Was the budget worth the wait?

Presented by NY Renews, a project of Tides Advocacy

New York finally has a budget, and it even passed before midnight.

Lawmakers approved the $229 billion spending plan yesterday, just over a month past the March 31 due date.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters on Tuesday that portions of the spending plan that actually deal with spending made it possibly “the best non-policy budget I’ve seen in my 23 years in the Assembly.”

But the policy parts left many wanting.

“One thing is clear: this budget was not worth the wait,” Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein said in a statement, citing a weakening of New York’s financial footing and the exclusion of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposals to address housing production and affordability.

Frustration with the final product was evident in reactions to the bail law changes that turned out to be more expansive in the final budget bills than the deal leaders had originally indicated.

Hochul has already claimed bail changes as a win, one that she earned at a high price. Her insistence during negotiations delayed the budget for weeks and prevented discussions on other priorities, such as her housing plan.

But, as in each of the prior occasions where the 2019 laws have been tweaked, both progressives to her left and Republicans to her right ripped the compromise as it was being voted on Tuesday afternoon.

“The fourth time is not the charm,” Capital Region Republican Sen. Jake Ashby said in a statement that called this round of changes an inadequate attempt at the kind of judicial discretion that he believes is necessary, and ripped the governor for suggesting it would be sufficient.

“If she tries to spin that as judicial discretion, she will be embracing a level of shamelessness previously reserved only for her predecessor,” he said.

Meanwhile, Assemblymember Latrice Walker — a Brooklyn Democrat who has conducted hunger strikes to oppose the repeated tweaks to the laws she helped pass in 2019 — voted against the entire “Big Ugly” budget bill that included the bail changes. “I will not be among those subjecting more people to the trauma that comes with being locked up pretrial,” she tweeted, and, cryptically, “I will see you in court.”

One bright spot, noted Capitol veteran and Newsday reporter Mike Gormley, is that the bill containing the most controversial items was actually debated and passed in the light of day this year, rather than wee hours of the morning with few observers. So we have that going.

Technically, lawmakers were scheduled for a day of session today. They are also supposed to work three- and four-day weeks through the first week in June, but it’s now unclear how hard. Hochul, when asked Tuesday about her priorities for the rest of session, said she’s looking forward to continuing conversations about her rejected housing plan, but acknowledged that getting any of the elements figured out before June 8 would be difficult.

IT’S WEDNESDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: [email protected] or on Twitter: @annagronewold

WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City appearing on FOX5’s “Good Day New York” and PIX11 Morning News before making a public safety-related budget announcement with Mayor Adams.

WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City making the aforementioned announcement with the governor before holding a meeting with the mayor of Tel Aviv. Then he will speak at a ribbon-cutting for an affordable housing development in Astoria. In the evening he will speak at WIN’s “The Way to Win” Gala and then appear on CNN.

What City Hall's reading


“Rent Guidelines Board Approves 2% to 5% Increase on One-Year Leases,” by THE CITY’s Jonathan Custodio: “Tenants in rent-stabilized apartments will see rent increases in the coming year lower than worst-case scenarios, following a Rent Guidelines Board preliminary vote Tuesday night on a range of potential rate hikes. By a 5-to-4 vote, the board approved a maximum rent increase of between 2% and 5% on one-year leases and 4% and 7% on two-year leases. Tenant supporters disrupted board members with boos and jeers as they tried to get through the meeting, clamoring for rent rollbacks for nearly an hour — with some then leaping onto the stage at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in Manhattan, joined by five City Council members.”

“Mayor Adams Walks a Tightrope in Lashing Out at Migrant Influx,” by The New York Times’ Jeffery C. Mays: “[W]hile crime and rats face universal opposition among New Yorkers, the migrants seeking asylum are fleeing crises and engender more sympathy. So in recent weeks, the mayor, a Democrat, has tried to carefully toe a rhetorical tightrope: He clearly wants to press his case that the sheer volume of asylum seekers may cripple the city unless the federal government commits more money and focuses more attention on the situation. But he also seems sensitive to not overtly stigmatizing those seeking asylum.”

“Free buses coming to NYC, but pilot will run shorter than Hochul promised,” by WNYC’s Stephen Nessen: “A program to make some of the MTA’s buses fare-free won’t last as long as Gov. Kathy Hochul previously promised, according to budget bills published by lawmakers in Albany this week. The legislation mandates that the MTA pick one bus route in each of the five boroughs where riders won’t have to pay. It’s part of a pilot that the legislation says can only last six to 12 months — shorter than the two-year pilot for free buses Hochul announced last week.”

“Writers’ strike hits New York, just as state boosts film tax credit,” by Crain’s New York Nick Garber: “About 6,800 people are members of the Writers Guild’s East chapter, which is based in New York. It’s unclear how many of those writers are in the city, but the film and television industry as a whole employs 185,000 New Yorkers, according to figures from the mayor’s office.”

