Photo courtesy of Wiki Commons.

Laura Nahmias reports this morning:

The Cuomo administration has quietly resolved a problem created by a single line in the state’s budget that would have held up $20 million in federal aid to the state’s Conservation Fund.

The administration was able to secure the funding without an amendment to the state budget that had originally been requested by the federal government.

The offending sentence was discovered in late June, when Conservation Fund leaders and members of the New York Audubon Society learned that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service planned to block tens of millions of dollars in grants funding over a provision in the state’s budget that would have allowed the executive branch to move money out of the Conservation Fund.

The sentence was added into the budget during late night budget negotiations in March, said Audubon Society spokesman Sean Mahar. A single-sentence revision is all that would have been required to release the money, Mahar said.

“It’s a costly one-sentence line that needs to be added or we lose 20 million dollars,” Mahar said in May. ”This is a huge hit to DEC’s operating budget.”

The federal government wanted the budget language to be  amended before it released the money, but the Legislature would have had to amend the budget a day before the end of the legislative session. Such a change would have required the Cuomo administration to issue a message of necessity to get it done on time.

Instead, the administration reached out to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with a promise to change the language next year, said Jason Kemper, chairman of the New York State Conservation Fund.  In exchange, the USFWS agreed to release the money.

“The Governor’s Office has provided me with documentation that the federal aid issue has been resolved for this fiscal year and that is good news for the sportsmen and women of this state,” Kemper said.

Morris Peters, a spokesman for the Division of the Budget, confirmed  in an email that the issue had been resolved. “We received word from USFWS that they will obligate the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson funds that are currently apportioned to New York,” he said.

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

“One of the things we’ve pushed for at the BOE is to figure out a brand new way of closing these procedures to minimize the potential error that could arise,” said Commissioner J.C. Polanco at a BOE Commissioners’ meeting Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, the legislature didn’t move on any of those concerns,” he said.

The Board has been widely criticized for its handling of this primary and past elections, and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat is using vote-count errors and other reported “irregularities” from primary night as grounds for a legal challenge to the primary results, which his attorney Martin Connor filed in New York State Supreme Court today. A group called LatinoJustice is also asking the Department of Justice to investigate the Board of Elections’ handling of the primary.

Polanco deflected criticism that BOE was to blame for any of the reported problems, including stories of a shortage of bilingual poll-workers and voters turned away from polling sites, in addition to the uncounted ballots.

“What you saw that night was reporting done by the AP from numbers given to them by the NYPD,” Polanco said, adding that the NYPD was “not at all” to blame for what happened.

Polanco said the BOE was being unfairly maligned by the campaigns.

“I think its unfortunate. What’s happening is the campaigns are launching incredible vicious attacks to the hardworking men and women here at the board of elections,  and they’re based on absolutely nothing but a conspiracy theory,” he said.

“The reality is we have hardworking men and women here at the Board of Elections that are working tirelessly to make sure that each one of these ballots are counted,” he said.

Common Cause executive director Susan Lerner said the primary SNAFUs were “ par for the course.”

“This is an election where we only had a few primaries. Imagine how much worse this is going to be in September,” she said.

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

Skelos said, “It should be a violation — your following the policeman’s order … But being able to walk around with 10 joints in each ear and it only being a violation, that is wrong,” according to Capitol Tonight’s State of Politics.

Cuomo’s proposal would allow for possession of up to 25 grams of the substance to be legal out in the open air.

All of this talk about joints in ears and 25 grams of marijuana is making us wonder what 25 grams looks like. Is it bigger than a breadbox?

Here we have an offering from Cannabis.com, which purports to be exactly 25 grams.

The question, obviously, is whether or not this is enough marijuana to make 20 joints that could fit in a pair of human ears.

To read more from City & State click here.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the release of proposed regulations to limit spending for administrative costs and executive compensation at state-funded not-for-profit and for-profit service providers.

The proposed regulations are designed to implement Executive Order 38, issued by Governor Cuomo in January 2012 to limit excessive compensation and administrative expenses at service providers that receive state funds or state-authorized payments of federal funds.

When unveiling the 2012-2013 Executive Budget, Governor Cuomo highlighted cases of extreme compensation levels at not-for-profits that receive millions in taxpayer dollars. In one case, a provider receiving $19 million annually in public funds – 99% of its annual budget – had $3 million in administrative costs and paid its CEO more than $2.2 million in addition to $1 million in shareholder options.

