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Upstate Dems push for pied-à-terre tax outside NYC

Kate Lisa — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:12:51 -0400

Upstate Democratic lawmakers want a piece of the extra revenue pie Gov. Kathy Hochul is serving New York City by taxing luxury second homes in the five boroughs.

Last week, Hochul announced a new late budget fight (as she tends to do) – proposing a pied-à-terre tax on second homes in New York City worth $5 million or more that are not rented out full-time or listed as the owner’s primary residence. Details remain scarce with no official language released to lawmakers or the public, but Hochul estimates it will generate a recurring $500 million for the city per year to help chip away at a projected $5.4 billion deficit.

State Sen. Pat Fahy told City & State that plenty of upstate communities – like Saratoga Springs, Lake George and Lake Placid – have high-value second homes that owners leave vacant for most of the year, which should be subject to the tax, too.

“During COVID, the second home market went on steroids,” Fahy said. “It has, in so many ways, crushed the affordability in many of these upstate and Long Island communities. This is a way to level the playing field.”

As budget talks drag on more than three weeks past the deadline, the Albany state senator is leading a push to impose a pied-à-terre tax that municipalities outside the city would opt-in to. She wants to reduce the threshold from $ 5 million to $2.5 million to account for the lower cost of living in the Hudson Valley, Adirondacks and other parts of the state. She also wants half of the money raised by the tax designated to Aid and Incentives to Municipalities, or AIM, funding to help struggling localities.

“Expensive second homes are mostly unused, yet, when the owners are there, they are still using police, fire, water and infrastructure,” Fahy said. “They're still using all the services that are barely compensated for because those places are left empty most of the time.”

“We have seen an exponential growth in luxury housing, which has priced out the residents ... local residents can’t afford to live,” she added.

It’s not a $5.4 billion budget gap, but upstate cities and municipalities are strapped for cash, too.

The city of Buffalo has a projected deficit over $100 million, and there’s a $15 million gap in the city of Albany and a $9 million hole hanging over the city of Kingston.

“Non-New York City members are getting frustrated that it seems like the governor is only trying to solve New York City problems,” said Assembly Member Sarahana Shrestha, who represents Kingston. “The governor is not the mayor of New York City. The governor is the governor of the state of New York.”

There’s support for the proposal, but lawmakers have not determined official details. Shrestha said any pied-à-terre upstate would need a provision requiring LLC transparency so second homeowners can’t hide behind them and evade the tax. And the Assembly member said the threshold for the tax should be set by each municipality.

"In my district, if you go to the town of Ulster, there may not be many, but if you go to Rhinebeck, if you go to Red Hook ... some of the homes are literal mansions,” Shrestha said. “When I canvass, sometimes some of the homes are mansions, tucked in there (with) very long driveways ... completely shuttered because they’re not there.”

Fahy said she’s spoken with several upstate Democrats in both chambers who support an optional pied-à-terre tax outside the city. Her office drafted a letter for lawmakers to sign and build momentum behind the proposal, but ultimately stopped circulating the document.

A few upstate lawmakers declined Wednesday to weigh in on the idea on the record, telling City & State that although they back it private, they are hesitant to publicly support a new tax.

Shrestha said she hadn’t heard the same but that reticence makes sense, which is one of the advantages of the budget process. “The reason people love to put things in the budget is you're off the hook – you're voting for the budget, you're not voting for one right item,” she said.

Legislative leaders have long backed proposals to increase taxes on New York’s millionaires and billionaires, so expanding the pied-à-terre is mainly up to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

During an interview Tuesday with Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein, Hochul’s Director of State Operations Jackie Bray said the governor supports a specific pied-à-terre tax in New York City to narrowly target the ultrawealthy who don’t call the state home. And the governor told reporters at an unrelated event Tuesday she would not back any other new taxes in this year’s budget. Hochul has already announced targeted funding to help offset deficits in other cities, like $40 million in aid for Buffalo.

Last week, Hochul said she wouldn’t have proposed the pied-à-terre tax if it was not necessary, but she also said local leaders cannot rely on the state alone for financial rescue.

“It is the responsibility of the mayor and the City Council to find more savings, as they will have to do in Buffalo and Albany and Syracuse and elsewhere,” Hochul said. “Working together – that’s the collaboration that is essential to bring to us more savings as we continue to try and start closing out our budget as well.”

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Farah Louis kicked off secretive NYC Council Budget Negotiating Team

Holly Pretsky and Sahalie Donaldson — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:36:00 -0400

When New York City Council Member Farah Louis was raided by the feds as part of a corruption probe last month, City Council Speaker Julie Menin declined to take steps to remove her from her powerful perch as chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, citing the ongoing nature of the federal investigation. Louis has not been accused of wrongdoing.

But the speaker did quietly reprimand Louis, removing her from the council’s Budget Negotiating Team, a City Council source recently shared after City & State published a story about how Menin was handling the situation. A representative for Louis did not comment for this story.

The Budget Negotiating Team, handpicked by the speaker, is most directly involved in conversations with the mayoral administration about the city’s $127 billion budget. It’s a more informal group than the public facing committees and caucuses, but it’s the one everyone wants to be a part of. Known as BNT, they’ve met a handful of times so far this year, contributing to the council’s budget response to the Mamdani administration’s preliminary budget proposal. At meetings, the team reviews documents in person that they are not allowed to take out of the room to prevent leaks. Occasionally the group makes decisions by taking a vote. The team also has a role communicating budget priorities to the rest of the council.

“At its core, BNT is the Council’s budget clearinghouse,” former Council Finance Committee Chair Justin Brannan said in an email. “It’s where all 51 member priorities get triaged, negotiated, and turned into something workable. Think of it like dumping a pile of Legos on a table and then having to actually build a house out of them.”

The speaker’s office had repeatedly declined to share the list with City & State, but other council sources were less reticent. City & State pieced together a full list of members on the influential task force. It includes all of Menin’s leadership team except for Elsie Encarnacion, a first-term member the speaker appointed as deputy whip. Council Members Virginia Maloney and Phil Wong are the only first-termers on it. Council Members Crystal Hudson – Menin’s top rival in the speaker race – is on BNT, along with fellow Progressive Caucus members Chi Ossé, Shekar Krishnan and Jennifer Gutiérrez. Council Member David Carr is the only Republican on the team, though Wong, a conservative Democrat, is on the Common Sense Caucus with him.

Some notable people who were left off the BNT include Council Members Gale Brewer, the body’s most experienced member; Selvena Brooks-Powers, chair of the important Criminal Justice committee as the city looks to close Rikers Island; and Lincoln Restler and Althea Stevens, who teamed up to organize an internal vetting process last year to choose the next speaker.

“BNT is a big deal,” Brannan said. “Everyone wants to be on it because it feels like some elite, exclusive club, but once you get behind the velvet ropes, you realize it’s just more work and lots of it.”

Here’s the full list:
Julie Menin
Shaun Abreu
Linda Lee
Nantasha Williams
Kevin Riley
Eric Dinowitz
Yusef Salaam
Virginia Maloney
Sandra Ung
Shekar Krishnan
Lynn Schulman
Phil Wong
Jennifer Gutiérrez
Crystal Hudson
Chi Ossé
Chris Banks
Susan Zhuang
Mercedes Narcisse
Kamillah Hanks
David Carr

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Mamdani-aligned political group Our Time loses almost all staff

Peter Sterne — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:05:26 -0400

Our Time for NYC was founded as a nonprofit political group after Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor by members of the Democratic Socialists of America hoping to maintain the organizing energy.

But just five months later, Our Time has lost virtually all of its staff.

Emma Saltzberg, a member of Our Time’s board, confirmed that Executive Director Jeremy Freeman, Field Manager Magdalena Morańda and Organizing Director Sara Blazevic have all left the organization in recent months, and Deputy Director Divya Sundaram will be departing after this week. At that point, Communications Director Jesse Myerson, a former spokesperson for New York City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, will be Our Time’s only remaining full-time staffer. The group’s board has also undergone a reshuffling, with Saltzberg joining alongside new board members last month and one of the group’s two original board members stepping down last week.

Saltzberg said the board is currently in the midst of a “thoughtful and intentional strategy reflection process,” which will hopefully result in a new strategic direction for Our Time. “We are in a moment of pausing, reflecting, adjusting to meet the moment,” she said. “I think we're all really committed to doing what the moment requires of us, and being as effective as possible in fighting for the New York that we deserve.”

Freeman also confirmed that he left his role as executive director. “I stepped down to pursue other opportunities. I continue to be excited about and confident in Our Time’s work to advance the affordability agenda,” he said in a statement to City & State.

Our Time was created with great fanfare in November, following Mamdani’s victory in the mayoral election. The 501(c)(4) nonprofit was founded by NYC-DSA members who worried that Mamdani’s 100,000-strong army of volunteers would be demobilized once the campaign ended. Although some in DSA argued that those volunteers who wanted to keep fighting for Mamdani’s agenda should just join DSA, there was concern that less politically engaged volunteers might not want to join an explicitly socialist organization.

“Throughout the late 20th and early 21st century, there has been a real reluctance to identify with the term ‘socialist,’” said Grace Mausser, co-chair of NYC-DSA.

They underestimated the interest. NYC-DSA has continued its meteoric rise during the first 100 days of Mamdani’s administration. The group grew from 5,910 members in October 2024 (when Mamdani launched his campaign) to 9,650 members in June 2025 (when he won the Democratic primary) to 12,860 in November 2025 (when he won the general election) to 14,360 last month.

“It turns out that democratic socialism is more popular than we thought it was,” Saltzberg said.

“Zohran really embracing it, not only through the campaign, but also actively as mayor, I think, has made it a lot less kind of scary, alienating, esoteric as a term for many,” Mausser said. “So I mean, this is a positive development, from our perspective.

Mausser said DSA’s success may have sucked the wind out of Our Time. It’s not the case that all of Mamdani’s campaign volunteers joined DSA, but the most active ones did (if they weren’t already members) and the rest have proven more difficult than anticipated to mobilize. “I think we may need to figure out if the way Our Time was organizing itself was the best way to reach and activate those people,” Mausser said.

It doesn’t help that the Mamdani has kept his distance from the group aimed at appealing to his acolytes. Our Time acquired the Mamdani campaign’s list of volunteers, but that’s about it. While the mayor has repeatedly given DSA shout outs, and City Hall representatives meet regularly with the socialist group’s leaders, the same is not true of Our Time. And when Our Time helped organize a massive “tax the rich” rally in Albany in February, Mamdani skipped it,to avoid complicating his ongoing negotiations with Gov. Kathy Hochul. Turnout was much lower than anticipated. It’s difficult to mobilize pro-Mamdani volunteers when Mamdani doesn’t even show up.

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Hochul’s non-compromise on climate rollbacks

Rebecca C. Lewis — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:32:59 -0400

Gov. Kathy Hochul is doubling down on her plans to roll back the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act as the state budget drags on into a fourth week of negotiations past the April 1 deadline. Although her latest pitch to legislators ostensibly offers two potential paths forward, lawmakers and advocates alike seem to view it as a false choice between two bad options.

