With help from Shawn Ness
new from new york
What's happening now:
- The end of the budget is getting closer, but it probably won't be over until the end of the week.
- An Indian Point owner is suing to block him from dumping trash in the Hudson River.
- Arrests were made after people jumped on stage at Mayor Eric Adams' event.
- Analysis of energy measures that make up the state budget.
The day the budget is late: 18
End of the budget tunnel: The end is now near. So we are facing the final curtain.
The bills are printing smoothly (despite the cyberattack), budget items are being passed piece by piece, and lawmakers are ready to celebrate as they finalize the housing, labor, and education sections of the budget.
“We’re now at the point where the cake is baked, we put the icing on it and we light the candles,” said Albany-area Representative John McDonald. “We have a choice: blow out the candles and call it a party, or turn on the lights?”
McDonald's said the cake was unlikely to burst.
With the budget changing late Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul was in New York, New York as lawmakers passed the budget launch of today's spending plan. And she told everyone how she did it.
“I know a lot of people, a lot of experts, a lot of critics have said we can’t get this done and we’re falling short,” Hochul said. “I’m here to tell you that it happened exactly as we hoped.”
On the last day of budget processing, the governor is also blowing out candles.
She communicated the key priorities of her budget proposal. A long-awaited home deal is almost certain. Mayor Eric Adams' major priorities in Albany were all addressed, including market control, illegal cannabis stores, and increased funding for immigrants. And she even got the Legislature to set the stage for politically risky changes to the school aid formula in next year's budget.
And when it comes to crime, she defeated Rep. Carl Heastie by increasing penalties for assaults on retail store employees, even though Heastie opposed the issue (the offenses would become felonies rather than misdemeanors).
“It’s something I would never budge from,” she said today.
She will also add $40 million to create retail theft teams within district attorneys' offices, local police departments and state police, along with a new 100-member “smash unit.”
Now all we have to do is get the budget passed for her to sign. The sides will likely be here by the weekend.
“We’re in the homestretch,” McDonald said. — Jason Bipperman
Holtec is suing: The owner of the shuttered Indian Point Nuclear Generating Station has filed a lawsuit against New York State over a law that would ban it from dumping water containing radioactive isotopes of hydrogen into the Hudson River.
Holtec filed the lawsuit in the Southern District Court. The ban, which Hocheol signed last August, is invalid under federal law, the suit claims.
“The state violated the federal preemption doctrine by regulating an area reserved exclusively for the federal government,” the lawsuit said.
Holtec acquired the Indian Point Power Plant in 2021. The nuclear power plant was shut down with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who fought for its closure for years. Holtec's decommissioning plan included dumping millions of gallons of tritium into the Hudson River. Nuclear power plants produced much more of the same types of emissions during operation.
Environmental advocates and lawmakers have raised concerns about public perception of the emissions. The final bill included mention of potential economic impacts rather than health concerns.
“The state attempted to conceal its efforts to regulate radiation health and safety under the guise of economic concerns,” the lawsuit states. “These false claims do not change the fact that the state is attempting to regulate issues that directly impact radiation safety.” — Marie J. French
Hot Ticket: Climate activists who stormed the stage while Adams was speaking at the Power Breakfast Tuesday were charged with forgery, trespassing and disorderly conduct for allegedly printing fake ABNY name tags to gain access to the event.
Protesters, organized by the group Planet over Profit, complain that they have been overcharged simply for targeting Adams. New School graduate students Roni Zahavi-Brunner and Teddy Ogborn told Playbook that they and two others were arrested and detained overnight for about 26 hours, and that protesters were typically released with just desk appearance tickets.
“To call this ‘counterfeiting’ is to extend the crime into areas it has never applied to.” their attorney, Ron Kuby, said in a statement. “My clients received no financial benefit and were subject to exorbitant overcharges from thin-skinned mayors and embarrassed security officials.”
Ogborn was charged with 22 counts of possession of a counterfeit instrument because he had 21 different fake ABNY badges in his backpack. The others each faced one count.
Adams spokesman Fabien Levy denied any influence on the arrests and charges. Adams herself downplayed her threat, saying her security staff knew she could handle it on her own.
Bragg said the mayor's office did not force anything. “The mayor’s office makes charging decisions based on the evidence and the law, not the wishes of other parties,” he said.
The Association for a Better New York did not respond to Playbook's request for comment.
The protesters said they didn't have to fake anything, they just confidently walked through the doors of the Upper East Side venue and onto the stage.
