare for what we all hope will be the next “huge” infrastructure boom.

IT IS TIME now, as we take on a new administration, for our leaders to come together and finally invest massively in our infrastructure requirements in New York state. We need to forget about the politics and the grandstanding and have our President-elect Donald Trump, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other great infrastructure believers work together to rebuild our state to be the envy of the world.

The Gateway Project, a new westside bus terminal and massive improvements to our airports, roads, tunnels, bridges, environmental

protection facilities, etc., are necessary in order to make our city and state as great as they can be. We also need to streamline the processes so that the projects can start quickly and can be built without costly delay. We must hire the most gifted engineers and architects to design these projects: “Pay a little more for the best and we will save 10 times that amount in the end.”

Our MWLDBE programs need to be reviewed and clarified so that contractors understand exactly what is expected from them in order to fulfill those requirements.

We need clear and precise guidelines and goals that can

be reasonably achieved using qualified MWLDBEs. All New Yorkers must participate and benefit from this rebuilding effort.

This can be the most exciting time for New York.

We have great leadership that understands the critical need for making investments in infrastructure. This will also create thousands of good-paying jobs. Any naysayers who tout that we “dig one hole to use the dirt to fill another hole” need only drive over the Tappan Zee Bridge to see the ingenuity and beauty of what our industry can build.

The excitement is building!

31

32

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

SETTING THE AGENDA

WINDS OF CHANGE Despite national shakeup, water quality and clean energy remain priorities in New York

XXLPHOTO

By JUSTIN SONDEL

WHAT GOT DONE —Clean Energy Standard adopted by the state Public Service Commission —Water testing required at all K-12 public schools WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA — Expansion of water testing in child care facilities, colleges and other public venues — Legislation to address and prepare for the effects of climate change —Legislation to address the decline of pollinators like honeybees and the proliferation of invasive species

IN THE LAST few years Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made energy and environmental policy a priority, largely through executive actions, setting in place some of the most aggressive, if controversial, policies in the country.

The governor has given teeth to what was previously only a goal of his administration: to derive half of the energy used in the state from renewable sources by 2030 as a main thrust of his Clean Energy Standard, adopted this summer by the state’s Public Service Commission. Many of his largest upstate economic development investments – the

RiverBend solar panel plant in Buffalo, the photonics center in Rochester – are centered around green technology. And he has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to prop up financially struggling nuclear power plants to avoid using more energy made from burning fossil fuels.

Now, with a president-elect in Donald Trump who has vowed to roll back regulations and to push policies that are hospitable to fossil fuel producers, it remains to be seen how those goals will be affected. SolarCity, the company set to operate out of the state-owned Buffalo facility, has gone through a period of volatility as

it has moved toward a profitable business model. While the approval of its merger with Tesla last month puts it in a better position to succeed going forward, its outlook is still far from certain.

U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, a Buffalo-area congressman with close ties to Trump, has worked to temper fears, telling State of Politics that renewables will not be a main source of energy under a Trump plan, but that they will continue to play a role in the energy landscape.

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

“I think there will be a continued role for solar and wind,” Collins told the news outlet.

“We have to be fiscally responsible at the same time, so I think the solar credits and the wind credits are something we’re going to have to talk through.”

Additionally, the legislature will likely take up water quality issues that arose last year after it was reported that elevated levels of cancer-causing chemicals were found in the water supplies of several municipalities north of Albany and concerns over the amount of lead in drinking water began to take hold.

State Sen. Tom O’Mara leads the upper chamber’s environmental conservation committee. In an emailed response to questions from City & State, the Republican said that a main focus for his committee will be to build on some of the success of recent years, including restoring full funding to the Environmental Protection Fund.

O’Mara would like to see the broadening of a law he sponsored with Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, which was recently signed into law by Cuomo, that requires schools to test drinking water for lead.

“We will be looking at the need to expand this year’s legislation to include preschools,

“CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT JUST A COASTAL ISSUE, IT’S A STATEWIDE ISSUE.” – Assemblyman STEVE ENGLEBRIGHT

child care centers and possibly colleges and other institutions and facilities where the public is likely to consume water or utilize water for food preparation” O’Mara said.

“These expansions would have to be accomplished as part of the state budget in order to establish an appropriate funding stream since these types of facilities do not have a funding mechanism in place like school building aid to cover the expenses of testing and remediation.”

