Weekend News Summary
Haller, Lora join forces to box out council opponents
Riverdale Press
Feb. 13, 2021
Ranked-choice voting has been promoted as a fresh coat of paint in New York City's election process — but it's paint that has yet to dry.
Still, that's opening doors for new ways to campaign. And at least two candidates in the upcoming March 23 special election race to replace Andrew Cohen on the city council are poised to take advantage.
Jessica Haller and Mino Lora — the special election's only two women candidates — announced Sunday they are teaming up in a sort-of unity ticket. Their hope is that voters will make them their first and second choice. And if they do, it could all but ensure one of them would come out as the winner.
"Miss Lora and I are working on a ranked-choice voting strategy backed by multiple organizations that have already come out and endorsed this," Haller told moderator Sue Ellen Dodell at Sunday's Northwest Bronx Indivisible candidate forum.
Haller, an environmental activist and entrepreneur in Fieldston, didn't share much else about that strategy. And neither did Lora, a Spuyten Duyvil non-profit leader.
"I am excited about ranked-choice," Lora said. "I look forward to building partnerships and engaging with other women in the race."
Creating partnerships among candidates has been one potential political strategy campaigns have considered to try and make the best of the new voting system. It's designed for races exactly like this special election, where there are six candidates on the ballot, and chances are none will win an outright majority.
In some races, that would mean a costly run-off. For special election races like this, it results in someone being elected that might have the backing of a smaller part of the electorate.
Through this new system, voters rank their top five choices, with their No. 1 vote being the first that's counted. If none of the candidates achieve at least 50 percent of the vote, the ballots are recounted, eliminating the worst-performing candidate, and redistributing their votes to reflect their second choice. That process continues until one candidate emerges with 50 percent.
In this special election, candidates are all fighting to be that No. 1 pick. But if they aren't, they are fighting for No. 2. That way, if someone's No. 1 was eliminated in a first round of recounts, that No. 2 will now be that particular voter's primary choice.
Yet, finding who to partner with isn't exactly easy. And for some, it could be outright impossible. It could be one reason why both Eric Dinowitz and Dan Padernacht both told the candidates forum they were going it alone.
"I'm running because I believe that I have the most relevant experience and can be the best choice, making sure that our community has a voice," Dinowitz said. "So right now, I have no plans to partner with anyone."
Padernacht, however, says he's at least leaving the option on the table.
"I have not partnered with anyone to date," he said. "I would partner with somebody in the future if we did come to terms with what that means."
Sunday's forum also allowed candidates to do something they're not promoted to do often: Ask each other questions. Dinowitz directed his inquiry at Carlton Berkley, the only special election candidate who lives on the east side of the Jerome Park Reservoir.
Citing something he said during The Riverdale Press/BronxNet candidate debate the week before, the former teacher wanted to know what Berkley meant when he said both Riverdale and Woodlawn should serve as models for the rest of the council district.
"Living over here in Wakefield, I travel through the district," Berkley said. "And when I pass those neighborhoods, I'm proud of those neighborhoods. The streets are very clean. I really don't see any crime around there. Very seldom do I see the police."
That's a bit of a contrast to other parts of the district, however, Berkley added. But it's not something to be ashamed of.
"I don't hold that against Riverdale. I don't hold that against Woodlawn," he said. "It's just that I would like to make the other parts of the district just beautiful and safe as those two."
Haller directed her question at Dinowitz, pulling out several newsletters published by his father, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, that features pictures of the younger Dinowitz leading up to and during his city council run.
"Since 2017, about half of these newsletters contain your picture," Haller said. "It costs taxpayers $100,000. It's illegal to use taxpayer funds for political purposes. Would you ask Assemblyman Dinowitz's office as well as the rest of the political machine to stop using taxpayer dollars for these purposes?"
The younger Dinowitz, however, countered that he's not the only candidate in the race to appear in his father's taxpayer-funded newsletters. He might appear more often in them, he said, because "I am the one with the most experience attending community events."
"And so it is no wonder that I am going to appear in community photos," Dinowitz said. "I appear in all sorts of other Community Board 8 photos because of my work with Community Board 8. I've appeared in all sorts of newspapers because of my advocacy in the community."
This particular special election race is getting a lot of broader attention in the city. After debates and forums hosted by The Press, a Brust Park advocacy group and Northwest Bronx Indivisible, the candidates have been invited to more gatherings in the coming weeks, including a Valentine's Day gathering hosted by NYCD-16 Indivisible and City Limits, and a town hall Feb. 17 hosted by SAR High School's Election, Politics and Governance Club.
The winner of this seat will fill out Cohen's final year on the council. The winner will have to run again in the June primary if they want to continue on in the role past Dec. 31.
Dinowitz Leaves Classroom
Feb. 13, 2021
Ranked-choice voting has been promoted as a fresh coat of paint in New York City's election process — but it's paint that has yet to dry.
Still, that's opening doors for new ways to campaign. And at least two candidates in the upcoming March 23 special election race to replace Andrew Cohen on the city council are poised to take advantage.
Jessica Haller and Mino Lora — the special election's only two women candidates — announced Sunday they are teaming up in a sort-of unity ticket. Their hope is that voters will make them their first and second choice. And if they do, it could all but ensure one of them would come out as the winner.
"Miss Lora and I are working on a ranked-choice voting strategy backed by multiple organizations that have already come out and endorsed this," Haller told moderator Sue Ellen Dodell at Sunday's Northwest Bronx Indivisible candidate forum.
Haller, an environmental activist and entrepreneur in Fieldston, didn't share much else about that strategy. And neither did Lora, a Spuyten Duyvil non-profit leader.
"I am excited about ranked-choice," Lora said. "I look forward to building partnerships and engaging with other women in the race."
Creating partnerships among candidates has been one potential political strategy campaigns have considered to try and make the best of the new voting system. It's designed for races exactly like this special election, where there are six candidates on the ballot, and chances are none will win an outright majority.
In some races, that would mean a costly run-off. For special election races like this, it results in someone being elected that might have the backing of a smaller part of the electorate.
Through this new system, voters rank their top five choices, with their No. 1 vote being the first that's counted. If none of the candidates achieve at least 50 percent of the vote, the ballots are recounted, eliminating the worst-performing candidate, and redistributing their votes to reflect their second choice. That process continues until one candidate emerges with 50 percent.
In this special election, candidates are all fighting to be that No. 1 pick. But if they aren't, they are fighting for No. 2. That way, if someone's No. 1 was eliminated in a first round of recounts, that No. 2 will now be that particular voter's primary choice.
Yet, finding who to partner with isn't exactly easy. And for some, it could be outright impossible. It could be one reason why both Eric Dinowitz and Dan Padernacht both told the candidates forum they were going it alone.
"I'm running because I believe that I have the most relevant experience and can be the best choice, making sure that our community has a voice," Dinowitz said. "So right now, I have no plans to partner with anyone."
Padernacht, however, says he's at least leaving the option on the table.
"I have not partnered with anyone to date," he said. "I would partner with somebody in the future if we did come to terms with what that means."
Sunday's forum also allowed candidates to do something they're not promoted to do often: Ask each other questions. Dinowitz directed his inquiry at Carlton Berkley, the only special election candidate who lives on the east side of the Jerome Park Reservoir.
Citing something he said during The Riverdale Press/BronxNet candidate debate the week before, the former teacher wanted to know what Berkley meant when he said both Riverdale and Woodlawn should serve as models for the rest of the council district.
"Living over here in Wakefield, I travel through the district," Berkley said. "And when I pass those neighborhoods, I'm proud of those neighborhoods. The streets are very clean. I really don't see any crime around there. Very seldom do I see the police."
