Politics on the Hudson

The Westchester County Board of Legislators recently approved $750,000 to renovate Fourth Street Park in Mount Vernon under the county’s Legacy Program.

The board’s action was an override to County Executive Rob Astorino’s veto for this project and is addition to $250,000 lawmakers previously approved for design work.

The renovations will include state-of-the-art basketball courts with new surfaces, basketball backboards and supports, seating, lighting, utilities, equipment storage building, restrooms, fencing, streetscape, landscaping and signage as well as security and surveillance equipment.

      “This park is where young people learn valuable lessons of teamwork, discipline and structure,” said Lyndon Williams, a Democrat from Mount Vernon and vice chairman of the county board. “The Board’s approval of funding for these renovations shows that Westchester County truly cares about open space and keeping kids involved in positive and safe activities that encourage good sportsmanship and camaraderie.”

The park, located between South 7^th Avenue and South 8^th Avenue, is also known as the Mount Vernon Basketball Center; it’s known for hosting local talents including Ben Gordon, Gus and Ray Williams, and Loews Moore and other stars including Julius Erving and Nate Archibald, who have made appearances there in past summer tournaments, according to the county board.

In a court filing yesterday, a pair of Senate Democrats—including Senate Minority Leader John Sampson—said they’re ready for a federal judge to appoint a “special master” to redraw state and congressional district lines.

Sampson and Sen. Martin Malave Dilan, D-Brooklyn, said the “time is ripe for court intervention,” claiming that “an impasse in the redistricting process has arisen” and citing a number of issues that are unique to 2012.

Dilan, the Senate Democrats’ appointee to the legislative task force that is redrawing the lines for 2012, describes “a culture of divisiveness, an inability to agree, and partisanship among the members of the Legislature” in an affidavit filed in federal court in Manhattan.

The court filing comes as one of a flood of papers filed in a lawsuit in recent days. A group of New York residents filed suit against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and various other state officeholders earlier this year, urging the court to appoint a special master because of inaction by the legislative task force.

Sampson and Dilan were both named as defendants, but their New York City-based attorney—Leonard Kohen (no, not that Leonard Cohen)—wrote that the two senators agree with the plaintiffs’ original lawsuit and urged the court not to dismiss it. Both Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, were among several that had filed a motion to dismiss.

Here’s the Senate Democrats’ filing:

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In an end-of-year report to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature, the superintendent of the newly minted Department of Financial Services says a merger of state’s previous finance-related agencies—the Banking and Insurance departments—has been a success.

Financial Services was launched in October as part of the state’s efficiency/consolidation push and as a way to boost the power of its regulators, with Cuomo aide Benjamin Lawsky tapped as superintendent.

In the months since, Lawsky scored a big win with health care providers, getting many to agree to make their rate increase filings public, while having several big-time mortgage-lending companies agree to a series of reforms.

“I am proud of what DFS has been able to accomplish so far, while both continuing our vital regulatory functions and dealing with the challenges of the merger,” Lawsky wrote. “I can assure you that our initial success has increased our determination to achieve even more in the months ahead to contribute to the Governor’s efforts to strengthen New York’s economy and create more jobs.

Here’s the full report:

205-A Report rXM

Expect the GOP field for president to shrink by the time New York Republicans make their selection April 24; local Republicans can only hope their candidate survives the winnowing certain to follow the early voting, which commences Tuesday in Iowa. If the Republican Primary were held today who would get your vote?

Share your choice in our Editorial Board poll:

State Republican Chairman Ed Cox is out with an op-ed in today’s New York Post, calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to renew his push for pension reform, saying the rising costs of pensions “won’t go away” by “ignoring this crisis.”

Cox called on Cuomo to “use the bully pulpit of his State of the State Address and his upcoming executive budget” to force the pension issue, saying he backtracked on pushing the issue in 2011.

“The timing of his 2011 roll-out and his year-end comments make one wonder whether Cuomo is truly serious about public-pension reform,” Cox wrote. “Now we’re at the cusp of a brand new year. The governor can send a clear message in his State of the State Address and through his executive budget that he means what he says. He can declare unequivocally that public-pension reform is a key and immediate priority.”

