Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness<\/p>\n
Backroom negotiations and gamesmanship are in full throttle as New York\u2019s new congressional plan<\/a> heads toward a vote in the state Legislature next week.<\/p>\n As the process moves ahead, keep two key numbers in mind: 2 percent and two-thirds.<\/p>\n 2 percent: If the Legislature votes down the maps proposed by the redistricting commission, it will be able to draw its own. But a statute proposed by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2012 as lawmakers debated the constitutional amendment that created the commission limits how much legislators can change the lines in this scenario.<\/p>\n Each district can only differ by 2 percent from the ones drawn by the commission. So if there are 777,000 people in a congressional district, 761,000 of them would need to be the same in any plan drawn by the Legislature.<\/p>\n That means any new maps wouldn\u2019t be drastically different from the commission\u2019s \u2014 perhaps Republican Rep. Mike Lawler\u2019s seat could be transformed from a district where Joe Biden received 55.1 percent of the vote into one where Biden received 55.3 percent of the vote. Some legislators don\u2019t think it\u2019s worth going through the rigamarole of voting down the lines just to get these tweaks.<\/p>\n That means Democrats who want an overhaul are left with two options. They could simply ignore the law and argue the bill containing the new maps implicitly supersedes it, but that would come with risks.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they draw a map that exceeds a 2 percent population change in any single district, that could open the door for a voter in an affected district to go to court,\u201d said New York Law School\u2019s Jeff Wice.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no way of knowing what a court would decide, but there\u2019s a chance such a suit \u201ccould result in the 2022 court map remaining in place,\u201d Wice said \u2014 meaning that even the modest gains for Democrats in the commission\u2019s plan would be lost.<\/p>\n Or legislators could hurriedly enact a new law to undo the 2012 one before voting on the maps. But any Democrats who are already worried about the optics of voting against a bipartisan redistricting plan would then also need to directly vote to remove an anti-gerrymandering law from the books.<\/p>\n Two-thirds: The most common reading of the constitution is that the commission\u2019s maps need to be approved by supermajorities in each chamber \u2014 42 of 63 members in the Senate and 100 of 150 in the Assembly.<\/p>\n Two Democrats in the Senate \u2014 James Skoufis and Sean Ryan \u2014 quickly said they were voting no. Since their conference contains only 42 members, there\u2019s now no path to getting the lines approved without at least some GOP support.<\/p>\n Republicans, like Democrats, are currently gaming out the new maps. There\u2019s been movement toward support on the GOP side \u2014 party chair Ed Cox and former Rep. Lee Zeldin have embraced the lines \u2014 though there\u2019s not yet a consensus that a yes vote would be better than voting no and throwing the maps back to the courts.<\/p>\n Yet there\u2019s a chance the vote will turn into a highly unusual one in modern Albany, where Republican votes actually make a difference. If most Republicans wind up in favor of the plan, then the lines could pass even with nearly half of the Democrats opposing them.<\/p>\n But what happens if the lines are simply voted down? The 2012 amendment isn\u2019t terribly clear.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does not say anything at that point about the two-thirds vote,\u201d Wice said. \u201cThe constitution does not mention a vote requirement\u201d in that situation, so \u201cit\u2019s possible that the Legislature\u2019s own map could be passed on a simple majority.\u201d<\/p>\n So there\u2019s a scenario in which the commission\u2019s maps receive 40 votes in the Senate and are thus voted down. And if the razor-thin supermajorities aren\u2019t able to cohere around an alternative, a Democratic-drawn plan could then pass with only 32 votes.<\/p>\n At that point, it would be safe to assume the vagaries in the constitution would be clarified by the courts when the vote count becomes the basis for a new GOP lawsuit. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n NEW INVESTMENTS IN THE FINGER LAKES: Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to revitalize the Finger Lakes Region with over $130 million in investments.<\/p>\n Her announcement Tuesday includes $50 million in a one-time fund for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, $25 million for workforce development centers in the region, and money for 13 Finger Lake towns to reimagine their downtown areas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Finger Lakes is a region with industry and creativity in its DNA, and we are shepherding it into a new era of possibility and opportunity,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cMy commitment to Rochester and the Finger Lakes is steadfast, and through these investments in our communities, we\u2019re building a brighter future for every New Yorker in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n One Network for Regional Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP) is part of her goal to prepare New Yorkers for the \u201cjobs of tomorrow,\u201d according to a statement from Hochul\u2019s office. The program will offer credentials and training on advanced manufacturing systems as well as provide opportunities for disadvantaged populations.