Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul is ready to fight any legal opposition to her school aid proposal that would result in cuts to more than half of the state\u2019s school districts.<\/p>\n
On Monday evening, Campaign for Fiscal Equity counsel Michael Rebell said he is poised to challenge Hochul\u2019s proposal in court \u2014 if it makes its way into the final budget \u2014 and called for a new \u201cequitable\u201d foundation aid formula. Hochul, in turn, told reporters today that she is set on finding a path that accounts for high-needs districts and a declining population.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s a lawsuit, there\u2019s a lawsuit,\u201d Hochul said, arguing \u201cI\u2019ve done more than anybody in our entire history to support education and education funding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebell was lead counsel for the landmark case CFE v. State of New York from 2003. The Court of Appeals ruled that the state has an obligation to determine the amount necessary to provide an education through an equitable formula. Rebell is threatening to initiate new litigation if Hochul does not work with the Legislature to develop a new formula, instead of the changes she is proposing.<\/p>\n
\u201cA new formula that is responsive to current educational needs is absolutely necessary,\u201d Rebell said. \u201cWithout it, the Court of Appeals\u2019 CFE order will be defied, students\u2019 constitutional rights will be ignored, and the state will revert to the kinds of unconstitutional political manipulations that were the practice before the Court of Appeals mandated a rational, needs-based approach to school funding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hochul delivered on fully funding the foundation aid formula last year, but her changes to the inflationary factor reduced anticipated school aid increases by more than $300 million. Additionally the elimination of \u201chold harmless\u201d \u2014 a policy that prevents foundation aid cuts \u2014 resulted in $167 million worth of cuts to 337 districts statewide.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday Hochul defended her proposal, noting declining enrollments and said some districts have extra money in their reserve funds. She reiterated that the state was not expected to annually increase school aid at historic levels as was done over the past three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t mind shaking things up and asking the hard questions, like, why are we still following a formula that\u2019s been in place since 2008,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would have thought that I was making them sell their firstborn,\u201d she said of school leaders pushing back on her proposals. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to be rational about this, and asking for people who want to solve this with me to work together and roll up our sleeves.\u201d<\/p>\n
With budget negotiations underway, Hochul said she has been having \u201cvery productive\u201d conversations with legislative leaders but cautioned a deal on the funding formula may not happen right away, lamenting \u201cI\u2019m not getting satisfactory answers on why the status quo is here.\u201d \u2014 Katelyn Cordero<\/p>\n
TENANT PROTECTIONS: Over 1,000 tenants and homeless New Yorkers rallied at the Capitol to push for housing priorities including good cause eviction legislation, a state-funded rental voucher program and preserving the rent stabilization system.<\/p>\n
Many electeds were doing crowd control of the event, leading the protesters from the Legislative Office Building to the Capitol. The halls were filled with chants of \u201cFight fight fight, housing is a human right!\u201d and \u201cWhat do we want? Housing! When do we want it? Now!\u201d<\/p>\n
Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, a Black woman representing Brooklyn, said \u201cWe\u2019re talking about people, we\u2019re talking about life and livelihoods. It\u2019s not an either\/or, fighting for homeowners, especially those that look like me, and for tenants across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
In New York City, 69 percent<\/a> of residents are renters, and the city\u2019s rents have hit record highs. The average rent in Manhattan is $4,230<\/a>. Syracuse is the second-most rent-burdened city in the country, the rental price of a one-bedroom has increased 22 percent<\/a> over a one-year period.<\/p>\n Proponents of the good cause legislation, which would effectively limit rent hikes on market-rate apartments, say it would protect an estimated 1.6 million New Yorkers from an unjust eviction or rent increase. The real estate lobby, meanwhile, holds that the bill would make it all but impossible to properly maintain buildings while stymieing new construction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a compromise on a housing deal, but we will not compromise on tenant protections. We need good cause,\u201d Assemblymember Tony Simone said at the rally. \u201cThere is no housing deal without tenant protections.