Politico

With help from Shawn Ness

New from New York

Happening now:

• A cyberattack roiled the state Capitol amid budget negotiations.
• Republicans responded to the latest budget deals and its opaqueness.
• City Hall is facing questions over a new, prominent hire.
• A deal for a two-year extension of mayoral control is under new scrutiny.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 17

HACK A BUDGET: Hackers are holding the bill drafting commission ransom. Gov. Kathy Hochul says bills will be written by pre-Y2K computers. And the budget is 17 days late.

Count this as a new one to hold up a budget. And it was all the talk in the Capitol halls.

Will it significantly delay the budget? Is the threat serious to the state’s systems?

“There’s never a dull moment in Albany,” Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger said as she walked to a closed door Democratic conference.

The state’s commission charged with drafting budget language was hit with a cyber attack in the “wee hours of the morning,” Hochul said.

The attackers appear to be demanding money to regain access to the system, but no dollar amount was specified. It’s believed the attack hit the commission’s email system hardest.

Earlier today, one legislative office received an email written in a Cyrillic language purporting to be from the commission with a draft bill document.

“It's a bit of Murphy's Law, where you think everything that could go wrong has already gone wrong and then this happens,” Buffalo state Sen. Sean Ryan said. “Hopefully it’s a temporary glitch.”

In the meantime, Hochul said the Legislature will have to use a “more antiquated system” from 1994 to write budget bills.

That 1994 system was what the Legislature used for most of the time it’s been online. It was replaced by a system that was created after Democrats assumed the majority in the state Senate in 2019.

The old system “was very antiquated,” said a person familiar with the Legislature’s technological infrastructure. “For something that important, you shouldn’t use 30 year-old technology.”

For now, the return to the old system seems to be working. The state’s Legislative tracking service was updated throughout the day to include new amendments to bills.

Cyberattacks have become a growing hazard for governments. In New York alone, attacks on critical online infrastructure rose by 53 percent between 2016 and 2022, a report by the state Comptroller’s Office found.

New York last dealt with a widespread cyberattack in January 2020 when multiple state agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, were targeted.

With the state budget already 17 days late, lawmakers are hoping the attack will not cause further delay in passing a spending plan.

But that’s not the least of the Legislature’s worries: “The bigger problem is we haven’t finished negotiating the budget,” said Senate Deputy Leader Mike Gianaris. — Jason Beeferman, Bill Mahoney and Nick Reisman

FOUR PEOPLE IN A HALLWAY: For the Democrats, budget negotiations are frequently three people in a room. But for Republicans, it’s a handful of lawmakers in a hallway talking to reporters.

Earlier today, GOP leaders took to the Capitol hallway to address the troubles around the looming budget deal — particularly the lack of openness in the process, which they are not a part of.

“Transparency is the number one [priority]. Instead of having three people in a room, I would use public hearings,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay told reporters outside the LCA room earlier today. “I would use actual committee structure with Democrats and the majority, but include the minority … instead of having three people in a room.”

Members of the minority conference are typically not included in any of the budget negotiations and are usually unaware of what is in the budget until they have a physical copy in front of them.

“We need transparency. Our constituents want to know what’s in the budget before we vote on any budget bills,” Assemblymember Ed Ra, a Long Island Republican, said. — Shawn Ness

RANDY ROADBLOCKS: The mayor’s bid to hire former Giuliani aide-turned high-profile attorney Randy Mastro as City Hall corporation counsel is already running into pushback at the City Council.

A tweak to the city’s charter, authorized by voters in a 2019 ballot initiative, gives lawmakers authority over who the mayor hires for the role.

And some members are taking issue with Mastro’s legal history: He worked for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, petro-conglomerate Chevron and the Upper West Side neighborhood group that tried to get homeless New Yorkers booted from the Lucerne Hotel during the pandemic.

“New Yorkers did not elect the most progressive, diverse Democratic supermajority in Council history to rubber stamp a return to the Giuliani era,” progressive Council Member Tiffany Cabán, a lawyer, told POLITICO in a statement.

