| | | | |  | | By Zachary Schermele | Presented by the 5 Borough Housing Movement | | 
Efforts to close Rikers Island may have taken a setback Monday. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images | A notice published Monday morning indicates New York City could miss its timetable for closing Rikers Island by at least two years. The troubled prison is supposed to be shuttered and replaced by four borough-based jails as of August 2027. However, construction on the Brooklyn complex could last through the summer of 2029, according to a contract award announcement in the City Record, a little more than six years past the project’s start date. Tutor Perini Corporation, a California-based construction company, won an almost $3 billion contract with the city to build the jail and is already demolishing parts of the Atlantic Avenue site, which currently houses the Brooklyn Detention Center. Monday’s bulletin, however, raised concerns among those pushing for the original timeline. Jonathan Lippman, the state’s former chief judge and the chair of the Independent Commission on New City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, said delaying the closure would undermine public safety and put staff and incarcerated people at risk. “The city must build the secure hospital beds and borough jails that will replace Rikers — and do it on time,” he said in a statement responding to the City Record post. “In a city as impressive as this one, we can get this done.” A City Hall spokesperson said Monday the original timeline and budget for the project were unrealistic, and that the Brooklyn facility’s completion in 2029 reflects the realities of the construction market, which has been beset by pandemic-induced disruptions in supply chains and increasing costs for labor and materials. Nevertheless, City Hall renewed its pledge to close Rikers by the appointed date. “This administration will always follow the law, and the law says the jails on Rikers Island must close on time,” spokesperson Charles Lutvak said in a statement. How the administration will be able to close Rikers with the Brooklyn facility unfinished, however, remained unclear. Mayor Eric Adams has expressed support for the plan, which was set in motion by the de Blasio administration. But he’s also cast doubt several times on meeting the legal timeline and hinted at the need for an alternate strategy. “We can’t be so optimistic that we’re not realistic, or idealistic that we’re not realistic,” he said in a CBS 2 interview in January. The City Council, in theory, could pass a new law to extend the deadline. But in her recent State of the City speech, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams demanded the city stick to the 2027 timeframe. “Advancing the closure of Rikers is more urgent now than ever before — for both public safety and human rights,” she said. The mayor joined a roomful of city officials in a standing ovation after the speaker called for the closing of Rikers. The speaker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A public hearing for the contract award is set for March 23. IT’S MONDAY: Stay with us each afternoon as we keep you updated on the latest New York news in Albany, City Hall and beyond. And as we prepare for a big snowstorm in Albany on Tuesday.
| | A message from the 5 Borough Housing Movement: New York City is facing a housing supply crisis that’s harming outer borough communities of color. That’s why a diverse and growing coalition is calling on State lawmakers to support converting unused office space to new housing, create an incentive to maximize affordability in conversions, and lift the FAR cap to unlock more affordable housing. Learn more at https://5borohousing.org/ | | | |  | From the Capitol | | | 
March 13, 2023 - Latham, NY - Governor Kathy Hochul holds a winter storm briefing in Latham. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul) | Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | A SNOW DAY! The state Legislature has called off its legislative session on Tuesday as a major snowstorm is set to hit the Albany area. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she will declare a state of emergency starting 8 p.m. Monday for much of upstate New York as more than two feet of snow is expected in some areas. The cancellation comes as the Assembly and Senate look to finalize their one-house budgets ahead of the start of the new fiscal year April 1 and as Tuesdays are typically the busiest lobbying day of the week during the session. So several rallies planned at the Capitol were already being moved to other locations or delayed. ON TIME BUDGET IS “NICE,” HOCHUL SAYS: Hochul didn’t rule out holding up the state budget to get her way while answering questions from reporters at a storm briefing in Latham. “On-time budgets are always very nice to have. Last year, our budget was nine days late for one reason: I said I’m not leaving Albany until I get substantial changes to the bail laws,” Hochul said when asked about whether an on-time budget matters. The new fiscal year starts April 1, but payday for most state employees is April 12, according to the state comptroller’s office. “I think people know, it’s a nice target, it’s a nice — I would like an on-time budget, I’m not planning on one that’s not but I also know that I’m here to do the work for the people of New York state and they expect me to not leave town until the job’s done,” Hochul continued. Lawmakers were still conferencing portions of their one-house budgets on Monday afternoon, which provide an important starting point for budget negotiations. The Assembly plans to vote on Thursday on their resolution, which could be introduced in the late hours of Monday or early Tuesday morning. — Marie J. French
| | | | A message from the 5 Borough Housing Movement:   | | | | | From City Hall | | | 