Assemblyman Steve Englebright, a Long

Helping New Yorkers create a greener, more sustainable energy plan for a brighter future.

To learn more, visit www.nationalgridus.com That’s life on the grid.

33

Island Democrat who is chairman of the chamber’s Environmental Committee, agreed that despite some progress last year water quality remains a top priority.

In addition, he said issues related to climate change also should take precedence, especially given the damage that storms like Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene have caused in recent years.

“These are storms that are supposed to be once every 100 years,” Englebright said. “They’re coming once every two years.”

And while Sandy was particularly bad for his district, the problems caused by Irene just a few years earlier across large sections of upstate show that these issues resonate with people across the state.

“Climate change is not just a coastal issue, it’s a statewide issue,” Englebright said.

While the balance of power remains uncertain in the Senate, Englebright said he is hopeful that his conference can work with whoever is in power to try to move forward on some of these problems this year.

“I think there’s always a chance to do good things if the people of the state are behind the initiative,” he said.

■

34

CityAndStateNY.com

KEN DALY President for New York Operations, National Grid

December 5, 2016

THE ROADMAP TO a cleaner, more secure energy future requires a balanced approach that includes a broad array of solutions: Renewable energy, energy efficiency and demand reduction, modernized transmission and distribution networks, and clean natural gas supplies as a bridge to support the energy system of the future.

The states where we operate – New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island – have embraced the challenge presented by climate change and made ambitious commitments to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with New York taking an industry leadership position with its Clean Energy Standard of 50 percent renewables by 2030. These states also have adopted innovative approaches to transform the energy sector to better serve customers

more effectively and efficiently.

New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision, or REV, calls for development of more resilient, agile energy networks; integrating clean energy; harnessing new technologies; ensuring data security; and delivering new programs and products for customers. National Grid has responded with a host of REV demonstration projects across New York that will: • increase solar and energy efficiency penetration in low-income communities that might not otherwise have access to these options.

• integrate a large customer’s energy infrastructure to provide benefit to/from the larger electric grid.

• test the feasibility of building an underground ‘microgrid’ to add resiliency and be able to ‘island’ from the central electricity grid in

extreme weather events.

• offer smart energy solutions to customers and explore various ways the company and customers can control and reduce electricity and gas demand and improve safety in the home.

• use combined heat and power technology to allow residential customers to both heat and cool their homes with clean natural gas.

• develop geothermal systems to harness the earth’s natural resources to provide clean energy to customers.

New York’s REV program is providing the Blueprint and National Grid is delighted to support and lead the transition, and design the clean energy networks for the future. By applying this balanced approach, we will continue to focus on affordability and reliability as we secure a cleaner energy future for our customers.



THE MUST-READ MORNING ROUNDUP OF NEW YORK POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

  

-

For all information of advertising opportunities and availabilities, please contact us at: advertising@cityandstateny.com or call 212 268 0442

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

35

SETTING THE AGENDA

Let’s not forget ...

A FEW MORE ISSUES THE LEGISLATURE IS LOOKING TO TACKLE IN THE COMING YEAR:

Ridesharing

Homesharing

After facing defeat the last few years, Uber and Lyft will once again launch campaigns to expand ridesharing to upstate New York. Currently New York’s insurance law bars the companies from operating outside of the city. Ridesharing companies have operated in New York City since 2009. The main point of contention is the failure of an agreement on the insurance requirements needed for ridesharing drivers to operate. The state Senate bill proposes insurance limits of $50,000 for bodily injury or death and $100,000 for accidents when no passengers are in the car – much lower than the Assembly’s limits of $100,000 for bodily injury or death and $300,000 for accidents with no passengers.

Airbnb advocates are sure to push back against a new law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in October that would impose steep fines on Airbnb hosts who break local housing regulations.

Airbnb has filed a federal lawsuit, but alternative solutions will likely be floated during the upcoming legislative session. The company has already proposed cracking down on hosts with multiple listings who run illegal hotels. It will also likely sink money and influence into the debate in Albany next year.

It’s uncertain how successful that effort will be, as the new law passed with a nearly unanimous vote in the Assembly and state Senate last June.