WHAT ALBANY'S READING


“Gov. Hochul signs bill securing abortion pill access for SUNY, CUNY students,” by Daily News’ Tim Balk: “Gov. Hochul on Tuesday signed legislation requiring that public colleges and universities in New York provide students access to abortion pills, as conservative states work to restrict reproductive rights. The bill signing capped a multiyear effort in the Legislature aimed at securing medication abortion access on the campuses of the State University of New York and the City University of New York.”

“Panel: Change liquor laws, but no wine in supermarkets,” by Times Union’s Steve Barnes: “New York consumers would be able to purchase alcohol from liquor stores before noon on Sundays for the first time in nearly a century, but wine and spirits still could not be sold in supermarkets, according to recommendations by a panel created last year to study overhauling the way alcoholic beverages are made, distributed and sold in the state.”

“Albany budget terminates Off Tracking Betting Corp. board, overhauls voting rules,” by Buffalo News’ Chris Bragg: “Language included in the final state budget agreement terminates the appointment of every commissioner of the Western Regional Off Track Betting Corp., a response to a series of audits and media reports finding misspending by the public benefit corporation. In addition, the bill’s language outlines a new voting process that will give Erie County and Buffalo new strength in the corporation’s oversight, while diminishing the strength of smaller, rural counties with lesser population that previously had outsized influence.”

GET YOURS: “How New Yorkers Can Claim Over $17 Billion of Their Lost Money,” by THE CITY’s Divya Murthy

#UpstateAmerica: Grace Baptist Church in Troy plans to raffle off a flamethrower or an AR-15 rifle during its July revival meeting.

BIDEN AND THE BOROUGHS


“Joe Biden to attend $25,000 per person fundraiser during NYC campaign cash blitz,” by CNBC’s Brian Schwartz: “Former Blackstone executive Tony James will first host Biden for a campaign fundraiser at his New York apartment on May 10. After the James gathering, Biden will then head to a campaign fundraising dinner at the Upper East Side home of George Logothetis.”

“Biden to send Sean Patrick Maloney to Paris as OECD ambassador,” by Axios’ Hans Nichols: “President Biden is planning to nominate former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2022, as his ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, according to people familiar with the matter.”

THE FIFTY

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority may be the nation’s most sprawling and trafficked public transit system in the country but it’s hardly the only one struggling with the embrace of remote work, our Danielle Muoio Dunn and Ry Rivard report — with help from several colleagues. While most riders are back in New York, Chicago, Philly and other major cities, the numbers are still far below pre-pandemic levels, making it harder for agencies to close financial gaps even after Congress wired them Covid relief money.

AROUND NEW YORK


— A 30-year-old man died after he was placed in a chokehold by another man during a fight on the subway, police said.

— Kanye West’s fashion brand has to pay $300K after failing to fully compensate a Brooklyn creative, a Manhattan judge ruled.

— Five jurors were picked at the trial of limousine company operator Nauman Hussain, who is on trial on manslaughter charges in the 2018 crash that killed 20 people.

— Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, immersed in drama around his ownership stake in the Albany Empire, is also trying for the $12 million Palazzo Riggi estate.

— “Color Correction: TLC to Let New ‘Boro Taxis’ Ditch Green Look, Offer Flat Rates,” THE CITY reports.

— Native burial sites will soon be protected under state law.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC/MSNBC’s Willie Geist … Charter’s Catherine Bohigian … NBC’s Stephen Labaton … Andy Miga … SKDK’s Stephen Krupin ... Chris Bodenner … Josh Irwin … (was Tuesday): Alon Ben-Meir ... Florence Shapiro ... David Weprin ... Susanna K. Cohen

MAKING MOVES — David G. Atwill has been named the dean of arts and sciences at NYU Shanghai. He most recently was director of graduate studies in the history department at Penn State. … Josh Black is now senior director for multilateral affairs on the NSC staff at the White House. He was previously senior adviser to U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

MEDIAWATCH — Errol Louis, Harry Siegel and Vishaan Chakrabarti are joining policy journal and digital news site Vital City as contributing writers. … Journalist Basharat Peer has been named as the deputy director of Crisis Group’s Future of Conflict program. He’s currently a contributing writer at the New York Times and previously worked as a staff editor there. (h/t National Security Daily)

⁦‪— @DylanByers‬⁩: “Little media news scooplet: New York Times has named ⁦‪@josephplambeck‬⁩ as Media Editor”.

Real Estate


“Billionaire Steven Roth’s Manhattan Bet Battered by Office Woes,” by Bloomberg’s Natalie Wong and Patrick Clark: “Shares of his Vornado Realty Trust have been beaten up in recent weeks, at points hitting the lowest level since the 1990s, when Roth, 81, made a big bet on the west side neighborhood. Anemic office demand led Vornado to hold off on any near-term new construction for its projects around the rail hub. And in the latest sign of the deepening challenges for property companies, the real estate investment trust last week shocked analysts by halting dividends until the end of 2023.”