Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness<\/p>\n
Happening now:<\/span><\/p>\n Michael Carey, an advocate for disabled patients and a regular presence at the state Capitol, said he was pushed by state Sen. Kevin Parker. CAPITOL FIGHT: State Sen. Kevin Parker allegedly shoved disability rights advocate Michael Carey before the start of the Senate Energy Committee meeting today, according to Carey and two other individuals who witnessed the altercation.<\/p>\n Carey, who is known to be vocal with lawmakers, shared with POLITICO a copy of a police report he filed, which can be read here<\/a>.<\/p>\n In it, Carey alleges the lawmaker got in his face and screamed \u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d before putting his hands on him twice and shoving him in front of a room full of people, according to the report and a subsequent interview.<\/p>\n At the same time the incident was unfolding, shouting can be heard on the recording<\/a> of the elections committee happening next door on the Capitol\u2019s first floor.<\/p>\n Parker did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Playbook.<\/p>\n He is known for his explosive outbursts<\/a> and physical altercations, which include allegedly shoving a legislative staffer, breaking a New York Post photographer\u2019s camera and cursing out other lawmakers. Carey said he had been completely unaware of that history, which includes being convicted of a misdemeanor for the altercation with the Post photographer.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is multiple situations,\u201d Carey said. \u201cHe’s a danger to other people. He was a danger to me.\u201d<\/p>\n The disability advocate said the incident started minutes before the committee meeting, when he asked Parker to cosponsor a 911 civil rights bill<\/a>, which he is trying to make law in memory of his son who died in 2007 at a group home.<\/p>\n When Parker, chair of the energy committee, said he was looking into the matter, Carey said he told Parker the issue was analogous to Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s fight against discrimination and reminded Parker of his son’s death. Parker then yelled \u201cI don\u2019t care\u201d when Carey brought up his dead son and got inches away from Carey\u2019s face before shoving him, according to Carey.<\/p>\n Witnesses, who were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said Carey was also shouting at Parker during the incident.<\/p>\n Carey then said he left the meeting and requested a State Police officer come to the scene. He asked the officer to inform Parker that if he apologized to Carey he would not press charges. Parker did not apologize and instead invoked his right to counsel, Carey said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was kind of shocked, he didn\u2019t apologize,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n State Sen. Mario R. Mattera, a Long Island Republican who serves as the ranking member on the Energy Committee, also said he witnessed the altercation but declined to go into detail.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was tensions, yes, there was tensions, and it was unfortunate in a lot of ways, but that’s something that Senator Parker and that gentleman need to get through, and hopefully they can,\u201d Mattera said.<\/p>\n He also said it was inappropriate for Carey to take up the issue of the bill at the committee meeting instead of trying to speak with Parker in his office.<\/p>\n Carey said he wants a restraining order against the senator.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand when people don\u2019t deal with anger issues, they\u2019ll go on to hurt other people,\u201d Carey said. \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n RETAIL CRIME IS NOT OVER: Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed hard to get a budget deal that included cracking down<\/a> on retail theft, but the Legislature\u2019s labor chairs said that state government needs to go further to protect workers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were some things done in the budget regarding retail workers that were punitive and all about law enforcement,\u201d Assemblymember Harry Bronson, a Rochester Democrat, said. \u201cWe need more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n The budget upgraded assaults on retail workers from a misdemeanor to a felony. It also created dedicated retail theft teams for state and local law enforcement and added $5 million in tax breaks for store security cameras and other anti-theft expenses.<\/p>\n But labor advocates say they need more proactive, instead of \u201cpunitive,\u201d measures to protect retail workers.<\/p>\n They\u2019re pushing for the Retail Worker Safety Act<\/a>, sponsored by Bronson and state Sen. Jessica Ramos, that would require retailers in the state to train employees on de-escalation and violence prevention tactics.<\/p>\n The two lawmakers also rallied for three other labor bills this week: to reduce warehouse worker injuries<\/a>; to set standards for extreme temperatures<\/a> while working in agriculture, construction and other industries and a third to oversee nail salon workers\u2019<\/a> rights.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a very important decision to make on whether we’re going to tilt the scales towards the workers or we’re going to continue to allow for the scale to be tilted towards the bosses,\u201d Ramos said Tuesday at a rally at the Capitol. \u201cAnd I say no to that. I say, \u2018Yes\u2019 to protections for the workers.\u201d<\/p>\n The Retail Council of New York State is working to counter Ramos and Bronson\u2019s Retail Worker Safety Act.<\/p>\n \u201cThe costly mandates proposed in the bill \u2014 including onerous recordkeeping requirements, panic buttons and additional security guards \u2014 will do little, if anything, to address recidivists entering stores with the intent to engage in illegal activity such as shoplifting and assault,\u201d Melissa O\u2019Connor, the group\u2019s president, wrote in a memorandum<\/a> of opposition.