Check out the shiny new legislative calendar that you printed on Tuesday.
Now, mark each box shaded in blue as a day when we discuss ways to save and raise money.
New or increased taxes – "none of them are good, but some are better than others" – are likely to hit New York regardless of whether Congress can get away with more money, Governor Andrew Cuomo said this week.
New York is targeting a budget gap of at least $ 8 billion this fiscal year and is likely to double that in the next. The exact numbers change depending on who is speaking and when. However, the lawmakers we spoke to last month say the upcoming session, despite its normal length of 60 days, should be yet another emergency streak. Even topics that appear separate are being looked at and voted on through the pandemic, and for some bills this could be the key to the dynamic.
One of them is a tax on the richest residents in the state – something the Congregation has supported for years, but which the Senate is open to and which the Cuomo has actively avoided. Now that direct government aid to states is still a point of contention in a Congressional stimulus package, proponents of the measure are escalating attacks on their opposition.
Fifty liberal economists wrote a letter to Cuomo and the state lawmakers advocating a tax on billionaires that they said would make $ 23.3 billion immediately. AOC has publicly requested this. The Zoom Conferences are being held to call for a December meeting, and public disagreements in the area of prosperity are shown in Central Park. Our friends across the river have already decided to make millionaires pay more.
There's still constitutionality and timing of the proposal, but for a property tax and a handful of other big ticket items, a new framework (“We're dead broke”) might just be the impetus some people are into Albany have been waiting for years.
IT IS FRIDAY. Do you have any tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know … By email: (Email protected) and (Email protected)or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold
WHERE'S ANDREW? Hold a Covid-19 briefing.
WHERE IS THE INVOICE? Maintain media availability and appear on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show.
ABOVE THE FOLD: The leaders of Congress rarely speak to one another. Reneged centrists are trying to strike a deal that Republicans don't like. And the president is mainly focused on overthrowing an election he lost. This is the latest evidence that Washington is broken: at the height of the worst public health crisis in a century, the White House and Congress are seeking another round of relief. And time in the lame duck is running out fast … It's two weeks before Christmas, plenty of time in Congress to put together a $ 1.4 trillion spending bill by the end of the year with hundreds of billions more Covid aid . Perhaps the non-partisan group will somehow find success and bridge partisan chasms of money for local governments and protect companies from litigation. Or maybe party leaders come out of their shells and tinker a deal at the last minute … Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a leader in these (non-partisan) talks, suggested that Congress may negotiate disagreements on liability needs community help by next year. Burgess Everett, Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris from POLITICO
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“AT LEAST 19 children developed lead poisoning while living in public housing that NYCHA regulators falsely claimed to have been properly cleaned of lead paint, according to the city's Department of Investigation. The children, all under 6, lived in 18 of the hundreds of homes that managers who ran the agency's senior paint division had done work approved by employees authorized by the federal government to remove the toxin. A three-year DOI investigation found that employees with the required credentials were forced to sign cleanups that they had not supervised. DOI's report, released Thursday and spurred on by a whistleblower, found 900 cases of NYCHA lying between 2016 and the summer of 2018 – and vowed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the homes were under the watchful eye of one qualified supervisors had been reduced. "NYCHA executives involved in the lead reduction process have completely disregarded the facts, law and integrity, and most importantly, the welfare of NYCHA residents," DOI Commissioner Margaret Garnett said in a statement. Greg B. Smith of the city
"Up-and-coming STATEN ISLAND Congressman Max Rose has his second act in New York politics in mind – becoming Gotham's Mayor. The year-old Democratic legislature filed papers with the city's Campaign Finance Board late Thursday to ask for money for Raising a potential mayor's bid for 2021 and opting for the city's generous public funding system if he launches a campaign. Rose's submission came just weeks after giving Republican MP Nicole Malliotakis a highly competitive and often fierce race for re-election had. "Nolan Hicks and Carl Campanile of the New York Post
– Andrew Yang would bring celebrity status, fundraising skills, and an online army of dedicated loyalists to the New York Mayor's race that he is likely to get into soon. However, the one-time presidential candidate faces an uphill battle in the country's largest city. Some candidates in the already overcrowded field have spent their careers cultivating relationships with voters and the city's political machinery … “It's incredibly flattering that people are interested in my running. I love New York very much; It has played a huge role in my life and my wife's life and our kids go to school there, ”said Yang, who lives in Manhattan, in an interview. "So I'm just looking for ways I can do the best I can and I believe I'll make a decision in the next few weeks." Erin Durkin, Sally Goldenberg and Eugene Daniels from POLITICO
– Scott Stringer has hired Micah Lasher as campaign manager and Maria Martinez as deputy campaign manager. Pollster Jefrey Pollock and consultants Mark Guma, Rebecca Katz and Camille Rivera also join his team.
