Adams hedging bets on bail reform

Mar 30, 2022

Presented by The Black Car Fund

Mayor Eric Adams seems to be hedging his bets on changes to bail reform in the budget as Albany lawmakers inch closer to passing a new spending plan.

"When people think about our blueprint to end gun violence they focus on one river. I keep saying we have to dam every river. So there are pieces to our blueprint that go far beyond just bail," Adams said today during the off-topic portion of a City Hall press conference about homelessness.

In the past few days NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks have been walking the halls of the statehouse to push Adams' anti-crime agenda with key lawmakers. They zeroed in on repeat offenders who carry guns, discovery laws and cracking down on "known violent offenders," Adams said.

Meanwhile Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Democratic-controlled Legislature appear poised to tackle at least some perceived loopholes in the 2019 bail laws, such as allowing police to arrest repeat offenders who are given multiple appearance tickets and subject them to potential bail by a judge, according to three legislative officials and lawmakers briefed on the emerging plan.

Another change would make more gun crimes eligible for bail, including reducing the number of guns — currently at 10 for class B felony — that someone would be in possession of to be charged with gun trafficking and thus be able to be held on bail.

Lawmakers are not likely to consider a so-called dangerousness standard to allow judges to set bail, but they are nearing agreement on closing a gap in the 2017 Raise the Age law to ensure cases aren't dismissed when a defendant reaches age 18.

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IT'S WEDNESDAY: The state budget is due by the end of day tomorrow, and most bills haven't been introduced yet! Oh well.

From the Capitol

MORE BILLS STADIUM ANALYSIS: "It's not Just a Stadium Subsidy," by Empire Center's Peter Warren: "Instead, the stadium deal doubles-down on the prevailing wage law by stipulating use of a project labor agreement (PLA) with the politically powerful Building and Construction Trades Council. The PLA stifles competition further by requiring not only union-level compensation but also unionized labor. That means most construction workers in the area (the non-unionized majority) are left hung out to dry."

TOURISM TRAP: Hochul announced that applications for grants are now open for a program aimed at bringing tourism — and its job opportunities — back to the state. Businesses that qualify can receive grants of $5,000 for each net new full-time equivalent job added, and $2,500 for each net new part-time equivalent job added between January and June 2022. Grantees must achieve a net employment increase of at least two full-time equivalents to qualify for funding; grants will be awarded for a minimum of $10,000, and a maximum of $200,000, according to the governor's office.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING AUDIT: State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says that a State Education Department program aimed at helping New Yorkers with disabilities get jobs, transition to independent living and transition out of poverty is "not fulfilling its mission because it too often leaves participants with inadequate plans that do not accomplish those goals." An audit from his office found that SED program facilitators often missed deadlines when crafting programs for individuals and that those programs often failed to include necessary details and evaluatory processes. SED officials, DiNapoli noted, generally disagreed with the audit's findings.

From City Hall

NYPD ON THE HOT SEAT: City Council members grilled NYPD brass for the second time in recent weeks — today over the Adams administration's "Neighborhood Safety Teams" that are tasked with ridding the most-dangerous neighborhoods of illegal handguns. Since launching two weeks ago, the division has made 84 arrests — 20 for the possession of firearms, NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said. "This is a good model. It seems like it can work," Queens Republican-turned-Democrat Bob Holden said, in one of the few endorsements of the new approach.

Others chastised the NYPD for a history of overly-aggressive practices and the resulting racial imbalance, while questioning Adams' rhetorical embrace of expanded technologies like facial recognition. In one exchange, Queens Member Tiffany Cabán, who is aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, demanded that Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell provide copies of research the department has reviewed regarding the mental health impact of excessive policing. Sewell declined to commit, saying she would follow up with Cabán. "The lack of willingness for transparency is deeply, deeply concerning," Cabán said, to which Sewell replied, "We have been transparent since the beginning." — Sally Goldenberg

DON'T TAKE THE OSCAR AWAY: The mayor said Will Smith should not have resorted to violence when he slapped Chris Rock for cracking a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, during the Oscars ceremony on Sunday. However, Adams said Smith should keep his best actor trophy for his performance in King Richard, countering others who want it confiscated as punishment. "The worst day in our life should not be the description of our entire life," Adams said during a television interview this morning. "Will Smith has been an amazing actor, humanitarian — he has been a real leader." Adams said fame involves becoming a target for jokes and recalled being lampooned himself on Saturday Night Live, and that Smith appeared to be having a bad day. "He apologized and he said he was wrong and he's embarrassed," Adams said. "I think we should accept his apology." — Joe Anuta

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ON THE BEATS

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL: Council Speaker Adrienne Adams called on business leaders to get more involved in city workforce development efforts today, in her first major speech laying out her agenda as the chamber's head. In an address to the Association for a Better New York, she described untapped talent among young people in communities of color and the need to build a more inclusive economy — calling for new investments in education, youth employment and small business growth. Private sector firms, she said, have a key role to play in efforts to expand economic opportunity, such as by participating in the city's summer youth employment program or career and technical education programs in public schools.