That's a bit of a contrast to other parts of the district, however, Berkley added. But it's not something to be ashamed of.
"I don't hold that against Riverdale. I don't hold that against Woodlawn," he said. "It's just that I would like to make the other parts of the district just beautiful and safe as those two."
Haller directed her question at Dinowitz, pulling out several newsletters published by his father, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, that features pictures of the younger Dinowitz leading up to and during his city council run.
"Since 2017, about half of these newsletters contain your picture," Haller said. "It costs taxpayers $100,000. It's illegal to use taxpayer funds for political purposes. Would you ask Assemblyman Dinowitz's office as well as the rest of the political machine to stop using taxpayer dollars for these purposes?"
The younger Dinowitz, however, countered that he's not the only candidate in the race to appear in his father's taxpayer-funded newsletters. He might appear more often in them, he said, because "I am the one with the most experience attending community events."
"And so it is no wonder that I am going to appear in community photos," Dinowitz said. "I appear in all sorts of other Community Board 8 photos because of my work with Community Board 8. I've appeared in all sorts of newspapers because of my advocacy in the community."
This particular special election race is getting a lot of broader attention in the city. After debates and forums hosted by The Press, a Brust Park advocacy group and Northwest Bronx Indivisible, the candidates have been invited to more gatherings in the coming weeks, including a Valentine's Day gathering hosted by NYCD-16 Indivisible and City Limits, and a town hall Feb. 17 hosted by SAR High School's Election, Politics and Governance Club.
The winner of this seat will fill out Cohen's final year on the council. The winner will have to run again in the June primary if they want to continue on in the role past Dec. 31.
Dinowitz Leaves Classroom
Riverdale Press
Feb. 13, 2021
Eric Dinowitz has talked a lot about his job as a public school teacher, and balancing that life with his political ambitions. But at least for the rest of this special election race to fill Andrew Cohen's final year on the city council, Dinowitz won't have to worry about stepping into a virtual classroom.
Dinowitz has stepped down from his teaching role at the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music on the Walton campus. He revealed his move to The Forward, later confirming it with The Riverdale Press.
"With less than six weeks left until early voting, I have transitioned to campaigning full-time," Dinowitz said, in a statement. "I am proud of my almost 14 years of service as a special education teacher in our public schools, and look forward to continuing to advocate for my students and our community's future in the city council."
Dinowitz refused to answer follow-up questions, including why he made the decision to leave his class mid-semester, and if he would still be a member of the United Federation of Teachers, which endorsed his candidacy early on. Alison Gendar, a spokeswoman for UFT, says Dinowitz's decision to step down won't affect her organization's support.
"Eric Dinowitz received the UFT endorsement because of his experience in education," she said, "not because of his union status."
While she wouldn't comment on what exactly Dinowitz's current status is with the union, she did confirm that anyone who leaves a teaching position would also have to leave the union.
New York's seven-day COVID positivity rate at lowest point since late November: Cuomo
Feb. 13, 2021
Eric Dinowitz has talked a lot about his job as a public school teacher, and balancing that life with his political ambitions. But at least for the rest of this special election race to fill Andrew Cohen's final year on the city council, Dinowitz won't have to worry about stepping into a virtual classroom.
Dinowitz has stepped down from his teaching role at the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music on the Walton campus. He revealed his move to The Forward, later confirming it with The Riverdale Press.
"With less than six weeks left until early voting, I have transitioned to campaigning full-time," Dinowitz said, in a statement. "I am proud of my almost 14 years of service as a special education teacher in our public schools, and look forward to continuing to advocate for my students and our community's future in the city council."
Dinowitz refused to answer follow-up questions, including why he made the decision to leave his class mid-semester, and if he would still be a member of the United Federation of Teachers, which endorsed his candidacy early on. Alison Gendar, a spokeswoman for UFT, says Dinowitz's decision to step down won't affect her organization's support.
"Eric Dinowitz received the UFT endorsement because of his experience in education," she said, "not because of his union status."
While she wouldn't comment on what exactly Dinowitz's current status is with the union, she did confirm that anyone who leaves a teaching position would also have to leave the union.
New York's seven-day COVID positivity rate at lowest point since late November: Cuomo
NY Daily News
Feb. 13, 2021
Gov. Cuomo delivered New Yorkers a pre-Valentine's Day gift better than chocolate or flowers: The state's COVID-19 seven-day positivity rate hit its lowest mark since late November.
The rate dropped below 4% for the first time since Nov. 29 and the seven-day average was down 51% from the post-holiday peak of early January, the governor said Saturday.
The figure has now declined for 36 consecutive days, he added, and the statewide daily positivity rate was down to 3.46% — the lowest since Nov. 25.
"Hospitalization and infection rates are continuing to fall statewide and New Yorkers should be commended for all their hard work and sacrifice which helped make this a reality," Cuomo said.
"If we are to win this war against COVID once and for all, we must keep driving down these rates, as well as to get as many shots into arms as possible."
Statewide coronavirus hospitalizations were reported at 6,888, a drop of 916 in the past week and the lowest figure since Christmas Day.
NYC's Recovery May Drag Out Until 2023 Or Later, According to New Report
Feb. 13, 2021
Gov. Cuomo delivered New Yorkers a pre-Valentine's Day gift better than chocolate or flowers: The state's COVID-19 seven-day positivity rate hit its lowest mark since late November.
The rate dropped below 4% for the first time since Nov. 29 and the seven-day average was down 51% from the post-holiday peak of early January, the governor said Saturday.
The figure has now declined for 36 consecutive days, he added, and the statewide daily positivity rate was down to 3.46% — the lowest since Nov. 25.
"Hospitalization and infection rates are continuing to fall statewide and New Yorkers should be commended for all their hard work and sacrifice which helped make this a reality," Cuomo said.
"If we are to win this war against COVID once and for all, we must keep driving down these rates, as well as to get as many shots into arms as possible."
Statewide coronavirus hospitalizations were reported at 6,888, a drop of 916 in the past week and the lowest figure since Christmas Day.
NYC's Recovery May Drag Out Until 2023 Or Later, According to New Report
Gothamist
Feb. 13, 2021
New York City lost about 750,000 payroll and independent contractor jobs in 2020 during the pandemic. That's one out of every six jobs. But while the COVID-19 vaccine has fueled hopes of a recovery this year, a new report says the city's economy will not snap back easily.
The report comes from James Parrott of the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School. He spoke with WNYC Senior Reporter Beth Fertig and we excerpted sections for Gothamist (the interview has been edited for clarity).
Q: I want to start with the impact of all those jobs we lost last year, 750,000 is more than what was reported earlier, right? How come?
A: If you look between February and December, the net change in payroll employment was around 510,000 in New York City. The 750,000 represents the average of each month's employment level, and it includes independent contractors, all taxi cab, Uber and Lyft drivers are independent contractors.
Q: Which jobs did we lose the most in New York City?
A: So the industry with by far the greatest number of lost jobs is the restaurant industry. The arts and entertainment recreation sector has proportionally been hit the hardest. And both of these sectors and in other sectors like hotels and retailing, what I call the face to face service industry category, job losses have been about twice proportionately in New York City, as at the national level.
Q: Which communities are hit hardest by those job losses? Because you looked at the demographics right?
A: We can only estimate. But in trying to estimate that, you know, our sense is that very heavy concentration among workers of color, you know, about 70 percent of all job losses, young workers got hit very hard. And in both of these cases, it's because the industries that got hit hardest, the face-to-face service industries, restaurants, retail, have very high concentrations of persons of color and industries like restaurants and clothing retailing, have a lot of young people.