Hochul provided state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie with two options for compromise during a private meeting between the three leaders Monday, according to three Assembly sources briefed on the latest discussions.

Through the first door: a 2029 deadline to adopt necessary regulations such as a cap-and-invest program – incrementally sooner than the 2030 deadline the governor originally proposed earlier this year, but still much later than the 2024 date the state was meant to have enacted the rules. Also through the first door: a new, largely nonbinding 2040 emissions benchmark – absent a specific reduction goal. City & State previously reported that Hochul had suggested a new 2029 regulations deadline and the more flexible requirements for a 2040 emissions reduction target. Through the second door: keeping Hochul’s originally proposed 2030 regulations deadline and the binding 2050 emissions benchmark currently in the law of an 85% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to 1990 levels. It was not immediately clear whether the 2050 emissions reduction goal is on the table as part of budget conversations, though Hochul previously said that target date would remain unchanged.

The latest on Hochul’s other major proposed change to the law – amending the state’s emissions accounting methods, which is strongly opposed by lawmakers and activists alike – did not seem to be part of the talks described to City & State. The governor has said she wants to change from a nation-leading 20-year accounting method that more accurately reflects the impacts of methane gas in favor of a much more common, but less stringent, 100-year accounting method.

The latest proposals did not seem to leave Assembly members terribly pleased, according to two sources. One Assembly member said the proposals “fell flat” and were far too general without key specifics. The same member also suggested a shift from 2030 to 2029 for regulations is hardly a change, and too late regardless.

The state Senate had not met to discuss the newest proposals by late Tuesday morning, but Stewart-Cousins did not dispute City & State’s characterization of what the governor had presented her with in their meeting Monday. “We are all very, very clear that we need to do multiple things,” she told reporters. “We have to protect the environment. We have to continue our commitment to moving the ball forward, and we're also in a hostile environment on a national level as it relates to all the things we're trying to do.”

Stewart-Cousins said negotiations have centered around finding the right “balance” between current realities and committing to the state’s ambitious climate goals. She added that she “always” believes there’s room for more compromise, and expressed confidence Hochul wants to find the best solution. “I do believe that the governor is coming … in good faith, and would like to have been in a better position to really accomplish the goals,” Stewart-Cousins said.

Climate activists were far less charitable. “If accurate, the proposals are deeply concerning,” Justin Balik, states vice president at Evergreen Action, said in a statement. “There’s a path forward for reasonable adjustments to the CLCPA while ensuring we keep aggressively deploying cheap clean energy while keeping pollution in check … If the Governor’s proposals move forward as is, it would be a disastrous outcome for people’s wallets and the air they breathe. It’s time for the state to do everything in its power to make progress.”

Liz Moran, New York policy advocate at Earthjustice, used even stronger language. “It’s embarrassing that the Governor of NY’s climate agenda amounts to ‘no we can’t!’ when the Governors of TX, VA, IL, and CA – who also live in Trump’s America – continue to build out renewables and lower costs for struggling Americans,” she said in a statement. “The Legislature shouldn’t stand for anything less.”

Ken Lovett, senior communications adviser on energy and environment for Hochul, disputed activists’ interpretation of the state of play. “The advocates would rather bury their heads in the sand rather than recognize the very real challenges New York and other states with ambitious climate targets are facing,” Lovett said in a statement. “Reckless policies coming out of Washington D.C. are driving prices up across the board, and New Yorkers cannot be expected to shoulder higher costs. Governor Hochul is pushing for common-sense reforms that will ensure New York remains a national climate and clean energy leader while prioritizing affordability for all New Yorkers and businesses.”

Climate advocates with New York Communities for Change, Food & Water Watch, Climate Defiance and other groups protested Hochul’s attempts to change the climate law in Albany on Tuesday. They blocked the entrance to the governor’s office on the second floor of the state Capitol, prompting arrests by state troopers. “Hochul needs to shut the fuck up and pull her fucking bill back,” NYCC organizer Pete Sikora yelled as he was arrested. “Don’t do this in the dark of night, Hochul – stick with the people.”

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Report: Gig work has become a full-time, closely monitored gig

Annie McDonough — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

App-based gig work is not the flexible, self-directed job it’s cracked up to be, according to a new report from the Community Service Society. The economic security-focused nonprofit’s annual survey captured a swath of hundreds of gig workers, who described the algorithmic pressure and control they work under – a pressure that intensifies for the 51% of respondents who rely on gig work for their primary income.

In the nonprofit’s survey of 763 gig workers across the state last fall, nearly 80% said the app encouraged them to work at specific times through alerts or bonuses, and 70% said the app controlled when, where and how much they work. (A little over half of the respondents were based in New York City, while the rest were on Long Island, in Erie County, Westchester, the Capital District or Monroe County.)

“The job, though sold as flexible and you’re in control, is really defined by the app. The app is effectively the boss,” said Rachel Swaner, vice president of policy, research and advocacy at CSS. “It assigns work, it sets pay and it monitors workers.” The report doesn’t single out any particular companies, but looks at gig work as a broad category.

In the last few years, New York City has passed several laws aimed at enshrining protections for gig workers – who have historically lacked labor protections afforded to employees. The laws seek to protect against opaque algorithmic management and set pay rate and transparency rules.

Gig workers for food delivery platforms, for example, must be paid $22.13 per hour working on deliveries, and companies must provide details about how they calculate pay.

The City Council also passed a rule preventing app-based for-hire vehicle drivers from being fired without notice or recourse, except in cases of “egregious misconduct.” The Mamdani administration chalked those deactivation cases up to algorithms.

In their report, the Community Service Society calls for expanding those protections statewide, but also calls for new standards for permissible uses of tracking workers’ locations and transparency in how customer ratings affect working conditions.

The nonprofit may have an ally in that effort in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration. Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Sam Levine has been aggressive in enforcing regulations against app-based giants including Uber and DoorDash. A copy of the CSS report was shared with DCWP ahead of publication, as well as with advocacy organizations including the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and Los

Deliveristas Unidos.

“App-based delivery workers deserve fairness and security on the job, period. DCWP is committed to enforcing NYC’s Delivery Worker Laws – among the strongest protections in the country – without fear or favor,” Levine said in statement in a CSS press release about the report. “We applaud CSS for shedding light on these important issues and the barriers hardworking deliveristas face. The platforms profiting from New York labor must provide workers with dignity and pay they deserve.”

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Getting ‘jazzed’ telling New Yorkers about city jobs on social media

Annie McDonough and Alisha Allison — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Yume Kitasei spent her first day as New York City’s new Department of Citywide Administrative Services commissioner on the freezing roof of the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building. Unlike some of the elected officials and reporters gathered there by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Kitasei seemed genuinely excited to be out in the frigid cold to announce that the rooftop would open to the public this summer.

“I was supposed to start later in the month and I was so excited about it that I moved up my start date,” Kitasei told City & State.

Kitasei has worked in public service for 15 years, previously serving as chief of staff to then-First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright during the Eric Adams administration and to then-City Council Member Margaret Chin.

As commissioner, Kitasei leads the Department of Citywide Administrative Services in providing resources to city agencies, such as employee recruitment, procurement and a slew of administrative responsibilities like leasing property and reducing carbon emissions. She describes DCAS as the “back-end agency that’s serving all the other agencies.”

City & State spoke with Kitasei a few months into the job about how the department is supporting city hiring, the thrall of a government job and the looming deadline for her next speculative fiction novel. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The New York City Department of Small Business Services is doing hiring halls again, and I noticed that DCAS has been holding civil service information sessions. What other work is DCAS doing to recruit and retain city workers?

City recruitment is hugely important for us, especially as agencies are staffing up (with) the 2-for-1 (hiring rule) going away. We have an office of recruitment that can help agencies recruit. We also think more broadly. As the stewards of the civil service system, we work very closely with every agency on their hiring strategies.

Are you experimenting with any new strategies?

It’s going to sound corny, but actually, the thing that I’m most jazzed about right now, as my team will tell you, is expanding our reach through social media. I think that there’s a huge untapped potential there, both through telling a broad swath of New Yorkers what jobs we have, but also explaining the civil service system and how you access those jobs.

Are there steps the city could take toward making it easier procedurally to recruit and get people through the civil service system?

First of all, I will just say I’m a huge fan of the civil service system. It was created over 100 years ago for a very good reason, and those reasons still remain, which is to ensure that our government is staffed based on merit. … But I do think that most people would agree that the system does need to be modernized, and so we’re working closely with our partners in labor and elected officials to build a vision of what that modern civil service looks like. So definitely more to come on that.

One of the changes at DCAS that City & State reported on in February were some firings and pay cuts as part of a reorganization related to efforts to root out corruption. Has the department continued to reorganize or terminate staff?

When I came in, I had a very clear vision about the way that I wanted to organize the leadership in order to make sure that we were positioned to deliver on the big things that we want to do. And I also want to make sure that people have confidence in DCAS as an agency of integrity. There are a lot of great staff here, and the changes we made were really about sort of juicing the structure and the ability to get things done. And I’m really excited that we brought in a new deputy commissioner for real estate, PJ Berg, who has a fantastic reputation. … He is right now doing a deep dive to build up the team and build our capacity and make sure that we have a good reputation for being good at what we do.

Have more employees been terminated since early February?

Not related to any restructuring. Obviously, there’s normal attrition. I came in with a pretty clear vision, so I was able to move pretty quickly on that. That was my goal, I wanted to start off at a run and I didn’t want to leave people with any sort of questions about what we’re here to do, and what the plan was going to be.

Is DCAS still conducting a review of contracts that were under former Deputy Commissioner for Real Estate Jesse Hamilton’s purview? Any updates, if so, on when that might be released?

Our new deputy commissioner for real estate, as part of his getting acquainted with the portfolio, is doing sort of a broader, deep dive into everything that has been done recently. We’re not working on a formal report, but obviously if we discover anything that needs to be shared, we’ll be sure to do so.

You started your career in government as an intern in the city comptroller’s office. What is your pitch for someone who is looking for a job in a very difficult job market and might want to consider city government work?

I love when I have the opportunity to pitch people on this. I’m always trying to convince my friends that city government is actually the best career that you can do. … When you meet city government employees, every single one is there because they want to make the city better, and they want to help New Yorkers. … The problems that you’re responding to are constantly changing, and you’re constantly meeting new people. … And if you’re somebody who likes to learn, there’s just an infinite number of things that you get to do. And I think people discount that the benefits in city government are actually really great.

You also have an illustrious career as an author of speculative fiction. Are you still finding time to write in the new job?

That depends, is my editor reading this interview? The short answer is, I am on deadline. So yes. But obviously, balancing a job like this with the writing, it’s a challenge.

Any sci-fi movies you’ve loved recently?

“Project Hail Mary” was amazing. Loved it.

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Editor’s note: Just call the president, since he might pick up

Jeff Coltin — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400

Many New Yorkers were curious about President Donald Trump’s social media post on April 16 saying: “Sadly, Mayor Mamdani is DESTROYING New York!” It may be signaling an end to their remarkably friendly relationship.

