Another Buffalo Billion — this time, for the Bills?

From: POLITICO New York Playbook PM - Monday Mar 21,2022 08:35 pm

Mar 21, 2022

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Sure, there are plenty of budget priorities heading into the final two weeks of negotiations in Albany. But are any of them more personal for Gov. Kathy Hochul than getting a deal for a new stadium for her beloved Buffalo Bills?

The potential $1.4 billion pricetag for a new stadium in Orchard Park wasn’t in Hochul’s budget proposal, but it will clearly be part of closed-door negotiations between the first-year Democratic governor and legislative leaders.

“My number one objective with respect to the Bills is to make sure they stay in Buffalo and to get them a new home,” Hochul told reporters in Buffalo on Friday.

On one hand, the project’s absence from Hochul’s budget plan could make it harder to find the $1 billion that the state may spend to help build the stadium.

On the other hand, Hochul says she’s still negotiating a deal with Bills' owner Terry Pegula, who Forbes estimates is worth $5.8 billion.

Still, not having the measure in the budget might offer Hochul some negotiating help: If a $1 billion tax subsidy were hanging out in a budget plan for three months, she likely would have endured weeks of criticism about the potential deal.

As the Investigative Post pointed out, a $1 billion subsidy for a new stadium would be unprecedented in New York and the nation. No recent sports stadium or arena in New York has gotten more than 12 percent in state help.

So if $1 billion in taxpayer money went to the Bills, that would represent a 75-percent taxpayer subsidy and outpace the $750 million in public money that went to build a new stadium for the NFL’s Raiders in Las Vegas.

John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, called a potential $1 billion for the Bills “grotesque” as Hochul clearly wants a deal in her home city as she seeks election this year.

“That just shows how out of whack our state government is that the governor’s ego is worth more than $1 billion in tax dollars,” he said today.

A Syracuse.com editorial today was critical of a potential deal, writing, “It is in the state’s interest to keep the team in Buffalo — but not at any cost.”

Hochul suggested that a deal could be reached in the budget or thereafter to assuage the threats of the Bills moving out of town without a new stadium to replace the one built in 1973, making it the fourth-oldest stadium in the NFL

“There’s two sources, you know. Yes, it can be in the budget. Yes, there's also economic development money that's on the table. So, we'll be focusing on the funding,” she told reporters.

She added negotiations are on “right on track. That's right. And we're very excited about the Bills with the new players that are coming. So it's going to be a great season.”

Later today, Hochul was asked in Albany about a deal and the criticism surrounding it. She said she won’t negotiate in the press.

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IT'S MONDAY: And it's the first full day of spring. We're here with the latest from City Hall and Albany as the final two weeks of state budget talks begin.

From the Capitol

NO PANIC OVER COVID SUBVARIANT: New York is seeing a rise in Covid-19 driven by the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2, which accounts for about 42 percent of all cases in the state, Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said today. State health officials, however, do not expect that it will surge to the levels seen in other countries.

“It has been rising over the past couple of months, but we have not seen the kind of rate of growth and this dominance that we’ve seen in the U.K. and in Europe,” she told reporters during a news conference at the Wadsworth Center in Albany. — Shannon Young

CHEERS FROM ALBANY: The state Liquor Authority said today it is accepting applications for new permits to allow craft beverage manufacturing businesses the ability to manufacture and sell alcoholic beverages while their liquor license is pending.

The permits can generally be processed and approved in fewer than 30 days, while new licenses can take an average of six months, Hochul announced. The change will help the booming craft beer industry that has rapidly expanded in New York due to loosening of regulations over the past decade.

"New York's craft beverage industry is not only a source of local pride, but also creates jobs and drives tourism in every corner of the state," Hochul said in a statement today after she signed a bill into law in December to allow for the temporary permits.

The permits allow businesses to manufacture and sell alcoholic beverages for a period of six months, or until the full application is approved, for a fee of $125. The permits may be extended for a three-month period for an additional $50 fee. To apply, visit here.

TAX RELIEF FOR NEW YORKERS? Republican lawmakers are pushing new legislation to increase tax-relief benefits for senior homeowners who qualify for the School Tax Relief (STAR) program.

