New York State

Figueroa dead, Queens DA recount, appalling Epstein allegations and more

Rounding up the week’s political news.

Hector Figueroa, discussing the New York Fast Food Wage Board's recommendation for a $15 per hour minimum wage in 2015.

Hector Figueroa, discussing the New York Fast Food Wage Board's recommendation for a $15 per hour minimum wage in 2015. a katz/Shutterstock

The New York City subway's on-time performance exceeded 80 percent in June, making it the best month for on-time performance since 2013. But the New York City Transit Authority isn’t about to rest on its laurels.

President Andy Byford – who either is or isn’t on Andrew Cuomo’s hit list, depending on who you ask – said he’s still unsatisfied, and that the system still has a long way to go. As far as riders, well, they’ll take what they can get. 

Héctor Figueroa dies

Héctor Figueroa, the president of of 32BJ SEIU and one of the most influential labor leaders in New York, died on Friday, reportedly due to a heart attack. Since taking over at the major property services worker union in 2012, Figueroa emerged as one of a new breed of union chiefs whose efforts extend beyond rank-and-file members to broader issues such as the Fight for $15, immigrant rights and the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria. Among Figueroa’s notable victories was a phased in $19 minimum wage for Port Authority airport employees, although his support for Amazon’s HQ2 in Queens came to naught. 

Heroes, meet canyon 

Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray host and march in a Canyon of Heroes Ticker-Tape Parade in honor of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team on Broadway in Manhattan on Wednesday, July 10, 2019.
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

Celebrating its latest World Cup win, the U.S. women’s national soccer team was honored Wednesday morning with a ticker-tape parade that was as much a victory celebration as it was a political rally for unity and equal pay. The parade paved the way for political stunts by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed legislation encouraging equal pay, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who touted his pledge to sign an executive order to do the same if elected president.

Open the tweetgates

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Trump’s Twitter can no longer function as an echo chamber. As long as the president uses his account for government business, he’s not allowed to block users because they have disagreed with or mocked him. The ruling could extend to other New York politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was sued by former Assemblyman Don Hikind on claims that the congresswoman blocked him for “opinions he expressed” about her. 

Jeffrey Epstein’s house of horrors

Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan residence.
Bebeto Matthews/AP/Shutterstock

Jeffrey Epstein may trade his bizarre Upper East Side mansion for a prison cell after being hit with federal sex trafficking charges. Though the hedge fund manager has been a registered sex offender in New York since 2008, he’s reportedly never checked in with the NYPD. Alexander Acosta, President Donald Trump’s labor secretary who brought similar charges years ago as a U.S. attorney in Florida, defended going easy on Epstein, saying it was “a different time.” But in the #MeToo era, Acosta was forced to step down.

Queens DA saga continues

With just 16 votes now separating them, the Queens district attorney race between Melinda Katz and insurgent Tiffany Cabán continued, leading up to the start of a manual recount that will relitigate the tossed-out affidavit and absentee ballots – a process which could take weeks. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on state officials to step in and “make sure everything is kosher” regarding unsubstantiated claims of voter disenfranchisement, with some complaining that his comments gave credence to conspiracy theories.

Trump drops immigration question 

Demonstrators gathered at the Supreme Court as justices finish the term with key decisions on gerrymandering and a census case involving an attempt by the Trump administration to ask everyone about their citizenship status in the 2020 census, on Capitol H
J Scott Applewhite/AP/Shutterstock

After a week of conflicting messages, President Donald Trump announced that the 2020 census will not include a citizenship question. The move comes after the administration was rebuked by the U.S. Supreme Court for saying the question was needed to enforce the Voting Rights Act, when it appeared to be a politically motivated effort by Republicans. Advocates and experts said the citizenship question would have suppressed turnout among immigrants, undocumented or not, in places like New York.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.