“NIKOL BURGOS Sevilla works as a server in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights district. She says she's been doing about two-thirds of what she did before the pandemic since returning to work. The shifts bring a lot more stress, however, as new concerns, new responsibilities, and new COVID rules have turned the job into something entirely different. "It takes a lot of effort to put so much energy into being polite and nice to people who don't care," she says of customers who ignore COVID regulations. "Everyone's burned out because now we all become bouncers, weird nurses who take people's temperatures, and babysitters." Please don't get up! "" Please wear a mask. "" She has no choice but to enforce the rules even when customers actively try to disobey them, as their bar will be fined thousands of dollars for violating As the pandemic continues, many of New York's restaurant and bar workers say this year is a tough year for them, both mentally and physically. ”Chris Crowley, Grubstreet
“THE CITY COUNCIL passed a law on Thursday that would allow artists to perform on the streets of New York. As part of the new Open Culture program sponsored by Councilor Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Queens), artists can apply for permits to run outdoor ticket shows. Modeled after the city's popular outdoor dining program, the program will go into effect on March 1st. & # 39; The joy New Yorkers have in everyday life of listening to music, dancing music, listening to comedy, and listening to opera has been virtually completely discontinued. & # 39; Van Bramer said at an online press conference. "Artists have to be paid for their work," he added. "This will make this possible." The legislation supported by Mayor de Blasio was passed unanimously. Shant Shahrigian of the New York Daily News
“Mayor Bill de Blasio recognized the inconsistent and rocky school year for public school students in New York City due to the COVID-19 pandemic and announced on Thursday a plan to close educational losses and performance gaps – starting next year. "This school year is the foundation stone to prepare for a completely different school year that starts in September," said de Blasio at his press conference on Thursday. "In September there will be a new normal." The student performance plan for 2021 will begin with a diagnosis that will measure how students deal with educational benchmarks in September, School Chancellor Richard Carranza said at the press conference. De Blasio stressed that these will not be high-stakes tests, but rather assessments for teachers to understand the needs of their students. “Sophia Chang from Gothamist and Jessica Gould from WNYC
– An elementary school in Queens had to close just one day after reopening due to multiple Covid-19 cases.
“Despite the high level of commitment, officials from New York State have calculated the positivity incorrectly, according to several experts. The criticism stems from the state's decision to carry out a rapid test called an antigen test, which is less sensitive than PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction). "That's not the professional guide," said Dr. Jay Varma, Mayor Bill de Blasio's best health advisor. "It's not what the WHO or the CDC or the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists are doing." The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, which advises the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities, has stated that a positive antigen test should be viewed as a likely case of COVID-19 rather than a confirmed case. In return, the CDC defined its positivity rate to be based on PCR testing only. “Elizabeth Kim from Gothamist
– Coronavirus pandemic hospital admissions again exceeded 5,000 patients.
“About 45% of the deaths occurred during a two week period as infections increased in nursing homes last month. This gave an early warning of the virus' renewed attack on long-term care facilities a few days ahead of the expected arrival of 170,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in New York this weekend. And while the government plans to prioritize all 170,000 starting doses for nursing home residents and employees, Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine requires each person to take two doses 21 days apart to build immunity, which means nursing homes in New York January are still at risk. In many ways, the rise in coronavirus infections in nursing homes, including thousands of workers, underscored the importance of an urgent effort to save lives when the end of the pandemic is in sight. "Because of the exhaustion among workers and because many institutions failed to learn from the early part of the pandemic, I am very concerned that this second wave could be disastrous for nursing home residents," said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Community Coalition for Long term care. “David Robinson of the USA Today Network
“THE STATE is delaying 20% of the program's tuition support funding for public and private colleges across the state, according to an internal state memo, and schools and the Cuomo administration fear it could become permanent. In a memo from the state's Higher Education Services Corp. dated Nov. 30, it said colleges and universities that are already financially troubled due to the coronavirus pandemic will pay the state's delay costs and will not have to reduce student TAP grants at this point. "The temporarily retained 20 percent is not a reduction in student prices, but a change in the payment plan for schools. Currently, the remaining 20 percent of the payments are temporarily withheld for affected school years," says the memo. The $ 931 million tuition support program is the state's primary financial resource for colleges. Its grants aim to help families and low-income individuals. "Newsday is Michael Gormley
As 2020 draws to a close, lawyers, for a variety of reasons, are last-minute pushing for Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign bills on his desk. Of the 413 measures that the legislature passed this year, 73 are waiting for measures. That includes a game of 31 sent to Cuomo last week that needs to be signed or vetoed by next Wednesday, and another 42 sent to him in the coming weeks. If the past few years are a guide, about a third of it won't become law. Nothing prevents lawmakers from sending them the bills, which are either straightforward and simple, or three-way negotiated, before being passed once they are done with the session of the year. Pretty much everything that lands on the governor's desk this summer is signed. For the more complex actions, for which there are no pre-existing agreements, the governor's office will need some time to check the language. And if he is not inclined to sign it, the legislature will use all the time to negotiate some form of compromise amendment in order to optimize the language that will be adopted at next year's session. Bill Mahoney from POLITICO
#UpstateAmerica: Western lowland gorilla Amari said goodbye to the Buffalo Zoo to raise a new family in Atlanta as staff hope to ensure the survival of their species.