Affordable housing While advocates and legislators across the state aim to address a host of affordable housing issues this session, perhaps none is more pressing than the restoration of the 421-a tax break for developers who include a certain percentage of affordable housing units in their developments. The popular tax credit was not renewed in 2015 when Cuomo could not bring together unions and real estate developers on the issue, a division he was not able to mend again last year. (The sticking point remains a prevailing wage for workers on such projects.) The tax break, which is essential to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to build or preserve 200,000 affordable housing units in New York City, is sure to receive plenty of attention again this year.

Criminal justice Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature have struggled to come together over criminal justice issues, which have drawn significant public attention in recent years. Assembly Democrats, in coordination with Cuomo, have advanced legislation in recent years to raise the age at which teenagers are tried as adults, but the governor has failed to get Senate Republicans on board. While Republican leaders on criminal justice issues have said they agree with the idea in principle, they have said that the Assembly bills have failed to adequately address concerns over funding what would be a massive change for the state Department of Corrections. After the bill died in the Senate in 2015, Cuomo used his executive powers to order that all 16- and 17-year-old prisoners be taken out of adult populations. However, many advocates view the move as a half-measure that does little to address the root issues with the current state law.

36

NYSlant.com

December 5, 2016

Perspectives & analysis from the people who know New York best/ Edited by Nick Powell

GOVERNOR CUOMO’S FLAWED 421-A PROPOSAL

NICK STARICHENKO

By TOM WATERS

he 421-a tax exemption program for real estate developers is an extraordinarily wasteful giveaway, and the latest proposal to revive it, announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month, makes it even worse.

In recent years, 421-a has cost New York City more than a billion dollars a year in foregone tax revenue ($1.2 billion in 2016), while producing about $100 million a year worth of affordable housing.

Cuomo’s proposal would cost the city $2.4 billion a year in revenue, without bringing about a remotely comparable increase in affordability benefit.

This enormous new tax expenditure

would be wasteful in any context, but it is especially ill advised at a time when vital federal subsidy streams to the city are in jeopardy in a Trump presidency. For comparison, the New York City Housing Authority currently receives $910 million a year in federal operating subsidies for public housing and $930 million a year for Section 8 vouchers.

Last year, the city negotiated a proposal to update 421-a with the Real Estate Board of New York. This proposal called for a large increase in the value of the tax exemption along with smaller increases in the amount of affordability required. A version of the proposal passed the state Leg-

islature and was signed into law by Cuomo, but the new law also required REBNY and the city’s building trades unions to sign a memorandum of understanding creating wage requirements before the new provisions could go into effect. This has not happened, and 421-a is now dormant.

On Nov. 10, Cuomo announced that REBNY and the building trades had finally come to an agreement – but only if the value of the exemption is increased even further. The governor has asked the state Legislature to call a special session so it can rush the enhanced exemption into law.

The 2015 increase in the value of the 421-a tax exemption was accomplished by

NICK STARICHENKO

City City&&State State New New York York

December 5, 2016

increasing the total length of the exemptions allowed under the law. Previously, exemptions lasted from 10 to 25 years, depending on the location of the buildings and the amount of affordable housing included. The 15- and 20-year exemptions were most commonly used. The law expanded all exemptions to 35 years, roughly doubling their cost to the city.

The proposed new 421-a increase works a different way. Instead of phasing out the tax exemptions over time, it would allow a 100 percent exemption for the full 35 years in areas subject to the wage rules – certain 421-a buildings in Manhattan would pay construction workers an average hourly wage of $60, including wages and benefits, while those in Brooklyn and Queens would pay $45 – leading to a roughly 25 percent boost in the cost to the city.

We have estimated these increased costs by considering the buildings that are receiving the 421-a exemption now and projecting the benefits that they would receive under the current 2015 rules versus the proposed new rules. We assume that only 25 percent of the buildings receiving 10-year exemptions under current laws would have chosen to use 421-a under the new rules, but that all of the buildings with longer exemptions would have used one of the new 421-a exemption options, within or outside the wage areas. We do not consider the likely fact that more buildings would opt for 421-a due to the increased benefit; thus, this is a somewhat conservative estimate. We also do not consider the effect of inflation and other future changes in the housing market on the value of a 421a exemption.

Using this approach, we found that the $1.2 billion in 421-a tax expenditure in 2016 would become a $2 billion tax expenditure under the 2015 rules and $2.4 billion under the new proposed rules.