But only one New Yorker – as far as I know – actually called the president to ask him about it. That was independent journalist Timmy Facciola, whom Trump told no, he didn’t have a falling out with Mamdani. “Not at all. He’s going to ruin the city, however,” the president added. “His policies are no good.”

Facciola is a determined reporter and a former colleague at Politico New York, but you wouldn’t necessarily think the 28-year-old Substacker would have a direct line to the most powerful person on Earth. However, we’re in an interesting time where reporters have realized that if you call the president directly, sometimes he’ll talk.

It reminds me of something Zohran Mamdani said in the wee hours of New Year’s Day. Mamdani recounted that, as he was on his way to the most momentous event of his life, about to be sworn in as mayor of New York City, WNYC reporter Ramsey Khalifeh called him trying to confirm who the transportation commissioner would be.

Mamdani didn’t pick up the phone. But he did check his voicemail to see what Khalifeh was asking about.

That’s the thing about being a journalist. You’ve got to try your sources.

Nobody knows that better than City & State’s Rebecca C. Lewis, who has been reporting on New York’s climate laws for years, and cooked up an Earth Day special explaining where we’re at on the state’s emissions goals and how we got here. Don’t hang up just yet.

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Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission kicks things off at Randy Mastro’s office

Sahalie Donaldson — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:02:17 -0400

On 4/20, the collection of people assembled by former Mayor Eric Adams on his final day in office met for the first time – a dream blunt rotation for the New Yorkers who want the city to adopt an open primary system.

Former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who is providing the 13-member Charter Revision Commission pro bono legal services, hosted the gathering at his law office in midtown Manhattan Monday afternoon. The first order of business: Selecting Gilford Monrose, Adams’ former faith adviser, as acting chair, and Menashe Shapiro, his former senior adviser, as acting vice chair. Kayla Mamelak Altus, another Adams alum, was named acting secretary and spokesperson for the group.

“This commission does not and cannot make decisions for the city,” Mamelak Altus said after telling the 30-some attendees that the group would specifically consider whether to bring forward a proposal to switch the city from a closed-primary system to an open one. “Our role is to listen to public testimony, decide what proposals to present to the public, and then it is up to the voters and the voters alone to decide whether to approve or reject them.”

It’s unclear whether the commission’s decision to name its own leaders will stick. The person Adams initially appointed for the role of chair failed to file the necessary paperwork in time – one among many potential hurdles the group faces as it barrels forward without the support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Several good government experts previously told City & State that only the sitting mayor is able to appoint the charter commission’s leadership, even though Adams initiated the commission. This is one of the questions that could play out in the courts between Mastro and the city’s Law Department should Mamdani seek to kneecap the group. “Our administration and the Law Department are considering all options as it relates to the Charter Revision Commission,” Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement.

There was little mention of that or any of the other challenges Monday – at least not during the official meeting, which only lasted about 10 minutes. (Future meetings, which will be open for public comment, will likely last far longer.) Speaking to the press afterwards, however, Mastro acknowledged that Mamdani could theoretically appoint a new chair and fill the commission’s two vacancies. Still, he was bullish about the group’s ability to move forward, arguing that the chair position is an honorarium and no more significant than other members of the commission.

“I believe in the power of the law and the law permits a charter revision commission and for that commission to put proposals on the ballot,” Mastro said. “If the commission has done its work well, it’ll put proposals on the ballot the public embraces.”

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Opinion: What cannabis legalization looks like in New York today

John Kagia — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:20:00 -0400

Five years after the passage of the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act, New York’s legal cannabis market is no longer theoretical – it is real, operational and growing. But progress should not be mistaken for completion. Building a market of this scale rooted in equity, public health and long-term sustainability requires time, discipline and a willingness to adapt.

The work continues and getting it right still matters.

Having served as policy director and now as acting executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management, I have had a front-row seat to the birth of New York’s legal market. My experience affirms that building a market like this requires more than policy.

It requires persistence, flexibility and a clear sense of purpose. Under the leadership of Gov. Kathy Hochul and with the support of stakeholders and staff, what began as a startup effort has become a functioning regulatory system overseeing one of the world’s most closely watched cannabis markets.

From the beginning, New York set out to do more than legalize cannabis. The MRTA was designed with an ambitious goal in mind: to address the harms of prohibition while creating economic opportunity. Through automatic expungement provisions, more than 400,000 cannabis-related convictions were eligible to be cleared, removing barriers to employment, housing and opportunity for New Yorkers across the state. Equity was not an afterthought. It was an anchoring principle.

Putting that commitment into practice has required building the systems to support it – standing up licensing frameworks, developing compliance and enforcement operations, building systems and programs to support the nascent industry and adapting to the market’s evolution. That work has unfolded alongside legal challenges, resource constraints and an entrenched illicit market. It is work that demands coordination, adaptability, and sustained focus.

And yet, the market is taking shape.

New York now has more than 2,100 licensed cannabis businesses across the supply chain, with over 600 licensed dispensaries operating statewide. Legal cannabis sales reached approximately $1.6 billion in 2025 alone, with total sales surpassing $3 billion to date.

Just as importantly, that growth has been accompanied by measurable progress on equity. Today, over 55% of licenses are held by social and economic equity applicants, a reflection of the deliberate effort to ensure that the communities most impacted by prohibition have a real opportunity to participate in and benefit from this market. New York is showing that a cannabis market can be both economically viable and intentionally inclusive, and that those goals are not in conflict. That outcome is not accidental. It is the result of deliberate policy choices and sustained focus. The state’s two-tier market structure, which separates supply from retail, was designed to prevent early consolidation and create space for small and mid-sized businesses. At the same time, our technical assistance, financial support, and business development resources have helped licensees navigate the increasingly dynamic and competitive industry.

Reinvestment is also central to this framework. Through the Community Reinvestment Program, $5 million has been awarded to 50 nonprofit organizations supporting mental health, workforce development and housing, with an additional $5 million announced for a second round. The governor has also proposed an additional $25 million in this year’s Executive Budget to further expand these efforts. These investments ensure that the benefits of legalization extend beyond the marketplace itself.

Public health remains a core consideration. New York has taken a measured approach to legalization, investing in education, safe consumption and youth prevention. To advance this work, Hochul has launched a first-in-the-nation Cannabis Center of Excellence for Medical Cannabis and Health Equity, developed in partnership with medical schools to train clinicians in evidence-based cannabis care and expand access to clinical guidance – particularly in communities that have historically had limited access to medical cannabis services. Continued monitoring will remain essential as the market grows, particularly in understanding long-term impacts.

Meanwhile, there are real challenges that remain.

Enforcement continues to be one of the most complex aspects of implementation. With 579 illicit stores shut down and padlocked, the state has taken significant action to shut down these unlicensed operators and remove illegal products from the marketplace. We have also equipped localities with the authority and tools to conduct their own enforcement, resulting in hundreds of additional actions across the state. However, these efforts are impacted by legal injunctions, resource limitations and the scale of the illicit market. There is no simple solution – but standing still is not an option. Addressing this will require deeper coordination and a sustained focus on protecting the integrity of the legal market.

We also have to be honest about where we have fallen short. Communication with licensees and stakeholders has not always been as clear or consistent as it needs to be. In a market evolving as quickly as this one, uncertainty around timelines and expectations has created real challenges for businesses making critical decisions. Improving that communication is not just a priority; it is essential to the success of this market.

The next phase of New York’s cannabis market will focus on strengthening what has already been built: finalizing regulations, bringing additional license types online, expanding reinvestment and improving coordination across the system. At the same time, federal cannabis policy is beginning to shift in ways that could materially impact our state market. That presents both opportunity and responsibility. We must prepare our market for the coming changes and be prepared to lead the industry under a national framework.

Five years in, New York has moved from promise to progress. The foundation is in place. The work now is to build on it – thoughtfully, responsibly, and with a clear focus on delivering a market that is both strong and fair.

Because the success of this market will ultimately be measured not just by how much it grows, but by who it serves, who benefits from its opportunity and whether we met the ambitious goal of building the world’s most equitable, sustainable and opportunity rich market.

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Lawmakers pass fifth extender as budget talks lag

Rebecca C. Lewis and Kate Lisa — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:01:39 -0400

If you haven’t been paying attention to the ongoing state budget negotiations happening in Albany, fear not. You haven’t missed much over the last three weeks since state leaders blew past the anticipated $263 billion spending plan’s April 1 deadline.

State lawmakers voted to pass a fifth, $5.1 billion budget extender Monday, with the next stopgap bill expected on Wednesday. But lawmakers don’t seem any closer to closing down controversial policy issues that – as always – have gummed up the process.

Although Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters that leaders were “on the same planet” when it came to talks – a slight improvement than his previous assessment of “the same galaxy” – progress has been slow going.

“As far as the discussions that are going on, unfortunately, we have not started the game yet – there’s a rain delay,” Assembly Ways & Means Committee chair J. Gary Pretlow said on the floor – continuing an analogy comparing ongoing talks to a baseball game. “We’re still doing batting practice, but the good thing about batting practice is it makes the game a lot more exciting.”

Pretlow on Monday told inquiring Republicans that lawmakers have not seen draft language of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes, the immigration package, Tier 6 public pension reform, auto insurance liability changes, modernizing the state’s environmental review process or specifics to roll back the 2019 climate law. And Pretlow said it’s unclear how long the next extender will be.

State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris nonetheless expressed optimism about negotiations. “We’re starting to feel that desire to start wrapping things up,” he told reporters Monday. “So hopefully that will result in agreements.” But he said he had “nothing to share publicly” in terms of language in the mix.

Legislative leaders still haven’t signed off on a push to create a secure area around houses of worship where protestors could not demonstrate. There’s disagreement over how large to make that buffer zone, with proposals for both 25 feet and 100 feet still on the table – and concern about costly litigation. Heastie, who has the bulk of the reservations about the proposal, privately met with Jewish members about the details in the Capitol on Monday.

At the annual Somos conference in Albany over the weekend, Heastie told reporters that some Assembly members feel it would be better to leave the buffer zone up to the discretion of local police departments.

“Some members in the conference support it and some don’t,” the speaker told reporters late Friday at a reception for state comptroller Tom DiNapoli. “The Orthodox community is a little more concerned about the 25 feet, they feel that they often get (a larger area of protection) when you leave it to the New York City Police Department. And if you put just the 25 feet into statute, then the NYPD is just going to follow the 25 feet. So we haven’t figured that out.”

And Hochul has offered very minor updates on her proposed rollbacks of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, according to sources familiar with negotiations.

The governor has floated an implementation date of 2029 for necessary regulations, one year sooner than the 2030 deadline she originally proposed. That’s still two years later that the 2027 date legislators and some climate activists and legislators have indicated they would accept as a compromise. The rules were due in 2024, and Hochul has continued fighting a lawsuit over the missed deadline.

Sources also said it’s unclear how binding any new interim emission reduction targets will be from the governor. With state regulators already acknowledging New York won’t hit the 2030 benchmark of a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to 1990 levels, the next statutory target doesn’t come until 2050. Hochul had proposed a new 2040 target in her original pitch on the CLCPA this year, but the strength of the language around new benchmarks is nebulous at best.

