In The News – New York State
Opening Day 2025
The New York State Legislature opened the 2025 legislative session this week, with the respective leaders calling for “affordability” across all of New York State.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins labeled the theme of the year as “Putting Affordability at the Heart of Progress.”
“We’ve always kept our focus on affordability,” Senator Stewart-Cousins explained, detailing past achievements including raising the minimum wage and expanding paid family leave. “We know families are still feeling the pinch. We know the challenges ahead require maintaining and strengthening our resolve to make New York more affordable.”
She touted proposals to move toward universal childcare in the state, “because working parents deserve affordable, high-quality care for their children, as well as protecting “basic freedoms,” including reproductive rights.
Meanwhile, Speaker Carl Heastie called for targeted tax relief and education funding equity.
Specifically, the Speaker is seeking tax relief for the middle class, elimination of state income taxes for low-income families, helping businesses struggling with unemployment liability and penalties held over from the pandemic, and easing the burden on small businesses and farms by increasing their tax deductions.
He noted that, in addition to annual unemployment contribution rates, New York still owes more than $6 billion to the federal Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The Speaker wants to find a way to eliminate the money owed to reduce the burden on small businesses.
In addition, this week, the leaders unveiled their respective Chairs of the legislative standing committees:
Aging – Cordell Cleare
Agriculture – Michelle Hinchey
Alcoholism and Substance Use Disorders – Nathalia Fernandez
Banks – James Sanders, Jr.
Budget and Revenue – Andrew Gounardes
Children and Families – Jabari Brisport
Cities 1 – Luis Sepulveda
Cities 2 – Christopher Ryan
Civil Service and Pensions – Robert Jackson
Codes – Zellnor Myrie
Commerce – Sean Ryan
Consumer Protection – Rachel May
Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions – Leroy Comrie
Crime Victims, Crime and Correction – Julia Salazar
Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks, and Recreation – Jose Serrano
Disabilities – Pat Fahy
Education – Shelley Mayer
Elections – Kristen Gonzalez
Energy – Kevin Parker
Environmental Conservation – Pete Harckham
Ethics and Internal Governance – Shelley Mayer
Finance – Liz Krueger
Health – Gustavo Rivera
Higher Education – Toby Ann Stavisky
Housing, Construction, and Community Development – Brian Kavanagh
Insurance – Jamaal Bailey
Internet and Technology – Kristen Gonzalez
Investigations and Government Operations – James Skoufis
Judiciary – Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Labor – Jessica Ramos
Libraries – Siela Bynoe
Local Government – Monica Martinez
Mental Health – Samra Brouk
New York City Education – John Liu
Procurement and Contracts – April Baskin
Racing, Gaming and Wagering – Joseph Addabbo
Rules – Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Social Services – Roxanne Persaud
Transportation – Jeremy Cooney
Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military Affairs – Jessica Scarcella-Spanton
Women’s issues – Lea Webb
Assembly Committee Chairs
Aging – Rebecca Seawright
Agriculture – Donna A. Lupardo
Alcoholism & Drug Abuse – Phil Steck
Banks – Clyde Vanel
Children & Families – Andrew Hevesi
Cities – Patrick Burke
Codes – Jeffrey Dinowitz
Consumer Affairs & Protection – Nily Rozic
Corporations, Authorities & Commissions – Ed Braunstein
Correction – Erik Dilan
Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce & Industry – Al Stirpe
Education – Michael Benedetto
Election Law – Latrice M. Walker
Energy – Didi Barrett
Environmental Conservation – Deborah J. Glick
Ethics and Guidance – Karen McMahon
Governmental Employees – Stacey Pheffer Amato
Governmental Operations – John T. McDonald III
Health – Amy Paulin
Higher Education – Alicia Hyndman
Housing – Linda B. Rosenthal
Insurance – David Weprin
Judiciary – Charles D. Lavine
Labor – Harry B. Bronson
Libraries & Education Technology – Robert C. Carroll
Local Governments – Billy Jones
Mental Health – Jo Anne Simon
Oversight, Analysis & Investigation – Jonathan G. Jacobson
People with Disabilities – Angelo Santabarbara
Racing & Wagering – Carrie Woerner
Real Property Taxation – Jaime R. Williams
Rules – Carl Heastie
Science & Technology – Steven Otis
Small Business – Marianne Buttenschon
Social Services – Maritza Davila
Tourism, Parks Arts and Sports Development – Ron Kim
Transportation – William B. Magnarelli
Veterans Affairs – Steve Stern
Ways & Means – Gary Pretlow
Comptroller DiNapoli Releases Report on Nonprofit Industry
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report that showed nonprofit organizations in 2022 provided 1.3 million jobs to New Yorkers, just over 1 in 6 private sector jobs in the state. However, while the number of nonprofits increased nationally between 2017-2022, they declined in New York and the number of jobs also fell by 4.1%.