<\/p>\n Justin Henry, a spokesperson for Hochul, did not comment on the labor chairs\u2019 bills, but instead pointed to Hochul\u2019s comments on the retail theft earlier this month:<\/p>\n \u201cNo one wants to see the shops in their neighborhood boarded up because business owners simply say, \u2018I can’t do this anymore. It’s just not working. It’s not worth it,\u2019\u201d Hochul said at a post-budget retail theft<\/a> press conference. \u201cThat threatens the very vitality of these communities, which I will stop at nothing to protect.\u201d \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n MIGRANT RELOCATION: After the state launched a program to relocate migrant families moving to New York City to upstate regions last August, it has only relocated 283 families, according to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which administers the program. Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Only five counties have received families: Albany, Erie, Monroe, Westchester and Suffolk; all of which have below-average housing vacancy rates. Nearly 1,000 families have been put on a waiting list or were deemed ineligible after being referred to the program.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re pretty much maxed out. We’ve been maxed out. I only have 320,000 residents in this county, and we already have a housing crisis,\u201d said Albany County Executive Dan McCoy. \u201cWe’re having issues putting people in housing.\u201d<\/p>\n And plans to offer bonuses and incentives to landlords to join in on the program have not been very successful. Despite those woes, the state is still committed to relocating families.<\/p>\n \u201cOTDA is committed to assisting migrant families that choose to relocate through the Migrant Relocation Assistance Program,\u201d the agency said in a statement. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n GRAD SZN: The State Police force is now up to 4,977 officers after Hochul congratulated 228 new troopers after they graduated from the academy today.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s graduates have dedicated themselves to a life of public service and are making a commitment to serve and protect all New Yorkers,\u201d Hochul said in a statement.<\/p>\n Three different awards were also presented to a select few graduates. Nicholas Krafft was given the Academic Performance Award; Matthew Grant was given the Firearms Proficiency Award; and Dominick Battaglia was given the Investigator Joseph T. Aversa Physical Fitness Award.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s ceremony is one of our finest traditions and introduces a new generation of highly trained men and women to the New York State Police. These new Troopers will serve New Yorkers with honor, integrity, and bravery, and I welcome them to our ranks,\u201d state police superintendent Steven James said in a statement. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n POLL OBSERVER PUSH: Advocates are calling on lawmakers to pass a bill to let nonpartisan groups be certified to send neutral observers to poll sites on Election Day.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this highly polarized context, having neutral eyes on the ground to be able to verify what\u2019s actually happening in our polling places, which 99 percent of the time is organized and exactly as we want to it be, helps to increase transparency and to improve the public\u2019s faith in elections,\u201d Common Cause New York executive director Susan Lerner said.<\/p>\n She noted that under current law, the only people who can be certified to be observers are picked by candidates and parties.<\/p>\n \u201cThis seems to be a pretty straightforward and commonsense solution to a problem that occasionally arises, where a voter is improperly turned away for whatever reason,\u201d said state Sen. James Skoufis, who sponsors the bill<\/a> with Assemblymember Amy Paulin. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n MIGRANT CRISIS: Assemblymember Ed Ra and other lawmakers in the GOP minority conference are calling for a legislative hearing with New York City officials and organizations that are under contract to provide migrant-related services.<\/p>\n The Times Union reported<\/a> on Monday about ongoing concerns with one of the key vendors, DocGo.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, the state budget allocated $2.4 billion to address the migrant crisis, a considerable expansion of an expenditure for New York\u2019s taxpayers to shoulder. Without the guardrails needed for fiscal responsibility, these funds are at risk of the fraud and abuse we have become accustomed to with emergency government contracts that lack transparency and oversight guidance,\u201d Ra, a Long Island Republican, said in a statement.<\/p>\n Republicans are also calling for the passage of one of Ra\u2019s bills that would<\/a> mandate the reporting and auditing on how money for migrant programs are being spent. It is co-sponsored by fellow Republicans. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n \u2014 Two New York Democrats have reintroduced a federal bill that restricts the public\u2019s access to body armor one day after the two-year anniversary of the Buffalo Tops shooting. (State of Politics<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 State legislators are working on passing a bill to incentivize emergency medical service providers to keep working. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 The Seneca Nation of Indians is still in tense negotiations with the state on its compact. (POLITICO Pro<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\n Labor chairs of the state Legislature want to do more to protect retail workers.
\n Efforts to move migrants upstate to five counties has been slow going.
\n There was a new graduating class of the State Police today. <\/p>\n