“These regulations are designed to ensure that New York taxpayers are protected and the public’s money is spent efficiently and effectively,” Governor Cuomo said. “Our providers of services in New York State are the finest in the nation. To ensure public confidence in those hard-working providers that play by the rules, these regulations will allow the state government to identify and stop the few providers that pocket taxpayer dollars rather than use them to serve the public.”

The proposed regulations cover providers that receive more than $500,000 in state support each year and receive at least 30% of their annual funding from the state.

Executive Compensation:

The proposed regulations block providers from spending more than $199,000 in state funds for the compensation of an executive. If a provider chooses to pay an executive more than $199,000 from other sources, the provider must keep compensation below the top 25 percent in the field, as determined by a compensation survey identified or recognized by the applicable state agency. Providers that pay an executive more than $199,000 must have the compensation approved by its board of directors, including at least two independent directors and must have performed a review of comparability data. In cases where competitive imperatives or the complexity of a provider’s operations require compensation that exceeds the limits and in other instances, providers may apply for a waiver.

Administrative Expenses:

The proposed regulations require that at least 75% of a provider’s operating expenses paid for with state funds are for program services rather than administrative costs. This percentage will increase by 5% each year until it reaches 85% in 2015. Capital expenses are not affected by this restriction. Waivers are available in certain circumstances.

Reporting:

The proposed regulations require providers to report annually the public funds it has received, the compensation of its executives and highest-paid employees, and its administrative expenses. Providers can file reports electronically using a simple, state-wide form, and they will not need to report to multiple agencies. This reporting requirement has been designed to avoid duplication with existing reporting requirements with which providers already must comply.

Enforcement:

The regulations proposed today include a process for providers to apply for a waiver to restrictions on executive compensation and administrative expenses. In addition, the proposed regulations provide for an administrative review process in cases where a provider appears to be out of compliance. The review process will provide extensive opportunities for providers to be heard and to correct any non-compliance over a period of at least 6 months prior to any penalties or actions being taken against them. If a violation is ultimately found and corrective action not taken by the provider, the proposed regulations include several potential actions, including redirecting the funding or imposing penalties.

Jeff Wise, President & CEO of the New York State Rehabilitation Association, said, “NYSRA views Governor Cuomo’s compensation directive as highly sound public policy. We believe the Governor has come up with an approach that strikes just the right balance: a directive that demonstrates responsible stewardship of public dollars while giving our not-for-profit community organizations, and their volunteer boards, the capacity to meet the challenges that face them. We recognize the Governor’s need to promote fiscal responsibility at every level, and we commend his efforts to pursue this in a rational and fair manner.”

Michael Stoller, Executive Director of the Human Services Council, said, “Governor Cuomo recognizes the critical role played by the nonprofit human services sector in caring for the State’s most needy and in being, itself, an economic engine for the State. We join with him to ensure public confidence in both government and service providers by taking this important step to establish clear standards for executive compensation and administrative overhead. While technical details will need further discussion during the public comment period, these standards strike the right balance in identifying “bad apples” while not overburdening the vast majority of nonprofit providers who ably care for our neighbors and family members in need. We look forward to working closely with the Governor and his staff in completing these regulations and in developing the most efficient, effective, and compassionate system of care the world has ever known.”

Lee Perlman, President of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said, “The Governor has an important responsibility to ensure that non-profit institutions are using public monies judiciously. GNYHA agrees and supports his efforts to ensure that best practices and strong governance oversight are used in determining executive compensation. In order to recruit and retain the talent necessary to operate our complex and world class institutions, many factors must be considered including local and national market data.”

John A. Schuppenhaur, President of the New York State Association of Regional Councils, said, “NYSARC has always strongly believed that it is accountable for public funds. The Governor’s action will help ensure the public that in these challenging times we are indeed being accountable. That can only help safeguard the public trust which has always been so critical to our mission and the people and families we serve. Further, clear guidelines will help all nonprofit boards comply with their fiduciary responsibilities.”

The proposed regulations are being released today by thirteen state agencies and will be available for public comment beginning on May 30 for 45 days before being finalized. Each of the applicable agencies will post their draft proposed regulations on their web pages this afternoon. An example of the proposed agency regulations can be found here: http://w3.health.state.ny.us/dbspace/propregs.nsf/4ac9558781006774852569bd00512fda/fe1abd5a1b78ad8585257a00005afe2e?OpenDocument

To read more from City & State click here.

