NYS General Election – November 5th – Make Your Plan
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th and New Yorkers will vote for US President and Vice President, one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats, the State’s 26 Congressional seats, representatives in the state Assembly and the state Senate, as well local judges.
Registration deadlines
✓ In-person at local election office: October 26th
✓ Online*: October 26th
✓ By mail (received by): October 26th
(*) Via NYGOV ID
Absentee ballot deadlines
✓ Request ballot (received by): October 26th
✓ Return ballot by mail (postmarked by): November 5th
✓ Return ballot in person: November 5th by 9:00 p.m. EST
Voting deadlines
✓ Early voting: October 26th – November 3rd
✓ In-person: November 5th
Early Voting polls
Early voting polling places may differ from Election Day voting sites and times vary by county.
✓ NYC Voters:
In the News-New York State
Comptroller DiNapoli: State Agency
Mishandled Housing Discrimination Complaints
Audit Finds State Division of Human Rights Put Cases into a Cabinet Labeled “Twilight Zone”
The New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) failed to properly investigate dozens of housing discrimination cases, undermining its mission to eliminate injustices and promote equal opportunity, according to an audit released this week by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
“New Yorkers who face housing discrimination are told they can report it to the state Division of Human Rights and that it will be investigated, but the agency often failed to do its job,” Comptroller DiNapoli said. “It lost cases due to carelessness and failed to properly or quickly investigate others. Tenants whose complaints were mishandled may have been left to face continued discrimination or forced to move. The agency should establish new procedures that ensure complaints are handled with the attention and respect they deserve. It is encouraging that the agency is taking steps to address the issues raised by this audit.”
DHR’s Housing Investigations Unit examines, prosecutes and adjudicates housing discrimination cases. According to the Comptroller, housing discrimination can occur when sellers, owners, landlords, real estate brokers or agents refuse to sell or negotiate the sale, lease or rental of housing based on a protected class, such as age, race, income, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, military statues or other specified traits or characteristics. Auditors reviewed 306 of 2,236 housing discrimination complaints made to DHR from April 2019 to October 2023.
According to the audit, DHR’s “complicated and poorly managed intake system” for housing discrimination complaints resulted in lost, unprocessed or mislabeled claims. Officials could not account for 82 of 120 complaints (68%), which means some were never entered into the agency’s computer case management system.
Auditors found that some complaints that were not recorded in the system were found by DHR officials in a filing cabinet labeled the “Twilight Zone,” where some cases labeled “defective” were filed, meaning they required more information and were not being investigated further. The agency is required by law to inform individuals if their case is deemed defective. When auditors called about a third of complainants, none recalled receiving a notification from DHR. Auditors found that eleven of 25 complaints in the Twilight Zone file were inappropriately deemed defective.
DHR did not ensure its staff met the time frames established by state law or by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) when investigating housing discrimination claims. Auditors reviewed 175 complaints filed and found in 47% of cases, DHR officials either did not initiate the investigation or failed to notify the person accused of discrimination within 30 days as required under the law. In one case, it took 655 days or almost two years to serve the complaint against the accused.
In 69% of cases reviewed, DHR officials did not complete the investigation or notify the accused of the outcome within 100 days as required. In one case, it took over three years to complete the investigation for determining probable cause. On average, cases took DHR officials six months to close. Comptroller DiNapoli’s audit recommends DHR establish adequate internal controls over the handling, processing and investigation of all complaints – including those deemed defective – and ensure that all complaints are handled on time. In addition, he called upon DHR to improve oversight of the investigation process to identify reasons for delays in case processing times and ensure case determinations are consistent and accurate.
In response, the Comptroller indicated, DHR officials generally agreed with the audit’s recommendations and said the agency has made “major” changes to its executive leadership, brought on more investigators and will conduct internal audits, increase training and overhaul their case management system and intake process.
DFS Issues New Guidance to Address Cybersecurity Risks Arising from Artificial Intelligence
New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Adrienne Harris this week issued new guidance to assist regulated entities in addressing and combating cybersecurity risks arising from artificial intelligence. The guidance applies to DFS regulated entities including state-chartered banks, licensed lenders, private bankers, mortgage companies, insurance companies, and service providers.