Adams “continues to prioritize police as the solution to everything that happens in New York,” Ogborn said. “We’re trying to make it clear that he’s burning New York down in a metaphorical sense.” — jeff colt
Parks in New York: To mark the centenary of the State Parks Council, 21 landmarks across the state will be illuminated in green and gold.
“The system we started today with visionary leadership has grown over several decades to include more than 250 properties across 360,000 acres of land,” Hochul said in a statement.
Empire State Plaza, Niagara Falls, One World Trade Center and Jones Beach State Park will be surrounded by the park's green and centennial gold, as the governor said. It will shine with
Special centennial flags will also be flown at state parks and historic sites across the state. — Sean Ness
Approved Casino Sites: City Council today approved zoning proposals for casinos in all five boroughs amid fierce competition to operate gaming facilities in and around the city.
The plan, which passed 35-15, would legalize the use of casinos in certain commercial and manufacturing sectors. However, the change only applies to establishments that have obtained one of three state-issued gaming licenses.
At least nine casino bids are expected in New York City, and all of these proposals will require the consent of local politicians to move forward with the process.
Local zoning approvals must be considered to obtain a license, and the citywide change is intended to reduce the individual application burden on city governments and ensure that New York City bidders are not at a disadvantage compared to surrounding counties.
“As one of the few members who actually has a potential application, this is just a way to level the playing field,” said Councilman Justin Brannan, whose district includes Coney Island’s casino bid.
“I think [community advisory committee] “The process will be robust and rigorous, but to get to that process and for the community to actually have a say in it, whether they want it to be or not, we need this text amendment.”
But the proposal still drew pushback from some members of Congress.
“I cannot support anything that would remove local zoning control from our current city council members and community boards,” said Councilwoman Kristy Marmorato, who has a casino proposal in her Bronx neighborhood.
Meanwhile, City Council member Kalman Yeger called the change “bad policy” and said, “There is no revenue worth destroying the neighborhoods of this city.” — Janaki Chadha
house: New York's housing inventory hit a record low in March, according to a new report from the New York Association of REALTORS. Current inventory is at 14.7%, equivalent to 5,000 homes statewide.
While inventory is at an all-time low, the median sale price of homes has increased nearly 8%.
Wayne County saw the largest increase in costs, with average home costs rising 56%, from nearly $135,000 to $210,000.
On average, homes are on the market for less time, 63 days to be exact. This indicates that all homes on the market are still selling regardless of price increases. — Sean Ness
Energy-related information: Lawmakers and Hochul agreed to make sweeping changes to how transmission lines are approved in hopes that policymakers will speed up approval of projects essential to the state's investment in renewable energy.
The package also transfers the Office of Renewable Energy Locations to the Department of Public Service.
The deal sets a one-year timeline for the state to develop standard regulations for transmission line projects to minimize environmental impacts and avoid construction on farmland. Your schedule is likely to be tight. Regulations for siting renewable projects took much longer, with Hochul's budget proposing 18 months.
The agreement on site selection was praised by renewable energy developers.
“It is clear that improvements are needed to the permitting process,” said Deb Peck Kelleher, interim executive director of the Clean Energy New York Coalition. “With only six construction seasons left until 2030, time is of the essence and we cannot tolerate any delays.”
Storage has not been included in the scope of the Site Selection Office, but this transaction expands NYSERDA's “Build Ready” program to include energy storage projects.
This program, which aims to enable NYSERDA to identify and conduct pre-development activities on sites that are difficult to access renewable energy, has also been extended through 2030. It was allocated in the April 2020 budget and has not been very active so far. : The first auction for a 12MW solar power generation project site in an old mine that was closed down last month ended. NYSERDA is evaluating bids and expects to notify winners next year.
The union also won some victories by expanding prevailing wage and project labor agreement requirements to cover investments in thermal energy network projects, transmission lines and offshore wind supply chains.
However, storage projects subsidized through state programs were not included in the expansion. “For us, it was most important to have labor standards attached,” said Vinny Albanese, executive director of the State Laborers' Political Action Fund. He also supported changing the transmission location.
The budget will also include a sales tax exemption for residential storage projects, a requirement that NYSERDA study fast charging needs along highways and freight corridors, and increased fees for air permits and pollutant discharges. — Marie J. French
— Try it: The state budget includes allowing all movie theaters to sell alcohol. (Politico Pro)
— President Joe Biden is paying for it Micron visits the Empire State next week as it secures funding. (Syracuse.com)
— Market control would be part of the state budget. Here are the latest changes (POLITICO Pro):