Politics on the Hudson

Gov. David Paterson told reporters today at the Bronx Community College graduation that he would abide by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn’s ruling that the furlough of state workers his administration proposed are unconstitutional.

“We are a state and a country of laws and we will abide by the judge’s decision,” Paterson said. “But what I thought was interesting about the judge’s decision is that he did not go along with the public employees that tried tell the court there is no a financial crisis.”

The state must still come up with $250 million in cuts—the amount of money the furloughs were supposedly going to save—in order to plug the $9.2 billion deficit, Paterson said.

He also said it was up to lawmakers to develop some sort of plan. The Legislature begrudgingly approved the furlough plan after Paterson inserted the proposal in a budget extender bill, a measure required because the state’s spending plan is yet to be passed.

“It was hard for us to impose the furloughs if the Legislature isn’t with us,” Paterson said. “Since I’ve been fighting this problem with the public employees, let the legislature now figure out where to come up with the $250 million in workforce reductions that we need.”

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s gubernatorial campaign had only one thing to say on the passage of state legislation that would increase the number of charter schools in the state so New York could qualify for federal Race to the Top money:

“Amen.”

It seemed like everyone had something to complain about when it came to restoring $11 million in funding for the state’s parks system.

Environmental groups protested the cuts the $78 million Environmental Protection Fund, particularly the slash in spending for farmland and habitat protection.

Business groups were unhappy with the increase fees for electronic and toxic waste dumping, as were Republican lawmakers.

Advocate for the parks were upset that Gov. David Paterson used the parks as a political football in his quarrel with the state Legislature in closing a $9.2 billion budget deficit. The state’s fiscal year began on April 1, but a spending plan is yet to be approved.

For his part, Paterson has said the lawmakers resisted in making the tough choices and he was unhappy that the parks had to be shutdown.

“The money to keep the parks could come from alternate sources, but too often the legislators don’t want to cut their special interests,” Paterson said in an interview on WAMC radio in Albany Friday morning. “Our deficit is so severe and our current financial position is so weak we’ve had to make choices that otherwise would be foolish.”

Earlier this month the law firm Harris Beach announced that former Yonkers corporation counsel Frank J. Rubino is joining the firm.

Rubino retired from his job in Yonkers after a 38-year career in public service, according to the city’s website. He worked for Yonkers for 11 years and he became corporation counsel in 2004.

Mayor Phil Amicone replaced Rubino with Mark Blanchard, who worked under Rubino in the city’s law department. Blanchard worked in the Yonkers’ Law Department from 2004-07 and then he went to work at Harris Beach from 2007-08.

Blanchard returned to the Yonkers Law Department more than two years ago.

On its website, Harris Beach touts its close work with Yonkers:

For the last several years, Harris Beach has been integrally involved with this revitalization and opened its Yonkers office in 2006 to expand upon its public finance and economic development practice in the area. Our Yonkers office serves as a convenient location for meetings between our attorneys throughout the state and the municipal leaders and commercial developers engaged in the Yonkers revitalization program. Additionally, the office provides clients in Westchester and nearby counties access to the firm’s full range of legal services.

Harris Beach provides counsel to the City of Yonkers Industrial Development Agency relative to the city’s revitalization and advises on the use of Empire Zone, Empowerment Zone, and Brownfield Cleanup Program requirements. Our work includes coordinating economic development projects with the city’s master plan, local waterfront redevelopment plan, and urban renewal plans, compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and project-specific needs. Projects include phases I and II of the Collins Waterfront Housing Projects for $170 million; FC Ratner development of Ridge Hill into a $800 million village-theme retail and housing development; and the Struever-Fidelco-Cappelli downtown development involving over $3 billion in new retail and commercial projects. These developments involve IDA benefits, Empire Zone benefits; Empowerment Zone, SEQRA, and land use issues; Department of Transportation coordination; and New Market Tax Credits; as well as pursuit and monitoring of project-specific state and federal funding.

A federal judge blocked Gov. David Paterson’s attempt to place about 100,000 state workers on furlough and withhold contractual raises that were due to them on April 1.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn upheld a temporary restraining order he issued this month against Paterson’s furlough plan, which would have put the workers on unpaid furlough one day a week for eight weeks, Gannett’s Jon Campbell reports.

The order also required Paterson to include money for the raises in his emergency budget extenders, which have been passed each week since the beginning of the fiscal year on April 1 in the absence of a state budget agreement. The governor previously withheld the raises, but included them in his latest extender after the restraining order was issued.