The guidance builds on the Department’s cybersecurity regulation (23 NYCRR Part 500) and follows recently adopted DFS guidance to combat discrimination by insurers using artificial intelligence.
“AI has improved the ability for businesses to enhance threat detection and incident response strategies, while concurrently creating new opportunities for cybercriminals to commit crimes at greater scale and speed,” Superintendent Harris explained. “New York will continue to ensure that as AI -enabled tools become more prolific, security standards remain rigorous to safeguard critical data, while allowing the flexibility needed to address diverse risk profiles in an ever-changing digital landscape.”
According to the DFS, the guidance is in response to inquiries about how AI is changing cyber risk and how Covered Entities can mitigate risks associated with AI. It is intended to be a tool and “does not impose any new requirements beyond obligations that are in DFS’s cybersecurity regulation.” It is meant to explain how Covered Entities should use the current framework to assess and address the cybersecurity risks arising from AI. DFS indicated that the guidance will help DFS-regulated institutions meet their existing obligations in the Department’s cybersecurity regulation.
Consistent with DFS’s cybersecurity regulation, this guidance takes a risk-based approach to assist the financial services sector to better understand, assess, and mitigate their AI-specific cybersecurity risks, including social engineering, enhanced cyber-attacks, theft of nonpublic information, and increased vulnerabilities due to supply chain dependencies. The cybersecurity measures outlined in the guidance and required by the cybersecurity regulation provide multiple layers of security controls with overlapping protections. This ensures that if one control fails, other controls are in place to prevent or mitigate the impact of a cybersecurity attack.
Additional cybersecurity resources can be found on the Department’s Cybersecurity Resource Center.
In the News-New York City
Extension of 421-A Brings 71,000 New Homes to NYC
Governor Kathy Hochul and the Adams Administration announced the development of approximately 71,000 new apartments in New York City, including 21,000 affordable units, due to an extension of the construction completion deadline for the 421-a tax incentive program.
Letters of Intent were filed with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development from owners that represent nearly 650 buildings. The 421-a construction completion deadline extension was part of a joint effort between Governor Hochul and the Adams administration to secure new tools to address the City’s housing crisis.
“By extending the 421-a construction completion deadline, we are able to put more than 70,000 new homes back on track and create affordable options to live in New York City,” Governor Hochul said. “My administration is committed to combating the affordability crisis in every region of the State, and I want to thank Mayor Adams and his team for their partnership and advocacy as we tackle the housing crisis by ensuring that there are more and more opportunities to live and thrive in New York State.”
The FY2025 State Budget extended the construction completion deadline for projects in the now expired, 421-a program from June 15, 2026, to June 15, 2031, for eligible projects that commenced construction after Dec. 31, 2015, and on or prior to June 15, 2022.
In addition to extending the 421-a completion deadline, the Enacted Budget included a new affordable housing tax incentive to replace 421-a (“Affordable Neighborhoods for New Yorkers”, also known as 485-x). The package also encourages office conversions to create more affordable units along with lifting the arbitrary “floor area ratio” cap that held back affordable housing production in the City and authorizing the City to undertake a pilot program to legalize and make safe basement and cellar apartments.
“This administration is making profound inroads on our housing crisis, wasting no time to use the tools we won in Albany to create affordable housing,” New York City First Deputy Mayor Maria TorresSpringer said, “Between these numbers, our record housing production in Fiscal Year 2024 and our relentless work to pass ‘City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,’ we’re rising to the moment to meet New Yorkers’ need for affordable housing.”
Adams Administration Completes First Section of East Side Coastal Resiliency Project
New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week announced that the city has completed the first section of East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project ahead of schedule and under budget, a “milestone” in the effort to protect more than 110,000 Lower East Side residents, including 28,000 in public housing, from future storms and high tides and protect infrastructure and property in the area.
ESCR employs raised parkland, floodwalls, berms, and 18 swinging or sliding flood gates to create a continuous line of protection against sea level rise and the growing threat of stronger, more severe coastal storms. The $1.45 billion project is being built in two sections, with the northern section having begun work in November 2020. Work in that area was completed earlier this week at a cost of $163 million, which is $10 million under its original projected budget, and two months ahead of schedule. Construction on the second section, which is underway and anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026, includes a complete reconstruction of East River Park.