The governor proposed adding language to the statute specifying the kinds of rules and regulations the state must enact in order to meet its goals, which includes cap-and-invest. Current law only requires the state to enact regulations to meet its climate goals, which includes net-zero electricity by 2040 and an 85% emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels by 2050, but does not specify the actual regulations. An advisory committee tasked with helping to implement the CLCPA recommended the creation of a cap-and-invest program, but that is not directly mentioned in the climate law itself.

“It seems like the governor is sharing some new ideas off of her original proposal,” Gianaris told reporters Monday of climate law discussions. “So hopefully that gets us to a good place.” He did not offer or confirm any specifics.

As for auto insurance reform, a source familiar with those discussions said little movement has happened on the incredibly thorny topic, as Hochul digs in her heels on her proposals and deep-pocketed special interests continue their full-frontal assaults both for and against the governor’s proposal. “That’s probably the thorniest of the issues still pending,” Gianaris said.

As of Saturday, Heastie said there was nothing new in negotiations. Staff continue to work on language, but leaders aren’t meeting every day. And it’s too soon to say when they’ll achieve a handshake deal, or when the remaining nine budget bills will be printed.

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Report: New York fails to meet federal outcomes for child protective services

Phenix Kim — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:08:44 -0400

New York City and state’s child protective services failed to meet federal standards in outcomes for child safety, permanency and well-being, according to an annual report by the New York State Citizen Review Panel.

Titled “From Crisis to Accountability,” the report found failures in all seven federal outcomes areas, with major inadequacies in statewide data systems, gaps in staff and provider training, and a lack of services catered to the needs of children and families. Despite roughly $3 billion invested annually in child protective services, New York state continues to show some of the highest rates of maltreatment and longest stays in temporary care in the nation.

“You can never strip away all the liability from the system,” said Todd Sage, an author of the report and co-chair of the review’s Western Panel, which oversees 17 counties including Erie, Ontario and Niagara County. “What happens is, too often, in the name of liability, we traumatize kids by putting them in foster care because the county doesn't want to take on the liability.”

Following the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, the New York State Citizen Review panel was established in 1999 as a federally mandated independent oversight body that monitors child protective services. The panel recently sent a letter to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services outcrying poor conditions in the state’s youth prisons.

As New York operates a county-administered child welfare system with state oversight, OCFS is ultimately accountable for ensuring county obligations. With Gov. Kathy Hochul appointing Dr. DaMia Harris-Madden to lead the office in April 2024, Sage and other critics are feeling optimistic.

“One of the reasons we're hoping that with the new director in charge, is that through communication, we can really start to work towards having more collaborative conversations to improve the system, because the one thing we do know is the system is flawed,” said Sage.

The report, which was released in January, highlights key systemic areas and outcomes that have yet to be met by the state. According to the report, many children remain in foster care far longer than federal timelines suggest, with only 32% of children finding permanency in a year. Some older children and teens can wait up to six years to be placed in permanent homes, according to Sage.

And while the report paints a dire picture of New York’s care for its most vulnerable children, the state is being held to a high standard. In fact, no state nationwide has received an entirely satisfactory result in the past 25 years of the Children and Family Services Review’s existence, according to a November briefing from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The report comes as state and local governments face federal funding pressures under the Trump administration, namely shifts to Title IV-E and Title IV-B streams that could affect child welfare capacity. Recent ICE activity has also complicated casework and deterred families from seeking help. These stressors have been amplified by gaps in workforce training, as high caseloads and staff turnover continue to hinder child services.

“By just putting a warm body in a seat doesn't mean that we're actually serving families,” added Sage. “A six-week training isn't going to really prepare you for a career,” he said.

The report also found that more than 75% of calls to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment were unfounded. An OCFS spokesperson said that New York state law’s mandating child abuse and neglect “reporters” (educators, medical professionals and law enforcement officers) can lead to higher levels of calls, which don’t always lead to founded claims.

“We are guided by a belief that you don’t have to report a family to support a family, because poverty is not neglect, and addressing systemic problems is critical for children’s safety,” the OCFS spokesperson said in a statement. “Rather than intervening only once abuse or neglect has occurred, we employ a host of proactive outreach and assistance tools to prevent those harms.”

But according to advocates, systemic issues such as inadequate housing, food insecurity and lack of child care are frequently conflated with neglect during the investigation process with poor Black and Latino families continuing to be disproportionately represented.

In order to curb the disproportionate impact on Black and brown families, OCFS has aimed to address racial bias in abuse reporting systems while requiring local districts to use a “blind removal” process that hides demographic information. Despite these efforts, Black children are still twice as likely to enter foster care with fewer chances of permanency, while Latino children continue to experience high rates of maltreatment.

In building on these observations, the panel further recommends that OCFS publish race-disaggregated data and assist counties in meeting equity goals through parent and youth advisory councils.

Despite system shortcomings, the panel found that the state improved in strengthening existing community-based partnerships with Family Enrichment Centers and with programs like Healthy Families New York: a voluntary home-based social and educational service to expecting and new families. With programs across the nation, Healthy Families serves over 5,600 families each year and is available in New York City as well as Westchester and Monroe Counties.

“It makes sense because, who knows your community better than a community based organization?” said Sage. “Having that community based [organization] allows for relationships to be made, allows for trust to be made, and really stripping it away from that government oversight.”

The report also urged state actors to prioritize culturally competent care, while focusing on a systemic focus on preventive care – where essential needs like food and shelter are addressed before children are removed from their families.

“Any large systems are like people – they don't like to change,” said Sage. “You have to use some sort of practice that is evidence-based, that shows that it's going to keep children safe and reduce kids coming into care.”

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A not-so-easy first 100 days for NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin

Sahalie Donaldson — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

A New York City Council staffer was detained by federal immigration authorities. The Mamdani administration poached the head of the body’s finance division. Efforts to discipline a council member over Islamophobic social media posts devolved into a messy legal battle. The chair of a key council committee was embroiled in a federal bribery investigation. A multibillion-dollar deficit has led to contentious budget negotiations with a powerful new mayor.

Julie Menin’s first 100 days as speaker of the City Council haven’t been smooth sailing. A little over three months in, she’s faced a number of thorny political issues – more perhaps than many of her predecessors were forced to confront early in their tenures. The majority of these challenges aren’t of her own making, but some pose the threat of becoming bigger issues down the line.

“This has not been a fair 100 days,” former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. “The universe deserves to give Julie a very calm, quiet next 100 days.”

The City Council has meanwhile barreled forward with its legislative duties, Menin at the helm seeking to project productivity and strength. On April 16, her official 100th day as speaker, she touted accomplishments like a package of bills aimed at combating antisemitism, legislation imposing new guardrails on the city’s use of emergency contracts and the launch of a new tool giving the public greater insight into how city agencies are spending money. On Friday morning, Menin released a walk-and-talk style video highlighting wins.

The council has so far overridden 17 of the previous mayor’s vetoes and introduced over 1,200 pieces of legislation, passing a combined 111 introductions and resolutions. That’s certainly not nothing, though it’s worth remembering that the majority of members are returning this legislative session and that many of the bills were reintroduced. Many observers said Menin had a strong start.

“One way to do this in my opinion would have been to sort of see what’s going on, see how popular Zohran is, see what he’s going to accomplish and react accordingly,” said Jason Goldman, former chief of staff to then-Speaker Corey Johnson. “Julie has taken a different sort of tact, which is ‘I’m just going to get things done right away.’”

In an interview, Menin pointed to the detention by ICE of Rafael Rubio, the City Council data analyst, as a low point. Rubio was detained by federal immigration authorities while attending a routine asylum appointment appearance early this year. A judge ruled that he would be deported last month. “That was in my first week. It was day six and we learned that he’d been detained,” Menin, who convened an emergency presser after getting the news, recalled. “That was certainly heartbreaking, enraging, sobering all at the same time.”

The speaker has been less candid about how she’s handling controversies surrounding two of her fellow council members: Republican Council Member Vickie Paladino and Democratic Council Member Farah Louis.

Menin took action early on when it came to Paladino, stripping the Republican council member of the majority of her committee assignments over Islamophobic comments she made on social media. After Paladino doubled down on the rhetoric, the council’s standards and ethics committee charged her with disorderly conduct – the first part of a multi-step disciplinary process. The Republican council member sued Menin and the legislative body, arguing that speech from her personal social media account was protected by the First Amendment and that she was being targeted for her conservative politics. A federal judge heard oral arguments for the case last week and has yet to make a ruling – though whatever the outcome, the issue has devolved into a messy political squabble with little precedent.

The situation with Louis, while different from Paladino in a number of ways, is perhaps more complicated for Menin. News broke earlier this month that federal prosecutors were investigating the Brooklyn Democrat and several others in a bribery probe tied to the appropriation of city funds to a homeless shelter provider. Louis, whose home was raided, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and she’s yet to publicly respond to the unfolding scandal. Still, Louis currently chairs the council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, a committee pivotal to shaping council action on housing and development.

It’s unlikely that the standards and ethics committee will take any immediate action to investigate Louis, but there are other ways Menin could theoretically distance herself. So far, she’s said the council is monitoring the situation, emphasizing that the federal investigation must proceed fairly and expeditiously.

Several people interviewed for this story said they were surprised that Menin hasn’t taken any public action yet – whether that’s bringing the matter forward for a vote to strip Louis of her chair assignment or cutting off her access to discretionary funding. “It’s hard to imagine how you can be under potential federal investigation or be the subject of a potential federal investigation while chairing the Zoning and Franchises committee which requires you to negotiate with developers,” one former City Council official said.

Louis steered over $450,000 in city funds to BHRAGS Home Care Corp, the Brooklyn-based provider at the center of the federal probe, Gothamist recently reported. (The council is not directing any more funding to the provider while the investigation unfolds, according to a council spokesperson. Discretionary funding is also not typically allocated until the end of the budget process in June.)

“We’re still evaluating the information. There is not a lot of new information here,” Menin said, declining to say whether Louis would continue chairing the committee. “Certainly, if new information becomes available we will take any action that is needed.”

Pointing to how the speaker stripped Paladino of many of her committee assignments early in her tenure, one Democratic council member said that Menin has proven herself as someone who will act decisively when facts come to light.

“If we’re looking at that as a measure of predictive action, I mean look … Farah hasn’t been charged. We don’t know a lot about the substance behind the case that she has,” they said, requesting anonymity so they could speak openly about the standards and ethics’ process. “I think a lot of us do recognize that she does have a powerful committee, but right now we also lack the facts.”

A handful of members acknowledged that the past few months have been fraught with unexpected political challenges, but they also expressed confidence in Menin’s handling.

“The fact that the council continues to be a productive body and navigate these very complex things, speaks to her leadership,” Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams said. “I mean yes, it’s been tricky, but these are things unfortunately either that she’s inherited or things that have happened as she has become speaker.”

Looming large over the past couple of weeks is the increasingly contentious budget negotiations. About a month ago, the mayor swiped the head of the council’s finance division, tapping Richard Lee to serve as commissioner of the Department of Finance. When Mamdani floated a proposal to raise property taxes as a “last resort” option to help close the city’s multibillion dollar budget gap, Menin quickly fired back, declaring it out of the question.

