Colby Hamilton

Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron made it official yesterday: he's running for Congress (again) against Congressman Ed Towns in the 10th Congressional District. Back in 2006, Barron lost to Town by 8 points in the primary. Assemblyman Hakeem Jefferies of Brooklyn is also seriously considering a run at the seat.

In a three-way primary between the incumbent and two challengers, the difference may end up being the new voters absorbed into the district after its lines are redrawn. To meet the new population post-Census total for Congress, NY-10 will need to grow by nearly 40,000 people.

Courtesy of Sen. Klein's office.

Governor Andrew Cuomo may be talking about as much as a $3.5 billion budget gap next year, but that didn't stop State Senator Jeff Klein, the leader of the Independent Democratic Caucus, from arguing that the state needs to continue partially funding foreclosure services programs.

"We know that many programs and agencies faced similar circumstances in last year’s budget as everyone worked with Governor Cuomo to balance the finances of New York and put our great state back on track. We also know that each of these programs and agencies did important work all of our communities," said a report put out by Klein's office yesterday. "But we argue that the benefits of legal services and foreclosure counseling for struggling homeowners in New York is too great to ignore and the chance of not funding them for a second budget cycle in a row is too risky."

The reported said that a $50 million program to prevent foreclosures assisted 80,000 homeowners and saved at least 14,000 homes. With 250,000 homes in danger of, or going through the process of foreclosure, the report argues, the math makes the case: the loss of these homes would cost an estimated $61 billion in reduced property value and lost taxes.

“Preventing foreclosures not only keeps hard-working New Yorkers in their homes now, but saves our neighborhoods from devastating ripple effects later,” Senator Klein said in a statement. “We know that this will be another tough budget year - that's why we're starting this discussion early in order to help protect our neighborhoods and preserve the American dream across New York.”

As the Times-Union's Jimmy Vielkind noted on this yesterday, Klein managed to bring some interesting support to the press conference on this yesterday:

It’s also interesting to me that Klein, ringleader of the Independent Democratic Conference, is uniting in this way with Senate Democrats, some of whom are open in their disdain for his renegade klatch.

Perhaps this portends a coming soothing. Or at least courtship.

Over the weekend, the Times Thomas Kaplan wrote that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was interested in striking a deal on redistricting:

In an interview this week, the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, sketched out what he said could be a compromise — an eight-member bipartisan commission, with equal representation for each party, that would be appointed by the Legislature but made up entirely of people who are not lawmakers. The Democratic and Republican leaders in the Assembly and Senate would each appoint two members who would have equal funding, access to data and control of the map-making process.

“I think that goes a long way toward reform,” Mr. Silver said. “It wouldn’t be a political advantage to anybody. Majorities cannot just draw districts to the exclusion and the detriment of the minorities.”

The man Silver has heading up the Assembly's efforts on the LATFOR committee, Jack McEneny, said he was fine with the idea.

"I would have no objection to the kind of thing that the Speaker was advocating," McEneny said in a brief phone interview. That's likely because McEneny said he's been saying he would be open to something similar to what the Speaker proposed since at least July.

"It would seem some outside force, above reproach but knowledgeable, would be helpful for the governor to judge a plan in detail, and then make recommendations to the governor to be signed, or veto, or simply amended," he said.

In statements, Senate Republican Majority spokesperson Scott Reif has mantained what's sounding more and more like a mantra on redistricting for his side: "Senate Republicans remain committed to a redistricting process that is bipartisan, open and fair."

Despite the reality, you have to give it to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli for trying to put the best spin on the situation possible in the headline, "DiNAPOLI: PENSION FUND REMAINS STRONG IN MIDST OF SLUGGISH ECONOMY."

Strong, of course, is a relative term. But concretely, the state's pension has fallen by an estimated 7.48 percent this fiscal quarter. The fund now stands at $133.8 billion.

“Like almost all investors, the Fund has been affected by the sluggish economy and increased volatility in the markets,” DiNapoli said in the statement. “The Fund remains one of the strongest in the U.S. and our diversified portfolio will keep it secure and poised for strong returns in the coming months.”

