NY State Senate legalizes street usage of e-motored cycles and motor scooters

QNS

The state legislature is on the verge of legalizing e-bikes and e-scooters in New York City after a deal was reached Monday.


Lawmakers will vote Wednesday on legislation originally introduced be state Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Nily Rozic that would end the de Blasio administration ban on e-bikes used by thousands of immigrant delivery workers as a public safety issue while NYPD statistics show they caused just 9 pedestrian injuries in 2018.

“For many of my neighbors, who are immigrant delivery workers, using alternative modes of transportation is a matter of livelihood,” Ramos said during a June 17 rally with workers in the State Capitol Building. “Legalizing e-bikes and e-scooters is a matter of equal access to our streets and our city.”


Ramos added the legislation will decriminalize the work of the estimated 30,000 food delivery workers who use e-bikes daily across the five boroughs.


“From lost wages and confiscations, delivery workers in New York City have been impacted by the ongoing criminalization of unregulated e-bike for far too long,” Rozic said. “Passage of this bill would not only deliver economic justice for thousands of workers, but also bring New York into the fold as micro mobility takes shape across the country as a means to provide affordable transportation alternatives.”

The de Blasio administration adopted a conciliatory tone.
 
“We appreciate this commonsense legislation that clarifies the rules around e-bikes on our streets,” City Hall Spokesman Seth Stein said. “Safety for everyone on our roads is a priority, and we look forward to work ing with legislators and communities as we deliver plans to implement the new law.”

 I wonder which foot delivery app Assemblywoman Rozic ordered for that word salad. I don't know what economic justice will be served now that these electric motorcycle users will certainly be emboldened to break traffic laws to make their deliveries. "Micro-mobility"??

Senate Majority Leader gives Gianaris ability to quash Amazon corporate welfare deal as de Blasio starts job training program designed for it

 

QNS


Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins recommended state Senator Michael Gianaris as a member of the state Public Authorities Control Board, which could potentially veto the Amazon project.

 
Gianaris, the deputy majority leader of the Senate, has been a leading opponent of the Amazon deal due to the incentive package worth nearly $3 billion in taxpayer funds.
 
“New York needs responsible fiscal stewardship now more than ever and ensuring our economic development dollars are well spent is a responsibility I take very seriously,” Gianaris said Monday. 

“I appreciate Leader Stewart-Cousin’s faith in me and am honored she submitted my name to serve on the PACB.”

We shall see.

Meanwhile...

QNS

As it gears up for the full arrival of Amazon’s HQ2 campus in Long Island City is the coming years, the de Blasio administration announced Jan. 28 it is offering up to $300,000 in micro-grants to qualified organizations that specialize in workforce development.

The grants will support research and planning into innovative approaches the city could take to promote training and hiring of underrepresented New Yorkers in tech and other in-demand sectors.

“Preparing New Yorkers for the jobs of tomorrow and making sure those jobs are accessible to residents from all backgrounds with different skill sets is critical to leveling the economic playing field,” the New York City Economic Development Corporation President and CEO James Patchett said. “We are excited to partner with the Office of Workforce Development to catalyze innovative workforce training programs that will help ensure New Yorkers are ahead of the game as the city’s tech sector booms.”

 Through a request for expressions of interest, known as an RFEI, the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development and the NYCEDC will work with community-based organizations with funds to develop effective, innovative programmatic concepts the city and its partners can use to help ensure local talent is prepared to access new hiring tech opportunities.

Rest in peace, Senator Peralta

From the NY Post:

New York State Senator Jose Peralta died of an apparent heart attack late Wednesday night, friends and fellow lawmakers said. He was 47.

Peralta, a Democrat, represented a Queens district that included diverse neighborhoods such as Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Woodside.

Avella is all in

From the Wall Street Journal:

State Sen. Tony Avella, a former member of a now-defunct group of breakaway Democrats who lost to John Liu in his district’s Democratic primary in September, announced Monday that he will still run for his seat in the general election.

