By Nick Powell

Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlined his preliminary budget for fiscal year 2014 last Tuesday, emphasizing that the budget will be balanced without any tax increases. But what stood out was the glaring loss of $724 million in state education funding over the next two years, a consequence of the lack of progress over negotiating a teacher evaluation plan with the United Federation of Teachers.

The $250 million loss this year will be reflected in immediate cuts to child care and after-school programs, and would result in a loss of up to 700 teachers through attrition. The city will forfeit $250 million in aid in the next fiscal year too, plus another $224 million in the state executive budget if the two sides do not reach an agreement by Sept. 1, meaning another 1,800 teachers could be lost through attrition.

State Education Commissioner John King recently wrote to Bloomberg that he plans to baseline that $250 million loss for the next four years—resulting in a potential four-year loss of roughly $1 billion in state education funding—if discussions between the city and the teachers union remain stalled.

Bloomberg said the city was spending $8 billion more per year on education than when he first took office, and while the state’s education aid has plateaued in the last four fiscal years around the $19-21 billion range, it has also generally increased from 2002-03, when the state spent $14.6 billion. Still, the mayor accused the state of turning its back on the city’s children by imposing the school aid penalties.

“We’re not walking away from education in spite of the fact that I would argue the state’s walking away from us,” Bloomberg said.

Later, in a testy exchange with a reporter, he remarked that the one-year teacher evaluation agreements that 99 percent of the state’s school districts have signed are a “sham” and a “joke” because they violate state law that requires a two-year period to evaluate a teacher. He added that Gov. Andrew Cuomo “can’t just snap his fingers” to make the school districts agree to another teacher evaluation deal after this year.

However, the mayor said that he would happily take the $250 million in education aid should he be able to reach a deal with the teachers union in the coming days. The mayor left open the possibility of coming to an agreement, but hardly sounded optimistic.

“I said from day one, we can come to an agreement with them, we talk every day,” Bloomberg said. “But fundamentally you’re asking a union to let its members be evaluated, and discriminate, and have distinctions based on productivity rather than based on seniority, and essentially unions have always been opposed to that, but we’ll see.”

Meanwhile, UFT President Michael Mulgrew testified in front of the Legislature on Tuesday, where legislators grilled him on the failed teacher evaluation agreement. Mulgrew continued to blame Bloomberg and education officials for not negotiating in good faith.

“We had 40 plans from different cities during negotiations, and they were not interested in copying another city’s plan,” Mulgrew said.

Despite the lack of progress on a deal, Mulgrew said he reached out to Bloomberg to set up a future negotiation date, but that has not been scheduled yet.

In addition to the loss in state education aid, $135 million will be cut from after-school and child care programs that service more than 47,000 children, many from low-income families. The specter of this cut, among others, set off angry responses from child care advocates.

“Just like last year, 47,000 children are set to lose access to after-school and early education programs—programs proven to help children succeed while parents work to support their families,” said Michelle Yanche, assistant executive director for government and external relations at Good Shepherd Services, on behalf of the Campaign for Children, a coalition of child care advocacy groups. “The same parents and providers will be forced to fight for the same funding that they were just given a few months ago. How can this be happening, after all we’ve heard from our city leaders about making children a priority?”

With reporting by Aaron Short. A version of this story originally appeared on the
website of City & State, cityandstateny.com.

New Yorkers helped re-elect President Barack Obama last week, but not without some technical difficulties.

The damages wrought on the city by Hurricane Sandy prompted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to issue an order that residents who had evacuated their homes could vote at any poll site in the state by using affidavit ballots. Many sites failed to get word of the order, which went out only the day before the election, however, and some city polls quickly ran out of the 250 affidavits that the city printed for each election district.

Jammed ballot scanners added to the confusion of relocated polling sites and affidavits, which together resulted in lines that stretched blocks. At some sites, voters waited three hours or more to cast their votes.

