In the News-New York State
Governor Hochul Signs the Clean Slate Act
Governor Kathy Hochul this week signed the Clean Slate Act (Chapter 631 of the Laws of 2023) which allows certain criminal records to be sealed years after an individual is sentenced or released from incarceration if that individual is not subsequently convicted of an additional criminal act.
Following their release from any incarceration, records of individuals with eligible misdemeanor convictions will be sealed after three years and those with certain felony convictions after eight years. The Clean Slate Act will not seal the records of individuals convicted of sex crimes, murder, or other non-drug Class A felonies. Law enforcement, prosecutors, the New York State Education Department, the courts, and other groups will continue to have access to all criminal records under this law.
“I negotiated a compromise that protects public safety and boosts economic opportunity, and the final Clean Slate Law will help New Yorkers access jobs and housing while allowing police, prosecutors and school officials to protect their communities,” Governor Hochul said.
The Clean Slate Act takes effect in November 2024. It provides the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) up to three years from that date to implement the processes necessary to identify and seal all eligible records. OCA will determine which criminal history records are eligible for sealing and notify the following entities of those sealed convictions: the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, which maintains the state’s fingerprint-based criminal history records; courts of conviction, county clerks, police departments, sheriffs’ offices, and district attorneys’ offices.
The legislation was sponsored by Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz.
Chapters of the Laws of 2023
Chapter 618 – Sponsored by AM Pheffer Amato/Senator Scarcella-Spanton – Removes the “wartime service” requirement to open the New York State employment opportunities to more disabled Veterans.
Chapter 619 – Sponsored by Senator Tedisco/AM Buttenschon – Establishes a veteran internship program (V.I.P. NY).
Chapter 621 – Sponsored by Senator Bailey/AM Walker – Requires the publication of the number of veterans on certain housing waiting lists.
Chapter 629 – Sponsored by AM Rajkumar/Senator Addabbo – Establishes Diwali as a school holiday in public schools in New York City.
Chapter 630 – Sponsored by Senator Kavangh/AM Weinstein – Enacts protections against deed theft.
Chapter 631 – Sponsored by AM Cruz/Senator Myrie – Relates to the automatic sealing of certain convictions.
In the News-New York City
Mayor Adams Releases November 2023 Financial Plan Update
As part of the City’s November 2023 Financial Plan Update, Mayor Eric Adams this week provided details of the impacts of the first of three 5% budget reductions necessary to cut the City’s funding gaps due largely to the migrant crisis. The November reduction saves the City $3.7 billion through the next fiscal year and takes effect immediately.
Similar percentage cuts may be made in January and April without more state and federal aid for the crisis, according to the Adams Administration.
Under the plan, the City will cancel the next five police academy classes, reducing the department’s headcount from 34,000 uniformed officers to 29,000 by mid-2025. There also is a vacancy reduction associated with the School Safety Division in New York City schools.
In addition, the Mayor cut over $547 million from NYC Education Department budget, predominantly through a hiring freeze and the elimination of 432 vacant non-classroom positions, including School Safety agents. The cuts will also impact the City’s preschool program, support for children’s out-of-school needs, and the Summer Rising program.
Meanwhile, New York City’s libraries will end seven-day-service as part of citywide budget cuts.
According to the Mayor, with the City facing outyear gaps reaching levels “unprecedented for this stage of the budget cycle,” the Adams administration took “targeted but significant and necessary steps” to deliver a balanced budget, as required by law. The FY24 budget is $110.5 billion and remains balanced.
“For months, we have warned New Yorkers about the challenging fiscal situation our city faces,” said Mayor Adams. “To balance the budget as the law requires, every city agency dug into their own budget to find savings, with minimal disruption to services. And while we pulled it off this time, make no mistake: Migrant costs are going up, tax revenue growth is slowing, and COVID stimulus funding is drying up. No city should be left to handle a national humanitarian crisis largely on its own, and without the significant and timely support we need from Washington, D.C., today’s budget will be only the beginning.”
Other areas of cuts include:
FDNY – Delay expansion of BHEARD mental health response program; reduction in EMS overtime spending; and the elimination of civilian vacancies, as well as light duty firefighter positions.
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – Imposition of a hiring freeze.
Department of Emergency Management – Elimination of funding for the Interim Flood Protection Measures Program, which is designed to minimize damage to property from coastal flooding caused by a hurricane.
