Friday Morning Brief Dec 29, 2023

Dec 28

Written By Michael Avella

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Member Spotlight: Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz

Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz joined us to discuss his experiences in the Assembly! Prior to serving as an Assemblymember in 1994, he served as an administrative judge and was heavily involved in his community, advocating for various local issues such as tenant rights. Currently, he is the Chair of the Committee on Codes and serves as a member on various other committees, such as on Ways and Means, Rules, Health, Election Law, and Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

What district do you represent? Can you describe it for those that have never been there? What do you like the most about your district?
I represent the 81st Assembly district, which includes a lot of great neighborhoods: Wakefield, Woodlawn, Norwood, Van Cortland Village, Kingsbridge Heights, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill, and Riverdale. I admit that it’s the best district in the state; there’s a lot of green and it’s a diverse district. It’s a great district to represent, and I love it.

What did you do before becoming a legislator?
I was involved in political activity and organizing before I could vote. But my last job before becoming a legislator was as an administrative law judge in NYS.

What kind of music do you like? Any favorite bands/artists?
I love rock music, and my favorite bands are the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, and Led Zeppelin. I think one of the greatest compositions that I ever heard is the song called Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd. I do have to say I like Pink Floyd without Roger Waters, being that he’s a well-known antisemite.

How about sports? Any favorite NY sports team?
Believe it or not, I like both the Yankees and the Mets. But being a Bronx boy, I do root for the Yankees. So, I like baseball and occasionally watch the NY Rangers.

Favorite food? Any favorite places to eat in your district?
Food is easy – pizza. I love pizza. There are a lot of great places to eat in my district, so I can’t choose one over another.

What do you like to do in your free time – if or when you have free time?
I am one of the luckiest people there is because I have four grandsons. I love to spend as much time as I can with them; two live close by, and the other two are not so close by. To me, that is the greatest way to spend time.

Why did you get into politics? What made you want to be a legislator?
I was always interested in politics, even when I was a kid. When I was a young kid, I was well aware of what went on in politics; I knew who my local legislators were – even when I was eight or nine. I got actively involved in politics before I was eighteen in opposition to the Vietnam War, and I got involved with the presidential campaign of George McGovern. I stayed involved after all these years. I did not get involved to get into office; it never crossed my mind. But years later, when the opportunity arose, it suddenly crossed my mind that I wanted to, and I won and have been here ever since. When I was elected as a Democratic District Leader, a team of us ran against the political establishment in the Bronx, and our slate was swept in. I was a Democratic District Leader for eight years and then ran for the Assembly.

What is your favorite part of being a legislator?
My favorite part is the work I do in my neighborhoods. I know my work in Albany - passing bills and budgets - is all very important.  To me, however, I most enjoy interacting with people in my neighborhood that I have lived in forever. I really care about our community. So, working to help in the community and working to improve the neighborhood, without question, is my favorite part of my job.

What are/is your greatest/proudest legislative achievement(s) throughout your career?
Over the years, I passed over 200 bills that have became law. A few highlights: during the Pandemic, it was my legislation in the Assembly which was passed to create the eviction moratorium. It actually passed three times afterward because it was only in effect for a few months at a time. I think that is my proudest accomplishment in that I know we prevented thousands – maybe tens of thousands of people – from being thrown out on the streets during the Pandemic. But there are so many other bills, like the first anti-trafficking law the state ever passed or the National Popular Vote Act. Those are just a few of the laws that I was able to get done.

Any favorite priority/issue throughout your legislative career?
It’s interesting because I have never been on the Housing Committee in the Assembly, but it was actually the housing issue that got me involved as a volunteer when I was seventeen years old. So, I have always been focused on housing issues – it affects so many people in our community – and a lot of the laws I have been able to enact have been housing-related. To me, that is just a key issue many New Yorkers are facing, especially right now when so many people have trouble finding decent housing.

What was the most challenging piece of legislation/policy that you worked on this year or throughout your career?
I think our constant and ongoing struggle to provide quality education for the children in the state is extremely challenging. I have been in office for a long time, and we got a lot of good things done, but I think we are nowhere near where we need to be in terms of education. And since the Pandemic, test scores, on average, have gone down. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Our country is the number one country in the world in so many categories, and we have to be competitive. That means having the best education system, and there is a lot of room for improvement.