The city’s Upper East and Upper West sides were particularly burdened with delays. Many storm-struck New York residents fled to friends’ and relatives’ homes in the city’s less-damaged neighborhoods last week, so these polling sites were disproportionately crowded.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticized the Board of Elections for failing to be organized. The Board of Elections, in turn, argued that it did not have enough time to train poll workers following Cuomo’s order.

LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER REOPENS OUTPATIENT FACILITIES

After a backup generator failure and subsequent full evacuation during Hurricane Sandy, New York University’s Langone Medical Center made progress last week toward fully reopening by resuming outpatient care on Friday.

The award-winning medical center, which includes the NYU School of Medicine and three hospitals, re-launched its ambulatory care centers and faculty group practices earlier in the week, and by Friday was fully equipped to take on short-term (non-overnight) patients.

The medical center’s First Avenue location near East 32nd Street made it particularly susceptible to East River flooding, which knocked out the backup generator and caused extensive damage to the buildings’ lower levels. The medical center predicts that it was hit by a storm surge of close to 14 feet. Hospital workers spent hours on Oct. 29 moving patients out of the buildings during the storm, some down many flights of stairs. Patients were moved to other hospitals in the city, including St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, Mount Sinai and Lenox Hill.

As of Monday, the Langone Medical Center’s inpatient (long-term) services, labs, pharmacy and emergency department remained closed. NYU was still assessing the extent of the damage to the building and its facilities caused by the storm, and no official full reopening date for the medical center had been set.

CITY RATIONS GASOLINE

In its second week of fuel shortage following Hurricane Sandy, New York City began rationing gasoline last Friday in an attempt to restock its dwindling supply. Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Thursday, Nov. 9, that gas stations would begin restricting sales to vehicles with even-numbered license plates on even days of the month and odd-numbered plates on odd days. (Taxis, buses and emergency vehicles were exempted.)

The rationing came despite Bloomberg’s and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s earlier assurances that fuel supplies would return to normal shortly after the storm. Hurricane Sandy jeopardized supplies by cutting power to gas stations across the city, damaging refineries and crippling the fuel distribution network of ports and terminals. Last week’s nor’easter delayed replenishment efforts by interrupting petroleum terminal repairs and further slowing fuel shipments.

In his announcement, Bloomberg noted that the shortage could last another week or more. He also said that only a fourth of the city’s roughly 800 gas stations were in operation at any given time. The NYPD assigned police officers to all open stations last week to keep order. At some stations, waits in line stretched beyond three hours.

Why Cuomo, Bloomberg and even Christie should be talking that day

The plan for this year’s 9/11 commemoration sounds an awful lot like last year’s, especially since word came down that no public officials will deliver remarks. No speeches, especially anything deemed “political,” shall mar the reading of the names of those lost on that terrible day.

This news has been cheered, especially by some newspaper editorial boards that should know better. Newsday, in particular, says the reading of the names has an “elegant simplicity.” That’s in line with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who last year told NY1 that the families of the dead “don’t need political lectures,” as if any speaker would aim to annoy the crowd.

The reading of the names, which at this stage seems to do little to put a still-raw historical act into present-day context, is considered sacrosanct. But our elected officials have been silenced again. Not to mention—although someone should—our poets, academics and religious leaders, probably in order of importance.

The no-speakers stand seems tremendously popular. But it’s also ridiculous.

For eons, and in cultures of all sorts, leaders have been expected to draw conclusions and share them with the people they are elected to serve. It’s one of the responsibilities of leadership, to find words in impossibly difficult situations, to give voice to our common experience.
Sure, it’s hard. And yes, leaders mostly fail to meet the challenge. The exceptions, though, create historical moments. What if someone had told Abraham Lincoln not to give the Gettysburg Address because nobody wanted to hear him tackle a hot-button issue? Can you picture Franklin Roosevelt, during World War II, being given a list of names of deceased soldiers to read and told to say nothing else?
Sixty-seven years after FDR’s death, though, our politicians are terrified of politics, or at least being deemed “political” by the dumbed-down culture that confuses the words “politics” and “partisan.” Ours is a world with little interest in the common good or even the slightest healthy debate about what that might mean. The civics class belongs to another age, not ours. We love our cell phones, not our post office. We outsource wars or figure someone else can volunteer. Somewhere along the line, the Me Decade became a new Me Century. “Don’t be political” is pretty much our only rallying cry.