Q: So when we talk about recovery, everybody uses this phrase K-shaped recovery. Who is on the line on that letter K that's pointing up? Which industries are you talking about?
A: So in the report we refer to these as the remote working industries. So it's industries like finance, professional services, law firms, accounting firms, consulting firms. A lot of the tech industry is in professional services. It's also information media, movie production and television production. And then a lot of the real estate industry is part of that also. So these are generally much higher paid industries. For the most part, their workers have been able to work remotely during the pandemic. So that upward part of the K has done very well.
And meanwhile, the people losing the jobs are on the downward part of the K. So it's you know, it's a good chunk of people in the lower half of the income spectrum, the people who work in restaurants and retail, people in the arts sector, in nail salons and barbershops, even for some who have gone back to work because there are industries and businesses that haven't fully recovered. Many are only working on a part-time basis.
Q: Let's say most New Yorkers get vaccinated by September and you predict thousands of people will move back to the city as a result. Why do you say jobs and businesses still won't snap back this year?
A: Clearly, when vaccinations are widespread and business restrictions are lifted, there's going to be an expectation that people will still wear face masks for some period of time until the infection rate really gets driven down. So that, you know, it means that retail employment is not going to bounce back to where it was before. And tourism is a big part of the New York City economy. It supports, affects between 300,000 and 500,000 thousand jobs. No one expects the tourism sector to be fully rebounded for three or four years.
Q: What would need to happen for there to be a faster recovery?
A: President Biden has a very ambitious recovery plan that will further extend unemployment benefits and so on. So that will certainly help. But it's not necessarily going to rebuild or reconstruct the jobs or replace the jobs that we lost. What that will take, I think, is a significant physical infrastructure investment plan and in a corresponding social infrastructure investment. And so we need a combination of service jobs and construction jobs to provide the level of employment demand that it's going to take to get us back to the level that we were at a year ago.
New York Was the 1st Big School District to Reopen. Here's What Happened
Feb. 13, 2021
New York City lost about 750,000 payroll and independent contractor jobs in 2020 during the pandemic. That's one out of every six jobs. But while the COVID-19 vaccine has fueled hopes of a recovery this year, a new report says the city's economy will not snap back easily.
The report comes from James Parrott of the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School. He spoke with WNYC Senior Reporter Beth Fertig and we excerpted sections for Gothamist (the interview has been edited for clarity).
Q: I want to start with the impact of all those jobs we lost last year, 750,000 is more than what was reported earlier, right? How come?
A: If you look between February and December, the net change in payroll employment was around 510,000 in New York City. The 750,000 represents the average of each month's employment level, and it includes independent contractors, all taxi cab, Uber and Lyft drivers are independent contractors.
Q: Which jobs did we lose the most in New York City?
A: So the industry with by far the greatest number of lost jobs is the restaurant industry. The arts and entertainment recreation sector has proportionally been hit the hardest. And both of these sectors and in other sectors like hotels and retailing, what I call the face to face service industry category, job losses have been about twice proportionately in New York City, as at the national level.
Q: Which communities are hit hardest by those job losses? Because you looked at the demographics right?
A: We can only estimate. But in trying to estimate that, you know, our sense is that very heavy concentration among workers of color, you know, about 70 percent of all job losses, young workers got hit very hard. And in both of these cases, it's because the industries that got hit hardest, the face-to-face service industries, restaurants, retail, have very high concentrations of persons of color and industries like restaurants and clothing retailing, have a lot of young people.
Q: So when we talk about recovery, everybody uses this phrase K-shaped recovery. Who is on the line on that letter K that's pointing up? Which industries are you talking about?
A: So in the report we refer to these as the remote working industries. So it's industries like finance, professional services, law firms, accounting firms, consulting firms. A lot of the tech industry is in professional services. It's also information media, movie production and television production. And then a lot of the real estate industry is part of that also. So these are generally much higher paid industries. For the most part, their workers have been able to work remotely during the pandemic. So that upward part of the K has done very well.
And meanwhile, the people losing the jobs are on the downward part of the K. So it's you know, it's a good chunk of people in the lower half of the income spectrum, the people who work in restaurants and retail, people in the arts sector, in nail salons and barbershops, even for some who have gone back to work because there are industries and businesses that haven't fully recovered. Many are only working on a part-time basis.
Q: Let's say most New Yorkers get vaccinated by September and you predict thousands of people will move back to the city as a result. Why do you say jobs and businesses still won't snap back this year?
A: Clearly, when vaccinations are widespread and business restrictions are lifted, there's going to be an expectation that people will still wear face masks for some period of time until the infection rate really gets driven down. So that, you know, it means that retail employment is not going to bounce back to where it was before. And tourism is a big part of the New York City economy. It supports, affects between 300,000 and 500,000 thousand jobs. No one expects the tourism sector to be fully rebounded for three or four years.
Q: What would need to happen for there to be a faster recovery?
A: President Biden has a very ambitious recovery plan that will further extend unemployment benefits and so on. So that will certainly help. But it's not necessarily going to rebuild or reconstruct the jobs or replace the jobs that we lost. What that will take, I think, is a significant physical infrastructure investment plan and in a corresponding social infrastructure investment. And so we need a combination of service jobs and construction jobs to provide the level of employment demand that it's going to take to get us back to the level that we were at a year ago.
New York Was the 1st Big School District to Reopen. Here's What Happened
NY Times
Feb. 14, 2021
Elementary schools have been open for months. As the city prepares to reopen middle schools, problems remain, but there is also cause for optimism.
For Julie Zuckerman, an elementary school principal in Manhattan, last summer felt like one never-ending day filled with fear and confusion about New York City's plan to resume in-person teaching. But in the months since classrooms opened in September, something has shifted.
Teachers at the school, Public School 513 in Washington Heights, appear more at ease, and some say they would like to be in their classrooms even when the building closes because of coronavirus cases. Parents, too, seem more confident: About half of the students are in the building most days, up from less than a third in September.
Ms. Zuckerman expects that even more children will return this spring.
"People have made their peace; they're not in crisis in the same way," she said. "I feel there's a huge night-and-day difference between what was going on last spring and what's happened this year."
New York's push to become the first big school district in the country to reopen classrooms last fall was a high-stakes and risky experiment. It has had its share of miscommunication, logistical stumbles and disruptions — especially when classrooms and school buildings are frequently closed because of virus cases.
But in interviews, parents, teachers, principals and union leaders also provided reasons for optimism at the midpoint of the academic year. In-school transmission of the coronavirus has been very low, and there has also been broad agreement that children have benefited from being in classrooms.
"Having the kids here is so much better for them, for everyone," Ms. Zuckerman said.
The strength of the plan will be tested again in the coming weeks, as about 62,000 middle school students are set to return to classrooms for the first time since November. New York also offers the clearest preview in the United States of what other big city districts — most prominently Chicago, where more schools are set to open next month — can expect as they inch closer to reopening classrooms after almost a year of remote learning.
Despite President Biden's push to reopen more schools this spring, some districts — including Los Angeles, the country's second-largest system — do not yet have a plan to reopen at all this school year. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that schools should open as soon as possible, particularly for young children. The C.D.C. found that teacher vaccines are not a precondition for reopening, a finding that has been backed up by New York's safety record so far.
The guidance came as teachers' unions across the country have continued to push back on reopening plans.
Districts that do reopen to students in the coming weeks and months are likely to discover that it is just a first step. New Yorkers have struggled to cope with the frequent interruptions to learning — and parents' schedules — caused when virus cases are detected among students or staff members and classrooms and entire school buildings are forced into all-remote instruction.