\u201d<\/p>\n Simone said he is cautiously optimistic that a deal will be reached, and that the momentum the movement has is helpful for those negotiations. In Hochul, housing activists are confronting a pro-growth governor who is unlikely to back a deal on tenant protections that doesn\u2019t include significant steps to boost construction. She and the state Legislature are negotiating whether to reinstate a lapsed property tax break for developers. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n BIRTH CONTROL ACCESS: State Health Commissioner James McDonald signed a standing order today authorizing pharmacists to dispense oral contraceptives, hormonal vaginal rings and birth control patches without a prescription. Pharmacists who choose to participate will be able to give out up to a 12-month supply.<\/p>\n \u201cStarting a family is a deeply personal decision and New York State will always be a place where people can access safe and effective contraceptives,\u201d Hochul, who joined McDonald at an Albany pharmacy for the signing, said in a statement.<\/p>\n To participate, pharmacists must self-attest to a set of competencies developed by the state Education Department. \u2014 Maya Kaufman<\/p>\n SENATE ADVANCES MTA NOMINEES: Three state Senate committees approved the nominations of five potential MTA board members today, and the full Senate is expected to approve the group later this week.<\/p>\n The batch includes New York City Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, who was picked by Mayor Eric Adams, City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick (another Adams pick) and Long Island Contractors\u2019 Association executive director Marc Herbst (who was chosen by Suffolk County and Hochul).<\/p>\n The hearings were mostly amicable, with multiple members asking incoming members to address transit deserts in their districts. State Sen. Leroy Comrie urged every nominee to support upgrades to let different lines share platforms at places like Penn Station: \u201cIt\u2019s an embarrassment for the most important city in the world\u201d that this hasn\u2019t been addressed yet, Comrie said.<\/p>\n The most vocal opposition came from Sen. James Skoufis who grilled every nominee about their support for congestion pricing. In his Orange County district, \u201cthe last two trains each day [depart at] 3:57 p.m. and then 10:30 p.m.,\u201d he said. \u201cMy constituents, if they want to get into the city \u2026 they have to drive.\u201d \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n ASSAULT CASE: The mayor insisted at a press briefing today he never sought sexual favors from a colleague in the Transit Police Department in exchange for giving her career advice. The comments marked Adams\u2019 first time addressing the detailed complaint<\/a> filed in Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday that contained graphic details of an alleged encounter in 1993.<\/p>\n \u201cThis did not happen,\u201d Adams said of the incident. \u201cI don\u2019t ever recall meeting this person during my time in the police department.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s strong denial was part of a larger campaign from City Hall that sought to discredit the allegations.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel with the exact same passion that just as no woman and no girl should ever be the subject of sexual violence, no man and no boy should ever be the subject of false accusations,\u201d the mayor\u2019s chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, said at the press conference.<\/p>\n Over the course of two days, the administration also released statements from allies and validators who framed the lawsuit as frivolous, a smear campaign and called into question the integrity of the accuser. \u2014 Joe Anuta<\/p>\n THE OTHER ADAMS: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams matched the mayor\u2019s plea for state funding for migrants Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not been fairly treated when it comes to funding, we all know that,\u201d she said at a wide-ranging press conference. \u201cSo it behooves all of us for our state partners to do their part in helping us with appropriate funding for migrants.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul included $2.4 billion for migrant aid in her proposed budget, and the Legislature seems to be on board. The mayor\u2019s half-hearted ask for even more appears unlikely to succeed.<\/p>\n The speaker has presented herself as a pro-housing leader \u2014 and said that was her top priority in the state budget.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are hoping that a successful revisit on the housing stuff gets pushed to the front of negotiation,\u201d Adams said, adding there was a \u201cneed for our state partners to be fully invested in housing for all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she didn\u2019t have any plans to travel to the capitol before the budget is passed, but \u201cthings could change tomorrow.