It’s been this way for a while now, so it is unsurprising to see us privatizing our grief, too, and wrongly insisting that 9/11 events belong only to the deeply affected families. The reading of the names has been a powerful and valuable tradition and should continue if others want it to, but when do our leaders lead and take the ceremonies on that awful anniversary to another level? Never?

The irony is that we have a couple of politicians around who might be able to speak a memorable phrase or two. Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives good speech. Bloomberg has a talent for telling people what they don’t want to hear. That might help inspire something substantial. Give, gulp, Gov. Chris Christie a chance to say a few words. Maybe he won’t even call anyone an idiot during his turn on the dais.
Throw in a few others, knowing that picking and choosing is an admittedly messy business. Then let the speakers dare to give us a slightly new way of thinking of that horrific moment and this anxious one.

The point isn’t the quality, year to year, of the speeches. It is that in decrying politics of all kinds in any sensitive situation, we create a content-free culture. No wonder we wind up with political campaigns about peripheral issues.

There is no getting around the need for politics or political speech. Banning it is a lousy way to commemorate anything in a democracy.

Christopher Moore is a writer living in Manhattan. He is available by email at ccmnj@aol.com and on Twitter @cmoorenyc.

Wolfson takes to the Twittersphere to defend the Bloomberg administration

When Mayor Michael Bloomberg is under attack, one trusty weapon in Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson’s arsenal is the tweet.

Wolfson, Bloomberg’s deputy mayor for government affairs and communications, has been garnering attention in recent months for taking to the Twittersphere to go after the administration’s critics, from elected officials like Public Advocate Bill de Blasio to journalists and news outlets like The New York Times.

“I think it has the benefit of being unfiltered and immediate, and those are two things that are difficult to find elsewhere,” Wolfson said of his use of Twitter. “Although it limits one to 140 characters, it does give you the freedom to say what you want to say, when you want to say it and speak directly to the audience that is following you.”

Wolfson, who has been tweeting for several years as @howiewolf, said he used the social media website during the 2009 Bloomberg campaign to engage Bill Thompson, the mayor’s Democratic challenger. And like many Twitter users, he regularly mixes in his outside interests (Major League Baseball, Bruce Springsteen) with work-related matters (proposed soda size restrictions, bike lanes).

Here’s a selection of his Twitter exchanges.

To read the full article at City & State click here.

Julie Menin speaking at an event last year. Photo courtesy of PMC.

WINNERS

Charles Rangel - The octogenarian congressman can finally exhale after his primary challenger, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, conceded for a second time amid ballot irregularities. It is unclear whether Rangel will consider running again in 2014, and Adam Clayton Powell IV is already calling dibs on the seat, but the veteran lawmaker will certainly relish his commute to the Beltway for another two years.

Michael Bloomberg – Word on the street is the mayor hopes his post-mayor role is one of activist philanthropy, and we got another glimpse of what that would be like this week when he made a $50 million gift to support family planning in poorer countries. And we wonder if the mayor, as chairman of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, had any hand in the decision this week to ban political speeches at the site on the attack anniversary. Both decisions, calmly and deftly managed, show good judgment.

Eliot Spitzer – Okay, so the former governor may never have a political career again, and he hasn’t been a raving success as a national pundit, but we are interested to see where his stint as a NY1 Wiseguy takes him. For his opening show, Spitzer took an opportunity to offer some advice to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which is just about the brazen-est thing we can think of. With so few people who have a chance at political office willing to go out on a limb to talk about Cuomo, Spitzer could serve an important function as a person willing to criticize the state’s executive, on the record and in the open. This could be a good look for the ex-gov.