Whither Citizen Connects online chats, the program the Cuomo administration started last fall to let commissioners and agency heads live chat with New Yorkers (or anyone, really) who had questions for them? The chats, which happened on a weekly basis since late September of last year, have been on hiatus since the end of February. No new chats have been conducted since news outlets picked up a story in early March of a FOIL request of the questions Gov. Andrew Cuomo was asked in his own online chat. The New York Times outed one chat participant as Cuomo’s own daughter, who asked a question that was actually an inside joke from a Monty Python movie. A spokesman for the Cuomo administration declined to comment.

To read more from City & State click here.

“That’s not appropriate. You stand here talking about democracy and wanting people to listen,” she said, according to the Politicker. “In a democracy people have the right to have different views, and they do not — we do not — have the right to then call them names. So I would just ask if that’s what this protest is about, I’ll go right back on inside.”

Quinn tried to get the attendee to apologize, but to no avail.

We wonder if the mayor would have been as offended? He’s no stranger to ad-hominem and any other kind of insult, and is even pretty adept at making fun of himself.

Here are ten of his most infamous insults.

1. The Buffalo Insult:

At a housing conference at NYU, Bloomberg dissed our Northern neighbor.

“There’s an awful lot of free space up in Buffalo, New York, if you want to go there. I don’t think you do,” he said.

“Our city’s problems are problems of success. We don’t have enough classrooms. We don’t have enough roads. We don’t have enough housing. Buffalo would love to have our problems.”

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

Steve Levin

In Brooklyn, peace between rival factions of the county Democratic party is hard to come by.

Levin alleges that Restler, a persistent critic of Brooklyn Democratic chairman Vito Lopez, agreed not to challenge Levin for his Council seat in 2013, if Levin and Lopez ended their attempts to challenge Restler in his race for re-election this year.

“This year’s district leader race, and the possibility of him running against me in next year’s City Council race, were subjects we discussed,” Levin said. “[Restler] said that either he has zero races, or he has two races.”

“We did not come out of it with any reconciliation,” Levin added.

“I was hopeful there might be an opportunity for the Councilman to establish his independence from Vito Lopez, but given his ongoing and aggressive intervention in my District Leader race – clearly that is not going to happen,” Restler said.

Rather than accept the deal, Levin is actively supporting Christopher Olechowski, who recently formed a campaign committee to raise money for a run against Restler.

Lincoln Restler

Restler asked Levin for a beer summit to talk about rumors that Levin was aggressively seeking out challengers to run against him for district leader – including North Brooklyn Development Corporation President Rich Mazur, Greenpoint Gazette Publisher Jeff Mann, Community Board 1 District Manager Gerry Esposito, former district leader Steve Cohn and his son Warren Cohn, all of whom declined. Levin was also mulling a shot at running against Restler himself, sources said.

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

* Newt Gingrich laid out some of the “big ideas” underlying his now virtually impossible run for the presidency at last night’s New York Republican Party dinner in midtown Manhattan: opening up offshore and federal lands for oil and gas drilling and using the royalties to pay down the debt, making America energy independent to avoid overseas military conflicts, and shifting some of the focus from Iran to the already nuclear-armed Pakistan and holding hearings on how the country harbored Osama bin Laden. But the former House speaker drew his biggest applause after he acknowledged the long odds in the his primary race with Mitt Romney and pledged that beating President Barack Obama is his most important goal. “I’ve stayed in the race to articulate big themes and big issues,” Gingrich said, adding: “I’m clearly the underdog by a huge margin. But if I were to become the nominee, (Romney) would work all out because our grandchildren’s future is stake. If he becomes the nominee, Callista and I will work for him because it’s our grandchildren’s future at stake. The fact is we are dedicated to reunifying the Republican Party and winning the presidency.”