\u201d \u2014 Jeff Coltin<\/p>\n FAMILY CIVIL RIGHTS: The Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian legislative caucus is calling for the passage of three bills: the \u201cFamily Miranda Rights Act<\/a>,\u201d \u201cConfidential Reporting Act<\/a>,\u201d and the \u201cInformed Consent Act<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason we are here today is that the US has a racist history rooted in slavery of breaking apart Black families. That tradition continues today,\u201d state Sen. Jabari Brisport, the sponsor of the \u201cConfidential Reporting Act,\u201d said at a news conference in the Capitol earlier today. \u201cWhat we are doing today with the caucus is promoting a family civil rights package to uplift black families and by extension, all families because when you put up and lift up black people, everybody wins.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cFamily Miranda Rights Act\u201d would require those under the age of 18 and in police custody to talk with an attorney before talking with the police. The \u201cConfidential Reporting Act\u201d would get rid of the option for anonymity when reporting child abuse or mistreatment to weed out false reports. The \u201cInformed Consent Act\u201d would prohibit drug or alcohol testing of pregnant people without their consent.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are a human being and you do believe in the democratic process, then you know that everyone has civil rights that cannot be taken away. That’s what we fight for. We fight to make sure that our children are taken care of and their parents are taken care of,\u201d state Sen. Robert Jackson said. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n BLAME GAME FEARS: McDonald, the health commissioner, is at odds with Democrats in the Legislature over creating a panel<\/a> to probe the governmental response to the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n “Are you trying to learn something or are you trying to blame someone?\u201d he told reporters today during an unrelated news conference in Albany. \u201cI’m open to new ideas, but I’m not trying to blame someone.”<\/p>\n State Sen. Julia Salazar, one of the sponsors of the bill creating the commission, told Playbook McDonald\u2019s fears are unfounded.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s possible the commissioner is a little bit self-conscious about that,\u201d she said. \u201cI can understand if they feel that\u2019s the motivation. But for my part that definitely isn\u2019t the intent.\u201d<\/p>\n Salazar added that there\u2019s \u201cless interest in blaming individuals and more on what we can do to learn from mistakes that were made potentially and adapt to more adequately respond in the future.\u201d \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n FIGHT FOR PRESCHOOL CONTINUES: Mayor Eric Adams is not committing to restoring funding for the city\u2019s preschool program just yet \u2014 even as his schools chancellor insists good news is coming for families who rely on the program.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t go too far, he stated that he\u2019s going to do all he can, he\u2019s going to fight as much as possible to hold back these cuts,\u201d Adams told reporters during an off-topic Q&A at City Hall. \u201cI want my team to be authentic in their emotions but at the end of the day, if we\u2019re unable to identify the money, he\u2019s going to carry out the directions that\u2019s coming from the entire team.\u201d<\/p>\n Adams\u2019 chief adviser Ingrid-Lewis Martin added: \u201cHe\u2019s not fighting alone. We at City Hall are fighting as a team. We\u2019re looking at all of these cuts. We don\u2019t want to implement any cuts. But again, we have no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor signaled he believes pre-K and 3K are important. But he sounded the alarm on looming fiscal challenges despite his administration\u2019s recent cancellation of a third round of reductions. He pointed to the city\u2019s spending on asylum-seekers as well as sunsetting federal Covid-19 stimulus money.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us are traumatized by what we have to do, to lean into our life work and find more inexpensive ways to do [it],\u201d Adams added. \u201cIt\u2019s an emotional time for all of us and I think the chancellor has a right to display that emotion. But at the end of the day, he\u2019s going to do what\u2019s best for the city of New York.\u201d<\/p>\n Banks on Monday surprised observers when he revealed to city lawmakers he\u2019s \u201cfighting like heck\u201d<\/a> to reverse the cuts. It comes as Adams faces political blowback<\/a> over that decision. \u2014 Madina Tour\u00e9<\/p>\n \u2014 A state Supreme Court judge determined that a lawsuit against social media platforms regarding the mass shooting in Buffalo can move forward. (State of Politics<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 One of the people accused of dismembering body parts around Long Island has been arrested again, but for stealing beauty products. (Newsday<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 Columbia University started offering medication abortion services on campus, becoming one of the first private universities in the country to do so. (Columbia Daily Spectator<\/a>)<\/p>\n