New York City Mayor Eric Adams listens to Gov. Kathy Hochul deliver her State of the State address in the Assembly Chamber at the state Capitol, Jan. 10, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo | DELEGATION NEGATION: Adams said Monday he welcomed ideas from subordinates who disagree with the recommendations of commissioners and other decision-makers in his administration — and if the ideas are good, he may overrule the higher ups. “If a teacher has a good idea that’s in contrast to what a principal believes, I want to hear both sides,” he said during a WABC radio interview. Adams was speaking in context of recent disagreements between former NYPD Chief of Training Juanita Holmes — who was promoted to Department of Probation commissioner last week — and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell over an academy fitness requirement. The mayor did not dispute the premise of the rift: Holmes wanted the requirement nixed and Sewell did not. He said Friday he asked to hear both sides of the argument after Sewell disclosed there were mixed opinions. The mayor ultimately sided with Holmes, who he similarly praised Friday for hosting a recent event with Cardi B. The cameo, in which the New York rapper danced and talked with young women in the police academy, was also opposed Sewell, marking the second recent instance where Adams has openly disagreed with his police commissioner. — Joe Anuta ASYLUM-SEEKER OFFICE: It’s still unclear exactly where the mayor’s new Office of Asylum Seeker Operations will be located within city government. When City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams posed the question to Molly Park, the acting Department of Social Services commissioner, during a budget hearing Monday, Park said she thinks responding to the asylum seeker crisis will “remain a whole-of-government approach.” City Hall is taking the lead on where to put the new office, she said, but she doesn’t expect it will be part of the Department of Homeless Services, which has taken much of the brunt of handling arrivals alongside the Office of Emergency Management. The entity is one of a number of new politically salient offices created by Adams that he says are meant to make government more efficient. — Zachary Schermele UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: The Campaign Finance Board’s notoriously detail-oriented gumshoes have trained their focus on Adams' transition committee. The committee, formed in the wake of the mayor’s 2021 election win, raised cash to fund all manner of prep work ahead of his swearing in. The board plans to hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss violations that include accepting prohibited donations, failing to properly wind down the committee’s activities and failing to respond to requests for documentation. — Joe Anuta
| | A message from the 5 Borough Housing Movement: TELL STATE LAWMAKERS: SUPPORT CONVERSIONS AND LIFT THE FAR CAP!
A growing number of advocates and community groups are joining the push to convert New York City’s unused office space into affordable housing and lift the FAR cap.
Supporters include:
● Borough-based chambers of commerce and local business improvement districts
● Community boards and neighborhood-based non-profits
● Racial and social justice advocates
More elected officials are joining the effort too, including State lawmakers, City Council members and members of Congress.
See all of our supporters and recent announcements from elected officials at https://5borohousing.org/.
We can’t afford to miss this opportunity to help address the City’s housing shortage. State lawmakers must act now to support conversions, create an incentive for affordability and lift the FAR cap.
If State lawmakers fail to act, they will be failing the New Yorkers who are relying on Albany for answers to our housing supply crisis.
Learn more at https://5borohousing.org/ | | | | | | RESILIENCY: New York City was awarded a $7.5 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reduce flooding risks to the Historic South Street Seaport, Rep. Dan Goldman said in a Monday press release. The grant represents a first step for the Seaport Coastal Resilience Project, which entails elevating the bulkhead along the waterfront and constructing a tide gate. The grant will go toward engineering and design work, with the entire project expected to cost nearly $220 million. — Danielle Muoio Dunn PARKS BUDGET: New Yorkers for Parks, a nonprofit organization that advocates for open space, is calling on Adams to stick to his campaign pledge of allocating 1 percent of the city budget for the parks department. The city’s current $624 million operating budget represents just over half a percent of the overall city operating plan, according to the group. A Parks Department spokesperson said the city is committed to the 1 percent funding goal and has increased its full-time staff headcount. — Danielle Muoio Dunn OFFICE CONVERSIONS: Adams toured a Lower Manhattan office building that’s being converted into housing, while calling for state legislative changes to make such conversions easier to pursue. He pointed to a range of other housing policies his administration is pushing in Albany this year, including a replacement of the controversial 421-a tax break, a new version of the housing preservation tax incentive known as J-51, the removal of a state cap on residential density and rental assistance funding for public housing tenants. The building he toured, at 160 Water Street, is able to undergo a conversion under current rules, but many others that might be inclined to convert to residential face restrictions to doing so. Gov. Kathy Hochul included a proposal in her executive budget that would ease these regulatory barriers, while establishing a tax incentive for conversions that include affordable housing. — Janaki Chadha | | | — Hochul calls a state of emergency and warns of a likely loss of power in Upstate New York due to the storm. (Times Union) — Rents in the Syracuse metro area are skyrocketing, and they don’t seem to stop any soon. (New York Upstate) — The Chelsea vacant three-story building and symbol of the New York City Black community known as “Colored School No. 4” could soon obtain landmark status. (WNYC) | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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