The city requires schools to shutter for up to 10 days if two unrelated positive cases are confirmed in a building. Individual classrooms close when one or more positive cases are detected.
The number of closed classrooms and schools has risen considerably over the last few weeks, as test positivity rates across the city have remained high and weekly in-school testing has increased.
Between Jan. 4 and Wednesday, 580 of 1,052 open school buildings closed for up to two weeks. Fewer than 400 school buildings have not had a closing of any kind in the new year.
Ms. Zuckerman said that her school, for example, has been open for only about 10 in-person days in 2021.
The rule was developed at a moment when it was unclear whether Mayor Bill de Blasio had the political support to reopen schools, and when there was much less evidence that schools could reopen safely. The protocol was part of a package of safety measures, agreed on with union leaders over the summer, that allowed New York City to open its schools in the first place.
Mr. de Blasio said earlier this month that he would "re-evaluate" the two-case rule, though city officials said it was highly unlikely that safety measures would change before the reopening of middle schools.
For parents of elementary school children, the reopening experience has prompted a roller coaster of emotions: despair over the limits of remote learning; joy at seeing their children back in classrooms; and frustration with the chaos caused by closings.
State lawmakers discuss impeaching Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Elementary schools have been open for months. As the city prepares to reopen middle schools, problems remain, but there is also cause for optimism.
For Julie Zuckerman, an elementary school principal in Manhattan, last summer felt like one never-ending day filled with fear and confusion about New York City's plan to resume in-person teaching. But in the months since classrooms opened in September, something has shifted.
Teachers at the school, Public School 513 in Washington Heights, appear more at ease, and some say they would like to be in their classrooms even when the building closes because of coronavirus cases. Parents, too, seem more confident: About half of the students are in the building most days, up from less than a third in September.
Ms. Zuckerman expects that even more children will return this spring.
"People have made their peace; they're not in crisis in the same way," she said. "I feel there's a huge night-and-day difference between what was going on last spring and what's happened this year."
New York's push to become the first big school district in the country to reopen classrooms last fall was a high-stakes and risky experiment. It has had its share of miscommunication, logistical stumbles and disruptions — especially when classrooms and school buildings are frequently closed because of virus cases.
But in interviews, parents, teachers, principals and union leaders also provided reasons for optimism at the midpoint of the academic year. In-school transmission of the coronavirus has been very low, and there has also been broad agreement that children have benefited from being in classrooms.
"Having the kids here is so much better for them, for everyone," Ms. Zuckerman said.
The strength of the plan will be tested again in the coming weeks, as about 62,000 middle school students are set to return to classrooms for the first time since November. New York also offers the clearest preview in the United States of what other big city districts — most prominently Chicago, where more schools are set to open next month — can expect as they inch closer to reopening classrooms after almost a year of remote learning.
Despite President Biden's push to reopen more schools this spring, some districts — including Los Angeles, the country's second-largest system — do not yet have a plan to reopen at all this school year. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that schools should open as soon as possible, particularly for young children. The C.D.C. found that teacher vaccines are not a precondition for reopening, a finding that has been backed up by New York's safety record so far.
The guidance came as teachers' unions across the country have continued to push back on reopening plans.
Districts that do reopen to students in the coming weeks and months are likely to discover that it is just a first step. New Yorkers have struggled to cope with the frequent interruptions to learning — and parents' schedules — caused when virus cases are detected among students or staff members and classrooms and entire school buildings are forced into all-remote instruction.
The city requires schools to shutter for up to 10 days if two unrelated positive cases are confirmed in a building. Individual classrooms close when one or more positive cases are detected.
The number of closed classrooms and schools has risen considerably over the last few weeks, as test positivity rates across the city have remained high and weekly in-school testing has increased.
Between Jan. 4 and Wednesday, 580 of 1,052 open school buildings closed for up to two weeks. Fewer than 400 school buildings have not had a closing of any kind in the new year.
Ms. Zuckerman said that her school, for example, has been open for only about 10 in-person days in 2021.
The rule was developed at a moment when it was unclear whether Mayor Bill de Blasio had the political support to reopen schools, and when there was much less evidence that schools could reopen safely. The protocol was part of a package of safety measures, agreed on with union leaders over the summer, that allowed New York City to open its schools in the first place.
Mr. de Blasio said earlier this month that he would "re-evaluate" the two-case rule, though city officials said it was highly unlikely that safety measures would change before the reopening of middle schools.
For parents of elementary school children, the reopening experience has prompted a roller coaster of emotions: despair over the limits of remote learning; joy at seeing their children back in classrooms; and frustration with the chaos caused by closings.
State lawmakers discuss impeaching Gov. Andrew Cuomo
City & State
Feb. 12, 2021
Democrats and Republicans alike are expressing outrage following a bombshell report in the New York Post about why it took Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration so long to release data on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. State Senate Republicans are calling for new investigations. Fourteen Democratic state senators have joined calls to roll back the sweeping emergency powers granted to the governor during the pandemic. "It's being thrown around a bit," state Sen. Jessica Ramos told City & State on Friday of making Cuomo the first governor to be impeached in more than a century.
Removing Cuomo from office appears to be a remote possibility at this point, but the governor is facing political heat like never before. What ultimately happens to the governor could hinge on the extent to which Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins end up taking the most dramatic action pushed by Democratic legislators as outrage grows over the governor's handling of nursing home deaths.
Cuomo has had his share of scandals over three terms in office and has faced plenty of criticism throughout the pandemic over public health restrictions, unemployment benefits and the slow rollout of the vaccines. State lawmakers, however, say they have never seen a scandal quite like the current uproar over nursing home deaths. "Thousands of people died who did not have to die," state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi tweeted Friday. "We're furious – with extremely good reason."
Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa reportedly apologized to Democratic legislators at a Feb. 10 meeting where she explained why the administration had delayed for months responding to requests for more information on the full extent of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents across the state. "We were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation," she said at the meeting, according to a transcript released by the governor's office Friday. "We could not fulfill their request as quickly as anyone would have liked," DeRosa said in a statement Friday. "But we are committed to being better partners going forward as we share the same goal of keeping New Yorkers as healthy as possible during the pandemic."
Top aide says Cuomo concealed Covid deaths to avoid U.S. probe
Feb. 12, 2021
Democrats and Republicans alike are expressing outrage following a bombshell report in the New York Post about why it took Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration so long to release data on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. State Senate Republicans are calling for new investigations. Fourteen Democratic state senators have joined calls to roll back the sweeping emergency powers granted to the governor during the pandemic. "It's being thrown around a bit," state Sen. Jessica Ramos told City & State on Friday of making Cuomo the first governor to be impeached in more than a century.
Removing Cuomo from office appears to be a remote possibility at this point, but the governor is facing political heat like never before. What ultimately happens to the governor could hinge on the extent to which Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins end up taking the most dramatic action pushed by Democratic legislators as outrage grows over the governor's handling of nursing home deaths.
Cuomo has had his share of scandals over three terms in office and has faced plenty of criticism throughout the pandemic over public health restrictions, unemployment benefits and the slow rollout of the vaccines. State lawmakers, however, say they have never seen a scandal quite like the current uproar over nursing home deaths. "Thousands of people died who did not have to die," state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi tweeted Friday. "We're furious – with extremely good reason."
Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa reportedly apologized to Democratic legislators at a Feb. 10 meeting where she explained why the administration had delayed for months responding to requests for more information on the full extent of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents across the state. "We were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation," she said at the meeting, according to a transcript released by the governor's office Friday. "We could not fulfill their request as quickly as anyone would have liked," DeRosa said in a statement Friday. "But we are committed to being better partners going forward as we share the same goal of keeping New Yorkers as healthy as possible during the pandemic."