"REP. ELISE STEFANIK is one of two Republican Congressmen from New York to officially support a lawsuit by Texas officials seeking to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the November 3 presidential election. Stefanik, the Schuylerville Republican who was entering her fourth term in Congress, signed the Amicus Letter with Lee Zeldin, GOP MP from Long Island, and dozens of other Republican Congressmen from around the country. The lawsuit is being brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against four states where Democrat Biden won relatively narrowly: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. Election officials in these states have already confirmed Biden as the winner of outgoing Republican President Donald J. Trump, who, despite a series of legal losses through his campaign and his Republican allies, refused to admit defeat. “Chris Bragg from Times Union
Chuck Schumer, chairman of the SENATE minority, on Thursday called on Republicans to drop plans for a hearing on alleged "irregularities" in the 2020 presidential election. The hearing, convened by Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Is due to take place on Wednesday just two days after members of the electoral college met to cast their 306 votes for the president-elect Joe Biden and 232 for President Donald Trump. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have already certified their numbers, but Trump continues to push unfounded allegations of election fraud in battlefield states where Biden won. Most Republicans still refuse to acknowledge that Biden won the election. "When will this nonsense, which is detrimental to our democracy, end?" Said Schumer in the Senate. "Using a Senate committee to spread misinformation about our own elections is more than pale." Andrew Desiderio from POLITICO
– Three Democratic candidates for the Manhattan District Attorney advocate a platform pushed by groups on the left that calls for a drastic reduction in law enforcement and the budget and influence of the DA office itself.
Evidence of racist practices by a former Queens prosecutor trying to remove black, Latin American and Jewish jurors resulted in two convictions overturned.
– The Brooklyn Democratic Party has turned into infighting.
– Mariah Kennedy Cuomo is deeply rooted in the #MaskUp campaign to inspire the wearing of designer masks.
– LISTEN: Congregation member Sean Ryan (D-Buffalo) tells the Capitol Pressroom about his move to the Senate.
– A board member of the Adirondack Park Agency resigns sharply criticizing the DEC's priorities.
– Getting rid of snow days is still a step too far for some school districts.
– Members of an East Village church who were burned in a fire supported the residents of a House of Commons next door that was also displaced by the fire.
– Federal agencies on Thursday arrested the owners of a chain of New York nail salons for allegedly fraudulent government work on Covid-19 aid loans worth $ 13 million.
– New York's hottest club is … whale watching.
– The NYPD's first well-founded complaint about biased policing was against a school security officer.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Kara Swisher, author of the NYT statement and presenter of the podcasts "Sway" and "Pivot" … Margaret Hoover, presenter of PBS '"Firing Line" … Annabelle Timsit from Quartz … Gideon Resnick, co-presenter of Crooked Media's “What A Day” podcast… Jessica Seale, Digital Director, Small Business Administration… Kelly Cohen of ESPN
MEDIAWATCH – Kate Nocera becomes editor at Axios' news desk. She was previously the director of the DC office at BuzzFeed.
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AT&T and WarnerMedia's New York family has been there for your family for years, supporting organizations that create opportunities for low-income communities and color communities. Over the past decade, we've allocated over $ 10 million to programs that connect underserved populations with the arts and technology education and training they need to thrive in college and in their careers.
This year when the pandemic broke out, we were there for our neighbors; Assisting the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a New York City institution, with COVID-related shutdowns; Provided $ 500,000 to the YMCA to provide free personal childcare for working families in the five counties; Assisting the Osborne Association in connecting families with imprisoned loved ones. For more information on these and some of the other organizations that support AT&T and WarnerMedia, please visit https://northeastregion.att.com/states/newyork/.
“After months of pushback and delays in a key vote, the city council has approved plans to redesign the Flushing Waterfront with a luxury complex of 13 towers. Although the deal comes with improved labor standards, there are still pitifully few affordable units (only 90 across campus), making it a disappointing deal. The 29 hectare project, which is to include 1,725 apartments and around 900 hotel rooms, was on the verge of failure in autumn. Several city council members rejected the deal without higher wages and more affordable housing, despite the support of council member Peter Koo. The proverbial dam broke this week with an agreement between developers, elected officials and unions on a spate of new commitments, and on Thursday the council closed the project with 39 votes to 5 with one abstention. “Caroline Spivack from Curbed