Last week, the Bloomberg administration released some of their own budget figures. The city had been bracing for a $4.6 billion budget gap, but the Mayor's office reported that they'd revised the gap down to $2 billion.

Nearly half of that reduction is attributed to taxi medallion sales that are far from guaranteed. While bills have passed the legislature supporting the sales, Governor Cuomo has not signed the law, which has come underintense criticism since landing on the Governor's desk.

Now, critics are saying the Mayor's financial assumptions don't add up. "With all due respect to the Mayor, his livery street hail bill has become a failed budget gimmick that won’t work,"said Robert Familant with the Taxicab Service Association. "[T]he Mayor is trying to bootstrap his budget on a house of cards that will not only imperil tens of thousands of jobs in the private sector but is hinging the city budget on phantom revenues."

Familant pointed to the relatively high cost of owning a medallion as even more prohibitive should the much cheaper street hail permits become available through the plan the Mayor wants Governor Cuomo to sign into law.

"Who in their right mind would pay $1 million or more for a medallion when under the Mayor’s plan, they could lease a street hail permit for only $1500," Familant asked.

A request for a response has been sent over to the Mayor's office. If and when they get back to me, I'll update the post.

The Mayor's office sent over this statement from Micah Lasher, the Mayor's Director of State Legislative Affairs:

Perhaps Mr. Familant and other lobbyists for the large medallion lenders didn't read the bill: street hail permits would not allow pickups in the areas where yellow taxis make more than 95% of their revenue. Instead, the bill would legalize service in the many neighborhoods across the City that the yellow taxi industry ignores. That's why medallion prices have continued to skyrocket. Enormous profits for lenders and owners will not be threatened by our legislation.

Courtesy of the Governor's office.

In a set of radio interviews with Albany political reporters Fred Dicker of the New York Post and the Capitol Bureau's Susan Arbetter, Governor Andrew Cuomo blasted the Congressional budget deficit "supercommittee" for failing to come up with a plan, which--at least for now--triggers some $1.2 trillion in Federal spending cuts.

"To the extent it roils the financial markets, it roils the New York economy and the New York budget," the Governor said during Dicker's show this morning.

This point speaks to the heart of what Cuomo's office is now worried about. The earlier statements about 155,000 jobs being lost and the cuts to Medicaid and transportation spending are off the table--at least for now. The focus is, first, on the $5 billion over 10 years figure his office put out yesterday. That averages to less than one half of one percent of the state's budget--not a doomsday figure, as I pointed out yesterday.

But it was pointed out by an official in the administration that, last year, Cuomo asked for a 10 percent cut from agencies that resulted in $1.4 billion in savings. The $500 million figure is talking about direct Federal funding into the state's coffers--money that does help with things like infrastructure, education and other important, non-entitlement services.

But this isn't the real point of concern. "The $5 billion is the tip of the iceberg," the Cuomo administration official said.

The bigger issue for the Governor's office, which he was point out today, was the broader effect the uncertainty coming out of Washington will have on the economy. The most significant short term issue is with Wall Street.

To the extent this destabilizes the market...it's very bad for us," Cuomo said. As it stands, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down again today. Continued losses on Wall Street--for good or bad--means less tax revenue for the state, and a grimmer budget situation for next year.

"There's a confidence deficit," he said. That issue, the thinking goes, is more of concern than even the direct cuts we could face if the "sequestration" as it stands ends up lopping a trillion dollars out of the Federal budget. A continued lack of confidence--in government, in the recovery--could lead to more widespread economic problems.

That, again, is how the thinking goes at least. The fact of the matter is, as the Governor stated, no one really knows what's going to happen. Which may be as bad, if not worse, than any agreement the supercommittee could have come up with.

The Governor is taking to the airwaves this morning. He'll be on Fred Dicker's radio program on 1300 AM out of Albany. You can listen to a live stream here starting at approximately 10:10 am.

Less than an hour later, Cuomo will be stopping by (calling in?) to Susan Arbetter's program, The Capitol Press Room, at about 11:07 am. That's also streamable, and you can catch it here.

Expect the Governor to talk about the Congressional "supercommittee" failing to come to a budget agreement and the impact this could have on New York State.

Courtesy of the Governor's office

It's official: the Federal Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction has failed.