Top aide says Cuomo concealed Covid deaths to avoid U.S. probe
Crain's
Feb. 12, 2021
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aide told lawmakers the administration withheld nursing homes' Covid-19 death toll to avoid a federal investigation, prompting Republicans to accuse him of a cover-up and demand his resignation.
Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa told Democratic leaders that the state rebuffed an August legislative request for the tally. She told lawmakers that former President Donald Trump had been tweeting about New York's nursing-home deaths and "turned this into a giant political football," according to a partial transcript released by the governor's office Friday.
The conversation took place Wednesday on a Zoom call that included members of Cuomo's administration and some Democratic lawmakers.
"We weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, and what we start saying, was going to be used against us and we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation," DeRosa told lawmakers, according to the transcript. "Basically, we froze."
The disclosure, reported first by the New York Post and New York Times, was the latest blow to Cuomo, who has tried to deflect criticism that his policies increased Covid-19 deaths. On Feb. 3, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered the state Health Department to release data that revealed more deaths among nursing-home residents than previously thought.
500 More NYPD Officers Will Patrol Subway System After Fatal Stabbings On 'A' Line
Feb. 12, 2021
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's top aide told lawmakers the administration withheld nursing homes' Covid-19 death toll to avoid a federal investigation, prompting Republicans to accuse him of a cover-up and demand his resignation.
Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa told Democratic leaders that the state rebuffed an August legislative request for the tally. She told lawmakers that former President Donald Trump had been tweeting about New York's nursing-home deaths and "turned this into a giant political football," according to a partial transcript released by the governor's office Friday.
The conversation took place Wednesday on a Zoom call that included members of Cuomo's administration and some Democratic lawmakers.
"We weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, and what we start saying, was going to be used against us and we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation," DeRosa told lawmakers, according to the transcript. "Basically, we froze."
The disclosure, reported first by the New York Post and New York Times, was the latest blow to Cuomo, who has tried to deflect criticism that his policies increased Covid-19 deaths. On Feb. 3, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered the state Health Department to release data that revealed more deaths among nursing-home residents than previously thought.
500 More NYPD Officers Will Patrol Subway System After Fatal Stabbings On 'A' Line
Gothamist
Feb. 13, 2021
The NYPD is immediately stepping up patrols throughout the subway system after four homeless people were stabbed, two fatally, along the same train line within a span of 24 hours. Police are now combing through video surveillance and theorize three of the four stabbings could be the work of one killer.
At a news conference on Saturday at Police Headquarters, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said 500 officers will be stationed throughout all 472 subway lines, including the A line where the series of stabbings occurred.
"They can expect to see a very large footprint of uniformed officers deployed throughout New York City, whether they go onto a train, whether they go onto a platform, and they'll be there as a long as needed," Shea said. "Five-hundred additional officers is a significant amount of resources added into the already thousands of officers already deployed by the NYPD."
Shea, joined by NYPD Transit Chief Kathleen O'Reilly and Deputy Chief of Detectives for northern Manhattan Brian McGee, said the officers will be redeployed from other assignments to help improve public safety throughout the system. Along with the extra officers, those already dispatched to stations—including plainclothes officers—are already working overtime to continue patrolling the system, according to police.
"The A line is probably going to be the safest line in the city," O'Reilly said.
Advocates for Homeless Sue N.Y.C. Subway System Over Covid Rules
Feb. 13, 2021
The NYPD is immediately stepping up patrols throughout the subway system after four homeless people were stabbed, two fatally, along the same train line within a span of 24 hours. Police are now combing through video surveillance and theorize three of the four stabbings could be the work of one killer.
At a news conference on Saturday at Police Headquarters, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said 500 officers will be stationed throughout all 472 subway lines, including the A line where the series of stabbings occurred.
"They can expect to see a very large footprint of uniformed officers deployed throughout New York City, whether they go onto a train, whether they go onto a platform, and they'll be there as a long as needed," Shea said. "Five-hundred additional officers is a significant amount of resources added into the already thousands of officers already deployed by the NYPD."
Shea, joined by NYPD Transit Chief Kathleen O'Reilly and Deputy Chief of Detectives for northern Manhattan Brian McGee, said the officers will be redeployed from other assignments to help improve public safety throughout the system. Along with the extra officers, those already dispatched to stations—including plainclothes officers—are already working overtime to continue patrolling the system, according to police.
"The A line is probably going to be the safest line in the city," O'Reilly said.
Advocates for Homeless Sue N.Y.C. Subway System Over Covid Rules
NY Times
Feb. 13, 2021
Advocates for homeless people in New York City sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Friday over a series of Covid-19 rules that the suit says unfairly target people who shelter in the city's subways.
The rules prohibit people from staying in a subway station for more than an hour or after a train is taken out of service, and ban carts more than 30 inches long or wide. They were enacted on an emergency basis last April and made permanent in September.
Last spring, the pandemic and shutdowns emptied the subways of regular commuters, and dozens of transit workers died of the coronavirus. Images of trains half-filled with sleeping homeless people accompanied by the sprawl of their belongings became a symbol of a city in crisis and helped prompt Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to shut down the system every night for cleaning.
The rules' stated purposes were to "safeguard public health and safety," help first responders get to work and "maintain social distancing." But the rules exempt so many activities from the one-hour limit — including public speaking, campaigning, leafleting, artistic performances and collecting money for religious or political causes — as to make it "clearly apparent" that their real purpose is to exclude homeless people from the subways, the suit says.
The lawsuit was filed by the Urban Justice Center's Safety Net Project on behalf of Picture the Homeless and a homeless man named Barry Simon.
Mr. Simon had been ordered out by the police "dozens of times" while resting in a station and threatened with arrest on several occasions, according to the lawsuit. Mr. Simon, 54, was ejected from stations at least 10 times because the cart he wheels his possessions in was too big, the suit says.
Because those experiencing homelessness in New York City are disproportionately Black and Latino and people living with disabilities, the rules violate state human and civil rights law, the suit says. It also says that the rules were enacted without proper review.
Opinion: How to fix America's housing crisis: It's time for bold federal solutions
Feb. 13, 2021
Advocates for homeless people in New York City sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Friday over a series of Covid-19 rules that the suit says unfairly target people who shelter in the city's subways.
The rules prohibit people from staying in a subway station for more than an hour or after a train is taken out of service, and ban carts more than 30 inches long or wide. They were enacted on an emergency basis last April and made permanent in September.
Last spring, the pandemic and shutdowns emptied the subways of regular commuters, and dozens of transit workers died of the coronavirus. Images of trains half-filled with sleeping homeless people accompanied by the sprawl of their belongings became a symbol of a city in crisis and helped prompt Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to shut down the system every night for cleaning.
The rules' stated purposes were to "safeguard public health and safety," help first responders get to work and "maintain social distancing." But the rules exempt so many activities from the one-hour limit — including public speaking, campaigning, leafleting, artistic performances and collecting money for religious or political causes — as to make it "clearly apparent" that their real purpose is to exclude homeless people from the subways, the suit says.
The lawsuit was filed by the Urban Justice Center's Safety Net Project on behalf of Picture the Homeless and a homeless man named Barry Simon.
Mr. Simon had been ordered out by the police "dozens of times" while resting in a station and threatened with arrest on several occasions, according to the lawsuit. Mr. Simon, 54, was ejected from stations at least 10 times because the cart he wheels his possessions in was too big, the suit says.
Because those experiencing homelessness in New York City are disproportionately Black and Latino and people living with disabilities, the rules violate state human and civil rights law, the suit says. It also says that the rules were enacted without proper review.