As the Chair of Assembly Committee on Codes, what issues do you see arising in 2024?
There’s always the issue concerning penalties, parole reforms, and bail reforms. I hope we solved some of those issues this year, but there are more issues. Sometimes, there’s a demand to do things that make sense and sometimes things that don’t make sense. So, what bills will come up next year, it’s hard to say, but a lot of my colleagues and I have a couple of bills that we would like to get done. I believe that we have to be tough on crime, but we have to be fair and have some room to fix the underlying issues that cause crime. We have to strike that balance to do the right thing and ensure justice is served but also leave room for redemption.

And for those that do not understand, what does the Assembly Committee on Codes focus on?
The Codes Committee’s jurisdiction is criminal justice legislation – things that have to do with crimes and penalties – and also one of the two committees, the other one being the Ways and Means Committee, that have a lot of bills from other committees referred to it. So, a high percentage of bills in the Assembly have to clear their underlying committees, the Codes Committee or the Ways and Means Committee – and sometimes all three. So, as a result, a lot of legislation we deal with in the Assembly comes through the committee that I chair.

What is your office going to focus on before the start of next year’s session?
We are laying the groundwork for the work we will do in Albany in the coming session. However, my office is also very focused on community issues and helping individual constituents. We deal with a lot of individual constituent complaints; most right now are related to housing, landlords, and so on. We’ve also done a lot of community events like free flu shots or food drives for local pantries. We focus on community events more when we aren’t in Albany.  We have a really great team in both my district and Albany office.

Any priorities or goals for next year?
In general, there is an extreme housing shortage in the state, and I think we need to provide more housing, particularly affordable housing. If I had it my way, we would create a new Mitchell-Lama type program to provide more affordable housing. I think that we can do that without overly subsidizing developers. I have several of my own priorities for the coming year, one of which is called the Climate Change Superfund Act, which would be groundbreaking legislation that would help produce significant revenue without taxing average people for climate change. Another bill I have is the Green Transit Green Job act, which is another way to address Climate Change. I have legislation to allow survivors of human trafficking to sue their traffickers even years afterward. More narrowly drawn bills to fight the scourge of lithium-ion batteries, which have resulted in the deaths of many people in the state. Those are just a few things I want to focus my attention on next year.

What advice would you give to young folks getting into politics or aspiring to be an elected official.
I hope that young people do want to get involved in politics. I got involved at a very early age, and there weren’t so many people my age that were interested in getting involved. But I think it’s very important to bring in new people. If someone wants to run for office, I suggest not to wake up one morning and say “I’m running for office.” Lay the groundwork: be active in your community, get involved in issues and organizations that work to improve your communities and make people’s lives better to build a base, and then run for office. Don’t say “I’m great, so I will run for office, and people should vote for me.” I don’t think that’s how it should work. But I certainly encourage young folks to think about that. We need more good people in politics and elected office. One of the things that is most said about politics is that “all politics is local.”

Any last comments you want to mention?
I’ve been involved in politics and neighborhood issues for a long time. I’ve been in the office for a good amount of time, and I feel more energetic now than ever. I love what I do because of the things I do for my community and the community I have lived in all my life.

Are you a public official or staffer that would like to be featured in our spotlight or do you know someone that would? If so, reach out to your favorite D&A team member or contact us at team@dickinsonavella.com to set up an interview!

EXECUTIVE UPDATES

On Tuesday, Governor Hochul announced the availability of an RFP for modernizing fare gates in the NYC subway system. With fare evasion leading to a loss of $285 million in revenue in 2022 and the recommendation of the MTA’s Blue-Ribbon Panel report on fare evasion, modernizing fare gates is necessary to curb fare evasion and to improve accessibility for commuters with physical disabilities. This comes after the MTA replaced an existing fare gate at the Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport station with wide-aisle fare gates. “These new fare gates will improve the safety and accessibility of the Subway system while ensuring riders have an easier time entering and exiting stations,” explained Hochul.

On Wednesday, Hochul announced that Lake George will be awarded $10 million in funding as the winner of the seventh round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. With the $10 million, Lake George will utilize the funding to improve the quality of life and sense of community in the Canada Street corridor and the adjacent waterfront, emphasizing enhancing tourism, creating affordable housing, public space, streetscape improvements, and expanding broadband capacity. The $10 million in funding is part of this year’s $100 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the broader NY Forward program, which invest in smaller and rural communities to improve their economic development after the Covid-19 Pandemic.