And Governor Andrew Cuomo didn't have anything nice to say about the fact:

Washington's inability to get its fiscal house in order and work in a bipartisan fashion to create jobs represents a fundamental failure of government that has bred frustration and anger among the people and prolonged the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression.

That quote was taken from a statement put out by the Governor shortly before the final death cry of the supercommittee was heard. What were indefinite statements about how the "sequestered cuts"--the big $1.2 trillion in across-the-board and defense spending cuts triggered by the committee's failure--would affect New York can now be looked at as best estimates.

According to the statement, based on the current automatic cuts, "the Budget Division estimates that New York could lose approximately $5 billion in federal funding over 10 years beginning this coming fiscal year."

That $5 billion sounds like a big figure, but that averages out to $500 million per year. New York State's budget this year was nearly $133 billion, so we're talking about less than half of one percent of the budget. And considering the fact that Federal funds make up about a third of the budget, the impact on just the federal funds coming to New York State seems minimal.

No one wants to have to tack on more money to next year's budget gap--are we looking at being closer to $4 billion now?--but it's worth noting what wasn't in today's statement. Unlike last week's letter to the state's Congressional delegation, the Governor didn't mention the loss of 155,000 jobs or massive cuts to transportation, school aid or Medicaid.

Does this mean Cuomo's office now considers these areas safe for the most part? Today's statement didn't say.

This isn't to say there aren't larger, macro-economic impacts that cutting over a trillion dollars from the Federal budget could have. A good example: the markets closed down sharply today, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost 250 points.These Federal cuts could come as a major economic shock to the system, hurting the already sluggish recovery.

Of course, these cuts wouldn't happen for more than a year. In numerous conversations about the impact of the supercommittee's failing, there was healthy skepticism about the cuts ever even coming about.

But that doesn't mean we should expect Cuomo to back down on the worst-case scenarios any time soon. "Sustaining a crisis mentality helps executives," noted SUNY professor Gerald Benjamin. Heading into another budget session, the Governor is surely looking for any help he can get. How and why, exactly, still remains to be seen.

It's not just Republicans scouting for possible Senate districts heading out to the Orthodox Masbia Soup Kitchen on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. At least one Mayoral contender, and a potential Comptroller candidate, are now among those visiting the popular nonprofit.

From Left to Right: Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilman Jumaane Williams, Councilman David Greenfield, Councilman and Finance Chair Domenic M. Recchia Jr., Councilman Mike Nelson. (Courtesy of Councilman Recchia's office.)

A high-powered New York City law firm became the first to sue the state over its slow-moving redistricting process last week. Lawyers from Willkie Farr & Gallagher file a complaint in Federal court on Thursday of last week, asking the court to intervene in the redistrict process which, according to the complaint, "threatens to throw the state's 2012 elections into a quagmire absent court intervention."

The lawsuit is the first this time around, but the decennial redistricting process usually plays out in the courts. There was some surprise that the suit has come this earlier. LATFOR, the legislative committee responsible for drawing new lines, hasn't agreed upon what those will look like. Governor Andrew Cuomo has said he'll veto lines that aren't drawn in an independent, non-partisan manner.

But the suit seeks to circumvent the whole process. The defendants are asking the court to appoint a special master to intervene now to complete the entire redistricting process in time for the state to meet its obligations, like having lines in place in time for an earlier-than-normal primary date, for the 2012 elections--something advocates fear LATFOR and the Governor will fail to meet.

"[The lawsuit] goes to the rising frustration that voters have over the lack of movement on creating an independent commission on these lines," said Dick Dadey, the executive director of Citizen Union. His organization today is releasing a report that argues that there's still time for an independent drawing of lines. The report calls on the Governor to bring the legislature back for a special session to create an independent commission to take over the redistricting process from LATFOR.

"Legislators must honor their word and keep their commitments by returning to Albany in a special legislative session to finally end partisan gerrymandering and enact redistricting reform," the report advises. "New Yorkers have already waited for many decades for redistricting reform. The fulfillment of that promise cannot wait another ten years."

Check out Citizens Union's report after the jump.

Courtesy of the Governor's office.