Julie Menin – Fourteen months before the Democratic primary for Manhattan borough president, Julie Menin has already maxed out on fundraising, raising as much as she’s possibly allowed to spend under New York City’s matching funds program. That will allow Menin to simply focus on campaigning, while rivals like Gale Brewer, Robert Jackson and Jessica Lappin are still dialing for dollars. Of course, Menin’s early success makes us think that she might be wise just to opt out of the matching funds program and raise more, unlimited amounts of cash.

Dean Skelos - An early leak by the Senate Republicans indicated that the GOP will have something like five times as much cash on hand as the Senate Democrats — who aren’t even trying to pay off their remaining debt anymore. Add to that the fact that Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t ruling out backing Republicans for Senate seats, and it’s almost tempting to declare the 2012 battle for Senate supremacy over. Unless a lot more members of the Senate Republican conference decide to follow Marty Golden’s lead and throw events on feminine “deportment,” it’s going to be quite the uphill battle for the Senate Democrats.

LOSERS

Mark Levine – His time may be coming, but it’s not here quite yet. The upper Manhattan Democratic district leader latched onto the congressional campaign of a former foe, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, while looking to run for Espaillat’s seat if it came open. But now that Espaillat’s narrow loss to longtime Congressman Charlie Rangel is official, and Espaillat has officially decided to run for re-election to the Senate, Levine has little choice but to again take up his candidacy in a crowded field for a seat in the New York City Council.

Ed Cox – The last person you want to get into a public dispute with when you’re a state party chair is your party’s nominee for President, but that’s exactly what Ed Cox did this week by insisting that the Republican convention delegates he selected be seated, instead of assenting to the list of delegates the Romney campaign had expected him to rubber stamp. In the era of drama-free national conventions, the Romney campaign has made it loud and clear (off the record, of course) that they don’t appreciate the former First Son-in-Law’s dissent, threatening to strip Cox of the authority to introduce the New York delegation at the big show. While Cox’s staff hastened to emphasize that everyone was working in lock step to elect Romney, one wonders if for Cox an Obama victory might actually be better for his personal political prospects.

Rob Astorino – The Westchester County executive may simply be doing what’s best for his constituents in pushing for more details – and more transit – on the Tappan Zee Bridge, but now that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has aggressively amped up his public relations campaign behind his plans for a new bridge, Astorino is feeling the governor’s wrath. Larry Schwartz, the secretary to the governor, got another critic of the governor’s plans, Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef, to side with Cuomo, and that isolates Astorino, the “Republican rising star” who’s lately been painted simply as a unrealistic flip-flopper driven by political ambitions.

Kevin Burke – No summer vacation for ConEdison chairman Kevin Burke, who’s entering another week of lockout with his utility workers over a union contract dispute, despite the fact the workers are the same people who’d help the city in the event of a heat-induced power outage. As if that weren’t bad enough, Crain’s reported yesterday ConEd is among the elusive secret donors to the Committee to Save New York, the group plugging for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget. Granted every company has its own interests to look out for, but to the public, at least for the time being, it looks like Burke’s interests are directly opposed to his workers and most of the rest of New Yorkers.

Dennis Walcott – The schools chancellor heard it from all sides this week. Newspaper editorial boards criticized his lenient penalties toward Stuvesant High School cheaters and the Bloomberg administration retreated from his plan to close 24 troubled schools. At least he’s getting outdoors on Friday to promote the city’s Free Lunch program at Orchard Beach. Soak up those rays!

To vote for this week’s top political winner and loser visit City & State by clicking here.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons.

State Senate

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he’ll back both Democrats and Republicans on a case-by-case basis.

Manhattan

Rep. Charlie Rangel re-affirmed his support for Guillermo Linares’ Senate bid.

Julie Menin has already maxed out on fundraising for the Manhattan BP race.

Brooklyn

Simcha Felder is in talks with a top GOP operative about managing Felder’s campaign – perhaps indicating the Senate GOP is behind his candidacy.

Opponent David Storobin continued to hit golf balls during a Jewish prayer at a recent charity outing.

Andrew Gounardes’ Senate campaign keeps hammering away on the Marty Golden/Feminine Presence story.