“The first 100 days of anybody’s administration is going to be defined by the early legislative wins and how they prioritize the budget,” said Democratic strategist Yvette Buckner, praising Menin for how she advocated for small business owners and homeowners. “(Menin) appears to be thinking creatively and out of the box.”

Things took a particularly nasty turn however after the council released its annual budget response, which Mamdani slammed, claiming that the proposal would result in sweeping cuts to agency budgets. A video released by the mayor’s team zeroed in on Menin, calling her out by name – spurring a snowball of criticism from his allies that ranged from attacks on her wealth to accusations that she was trying to sabotage the democratic socialist mayor. Many of the council members leapt to social media to respond, defending both the speaker and their proposal. While tensions have since somewhat died down, the matter underscored the celebrity clout the mayor wields. It also raised some speculation that Mamdani was laying the groundwork to blame the council for where the budget ends up.

“Facts matter. It's important to always be honest and truthful when you're disseminating information,” Menin said. “I think that's why you saw that level of blowback, particularly from council members and others.”

It wasn’t the first social media pile-on Menin’s been the subject of. She faced criticism for her decision to appear on Sid Rosenberg’s radio show in February, especially after the right-wing host later went on an Islamophobic tirade against the mayor, likening Mamdani to a “cockroach.” More recently, Menin faced backlash for declining to release her taxes – something the mayor willingly did.

Not everyone in the council has been pleased with how Menin has handled budget negotiations or what she’s deemed to be a priority over the past 100 days. One of the bills in the antisemitism package, a controversial measure directing police to develop a plan for protest “buffer-zones”outside of schools, passed with just 30 votes – short of a veto-proof majority. With the council’s Progressive Caucus voting against the measure, it was one of the first bills in years that needed support from the body’s five Republicans to pass.

“In her first 100 days, the speaker has not yet demonstrated herself to be a leader who is willing to make hard decisions and govern responsibly,” one Democratic council member said, requesting anonymity so they could speak openly. “I hope she grows into the role.”

Former City Council Member Keith Powers said that Menin and Mamdani are both contending with challenges inherited from their predecessors – if anything, perhaps that can help bring them together. Powers served under former Speaker Adrienne Adams’ whose relationship to former Mayor Eric Adams completely deteriorated by the end of their terms.

“The mayor and the speaker are dealing with the mismanagement of the last four years and doing their best to clean it up. Of course, they’re going to have their own paths about how they get there,” Powers said. “But one thing we don’t want to see happen is another repeat of that situation.”

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What happened to New York’s climate goals?

Rebecca C. Lewis — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

It’s 2026, do you know where your climate goals are?

Seven years have passed since New York enacted the landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which set ambitious deadlines and benchmarks to tackle the climate crisis. But for as much effort has gone into trying to meet those goals, fossil fuel and business interests have spent perhaps just as much time trying to delay the full implementation. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s new play to roll back parts of the climate law in this year’s state budget is only the latest, and most high-profile, chapter in the state’s nonlinear path toward climate victories.

To understand Hochul’s most recent actions, it’s crucial to have an accounting of the law’s statutory requirements and the state’s progress so far. The law’s most well-known mandates are an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2050, with a 40% interim goal by 2030, and having 70% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, with the state’s power sector achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. On all counts, the state is well behind.

Reneging on renewables

By the numbers alone, the state might appear to be making real progress. New York currently gets 23% of its electricity from renewable sources, led by upstate hydroelectric power production. Once you factor in projects in the pipeline, such as offshore wind and utility-scale solar, the state is on track to have 45% of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2030. That’s nearly double the current share, but it’s still not the 70% required by law.

State officials have long admitted New York cannot hit that 70% goal by 2030, imperiling the state’s 2040 net-zero aspirations as well. Hochul and her administration have blamed a number of factors – including global supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic turmoil caused by federal tariffs and President Donald Trump’s ongoing attacks on offshore wind – for the stalled and canceled projects that would’ve been needed for the state to hit its goals. In turn, climate activists blame foot-dragging by Hochul and inaction by the New York Power Authority.

This is not a call to abandon our state’s climate goals. It is a call to balance them with the urgent need for reliability, certainty and resilience.

NYISO Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Emilie Nelson

The two sides may disagree on the path ahead, but an inescapable truth has created a different ticking clock for the state. New York faces an imminent energy crisis. The New York Independent System Operator, the nonprofit that runs the state’s grid, has warned for several years that energy production won’t meet growing demand, and aging and insufficient transmission infrastructure won’t be able to carry that energy reliably even when produced. The most dire warning came in a Short-Term Assessment of Reliability report released in October that said the New York City region will face critical energy shortages starting as soon as this year.

“This is not a call to abandon our state’s climate goals,” NYISO Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Emilie Nelson wrote in a December Daily News op-ed. “It is a call to balance them with the urgent need for reliability, certainty and resilience.”

Climate activists have pointed out that the NYISO’s estimates don’t account for incomplete renewable projects that will add production power, like the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line set to go online later this year. But officials with the nonprofit said even those projects won’t close the predicted gap and advocated – like Hochul – for an “all-of-the-above” approach.

The most recent example came as for-profit companies threatened to pull the plug on 3 gigawatts’ worth of projects unless the state renegotiated the contract terms to reflect current economic pressures and receive greater state subsidies. Public Power New York took that as an opportunity to once again push the state-owned New York Power Authority to build out 15 gigawatts of renewable energy under the Build Public Renewables Act to ensure the state meets its clean power needs without relying on private developers. New York Power Authority officials in December approved an updated plan to develop 5.5 gigawatts of renewable energy, which was a decrease from the original draft.

Time left for fossil fuels?

Hochul has touted her commitment to environmental ideals since taking office, and Time magazine recognized her last year as one of the 100 most influential climate leaders around the world. But that hasn’t stopped her from opening the door again to fossil fuel production. For years, regulators had repeatedly rejected bids for new and expanded natural gas pipelines, but Hochul’s Department of Environmental Conservation made a significant shift late last year when it approved permits for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project. Trump administration officials just broke ground on that project last week. But the Hochul administration skipped the event in Brooklyn, apparently wary of the optics of a Democrat celebrating new fossil fuel infrastructure alongside her old Republican rival Lee Zeldin, who now serves as the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A coalition representing fossil fuel companies and business groups also petitioned the state Public Service Commission in January to utilize its authority to pause the CLCPA’s renewable energy requirements in light of pressing energy needs. State law allows the regulatory commission to put the 2030 and 2040 benchmarks on hold in the name of affordability and reliability. Like the state’s grid, much of the fossil fuel infrastructure in New York is old and inefficient. The coalition argued in its petition that phasing out fossil fuels in less than 15 years prevents them from investing in newer, more efficient infrastructure that would reduce emissions in the short-term with greater reliability. They also sought to repower decommissioned power plants, which they said would be cleaner than building new ones. The catch – which climate activists have pointed out – is that investing in those updates, rather than doubling down on renewables, would keep New York reliant on fossil fuels for decades longer.

The comment period for the petition case closes on May 1, so the commission still has time before it makes a final decision. It could significantly amend the state’s climate goals without the Legislature or governor needing to lift a finger. That would solve the governor’s headache on renewables, leaving Hochul to deal with emissions on her more traditional battlefield: the state budget.

Ebbing emissions

As of January 2025, the state had managed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by just 9% compared to 1990 levels, which only gets the state about a quarter of the way to its 2030 goal. Meeting that goal may sound improbable, if not impossible, because the state has barely made a dent in reducing emissions since the CLCPA passed in 2019.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state Department of Environmental Conservation were required to issue regulations by 2024 to enable the state to hit its emissions benchmarks. Two years later, the most significant rules have yet to be finalized. The climate law didn’t stipulate the specifics of what kind of program the state must enact, but a panel tasked with making recommendations advised implementing a cap-and-invest program that would gradually require major polluters to release less emissions, or else pay for allowances with money reinvested into climate mitigation efforts by the state.

Hochul signed a law in 2023 enabling the creation of such a program, but the statute left the details up to state agencies and regulators to determine. In the lead-up to 2025, regulators and Hochul signaled they would have rules ready to go when the governor unveiled her agenda for the year. And according to Politico New York, they did – but those rules never got released.

Instead, Hochul punted for at least another year, barely mentioning the cap-and-invest program in her 2025 State of the State policy book. NYSERDA and the DEC took a small step forward last year with the release of draft reporting rules, but those proposed regulations only account for a portion of those needed to implement the program. The real meat of the rules – prices and timing for emissions allowances – remain elusive.

The start of this year offered no meaningful updates, aside from the expectation that Hochul would attempt to gut the CLCPA. In 2023, she had attempted a wonky amendment that would have changed how the state measured emissions – replacing a more stringent methodology with a more commonly used one that would make New York appear closer to its reduction goals. That attempt to change the law failed.

I’m not excited about having to do this. We are forced to because of advocates who took us to court not satisfied with the pace that we were on.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, blaming a lawsuit from climate activists for her proposed environmental rollbacks

But Hochul is now facing unprecedented pressure to enact a cap-and-invest program thanks to a state court ruling. Tired of waiting for the state to act, environmental advocates sued the state. Late last year, a state judge determined New York officials violated the CLCPA by failing to enact its proposed cap-and-invest program by 2024 and gave the Hochul administration until the start of February to release the rules.

NYSERDA instead released something else: a now-infamous memo. The memo projected exorbitant energy costs for average consumers by 2031 if the state implemented a cap-and-invest program that was sufficiently aggressive to meet its 2030 emissions goals, while describing the necessary renewable energy deployment as “infeasible.” Environmental groups immediately trashed the memo, disputing its cost predictions with their own analyses that accounted for the types of investments that a cap-and-invest program would make possible beyond direct rebates. The memo itself even offered an assessment that households that convert to “high efficient electrification” would have sizable net savings.

“Let’s be clear, this is a completely manufactured crisis that is founded through an incoherent narrative in an attempt to pressure the Legislature to give in to punting on our climate law,” Eric Walker, energy justice senior policy manager at We Act for Environmental Justice, said at a large March rally in Albany.

Even before the release of the memo, Hochul and her surrogates had already laid the groundwork for why the current version of the climate law doesn’t fit with her affordability agenda for New Yorkers – even as she acknowledged that changing the climate law won’t bring down costs right now. So after weeks of waiting, the governor finally released the first concrete details of the changes she wants to make. She proposed a new 2030 deadline for the state to implement necessary regulations like a cap-and-invest program. That would rid her of the climate activists’ lawsuit, which she has directly blamed for the proposed rollbacks. “I’m not excited about having to do this,” Hochul said at a recent unrelated press conference. “We are forced to because of advocates who took us to court not satisfied with the pace that we were on.”

Hochul is also taking another crack at changing the law’s emissions accounting methodology. Her proposal would change how the state measures what’s called the “global warming potential” of greenhouse gases from using a 20-year period to using a 100-year period. While she has defended this as aligning New York with the most commonly used standard, the change would no longer accurately account for the harmful impacts of methane gas, which does not stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide does. And it would immediately make the state’s emissions reduction numbers look better.