She also slammed the mayor's recent decision to lift the private-sector vaccine mandate for performers and athletes like Kyrie Irving. "We can't prioritize athletes over concession workers, firing the service worker but giving an exemption to those who've already attained economic success," she said in the speech.

She said she will push for greater investments in the budget for year-round youth employment, in addition to better tracking on whether participants are hired by companies after the program, and called for a new initiative to support working-age New Yorkers who have some CUNY credits but left without receiving a degree. She also called for expanding business incubators around the city in the model of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and offering more support to small businesses owned by women and people of color. — Janaki Chadha

HOUSING: Mayor Adams signed his first bill into law today, an extension of the city's rent stabilization law. Intro 70, also the first bill to pass the new City Council, gives the body until July 1, 2022 to determine whether there's still a local housing emergency defined as a vacancy rent for apartments of under 5 percent. The most recent Housing and Vacancy Survey that was completed in 2017 put the rate at 3.63 percent. The 2020 update was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Right now too many New Yorkers are struggling to keep a roof over their head," Adams said at the City Hall bill signing, flanked by legislation's sponsor, Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez, a Democrat from the Bronx, his chief housing officer Jessica Katz and Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr.

There are more than 1 million rent-stabilized units across the five boroughs. Sanchez, chair of the Council's committee on housing and buildings, called rent-stabilized housing the "principal bedrock that maintains stability and affordability for New Yorkers." The law limits the amount of rent hikes landlords can enact and prohibits certain kinds of evictions. Before the bill signing, the deadline was April 1. — Julia Marsh

TRANSIT: Albany is going to cut the Metropolitan Transportation Authority a check if it moves forward with a gas tax holiday.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said today that lawmakers have assured him any revenue lost by providing relief to drivers would be paid back through the state general fund. Transit officials said lawmakers are considering changes to the motor fuel tax and sales tax on gasoline, which would cost the MTA $100 million this calendar year.

"The concept is dollar-for-dollar replacement of that money from the state general fund," Lieber said at a Wednesday press conference following the agency's monthly board meeting. It's yet unclear if a gas tax reduction will pass as part of the state budget due April 1.

Inflation and Russia's invasion in Ukraine have caused gas prices to surge, putting pressure on red states and blue states alike to provide relief in the midst of an election year. ochul recently said it's "on the table" as part of budget negotiations. But it comes at an inopportune time for the MTA, which is projecting a deficit in 2025 from the prolonged declines in ridership. — Danielle Muoio Dunn

CANNABIS: The Office of Cannabis Management has opened a web-based portal for cities and towns that chose to not allow marijuana dispensaries and/or consumption sites to inform state officials about changes in their local laws. New York municipalities had until the end of 2021 to pass laws and officially opt-out of the state's recreational cannabis market, but can repeal those ordinances at any time. — Shannon Young

AROUND NEW YORK

— The New York Civil Liberties Union is pushing for a faster way to seal criminal records within the state.

— New York City's Covid-19 cases are on a rise, particularly among individuals between 25 and 34 years old.

— Flatbush residents who say their building is being neglected are demanding that Albany pass the "Opportunity to Purchase" act.

— Manhattan's Squirrel Man attempted to return to his tree "nest" but it was torn down once again.

— Eligible Niagara Falls residents with overdue water bills are able to apply for federal pandemic relief funds.

A message from The Black Car Fund:

The Black Car Fund kept NY moving during COVID by doing what it's done for 20 years: providing invaluable benefits to for-hire drivers and their families. Through the Black Car Fund, tens-of-thousands of professional drivers in NY are eligible for free telemedicine, vision, and dental coverage as well as insurance, prescription, urgent care, and diagnostic imaging discounts. The Fund also provided 20,000 PPE kits with masks, hand sanitizer and gloves for drivers to keep them on the road, serving New Yorkers. That's why NPR called The Black Car Fund "the future of benefits". Now the State legislature is considering an extension of the Black Car Fund's successful programs--at no cost to taxpayers. At this critical moment, it is imperative that our lawmakers recognize what a game-changer this help has been for New York's for-hire drivers.

Learn more here.