“Today’s decision is a victory for the rule of law in New York and should make it clear that no governor can run roughshod over people’s rights,” said Danny Donahue, president of the Civil Service Employees Association, one of the four unions that had sued Paterson in federal court.

Paterson had argued that his plan was “reasonable and necessary” in the midst of a state fiscal crisis and a $9.2 billion budget gap, but Kahn ultimately disagreed.

“Defendants cannot demonstrate that they did not impose a drastic impairment when an evident and more moderate course was available,” Kahn wrote in his 27-page decision. “Once again, their argument is limited to generalities (For example: ‘In order to alleviate the current fiscal and cash crisis, measures must be taken on all fronts – including reduction in workforce spending.’) supported only by assertions that other measures would not produce savings equivalent to those created by the current provisions.”

In a statement, Paterson said he was disappointed in the court’s decision.

“I am disappointed by the Court’s ruling, as it prevents the implementation of State employee furloughs and requires the immediate payment of public employee pay raises,” he said. “In his ruling, however, the judge did not agree with the unions’ position that the State is not experiencing a fiscal crisis. The State is facing severe cash flow difficulties, and I have withheld or delayed payments to schools, non-profits, contractors and others in order to prevent the State from running out of cash.”

Paterson called on legislative leaders to meet with the public employees unions in an attempt to gain $250 million in concessions to help alleviate budget concerns.

Here’s the decision.

Furlough Decision1

With his family watching on, the state Senate approved a resolution honoring longtime Gannett Albany bureau chief Jay Gallagher who died on Monday.

The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Andrew Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers. Both Republican and Democratic senators from upstate, downstate, western New York and city paid tribute to Jay. The common theme: Jay was a tough, but fair journalist who got it right and always could make them laugh. His Gannett colleagues agree.

The resolution is below. A video of the resolution’s passage can be found here.

Senate Resolution for Jay Gallagher

Who said that politicians don’t deliver? Just look at Assemblyman Frank Skartados, D-Milton, Ulster County.

He was ready to head up to Albany on Tuesday for Local Government Committee meeting when, his news release said, “he saw one of his goats on his farm in Milton, crying out and having difficulty moving around. Knowing that the goat was pregnant, he got her into a barn stall and helped her deliver two beautiful kids, even though he was dressed for legislative session.”

Skartados, who was elected in 2008, doesn’t stay overnight in Albany during session days, but drives the 80 miles to his home so he can tend to his small farm.

The state Assembly didn’t gavel into session until after 1 a.m. Friday morning, but lawmakers there finally passed a spending bill that would free up $11 million in funding for the state parks system while also approving cuts to the Environmental Protection Fund.

The Legislature had fought with Gov. David Paterson over keeping the state’s 55 parks and historic sites closed. Paterson had sought deeper spending cuts for the yet-to-be-approved 2010-11 budget, which was due on April 1.

Paterson had said Thursday morning that a tentative agreement was in place to fund the parks and open them in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The agreement would keep the parks open for the season.

The Senate expects to take up the measure later today.

Here’s the bill, sent out by Paterson’s office late last night:

One day before New Yorkers head outside for the traditional summer kickoff weekend, the state Legislature expects to approve a plan Friday morning that will fund and reopen 55 parks and historic sites.

Gov. David Paterson said earlier this morning that a tentative deal had been reached to fund the parks with $11 million. Offsetting that cost is a $74 million cut to the Environmental Protection Fund.

Paterson told a New York City radio station that lawmakers would vote on the accord today. But lawmakers still needed to time to review the nuts-and-bolts of the agreement, said Senate spokesman Austin Shafran.

“We reached an agreement to fully restore parks funding and to keep them open for the remainder of the year,” he said. “We received a draft from the governor’s office and are in the process of reviewing the exact details and anticipate passing it tomorrow morning.”

Port Chester makes history in June when it becomes the first municipality in New York to use cumulative voting, to fill six seats on the village Board of Trustees. Cumulative voting is the remedy put in place after a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act successfully struck down the village’s at-large system for filling trustee posts, on the ground that it discriminated against Hispanics. Voters will each have six votes to cast; they may assign up to six votes for the same candidate, or distribute them among several candidates. Watch a LIVE Editorial Spotlight interview with candidates vying for the board — 13 are on the ballot — at 4 p.m. Wednesday at www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight. To ask questions during the interview, engage the “Cover it Live” feature on the screen. Early voting commences June 8 and ends June 12; Election Day is June 15.