Opinion: How to fix America's housing crisis: It's time for bold federal solutions
NY Daily News
Feb. 13, 2021
President Biden promised to protect vulnerable Americans, and, in the early days of his administration, he is delivering on that promise — but he must go even further to solve a housing emergency that dwarfs even the 2008 crisis. The reality is that municipal and state governments simply do not have the resources at their disposal to handle this challenge and will be relying on Washington for leadership and resources.
Unfortunately, the current federal safety net is not equipped to handle a housing crisis of this magnitude. Additional emergency rental assistance is needed to stave off evictions and support must also be provided to the most vulnerable homeowners to avoid foreclosure. The good news is that Congress is working with the Biden administration to advance a new emergency relief bill that includes additional aid to renters and at-risk homeowners. He also now has an opportunity to build a new housing safety net and re-imagine federal housing policy overall. By doing so, he will not just help America recover from the pandemic. He will also pave the path of a more equitable America in the long term- one where every citizen has a decent, safe and affordable home.
This should begin by acknowledging housing is a human right rather than a political issue with funding levels subject to infighting. Biden laid out a vision for housing equality on the campaign trail in which every American eligible for Section 8 rental assistance would receive aid. This visionary proposal would substantially reduce the national poverty rate by moving 9 million people in the United States out of poverty, including 3 million out of deep poverty.
As it currently stands, this program is so limited by funding constraints that a stunning three-quarters of eligible households do not receive any assistance. This can be changed by fully funding the program and moving Section 8 and Section 9′s public housing to the mandatory federal budget, where they would be far less vulnerable to annual cuts.
Such a move — which would cost a fraction of the Trump tax cuts and cut the national poverty rate by a quarter — would instantly transform the lives of countless families while also providing much-needed financial security to public housing authorities like NYCHA by injecting new resources. Those resources would help finance an estimated capital deficit of $40 billion and allow for significant operating savings through energy upgrades.
But establishing a housing safety net should be just step one. We also need to address the severe shortage of affordable housing that underpins so much of housing insecurity in the first place: The National Low-Income Housing Coalition estimates that America has a 7-million-unit affordable rental housing shortage.
We should launch a national 10-year housing production supply goal of 7 million affordable homes to kickstart the economy. A new affordable housing taskforce can oversee the progress of development and preservation of affordable rental housing and the creation of affordable homeownership opportunities with coordination and strategic planning across tax and budget programs (the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Treasury, Department of Agriculture, Department of Veterans Affairs and others) to achieve this goal.
Before he took office, Biden issued a blueprint for a $640 billion housing plan over the next decade that would expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and existing HUD programs. This would not just create housing. It will also stimulate our economy: Housing tax credit investments have supported more than 5.2 million jobs and generated $206 billion in tax revenue and $593 billion in wages and business income since the program's inception.
Exempting private activity bonds from state volume caps, when used to preserve HUD-assisted housing, would complement this effort and ensure the preservation of our nation's most affordable housing. Congress just established a minimum investment floor for the tax credits generated with private activity bonds, ensuring they will be a reliable countercyclical tool to stimulate housing production across the country.
We should enact this plan immediately: it is precisely the kick-start our economy needs right now.
And, finally, as we focus on this rental housing shortage, we must also address the long-standing racial homeownership gap exacerbating disparities in generational wealth. Allocating additional resources to down payment assistance programs, as President Biden has promised, would go a long way towards addressing the shameful legacy of discriminatory lending and housing policies.
Each of these changes aligns with the Biden administration's priorities for economic recovery and racial equity. Taken together, they would help usher in a new era in our history: one in which every American, no matter where they live, has access to an affordable home.
The blueprint is clear. We have to be bold enough to follow it.
Fee is the executive director of the New York Housing Conference. Jeffries represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Opinion: Finally, a NYCHA rescue plan
Feb. 13, 2021
President Biden promised to protect vulnerable Americans, and, in the early days of his administration, he is delivering on that promise — but he must go even further to solve a housing emergency that dwarfs even the 2008 crisis. The reality is that municipal and state governments simply do not have the resources at their disposal to handle this challenge and will be relying on Washington for leadership and resources.
Unfortunately, the current federal safety net is not equipped to handle a housing crisis of this magnitude. Additional emergency rental assistance is needed to stave off evictions and support must also be provided to the most vulnerable homeowners to avoid foreclosure. The good news is that Congress is working with the Biden administration to advance a new emergency relief bill that includes additional aid to renters and at-risk homeowners. He also now has an opportunity to build a new housing safety net and re-imagine federal housing policy overall. By doing so, he will not just help America recover from the pandemic. He will also pave the path of a more equitable America in the long term- one where every citizen has a decent, safe and affordable home.
This should begin by acknowledging housing is a human right rather than a political issue with funding levels subject to infighting. Biden laid out a vision for housing equality on the campaign trail in which every American eligible for Section 8 rental assistance would receive aid. This visionary proposal would substantially reduce the national poverty rate by moving 9 million people in the United States out of poverty, including 3 million out of deep poverty.
As it currently stands, this program is so limited by funding constraints that a stunning three-quarters of eligible households do not receive any assistance. This can be changed by fully funding the program and moving Section 8 and Section 9′s public housing to the mandatory federal budget, where they would be far less vulnerable to annual cuts.
Such a move — which would cost a fraction of the Trump tax cuts and cut the national poverty rate by a quarter — would instantly transform the lives of countless families while also providing much-needed financial security to public housing authorities like NYCHA by injecting new resources. Those resources would help finance an estimated capital deficit of $40 billion and allow for significant operating savings through energy upgrades.
But establishing a housing safety net should be just step one. We also need to address the severe shortage of affordable housing that underpins so much of housing insecurity in the first place: The National Low-Income Housing Coalition estimates that America has a 7-million-unit affordable rental housing shortage.
We should launch a national 10-year housing production supply goal of 7 million affordable homes to kickstart the economy. A new affordable housing taskforce can oversee the progress of development and preservation of affordable rental housing and the creation of affordable homeownership opportunities with coordination and strategic planning across tax and budget programs (the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the Treasury, Department of Agriculture, Department of Veterans Affairs and others) to achieve this goal.
Before he took office, Biden issued a blueprint for a $640 billion housing plan over the next decade that would expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and existing HUD programs. This would not just create housing. It will also stimulate our economy: Housing tax credit investments have supported more than 5.2 million jobs and generated $206 billion in tax revenue and $593 billion in wages and business income since the program's inception.
Exempting private activity bonds from state volume caps, when used to preserve HUD-assisted housing, would complement this effort and ensure the preservation of our nation's most affordable housing. Congress just established a minimum investment floor for the tax credits generated with private activity bonds, ensuring they will be a reliable countercyclical tool to stimulate housing production across the country.
We should enact this plan immediately: it is precisely the kick-start our economy needs right now.
And, finally, as we focus on this rental housing shortage, we must also address the long-standing racial homeownership gap exacerbating disparities in generational wealth. Allocating additional resources to down payment assistance programs, as President Biden has promised, would go a long way towards addressing the shameful legacy of discriminatory lending and housing policies.
Each of these changes aligns with the Biden administration's priorities for economic recovery and racial equity. Taken together, they would help usher in a new era in our history: one in which every American, no matter where they live, has access to an affordable home.
The blueprint is clear. We have to be bold enough to follow it.
Fee is the executive director of the New York Housing Conference. Jeffries represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Opinion: Finally, a NYCHA rescue plan
Feb. 11, 2021
New York has a great shot at finally solving the decades-old chronic funding crisis that has crippled the city's public housing authority. The question is whether our leaders have the will and the nerve to move beyond past failures and seize the chance to transform our largest source of permanently affordable housing.