The Queens senator said in a video that he will run as a candidate for the Independence Party and the Women’s Equality Party.

Mr. Liu, a former New York City comptroller, beat Mr. Avella in the primary after announcing his own last-minute run. However, Mr. Avella said that he will have strong support in the general election from voters who couldn’t vote in the primary.

“Although I was disappointed in the results of the Democratic primary, I have been astounded by the level of support I have received since then from all aspects of our community,” he said.

Like Mr. Liu — who made a last-minute push to get on the Democratic ballot this summer after encouragement from a grass-roots group — Mr. Avella said residents urged him to continue his campaign.

Frank Padavan has passed away

From the Times Ledger:

Longtime state Sen. Frank Padavan died, according to an announcement from the Queens County GOP Tuesday morning. Padavan died of a heart attack at New York Presbyterian Hospital, according to a source.

A Republican, Padavan went to Albany in 1972 as the state Senator from the 11th District, a seat he would hold for 38 years representing a wide swath of Queens, including Bayside, Bay Terrace, Queens Village, Bellerose, Flushing, Whitestone, Little Neck, College Point and Jamaica Estates.

Padavan fought hard for mental health patient rights, education, and fairness in the criminal justice system before losing to state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) in the November 2010 general election.

Paladino, Sullivan, Barnwell, Cruz win primaries

These numbers come from NY1:

STATE ASSEMBLY - QUEENS (D) DISTRICT 30
• Precincts Reported: 82/82

Brian 5,214
Barnwell
64.2%

Melissa 2,902
Sklarz
35.8%


STATE ASSEMBLY - QUEENS (D) DISTRICT 39
• Precincts Reported: 56/56

Catalina 3,736
Cruz
53.5%

Ari 3,016
Espinal
43.2%

Yonel 225
Sosa
3.2%


STATE SENATE - QUEENS (R) DISTRICT 11

• Precincts Reported: 224/224
Vickie 1,640
Paladino
57.3%

Simon 1,220
Minching
42.7%

STATE SENATE - QUEENS (R) DISTRICT 15
• Precincts Reported: 223/224

Thomas 3,188
Sullivan
67.9%

Slawomir 1,508
Platta
32.1%

A very entertaining debate

From NY1:

Errol Louis moderated a debate between challenger John Liu and incumbent Tony Avella, in a fierce state Senate race for the 11th district in Queens. The candidates debate their fundraising ethics, and discuss if they would support congestion pricing.

A deeply flawed candidate

From The Forum:

Let’s start with that old adage “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” If you buy that then we can make our case very simply.

Platta’s buddy, and campaign consultant, is none other than former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher. You remember him: In the middle of his second term he was forced out of office because in a drunken rage he sexually assaulted a woman he had coaxed into his district office after which he burned her body with a cigarette.

But okay, let’s say it’s not fair to judge Platta on the basis of who his good buddy is.

In May 2017, Platta was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment after a female doctor threatened to expose his marital infidelity.

“If you tell anyone about my cheating, I will kill you and your family and ruin your life; I will send a patient to your practice to make false reports against you and ruin your career.”

That’s a direct quote from Platta straight from an official court document: The People of the State of New York, Plaintiff, v. Platta, Slawomir, Defendant.

In order to get on the ballot for the upcoming primary, Platta circulated a petition for a third party line called the No Homeless Shelter Party at a homeless shelter rally. The problem is that Platta told unsuspecting rally attendees that they were signing a petition to speak out about stopping Mayor de Blasio from creating any more homeless shelters.

When one such signer, Scott Jordan, realized he had been duped, he decided to become an objector to the petition at the NYC Board of Elections because the signatures were obtained through fraud and misrepresentation. Platta’s answer to that was to put out a media hit piece against an innocent constituent of the district and muddy his good name by circulating it through the district and on social media.

By the way, did we mention that Platta was collecting signatures personally, yet when the volume was submitted to the BOE, none of the sheets he carried were witnessed by him—a fatal flaw in the petition process.