In addition to Lake George winning the seventh round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, Hoosick Falls and Schuylerville each receive $4.5 in funding for being the winners of this year’s Capital Region NY Forward program. Hoosick Falls will focus on creating safe, walkable, and accessible corridors between new and existing development projects, while Schuylerville will focus on building upon existing housing and public park developments. The recent awards complement the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which invests in small and rural communities to improve economic development. “Hoosick Falls and Schuylerville put forth plans to reinvigorate their downtowns, which contribute to making the Capital Region a world-class destination for businesses, families and tourists,” explained Hochul.

Yesterday, Hochul announced that the state will participate in the federal Summer EBT program, providing over $200 million in summer meals for about 2 million low-income school-aged children. The program will reduce hunger and food insecurity among children who are unable to access free or reduced-price school meals in the summer. As federal guidelines require, the state will commit to covering 50% of the program’s administrative costs. “Our kids need healthy, nutritious food to grow and thrive. This new federal funding will be a critical lifeline for families struggling to make ends meet,” explained Hochul.

Yesterday, Hochul announced over $46 million in grant awards for 1,400 households. The grant awards will help low- and moderate-income families make home repairs or safety upgrades and provide down payment assistance for first-time buyers. Administered by the state’s Homes and Community Renewal’s Office of Community Renewal, the grants were awarded to nonprofit organizations and localities that preserve affordable housing, support veterans and the elderly, and improve access to home ownership. The recent announcement complements her $25 billion Housing Plan, which creates or preserves 100,000 affordable homes with 10,000 homes with support services for vulnerable populations.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Flurry of Bills Signed and Vetoed Before the End of 2023

On Friday night and early Saturday morning, Hochul concluded almost all of the legislative action for 2023 by signing 42 bills and vetoing another 43 bills, including numerous controversial bills.

One of the bills signed by Hochul was the bill moving many local elections outside of NYC to even-number years, which garnered criticism from Republicans and other organizations such as the NYS Association of Counties. Hochul and many supporters argue that moving local elections to even-number years to align with federal and state elections is a “significant step towards expanding access to the ballot box and promoting a more inclusive democracy,” as it will increase voter turnout. However, many Republicans explained that the bill is a move to only strengthen Democrats in the state, with Senate Minority Leader, Rob Ortt, explaining, “The touted benefits of this bill are a total sham concocted to hide the Democrat’s goal of expanding one-party control to every level of government.”

Another bill signed by Hochul was the LLC Transparency Act, which will require LLCs to list their “beneficial owners” when creating a new company or changing the structure of an existing company into a database. Although Hochul signed the bill, she did so after negotiating a chapter amendment that will ensure that the database is not accessible to the public and only to law enforcement agencies. Hochul explained that the bill was “overly broad and required changes to ensure it serves the core purpose of exposing unlawful activity while balancing personal privacy.”

One notable bill that Hochul vetoed was a bill that would ban noncompete agreements in the state. Many critics of the bill argue that the ban on noncompete agreements would hinder companies from protecting their trade secrets and retaining talent and that the passage of the bill would lead to jobs being moved out of the state. However, supporters of the bill argued that the noncompete bill protects middle-class and lower-wage workers. Although Hochul vetoed the bill, she explained that she is “open to future legislation that achieves [the] right balance.”

Another notable bill vetoed last week was the bill that would require any registered companies to consent to be liable for lawsuits in the state’s courts under “general jurisdiction.” Under “general jurisdiction,” businesses in the state would be liable for a lawsuit if any incidents occurred in other states or countries. Hochul explained in her veto memo that the bill’s passage would have hindered “out-of-state companies from doing business” in the state.

With 43 vetoes, Hochul’s Communication Director stated that Hochul did not “hesitate to use her veto pen when necessary to prevent harm to New Yorkers” and that the Legislature “passed 896 bills – more than 500 of which passed in the final days of the session – most without a single hearing or opportunity for public comment,” and that some of the bills “would have put public safety or the state’s economic recovery at risk.”

Changes to the Public Campaign Finance Program Vetoed

In addition to last Friday’s flurry of legislative actions, a campaign finance bill that would alter the state’s public campaign finance program was vetoed on Wednesday. Under the bill, the state’s public campaign finance program would publicly match the first $250 of any contribution to a candidate. With the veto, the program continues to only allow the state to match contributors that donated less than $250 in a cycle. Although the bill was passed in the Legislature on the final days of this year’s session, many Democrats were opposed to the bill, with the Assembly passing the bill with a vote of 80 to 66 and the Senate narrowly passing the bill with a vote of 32 to 31. In her veto message, Hochul explained that the bill would “effectively reduce the impact of small donors on elections,” and by “increasing the number of donations that would be eligible for public matching funds, it would also add significant costs to the state.”