The “TWO-STAR” act sponsored by Senator Jim Tedisco (R-Glenville) and Assemblymember Mike Lawler (R-Orangetown) would double the existing tax benefits received by homeowners in the STAR and Enhanced STAR programs to an average of $1,580 per year. Additionally, it would end New York’s “tax eternity” by eliminating school property taxes from those 80 and older who are eligible for Enhanced STAR, which is an estimated 650,000 New Yorkers.

“At a time when New Yorkers are experiencing record levels of inflation, sky-high gas prices, and pay some of the highest property taxes in America, we have an obligation to act and provide real and lasting relief for New York’s hardworking taxpayers and our seniors living on a fixed income,” said Lawler.

The sponsors say the bill would help to address the increasing number of people leaving New York state, which had the highest number of people moving out of state last year. New York also has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. According to a study by United Van Lines, 29 percent of people who left cited retirement as the reason for leaving, with 12 percent citing cost.

FROM CITY HALL

ADAMS MULLS THE FUTURE: Eric Adams has been mayor of New York for just about three months, but he’s already thinking about his legacy and what, if anything, might come next. Speaking at the 25th anniversary of the Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project Economic Summit in Midtown, he stressed the urgency of getting things done in his first term. “We have four years, and we must move the needle in those four years,” Adams said. However, he added, “if we’re capable of getting another eight, then so be it.” Former mayor Michael Bloomberg, who persuaded New Yorkers to suspend term limits to allow him to win a third term in 2009, told Adams on Tuesday night that he could repeat the feat, saying that he was confident the mayor's “great leadership” would last for “the next four or eight or — if you’re clever — 12 years.” — Deanna Garcia

TAKING ADAMS ADMIN TO TASK: The City Council’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations convened its first oversight hearing of the Adams era today. The committee, chaired by Council Member Gale Brewer, will have a wide berth to probe the goings on in City Hall and critique Adams’ policy choices. Brewer held a joint hearing with the Committee on Economic Development that focused on workforce development and offered critiques of the administration’s recent blueprint to jumpstart the economy. “There are an awful lot of task forces,” Brewer said. “I lost track.”

The plan calls for a task force on workforce development and another task force on business corridors. Yet another task force will mull government efficiency. Brewer said some of the task forces outlined in the plan already exist and suggested the administration pick up some of this work itself instead of outsourcing it to others. Faye Penn of the city’s Economic Development Corp. countered that for workforce development in particular, task forces that incorporate the private sector are key to understanding what businesses are looking for in workers. Brewer also chided Adams’ predecessor for abysmal job placement rates through several de Blasio-era programs: “Future Works — whatever the hell that is — nobody got a job.” — Joe Anuta

CUMBO PUSHBACK: Criticism of Adams’ more-controversial appointments is continuing: City Council Member Shahana Hanif, co-chair of the progressive caucus, sent the mayor a letter opposing the appointment of Laurie Cumbo to lead the Department of Cultural Affairs. Hanif referred to Cumbo — a former Brooklyn Council member who backed Adams in the mayor’s race — as having “a long history of racially insensitive and anti-Semitic remarks” and noted that she voted down a bill to allow noncitizen voting in municipal elections last year because of her concerns about diluting the power of Black voters. “In 2021, it was genuinely shocking to hear a New York City politician express such beliefs,” Hanif wrote . “Given the former Council member's history of not only racist remarks but active work in the Council to weaken the rights of our immigrant communities, I cannot in good conscience stand by and quietly watch her take a position of power in our city government.”

Cumbo published a lengthy post explaining her vote, which she referred to when POLITICO first wrote about controversy surrounding her potential appointment in January . In appointing her via press release, Adams said Cumbo “brings a breadth of experience in the arts, community advocacy and city government to her role as commissioner.” — Sally Goldenberg

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ON THE BEATS

FIRST IN POLITICO: GAS BAN SUPPORTERS TARGET PARKER: Supporters of a ban on fossil fuels in new construction, a policy mulled as part of the budget by Hochul and Senate Democrats, are targeting Sen. Kevin Parker in a new mailer. Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat, chairs the Energy Committee and has expressed doubts about a push to ban gas in new buildings.