“As one of the world’s great coastal cities, we know that stronger storms and rising seas are a threat, because no one knows when the next Superstorm Sandy will arrive at our doorstep; but New York City plans to be ready,” Mayor Adams said. “Today, we are marking the completion of Phase One of East Side Coastal Resiliency – two months ahead of schedule and $10 million under budget..Once the entire project is completed, the protective gates can be deployed when a hurricane or storm surge is headed our way – protecting lives and New Yorkers’ wallets as we safeguard property.”
ESCR is creating a flexible, 2.4-mile-long flood barrier on the Lower East Side from Montgomery Street up to Asser Levy Playground between East 23rd Street and East 25th Street – is designed to protect New Yorkers from the region’s anticipated 100- year storm in the year 2050 based on climate change projections produced by the New York City Panel on Climate Change. The project uses an adaptive design that can accommodate the addition of two more feet of elevation should sea levels in the coming decades rise faster than projections anticipate.
According to the Mayor, the project has been designed to improve waterfront access through reconstructed bridges and entry points and will also upgrade existing sewer systems to capture and manage precipitation during storms. The first floodgate – which is 42 feet long, 10 feet high, and 32,000 pounds – was installed in February 2022. Flood protection will become effective at the end of the project, which is currently projected for the end of 2026.
ESCR also has a companion project to its south called Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience, which is also due to be completed at the end of 2026. Together, the two projects will protect 3.22 miles of coastline from the Brooklyn Bridge north to Asser Levy Playground at a construction cost of close to $2 billion.
Mayor Adams Appoints Chauncey Parker as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety
Mona Suazo Will Serve as Assistant Deputy Mayor for Public Safety
New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week announced two new appointments to the Administration’s team, focusing on public safety. Mayor Adams appointed Chauncey Parker as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, effective immediately. As Deputy Mayor, Parker will be tasked with coordinating across all city agencies on public safety matters.
Since July, Parker has served as assistant deputy mayor for public safety, where he has focused on gun violence prevention, strategies to divert young people from the criminal justice system, and multiagency and community partnerships to drive down crime. Immediately prior, Parker served as Deputy Commissioner for collaborative policing for the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
Since 1995, Parker has also served as the executive director of the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program that invests in federal, state, and local partnerships to build safe and healthy communities. During this time, Parker additionally served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, an Executive Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, and as Director of Criminal Justice and Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. He is a graduate of Rollins College and Duke University School of Law.
Additionally, Mayor Adams announced the appointment of Mona Suazo as Assistant Deputy Mayor for Public Safety.
For the past two and a half years, Suazo has served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office for Public Safety. She is a 19-year veteran of the NYPD, beginning her career in the 67th Police Precinct and was later designated the department’s citywide immigrant women liaison. In 2016, Suazo became an investigator and law enforcement certifier of T-Visa Certificate for victims of human trafficking, collaborating closely with survivors, advocates, and City Hall. She is a graduate of Cairo University.
NYC Council & CUNY Celebrate CUNY Reconnect Milestone
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez joined New York City Council Speaker Adrienne at CUNY’s Welcome Center to celebrate the latest milestone of CUNY Reconnect, a university-wide program that seeks to re-engage New Yorkers who have earned credits and return to finish their degrees. This fall, the program enrolled nearly 8,000 New Yorkers at CUNY, bringing the total of people served by CUNY Reconnect to more than 40,000 students.
Established by Speaker Adams and the Council in partnership with CUNY, Reconnect launched as a pilot in 2022 with $4.4 million in city funding. The program was expanded to $5.8 million in the 2024- 2025 academic year. More than 3,000 New Yorkers who returned to CUNY through the program have graduated.
“The ongoing success of CUNY Reconnect is no surprise given how many New Yorkers want to expand their skills and education. Those with credits just needed some help returning to our doors,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez. “I’m grateful to Speaker Adams and our partners in government for investing in CUNY, understanding that our students are key to strengthening our city.”