Senate Minority Leader Lays Out Senate GOP’s “Rescue New York” Legislative Agenda

In an op-ed, Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt lays out the Senate Republican’s legislative agenda, Rescue New York. Under the Rescue New York legislative agenda, Ortt explained that the Senate Republicans will advocate for “our farmers, protecting your Second Amendment rights, working to keep criminals behind bars, and illegal immigrants out of our backyard.” In the op-ed, Ortt warned that the ongoing asylum-seekers crisis will further hinder the state’s and NYC’s budget deficit and that “common sense” legislation to halt the future asylum-seekers will help the state’s budget in the upcoming years.

Potential Issues for 2024

With Hochul scheduled to give her State of the State address on January 9 to lay out her agenda for the 2024 session, various issues will likely dominate the coming year. In addition, 2024 is an important election year with presidential, congressional, and legislative races, which could influence lawmakers’ votes on various issues. Some of the issues likely to dominate 2024 are:

Budget Deficit: The state is projected to have a $4.3 billion budget deficit in 2024. Hochul said that she won’t raise income taxes while also not cutting any agency’s funding
Housing: During this year’s session, Hochul and the Legislature were unable to reach a housing agreement, and various lawmakers heavily opposed Hochul’s housing construction mandates in local municipalities. Good cause and the renewal or replacement of 421-a tax exemption are still hotly debated issues, as highlighted by the recent Assembly public hearing on affordable housing
Healthcare: The state is spending $19.7 billion on Medicaid, or $2.8 billion more than the projected amount, and many healthcare advocates are asking for about $6 billion in funding for the next five years to cover the gap in cost coverage for healthcare providers accepting Medicaid.
Education: Aside from continuing to fully fund Foundation Aid, the issue of mayoral control of NYC schools might arise as the extension approved in 2022 expires in June.
Asylum-Seekers Crisis; The ongoing asylum-seekers crisis will continue to financially burden the state and NYC. NYC has been asking the federal government for more assistance, and can potentially ask the state for more assistance in 2024.

OTHER UPDATES

NYC Signed Executive Order Restricting Asylum-Seekers From Coming Into the City

Yesterday, Mayor Adams signed an executive order requiring charter bus companies carrying asylum-seekers to provide up to 32 hours of advance notice and limiting the times of day at which the asylum-seekers can be dropped off. The recent executive action is the first time NYC has placed limits on how asylum-seekers arrive in the city. The executive action also comes after 14 busloads of asylum-seekers arrived from Texas in a single night last week. “We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning at any hour of day and night,” said Adams. Additionally, Adams reiterated his demand for federal assistance, explaining that “We cannot continue to do the federal government’s job.”

New NYC Housing Initiative to Fill in the Void of 421-a

To further alleviate the affordable housing crisis in NYC, the Adams administration will now offer more public money to developers who build market-rate housing. The Mixed-Income Market Initiative will subsidize developments that create more affordable apartments mixed in with luxury units. Developers under the initiative will be restricted from charging rents based on tenant income in 70% of their units while allowing them to charge market-rate rents in the remaining 30%. The new program seeks to facilitate more housing construction as construction of housing developments slowed down with the expiration of 421-a.

MTA Releases Proposed Toll Rates for Congestion Pricing

Earlier this week, the MTA released their proposed toll rate schedules for the upcoming Congestion Pricing Program in NYC’s Central Business District. The proposed toll rates are based on the findings of the Traffic Mobility Review Board’s report on possible congestion prices and exceptions. Based on the proposed toll rates for rush hours, passenger vehicles will be charged $15, trucks will be charged $24 to $36 depending on the size, and motorcycles will be charged $7.50. Congestion pricing will cover from 60th Street in Manhattan down to the southern tip of the Financial District. MTA also announced four hybrid public hearings on the proposed toll rates:

Thursday, Feb. 29, at 6:00 p.m.
Friday, March 1, at 10:00 a.m.
Monday, March 4, at 10:00 a.m.
Monday, March 4, at 6:00 p.m.

The MTA is also accepting comments until March 11, 2024.

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