Early education push

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams — along with Council members and advocates — sought to outline a path forward for tackling issues within New York City’s early childhood education system amid city budget negotiations.

The speaker Tuesday urged the city to prioritize changes like addressing late payments to providers, as well as expanding slots to match needs of working families. They also called for eliminating pay disparities in the early childhood education workforce as well as investing in outreach and marketing campaigns in multiple languages to increase awareness and enrollment, particularly in high-need communities.

“The Council — alongside advocates and parents — has pushed the administration to make these adjustments for months through letters, hearings and other efforts,” Adams said during a press conference at Grand St. Settlement Manhattan Child and Family Center. “We’re continuing to sound the alarm because our early childhood education system is in full crisis mode.”

She also called for ensuring equitable distribution of early childhood education seats for communities with the greatest need.

In March, the Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus proposed solutions. Advocates from groups like United Neighborhood Houses, Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York and Day Care Council of New York were in attendance.

A City Hall spokesperson previously pointed to the new Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services; the “Clear the Backlog” initiative to help nonprofits with overdue bills get paid; and ContractStat, an oversight initiative that addresses issues before they arise.

In his November savings plan, Mayor Eric Adams reallocated $568 million in federal stimulus funds designated for 3K.

Officials have said the previous administration left a system with 30,000 empty seats citywide financed by dwindling federal stimulus funds. They also said the Department of Education moved 3,500 seats throughout the system to boost enrollment and increased 3K applications via targeted emails, provider trainings, virtual family events and phone calls in underserved communities.

Officials have also said they’ve added seats and boosted funding for more than 7,000 children with disabilities and pointed to the launch of the MyCity online portal where families can check eligibility and apply for child care subsidies.

From the Capitol

SENATE PRIORITY: The state Senate passed a package of measures Tuesday that aim to help domestic and sexual abuse survivors.

The package includes bills that would place domestic violence survivors on the top of wait lists for public housing, let prosecutors access sealed protection orders for individuals accused of new offenses, and increase the number of people who can access victim compensation funds.

“This is an issue that affects far too many New Yorkers,” Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said at an appearance in the Capitol before the bills passed. “We know that survivors deserve every resource and protection at their disposal on the road to recovery.”

The package mostly consists of bills that have not yet been approved by the Assembly, but Stewart-Cousins was optimistic they’ll be a part of the end-of-session mix over the next month.

“We try, probably to the governor’s dismay, to try to pass a lot of these two-house bills,” she said. — Joseph Spector

CLEAN SLATE ACT: Supporters of legislation to seal former incarcerated people’s conviction records rallied at the state Capitol — again — on Tuesday. Advocates joined a number of lawmakers to push for the passage of the bill in the Assembly by the end of the legislative session.

The bill would improve New York’s economic growth, racial justice, and public safety and eliminate the restrictions and disqualifications that formerly incarcerated individuals face after having been released from jail or prison, the coalition said.

“This is not about letting people get away with a crime,” said Assemblymember Catalina Cruz (D-Queens), the Democratic sponsor of the measure. “This is about letting people who have paid for that crime get a real life.” — Eleonora Francica

From City Hall

Adams on Tuesday continued to criticize the Biden administration for its handling of the migrant crisis, faulting the federal government for not providing more aid to the city.

“The national government can’t destabilize our cities by giving us crises they’re not willing to pay for,” Adams said in a six-minute address at the National Urban League’s Safe and Just Communities Summit. He said the surge in asylum seekers “is going to undermine our economy” and will also hit Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

Adams, a top surrogate for President Joe Biden, said last week that the $30 million the city received in federal support to shelter and feed more than 60,000 asylum-seekers in the last year was “disappointing and woefully insufficient.” He’s also slammed the White House as irresponsible in how it’s approached the situation.

Late Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order to help provide aid to asylum seekers expected to arrive in New York as federal Title 42 immigration policy is set to expire Thursday. The state budget included $1 billion in aid to the city to help.

The mayor also discussed the recent death of Jordan Neely, a homeless 30-year-old who was put into a fatal chokehold on the subway by another rider. Adams called on attendees not to be “merely reactive,” stating he’s spent two years speaking to homeless individuals like Neely in the subway system to try and get them “the care they deserve.” His comments come after progressives criticized Adams’ response to the incident and his long-standing approach to mental health and safety.

“We cannot be so encompassed, so thoughtful on talking about merely how this young man died without answering the question how was he living? We need to be open about that,” Adams said. — Danielle Muoio Dunn

On the beats

HIGHER EDUCATION: CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez sounded the alarm about budget cuts caused by the city’s Program to Eliminate the Gap, a savings program.

He praised Adams for including $5.8 million in the executive budget for CUNY Reconnect, an initiative that helps re-enroll New Yorkers who got some college credits but left school before completing their degree. But he urged the mayor to baseline CUNY Reconnect. He also said the executive budget does not include the Accelerate, Complete and Engage (ACE), which helps students to complete their bachelor’s degree on time.

He also said that due to budget cuts, CUNY reduced the budget of Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), a popular academic support program, which resulted in a decrease in annual enrollment.

“The PEGs, along with decreases in tuition revenues, have had a significant impact on our community colleges’ operations, student services and programs,” Matos Rodríguez said during a City Council hearing on Tuesday. “While we have been able to manage some of the PEGs’ impact with federal stimulus funding during the pandemic, that funding is not recurring.” — Madina Touré

Around New York

—- Via Times Union: ‘Hudson Valley officials incensed over NYC plan to bus in migrants.’

— Broome County Sheriff’s Deputy saved a man who was swept down the river by currents. (Upstate New York)

— Starlight Park in the Bronx is now open after more than 20 years of renovations. (WNYC)

— ‘Rainbow Air’s $10M plan for Niagara Falls airport includes visitor center, viewing area, cafe’, the Buffalo News reports.