For decades, the federal government has cut back on funding for public housing across the country, leaving New York struggling to pay for elevators, plumbing, roofs, removal of poisonous lead paint and other upkeep of its 170,000 apartments. NYCHA needs an estimated $40 billion to bring its developments to a state of good repair.
That $40 billion — a figure that increases by about $1 billion every year — is important. When candidates for mayor and other politicians promise to come up with one or two billion for NYCHA, it all sounds very dramatic, but we've reached the point where these small, partial solutions won't cut it.
The crisis is thoroughly bipartisan. NYCHA's capital backlog was not cured during the Obama administration, when Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress from 2009 to 2010, and the situation did not meaningfully improve when Republicans controlled all three branches of government in 2017-2018.
Instead, our cash-starved housing authority has continued to fight a losing battle to keep apartments in decent shape, knowing they lacked the money to even begin doing so — a policy that amounts to demolition by neglect.
Enter Greg Russ, the current chairman of the New York City Housing Authority, named as CEO by the federal Justice Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development following a series of scandals in NYCHA management.
Russ has proposed a blueprint to secure a vast amount of funding to repair the authority's crumbling, leaky and moldy apartments. His idea is to create a Public Housing Preservation Trust that would pool money from multiple sources, including appropriations from city, state and federal governments and funding from federal Section 8 and Tenant Protection Vouchers.
The money in the Trust would act as a kind of collateral, allowing the Trust to raise six times as much borrowed capital by selling bonds. Ironclad legal restrictions would ensure that all housing would remain permanently public and affordable, with tenants charged no more than 30% of their income.
It's the first strategy in a long time that might bring in the tens of billions of dollars needed by NYCHA — and on one level, it's surprisingly simple. In purely financial terms, the Trust idea is akin to the way New York has paid for schools, bridges, tunnels and other public works for decades.
But New Yorkers, especially public housing residents, have endured so many failures by NYCHA over the years that even Russ's very sound plan is drawing a response that risks blowing past skepticism into a kind of toxic defeatism.
"I don't trust the Trust," Assemblyman Charles Barron said at a hearing on the plan in December.
"I have some serious concerns about the Trust and the vouchers proposal," said Assemblyman Ron Kim.
"This is not the model that I can say that I support wholeheartedly at this time," said Assemblywoman Latrice Walker.
The leader of the NYCHA tenants group was a naysayer as well.
"The Citywide Council of Presidents do not agree with the blueprint plan for change," said Daniel Barber, the chairman of Citywide Council of Presidents.
The negative reaction is based on years of bad experiences with NYCHA. Multiple plans to reorganize the authority's management and change broken processes have come to grief.
There is also a persistent, paralyzing and baseless conspiracy theory that New York real estate interests are quietly plotting to buy up public housing and evict all the tenants. (As with many conspiracy theories, the fact there's zero evidence is cited as evidence of just how secret and devious the scheme is.)
Not all stakeholders are sour on the proposal. Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, which represents the majority of NYCHA employees, says he's open to the plan, especially since there aren't many alternatives coming from Albany or anywhere else that reach the scale of the billions needed to save public housing.
"The greatest risk, as we see it, is maintaining the status quo," Russ said, telling my NY1 colleague Courtney Gross: "If someone has a better set of ideas — if someone could generate as much money in the time that we're talking about — we'd be glad to chat with them."
Me too.
Politicians and activists who want to shoot down the prospect of billions of dollars have a political and moral obligation to tell the rest of us exactly where they plan to find $40 billion in the next few years.
Don't hold your breath waiting.
Louis is political anchor of NY1 News.
This Queens Special Election Likely Real Test For Ranked-Choice Voting, As Locals Head To The Polls
New York has a great shot at finally solving the decades-old chronic funding crisis that has crippled the city's public housing authority. The question is whether our leaders have the will and the nerve to move beyond past failures and seize the chance to transform our largest source of permanently affordable housing.
For decades, the federal government has cut back on funding for public housing across the country, leaving New York struggling to pay for elevators, plumbing, roofs, removal of poisonous lead paint and other upkeep of its 170,000 apartments. NYCHA needs an estimated $40 billion to bring its developments to a state of good repair.
That $40 billion — a figure that increases by about $1 billion every year — is important. When candidates for mayor and other politicians promise to come up with one or two billion for NYCHA, it all sounds very dramatic, but we've reached the point where these small, partial solutions won't cut it.
The crisis is thoroughly bipartisan. NYCHA's capital backlog was not cured during the Obama administration, when Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress from 2009 to 2010, and the situation did not meaningfully improve when Republicans controlled all three branches of government in 2017-2018.
Instead, our cash-starved housing authority has continued to fight a losing battle to keep apartments in decent shape, knowing they lacked the money to even begin doing so — a policy that amounts to demolition by neglect.
Enter Greg Russ, the current chairman of the New York City Housing Authority, named as CEO by the federal Justice Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development following a series of scandals in NYCHA management.
Russ has proposed a blueprint to secure a vast amount of funding to repair the authority's crumbling, leaky and moldy apartments. His idea is to create a Public Housing Preservation Trust that would pool money from multiple sources, including appropriations from city, state and federal governments and funding from federal Section 8 and Tenant Protection Vouchers.
The money in the Trust would act as a kind of collateral, allowing the Trust to raise six times as much borrowed capital by selling bonds. Ironclad legal restrictions would ensure that all housing would remain permanently public and affordable, with tenants charged no more than 30% of their income.
It's the first strategy in a long time that might bring in the tens of billions of dollars needed by NYCHA — and on one level, it's surprisingly simple. In purely financial terms, the Trust idea is akin to the way New York has paid for schools, bridges, tunnels and other public works for decades.
But New Yorkers, especially public housing residents, have endured so many failures by NYCHA over the years that even Russ's very sound plan is drawing a response that risks blowing past skepticism into a kind of toxic defeatism.
"I don't trust the Trust," Assemblyman Charles Barron said at a hearing on the plan in December.
"I have some serious concerns about the Trust and the vouchers proposal," said Assemblyman Ron Kim.
"This is not the model that I can say that I support wholeheartedly at this time," said Assemblywoman Latrice Walker.
The leader of the NYCHA tenants group was a naysayer as well.
"The Citywide Council of Presidents do not agree with the blueprint plan for change," said Daniel Barber, the chairman of Citywide Council of Presidents.
The negative reaction is based on years of bad experiences with NYCHA. Multiple plans to reorganize the authority's management and change broken processes have come to grief.
There is also a persistent, paralyzing and baseless conspiracy theory that New York real estate interests are quietly plotting to buy up public housing and evict all the tenants. (As with many conspiracy theories, the fact there's zero evidence is cited as evidence of just how secret and devious the scheme is.)
Not all stakeholders are sour on the proposal. Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, which represents the majority of NYCHA employees, says he's open to the plan, especially since there aren't many alternatives coming from Albany or anywhere else that reach the scale of the billions needed to save public housing.
"The greatest risk, as we see it, is maintaining the status quo," Russ said, telling my NY1 colleague Courtney Gross: "If someone has a better set of ideas — if someone could generate as much money in the time that we're talking about — we'd be glad to chat with them."
Me too.
Politicians and activists who want to shoot down the prospect of billions of dollars have a political and moral obligation to tell the rest of us exactly where they plan to find $40 billion in the next few years.
Don't hold your breath waiting.
Louis is political anchor of NY1 News.
This Queens Special Election Likely Real Test For Ranked-Choice Voting, As Locals Head To The Polls
Gothamist
Feb. 13, 2021
Early voting starts Saturday for residents of the 31st Council District covering parts of the Rockaway Peninsula, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, and Rosedale. The special election, replacing Donovan Richards who was elected Queens Borough President in November, has attracted an array of candidates in what may be the first real test of ranked-choice voting in New York City.