*A coalition of elected officials and environmental, labor, community and business groups have joined forces with NRG Energy in an effort to replace the company’s Astoria power plant with a cleaner, more productive and more efficient facility, and they’re hoping for a boost from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new “energy highway” initiative. This week the new Smart Power NY coalition called on Cuomo to back the repowering project, which has the regulatory green light but has been stalled by a lack of funding. Beyond simply endorsing the project, the coalition wants the governor to prod the New York Power Authority into signing a long-term contract to buy NRG’s energy, which would allow the company to secure funding to rebuild its plant. Queens Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, the coalition chair, doesn’t anticipate opposition from the governor. “I think this is a project that really mirrors the goal that he has set for producing cleaner, more efficient energy here in New York State,” Simotas said. “If it’s a project the governor’s task force accepts and thinks is a good thing, then it will be much easier to get the (power purchase agreement), and obviously you need that in order to finance the project.”

To read the full Heard Around Town from City & State click here.

The 81-year-old Rangel was  fully possessed of his raspy voice and general humor, despite a back injury that hasn’t fully healed. The Congressman did not stand at all during the entire public appearance.

Today’s press conference, almost three months in advance of a June 26th Democratic congressional primary in which he is expected to face a serious challenge from Dominican-American State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, was designed to help allay fears about his physical well-being.

Rangel, in a red tie and white shirt cuffs monogrammed with the initials “CBR,” sat in a swivel chair in front of a podium during the small business seminar, and rifled through a binder with a U.S. Presidential seal on it.

For the press conference, his aides placed a table in front of his chair for reporters’ microphones, ensuring the Congressman would not have to stand to take questions.

“I’ll be out there,” Rangel said, in response to questions about how his health would impact the campaign.

Doctors, he implied, “they have their own timetable.”

“And they had this darn thing that was supposed to be over. What it is, is I’ve never had a backache in my life, but if you’re not nice to me I’ll put you on a list and wish you one. Because what happened was, at a certain age, all of us have the cartridge(sic) that separates the spinal disc and they wear out,” Rangel said.

“Well, I had no idea, and had no pain coming from that, but one of the viruses found out it was vulnerable and bang! It went in there, and we thought we’d gotten it all out, so they went back in there and so now, I’m all beaten up on by antibiotics. But no, they’re certain that I’ll be up and around and enjoying the campaign.”

Rangel’s mention of a virus gives context to what had previously been reported as an injury sustained while moving furniture, but a campaign spokesman couldn’t say exactly what Rangel had been diagnosed with or what virus he’d contracted.

Health questions dispensed with, Rangel moved on to Espaillat. The senator’s primary challenge was understandable, Rangel said.

“In terms of the campaign, well, I guess if you really want to set out as to what you think is wrong with government and you have a case to be made, then, every two years that what the elections are all about,” he said, describing Espaillat’s candidacy as an inevitable side effect of the democratic process.

“I certainly have to be sympathetic to any person or group of people that believe that their particular culture, language or background should be in the Congress, and the City Council and I’ve always supported that because that’s what America is all about,” he said.

A reporter asked, “On the campaign some people see this as the first time you have a pretty strong opponent in the form of Adriano Espaillat. Is that a fair assessment?”

“Yes it is.” Rangel said.

“You think he’s pretty strong?” the reporter asked.

To read the full City & State article click here.

* Manhattan Media CEO and mayoral candidate Tom Allon took to Twitter yesterday to chastise Manhattan Borough president Scott Stringer over his deployment of actress Scarlett Johansson at two different fundraisers. “Let others get meaningless support of actresses; I’ve just been endorsed by Palestinian activist while I’m in Israel (see Huff Po).” he tweeted. But Allon has support from actors too, including one Jeremy Smith, who donated $1,300 to Allon’s campaign this year and listed his occupation on campaign finance filings as “actor/fundraiser.” Asked to explain the distinction between one kind of support and another, Allon responded, “I don’t know Jeremy Smith well, or whether he’s an actor or an artist. We are both on the board of Symphony Space and that’s how I met him last year. But even if he were a well-known actor I would certainly not use him over and over again to attract people to campaign fundraisers. I’m sad that in this era of ‘celebutantes’ that there are those elected leaders who think that parading out a well-known actress again and again will impress voters. We need a campaign of ideas, not celebrities. We need a campaign of vision for the city’s future, not a campaign of endless fundraisers.” Asked to respond, Stringer’s spokeswoman Audrey Gelman said, “Tom, you seem a little worked up. If you’re looking for some smart ideas, I suggest you check out the 50 reports and over 200 ULURPs the Borough President has issued since 2006.”
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