New York can’t afford to spend billions of dollars a year on wasteful programs like 421-a. In a city where more than half of tenants pay unaffordable rents, the need for real affordable housing programs is far too great. And we certainly can’t assume that in 2051, we’ll be able to afford to still be spending the equivalent of billions of dollars a year to pay for the wasteful housing policies of 2016.

■

Tom Waters is a housing analyst for the Community Service Society.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES DECEMBER 5, 2016

NOTICE OF FORMATION of Constance Artistry Care, LLC. Arts of org filed with Secy. of state of NY (SSNY) on 9/15/2016.

Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served against LLC to principal business address: 42 Wadsworth Terrace, # 3C, NY, NY 10040. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of formation of JAE Tech, LLC. Art. of Org. filed w/ Secy. of State of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/4/16.

Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent for service of process. SSNY shall mail process to 155 E. 49th St. #6B, NY, NY 10016.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

For reservations and rates please email: legalnotices@ cityandstateny.com OR CALL

212-268-0442, ext. 2039

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Aimsley Management Group LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/12/2016.

Office location: NEW YORK 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: Aimee Berger. The principal business address of the LLC is: 225 E 34th St. Apt 8J NY NY 10016 Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION of FGMK, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. Of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/7/2016.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in IL on 11/17/1994. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to principal business address: 2801 Lakeside Drive, Third Floor, Bannockburn, IL 60015. Certificate of LLC filed with Secy. Of State of IL located at: 213 State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62756. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of Law Offices of Morton & Associates LLLP. Auth. filed w/ SSNY on 7/5/16.

Office: NY Cnty. LLLP formed in FL on 5/12/16.

SSNY designated as agent of LLLP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to princ. bus. addr. of LLLP: 246 W. Broadway, NY, NY 10013.

Name/addr. of genl. ptrs. available from SSNY. Cert. of LLLP filed w/ SSFL, R.A. Gray Bldg., 500 S. Borough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of CRAFTSTONE CAPITAL, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/16. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/30/15. 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: Harvard Business Services, Inc., 16192 Coastal Hwy., Lewes, DE 19958. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

37 37

38

CityAndStateNY.com

Notice of formation of SHOWREELS LLC Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on October 7, 2016. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC 1412 Broadway FL 21, New York NY 10018. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of ATLAS ASSET ADVISORS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/19/16. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/10/16. Princ. office of LLC: 1251 Ave. of the Americas, Ste. 4600, NY, NY 10020. 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: 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

725 ELEVENTH AVE LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/26/16. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 128 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021. ATTN: Downing Realty. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of meemama productions LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on October 6, 2016. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shail mail copy of process to the LLC, 150 West End Ave, 9F, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

December 5, 2016

Notice of Qualification of 22-12 JACKSON OWNER LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/20/16.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/19/16. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Adam America Real Estate, 850 Third Ave., 47th Fl., NY, NY 10022. DE addr. of LLC: 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Je rey W. Bullock, Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

VERTEBRAL ANCHOR SYSTEMS, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/14/2016. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Michael Vitale, M.D., 34 North Brook Lane, Irvington, NY 10533.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

210 THE LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/14/16.

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

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 210 West 77th Street, New York, NY 10024. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

CAPPAWORLD, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/07/16 Location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent for service of process on LLC, SSNY shall mail a copy to: CAPPAWORLD, LLC 19 W 8th Street, Apt. 7, New York, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of INTEGRATED PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/16. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 911 Park Ave., Ste. 2C, NY, NY 10075. 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.

Notice of Qualification of GTW Partners L.L.C. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 7/5/07.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 5/31/07. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o National Registered Agents, Inc. (NRAI), 875 Ave. of the Americas, Ste. 501, NY, NY 10001. DE address of LLC: NRAI, 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, 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 AssuredPartners OF PENNSYLVANIA, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/26/16. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Pennsylvania (PA) on 09/27/16. 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.

PA addr. of LLC: 1301 Grandview Ave., Ste. 400, Pittsburgh, PA 15211.

Cert. of Form. filed with Pedro A. Cortes, Secy. of the Commonwealth, 401 N. Street, Rm. 206, Harrisburg, PA 17120.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of CROISIC BUILDING, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/05/16.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/27/16. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Dino & Sons Realty Corp., 1590 Troy Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11234.