Department of Sanitation – Delay the start of residential curbside organics collection in the Bronx and Staten Island from April of FY 2024 to October of FY 2025; End Job Training Participants Street cleaning program; Reverse previous increases to cleaning of pedestrian areas and litter basket service on park perimeters, greenways, and bridges; and a Reduction in litter basket service.
Department of Parks and Recreation: One year delay in the following programs: Community Garden Anti-gun Violence program, NYC SPARX Program, Swim Safety Expansion, Trail Formalization, and Tree Risk Management.
Department of Information Technology and Telecom- Reductions to the Participatory Budgeting program, the Taskforce on Racial Equity and Inclusion program, training support to community boards in the Civic Engagement Commission; and Reduction to promotional initiatives supporting the NYC Media & Entertainment Industry and grants supporting independent content creators.
Department of Consumer and Worker Protection: Cancelation of the expansion of Annual Tax Season Initiative.
Comptroller DiNapoli Examines Fiscal Hurdles Facing Key NYC-Supported Agencies
New York City is financially accountable for numerous entities that are legally separate but can impact its budget. This week State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released updated reports on three major city-supported agencies — the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and New York City Health + Hospitals (H+H) — highlighting the major financial and other issues they are confronting.
Comptroller DiNapoli also launched a new data tracker to monitor trends for New York City agencies’ performance data, staffing, and spending.
“We continue to shine a light on the financial challenges city agencies have to contend with amid economic and budget uncertainty,” Comptroller DiNapoli said. “Education, affordable housing, and health care are essential needs for millions of city residents. Given recent budgetary difficulties, discussion over the issues facing these agencies is warranted. These reports and my new monitoring tool are meant to provide information and transparency to the public and policy makers alike.”
Comptroller DiNapoli’s New York City Agency Services Monitoring Tool enables users to track agency-specific delivery of services, staffing levels, and spending to track trends affecting the agencies and help identify areas of potential risks to the city budget. The tool features data for more than 40 city agencies and departments and will be updated monthly.
New York City Department of Education (DOE)
DOE is the largest public school system in the nation, serving roughly one million students in more than 1,800 schools (including charter schools) and childcare centers. The DOE’s budget, which reached $38.4 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2024, accounts for 36% of the city’s total expenditures.
Issues facing DOE include:
- Asylum Seeker and Migrant Student Enrollment: The city estimates that approximately 30,000 children of migrants and asylum seekers are enrolled in city schools during the 2023-24 school year including 12,000 since June 30, 2023. DOE spent $22 million on initiatives related to these students in FY 2023, despite not having budgeted for such costs. There are no budgeted costs for spending on these students in FY 2024. Fair Student Funding allocations alone for these students are likely to exceed $125 million in FY 2024; however, additional per-pupil state aid would likely defray a portion of such costs.
- Enrollment: The number of K-12 students enrolled in New York City public schools fell nearly 9.2% between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years, with the pandemic exacerbating an existing downward trend. Some projections expect enrollment to continue declining. Most education aid is calculated on a per-pupil basis, meaning the city may also need to adjust its expectations of support from federal and state sources.
- Class Size Mandate: The state recently required the city to lower class sizes by FY 2028, which is expected to cost $1.3 billion annually in additional operating costs once fully phased in. If DOE fails to meet certain benchmarks, the state has the authority to withhold a portion of its aid until the city achieves compliance.
- Special Education Services: City spending on federally mandated special education services has more than quadrupled in the past decade, reaching $1.07 billion in FY 2023. DOE has reported that it does not expect either the demand for such services or their costs to decline, and that it is facing a significant backlog of cases.
- Charter School Per-Pupil Tuition: Even as enrollment in traditional public schools declined during the pandemic, enrollment in charter schools rose. Based on enrollment projections, the city’s preliminary estimates show that charter school tuition costs could increase by $47 million in FY 2024 and rise to $449 million by FY 2027 if not offset by additional aid.
New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)
NYCHA is the City’s largest landlord (maintaining 7.1% of all rental apartments) and its greatest source of affordable housing, with 177,569 apartments. NYCHA’s adopted 2023 budget is expected to total $4.4 billion, with city funds comprising 5.3%, federal subsidies accounting for 65% and tenant rental revenue making up 19%.
Issues confronting NYCHA:
- Declining Rent Collections: Tenant rent revenue, which prior to 2016 made up about a third of NYCHA’s operating budget, has been on the decline and fell substantially during the pandemic. Collections have continued to decline even as the Public Health Emergency has ended. In 2023, rent collections are budgeted at $850 million — 17% less than what was collected in 2016. This has contributed to budget gaps that are projected to be as high as $56 million in 2027.