“Our city’s top lawyer should be a principled champion of justice, not a far-right-wing pal of sleazy crooks like Rudy Giuliani, Chris Christie, and billionaire real estate magnates. No way in hell I vote to confirm Randy Mastro.” — Jeff Coltin and Joe Anuta

EDUCATION PANEL DRAMA: Members of an oversight panel key to mayoral control of schools blasted city plans to place plainclothes security staff onstage at meetings.

The move is about ensuring members’ safety from other panel representatives and “unruly” audience members during “heat discussions” or areas of disagreement, Department of Education security director Mark Rampersant said in a virtual March 26 briefing obtained by POLITICO.

He also said they are sworn peace officers with the power to arrest “if there’s any physical contact by anyone.”

“They’re going to give you directions, such as get up and clear the stage, because we should not have to endure such … threatening behavior or concerning behavior,” Rampersant said, adding they will increase the number of school safety agents in the audience.

The decision is raising eyebrows among non-mayoral appointees.

Adams appoints 13 of the governing body’s 23 members.

“It feels very autocratic, and it feels like a strong-arm tactic to silence the public and those of us who are instruments of the public,” Jessamyn Lee, a Brooklyn parent representative, said.

At a March meeting, Tom Sheppard, a Bronx parent-elected member, questioned chair Gregory Faulkner’s decision to adjourn without letting members give final remarks. (Faulkner, a mayoral appointee, said it was late, and within his discretion).

Sheppard got up, and he — along with some of the audience — chanted, “End mayoral control.” After mayoral appointee Anita Garcia yelled and asked him to stop, he gave her the middle finger, according to Faulkner.

Sheppard declined to comment on his language, but said his actions were twisted to make him appear threatening. “All I want is for people to have a voice,” he said.

Representatives also condemned a proposed code of conduct penned by Faulkner that has been tabled from tonight’s meeting to May.

DOE spokesperson Nathaniel Styer said members of the public, elected leaders and 16 panel members requested a code of conduct “to encourage decorum and respect” and additional security due to recent incidents, including a representative “directing obscene gestures and language at another member.” — Madina Touré

CREATIVE ARTS THERAPY: Two lawmakers are hoping to include creative arts therapy on the state’s Medicaid providers list to ensure the services are covered under commercial health insurance.

There are two bills that Assemblymember Harry Bronson and state Sen. Samra Brouk, chair of the Senate Committee on Mental Health, are focusing on.

One would ensure reimbursement for creative arts services by commercial insurance carriers. The other would require direct reimbursement to creative arts therapists under Medicaid.

“So why is this important? It's important because of access. If you can't pay for your care, then you don't have access to that care. It's also about access because in many of our communities, we have a desert of mental health professionals,” Bronson, a Rochester-area Democrat, said.

Brouk said that for a long while, many advocates had to convince lawmakers that there was a mental health crisis.

“The problem is with everyone on every floor of this Capitol that agrees with us that we are in a mental health crisis, that we are in a mental health care workforce shortage. We still don't have the courage to do the simple things that we know need to get done to be able to meet this moment,” Brouk, another Rochester lawmaker, said. — Shawn Ness

NEW YORK’S HISTORY: Hochul announced today the inclusion of 11 projects from Buffalo to New York City to the New York State Historic Preservation Awards.

The projects include a revitalization of a Newburgh neighborhood, a Buffalo candy shop’s restoration and a scholarship for the city’s Puerto Rican casitas.

“Historic preservation projects take an immense amount of time, resources and dedication,” Hochul said in a statement. “From Buffalo to New York City, the 11 projects we’re honoring this year all symbolize critical parts of our storied history in New York State.”

The preservation awards were created in 1980 by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to commend local historical landmarks. — Shawn Ness

A POTENTIAL DOWNSTATE DEAL: Hochul and lawmakers are close on a deal to save SUNY’s Downstate Medical Center that would include a $300 million transformation fund coupled with $100 million in operating aid to cover its annual deficit, POLITICO reports.