The mailer, paid for by New York Communities for Change, will go to Parker’s 30,000 constituents, the group said. “Parker should protect our health, not pad utility and gas company profits,” the mailer states. The mailer comes as Parker faces what could be his first primary challenge since 2010, with two candidates including one backed by the city’s Democratic Socialists of America running. The mailer specifically backs S6843, which would prohibit local governments from issuing permits with gas, propane or oil service for most new buildings after 2023. The state’s draft climate plan calls for a more gradual phase-in of such a ban focused on new construction. The newest version of the legislation allows taller buildings to continue being built with fossil fuels if they cannot otherwise comply with building codes until the end of 2027. — Marie J. French

HEALTH CARE: New York City Health + Hospitals is closing the first half of the 2022 fiscal year with a net negative of $141 million, system President and CEO Mitch Katz said today at a City Council committee hearing on hospitals. That figure reflects unpaid FEMA funds, which Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) are pushing the federal government to pay out soon, Katz said. “We do not have a hole. It’s just a cash flow problem,” he said, adding that the system has 42 days of cash on hand — a historic high for the public hospitals. When Katz took over in 2018, the system had a $2 billion hole that he said is “retired.”

“We have done it by learning how to bill our insurance appropriately,” as well as receiving competitive rates and appealing to insurers when they don’t receive the right amount, Katz said. “All of those things together eliminated the deficit going forward. We are running even.” Still, the system is experiencing “tremendous infrastructure issues” at its 11 hospitals, including broken elevators and problems with the aeration system, Katz said. “They’re not sexy, but you can’t run a hospital if the elevators don’t work,” he said.

NYC Health + Hospitals is also shutting down its Test and Trace Corps in the next six weeks, because the virus has mutated to become so transmissible that the effort to isolate people before they infect others would be fruitless, Katz said. — Amanda Eisenberg

RACIAL DISPARITIES IN ACCESS TO EARLY EDUCATION: A new report shows significant barriers to access to early childhood health and education in low-income areas and communities of color in New York City.

The report, by the Citizens Committee for Children of New York, found that children of color made up 90 percent of the population in communities with barriers to early child development. These barriers cause children without access to quality early childhood development resources to fall behind in school readiness. (The report is based on pre-pandemic data.)

Racial disparities were found in pre-K enrollment as well . Children of color were more likely to be enrolled in public pre-K programs, while white children were more likely to be enrolled in private programs.

Child care remains inaccessible as well. At-home care, an option less expensive then center-based providers, remains unaffordable to 80 percent of families in New York City.

Additionally, although citywide infant and maternal health outcomes are improving, the report found that the infant mortality rate is three times higher for Black babies then white babies, with similar racial disparities for babies born preterm and low birthweight. — Meghan Brink

CLASS SIZE STRUGGLES: Dan Weisberg, first deputy schools chancellor, told a City Council education committee meeting today that over the last year for which they have data, class size is down 6.5 percent citywide. He also pointed to $18 million in funding to reduce class size that resulted in 140 additional teachers being hired across nearly 50 schools. There is also roughly $740 million in the capital program for the class size program.

He also said $600 million was put into Fair Student Funding, a formula that pumps money into high-need districts. which was used for additional teachers and school staff to decrease class size and increase services for students.

But Weisberg said part of the reason class size has gone down is because the school system lost about 120,000 students over the last five years. He said the DOE will try to reverse the decline and “win back the trust that we need to win back.”

He said they will need more funding to meet class size targets if they succeed in reversing enrollment declines and see an increase over the next five years. “My general sense would be no, we would need more funding at that point in order to meet our targets,” Weisberg said. — Madina Touré

The Campaign Trail

ELECTRIFYING: U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor, has been endorsed by four electrician unions representing 40,000 electric workers in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.

At a campaign event over the weekend during which Suozzi accepted the endorsements, he spoke about his grandfather, who was a union-backed electrician himself. “Electricity is about power. This race is about power to the people,” said Suozzi.

While Suozzi has been supportive of labor, Hochul, whom he hopes to unseat, has won the endorsement of the New York State Laborers Union, the Civil Service Employees Association, and NYS AFL-CIO — Meghan Brink

AROUND NEW YORK

— Over two dozen individuals were shot over in New York City over the weekend, New York Post reports.

— John Miller, NYPD’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism, is facing backlash for suggesting the department never spied on Muslim New Yorkers after the 9/11 attacks.

— A New York doctor used a $3 million Covid-19 loan to buy a $1.7 million yacht.

— Barnfox, a Hudson Valley remote work company, is expanding to New York City’s Union Square.

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