DE addr. of LLC: 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of CAITHNESS SERVICES LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/14/16.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/04/16. 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: 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qual. of 548W22 Mezz Funding LLC, Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 9/9/16. O . loc: NY Co. LLC org. in DE 8/26/16.

SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom proc. against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to NRAI, 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011, the Reg. Agt. upon whom proc. may be served. DE o . addr.: 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. on file: SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901.

Purp: any lawful activities.

SAR 17, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 10/12/16.

Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to c/o Cornicello, Tendler & Baumel -Cornicello, LLP, 2 Wall St., 20th Fl, NY, NY 10005. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of formation of NY A TUS PIES, LLC. filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/07/2016. Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to principal business address: 20 W 64th St., #43O, NY, NY 10023.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of IOWN LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/28/16. NYS fictitious name: IOWN1 LLC. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 51 Madison Ave., 31st Fl., NY, NY 10010. LLC formed in DE on 1/26/16. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

ElleMad129st, LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/08/16. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 1930 Broadway, Apartment 22F, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

City & State New York

December 5, 2016

Notice of Formation of Airplane Mode LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the Secy.

Of State of NY (SSNY) on October 5, 2016.

Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served against LLC to: 200 E. 69th St. 26A NY, NY 10021. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of Plate & Glass, LLC filed with the SSNY on August 23, 2016. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 82 Irving Place, 1B, New York, NY 10003.

Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of A&E QUEENS PORTFOLIO III MGMT, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/16.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/13/16. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, Attn: Maggie McCormick, 1065 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10018. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with State of DE, Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Frontline Digital LLC Art. of Org. filed with SSNY on September 15, 2016.

Office: New York County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 7 East 14th Street, #812, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of ARTMATR, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/08/16.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Colorado (CO) on 09/21/16. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the CO addr. of the LLC: 410 17th Ste. 2200, Denver, CO 80202. Cert. of Form. filed with CO Secy. of State, 1700 Broadway, Ste. 200, Denver, CO 80209.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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 December 6, 2016 and end on December 16, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. to satisfy unpaid rent and charges on the following accounts: Contents of rooms generally contain misc. Household goods and other e ects. #2412-Katty Villacorta, #2448Avery Bock, #4425-Kerry Brothers, #48181-Sabrina Wood.

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.

REDWOOD ROAD FUNDING LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/22/16. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Hirshmark Capital LLC, 15 West 26th Street, Suite 901, New York, NY 10010, which is also the registered agent address. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of Allegany Wind Energy, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/31/16. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 11101 W. 120th Ave., Ste. 400, Broomfield, CO 80021. LLC formed in DE on 10/28/16. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agent upon whom process may be served.

DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of formation of Minyworldwide LLC Arts of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/08/16. Office location: NY County.

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

SSNY shall mail process to :The LLC, 200 Riverside Blvd ste 26E, New York, NY 10069. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of NEW YORK CWB, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/16. Office location: NY County.

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

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 515 Madison Ave., Ste. 1118/35, NY, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Just A Kiss Pictures, LLC filed with NY Secy. of State (SSNY) 9/15/16.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated agent for process service.

SSNY shall mail process to US Corp. Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave. Ste. 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

39

Notice of Formation of PIONEER EATS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/16. Office location: NY County.

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

SSNY shall mail process to Scott Schindler, 203 E. 4th St., Apt. 9, NY, NY 10009. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

223A MALCOM X BLVD LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/09/15.

Office: New York County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Alon Karasenty, 312 East 30th Street, PH2, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Galilean Technologies LLC. Arts of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 7/26/2016. Office Location: NY County.

SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against the LLC to principal business address: 511 47th Ave, Ste 8H, LIC, NY 11101 Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of OMNICHANNEL SOLUTIONS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/14/16. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/06/16.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Moses & Singer, Attn: David Lee Kovacs, 405 Le ington Ave., 12th Fl., NY, NY 10174. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 215 MOORE STREET ME ANINE LENDER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/16.

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, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qual. of 548W22 Funding LLC, Auth. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 9/9/16. O . loc: NY Co. LLC org. in DE 8/26/16.

SSNY desig. as agent of LLC upon whom proc. against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of proc. to NRAI, 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011, the Reg. Agt. upon whom proc. may be served. DE o . addr.: 160 Greentree Dr., Ste. 101, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. on file: SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901.