In 2022, there were over 344,000 nonprofit organizations in the U.S., 3.1% of all private sector establishments. With 33,536, nearly 1 in 10 of these nonprofits were located in New York, comprising 5% of the private sector statewide. Nonprofits provided 12.8 million jobs nationwide in 2022, with the greatest number (10.6%) in New York.
Nonprofits in New York paid $96.8 billion in wages in 2022 (11.1% of the nationwide total). Statewide, three industry sectors accounted for 78.9% of nonprofits and 89.3% of nonprofit jobs in 2022. The health care and social assistance sectors had the largest share of nonprofit establishments (41.3%) and jobs (61.4%). Other sectors with significant employment in New York include educational services, other services, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality.
Comptroller DiNapoli’s report found that in 2022, almost 60% of the state’s nonprofits and two-thirds of their employment were in the downstate regions, with nearly half of all nonprofit jobs located in New York City. However, nonprofits jobs are a higher share of private sector employment in upstate regions. For example, in the Southern Tier, 1 in 4 private sector jobs are at a nonprofit.
Nonprofits provide a number of services on behalf of the state, including mental health and public assistance, recovery aid from storms and other weather events, public safety, food, and arts and cultural programs. Under state law, contracts are to be executed within 150 to 180 days after the funding for the program became law. As noted in Comptroller DiNapoli’s 2023 annual report on the implementation of the prompt contracting requirements, over 5,000 contracts, or 56%, with state agencies in 2023 were processed late.
In The News – New York City
Mayor Adams Outlines Goal to Make NYC the Best Place to Raise a Family
New York City Mayor Eric Adams yesterday outlined his vision to make New York City the best place to raise a family in his fourth State of the City address, delivered at The Apollo Theater in Harlem. Mayor Adams used his address to unveil new initiatives that will create a “safer, more affordable” city for working-class people across the five boroughs.
“…the state of our city is strong,” said Mayor Adams. “But there is no denying that many New Yorkers — especially our families — are still anxious about the future. We have to make sure that the greatest city in the world is also the greatest place to raise a family.”
The Mayor’s agenda centers around his new commitment to addressing street homelessness, a City of Yes proposal for finding new homes in the five boroughs, financial literacy, and clean, greener streets.
Subways, Serious Mental Illness, Shelters: A New Commitment to Addressing Street Homelessness:
- Investing $650 million support in services including adding 900 new Safe Haven beds.
- Opening a facility specifically to support unsheltered New Yorkers with serious mental illness, offer psychiatric care and substance use treatment, and help secure permanent housing.
- Launch a pilot program to connect soon-to-be parents applying for shelter with services that help them find permanent housing and prevent homelessness before their child is born.
City of Yes for Families: The Adams administration will work with agencies to build more family-sized housing units and multi-generational homes and work with the New York City Council to build more housing alongside schools, playgrounds, grocery stores, accessible transit stations, and libraries.
- As part of City of Yes for Families, the Adams Administration and the New York Public Library will move forward with a co-located library project, bringing over 800 units of mixed-income housing and a new facility to the Bloomingdale Library location in Manhattan Valley.
- City of Yes for Families will support homeownership with downpayment assistance programs and counting rental payments towards credit history.
- New York City Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) has begun collaboration with DSS to enhance housing support and resources available to veterans.
Education – Financial Literacy: Mayor Adams set a new goal to ensure that every public school student learns how to save and spend money by 2030. The Adams administration will deploy financial educators in every single school district to provide counseling, lead workshops, and help develop curricula; open 15 bank branch pilots in underserved schools; and give students hands-on experience learning about saving and investing.
Cleaner, Greener Streets: New York City will open more schoolyards in underserved neighborhoods for use during the summer, after school, and on the weekends. Additionally, New York City will add a second cleaning shift to 100 new hot spots across 64 parks throughout the city, ensuring they are cleaned each afternoon between Thursday and Monday. As part of the second shift, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation staff will also keep restrooms open, on average, for another two hours each day, five days a week.
In response to the Mayor’s speech, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams asserted that “this Council has always championed solutions for our working families – from fighting for early childhood education to more affordable housing and homeownership opportunities and expanding economic and educational opportunities.”
“…but far too often, we’ve faced resistance from the Administration when it comes time to negotiate the budget. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to achieve these priorities for our city and will also hold the Administration accountable to delivering for New Yorkers,” she explained.