Anticipating what Governor Andrew Cuomo's office is calling potential loss of billions in Federal aide dollars, a conference call later today with the Governor's Council of Economic and Fiscal Advisors will discuss how to handle the likely failure this week of the Congressional "supercommittee," which was charged with finding a bipartisan compromise to avoid massive cuts to the Federal budget.

The council was formed during the Governor's transition, and represents interests in labor, business, social justice and government. A statement on the substance of the call will come after, but one thing is certain: large-scale Federal cuts, triggered by the supercommittee's failure to produce a plan, will have an immediate impact on the state's budget outlook.

"I recognize the fiscal challenges facing Congress at this critical moment in our nation's history. Rising federal deficits and debt pose a serious threat to the economic viability of this nation and must be addressed in a bi-partisan way with shared sacrifice coming from all Americans," Governor Cuomo said in a letter to the state's Congressional delegation last week. "These are difficult times that require tough decisions. However, the burden of cuts or reductions in tax deductions must be shared evenly by all states and, as New York's representatives in Congress, I urge you to work to minimize the potential damage to New York."

The state receives nearly $40 billion in funding from the Federal government, according to the Governor's office, which represents nearly 30 percent of all funds in the budget. More than half of those funds help pay for Medicaid services.

The AP reported that the Governor's office is saying the triggered cuts could result in the loss of as much as 155,000 jobs--likely a high-ball figure. The most likely hits would come in areas like construction related to transportation and health care services. According to the administration, Federal funds support more than 670,000 jobs in New York State. An administration source said the job loss numbers were based on potential scenarios the state could face if Federal funds went into effect.

Likewise, concerns are being raised over the effect the committee's failure to reach a deal will have on Wall Street. As New York relies heavily on Wall Street profits to fill its tax coffers, a tumble in the markets could have an out-sized affect on next year's budget gap.

Note: I originally stated the hearing was being held today--it's being held tomorrow at 1 pm. My apologies.

As WNYC's Yasmeen Khan reports, the City Council today is holding a hearing on the revised living wage bill which would require certain city-connected work offer a starting wage of $10 an hour, with benefits.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and leaders in the business community have been vocal opponents of the bill, saying it will make business in the city prohibitively expensive. But proponents of the measure are making their voices heard ahead of today's hearings. Last Friday, one of the city's largest union, SEIU 1199, came out in support of the revised measure.

"There’s no denying that low-income people and the unemployed in New York City are hurting, and this legislation strikes the right balance between incentivizing growth and development in the hardest-hit communities and ensuring that the jobs created lift up people in those communities,” said George Gresham, the union's president, said in a statement.

But it's not just labor backing the bill. Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, the executive director of Catholic Charities, has been announced as a speaker at a rally in support of the bill tonight at Riverside Church in Manhattan.

The New York Times over the weekend spoke with Sullivan:

"We’re going to speak about how this economic crisis continues to hurt everybody in society, particularly the poor,” the monsignor said. “We need to make sure there are decent jobs with decent wages.”

The single biggest question surrounding the legislation is whether or not Council Speaker Christine Quinn will allow the bill to come to the floor for a vote where it would almost certainly pass.

The situation puts Quinn in a bind. Support the measure and risk losing the backing of the business community ahead of the 2013 mayoral contest. Deny labor the vote it wants on the legislation, and their support for her candidacy in the all-important Democratic primary would be in serious doubt. This could ultimately turn out to be the single most important action of Quinn's 2013 campaign.

By Karen DeWitt, New York Public Radio Capital Bureau Chief

Assemblyman McEneny, left, and Senator Nozzolio, right (Courtesy of the LATFOR Committee.)

Deliberations over drawing new legislative and congressional districts continue in Albany, as legislators have hit a new hurdle in the complex process.

Lawmakers have decided where to count the prisoners, in the homes they were living before their incarceration, a change that benefits the districts of many Democrats at the expense of Republicans. But they are still arguing about how to count the prisoners, and what kind of computer software and database to use. Task force Co-Chair, Assemblyman Jack McEneny, a Democrat, offered an amendment, but it was rejected by GOP lawmakers.

“Unfortunately, we are still in disagreement,” said McEneny, a Democrat from Albany.

