School meals for all

More than a dozen lawmakers gathered in the state Capitol’s War Room in a bipartisan call to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul and leaders of both houses to allocate funding towards universal school meals in the final budget deal.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie both have expressed their commitment to feeding all students in school, but it’s a matter of allocating the money to do so. Both houses included $280 million in the budget for the issue, which was not included in Hochul’s executive budget. Advocates say the amount could feed 726,000 students across the state.

“We feel really confident there’s a really broad coalition that was Republican and Democrat…so it’s broadly bipartisan,” Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas (D-Queens) said in an interview after the event. “Unfortunately our budget is held up on bail reform, and the housing compact, which is nonsensical. We are in the process of negotiating through that, but it sounds like every other issue is on hold because they want to resolve those two first.”

New York State Council of Superintendents deputy director Bob Lowry said in a recent interview that the issue of school meals is a concern for his members and is one of three items left on the negotiation table that will affect the budget to be approved by voters in May. With foundation aid fully funded Hochul, Stewart-Cousins and Heastie will be looking at funding for universal school meals, a foundation aid set aside for high impact tutoring programs and universal pre-kindergarten funding.

“There are places where (superintendents) supplement (school meal) money with their general fund. There may be districts — if the state or Washington doesn’t come through — that say we will fund free meals ourselves, but it’s another potential wildcard,” Lowry said.

The issue has yet to make its way to the negotiation table, and advocates say they have made their concerns clear to members of Hochul’s administration. But the Democratic governor has yet to share her thoughts on the issue.

“(This is) something that we know we need to get done this session,” Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D-Ulster County) said at the rally. “We’ll keep fighting in the budget so that we can get the $280 million so that all of our kids…who this will impact will be able to have two good healthy meals.”

From the Capitol

FAIR PAY FOR HOME CARE WORKERS: As the state budget delays continue, advocates and lawmakers are taking advantage of the extra time to keep pushing Hochul to raise home care workers’ minimum wage to $21.25.

On Tuesday morning, the group gathered in the War Room at the Capitol for a rally.

The coalition argued that the budget language proposed by Hochul in February would return home care workers to a minimum wage salary, scrapping the milestone reached in last year’s state budget that gave them a salary of $3 above the minimum wage.

“We know historically that health and human services workers are significantly underpaid. Yet we in the same breath will say things like ‘their services are essential,’” said Senator Lea Webb (D-Binghamton) during the rally. “We have this expectation for folks to do maximum work for a bare minimum wage that doesn’t even allow them to drive, and it is unacceptable in our State.” — Eleonora Francica

TRANSIT: More than one million people have paid for the Long Island Rail Road’s new service into Grand Central.

The news comes after the terminal’s grand opening got off to a bumpy start, with commuters complaining about delays and overcrowded trains. The MTA responded by adjusting schedules into both Penn Station and the new Grand Central Madison and lengthening some trains.

“With the millionth rider traveling through Grand Central Madison mere months after the terminal’s opening, it shows just how essential this service has already become for New Yorkers over only a short period of time,” Hochul said in a statement. — Danielle Muoio Dunn

From City Hall

DELINQUENT FILER: After missing a deadline to submit a financial disclosure form, Mayor Eric Adams has landed on a list of delinquent filers kept by the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. The ordeal dates back to February, when a report in Gothamist found Adams had quietly appointed himself to the MTA’s Capital Program Review Board, which has oversight of $55 billion worth of construction projects.

As part of that process, the mayor was supposed to file a financial disclosure form. He did not. Initially, the ethics commission sends out a confidential notice to those who are supposed to file alerting them to their tardiness. If, after a minimum of 15 days, the subject has still not submitted their disclosure form, the commission writes a notice of delinquency. Adams received his April 10, according to the state’s database.

Mayoral Spokesperson Fabien Levy said Adams’ disclosure was dropped in the mail Monday and that the process was slowed by two factors: First, the commission sent the notices to the mayor’s Brooklyn rowhouse, where Levy said Adams does not stay, rather than Gracie Mansion or City Hall. Additionally, there was some confusion about who had to file because Adams’ designee to serve on the board is Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. — Joe Anuta

On the beats

NURSING HOMES: State Attorney General Letitia James co-led a multi-state coalition of attorneys general in sharing support for a federal proposal that would require nursing homes to disclose additional ownership information, such as the names of any people or companies providing administrative services or clinical consulting services.

“Corporate owners and operators, especially private equity investors, REITs [real estate investment trusts], and similar arrangements between facilities and purported investors, continue to structure acquisitions of nursing facilities to avoid disclosure of the extent of their ownership or involvement in the facilities’ operations,” the coalition wrote in a letter to federal health officials.

The coalition said the lack of transparency hampers and delays law enforcement efforts. — Maya Kaufman

RENEWABLE PROGRESS: Eight new renewable energy projects with state contracts have become operational, Hochul’s office announced. The projects were awarded contracts from NYSERDA in 2016 and 2017 and include wind, solar and one small restored hydropower plant. The projects total 418 megawatts, enough to power about 150,000 New York homes.

The routine progress on building projects that have been permitted and received contracts will support the state’s progress toward its 70 percent renewable by 2030 mandate. Happy Earth Week! — Marie J. French

Around New York

— New cameras are being installed in construction zones on the New York State Thruway and other state highways to nab speeders (Syracuse.com)

— It’s official. The Loeb Boathouse in Central Park is coming back. (WNYC)

— Allergies to pollen could hit New Yorkers harder than ever this year. (New York Post)