Some residents living in flood zones say Superstorm Sandy has been compounded by the slow response of the insurance industry.… [More]

Corruption case puts spotlight on shadowy development funds in state budget By Nathaniel Herz of The New York World Last week’s sprawling corruption probe that ensnared state Sen. Malcolm Smith had a guest appearance by a little known pot of cash used to pay for roads and bridges. “Multi-modal money is outside the budget and it’s always around,” the FBI allegedly recorded Smith as saying, as he hatched a plan to funnel $500,000 in state funding to a project on behalf… [More]

They were furiously studying documents, debating the merits of what was on their desks for 20-hour periods last week while consuming a mix of coffee, donuts and vending machine snacks to keep them awake. Was it a group of SUNY Albany students cramming for their last round of midterms before spring break? Hardly. Legislators plowed through a flurry of budget bills during Holy Week, finishing debate in the wee hours of the morning to put a $135 billion budget that… [More]

A Brooklyn nonprofit under investigation by the city and the federal government for its ties to Assemblyman Vito Lopez received $63,337 from the state in this year’s budget – but it wasn’t a new member item. Lawmakers stopped getting discretionary funding for their districts in 2009, but a residual pot of money remains. The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council obtained a $1.9 million grant in 2004 to construct its youth center. The last of the grant is trickling through this year, according… [More]

State disability providers got back one-quarter of the funding slashed from the budget when lawmakers announced over the weekend that they will restore $30 million in state funds and another $30 million in federal funds to the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities. The office faces $240 million in cuts, and it remains unclear how the pain will be divvied out. State Sen. David Carlucci said he was “disappointed” with the restoration and would work to get additional funding, perhaps by utilizing… [More]

We have a budget – and it’s the earliest in 30 years! Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders finalized a two-year budget agreement on Thursday evening that includes a package of tax cuts, a family tax credit, an extension of the millionaire’s tax, and a minimum wage increase after several days of negotiations. “We’ve made a lot of good progress not just in this budget,” Cuomo said. “Hopefully this is going to be another budget that shows the people of the… [More]

Legislators were told to extend their hotel reservations through the weekend as a budget deal has been delayed by non-fiscal complications. Lawmakers are debating education aid for New York City, the minimum wage and other measures, and also looking at tweaking the new gun regulations that go into effect April 15. “This is the time, whether you do it in the budget or alongside the budget, it’s not clear,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said. “I think it’s everybody’s idea that some change… [More]

State Education Commissioner John King, State Sen. John Flanagan, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and Councilman Robert Jackson on education.… [More]

Strapped school districts may create an upstate-Long Island rift over the distribution of education funding.… [More]

The State Senate and Assembly drafted thousands of pages of budget bills this weekend and began debating their points on Monday. A minimum wage increase, school aid for New York City, expanding a criminal database, and a restoration of cuts for disabled persons services were all discussed, but both houses quietly sought to cut a significant amount of funding from Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s regional economic development programs. The Assembly proposed to eliminate $150 million in economic development grants in the bill they passed… [More]