With the state budget now more than two weeks late, Hochul and lawmakers have reached a stalemate over the proposal. Some legislators seem willing to find a compromise – such as a 2027 deadline for cap-and-invest regulations – as long as it doesn’t change the emissions accounting methods. But Hochul has offered no indication she is willing to budge on negotiations over the climate law and has yet to offer language for legislative leaders to consider.

Tensions in Albany are high – but the pressure on Hochul to come out on top with budget victories is elevated in a crucial election year. The governor has said she needs to overperform at the top of the ticket as Democrats fight to win back the House – after her 2022 campaign drew the ire of Rep. Nancy Pelosi. This year, Hochul won’t let the state’s climate woes impede her.

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The 2026 Who’s Who in Energy

City & State — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

New York is at a pivot point on energy policy. Gov. Kathy Hochul is leading the charge to scale back the state’s landmark climate change law, citing surging inflation, federal opposition to renewable power and the war in Iran that has fuel prices soaring. Meanwhile, local residents have battled projects ranging from battery storage to onshore wind power. “Put simply, something has to give,” the governor opined in a recent commentary.

Now, the governor is looking to slow down the shift away from natural gas while also embracing nuclear power. At the same time, the state remains on the forefront of clean energy investment: Reliance on solar power is increasing, a new hydropower transmission line is nearing completion and offshore wind projects are advancing despite threats from the White House.

City & State’s Who’s Who in Energy, researched and written in partnership with journalist Lon Cohen, highlights the key stakeholders who are in the middle of the high-stakes debate over New York’s energy future.

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Reyes: Hochul’s immigration proposal appeals to the GOP

Kate Lisa — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:25:58 -0400

Some progressive lawmakers aren’t taking too kindly to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest proposal to restrict local police from assisting federal immigration officers. The governor wants to allow municipalities to assist U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement when there’s probable cause someone committed a crime, but Assembly Member Karines Reyes said that plan would actually be worse for immigrant New Yorkers than current law – and could stand to hurt her in this year’s gubernatorial race.

“You can’t let cops be judge, jury and executioner,” Reyes told City & State on Friday during state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s reception kicking off the annual Somos conference in Albany. “We want to make sure that law enforcement isn’t able to act on their own prejudices.”

The conference focused on New York’s Latino population provides a key opportunity for lawmakers and stakeholders to strategize, but the stakes are even higher as Hochul and legislative leaders make progress on months-long talks to counter ICE under the Trump administration. Reyes said if the governor’s proposal becomes law, immigrants will remember it at the ballot box this November.

“I think the governor and those who advise her need to refocus on who the electorate is and the message they’re sending,” Reyes said, later adding, “The governor can win overwhelmingly if she’s right on these issues, or she can win with a much narrower margin if she continues to appeal to Republican talking points.”Hochul won her 2022 election against now-Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin by a mere 6 points. Hochul’s office did not return a request for comment.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie also indicated concern this week about allowing police to cite probable cause as a reason to work with ICE. “Probable cause to commit a crime being committed, that’s such an open and general term,” he told reporters Thursday.

Reyes, who sponsors the New York For All Act, which would completely ban municipalities from any collaboration with ICE, said she knows Hochul’s heart is in the right place to do something, but she hopes the executive remains open to conversations. And she hopes Somos will be

“We have to advocate for what is the least harmful measure for our community,” she added.

Hochul’s proposal would also permit police to assist ICE with criminal convictions, but details remain unclear, since she has not made specific legislative language public.

At DiNapoli’s reception, state Attorney General Letitia James said the Democratic conference comes as the Latino community is hurting, and the party must act to oppose the mass deportation efforts backed by President Donald Trump’s administration.

“If you recognize the threats this administration poses to all of us, we not only have to come to Albany to party, but we’ve got to come to Albany to get to work,” she told the crowd.

Afterward, James told City & State she supports and endorses Hochul’s proposal, but refused to weigh in on the inclusion of probable cause – leaving negotiations to legislative leaders.

“Whatever they negotiate, I have to defend,” she said. Of ongoing talks, James added: “We are at the table, we are discussing all of the proposals and we are ensuring that it passes constitutional muster.”

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Lawmakers and activists say Westchester prison for women is in crisis

Rebecca C. Lewis — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:49:42 -0400

Prison reform advocates are ringing the alarm bells about the conditions at a state correctional facility after several recent deaths. It just might not be the one you’re thinking of.

Activists and lawmakers rallied outside Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester and virtually on Tuesday to draw attention to what they say are poor conditions at New York’s only maximum-security prison for women. Since the beginning of the year, the prison has reported three deaths among incarcerated individuals, with two of those considered suicides. Advocates for incarcerated people and lawmakers representing the area say a lack of access to basic amenities like daily showers and any recreation outside specific programs have had severe impacts on the mental health of those detained at Bedford Hills.

Manuela Morgado died by apparent suicide at Bedford Hills last month, the most recent death at the facility. Her friend behind bars Pamela Smart wrote a letter about Morgado to New Hour for Women and Children Long Island, an organization that advocates for women and children impacted by the carcaral system. Serena Martin, the group’s executive director and a friend of Smart’s, called the letter “chilling.”

Smart wrote that Morgado had spoken to her the night before her death about a disciplinary ticket she had received that could have gotten her kicked out of the “honor” floor known as Fiske cottage, which is reserved for inmates who maintain good behavior. Morgado had spent 17 years in Fiske, which came with better living amenities. “Her ticket was pending, she hadn't even been found guilty yet,” Martin told City & State. “But she knew she would be found guilty, because you almost always are, and that's when she decided to hang herself.”

The reason relayed in the letter was because Morgado had told Smart she could not imagine returning to the conditions in the general population. “‘This ticket has broken me,’ is what she said,” Martin recalled. “Eeveryone is struggling when they're behind bars, but she was thriving.” According to Martin, Morgado was involved in the arts program, enjoyed singing and worked with the parenting center. “This is not a woman who is manically depressed,” Martin said. “And frankly, this issue is what threw her over the edge.”

Advocates attribute a troubling decline in conditions and restriction of movement to the assignment of Deputy Superintendent for Security Michael Blot. Advocates for incarcerated people have pointed to past allegations of abuse against Blot as cause for concern, though he has never been found guilty nor faced disciplinary action. In the fall, the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision moved him to Bedford Hills to oversee initiatives to reduce violence at the facility following a series of fights that had broken out. But what was meant to be temporary measures continued for months. “Since the arrival of (Blot), conditions have only worsened, and the consequences have been devastating,” Tamika Mallory, a social justice activist, said during the virtual portion of Tuesday’s rally.

Assembly Member Anna Kelles, another virtual rally attendee, said she visited Bedford Hills in December, where she said countless women offered similar accounts of poor conditions, restricted movement and general lack of access to resources. “When you see it once, it's not really great data,” she said. “When you're seeing something consistent throughout an entire building, the likelihood that there is something there is significantly higher.”

Kelles said her experience at the facility prompted her to write a six-page letter to DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III. “I met women who had not taken a shower in weeks,” she recalled. “That is unconscionable. That is not what we should be establishing and allowing in our prison settings.”

Morgado’s death prompted state Sen. Peter Harckham and Assembly Member Chris Burdick to pen a letter to Martuscello early last month requesting an investigation into the conditions at Bedford Hills. Burdick told City & State he saw Martuscello at the correctional facility last week when both attended a performance put on by incarcerated women through a rehabilitation through the arts program. “I had a chance to speak to him because of my concern … about very harsh treatment over there,” Burdick said. “My concern there is it could be contributing to depression and to a sense of hopelessness that women may have.”

According to Burdick, Martuscello “did not dismiss” his concerns and did in fact instigate an investigation, calling in the state attorney general’s office for assistance. (A spokesperson for the attorney general was not familiar with any such investigation.) Martin also described a meeting with Martuscello and a representative for Gov. Kathy Hochul about Bedford Hills, in which the commissioner at least seemed receptive – but so far, activists have not seen concrete action taken to improve conditions. “All the things that we're doing are just not resulting in any real change,” Martin said. “We're getting letters from the commissioner, basically saying, ‘I'm aware and I'm going to look into this,’ but nothing's happened.”

In a statement, a DOCCS spokesperson disputed the characterization of poor conditions at Bedford Hills and the specific allegations against Blot. “The allegations that operational changes at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility created poor conditions are inaccurate and misleading,” the spokesperson said. They cited the previous violence at the facility as justification for Blot’s reassignment and noted his efficacy in implementing changes. “As a result of these actions, between September 2025 and March 2026, there were 4 incarcerated on incarcerated assaults compared to 46 for the same time period the year prior, a 91% decrease,” the spokesperson said. “Commissioner Martuscello does not tolerate violence or abuse of any kind in our correctional facilities.”

Prisons in New York have been under a microscope since the end of 2024, when corrections officers fatally beat Robert Brooks, who had been incarcerated at Marcy Correctional Facility. Months after Brooks death, a similar incident happened at Mid-State Correctional Facility when corrections officers beat Messiah Nantwi to death. Those deaths prompted outcry and demands for prison reform.

The state’s prison system also remains in a state of crisis following a wildcat strike that saw tens of thousands of corrections officers walk off the job last year. DOCCS has struggled with recruitment to replace several thousand prison guards who were permanently fired after the strike, exacerbating existing staffing difficulties.

But most of the attention has focused on men’s prisons rather than women’s prisons like Bedford Hills, even though it has the highest occurrence of sexual assault at women’s prisons around the country. “I think women's issues are always seen as less important, they're not covered as often,” Martin said. “And I think it sort of speaks to the fact that the community at large really see prisons as a place that men go, and they don't understand that women are … the largest growing population behind bars.”

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Zohran Mamdani may not like Eric Adams, but he’s making many of the same choices

Holly Pretsky — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

On his first day as mayor, Zohran Mamdani signed a pointed executive order reversing all of the executive orders his predecessor enacted on or after Sept. 26, 2024. That was the day former Mayor Eric Adams was federally indicted on corruption charges, “a date that marked a moment when many New Yorkers decided that politics held nothing for them,” Mamdani said.

That first action was a huge “fuck you” that drew attention to the lowest point of Adams’ one-term mayoralty and sought to assure New Yorkers that this new mayor would be different. But Mamdani’s second executive order hinted at a more complicated dynamic between the two mayors. That second, much longer directive was ostensibly meant to set up the structure of Mamdani’s administration, and that’s how it was described in his press release. But it also quietly reinstated half of the 20 executive orders from Adams that Mamdani had just repealed.

It was not the first time Mamdani tacitly decided to continue what Adams started while slamming his legacy, and it was certainly not the last, either. Though he rode into office on a wave of socialist enthusiasm and distaste for the incumbent mayor, Mamdani has, in many significant ways, carried on in Adams’ footsteps. He does this while taking swipes at Adams again and again, most notably in January, when he branded the city’s fiscal gap as the “Adams Budget Crisis.” Though that gap has shrunk from an estimated $12 billion to less than $5 billion since then, Mamdani said three months in office have given him no new sympathy for the ex-mayor.