<\/p>\n The Town of Waterloo will receive $10 million to revitalize its downtown area. Waterloo, Macedon and 13 others will get $4.5 million each to turn the towns into \u201cpro-housing communities.\u201d \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n CHIPS AHOY: Upstate New York\u2019s economy has been moribund for decades. Hochul on Tuesday declared the region has \u201cturned a corner\u201d and it has high-tech chip manufacturing to thank.<\/p>\n At GlobalFoundries in Saratoga County, alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Hochul touted the federal government\u2019s $1.5 billion injection into the company. It\u2019s the latest infusion of money for the company to expand its facility to manufacture chips to be used in consumer appliances.<\/p>\n State officials have long pointed to the impact of high-tech manufacturing as a solution to upstate New York\u2019s economic troubles. For now, it\u2019s been unevenly felt. Saratoga County has been a fast-growing area. But many areas of New York north of the immediate city suburbs have continued to struggle.<\/p>\n But more is coming, including the construction of a chip facility by Micron in the Syracuse area. It\u2019s not yet clear if these major bets will work: Chip demand has fallen in the years since the pandemic.<\/p>\n Hochul, a Western New York native, pointed to the impact the loss of jobs can mean for a region. \u201cDo you know what that does to the entire psyche of a community?\u201d she said. \u201cWe were taking it on the chin for decades. We\u2019re seizing the future in upstate New York.\u201d \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n SUNY STUDENTS CALLS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE FUNDING: The SUNY Student Assembly is calling for the state to up its share of funding for community colleges \u2014 from $525 million spent by counties and $428 million by the state, according to the group\u2019s figures.<\/p>\n It is now calling on the state to match the local contribution.<\/p>\n \u201cInvesting in SUNY community colleges is not just an expenditure; it’s a strategic investment in the backbone of New York’s future workforce,\u201d Alexander O. Ruiz, SUNY Student Assembly president, said in a statement. \u201cWith increased funding, we not only fulfill our fiduciary duty but also guarantee that every student gains access to the premier education and training needed to thrive in today’s dynamic society.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul is proposing to maintain the funding floor for community colleges, but shrinking enrollment and high operating costs are putting many institutions in financial distress. Clinton Community College<\/a>, for instance, recently made the decision to shutter its campus and move to a rented space from SUNY Plattsburgh. \u2014 Katelyn Cordero<\/p>\n MOCA-FALSE?: Mayor Eric Adams and his team hit back hard after the New York Post<\/a> published a column yesterday bashing a $53 million city program giving pre-paid debit cards to migrants in partnership with the fintech firm MoCaFi. The newspaper\u2019s contributor pulled no punches, calling the program a \u201cboondoggle\u201d with \u201cthe potential to become an open-ended, multibillion-dollar Bermuda Triangle of disappearing, untraceable cash, used for any purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n City Hall wasn\u2019t having it.<\/p>\n \u201cJust to clarify, I think there are a lot of inaccuracies in the \u2026 opinion piece that was in The Post,\u201d said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy said it wasn\u2019t a Post story at all, but a column by the Manhattan Institute. (The columnist, Nicole Gelinas<\/a>, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a regular contributor to the Post.)<\/p>\n Prepared with a digital display, City Hall characterized the partnership instead as a \u201cCost-Effective Win-Win,\u201d emphasizing that the prepaid cards could only be used for food and baby supplies and would save taxpayers over $600,000 per month and $7.2 million per year. Adams also stressed that the program is currently only in its pilot stage with 500 migrants, and that it was designed with three goals: decrease costs, eliminate food waste and re-invest in local businesses.<\/p>\n Wright emphasized that MoCaFi was evaluated using a \u201crigorous process\u201d and that the program\u2019s $53 million price tag would only be if it is adapted at full scale following the pilot. Of that number, Wright said, only $2 million would go to MoCaFi.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was so much information that was put out there. It gave the impression that the 50-something million was going to MoCaFi just for administrative costs,\u201d Adams said. \u201cThat is just not true. It\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare that Adams raises concerns with the right-leaning tabloid \u2014 a persistent and effective foe for Adams\u2019 predecessor, Bill de Blasio. In fact, The Post has arguably been one of his most important defenders during the first half of his term in office.