Purp: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of LONGSIGHT STRATEGIC ADVISORS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/15/16. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/25/16.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

40

CityAndStateNY.com

Notice of Formation of FIFTH AVENUE ENDOCRINOLOGY OFFICES, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/14/16. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1080 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1A, NY, NY 10128. 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.

Notice of Formation of Alan H Goldberg, CPA, PLLC filed with the NY Secretary of State of New York on June 28, 2016.

Office Location: New York County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against PLLC to principal business address: 14 Penn Plaza, Ste. 1315, New York, NY 10122. Purpose: To practice accounting or any lawful activity.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL #1298552 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 1685 1ST AVE NEW YORK, NY 10128. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION. UESMEX LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE , SERIAL #1298452 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 553 MANHATTAN AVE NEW YORK, NY 10027. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ONPREMISE CONSUMPTION. GRAFTED HOSPITALITY GROUP LLC

December 5, 2016

Notice of Qualification of SREF IV REIT, L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/29/16.

Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/26/16. Princ. office of LP: Savanna Asset Management, LLC, 430 Park Ave., 12th Fl., NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: c/o CSC, 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

11 RECTOR STREET, LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 07/24/08. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 11 Rector St., New York, NY 10006. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of SPT Ivey 95 Crystal Run MOB LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/15/16. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 591 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. LLC formed in DE on 10/24/16. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of Qualification of SPT Ivey 61 Emerald MOB LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/14/16. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 591 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. LLC formed in DE on 10/24/16. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

ALSI PROPERTIES LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/06/14. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Shimon Itah, 184 5th Ave, Fl 3, New York, NY 10010.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL #1298523 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 100 WEST HOUSTON ST NEW YORK, NY 10012. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ON PREMISE CONSUMPTION.

Notice of Qualification of SREF PIV IV, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/29/16.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/26/16. Princ. office of LLC: Savanna Asset Management, LLC, 430 Park Ave., 12th Fl., NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.be served.

DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of LUCKY US PROPERTY PARTNERS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/22/16. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 250 West St., Unit #10J, NY, NY 10013. SSNY designated as agent of llc upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Eric J. Kramer at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 515 Wilson Avenue LLC, Art. of Org. filed with Sec’y of State (SSNY) on 10/11/16.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to NRAI, 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011, the Reg. Agt. upon whom proc. may be served. Purpose: any lawful activities.

CITYANDSTATE.COM

NEW JANE LLC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE , SERIAL #1298688 FOR WINE & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR

BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL WINE & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 205 BLEEKER ST NEW YORK, NY 10012. NEW YORK COUNTY, FOR ONPREMISE CONSUMPTION. LPQ 205 BLEECKER, INC

ADVERTISE HERE

Bring together New York’s top government and business leaders for engaging policy discussions and networking opportunities.

EVENT OPTIONS INCLUDE:

POLICY DISCUSSIONS AWARD CEREMONIES COCKTAIL RECEPTIONS PANEL DISCUSSIONS Align your organization with the decision makers and award-winning content that make every CITY & STATE EVENT a must-attend!

For more information on CITY & STATE’s event sponsorship opportunities, visit cityandstateny.com/events or contact our sales team at events@cityandstateny.com

42

CityAndStateNY.com

December 5, 2016

CITY & STATE NEW YORK MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING Chairman Steve Farbman, President/CEO Tom Allon tallon@cityandstateny.com, Vice President of Strategy Jasmin Freeman, Comptroller David Pirozzi dpirozzi@cityandstateny.com, Business & Sales Coordinator Patrea Patterson, Junior Sales Associate Cydney McQuillan-Grace cydney@cityandstateny.com

Who was up and who was down last week

LOSERS PREET BHARARA The “Sheriff of Albany” will ride again! After meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, Bhararaannounced he will continue serving as U.S. attorney under the new administration. If you listened closely, you could hear the collective groan of all state and city politicians when they heard the news.

OUR PICK

OUR PICK

WINNERS

With Thanksgiving over, the eyes of the nation are once again back on Trump Tower, and as Cabinet candidates exit those golden elevators, everyone is wondering who’s leaving as a winner and who will go home a loser. But here at City & State, we’re casting our net wider than White House North, and with news in Albany and City Hall, there are plenty of leftovers to go around.

