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Presented by Vacancy NYC: Your afternoon must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Joseph Spector | Presented by Vacancy NYC | | 
Workers in the Schoharie Valley harvest cauliflower on a rainy autumn morning at Shaul Farms on Oct. 30, 2014, in Fultonham, N.Y. | Mike Groll/AP Photo |
The state Department of Labor on Wednesday adopted controversial farm labor overtime regulations, codifying an order from the agency’s commissioner in September that will ultimately allow farmworkers to get overtime after 40 hours a week.
The final approval drew a new round of criticism from Republicans that it will hurt farmers who they said are already struggling with high inflation and growing costs. The phased-in reduction in the overtime pay threshold will begin Jan. 1, dropping from 60 hours a week to 56 hours a week. Overtime will further be lowered by four hours every two years until it reaches 40 hours a week by 2032. “These new regulations ensure equity for farm workers, who are the very backbone of our agriculture sector,” Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said in a statement. “By implementing a gradual transition, we are giving farmers time to make the appropriate adjustments. These new regulations advance New York State’s continued commitment to workers while protecting our farms.” The final approval Wednesday ends a three-year process where a Farm Laborers Wage Board held public hearings to decide how to improve working conditions for farmers in a state with one of the nation’s largest agricultural sectors. Farmworkers’ rights groups have long said it is unfair that employees on farms, who are often migrants, should have to work 60 hours a week before getting overtime. Some farmers have argued that they provide other benefits, such as food and housing to their workers, to offset the high threshold for overtime. To address the cost to farms by the lower overtime threshold, Hochul and the state Legislature last year increased an investment tax credit from 4 percent to 20 percent and a refundable tax credit for the overtime hours. Still, Republicans railed against the measure. “The push to lower the threshold to 40 hours per week, despite concerns raised by farmers and farm workers, is exactly what this labor board was planning all along,” Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt said in a statement. “Their pledges to work with all parties involved in this matter were disingenuous, and today, they displayed that they had zero interest in working together.” | | | | A message from Vacancy NYC: Thousands of affordable rent-stabilized apartments are sitting vacant across NYC. But they are in need of critical renovations and repairs before they can be rented again. Red tape, inflation, and supply chain issues are the problem. Albany can be the solution. Join our efforts to solve the housing crisis and help New Yorkers access the affordable homes they deserve. | | | |  | From the Capitol | |
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MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber has warned about the impact fare evasion has on the agency's budget. | Marc A. Hermann / MTA |
TRANSPORTATION: Subway riders who skip paying the fare by jumping turnstiles or taking advantage of emergency exit gates are costing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority more than $600 million annually. That’s a massive increase compared to before the pandemic, when the agency lost roughly $200 million annually from fare evasion, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday in an interview with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer. The practice has become so widespread that the agency’s ridership numbers would be nearly 10 percent higher if not for fare beating — at 74 percent of pre-Covid levels, instead of 65 percent, Lieber said.
Fare beating is an issue throughout other parts of the system too. Motorists who obscure license plates to avoid tolls cost the MTA an estimated $50 million a year, Lieber said, adding that “bus fare evasion has really soared." The agency has piloted unarmed security guards in some subway stations to deter the practice and is handing out more summonses to offenders. But other efforts are also in the works, including a planned pilot of new turnstiles that are harder to get around. — Danielle Muoio Dunn HOCHUL ON CHIEF JUDGE: Hochul said Wednesday that she doesn’t expect the next round of negotiations over her new chief judge pick to get in the way of a budget deal for the fiscal year that starts April 1. Why? Because the selection process by the Commission on Judicial Nomination probably won’t be done before the budget deadline, she said. “I will always do what I did before and will do in the future, and that is select the person I think will be the best individual, the best person to lead an extraordinary court,” Hochul told reporters in Johnson City outside Binghamton. As for getting in the way of a budget deal, she added: “It should be independent from the budget process. The process will take longer than the conclusion of the budget process.” — Joe Spector | | | | A message from Vacancy NYC:   | | |
| | From City Hall | |
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FDNY wants to raise rates for ambulance rides. | André Gustavo Stumpf via flickr |
EMERGENCY SERVICES: The New York City Fire Department has a new proposal to charge more for an ambulance ride. Under the proposed fee schedule, the FDNY would raise its rate for basic life support ambulance services by 54 percent, to $1,385 from $900. It would also impose an additional charge of $20 per mile traveled, up from $15 per mile. Department officials said the higher fees are necessary because of inflation and the cost of recent salary increases for EMS workers. — Maya Kaufman
CHARTER FROM THE STARTER: On a conservative radio show, the mayor tried to clear up his position on charter schools, after he blasted Hochul’s charter expansion plan as too expensive. “I have never wavered on my support of all schools in general,” he said during an appearance on WABC’s Sid & Friends in the Morning. “Many people forget that charter schools are public schools,” he said. In his annual appearance in front of Albany lawmakers last week, Adams said if the state lifts the cap on charter schools — as Hochul is proposing — it could cost the city more than $1 billion. Adams called it “money we do not have.” — Zachary Schermele | | |
FREE BUSES: A coalition of left-leaning Albany lawmakers are pushing Hochul to follow in the footsteps of other major cities, like Boston, by setting aside money in the state budget for free buses.
But transportation officials have voiced concern that the policy conflicts with its current goal of filling pandemic-related budget deficits that could result in service cuts or layoffs. “Making buses free, I’m a little concerned about unintended consequences,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said during his Wednesday WNYC interview, noting it would push more people to ride buses, requiring more vehicles and drivers. A Wednesday report from the Independent Budget Office, a nonpartisan watchdog, estimates the move would cost the MTA $652 million annually. It would cost $40 million annually if fares were waived for riders 65 and older or those with qualifying disabilities under the MTA’s current discounted fare rules. And it would cost $28 million annually if waived for low-income New Yorkers. — Danielle Muoio Dunn NEW APPOINTMENTS: Adams has appointed three new members to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, who have all been approved by the Council and will join the body this month: Stephen Chu, principal of Ennead Architects; Mark Ginsberg, a partner at Curtis + Ginsberg Architects LLP; and Angie Master of the firm Prendamano Real Estate. Adams also designated Bill Heinzen as his representative on the Public Design Commission. Heinzen is special counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel to the Mayor. Adams said in a statement the new commissioners will “bring to their work a wide range of perspectives and a shared commitment to our city’s built environment and public spaces.” — Janaki Chadha | | AROUND NEW YORK | |
— Hochul's $227 billion budget proposal includes a water infrastructure program to assist rural communities. (Spectrum News)
— A watchdog group reported that 20 workers lost their lives on New York City construction sites in 2021. (The City) — Is there going to be a cannabis shortage by this fall? Cultivators fear there will be. (Albany Business Review) — The world’s smallest sea turtle will soon be the special guest in the Buffalo aquarium. (New York Upstate)
| | | | A message from Vacancy NYC: NYC is facing a severe housing shortage. While new housing desperately needs to be built, Albany lawmakers can also make progress by creating a path for tens of thousands of vacant rent-stabilized apartments to come back online. Before that can happen, these homes need critical repairs and renovations. But problems like regulatory changes, supply chain issues, and inflation have made these costs skyrocket. 75% of rent-stabilized property owners say that they have been forced to delay maintenance and important upgrades due to financial hardship. Learn more about the problem and the solution at VacancyNYC.org. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