<\/p>\n Adams also slammed Gelinas\u2019 suggestion that the firm’s founder, Wole Coaxum, \u201cseems to have become part of the mayor\u2019s orbit.\u201d He said they had met during his 2021 campaign when Coaxum presented to him on MoCaFi. Adams said the presentation was \u201cvery good\u201d and \u201cwent into my book of [things] we\u2019ll revisit later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no relationship, we don\u2019t hang out and go [to] the Hamptons together, we don\u2019t go to the baseball game together,\u201d Adams said. \u2014 Irie Sentner<\/p>\n ADAMS SUPPORTS BIDEN: \u00a0President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump by over 20 points in New York state in 2020. Now, he\u2019s leading him by 12 points, according to a new Sienna Poll<\/a> \u2014 and that lead drops to 10 points when including independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cornell West.<\/p>\n Adams, who has been critical of Biden\u2019s migrant policy, rushed to his defense Tuesday, lauding the president\u2019s navigation through COVID, his economic plan and his \u201camazing\u201d approach to public safety.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I\u2019ve stated before, I\u2019m a supporter of the president and I look forward to him leading for another four years,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n Border policy was not on Adams\u2019 list of compliments.<\/p>\n The mayor has repeatedly blasted Biden over the migrant crisis \u2014 at one point saying he \u201cfailed\u201d the city on immigration. Again on Tuesday, Adams applauded how the city has responded \u201cwithout the support we should get from the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n The barbs appear not to have gone unnoticed: Last year, Biden\u2019s reelection campaign dropped Adams<\/a> from the president\u2019s National Advisory Board. \u2014 Irie Sentner<\/p>\n RENT LAWSUIT: The Supreme Court declined to hear two additional legal challenges aimed at upending the state\u2019s rent-regulation system \u2014 after tossing a high-profile lawsuit<\/a> from landlord advocates this past October. Nonetheless, in a statement on the denials, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the issue is not settled. \u201cThe constitutionality of regimes like New York City\u2019s is an important and pressing question,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Still, tenant advocates celebrated the decision. The Legal Aid Society, Legal Services NYC, and Selendy Gay, who intervened in the case in defense of New York\u2019s rent laws, said in a joint statement that the court\u2019s dismissal \u201cputs an end to these cases attacking the legal protections depended upon by a million New York households amid an ongoing housing crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n Landlord groups, meanwhile, said the outcome was expected. \u201cThis was not terribly surprising. We do expect there will be many more challenges to this law, which remains irrationally punitive,\u201d two landlord groups \u2014 the Community Housing Improvement Program and the Rent Stabilization Association \u2014 said in a joint statement. \u2014 Janaki Chadha<\/p>\n STUDENT JOURNALISM RISE UP: State Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Donna Lupardo are trying to drum up support for the Student Journalist Free Speech Act (A.1345\/S.647<\/a>).<\/p>\n The bill aims to protect student journalists\u2019 free speech \u2014 not including those at the college level \u2014 unless that speech is libelous, invades someones privacy, or incites violence or violates school policies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first amendment rights is just fundamental. So when we confront our school colleagues who are worried that this will somehow disrupt the order of the school,\u201d Lupardo said. \u201cWe try to explain to them they should be so lucky to have students who are this committed to getting the story right to telling the truth with the accurate, accurate facts of the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill does not extend to the college level. Katina Paron, who works for New Voices New York, said that they have talked to administrators from various universities who have said they do not feel it is necessary to include higher education institutions in the bill.<\/p>\n Versions of the bill have been logjammed in committees over the past seven years. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n \u2014Hochul\u2019s approval ratings are dropping, according to a new poll from Siena College. Her approval rating and job approval both dropped eight points. (State of Politics<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014Adams and Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi want regulations for e-bikes. There have been 18 deaths linked to accidents involving them. (Daily News<\/a>) \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014Rising production costs have led to half of the state\u2019s dairy farms to close. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n