NYC Daily News Summary

Cuomo Losing Power and Allies as Crisis Deepens NY Times Feb. 3, 2021 With allegations of unsettling behavior toward women spilling into the public eye, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo spent Tuesday fending off calls for his resignation, with few voluble defenders in a moment of unparalleled weakness in his decade-long tenure in Albany. Signs of the governor's diminished sway were everywhere. A small, but expanding, coterie of Democratic lawmakers called on Mr. Cuomo to step down, as did the state Working Families Party, which has frequently clashed with the governor. Among some donors, there was an increasing sense of discomfort with reports of Mr. Cuomo's behavior and uncertainty around his future, with one active Democratic donor describing a growing instinct to "hedge their bets." Representative Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican, announced on Tuesday that he was "actively exploring" a run for governor. Still, for all that, one major bulwark to any forced departu...

Amid Great Uncertainty, City Council Begins Examining De Blasio's $92.3 Billion Preliminary Budget Gotham Gazette Mar. 2, 2021 The New York City Council on Tuesday began its examination of Mayor Bill de Blasio's $92.3 billion preliminary budget for the 2022 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The hearing was the first of many that will take place over the next few weeks as the Council digs into the mayor's final budget plan of his eight-year tenure and as key questions remain about the city's fiscal future. The coronavirus pandemic stripped the city of billions in tax revenue, creating significant budget gaps for the next several fiscal years. The city's fiscal picture has been fluid and uncertain, with billions of dollars of federal aid already flowing to the city and more expected, and a mix of lower-than-expected property tax revenue but higher-than-expected personal income tax revenue. Given the excellent overall economic pre-covid picture, the city had increased ...

DECISION 2021: TransAlt's '25 by 25′ Proposal Shakes Up Mayoral Race Streetsblog Mar. 2, 2021 Transportation Alternatives's bold plan to claw back a quarter of the city's public space from the domain of automobiles is already making waves in the mayoral race, with five top progressive candidates backing the safety and quality-of-life initiative. Others reacted tepidly or not did not return responses. Called "NYC 25 by 25," the plan asks mayoral candidates to commit to dedicating 25 percent of the space now designated for vehicles — including 19,000 miles of roads and three million on-street parking spaces — as space for people by 2025 so that New Yorkers might have room to recover from (and thrive after) the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted the city's lack of equity when it comes to active transportation and green space. The fullest-throated support for the proposal came from Comptroller Scott Stringer, who has injected a raft of pro-street-safety ...