These revelations are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Mr. Platta, who was kicked off his bogus "No Homeless Shelter" party line by the BOE yesterday. Naturally, he was endorsed by the Queens Ledge.

Yet another turd that won't stay flushed

From the NY Post:

Scandal-scarred former New York City Comptroller John Liu is attempting a political comeback — emboldened by the stunning upset pulled off last week by Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, sources said.

Liu and his hard-left supporters from TrueBlueNY are racing to gain 3,000 signatures so he can run against incumbent Sen. Tony Avella of Queens in the Democratic primary Sept. 13.

The deadline to submit the petitions is Thursday at midnight, according to the city’s Board of Elections.

Avella is the last member of the Independent Democratic Conference to be challenged by a Democrat, even after the mainstream party called a truce with the rogue group that aligned itself with the GOP in a power-sharing agreement.

Cuomo aide says Albany drama is all because of Gianaris

From the Daily News:

A top aide to Gov. Cuomo says reunifying the fractured state Senate Democrats will be almost impossible as long as Sen. Michael Gianaris remains in a top leadership role for the mainline Dems.

The personal animosity between Gianaris and Bronx Sen. Jeffrey Klein, who heads up a group of eight breakaway Senate Democrats aligned in a leadership coalition with the Republicans, is the single biggest roadblock for Dem control of the chamber, the Cuomo official said.

The aide sought to peg most the problems on Gianaris, who has had his own tensions with the governor, most recently over the mass transit crisis.The Cuomo aide accused Gianaris, of Queens, of trying behind the scenes to torpedo any deal because he’d rather be deputy leader in the minority than lose influence if the Dems are in the majority.

“This is the oldest story in the book — it’s power, who gets it and who loses it,” the aide said. “When Jeff Klein rejoins the Democrats, Mike Gianaris gets displaced, and therefore he is working to further the divide.”

To break the stalemate, the Cuomo official said, the governor has gone “so far as to offer Mike a job in the administration or offer to support him to run for Queens County (district attorney) down the road.”

Rivington House bill killed by senate committee

From DNA Info:

A bill introduced in the wake of the Rivington House scandal aimed at preventing future nursing home closures has been rejected by the State Senate's Health Committee.

The "Rivington Act," named for the Lower East Side nursing home for HIV/AIDS patients that in 2015 was shuttered and sold to condo developers, would have created a community-driven vetting process to make it more difficult for an operator to close a nursing home.

The bill would have required the Department of Health commissioner to disseminate a report to city and state officials as well as the local community board assessing the impact the closure would have on the community. Community members and elected officials would have then made recommendations to DOH before the agency made a decision on the plan to close.

It was first introduced by State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon last year.

But the bill was voted down Tuesday afternoon by the Senate's Health Committee after committee chair State Sen. Kemp Hannon recommended a "No" vote, noting the bill was not "near shape" to become law.

"I don’t think it's in anywhere near shape to possibly become law, so I would recommend a 'No' vote, but if Senator Squadron’s going to pursue — and he’s not a shy one about pursuing — pursue the discussion we may see this bill again," said Hannon at Tuesday's committee hearing.

"It's defeated, but we will see it again," Hannon said after the vote.

Peralta joins the IDC

From NY1:

The breakaway Independent Democratic Conference, or IDC, will now have eight members with its newest addition, state Senator Jose Peralta of Queens.

"Look, this is a process. Like I said, I've been doing a lot of soul searching. And I reached that crossroads," Peralta said.

Despite holding a numeric majority, Democrats do not run the state Senate. The Republicans do, with a power-sharing arrangement with the IDC. That means both members of the IDC and Senate Republicans control the legislative agenda in the upper house.

By party registration, Democrats actually outnumber Republicans by 32 to 31 seats. But in practice, it's much different. Mainline Democrats now have 23 seats, Republicans 31 and the IDC 8. And Brooklyn Democrat Simcha Felder caucuses with the Republicans.