Briefs
Governor Hochul Proposes New Initiatives to Make Homeownership More Affordable and Accessible
Governor Kathy Hochul this week announced State of the State proposals building upon her commitment to address the housing shortage and increase homeownership opportunities.
Governor Hochul is looking to disincentivize institutional investors (hedge funds and private equity firms) from buying one- and two-family homes by imposing a 75-day waiting period for institutional investor offers. In addition, the Governor will put forth legislation to deny these entities the ability to utilize the interest deductions, depreciation deductions, and other expenses associated with the ownership of these properties.
Governor Hochul will also call for $50 million in capital funding to incentivize “innovative” approaches to homebuilding such as the use of factory-built and modular development.
Attorney General James Puts Medical Transportation Industry on Notice, Announces New Actions to Stop Ongoing Fraud
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) this week issued cease and desist notices to 54 transportation companies throughout the state, warning them of potential financial penalties and prison sentences if they continue their alleged illegal schemes of overcharging Medicaid for fraudulent services.
According to the OAG, investigations into the medical transportation industry for ongoing fraud have already secured over $10 million and led to criminal convictions of 11 individuals. In addition to issuing the cease and desist notices this week, Attorney General James announced recent settlements with four transportation companies totaling over $847,000 for their illegal billing.
Medicaid reimburses authorized businesses for transporting Medicaid patients to and from covered medical services. A licensed taxi company enrolls with the state as an eligible provider and is then randomly assigned to provide trips to patients to specific, non-emergency, medical appointments. They are allowed to bill Medicaid for a base rate for the trip, plus an amount for mileage and any tolls.
The OAG notices sent to these 54 companies highlighted their violations and outlined potential penalties if they do not comply with the law. If the companies do not change their practices, OAG will pursue all legal remedies to recover funds and punish the companies’ operators.
NYC Unveils Winning Proposal to Reimagine Kingsbridge Armory
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat, and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO Andrew Kimball this week unveiled El Centro Kingsbridge — a new plan for the future of the Kingsbridge Armory.
Phase One of the project envisions a mixed-use development with a state-of-the-art event venue space, sports fields for local youth academies, cultural and commercial space, over 25,000 square-feet of dedicated community space, an educational facility focused on workforce development, and more. Phase Two includes 450 units of permanently affordable rental housing adjacent to the armory. The redevelopment is expected to generate nearly $2.6 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years, creating over 3,000 construction jobs and 360 permanent jobs.
The project is backed by a $200 million investment by Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul, $2 million from Borough President Gibson, $12 million from Councilmember Sanchez, and a $1.05 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with the support of Representative Espaillat. The construction will be executed under a project labor agreement, ensuring fair wages and benefits for construction workers.
The development team for the project will be led by 8th Regiment Partners LLC selected through a competitive request for proposals for the development rights.
Mayor Adams Appoints Michael Sedillo as Executive Director of Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the appointment of Michael Sedillo as the executive director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services. Sedillo will oversee the office’s efforts across city government to develop and promote a culture of customer service, introduce data-driven performance management measures, and reform practices, policies, and procedures to support nonprofits to contract with and deliver services to the city.
Sedillo started his career in New York City government as a change management analyst at MOCS. He joined City Hall in 2019 under then-Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Phil Thompson as his deputy chief of staff before joining the current Adams administration as a senior advisor.
In 2022, he led an initiative to clear a backlog of unregistered contracts that unlocked more than $6 billion in contractual dollars for providers. Sedillo also led efforts that resulted in a 30 percent reduction in the city’s job vacancies from its 2022 peak.
Coming Up
New York State
Monday, January 13th
New York State Senate Session,
Senate Chamber – New York State Capitol, Albany, 3 p.m.
New York State Assembly Session,
Assembly Chamber – New York State Capitol, Albany
New York State Board of Regents Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, January 14th
New York State Senate Session,
Senate Chamber – New York State Capitol, Albany, 11 a.m.
New York State Assembly Session,
Assembly Chamber – New York State Capitol, Albany, tbd
New York State of the State,
Hart Theater at The Egg, Albany, 1 p.m.
New York City
Tuesday, January 14th
Committee on Fire and Emergency Management, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Committee on Finance, Committee Room – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Wednesday, January 15th
Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings and Dispositions,
250 Broadway – Committee Room, 16th Floor, 11 a.m.
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises,
250 Broadway – Committee Room, 16th Floor, 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, January 16th
Committee on Immigration, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Committee on Land Use, 250 Broadway – Committee Room, 16th Floor, 11 a.m
Committee on Hospitals, Council Chambers – City Hall, 1 p.m.
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