Cuomo proposed a less-generous pension tier for new employees—Tier VI—during the 2011 session, but it never generated support (especially in the Assembly) and was met with stiff opposition from labor unions.

Cox’s Democratic counterpart, party chairman Jay Jacobs, shot back this morning, criticizing Cox for a lack of detail.

“We welcome the Republican Party’s support of pension reform,” Jacobs said in a statement. “Now we just want to know what it means. Does this mean that the Senate Republicans support pension reform? Will they support a defined contribution plan? Will the Senate Republicans support Governor Cuomo’s pension reform? Or does Mr. Cox really only speak for the Republican Party of one…himself.”

More than 10,000 people were charged under the state’s strangulation statute during its first year on the books, according to statewide numbers released today in conjunction with an announcement of an amendment to the law. Of the 10,057 total, 8,160 were misdemeanor charges of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation. The rest were felony charges of either first-degree or second-degree strangulation.

Advocates for the law, which took effect Nov. 11, 2010, said abusers frequently went unpunished for strangulation before the new crimes were established because there were no signs of physical injury. Suspects often were charged with second-degree harassment, a violation with a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail.

Due to an amendment passed this year, victims of the misdemeanor strangulation offense are now eligible to seek compensation and assistance from the state Office of Victim Services, regardless of whether they suffered physical injuries in the attack. Previously, victims had to have sustained a physical injury to be eligible for compensation. Minors, people with disabilities, the elderly and victims of certain crimes can receive awards from the agency.

“This update to the law will greatly benefit survivors of domestic violence, since strangulation is one of the most common forms of violence that abusers perpetrate on their victims,” OVS Director Tina M. Stanford said in a statement. “This change ensures that all victims of these terrible acts, no matter the severity of the charges, can seek assistance from OVS.”

The Office of Victim Services provides compensation in three categories: personal injury, loss of essential personal property and death. Victims can get assistance with things like unreimbursed medical and dental bills, moving costs and lost wages.

The compensation is funded by fines, mandatory surcharges and crime-victim assistance fees paid by certain offenders in state or federal court. Someone convicted of a felony in New York has to pay a mandatory surcharge of $300 and a $35 crime-victim assistance fee. The agency provided nearly $27 million to crime victims and their families in 2010. The fines and surcharges also fund the Office of Victim Services and provides grants to 189 victims’ assistance programs in funds statewide.

Strangulation is prevalent in domestic-violence cases, according to Amy Barasch, executive director of the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, “and while it does not always manifest the same obvious physical signs as other assaults, it is extremely dangerous. The ability for victims of this crime to access resources from OVS will provide an essential resource in their path to safety.”

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli became the first statewide official to submit formal comments on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s hydrofracking proposal, using the opportunity to make a renewed push for a gas-drilling accident fund his office would oversee.

DiNapoli submitted a five-page letter to DEC Commissioner Joe Martens today, criticizing the agency’s draft proposals for failing “to adequately address the issue of remediation of contamination resulting from natural gas production.”

High-volume hydrofracking involves a pressurized mix of water, sand and chemicals that is blasted deep underground to unlock gas from shale formations. The gas-rich Marcellus Shale sits underneath the Southern Tier and parts of the Catskills.

In August, DiNapoli proposed a bill that would create a fund—paid for by a fee on gas drillers—that would cover the cost of cleanup from gas-drilling accidents when liability is up in the air. Gas companies, however, were cool to the idea, and the bill has yet to pick up a majority sponsor in the Senate.

“Accidents can happen during natural gas drilling regardless of how carefully the industry and regulators act in trying to prevent them,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “In those instances, New Yorkers should not have to face costly and prolonged delays to clean up contamination. DEC’s revised environmental impact statement and regulations still fall short of addressing how the state would pay for clean-up costs and hold parties that caused the contamination responsible. Establishing a dedicated fund would ensure that hazardous conditions can be cleaned up quickly and responsibly.”

Here’s DiNapoli’s official comments:

DEC Martens Letter

The new year will bring a number of new laws to New York, with a series of measures set to take effect as soon as the ball drops on 2012.