- Capital Needs: NYCHA’s facilities require $78.3 billion in physical repairs and upgrades to bring them into a state of good repair. Costs have grown due to rising construction prices and the ongoing physical deterioration of the properties. The 2023 physical needs assessment estimated that the authority’s capital needs had increased by 73% (or $33 billion) from 2017; two-thirds is attributed to market price escalation.
- Maintenance Issues: NYCHA’s backlog of open repair requests is significant and has grown in recent years, with 604,645 open work orders as of June 2023. NYCHA attributes a portion of this backlog to the pandemic when non-emergency work orders were put on hold. From FY 2022 to FY 2023, the average time to resolve both emergency and non-emergency repair requests rose by 27% and 33% respectively. NYCHA has suggested recently that its financial issues, including rental arrears, are making it more difficult to address these issues. Maintenance issues have also led to lower turnover of vacant apartments managed by NYCHA.
New York City Health + Hospitals (H+H)
H+H is the City’s largest provider of care to Medicaid patients, mental health patients, and uninsured patients. The system includes 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities and over 50 patient community health centers.
Issues challenging Health + Hospitals include:
- Operations after the Public Health Emergency: H+H assumed a significant role in planning for and responding to the City’s COVID-19 public health emergency. The federal Public Health Emergency ended in May and H+H has transitioned its citywide testing and immunization response to its hospitals and clinics. Inpatient and outpatient visits have returned to pre-pandemic levels and new programs initiated during the pandemic with city financial support continue.
- Asylum Seeker and Migrant Response: H+H is a lead agency in the city’s multi-agency response to the recent influx of asylum seekers and migrants, tasked with managing the vendors selected to operate the central intake center and 15 of the city’s Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRCs). These services could increase, signaled by H+H agreeing to a security contract which could serve up to 19 HERRCs. The city has an agreement with H+H to reimburse it for any costs incurred ($469 million in FY 2023) but the financial impact to the city’s budget resulted in another program to eliminate the gap for FYs 2024 through 2027, reducing other financial support provided by the city.
- Federal/State/City Funding: H+H’s financial condition depends on funding from government sources, but the timing of these funds can be inconsistent. H+H’s COVID-19 costs reached $3.2 billion through FY 2023 but H+H has yet to receive $1.2 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
- Nurse Staffing: The pandemic amplified the problem of nurse staffing shortages across the United States including at H+H, which resulted in increased reliance on temporary staff and higher labor costs. In August, the New York State Nurses Association approved a contract agreement that would award pay parity, higher than the pattern assumed by the city in its financial plan, and improved staffing ratios to about 8,000 nurses at H+H. It has yet to be determined if the city will pick up the higher costs as it has done previously.
Bills Approved by the City Council
Introduction 348-A – Sponsored by Majority Leader Keith Powers – Provides that bank fees and credit card processing fees paid by a campaign for contributions received by that campaign would not count against the campaign’s expenditure limitation.
Introduction 511-A – Sponsored by Council Member Althea Stevens – Require the City’s Chief Procurement Officer to conduct a study and issue a report on the timing and duration of the City’s procurement process for human services contracts exceeding the small purchase limit.
Introduction 708-A – Sponsored by Council Member Alexa Aviles – Tasks DOT with redesigning the city’s truck route network to improve safety, increase visibility, reduce traffic congestion, and reduce vehicle miles traveled.
Introduction 1012-A – Sponsored by Council Member Amanda Farias – Requires the Departments of City Planning and Small Business Services, in coordination with the Economic Development Corporation, to develop a citywide industrial development strategic plan. The plan would need to be completed every eight years.
Introduction 1031-A – Sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams – Requires the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the Department of City Planning (DCP), with cooperation from any other relevant agency, to create a citywide fair housing assessment and plan every five years. The assessment would be coordinated with the requirements of the federal Fair Housing Act.
Briefs
Requests for Proposals for Offshore Wind and Land-Based Renewable Projects to be Released on November 30, 2023
Governor Kathy Hochul this week announced the schedule for expedited offshore wind and land-based renewable energy solicitations. The forthcoming Requests for Proposals will be released on November 30, 2023, with bids due in January 2024.
These solicitations support the State’s progress toward achieving New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals of sourcing 70 percent of New York’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035.
Offshore Wind Solicitation
For the offshore wind solicitation, final proposals will be due on January 25, 2024, with award announcements expected by the end of February 2024. Additional information regarding existing offshore wind projects is available on NYSERDA’s website.