Just in case the John Liu fundraising issue has you scratching your head.

Couresy of the Governor's office.

Capital New York's Azi Paybarah has a great rundown of the Democrat's state committee meeting this week. Governor Andrew Cuomo made an appearance, but left the major points of contention--hydrofracking and the millionaires' tax--unresolved for many in attendance.

Coming off a handful of victories in contested local elections around the state, Cuomo said the results affirmed the Democrats' positive view of the role of government.

"They had an argument that basically says, 'whatever the problem, it's caused by government,'" Cuomo said, sounding a lot like his father used to.

But "we argue the exact opposite. That government is posibility. Why? Because government is us, and we believe in us," he said, waving his right hand in a circle in front of the roomful of about 200 party members.

...

His last few lines were swallowed up by the applause in the room. One person let out a loud, approving whistle. After his speech, Cuomo slipped out the back of the hotel and into a black S.U.V. where, according to a reporter there, the governor ignored a question shouted to him.

Read the entire piece, which includes videos of the Governor's speech, here.

The State Senate, lead by Senator Dean Skelos, released their budget today. As Michael Johnson at YNN's State of Politics Blog points out, the Senate and Assembly are coming up with very different figures for the current year budget.

[T]hey are projecting that all funds revenue will be $286 million higher than Cuomo’s budget division projects. The Assembly has predicted that revenue will be $187 million worse than the Governor’s forecast – putting the two chambers more than $450 million apart heading into next year’s budget negotiations.

He goes on to point out that the big underlying assumption of these numbers are arguments for and against the millionaires' tax. For the Assembly, a shortfall makes the case that now is not the time to be giving tax breaks. For the Senate, a better-than-expected tax situation makes the exact opposite case--that targeting upper-income earners now is both unneeded and irresponsible.

What nobody is arguing, however, is that next year's budget gap is in the $3 billion range.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and New York Congressman Maurice Hinchey are applauding the Delaware River Basin Commission's postponement of a meeting next week "to consider draft natural gas development regulations has been postponed to allow additional time for review by the five commission members," according to a statement by the agency. The draft hydrofracking regulations, which could have opened up further gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin, were scheduled to be voted on at the meeting.

Schneiderman had previously sent a letter to the agency opposing the draft regulations "lack the benefit of a full environmental impact study, which is required by law and dictated by common sense." He threatened to use "the full authority" of his office to stop the agency from moving forward. The AG had already filed a lawsuit, back in May, for what he said was its failure to commit to a full environmental review of the proposed regulations.

Today's postponement, he said, "further demonstrates that the proposed regulations for fracking in the Delaware River Basin are not ready to see the light of day."

"Without a full, fair and open review of the potential risks of fracking in the Basin, the public will continue to question the federal government’s ability to protect public health and environment," Schneiderman said.

Hinchey, who has also stated his previous opposition to the drilling process, said:

I am pleased that the Delaware River Basin Commission has followed through on my request to cancel a planned vote on the adoption of Natural Gas Development Regulations for the Delaware River Basin. The commission should not begin considering adoption of any final regulations until it conducts a comprehensive and cumulative environmental impact study. Without such a study, there is no guarantee that the DRBC's regulations would be sufficient to protect the Basin.

This post has been updated.

New York City wasn't the only site of Occupy protests yesterday. Karen DeWitt, New York Public Radio's Capitol Bureau Chief, reports on the events in Albany.

Courtesy of the Governor's office.

Hundreds of Occupy movement members from around the state descended on the State Capitol Thursday, chanting and voicing their disagreement with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s economic policies.

The protesters yesterday held a rally in Lafayette Park, across the street from the Capitol, before made their way inside the Capitol building, chanting “we are the 99 percent.” They ended up in Cuomo’s reception area known as the “war room.” The protesters vehemently disagree with a number of Cuomo positions, including extending a state tax on upper income earners that expires at the end of the year. Occupier Rosemary Rivera says Cuomo is paying too much attention to the needs of the rich, and not the rest.

“We need to educate our children, we need to maintain our public structures, we need to save our bridges,” she shouted.

“We need to put our people back to work,” she said, to cheers.