In today’s Gannett newspapers, Aaron Scholder took a look at many of the new measures taking effect Jan. 1.

Some have garnered plenty of attention: a 2 percent property tax cap, a revamped tax code that provides a modest break to the middle class and increases the rate on the state’s highest earners, and a partial repeal of the much-debated Metropolitan Transportation Authority payroll tax.

Others haven’t nabbed headlines, but will still be noticeable to some, such as an expansion of the state’s “move-over” law, which will require motorists to change lanes if they’re approaching a tow truck or maintenance vehicle with its flashing lights on.

Courtesy of Senate Republicans, here’s a list of some of some of the new laws:

• The state’s new tax code, which includes a modest tax decrease for middle-income earners and a higher rate for families making more than $2 million.


•  A cap on property taxes, limiting the annual levy increase to the lower of 2 percent or the rate of inflation.


•  A requirement that health insurers cover orally administered chemotherapy, at a cost similar to injections.


•  An expansion of the state’s “move over” law to include tow trucks and maintenance vehicles


•  Added ability for the DEC to ban products that contain mercury


•  A reduction in the number of commercial fishing licenses issued by the state


•  A requirement that dentists’ offices have a defibrillator on hand


•  A ban on the sale of hookahs and water pipes to minors


•  A ban on the sale or possession of bear gallbladder and bile


•  A law authorizing the removal of fire commissioners for unexcused absences from required meetings


•  A ban on household dish detergents that contain phosphorus

United University Professions, which represents 35,000 academic and professional faculty on 29 State University of New York state-operated campuses, announced this afternoon that it is suing the state over an extra 2 percent hike in health-insurance rates for nearly 4,000 retirees. The union filed the lawsuit in federal court in Albany today and seeks a reversal of the hikes, which took effect in October.

A number of other unions also filed complaints in federal court, including the Civil Service Employees Association, the Public Employees Federation, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, New York State Troopers PBA, New York State Police Investigators Association and AFSCME Council 82. Together, the unions represent nearly all state employees.

“What the Cuomo Administration is trying to do is pull the rug out from under state retirees, many of whom planned their retirements based on when they felt they could afford to retire,” PEF President Ken Brynien said in a statement. “These decisions were based on a promise and expectation of what their health insurance costs would be. Changing the rules after the fact is outright wrong.”

A spokesman for the governor could not immediately be reached for comment.

UUP retirees had been paying 10 percent of the cost of premiums for individual coverage and 25 percent for family plans. The state increase is on top of annual hikes in premium rates imposed by health-insurance carriers, according to UUP.

“The state’s action to unilaterally raise the level of contributions retirees pay for their health insurance is unconstitutional, arbitrary and capricious, and amounts to a breach of our contract,” UUP President Phil Smith said in a statement. “It’s totally wrong to saddle our retirees who are on fixed incomes with this unexpected increase in their health insurance costs.”

The union is charging that the state violated a federal law that prohibits states from impairing contracts. The lawsuit claims the action was “arbitrary and capricious” on the grounds that the state “extended a change intended for retirees not covered by a union contract. UUP’s retirees have contractual protection.”

“These individuals served the public with distinction for years, only to be ambushed by such an increase,” Smith said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is inviting New Yorkers to visit the Executive Mansion in Albany New Year’s Day. Tickets are required and space is limited. Registration began this afternoon and runs through 9 p.m. tomorrow on the governor’s homepage. If the number of requests exceeds the available space, attendees will be selected by lottery.

The open house will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, the first day of Cuomo’s second year in office. Visitors 16 and older must have a ticket. They can each bring one guest and any minor children from their household.

The mansion is located at 138 Eagle St. in Albany, close to Empire State Plaza. The first house was built in 1856 in the Italianate style by an Albany businessman, according to the state Office of General Services. It was renovated and expanded to a more elaborate Second Empire style in the 1870s by another businessman. Gov. David Hill oversaw the expansion in 1887 to the Queen Anne style, which it remains today.

Guests cannot bring bags, backpacks, luggage, parcels, briefcases and similar articles to the mansion. There will be no storage or check-in areas for items. Photography and videography devices, as well as weapons and controlled substances, also are prohibited.