DIGITAL - digital@cityandstateny.com Digital Content Coordinator Michael Filippi MULTIMEDIA Multimedia Director Bryan Terry

BILL DE BLASIO What a week for the mayor.

People believe his initiative to curb pedestrian deaths is failing. Perhaps he didn’t notice from up in an NYPD chopper. All this after the Times blasted his administration’s dump of unflattering news right before Thanksgiving: that a court ordered the city to release emails de Blasio exchanged with private consultants and that the city is spending $1.3 billion more than anticipated this fiscal year.

THE REST OF THE WORST

PATRICK BURKE

JAY HERSHENSON

TOM DINAPOLI

DELMAR HOUSE

gets media props for moving to strengthen oversight of administration

judge busted for decreasing a traffic fine in exchange for sexual favors

SUSAN KENT

JULIE MENIN

TARA LENICH

lures Grammy Awards back to New York in 2018

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, Account Executive Danielle Mowery dmowery@cityandstateny.com EVENTS - events@cityandstateny.com Events Manager Lissa Blake, Senior Events Coordinator Alexis Arsenault, Events and Marketing Coordinator Jenny Wu

Vol. 5 Issue 46 December 5, 2016

reassigned to Queens College after 32 years leading CUNY

TONY AVELLA

gets his bill to stop DEC from euthanising mute swans passed

SLANT Slant Editor Nick Powell npowell@cityandstateny.com, Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero gborrero@cityandstateny. com, Slant Columnists Nicole Gelinas, Bruce Fisher, Richard Brodsky, Karen Hinton CREATIVE - creativedepartment@cityandstateny.com Creative Director Guillaume Federighi, Senior Graphic Designer Alex Law, Graphic Designer Kewen Chen, Junior Graphic Designer Aaron Aniton

THE BEST OF THE REST anti-conversion therapy “PENCE” bill makes national headlines

EDITORIAL - editor@cityandstateny.com Editorial Director Michael Johnson mjohnson@ cityandstateny.com, Senior Editor Jon Lentz jlentz@ cityandstateny.com, Albany Reporter Ashley Hupfl ahupfl@ cityandstateny.com, Buffalo Reporter Justin Sondel jsondel@cityandstateny.com, City Hall Reporter Sarina Trangle strangle@cityandstateny.com, Managing Editor Ryan Somers, Web/Engagement Editor Jeremy Unger, Editorial Assistant Jeff Coltin

former PEF boss banned from all union activities after ethics report accused of running a wiretap to spy on detective, colleague in love triangle

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.

SETTING THE AGENDA

INFRASTRUCTURE ETHICS REFORM ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM @CIT YANDSTATENY December 5, 2016

Cover direction by Guillaume Federighi Graphic design by Alex Law 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. Application to Mail at Periodicals Prices is pending at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to City & State New York, 61 Broadway, Suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2763.

General: (212) 268-0442, info@cityandstateny.com Copyright ©2016, City & State NY, LLC

N FAN IS ON ING AND SPRINGSTEE IT? ECUTOR, MEDIA DARL BUT DOES HE WANT THE CRUSADING PROS R/GOVERNOR/SENATOR. SHORT LIST FOR MAYO ALMOST EVERYONE’S Septem ber 26, 2016 CIT YANDSTATENY.

COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

SUBSCRIPTIONS INCLUDE 48 ISSUES CONVENIENTLY MAILED TO YOUR HOME OR OFFICE AND ACCESS TO OUR EXCLUSIVE FIRST READ E-NEWSLETTER! CITY & STATE Magazine is a premiere weekly publication that dedicates its coverage to everything politics in New York.

• • • •

Investigative reporting Q&A’s with leaders in government Analysis of top industries Winners & Losers; Power 100 and 40 Under 40 Rising Stars

visit cityandstateny.com/subscribenow and subscribe today! *Free subscriptions are offered to New York City & New York State government employees, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions.

A smart city is a happy community.

Build a smarter, more connected city.

Gather, analyze and share actionable data to help your community simplify management, control costs and use resources more effectively.

We make it easy with our cloudbased solutions, Intelligent Video, Intelligent Lighting and Intelligent Traffic Management— all delivered across the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network.

To learn more, visit VerizonEnterprise.com/ SmartCities.

© 2016 Verizon. All rights reserved.