CUNY operates a Welcome Center at 217 E. 42nd, a storefront that accepts walk-ins and can connect aspiring students to admissions specialists in central offices, which is the main hub for nontraditional students to enroll.
Although most CUNY Reconnect students enroll in the spring, the Chancellor explained, this fall was the program’s largest class at 7,845 students. The students are a diverse group – nearly 56% are Black or Hispanic – and the top major is STEM, followed by health professions. Enrollment is half in senior colleges and half in community colleges.
Briefs
Comptroller DiNapoli: State Tax Receipts Tracking Close to Projections Through First Half of the Year
State tax receipts totaled $54.6 billion through the first six months of State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024-25, $682.1 million higher than the state Division of the Budget (DOB) estimates in the First Quarterly Update to the SFY 2024-25 Enacted Budget Financial Plan. On a year-over-year basis, tax collections were $3.1 billion higher than those through September 2023, primarily driven by the Personal Income Tax (PIT) according to the monthly State Cash Report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
Personal income tax (PIT) receipts totaled $28.9 billion and were $646.8 million above DOB’s financial plan projections and $2.9 billion higher than the same period in SFY 2023-24, reflecting, in part, the impact of wage and financial market growth over the course of the year.
Year-to-date consumption and use tax collections totaled $11.3 billion, 2.4% or $265.3 million higher than the same period last year and $33.6 million higher than DOB estimated. Sales tax receipts, the largest share of these taxes, increased by $223.6 million, or 2.2% year over year. Business taxes, which include collections from the pass-through entity tax (PTET), totaled $13 billion, $244.4 million higher than through September in the prior fiscal year, but just $8.9 million higher than DOB’s financial plan projections.
All Funds spending through September totaled $112.4 billion, which was $2 billion, or 1.8%, higher than last year for the same period, primarily due to higher education costs. All Funds spending through September was $1.1 billion lower than DOB projected, primarily due to lower than anticipated spending from state capital projects funds. State Operating Funds spending totaled $60.5 billion, $1.5 billion, or 2.5% higher than last year and $1 billion lower than DOB’ financial plan estimates.
The state’s General Fund ended September with a balance of $52.4 billion, $3.2 billion higher than DOB projected and $4.4 billion higher than last year at the same time primarily due to higher than anticipated tax collections and lower than anticipated spending.
NYC Health Commissioner Steps Down
New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan resigned this week, citing family needs that have “taken on greater urgency.” The Commissioner, who was appointed in March 2022 by Mayor Eric Adams, was originally scheduled to step down in January.
“The course we set internally and externally leaves the Health Department as strong, stable, and determined to be a force of good in our city as it has ever been, and with its national and international reach as strong as it has been,” Vasan said in a statement Tuesday, according to published reports. “I know the agency’s incredible work will continue, undeterred, as it has for more than two centuries, and I am proud and honored to have been the City’s doctor for the last three years.”
Michelle Morse, the City’s First Chief Medical Officer, will serve as Interim Commissioner of the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene until a permanent replacement is appointed.
NYCHA Tenants to Receive $35 Million in COVID-Related Rent Relief
State Funding Will Help Cover Unpaid Rent from March 2020 to May 2023
Governor Kathy Hochul this week announced that $35 million in State funding is being distributed by the New York City Housing Authority to help address COVID-related rental arrears for New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents.
NYCHA is expected to use these funds to address rental arrears accrued by NYCHA tenants. Qualifying households could be covered for up to 12 months of past due rent accumulated during the period of March 2020 – May 11, 2 023.
“This funding builds on our efforts to provide meaningful assistance to NYCHA tenants with COVID-related rental arrears, while also furthering our commitment to helping NYCHA make vital repairs and improvements,” Governor Hochul said.
Mayor Adams, Future of Fifth Partnership Unveil Transformation of Fifth Avenue
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the Future of Fifth Partnership this week unveiled their plans to transform Fifth Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park into a “world-class, pedestrian-centered” boulevard, bolstering the corridor’s status as “an economic engine and job creator” for New York City.