Elsewhere

Sean Patrick Maloney announced his campaign team against Nan Hayworth.

Cuomo’s next big push will be for campaign finance reform.

The New York City Board of Elections is chafing at criticism, but nonetheless is seeking improvements.

Mayor Bloomberg mocked the Board of Elections (again.)

To read more from City & State click here.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Remember Geico’s reality show spoof commercial “Tiny House”? It may be turning into even more of a reality for solitary New Yorkers who could find themselves living a little more like Alice in Wonderland after imbibing the growing potion. Or, the City could simply be updating itself to resemble living situations in comparable cities worldwide.

(by Alissa Fleck)

Mayor Bloomberg announced today a contest to design a small apartment layout—like 300 square feet small, reports Gothamist. The goal is to meet changing housing and demographic needs and put an end to rampant illegally subdivided apartments in the City.

“Developing housing that matches how New Yorkers live today is critical to the City’s continued growth, future competitiveness and long-term economic success,” said Bloomberg in a statement. 76% of New Yorkers currently live in 1-2 person households, according to Gothamist. 

The competition is called adAPT NYC and the aim is to develop a model building in the Kip’s Bay neighborhood consisting of “micro-units,” or residences smaller than what is allowed under current regulations. The statement okays designs as small as 275 square feet. According to Bloomberg, NYC housing has thus far not evolved to meet the City’s shifting demographics.

Bloomberg said the benefits and stability of affordable housing in the City outweigh the sacrifices for space. The City will temporarily waive zoning regulations for the units in the pilot program while their viability is ascertained. Rental price cannot be determined at this time, but will likely be lower than typical studio rental.

Hopefully this will simply create more options, as Bloomberg promises, rather than merely lower living standards for New Yorkers.

Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons

Manhattan

Guillermo Linares is in for a Senate run against Adriano Espaillat, while Mark Levine appears to be dropping his candidacy.

Charlie Rangel issued a statement congratulating Espaillat.

U.S. Senate

Wendy Long challenged Kirsten Gillibrand to a series of five debates.

2013 Mayoral Race

John Catsmatidis doesn’t think Christine Quinn is a lock to get Mayor Bloomberg’s endorsement.

Queens

Jerry Iannece hired the Parkside Group and picked up John Liu’s backing.

Staten Island

An Assembly candidate is trying to make hay of Marty Golden’s “feminine presence” class.

Elsewhere

After getting ballot status in 2010, the Green Party is having an easier time than usual this year.

Maggie Brooks’s fundraising haul kept her competitive with her opponent, Louise Slaughter.

To read more from City & State click here.

Via the Daily News.

A source at the New York City Board of Elections tells us that none other than John Haggerty showed up this afternoon on behalf of Republican Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich’s Senate campaign.

According to the source, Haggerty, donning a baseball cap as he entered the BOE, showed up to submit petition signatures — though Ulrich’s campaign said that Haggerty was actually there to access the BOE’s Candidate Records Unit, while a campaign staffer named Mike Michel formally submitted petitions. Yet our BOE source also says only Haggerty signed in at the Board’s front desk.

Haggerty was convicted last December of stealing $750,000 in campaign funds from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He is currently appealing the verdict, but faces up to four years in prison if he is unsuccessful.

Ulrich’s Senate campaign spokeswoman brushed off the fact that a convicted felon was seen taking a public role in the councilman’s campaign.

“We are really happy with our petitioning response,” said Ulrich spokeswoman Jessica Proud. “Council Member Ulrich turned in nearly 3,000 signatures from every corner of the senate district today.  That’s what counts.”

John Haggerty has long been a political ally of Ulrich, whose former chief of staff is Haggerty’s brother, Bart. The two brothers have unsuccessfully sought to overthrown Queens Republican Party chairman Phil Ragusa.

Well-known for his election law skills,  Haggerty has also long been a fixture during Board of Elections proceedings.

