Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness.<\/p>\n
Happening now:<\/span><\/p>\n Columbia University is now a gathering place for protesters and political leaders. COLUMBIA CONFABS: It\u2019s the hottest spot in town \u2014 for politicians, too.<\/p>\n Columbia University is roiled in chaos. And Republicans nationally, along with some of New York\u2019s further-left elected officials, see an opportunity to seize on the turmoil as they visit the campus one by one or in small like-minded groups.<\/p>\n The pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University touch on a range of issues that particularly resonate with the Grand Old Party\u2019s mainstream: a \u201cwoke,\u201d out-of-touch college campus; a perception of disorder in urban centers; and the unfair demonization of Israel.<\/p>\n The hot-button issues are particularly underscored in New York, where more Jews call the city and state home than anywhere else outside of Israel. There\u2019s also a slew of suburban House races in swing districts where the Israel-Hamas war has already proven<\/a> to be central.<\/p>\n It has beckoned all sorts of leaders, mainly Republicans, to the university\u2019s doorstep.<\/p>\n As of late:<\/p>\n Reps. Mike Lawler, Anthony D\u2019Esposito and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani have shown up<\/a> outside the campus.\u00a0 And this afternoon, House Speaker Mike Johnson is headed to campus, doubling down on his call<\/a> that the university\u2019s president Minouche Shafik needs to step down. Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Virginia Foxx are also expected to be there with him.<\/p>\n Hochul blasted Johnson\u2019s visit<\/a> to New York, saying the speaker is \u201cpoliticizing\u201d the events on the campus. The governor contrasted Johnson\u2019s visit with her private meeting with Columbia officials and students \u2014 but she also posted a two-minute video<\/a> about the meeting soon after.<\/p>\n In response, a Johnson spokesperson said maybe he wouldn\u2019t have to visit if Hochul and other Democrats haven\u2019t \u201ccompletely failed in their duty to protect Jewish students and combat the rise of antisemitism in their party.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just Republicans heading to the Morningside Heights neighborhood, though.<\/p>\n Reps. Dan Goldman, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Kathy Manning of North Carolina have made the trip to Columbia to denounce antisemitism spewed in and around campus.<\/p>\n Working Families Party councilmembers Tiffany Cab\u00e1n, Alexa Avil\u00e9s, Shahana Hanif and Sandy Nurse also visited but used it as an opportunity to pen an op-ed in City & State<\/a> where they emphasized how the campus protests are peaceful.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you only go by the recent statements from Mayor Eric Adams<\/a>, Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/a>, and President Joe Biden<\/a>, you might conclude that a student protest against the mass killing in Gaza is worse than the killing itself,\u201d the group wrote.<\/p>\n GOP consultant Dave Catalfamo disagreed that the politicians\u2019 presence at the campus should be viewed in political terms: \u201cI know that we shouldn\u2019t abide by that kind of hate speech, and I don\u2019t really care about the politics, honestly. The politics takes care of itself on this.\u201d \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n WAGE MAZE: An effort to increase New York\u2019s minimum wage and unite the upstate hourly pay floor with the New York City area has so far faltered this year.<\/a><\/p>\n But now left-leaning advocates believe they have new fodder: The Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations has updated their statistical analysis<\/a> of the economic impact of the proposed $21.25 wage.<\/p>\n The school\u2019s Wage Atlas found the higher wage would lead to an $80 billion increase in combined earnings and boost consumer demand. It also asserts the move would lead to the creation of 75,000 jobs in the state.<\/p>\n Business organizations have viewed minimum wage increases dubiously and have warned that hiking the wage any further would lead to job losses, increased automation and further financial strain for small businesses.<\/p>\n The wage in New York City, Westchester County and on Long Island stands at $16 and is set at $15 in the rest of the state.<\/p>\n The wage will hit $17 in the New York City area and $16 north of Westchester by 2026, and future increases will be set to the rate of inflation.<\/p>\n But those increases could be suspended if unemployment in the state rises \u2014 another sore point for left-leaning advocates, lawmakers and labor unions who have tried to reverse that provision. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n BUDGET BATTLES AHEAD: Mayor Eric Adams reversed only a small portion of the $7.2 billion in cuts and saving initiatives he\u2019s made over the last year in his $111.6 billion executive budget<\/a> released today.<\/p>\n That\u2019s leaving advocates for public libraries, early childhood education and parks to gird for further fights ahead of the June 30 deadline for fiscal year 2025.