The proposed design expands sidewalks by 46 percent, shortens crosswalks making for safer crossings, reduces the number of traffic lanes from five to three, and adds plantings and lighting for aesthetics and safety. Once complete, this project — the first major redesign in the avenue’s 200-year history — is projected to pay for itself in less than five years through increased property and sales tax revenue, according to the Mayor.
Fifth Avenue is currently 100 feet wide, comprised of five lanes of vehicular traffic and two 23-foot sidewalks. The new design nearly doubles the width of the sidewalks to 33.5 feet each, expanding unobstructed walking space to 25 feet on each side and adding another 8.5-foot-wide section for trees.
Each block serves approximately 5,500 pedestrians an hour on an average day and up to 23,000 people an hour during the holidays — the equivalent of a full Madison Square Garden (MSG) plus 4,000 additional people, the Mayor explained. The current configuration can no longer accommodate this volume of foot traffic, especially given that only 15 feet on either side is unobstructed for walking; the rest is occupied by street infrastructure like signage, bus stops, lighting, and trash cans.
NYC Metro Transportation Costs Rose 56% Over Past Decade, Slower Than Other Major Areas
Transportation costs for households in the New York City metropolitan area grew by about 56% between 2012-13 and 2022-23, less than in the Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco metropolitan areas according to a report released by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
According to the Comptroller, transportation made up the second largest cost for New Yorkers, behind housing, at 14% of household spending. In 2023, 48% of New York City households relied on public transportation for work, compared to less than 4% nationally.
Less than half of city households (43.8%) owned at least one vehicle in 2023 while nationally it was 91.6%. Within the city, only about 21% of Manhattan households owned at least one vehicle. On Staten Island, however, 82.6% of households owned a vehicle, followed by Queens at 61.4%, with sections of each of these boroughs having limited public transportation options. Among city households without any vehicles, more than half used public transportation to commute while about 15% worked from home and another 12% walked, cutting their transportation costs.
Comptroller DiNapoli’s report found that since 2013, the type of transportation used has changed, contributing to the transportation cost changes in the city. The share of households that used public transportation for work declined in every borough from 2013 to 2023, with Brooklyn seeing a 10 point drop from 52%. At the same time, the share that used taxicabs and car services, motorcycles, or bicycles rose in every borough except Manhattan
Port Authority Bus Terminal Replacement Approved by City Planners
The proposed $10 billion Port Authority bus terminal project was unanimously approved by the New York City Planning Commission this week, moving the project to upgrade the facility to handle more passengers, expand bus storage, and offer modern services and amenities for passengers to the New York City Council for consideration. If the plan moves forward, full completion of the project is expected around 2040.
“Even with multiple renovations, the 74-year-old terminal is too old and outmoded to continue effectively serving commuters,” commission Chair Daniel R. Garodnick said in published reports. “It struggles at times to handle its current ridership, and we expect ridership to continue to grow into the future…It’s far past time for a replacement.”
The plan for the Midtown bus terminal, which serves about 65 million commuters a year, includes two commercial towers, new retail space and electric charging capabilities. As part of the plan, Midtown West would get wider sidewalks, improved lighting and a new 3.5-acre public open space.
NYS Fall Foliage Report
Beautiful peak foliage will be found in parts of all nine Upstate New York regions this weekend, as it makes its way out of the upper elevations of the Adirondacks and Catskills.
Most upstate foliage will range from midpoint to near-peak, while leaves on Long Island will mostly be at midpoint of change and most of New York City will still be in the early stages of transition. This is according to the field reports from more than 85 volunteer observers for the Empire State Development Division of Tourism’s I LOVE NY program.
I LOVE NY defines “peak” as the best overall appearance the foliage will have during the season, taking into account color transition, brilliance, and leaf droppage.
Coming Up
New York State
Monday, October 21st
Assembly Standing Committee on Libraries and Education Technology,
Hamilton Hearing Room B – Legislative Office Building, 2nd floor, 10 a.m.
New York City
Monday, October 21st
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, October 22nd
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, Council Chambers – City Hall, 9:30 a.m.
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, Council Chambers – City Hall, 11 a.m.
Wednesday, October 23rd
Committee on Finance, Committee Room- City Hall, 10:30 a.m.
City Council State Meeting, Council Chambers – City Hall, 1:30 p.m.
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