For the first time, the protesters also set their sights on the Republican-controlled State Senate. Rivera, in the call and response ritual known by Occupiers as “mike check”, says Senators are too beholden to the state’s Business lobby.

The state police presence was heavy, with dozens of extra officers stationed at key posts, including outside the governor’s door.

No one was detained, but the governor has said state police will continue to arrest those who try to remain on state land overnight.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares has refused to prosecute anyone arrested by the state police. He says as long as the demonstrations are peaceful, he won’t interfere and would rather use his time to go after more serious crimes.

Soares says his approach has been working so far. Up until Cuomo began ordering the arrests, the demonstrators spend three weeks camping peacefully on city land. He says Albany has been a contrast to other cities, like Oakland, California, where an aggressive police and prosecutorial crackdown has led to a backlash.

“Watching Oakland, if the decision makers had an opportunity to do it all over again they would not have done what they in fact did,” said Soares.

There have been calls for Cuomo to appoint a special prosecutor to supersede Soares authority, and the governor has not ruled that out. The DA says he won’t argue if that occurs.

“That’s certainly within the prerogative of the executive, and we would respect that decision,” said Soares, but he says he thinks local authorities know best how to handle the demonstrators.

Governor Cuomo was in Albany but did not engage the protesters.

First there was the Assembly's "quick start" report released yesterday. There's a bit of uncertainty in the budget gap they see next year--whether it's a full $1.8 billion or if that figure takes into account the shortfall in this year's budget as well--but the message is the same.

[T]he [midyear report] notes that there are serious risks to the economic outlook of the nation and New York State. Problems that were central to the recent recession continue, particularly weaknesses in both the labor market and the housing market. Furthermore, a highly volatile stock market and the European debt crisis have created considerable uncertainty in the financial markets.

Today, State Comptroller Thoma DiNapoli's office heaped on the pile of budget downers with a release saying the October tax revenues were below expectations by $584 million.

“New York’s financial results over the past several months support the recent downward revisions to the State’s Financial Plan and reinforce recent Quick Start projections,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “It is more important than ever to confront our budgetary problems with responsible, recurring actions to ensure a fair and balanced budget that improves the health of our state’s economy.”

The Governor's office has said the budget gap next year could be as high as $3.5 billion.

[Scroll down for additional updates]

UPDATE 2:

Reuters is reporting, and WNYC's Bob Hennelly has confirmed through the Liu campaign's lawyer Martin Connor, that the special investigator Comptroller John Liu hired to review his campaign's troubled fundraising practices has quit.

According to reports, former New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams sent a letter to the campaign today that he was resigning, saying its request that he wait until a Federal probe into the campaign was over before investigating, "compromises my independence, and my ability to do a thorough and effective job."

Abrams was hired after a New York Times article pointed to major issues with the Comptroller's fundraising practices. Abrams was hired less than three weeks ago.

Connor was quoted by Reuters saying, "It really doesn't make sense to have two investigations to be going on at once, and it's terribly expensive, and I think the federal government has more than enough resources to get all the information that's needed and they have subpoena power, and Mr. Abrams doesn't."

---

That's what some people are wondering after an event in Greenpoint last night. The Chinese-language newspaper World Journal reported that at a fundraising event, the Comptroller reportedly told the crowd of about 80 people, "I've never felt this strong a will to run, I will run for New York City's top job!"

He went on to talk about the changes he would bring to City Hall and to discuss the growing inequality in the city. The announcement came at roughly the same time the man accused of making illegal contributions to his campaign was released from jail on a $100,000 bond.

Liu's campaign has not responded to a request for comment or confirmation. We will post updates as they come in.

UPDATE: John Liu's campaign spokesperson, Chung Seto, sent this message in response to requests for confirmation on the Comptroller's statements last night:

The World Journal headline is erroneous.

Indeed, Liu never said "I'm running for Mayor." But it's hard to see the thin line of daylight between running for Mayor and running for "New York City's top job!" We're still waiting for confirmation on the actual quotes from the event.

If they're confirmed, it will be an amazing statement on John Liu: at the very moment he became more embroiled in questions about his fundraising practices, Liu was in Brooklyn giving everyone in the room at a fundraiser reason to believe he's still running for Mayor.