The deal is expected to include a 16-member commission, appointed by state and local leaders, that would establish long-term plans for the hospital, according to state lawmakers. The money would stave off any closure or changes to the facility until June 30, 2025, said Brooklyn Assemblymember Brian Cunningham.

It’s a major win for United University Professions who joined forces with state Sen. Zellnor Myrie at the forefront of the fight against plans laid out by SUNY earlier in the year to relocate most of its services. Kowal said he is pleased with the deal that’s been reported and is hopeful the final agreement will include the commission.

“We welcome what appears to be a process for real planning that will result in an even better hospital with inpatient care and even better training for the next generation of health care professionals at the medical school,” Kowal told POLITICO. — Katelyn Cordero 

MORE ON MAYORAL CONTROL: A deal has yet to be struck on whether the state budget will include an extension to mayoral control, and some lawmakers are upset about the issue being brought back into the budget process — rather than deliberated on by the Legislature after the budget is passed.

Assembly Education Chair Michael Benedetto said he is supportive of an extension for mayoral control, but believes the issue shouldn’t have been part of budget negotiations.

“We should continue [mayoral control] and stop playing games with the mayor and the school system in the City of New York,” Benedetto told POLITICO. “However, it’s the job of the Legislature to debate and enact mayoral control the way we see fit and not for the governor to put into the budget.”

During a radio appearance on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show, Hochul said they are close to striking a deal between the Legislature, the mayor’s office, education advocates and labor unions regarding an extension that would include accountability on the state’s class size mandate.

“I feel confident that it’ll meet the needs, and make sure that the law we passed two years ago that deals with class sizes … is being adhered to,” Hochul said. “And the mayor knows that. We are structuring a very complex deal here, but I think ultimately — is everybody happy? Never — but compromise is important, and I think we will get to a very good place.” — Katelyn Cordero

— Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would end the Alejandro Mayorkas impeachment trial as soon as it begins. (State of Politics)

— State officials are encouraging more local communities to apply for a grant program designed to revitalize downtown areas. (Buffalo News)

— The man behind the wheel during the fatal stop of an NYPD officer said he had no idea his passenger would shoot an officer. (Newsday)

With help from Shawn Ness

New from New York

Happening now:

• Lawmakers pushed back on Gov. Kathy Hochul saying a budget is all but done.
• Republicans aren’t happy with the budget deal.
• A City Council hearing on how Black migrants are faring in the city drew 1,200 people.
• Earth Day is coming. So too are the bills to commemorate it.

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 16

NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE: Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a triumphant call that she and the Legislature have “the parameters of a conceptual agreement” on Monday night.

The announcement featured a carefully-prepared presentation and speech, with pre-drafted tweets, infographics and a “FY2025 Budget Checklist” with 38 fiscal and legislative priorities across 9 categories.

And overlaying that checklist — where each priority neatly ticked off — was a large red stamp labeled “DONE.”

“I have explained what I feel there's agreement on,” Hochul said.

But lawmakers disagreed that those major categories celebrated as “done” by the governor yesterday — like health care, housing, education and crime — are settled.

Did the governor jump the gun? “That’s a question you’d have to ask her. The pencils weren’t fully down,” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters hours ago.

“Conceptually we probably were close to a lot of things… we were still in the conferencing stage with members on certain issues that may not have been the period put on the sentence.”

The budget is still fluid. Friday news of a potential housing deal said Good Cause eviction protections would be capped at units below 200 percent of fair market rate, among other carve outs. But Heastie said this afternoon that number hasn’t been decided and could be different.

“Conversations [on housing] are still happening,” state Sen. Julia Salazar, a Brooklyn Democrat, told POLITICO.

And lawmakers said Hochul’s plan to eliminate most of the fiscal intermediaries that handle billing, payroll and other administrative tasks for Medicaid’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program is still being worked out.

“It’s an ongoing discussion,” state Sen. Roxanne Persaud, a Brooklyn Democrat and head of the Social Services Committee, said.

Assemblymember Pat Fahy, chair of the Higher Education committee, said this morning she still hasn’t seen finalized numbers on what spending for CUNY and SUNY will look like.