Peralta says joining the IDC is the best way to deliver for his Queens constituents.

Sampson sent up the river

From AM-NY:

Former New York State Senate leader John Sampson was sentenced to 5 years in prison Wednesday for lying and obstructing justice to cover up his misuse of escrow money as a private lawyer.

Brooklyn U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry also imposed a $75,000 fine on the former Democratic leader from Canarsie whose 2015 conviction was one in a string of corruption cases that have rocked Albany.

Sampson, 51, had allegedly misused $440,000 in escrow money to help finance a political campaign for district attorney in Brooklyn, then did favors for Edul Ahmad, a local businessman who gave him $188,000 to help cover up the misuse of funds.

He was not convicted of those charges but was convicted of lying to the FBI and recruiting a childhood friend, Sam Noel, who worked for the Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office, as a mole to keep track of an investigation of Ahmad, who he feared might become an informant.

Sanders wins again despite Machine opposition

From DNA Info:

Incumbent State Sen. James Sanders Jr. won the Democratic primary in Southeast Queens' 10th Senate District Tuesday.

Sanders, a former city councilman who has been in office since 2013, received nearly 57 percent of the vote, according to state results. He has wide name recognition in the district and secured a number of labor endorsements.

His challenger, Adrienne Adams, chairwoman of Community Board 12, picked up more than 41 percent of the vote.

Sanders won even though the Queens County Democratic Party backed Adams after he declared last year that he was planning to challenge Queens Rep. Gregory Meeks this fall.

QB bridge toll lowered in latest Move NY bill

From Sunnyside Post:

A version of the controversial “Move NY” transportation plan, which would redistribute tolls among the City’s bridges and crossings, was introduced in the State Senate earlier this month with a slightly lower Queensboro Bridge fare than has been previously proposed.

“Move NY” has been a subject of debate since it was formally proposed by a coalition of transportation advocates in February 2015; it was introduced as a bill in the State Assembly by Member Robert Rodriguez of Manhattan this past March.

Rodriguez’s bill would add a toll to East River bridges, including the Queensboro, of $5.54 with E-ZPass or $8 without. These numbers are matched with the tolls at the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and Hugh L. Carey (Brooklyn-Battery) Tunnel. In contrast the Senate legislation, introduced by State Sen. Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, proposes a $5 Queensboro toll with E-ZPass.

The plan also involves discounting other major bridges that are currently tolled, including the Triborough/RFK, by up to 48 percent.

Advocates of the Move NY plan believe that this “toll swap” would be more fair for drivers on the Triborough/RFK and other tolled bridges, who have fewer transportation alternatives. Meanwhile, they charge that it would de-incentivize the Queensboro Bridge, therefore reducing congestion and pollution around Queens Plaza.

The primary promised benefit of the overall plan is that millions of new dollars in revenue would be created, which would then go towards improving New York City’s public transit and transportation infrastructure.

Keep the subpoenas coming!

From the Wall Street Journal:

Some of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s closest political allies have received subpoenas as part of coordinated federal and state investigations into his fundraising activities, people familiar with the matter said.

City Hall has also been subpoenaed and will cooperate fully, but Mr. de Blasio “has not been personally served,” Maya Wiley, counsel to the mayor, said Wednesday night.

The allies who received subpoenas include Emma Wolfe, the mayor’s director of intergovernmental affairs and his chief political aide; Ross Offinger, his top fundraiser; and BerlinRosen, a consulting firm that works on the mayor’s political campaigns and was co-founded by Jonathan Rosen, a top adviser to Mr. de Blasio.

Other political consultants and firms close to the mayor have also gotten subpoenas, the people said.

Neither the mayor nor his allies have been accused of any wrongdoing. A spokeswoman for the mayor’s office said Ms. Wolfe’s integrity shouldn’t be questioned and that she had followed all laws. Mr. Offinger declined to comment through a spokesman.

Mr. Rosen said, “We have acted appropriately and in accordance with the law at all times.”