Ulrich is running in a Republican Senate primary in eastern Queens against attorney Juan Reyes, who has the support of the Queens Republican Party. Ulrich, who is the favorite in the GOP primary and has the backing of the Senate Republicans, would face Democratic State Sen. Joe Addabbo in November.

Update: An adviser to Ulrich’s campaign wrote in to note that Michel may not have signed in at the Board of Elections because, “You don’t need to sign in to submit petitions. You just need to clock them in at the desk. You need to sign in to go inside.”

To read more from City & State click here.

Mayor, Council Deliver ‘On-Time, Balanced Budget’
Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council passed a $68.5 billion budget for 2013 that will save some children’s programs and 20 fire companies.
“Working with our partners in the Council, we’ve again produced an on-time, balanced budget for our city that doesn’t raise taxes on New Yorkers and that preserves the essential services that keep our city strong,” Bloomberg said. “These actions…have allowed us avoid the severe service cuts that many other cities are facing.”
According to Bloomberg’s press release, the budget increase will allow the city to add about 1,000 teachers to the school system and about $150 million to after-school programs.
Funding for cultural institutions will be increased by roughly $50 million, slightly more than in 2012, with the city citing the institutions’ effect on tourism as a reason for the boost.
The city also expects to see $635 million in taxi medallion revenue in 2013.
“We face a significant challenge again next year, but given the effective and fiscally responsible partnership we’ve had with the Council, and the leadership we know we can rely on from Speaker Christine Quinn, I’m confident we’ll meet any challenges that arise,” Bloomberg added.

Bath Salts and Synthetic Marijuana Now Illegal
The U.S. Senate passed new legislation last Wednesday that will ban certain chemicals found in specific types of the drugs known as “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana. The ban will head to President Barack Obama for final consent.
The bill particularly targeted MDPV and mephedrone, two active ingredients found in bath salts. The salts aren’t your grandmother’s bath time treat, though—they are sold online, in smoke shops and convenience stores under brand names like Zoom, Red Dove, Legal Phunk and Vanilla Sky. When ingested, they cause hallucinations similar to the effects of cocaine or meth.
The bill will also ban 20 primary components that make up synthetic marijuana. The substance, also known as Spice, K2 or Blaze, is sold in smoke shops and delis under names like Killer Buzz and Aroma. Synthetic marijuana is essentially a mixture of plants and herbs like bay bean, blue lotus and red clover that are sprayed with chemicals. While the drug is reported to have similar effects to natural marijuana, it goes undetected on drug tests and has increased in popularity over the last two years.
Sen. Charles Schumer fought to ban these substances, citing a rash of recent crimes committed by people who were under their influence.
Earlier last month, a man in Texas under the influence of synthetic marijuana attacked his family members and the family dog. A teen in Iowa committed suicide after smoking K2, and a 17-year-old stabbed his schoolmate while high on the substance.
Recently, a 42-year-old man who had taken bath salts bit a chunk off another individual’s face in Louisiana.
“This bill closes loopholes that have allowed manufacturers to circumvent local and state bans and it ensures you can’t simply cross state lines to buy these deadly poisons,” said Schumer, who had previously expressed concern over differing state laws about the drugs. “We have seen bath salts involved in some of the most heinous crimes in recent months. With the president’s signature, we can eradicate these toxins once and for all.”

Julie Menin Leaves CB1
After a seven-year stint as chair of Community Board 1, Julie Menin left her post last Tuesday with plans to run for Manhattan borough president in 2013.
Catherine McVay Hughes, who is currently serving as vice chair, plans to fill Menin’s spot, running unopposed for the position. Hughes has lived a block away from the World Trade Center site for 24 years and has been a vocal supporter and advocate for WTC construction safety.
Highlights from Menin’s time as chair include helping raise $1 million to open Manhattan Youth’s Downtown Community Center. She also formed a housing committee to protect the existing stock of affordable housing in the downtown area.
According to the New York Times, Menin has already raised more than $450,000 to run for Manhattan borough president. Current Borough President Scott Stringer is focusing on a run for New York City mayor.