Land-Based Renewables Solicitation
For the land-based renewables solicitation, the process for submitting proposals will be conducted in two steps, with the first step (eligibility requirements) due on December 21, 2023, and the second step (final proposals) due on January 31, 2024. Award announcements are expected by the end of April 2024.
Additional information regarding existing land-based renewable energy projects is available on NYSERDA’s website.
Governor Hochul Proposes Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Act
Governor Kathy Hochul this week announced a legislative proposal to improve safety within the limousine industry and increase transparency for passengers. These reforms were recommended by the Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Task Force.
The Stretch Limousine Passenger Safety Act will address:
- Requiring a minimum $10,000 fine for operating a suspended stretch limousine and authorizing the Department of Transportation to collaborate with law enforcement to seize license plates of offenders driving passenger vehicles subject to their jurisdiction.
- Requiring that stretch limousines to be equipped with enhanced safety features including window break tools, fire extinguishers, improved emergency egress, and roll-over protection.
- Prohibiting the operation of a stretch limousine that is over 10 years old or has a mileage exceeding 350,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
- Improving data availability on limousine operators.
- Mandating that all stretch limousine passengers be given a pre-trip safety briefing
NY Sees Increased Enrollment Across SUNY Campuses
For the first time in a decade, the State University of New York’s year-to-year total system-wide student enrollment increased, up 1.1 percent overall from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023, for a total of 367,542 students.
Undergraduate first-time enrollment was up across all sectors at 4.3 percent. The technology sector showed the strongest increase at 13.3 percent, followed by community colleges at 3.9 percent.
The largest total enrollment increase was also in the technology sector, 2.5%, followed by community colleges at 1.8 percent.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. presented the enrollment data during a special meeting of the SUNY Board of Trustees. His presentation can be found at this link here, which provides a breakdown per sector and by campus.
Attorney General James Sues PepsiCo for Endangering the Environment and Public Health with Plastic Pollution
New York Attorney General Letitia James this week filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo Inc. (PepsiCo) for harming the public and the environment with its single-use plastic packaging.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that single-use plastic produced by PepsiCo contributes significantly to high levels of plastic pollution along the Buffalo River, pollution that is contaminating drinking water and harming wildlife. The lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo substantially causes public harm in Buffalo, has failed to warn consumers about the potential health and environmental risks of its single-use plastic packaging, and misleads consumers and the public about its efforts to combat plastic pollution.
Through this lawsuit, Attorney General James seeks to require PepsiCo to end practices that threaten the environment and the public and to obtain disgorgement, civil penalties, and restitution for the damage inflicted upon New York’s communities and environment.
City Comptroller’s Review of Citi Bike Finds Decreases in
Service Reliability Under Lyft’s Operation,
Especially in Low-Income Neighborhoods
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander this week released a new report, Riding Forward: Overhauling Citi Bike’s Contract for More Reliable and Equitable Service, revealing significant operational shortcomings under Lyft’s operation, which has left riders facing more unusable stations, longer periods of station unavailability, and more broken bikes. Low-income neighborhoods and communities of color faced these problems more significantly. The review also found that the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) failed to hold Lyft, which has operated Citi Bike since 2018, accountable for its failure to meet contracted performance standards.
The report calls for a comprehensive contract overhaul to ensure more reliable and equitable service with a more strategic mix of enforcement of performance standards, attention to equitable service, and incentives to enable Citi Bike to thrive as a key element of the city’s transportation network – whether under Lyft or a new operator.
“Citi Bike has grown to be a vital element of New York City’s transportation network, but Lyft’s failure to deliver reliable service across the system raises alarm bells. The City should overhaul the contract with more strategic performance standards and the oversight and incentives to achieve them. Making sure that New Yorkers can access working bikes and docks in every neighborhood across the city is the way to secure Citi Bike’s future as an essential and equitable component of New York City’s transportation network,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.
Coming Up
New York State
No Scheduled Hearings
New York City
Monday, November 20th
Committees on Oversight and Investigations & Fire and Emergency Management, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Oversight – Emergency Planning, Notifications, and Response to Citywide Flooding Events.
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, 250 Broadway – Committee Room, 16th Floor, 10:30 a.m.
Committees on Governmental Operations, Public Safety, & Technology, 250 Broadway – Committee Room, 16th Floor, 1 p.m.
Oversight – Media Transparency: NYPD Radio Encryption, Press Credentials Process, and Government Social Media Archiving.
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