“It’s hard to have all that much appreciation for a predecessor when you’re looking at systemic underbudgeting of long-term expenses that drive a city to face a generational fiscal crisis,” Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference Thursday. “My opinions about the mayor have not changed.”

There is little political alignment between the two men. But they are doing the same job, and the parallels in their decision-making point to the reality that the mayor has only so much power to enact structural change in New York City. The changes they can make – especially at the outset of a new administration – largely come down to comms and personnel.

On the campaign trail and early in his mayoralty, Mamdani pledged to diverge from Adams by dropping a lawsuit to stop the expensive expansion of city-funded rental vouchers. He said he would discontinue the budget games of the past and revolutionize the way the city handles public safety.

In practice, facing a multibillion-dollar budget gap, Mamdani appealed a court order to expand the rental voucher program, he made an ill-considered budget gambit in which he threatened to raise property taxes, and he has largely taken a hands-off approach to the NYPD, hanging onto Adams’ hand-picked police commissioner Jessica Tisch.

Mamdani said he would end Adams’ practice of forcibly clearing homeless encampments, then he restarted sweeps two months later. Mamdani said that unlike Adams, he would be “Trump’s worst nightmare,” only to cultivate a similarly cozy relationship with the Republican president. He said he wanted to give up mayoral control of city schools, then reversed on that too – singing the same tune as Adams that, actually, the existing system was best for accountability.

After campaigning against him with poetry, Mamdani is now governing with some of Adams’ prose. “Mayors face many of the same structural constraints when they step into this job, whether it be around affordability, financial stability, with the city budget, public safety, relationships with other government leaders,” said Grace Rauh, executive director of the anticorruption group Citizens Union. “When you are mayor of New York City, you need the state, you need the federal government, … you need to have a balanced budget.”

And Mamdani, in the time-honored tradition of mayors, has rebranded many of Adams’ initiatives as his own. Mamdani has touted projects the Adams administration started, including legislation Adams signed to take down scaffolding (Adams called it “Get Sheds Down,” Mamdani ditched the moniker, and promoted “new efforts.”) He’s continuing the Adams administration’s trash containerization effort. Mamdani highlighted an initiative to provide free child care to city workers, which was piloted for Department of Citywide Administrative Services employees under Adams. He has trumpeted Department of Consumer and Worker Protection victories that resulted from the work of the previous administration, for example, reissuing a rule previously published under Adams to ban hidden hotel fees and theatrically celebrating a settlement with the food delivery app HungryPanda that was the result of the previous administration’s investigation. Despite this, his predecessor’s name rarely, if ever, came up.

As Mamdani makes child care his signature issue, he’s accused Adams of intentionally underselling the city’s subsidized child care programs, leaving Mamdani with another mess to clean up. In fact, Adams, who eventually touted enrolling a record 150,000 kids in the city’s early childhood programs, said the same thing about his predecessor.

The similarities even extend to snow day raunchiness. Adams famously told New Yorkers to expect a “good baby-making day” ahead of a snowstorm while Mamdani encouraged folks to stay home and read the popular hockey smut “Heated Rivalry.”

The most faithful chronicler of the legacy-busting is, of course, Adams himself. And by harping on it, the former mayor – whose credibility sunk even below rock bottom when he launched a scammy cryptocurrency this year – almost undermines himself. “1.When Eric Adams cleared homeless encampments to save lives, he was called cruel. 2.When he pushed for mayoral control, he was labeled a dictator,” the former mayor recently tweeted, characteristically referring to himself in the third person.

“I think motivation matters a ton,” said de Blasio administration alum Elizabeth Glazer, founder of the think tank Vital City. “Adams demonstrated over and over again that self interest was really what was driving things. It drove so many of his appointments of friends and family who … were not qualified, and it was manifest in the way in which he dealt with the president. So manifest that the judge reluctantly dismissing (his corruption) case … said ‘everything here smacks of a bargain.’”

Of course, there are plenty of meaningful differences between Mamdani, a millennial democratic socialist who grew up surrounded by Columbia intelligentsia, and Adams, the former cop and former Republican who grew up poor in Brooklyn and Queens. Mamdani has stacked his administration with respected bureaucrats from around the country, appointing not a single former elected official. (His appointments have included several Adams alums though, including Sherif Soliman, Vilda Vera Mayuga, Sideya Sherman, Ahmed Tigani and Leila Bozorg.) Unlike Adams, Mamdani has elevated “economic justice” over economic development, and he’s resurrected several Department of Transportation projects Adams shelved. Adams made a habit of showing up at the scene of an emergency in the middle of the night, while Mamdani tends to wait until the next day to show up in person. Adams loved schmoozing with the city’s elite at private clubs, while Mamdani, who’s skipping the Met Gala, mostly sticks to daytime appearances. And Mamdani has a very different base, a much younger one that is adept at social media and eager to amplify the narrative that he’s coming up with all these new ideas on his own.

So far, governing like Adams while criticizing Adams seems to be working OK for the new mayor. Some who worried Mamdani might lack the experience or the pragmatism to run the city are pleased he is more Adams-like than expected. “People thought (Mamdani) would be an inflexible ideologue,” said Stu Loeser, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s longtime press secretary. “But the really surprising part about him is how much he's changed his mind.”

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This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

City & State — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

We love taking the train to the game! Crowding onto the No. 7 train to Citi Field or feeling like a sardine on the No. 4 train to Yankee Stadium? Both rites of passage for summer in the city (and we’ll take the $3 OMNY ride over obscene stadium parking prices). But the train to the beautiful game? That’s a whole other ball game. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill took heat this week after NJ Transit said it plans to charge more than $100 to take the train to the World Cup this summer. And now $150 train tickets are being floated?! You can (sometimes) get into a Knicks game at the Garden for that much. (Though not this weekend’s playoff game – go Knicks!) Read the room!

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Opinion: Pregnant patients need informed care, not criminalization

Julia Salazar and Samra Brouk — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Every individual deserves to make informed decisions about their health. Pregnant patients should not be the exception. Yet hospitals across New York state are performing drug tests and screens on pregnant patients without their consent – and what’s worse: the results can lead to unnecessary investigations, and, sometimes, traumatic family separations.

Black pregnant patients are more likely to be tested for drugs and four times more likely to be reported to Child Protective Services than white women, despite having similar rates of substance use. These tests don’t improve quality of care or outcomes for parents and babies. Instead, the threat of surveillance and reporting drives underserved community members away from critical, lifesaving prenatal care. Black families are already overrepresented at every stage of the child welfare system, and Black mothers are five times more likely to die during childbirth. Non-consensual drug testing traumatizes families, criminalizes birthing people and deters pregnant patients from accessing prenatal care, worsening the maternal mortality crisis.

Informed consent is the foundation of patient-centered care, designed to uphold autonomy, build trust and ensure ethical decision-making in health care. When there’s an absence of informed consent, it erodes trust between patients and providers, ultimately discouraging patients from seeking further care and placing underserved families in jeopardy.

We can start restoring dignity and autonomy, and building toward reproductive justice, by passing the Maternal Health, Dignity and Consent Act. This bill would require health care providers to obtain informed consent from pregnant patients before drug testing and screening, unless it’s deemed necessary in medical emergencies. It would reinforce that drug testing should be done only to serve medical diagnosis and treatment. Informed consent will not place babies at risk; in fact, it will maintain an individual’s rights to make informed choices about their body while creating trust between providers and patients.

After New York City Health + Hospitals made the decision to require consent from pregnant patients before any drug testing, the results were remarkable. The rate at which mothers of newborns faced a CPS investigation on the basis of drug allegations dropped by almost 80%. For Black mothers, the decline was nearly 90%. Foster system entries fell by 37%. And there is no evidence that newborns or infants are any less safe as a result of reduced CPS involvement. Hospital systems across the country that have stopped routinely drug testing pregnant people have also reduced their CPS referrals with no negative impact on child safety.

All patients deserve consistent, trusting relationships with their doctors so that they know they can access critical care without negative repercussions – something too often out of reach for Black patients navigating both the health care and child welfare systems. The Maternal Health, Dignity, and Consent Act proposes a way forward that prioritizes patient care and trust. Pregnancy is a time when people are most likely to access consistent, sustained medical care. Prenatal care also shapes how patients relate to medical providers long after delivery. This time period is an opportunity to build trust and promote long-term health outcomes.

Physicians routinely obtain informed consent before countless other screenings and procedures. It is a fundamental part of ethical medical care that ensures patients feel respected, comfortable and in control of their care. There is no reason prenatal drug screening should be the exception. The state Department of Health has published multiple guidelines recommending that providers obtain informed consent before drug testing and verbally screening pregnant patients. These guidelines are intended to encourage transparency, respect patient autonomy and foster non-stigmatizing health care for patients.

It is important to clarify what this legislation does and does not do. Neither federal nor New York state law requires physicians to test for prenatal substance use or to report positive tests to child protective services. This bill would not change that. While some hospitals have already adopted informed consent requirements, many others have not. This bill would establish a statewide baseline requirement of informed consent, bringing the rest of New York largely in line with the approach endorsed by the state Department of Health and New York City’s public hospital system. That approach reflects a recognition that transparency, trust and connection promote the health and well-being of families.

We must move away from a health care system that surveils pregnant patients, especially Black mothers. Instead, we need to pass the Maternal Health, Dignity, and Consent Act to support patients in making informed decisions about their bodies.

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Rajkumar challenger sues to kick her off ballot, alleging petition fraud

Peter Sterne — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 01:22:05 -0400

David Orkin, the immigrant rights’ attorney challenging Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar with the support of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, is accusing Rajkumar’s campaign of election fraud and filed a lawsuit in state court on Thursday seeking to have her thrown off the ballot. In turn, Rajkumar has promoted allegations of fraud against Orkin.

State law requires that Assembly candidates submit at least 500 valid petition signatures from registered Democratic voters who live in the district in order to get on the Democratic primary ballot. On March 30, Rajkumar submitted over 2,500 signatures – more than five times the required amount, all but guaranteeing her place on the ballot in the district spanning Ridgewood, Glendale and Woodhaven. (For his part, Orkin submitted more than 1,950 petition signatures by March 31.)

When volunteers on Orkin’s campaign began reviewing Rajkumar’s petitions, they discovered something strange – one of the people listed as signing Rajkumar’s petitions was none other than Cary Tilton, a prominent DSA member and one of Orkin’s own campaign volunteers.

“You can imagine my shock and anger when I saw my own name on a Rajkumar petition sheet with a fraudulent signature,” Tilton told City & State in a statement, noting that he’d actually gathered signatures for Orkin. “Signing this petition would fly in the face of every action and decision I’ve made in years and is an impossibility.”

After that, dozens of DSA volunteers began combing through Rajkumar’s petitions and claim they found still more irregularities. On Thursday, Orkin and one of his supporters sued Rajkumar in Queens Supreme Court. They are asking the court to kick her off the ballot on the grounds that her petitions are full of forged signatures.