And legal cannabis champion Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes also said there are still discussions on how illicit cannabis shops will be handled, though Heastie said that matter is “pretty much closed.”

And even while presenting her “conceptual agreement” Monday, the governor said issues like the mayoral control of city schools and pensions for public employees still need to be decided.

Lawmakers today agreed, saying those issues too are undecided as the sides hope to pass budget bills this week. But any predictions on when?

“I want people to know there will be a budget this year,” Peoples-Stokes said. “I promise you.” — Jason Beeferman

ART OF THE DEAL: You’ll never guess who doesn’t like the housing deal? Republicans.

At a news conference this morning, the Good Cause eviction measure to provide greater protections for tenants was the biggest component that Republicans complained about.

They believe that the measure would not do anything to address the affordability crisis in the state.

“For anyone who had hoped there would be a solution to the affordability housing crisis, this isn’t it,” state Sen. Jack Martins, a Long Island Republican, said. “And there's nothing in this proposal that will provide a single unit of affordable housing in the short term. Everything here is long term.”

Despite what the Republicans labeled as a shortfall of the governor’s budget, however, they are happy that Hochul has “taken a page” out of the Republicans’ playbook.

“We have been talking about crime and affordability for years now,” state Sen. Pamela Helming, a Rochester Republican and a member of the Housing Committee, said. “If we're going to get people to remain here to live in this state, we have to address crime, we have to address affordability. How do we get there? I think we may be on separate paths.” — Shawn Ness

More on budget talks:

— Legislators said they are still a ways away from a budget deal. (POLITICO Pro)

— Will Hochul’s budget deal on housing be enough to spur new development? (The CITY)

— Here is what’s in and what’s out of the budget, so far, on energy and the environment. (POLTICO Pro)

MIGRANT RESPONSE: An estimated 1,200 people flocked to a City Council oversight hearing on the experiences of Black migrants who have recently arrived in New York City.

Council members and community-based organization leaders criticized a persistent gap in language access for new arrivals from West African and East African countries who need temporary shelter and legal assistance. Small grassroots groups said they are struggling to access city funding for work they are already performing to assist those communities.

“We need to scale up and meet the moment, and there's a particular community that is slipping through the cracks,” Council member Alexa Avilés, chair of the immigration committee, said during the hearing. “What we see here is disparate treatment.”

Sixteen percent of migrants in the city’s care are from African countries, the vast majority of whom are single adults or adult families, according to Molly Schaefer, interim executive director of the Mayor’s Office for Asylum Seeker Operations. Most are from Senegal and Mauritania, but there are migrants from 45 different African countries in the shelter system, Schaefer added.

The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has expanded its language access team from three to 20 staffers to advise and support other mayoral agencies, but the city largely relies on contractors to provide interpretation and translation services.

Another target of criticism was the city’s faith-based sheltering program, which has just six shelters up and running, according to Schaefer. Meanwhile, mosques have grown crowded with migrants who received 30- or 60-day notices to vacate New York City shelters.

“It has been slow going because we need to make sure everybody who’s in these nontraditional spaces is safe, and that has a high regulatory burden,” Schaefer testified.

Ahead of the hearing, the Council announced the members of its New Arrivals Strategy Team advisory board, an initiative first unveiled in Speaker Adrienne Adams’ State of the City address in an effort to improve the city’s response to the latest wave of migration.

Mayor Eric Adams expressed support for the Council’s contributions during an off-topic press conference Tuesday while defending his administration’s handling of services for new arrivals. — Maya Kaufman

STAY FOCUSED, NO DISTRACTIONS…: Tenant protesters stormed the stage during Mayor Eric Adams’ speech to the Association for a Better New York group this morning — which the mayor said just proved he needed more support from the well-heeled attendees of the business group breakfast.

About four people — from the group Planet Over Profit, The New York Times reported — were quickly escorted off stage after chanting and holding a banner.