The contest follows the February 2nd election in the 24th Council District in eastern Queens, where James Gennaro, a former councilmember with big name recognition, easily won a majority. In securing more than 50% of the vote, his win denied voters the chance to see how ranked-choice voting can work. The process, which went into effect this year, is supposed to level the playing field for new and lesser known candidates by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. The lowest ranked candidate is eliminated in rounds until one candidate emerges with majority support.
And with such low name recognition in the 31st Council District race, ranked-choice voting will play a larger role when compared to the 24th Council District race.
"Here we have nine candidates and I don't think any of them bring the same type of bloc of votes where they could get 50% on that first ballot," David Brand, managing editor of the Queens Daily Eagle, said. "So I'm really looking forward to see who is able to appeal to people as second choice or as a third choice."
The three candidates who've raised the most money include Manny Silva, a community organizer and former chief of staff to Richards, Selvena Brooks-Powers, who has worked in government and for labor unions and has the backing of both Richards and Queens Democratic Party boss and Representative Gregory Meeks, and Pesach Orsina, who nearly beat Richards in a prior election and hails from the Jewish Orthodox community.
Mark Healy, editor in chief of The Wave, said Orsina is known in Far Rockaway, an area he said has been ignored by the city for a long time. Whoever wins the seat, he said, will be confronted with lingering issues like Superstorm Sandy recovery, poor transit, and the devastation wrought by the pandemic.
"People seem to think that Superstorm Sandy came and went and maybe it did in other communities," he said. "In Rockaway, as several of the candidates brought up, we are still dealing with all kinds of issues."
According to census data from 2010, which is the last time the country did a full count of the population, 160,123 people were living in 31st Council District, in which 68% of residents identified as Black, 10% white, and 16% were Latino. In 2013, the last time a special election was held, 9,147 of them voted. Richards, who is Black, received 2,646 votes and Orsina, who had a strong following among Orthodox Jewish voters, was right behind him with 2,567 votes.
The ongoing pandemic will further complicate voter turnout. Early voting begins Saturday and extends until election day, February 23rd. Early voting hours vary daily. Click here for a full list of early voting times and locations.
New Editorial Leader Announced for City Limits
Feb. 13, 2021
Early voting starts Saturday for residents of the 31st Council District covering parts of the Rockaway Peninsula, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, and Rosedale. The special election, replacing Donovan Richards who was elected Queens Borough President in November, has attracted an array of candidates in what may be the first real test of ranked-choice voting in New York City.
The contest follows the February 2nd election in the 24th Council District in eastern Queens, where James Gennaro, a former councilmember with big name recognition, easily won a majority. In securing more than 50% of the vote, his win denied voters the chance to see how ranked-choice voting can work. The process, which went into effect this year, is supposed to level the playing field for new and lesser known candidates by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. The lowest ranked candidate is eliminated in rounds until one candidate emerges with majority support.
And with such low name recognition in the 31st Council District race, ranked-choice voting will play a larger role when compared to the 24th Council District race.
"Here we have nine candidates and I don't think any of them bring the same type of bloc of votes where they could get 50% on that first ballot," David Brand, managing editor of the Queens Daily Eagle, said. "So I'm really looking forward to see who is able to appeal to people as second choice or as a third choice."
The three candidates who've raised the most money include Manny Silva, a community organizer and former chief of staff to Richards, Selvena Brooks-Powers, who has worked in government and for labor unions and has the backing of both Richards and Queens Democratic Party boss and Representative Gregory Meeks, and Pesach Orsina, who nearly beat Richards in a prior election and hails from the Jewish Orthodox community.
Mark Healy, editor in chief of The Wave, said Orsina is known in Far Rockaway, an area he said has been ignored by the city for a long time. Whoever wins the seat, he said, will be confronted with lingering issues like Superstorm Sandy recovery, poor transit, and the devastation wrought by the pandemic.
"People seem to think that Superstorm Sandy came and went and maybe it did in other communities," he said. "In Rockaway, as several of the candidates brought up, we are still dealing with all kinds of issues."
According to census data from 2010, which is the last time the country did a full count of the population, 160,123 people were living in 31st Council District, in which 68% of residents identified as Black, 10% white, and 16% were Latino. In 2013, the last time a special election was held, 9,147 of them voted. Richards, who is Black, received 2,646 votes and Orsina, who had a strong following among Orthodox Jewish voters, was right behind him with 2,567 votes.
The ongoing pandemic will further complicate voter turnout. Early voting begins Saturday and extends until election day, February 23rd. Early voting hours vary daily. Click here for a full list of early voting times and locations.
New Editorial Leader Announced for City Limits
City Limits
Feb. 12, 2021
City Limits on Friday announced that Jeanmarie Evelly, a member of the staff since 2018, will be the next editorial leader of the award-winning nonprofit newsroom, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
Evelly's promotion to Executive Editor, effective Feb. 15, was announced by Mark Edmiston, chair of the City Limits board of trustees, and Marjorie Martay, the executive director.
A veteran of DNAinfo and Norwood News, Evelly is currently City Limits' managing editor and was previously deputy editor. She has operated and expanded the City Limits Accountability Reporting Initiative for Youth (CLARIFY) paid youth training program while reporting on transit, politics, COVID, and other topics. She won Clarion Awards in 2019 and 2020 for her transit coverage.
Evelly replaces Jarrett Murphy, who has been City Limits' editorial leader since 2010 and with the organization since 2007. Murphy will become Editor at Large covering the 2021 city campaign until he departs City Limits in May to attend nursing school. After his departure, he will remain a part of City Limits as Contributing Editor.
"Jarrett has provided the people of New York with comprehensive coverage and clear insight into the most pressing issues facing our city for more than ten years. His record of outstanding journalism is the equal of any while also leading a successful transition from print to electronic media," says Board Chair Mark Edmiston. "In Jeanmarie we are fortunate that we have within our own organization a successor whose record and commitment to high quality journalism gives us the confidence that she will lead City Limits to even higher levels of success."
***email Jarrett to wish him good luck. He lives in CD11.
Feb. 12, 2021
City Limits on Friday announced that Jeanmarie Evelly, a member of the staff since 2018, will be the next editorial leader of the award-winning nonprofit newsroom, which is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
Evelly's promotion to Executive Editor, effective Feb. 15, was announced by Mark Edmiston, chair of the City Limits board of trustees, and Marjorie Martay, the executive director.
A veteran of DNAinfo and Norwood News, Evelly is currently City Limits' managing editor and was previously deputy editor. She has operated and expanded the City Limits Accountability Reporting Initiative for Youth (CLARIFY) paid youth training program while reporting on transit, politics, COVID, and other topics. She won Clarion Awards in 2019 and 2020 for her transit coverage.
Evelly replaces Jarrett Murphy, who has been City Limits' editorial leader since 2010 and with the organization since 2007. Murphy will become Editor at Large covering the 2021 city campaign until he departs City Limits in May to attend nursing school. After his departure, he will remain a part of City Limits as Contributing Editor.
"Jarrett has provided the people of New York with comprehensive coverage and clear insight into the most pressing issues facing our city for more than ten years. His record of outstanding journalism is the equal of any while also leading a successful transition from print to electronic media," says Board Chair Mark Edmiston. "In Jeanmarie we are fortunate that we have within our own organization a successor whose record and commitment to high quality journalism gives us the confidence that she will lead City Limits to even higher levels of success."
***email Jarrett to wish him good luck. He lives in CD11.
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