“The voters of Assembly District 38 deserve a representative who is willing to do the work of earning their support rather than someone who is comfortable manufacturing it,” Orkin told City & State in a statement.

In a statement, Rajkumar campaign spokesperson Arvind Sooknanan questioned the validity of Orkin’s own signatures, citing a press release from the group Latinos Against Socialism. (No specific objections were ever filed to Orkin’s petition signatures at the New York City Board of Elections or in state court, however.)

“Assemblywoman Rajkumar’s inspiring, tireless grassroots campaign crushed the DSA political machine, collecting nearly 1,000 more signatures and six times the number legally required,” Sooknanan said. “DSA’s mudslinging is a desperate attempt to deflect from serious allegations by Latinos Against Socialism that its petitions are riddled with fraud. No counterattack can distract from those troubling claims.”

In the lawsuit, Orkin only identifies nine specific instances of signatures allegedly being forged. But Orkin’s lawsuit argues each instance of alleged fraud, if confirmed, would impeach the credibility of the petitioner who swore that they had witnessed every single person signing the petition. Those potentially discredited petition witnesses collected over 70% of Rajkumar’s total signatures, according to the lawsuit. In past cases, courts have sometimes thrown candidates off the ballot after finding that their petitions were “permeated” by fraud and irregularity, even though they still technically had enough signatures to meet the threshold.

“This lawsuit is a blatant political stunt from a DSA-backed campaign that knows it cannot compete on the ground,” Sooknanan said. “You cannot litigate your way out of weak grassroots support. Team Jenifer looks forward to a resounding win at the ballot box, where the people of South Queens will reject these desperate tactics and stand with Jenifer’s relentless hard work, historic representation for underserved communities, and a leader who truly loves this job and the people she serves.”

Rajkumar also responded in a court filing Thursday, arguing that Orkin’s objection is “without merit” and that the court should deem her petition “is in all respects valid and in due and proper form and in full compliance with the provisions of the Election Law.” Court cases involving petition challenges are expedited, so the case could go to trial by early May.

Meanwhile, fellow DSA-backed Assembly candidate Conrad Blackburn is crying foul that an ally of his opponent, Assembly Member Jordan Wright, is challenging his petitions and trying to get him thrown off the ballot in the Manhattan primary. “The machine filed a baseless challenge against our signatures because they believe they can deny the working people of Harlem the chance to vote for a true fighter,” Blackburn’s campaign wrote in a statement. “They are trying to use technicalities and anti-democratic maneuvers to override the will of the people.”

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Immigration budget deal within reach as lawmakers pass fourth extender

Rebecca C. Lewis and Kate Lisa — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:58:13 -0400

As state lawmakers met in Albany to pass the fourth budget extender, state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris called a public dustup with Gov. Kathy Hochul over auto insurance earlier this week “the distant past.” Even if they’ve moved past those tensions, the latest quarrel revolves around immigrant protection measures as the Legislature and executive close in on a compromise they’ve been trying to iron out for months.

Shortly after lawmakers passed another stopgap measure on Thursday, which will keep the state government open through Monday, Hochul told reporters at an unrelated event in Albany that she and legislative leaders have made substantial progress on a package to strengthen protections against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement misconduct. The governor unveiled several new measures including a prohibition on local police sharing information with federal agents in most cases. Police would still be permitted to coordinate with ICE to assist with criminal convictions, or if officers have probable cause that they committed a serious or violent offense. (It remains murky exactly which crimes would qualify.) Under the governor’s proposal, local police could transfer people convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime to ICE, but not people convicted of an infraction or violation.

“Local cops should be focused on local crimes, keeping our streets safe, responding to emergencies, going after gun traffickers and violent offenders,” Hochul said. “This is something supported by many in law enforcement who want to make sure that they can focus on the communities where the taxpayers are paying their salaries to do their jobs and protect them – not doing ICE’s job.”

The law, expected to be inserted in the state budget that’s now 16 days late, would prevent ICE from making arrests in sensitive locations like schools and houses of worship, and would ban local law enforcement agencies from having 287(g) agreements to cooperate with federal immigration officers. It would also bar ICE from using local jails for civil enforcement. But Hochul stressed that local police will continue to help federal law enforcement track down and prosecute people accused of certain violent or serious crimes – not jaywalking or a traffic stop.

“If the only offense is the act of crossing the border, we’re not constituting that as a criminal act for purposes here in the state of New York,” she said.

The governor’s proposed additions would also prohibit members of any law enforcement agency from wearing face coverings and prohibit non-law enforcement agencies from sharing information with ICE. Both proposals have had support from lawmakers.

“I’m announcing where I am right now,” Hochul said. “I was very clear that the conversation will continue (and) I'm looking forward to the feedback from (legislators).”

But the deal isn’t buttoned up yet – nor are any of the other outstanding policy items holding up the adoption of the minimum $263 billion spending plan. Some lawmakers have expressed concern the proposal could undermine an existing executive order meant to protect immigrants and that the probable cause provision is a step in the wrong direction. “Letting police collude with ICE if they think there is probable cause a crime (occurred) will harm immigrants, and people who look like immigrants,” state Sen. Andrew Gounardes wrote on X. Gounardes is the sponsor of the New York for All Act, which includes even more comprehensive immigrant protections and has the support of many lawmakers.

Progressive advocacy groups are also fighting against Hochul’s proposal to include a carve-out for probable cause – arguing it would embolden police to turn New Yorkers over to the federal government based on personal biases.

“Black and brown New Yorkers – immigrants and citizens alike – are being targeted by immigration officials while going about their lives,” Make the Road New York co-executive director Natalia Aristizabal said in a statement. “To give police such wide discretion over something as consequential as pulling people away from their loved ones is simply unacceptable and could put a damper on future efforts to protect immigrants.”

Democrats in both chambers conferenced Hochul’s latest immigrant compromise package, a sign of movement that the issue may be approaching a conclusion. But the feedback so far has been mixed. “People are happier with the progress, but I still think our conference would – particularly in an instance where someone's committed a serious crime – they'd rather that person see justice, rather than just a quick exit out of the country,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters on Thursday.

Lawmakers are expected to pass a fifth budget extender by noon Monday as other significant sticking points remain unresolved, including the governor’s proposals to roll back the state’s 2019 climate law, reform car insurance liability policies and modernize the state environmental review process.

And the governor’s pushing a new “pied-à-terre” tax proposal for owners of luxury second homes in the city who primarily live outside the five boroughs. She suddenly thrust that proposal into budget talks this week to appease New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his progressive supporters who have insisted on increase taxes on the richest New Yorkers. Gianaris said the tax, which is expected to generate about $500 million annually for the city and help offset a $5.4 billion municipal deficit, is important to help the city as Hochul continues to reject raising personal income taxes for millionaires and billionaires.

“She’s come up with another way, which I think is fine,” Gianaris told City & State. “If she finds the money, we’re game.”

Budget talks will continue over the weekend, and Gianaris he’s holding out hope that some of the nine remaining budget bills could be printed late next week.

“We’re getting there,” he added.

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Zohran Mamdani releases his first mayoral tax returns

Jeff Coltin and Sahalie Donaldson — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:16:03 -0400

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is so eager to raise taxes that he overpaid his own – and got a $7,011 refund on Tax Day

Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji ended 2025 with a $27,231 tax bill on their $143,008 adjusted gross income last year, according to a copy of his 2025 tax return. But the return suggests Mamdani was withholding more than necessary on his paycheck as an Assembly member, which earned him the healthy refund.

The release covers his last year as an Assembly member, giving some insight into the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor’s finances as he urges Gov. Kathy Hochul to raise taxes on the city’s wealthiest earners. Mamdani made $131,296 from his salary as a lawmaker and another $2,717 in royalties from his since-abandoned rap career. Duwaji reported making just $10,010 from her work as a graphic designer before expenses.

Now taking the helm of the city as mayor, Mamdani will rake in a $258,750 annual salary – a hefty increase from his life before. (Though still a far cry from the richest New Yorkers he wants to tax).

The tax return was shared with reporters to review under the agreement the document itself would not be posted publicly. Mayors have traditionally released their tax returns as a transparency measure, including Eric Adams, whose return showed him writing off rodent mitigation at his Brooklyn rental property.

Mamdani and Duwaji took the standard deduction rather than itemizing, so the return does not include information on whether Mamdani made charitable contributions in 2025.

Mamdani earned only limited investment income, reporting $119 in interest from a Municipal Credit Union account and $117 in ordinary dividends from a Fidelity account. Mamdani has family money, thanks to his Columbia University professor father and his movie director mother. He reported in his 2024 personal financial disclosure with the Conflicts of Interest Board that he also owns four acres of land in Uganda.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin declined to provide her tax return, arguing she didn’t have to as speaker. “There is no established precedent for New York City Council Speakers releasing their personal tax returns,” her spokesperson Henry Robins said in a statement. “Like all city elected officials, the Speaker complies with robust financial disclosure requirements that provide transparency into income, assets, and potential conflicts.”

Menin, whose husband co-founded a real estate development firm with business around the country, has faced scrutiny for her immense wealth. Some of her predecessors as speaker did release tax returns to the public, including Melissa Mark-Viverito and Corey Johnson. City & State also requested city Comptroller Mark Levine’s tax return. His office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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1199 backs Reynoso, three others running against DSA

Jeff Coltin — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Powerful health care workers union 1199SEIU is endorsing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in the congressional race to replace retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez.

That’s a blow to his leading opponent, Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who launched her campaign with a plan of uniting labor and the left. But despite the unwavering support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Valdez has yet to earn a significant labor endorsement other than from her own former union, UAW Region 9A.

Meanwhile Reynoso has been endorsed by the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, 32BJ SEIU, District Council 37, RWDSU and CWA District 1, among others.

“For over a decade, Antonio has taken on the toughest fights in New York in the name of supporting working people. Whether we needed him on the picket line or at the negotiating table, he always showed up,” said Dell Smitherman, 1199’s New York political and campaigns director. “We look forward to sending him to Washington where he will fight to abolish ICE, tax the rich, and stand up to Donald Trump and his billionaire friends.”

Valdez’s campaign declined to comment. But she may find comfort in the fact that Mamdani won the district that spans Brooklyn and Queens in the mayoral primary last year even though Andrew Cuomo had the lion’s share of union endorsements.

The Reynoso nod is just one of a slate of endorsements 1199 is announcing Thursday, shared first with City & State. Despite its progressive reputation, the union is endorsing against several other candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America – throwing support behind Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Assembly Members Jenifer Rajkumar and Jordan Wright.

It’s 1199’s first midterm election year under new President Yvonne Armstrong. The 250,000-member union is also endorsing several Democrats trying to flip Republican-held seats. That includes Blake Gendebien, who is looking to succeed retiring Rep. Elise Stefanik in the North Country, Lisa Kaul who’s running against state Sen. Rob Rolison in the Hudson Valley and Sarah Rogerson, taking on state Sen. James Tedisco in the Capital Region.

1199 previously endorsed almost every other Democratic incumbent in the state Legislature, including several DSA members. But the union has yet to weigh in on Rep. Dan Goldman’s reelection race against Brad Lander, or the open race to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.

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