The subpoenas are seeking documents related to the mayor’s unsuccessful effort in 2014 to bring the state Senate under Democratic control and fundraising for the Campaign for One New York, a nonprofit set up by Mr. de Blasio’s allies to advance the mayor’s agenda, the people said.

Will Toby finally get sunk?

From the Queens Tribune:

Democrat S.J. Jung, Flushing resident and former President of the MinKwon Center for Community Action, announced this week that he would make another run for State Senate in the 16th Senate District, setting up for another primary challenge against longtime incumbent state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing).

Stavisky has survived competitive primary challenges in her last three races. Besides Jung in 2014, she held back a challenge from John Messer in 2012, who also received 42 percent of the vote, and she fought off two challengers – Messer and Chemist and former City Council candidate Isaac Sasson – in the very competitive 2010 primary.

The district was redrawn in 2010 and has an Asian American plurality, and includes Chinese American enclaves in Downtown Flushing, Fresh Meadows and Elmhurst, as well as heavily Jewish American communities such as Rego Park, Oakland Gardens and Electchester/Pomonok.

Sanders drops out of congressional race

From the Queens Chronicle:

State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-South Ozone Park) announced Tuesday afternoon that he is ending his campaign for Congress and will instead run to defend his seat in the 10th District this fall.

Avella pushing for tax cap

From the Daily News:

Not long ago, the city’s working- and middle-class homeowners gasped when they opened the mail to find new property tax assessments.

While the property tax rate in New York City hasn’t risen, our homeowners get slammed with exorbitant annual increases — many in my district in Queens saw hikes as high as $1,000 — because of a severely broken property-tax assessment system. These homeowners need relief to maintain a promise of affordability in New York City, which is why I support a 2% state property tax cap.

Our city can live under such a cap, just like every municipality, town and village in New York State has since 2011, where homeowners experience this respite from skyrocketing local levies.

Under the cap, increases in projected property taxes in localities are constrained. They can grow by only 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower — unless the local council overrides the decision by a two-thirds vote.

As a result, not only do homeowners outside of the city enjoy lower tax bills, but by Fiscal Year 2020, they will have received $4.5 billion in additional state relief tied to the cap. Right now, city taxpayers don’t get a penny from those relief programs.

So extending the tax cap to New York City would help lift a burden both on families and on the city budget. For example, with a New York City cap in place, I would fully expect Gov. Cuomo to pick up the Medicaid growth that he’s proposed the city pay in this year’s budget; no county living under the property tax cap foots the bill for Medicaid growth.

There is something wrong when a mayor who preaches the gospel of affordability wants to balance the budget on the backs of working- and middle-class families.

The State Senate already voted for a 2% tax cap for New York City. I urge my colleagues in the Assembly to do the same to help struggling homeowners cope with costs, to keep New York affordable and to finally let 44% of New York taxpayers receive their fair share from the state.

What idiots came up with this?

From Gotham Gazette:

As New Yorkers begin a year of many voting opportunities, there are important questions that elections will help answer - like who the next U.S. President will be and which party will control the state Senate - but also concern about voter fatigue and thus, turnout.

There will be at least four chances for New Yorkers to cast votes in 2016, with three different primary election days leading up to November’s general election. There will be a presidential primary vote in April; congressional primaries in June; and state legislative primaries in September. There will also be special elections sprinkled in to fill empty seats in the state Assembly and Senate.

On April 19, New Yorkers will vote in their party primaries for president; on June 28, it will be primaries for all 27 New York members of the House of Representatives, with Senator Chuck Schumer on the ballot, too; and on September 13, primaries for all 63 seats of the State Senate and all 150 seats of the State Assembly.

No date has been set by the governor yet for special elections in the state legislature, including those to replace former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, whose 2015 corruption convictions created vacancies.

In 2015, some New York City voters cast ballots for new district attorneys, judges, and city Council members, among others. By the time New Yorkers vote for president in November, it could be their sixth trip to the polls in 14 months.