With help from Shawn Ness
she is taking Her (budget) show is on the road.
Governor Cathy Hochul She went deep into Long Island today, promoting her $233 billion budget plan and trying to drum up support in the politically important suburbs.
Speaking at Kings Park in Suffolk County, The governor defended her proposal. dispose of cargo hold harmlessly This is a policy that protects schools from cuts in state support. She also boasted plans to spend $40.2 million to combat retail theft.
and among numerous other initiatives.She extolled the virtues of the $650 million housing incentive plan, which she said showed her fearlessness in dealing with the pressing issue of suburban housing development.
“As a new grandmother, I will say this,” Hocheol said. “A lot of young people grow up in great communities and think, ‘One day, when I have a family, I’m going to raise my kids near grandparents who can take care of them.’”
“But now those kids They can't afford to live in the town where they grew up. “It’s really heartbreaking,” she said.
Then Hocheol told a story about carrots. And a stick. She said the various attempts to develop suburban housing during her term as governor demonstrated a willingness to try different approaches to the problem.
Hocheol discovered it last year Her stick was barely affected by the branches.
Her attempt to push through. all A politically radioactive proposition. A bill mandating more housing in New York City's suburbs was eventually abandoned.
And the year before last, she tried Legalizing apartments on single-family residential lots.
the planI also put it aside.
“I started last year. The conversation was weaponized,” Hocheol said of the previous housing proposal. “It was a reasonable request… but I was asked for more carrots.”
To access $650 million in fundingCommunities must first receive “housing advocacy” certification from the state, a type of gold star certification given to communities hosting housing developments.
She also brought another check. Hochul announced Smithtown-Kings Park as one of the winners of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, one of the programs eligible for $650 million in funding. Brookhaven-North Bellport and Mineola also received $4.5 million each through the NY Forward program.
outside high school Although Ho-cheol was giving a speech, a small number of protesters gathered.
“No housing development!” one of the protest signs said. — Jason Bipperman
School aid cuts: If you think the House race is partly like that, Focusing on what's happening in AlbanyThink again.
Case in point: cuts to school aid funding that could impact some districts as part of Hochul's plan to reduce spending growth.
Long Island GOP Reps. Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino and Anthony D'Esposito are all up for re-election in competitive races this year. Sent a joint statement criticizing Hochul's budget, which included proposed cuts to local schools and added $2.4 billion for immigrant aid. Danger.
“It is shameful that Governor Hochul is proposing a state budget with draconian cuts to over 40 Long Island school districts while providing billions of dollars to pay for the ongoing immigration crisis,” LaLota said in a statement.
The statement describes the spending cuts as a “slap in the face” for New York taxpayers. “Long Island students should not have to pay for our state’s failures. If the governor wants to put our students last, Albany must act immediately to correct this injustice.”
Hochul argues that increasing school funding by 7% each year is unsustainable and that enrollment trends should be a bigger factor in how the $35 billion per capita — the largest in the nation — is distributed among the nearly 700 school districts.
“We will not be able to replicate the huge increases of the past two years as much as we would like,” she warned in her budget speech on Tuesday. — Sean Ness
origin: Many of the immigrants in New York City's custody are from Venezuela, according to new City Hall data obtained Thursday by Playbook.
As of December 28, 41% of the population living in urban shelters were immigrants from Venezuela. Immigrants from Ecuador account for 18%. Colombians make up 9%. Immigrants from Senegal make up 6%, according to the data.
Numbers show recent arrivals in New York also came from Guinea, Peru and Mauritania.
More than 68,000 migrants, including asylum seekers, are receiving protection and support from New York City.
Starting July 31, Venezuelans who have continuously resided in the United States can apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and city, state and federal officials have been working together to help them file their documents. — Emily Ngo
education: Schools Chancellor David Banks is seeking ways to improve facilities in historically underserved areas across New York City.
During the 2022-23 school year, the Department of Education launched a pilot campus revival project in District 23 in Brooklyn, which serves Ocean Hill, Brownsville and parts of eastern New York. The department has pledged to invest more than $10 million in 168 projects across the region over two years. The banks said 117 works have been completed in the first year and the remainder will be completed by the end of the year.