<\/p>\n Leaders of the city\u2019s three library systems, for example, said they were \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d in the budget, claiming that most branches would only be open for five days a week if the cuts are kept in the budget.<\/p>\n But Adams\u2019 messaging was entirely celebratory<\/a>, announcing the budget with a rally outside City Hall, focusing on things that have improved in the city \u2014 \u201ccrime is down, jobs are up\u201d \u2014 since Adams took office.<\/p>\n While focusing on a few, limited spending initiatives, he defended the cuts and conservative forecasting. \u201cAll of this and much more is possible,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause we ignored the critics and made hard choices when we had to.\u201d \u2014 Jeff Coltin<\/p>\n OH, RATS, PART 2: As a continued increase of leptospirosis cases<\/a> causes concern among New York City sanitation workers, the president of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association is demanding more protections for them.<\/p>\n \u201cOur sanitationmen and women come in every day to keep the city clean. They deserve to know they and their families will be protected if they get sick on the job,\u201d President Harry Nespoli said in a statement.<\/p>\n Leptospirosis is an infectious disease that can target the kidney, liver, brain, lungs or heart and can be fatal and is largely spread via rat urine.<\/p>\n Twenty-four people were diagnosed with the disease in 2023, and five of them were sanitation workers.<\/p>\n Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato is sponsoring a bill<\/a> that would provide more benefits for sanitation workers and their families, and Nespoli is urging the Legislature to adopt the measure. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n NEW RENEWABLE ADVOCATE: The Alliance for Clean Energy New York, a leading voice for renewable energy developers in the state, has selected a longtime booster of the industry as its new leader.<\/p>\n Marguerite Wells will head up the organization as executive director, the group announced today.<\/p>\n \u201cHer experience and expertise in the field of large-scale renewables in New York state is extensive,\u201d said Keith Silliman, chair of the board of directors for ACE NY and director of regulatory compliance at Cypress Creek Renewables. \u201cShe will help guide us forward as we push to get shovels in the ground in order to meet our climate goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Wells got her start in the renewables business in the state developing a small community wind project outside Ithaca<\/a> that would have sold the power to Cornell University. Local opposition and delays stymied the project. Wells went on to work for Invenergy after the project fell apart in 2016.<\/p>\n Most recently she led Invenergy\u2019s New York development efforts, overseeing a 2-gigawatt pipeline of projects, according to ACE. She also co-owns a small solar grazing business. Wells starts April 30. \u2014 Marie J. French<\/p>\n CASH RULES: Sales tax collections between January and March increased slightly in New York compared to the same time period last year, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli\u2019s office said<\/a>.<\/p>\n The amount of money collected by the tax reached $5.6 billion \u2014 a 1.6 percent bump from a year ago during the same three-month span.<\/p>\n Much of that money came from New York City, the comptroller\u2019s office said. Sales tax revenue is critical for local governments \u2014 it\u2019s their top revenue source, even more than property taxes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers from the city signal a healthy tax base and a return to its pre-pandemic role as a major driver of sales tax growth in the state,\u201d DiNapoli said. \u201cCollections outside the city were relatively flat, resulting from a variety of economic influences.\u201d \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0 The collapse of three critical offshore wind projects is hammering New York\u2019s ability to meet its climate goals. (POLITICO<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 President Joe Biden granted clemency to two New Yorkers, one from the Capital Region and another from the Hudson Valley. (State of Politics<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 Donald Trump and ex-wife of Chris Cuomo both secured positive verdicts in unrelated cases by the state Court of Appeals. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\n A new push for wage parity between upstate and New York City.
\n The sanitation union is calling for better health care for their workers.\u00a0
\n A new leader for the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. <\/p>\n
\n Rep. Elise Stefanik and the rest of New York\u2019s GOP House delegation have called on Columbia\u2019s president<\/a> to resign, and she said its federal funding<\/a> should be pulled.
\n Sens. Tom Cotton and Josh Hawley said Gov. Kathy Hochul should send in the National Guard<\/a>. <\/p>\n