Politics on the Hudson

Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone is making his case this week that not only should the city be spared cuts in state aid, but that it should get a major increase. One week after Gov. David Paterson reprised former Gov. Hugh Carey’s speech that the “days of wine and roses” were over in New York, Amicone lunched with State Sen. Majority Leaders Dean Skelos this afternoon and is to meet with Senate Minority Leaders Malcolm Smith in Albany on Thursday. At the top of his list is a big boost in state funding for Yonkers schools, Amicone spokesman David Simpson said.

For months Amicone has been warning that Yonkers risks running off a cliff financially unless the state overhauls its education funding formula to provide a major cash infusion to the Yonkers school district. Last week, Simpson said, Amicone made a similar pitch to Gov.David Paterson, who only days earlier had warned that New York State faced its own severe financial problems and would need to cut spending. Despite the state’s problems, Amicone insists the city’s request is reasonable because upstate cities get more money per pupil than Yonkers, and because Yonkers’ financial implosion ultimately would cost the state more money.