The city also plans to expand the plan to three additional districts: District 5 in Harlem, District 7 in the South Bronx, and District 29 in southeast Queens. Officials are in the process of identifying local priorities and initial work on the project will begin soon.
Banks said the process is being driven by maintained school communities as well as elected officials, community-based organizations and faith leaders.
“This area has been traditionally underserved,” Banks said at a press conference held at PS 137 Rachel Jean Mitchell School. “We need to change this narrative going forward. Therefore, we will work to resolve facility issues in a structured and targeted manner.” —Madina Toure
Congested pricing leads to more lawsuits: The New York City Council's Common Sense Caucus has filed a lawsuit targeting the city's congestion pricing plan. The lawsuit aims to study the environmental impacts of the plan before it moves forward.
The toll applies to all areas south of 60th Street in Manhattan and is designed to ease traffic and make it easier for people to move from driving to public transportation. Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) called the tax a fraud that only hurts hard-working New Yorkers.
“This covers up the fact that the MTA is wantonly wasting our tax dollars. It is time for the MTA to address fare evasion and root out rampant waste and abuse within the agency rather than punishing residents,” Holden said in a statement.
The Riders Alliance recently criticized the lawsuit. New Jersey filed a lawsuit last year challenging the policy.
“Today a few second-home-owning cynics filed yet another frivolous lawsuit in their privileged march against a fairer New York with modern, reliable, accessible public transportation and clean air,” said Danny, a spokesman for the group. Pearlstein said. — Sean Ness
Energy transfer: The Public Service Commission today approved Con Ed project costs that will be paid by customers.
The commission approved $1.2 billion to build new substations in Idlewild and other components to support the growing power needs of Queens, including MTA bus stations and JFK Airport. The company petitioned for approval of the project last August, saying quick action was needed because electrification would increase demand beyond the capacity of the existing Jamaican network by 2026.
“Con Edison will make infrastructure investments designed to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy while ensuring the reliability of the overall electric grid,” PSC Chairman Rory Christian said in a statement. “Our actions today are a win-win for the company’s customers and the environment.”
Some clean energy developers have urged the commission to require Con Ed to look at non-wireless alternatives, such as battery storage or demand response, to avoid costly infrastructure projects. The city also argued that the plan does not comprehensively address growing demand and is not a cost-effective solution.
Commissioner Diane Burman voted against the committee order. She said such investments should be scrutinized as part of the regular rate litigation process for utilities.
Burman also questioned whether all ratepayers would have to foot the cost of the upgrades. She said the cost of the upgrades is primarily driven by demand and electrification projects at the MTA and JFK Airport.
“I don’t think it’s sustainable for ratepayers to foot the majority of this as we electrify more,” she said.
The MTA has committed to electrifying its entire bus fleet by 2040, and the authority supports the Con Ed project. — Marie J. French
Belmont Stakes Jobs: The New York Racing Association will host a career fair on Feb. 21, “the first in a series of events to support the historic Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.”
NYRA is seeking participants for the 156th annual Belmont Stakes festival (June 6-8) at the Saratoga track while renovations to Long Island's Belmont are underway. The job fair will be held on the first floor of the 1863 Club at the track from 2 to 6 p.m.
NYRA President Dave O'Rourke said: “The 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will be an economic engine for Upstate New York. “The majority of that impact will be the creation of hundreds of temporary jobs to support the Triple Crown event at Saratoga Racecourse this June.” — Sean Ness
Public Safety: New York State lawmakers joined with human rights and social justice advocates to introduce this bill. definition roadmap. This plan is designed to address harm caused by the criminal justice and immigration systems and develop safer communities.
This effort seeks to prevent the criminalization of people with mental health problems, drug users, street vendors and sex workers.
It also aims to “protect the dignity of incarcerated New Yorkers while expanding opportunities for growth, reforming sentencing laws, and promoting pathways to safe and fair release.” According to a statement from the Immigration Defense Project, we must end wealth extraction and invest in historically marginalized communities. — Sean Ness
— Adams asked for a local. Major business groups form a six-person panel that will advise the city on financial matters. (crane's)
— Political activist Caleb Slater I am running for the 48th State Senate District seat currently held by Senator Rachel May. (political situation)
— Melissa DeRosa's new profile She said she would consider running for mayor of New York someday. (bustle)