“I should have paid them to do this, because then it would reinforce my position. There were eight of them. There are 3, 4, 500 of us,” Adams said to the crowd at an Upper East Side venue. “We've allowed the numerical minority who are the loudest to hijack the narrative of who we are.”

Adams’ team placed a two-page list of “New York City’s accomplishments” on each seat, and he said that the room was “filled with influencers” who need to be more optimistic about the city.

“You have defined your beautiful city through the problem not the progress,” he said.

Later, Adams denied that the protesters coming on stage was a security breach. His team knows there’s one thing the mayor can do, he said: “The mayor can handle himself.” — Jeff Coltin

STEIN VISITS ALBANY: Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein stopped by the Capitol this morning to launch her New York campaign and bemoan “the most restrictive ballot access requirements in the country.”

Stein will need to collect at least 45,000 signatures over the next six weeks to secure a ballot spot — and much more than that, due to the likelihood that many will be rejected.

A key question for her campaign will be whether she can receive enough votes to return the Greens to automatic ballot status in New York. That total will likely be nearly 200,000 under rules pushed through by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019.

Does Stein see a path toward receiving that many votes?

“Absolutely,” she said.

“I see a pathway to the White House, in fact. Because we have three candidates on the ballot who will be splitting the pro-genocide vote … It’s possible to win a four-way vote with as little as 26 percent and then receive the full cohort of the Electoral College votes. It’s a black swan event, but we are in a black swan moment right now.” — Bill Mahoney

EARTH DAY PRESSURE: Environmental advocates, frustrated with the lack of movement on priorities including the NY HEAT Act in the budget, gathered at the Capitol to lay out their Earth Day wishlist.

Lawmakers are expected to leave town for two weeks after this week (assuming the budget is done), so it’s likely to be a belated exercise.

“We have fewer days to achieve the Earth Day agenda, but we’re undaunted,” said Citizens Campaign for the Environment’s Adrienne Esposito.

“These bills are necessities, not luxuries.”

Among the priorities listed is the packaging reduction measure, also known as extended producer responsibility, and modifications to the state’s bottle deposit law. There’s also bills targeting PFAS in various products.

The budget deal is set to include some wins for environmental groups, including $500 million for clean water infrastructure and a $400 million Environmental Protection Fund, with a “raid” to pay for staff costs proposed by Hochul left out.

But some issues are still not finalized, including the details of transmission siting.

"There are still a heck of a lot of details still to be worked out,” said state Sen. Pete Harckham, chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee. — Marie J. French

ADAMS ON UPCOMING ANTISEMITISM HEARING: Adams today touted his schools chief’s work to combat hate in schools ahead of an upcoming congressional hearing on antisemitism.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce invited schools Chancellor David Banks to testify before the committee next month as school districts face heightened scrutiny over their handling of the impacts of the Israel-Hamas war.

“What the chancellor must do in a school system with so many diverse opinions and views — not only from students but even educators — we have to find the proper balance to make sure we continue to use these moments as teachable moments without any antisemitism, islamophobia, anti any other group,” Adams told reporters during a media Q&A at City Hall.

“That is what the chancellor has done, and he’s gonna continue to do and he’s going to share that in Washington, D.C. He’s going to share how this city needs to be a model for the entire country,” he added.

As to whether he’s comfortable with the work the city Department of Education has done so far, the mayor said: “We could always learn more, do more, have more input. I want us to do more breaking breads, building bonds.”

Banks unveiled a plan earlier this year to tackle hate in schools, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. He also launched an interfaith advisory council last month to discuss his priorities and offer input and ideas for engagement with faith-based communities. — Madina Touré

— Columbia University’s president, who will testify before Congress, said in a new op-ed she wants to protect students while maintaining “room for robust disagreement and debate.” (The Wall Street Journal)

— New York City could save billions on migrant costs if it expands access to housing vouchers, a new report found. (Daily News)

— A Westchester school is claiming a disability rights group’s investigation into its facility will be biased and inaccurate. (Times Union)

Arizona Dems protest after GOP blocks vote to repeal abortion ban

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Arizona Dems protest after GOP blocks vote to repeal abortion ban

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