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Your afternoon must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Marie J. French | |  Gov. Kathy Hochul provides an update on the state budget that includes requiring new buildings to be zero-emissions starting in 2026 during a news conference in the Red Room at the State Capitol on April 27, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul |
Additional public discussion is planned around Gov. Kathy Hochul’s move to place a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and auction off allowances for companies to pollute, likely delaying issuance of the final guidelines.
The cap-and-trade program, dubbed “cap and invest” by policymakers, is expected to raise the cost of gasoline and fossil fuels New York residents use to heat their homes. Funds raised would be invested in programs to reduce emissions and support clean energy, with a portion rebated to consumers to cushion the blow of higher costs. The policy was recommended in the state’s climate plan approved in December and would help the state meet its mandate of cutting emissions 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. Hochul in budget negotiations floated major changes to the state’s climate law to lower the potential costs of the “cap and invest” program. She backed away after intense blowback from lawmakers and environmental advocates, pivoting to focus on consumer rebates that were included in the final budget deal. The Department of Environmental Conservation and NYSERDA have scheduled seven webinars on the proposed program in June, ahead of a second round of input planned for “later this year.” The June webinars will provide information and seek input on issues including natural gas, industries that use large amounts of fossil fuels and are exposed to competition in lower-cost markets, waste and the electricity sector. More analysis of the costs and impacts of the program will also be shared as part of the process. “I think what you can expect is a fulsome analysis, which includes a lot of choices that could be made along the way,” said NYSERDA president and CEO Doreen Harris on Wednesday ahead of the official announcement. “There's models out there that exist in other states, in other jurisdictions, and those are design choices that we very much need to hear from others as to how they work.” The planned webinars push DEC beyond the previous goal of issuing draft regulations for a formal rulemaking and public comment this summer. DEC will likely miss the statutory end-of-year deadline to issue final regulations to achieve the state’s emissions targets. DEC is still targeting the first auction of allowances in 2025. |  | From the Capitol | |
|  A sign advertises an apartment for rent along a row of brownstone townhouses in the Fort Greene neighborhood on June 24, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. According to a survey released on Thursday by real-estate firm RealtyTrac, Brooklyn ranked as the most unaffordable place to live in the United States. | GETTY |
AN UPHILL BATTLE ON HOUSING: State housing commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas on Thursday acknowledged that pushing through core tenets of Hochul’s housing agenda will be a “big hill to climb as we go into next year,” on the heels of a state budget that nixed the governor's ambitious housing plan.
Visnauskas stressed the urgency of the housing crisis facing the state, warning it will only get worse without state action to ease barriers to supply. But she did not appear to be holding her breath for action from the state Legislature. “The governor certainly does not think that doing nothing is an option, unlike, perhaps, the legislative bodies,” Visnauskas said at an annual conference held by the New York State Association for Affordable Housing. “It’s not going to get any better and it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of stuff that may come out of the Legislature, so we have to be taking that leadership role.” She and Mayor Eric Adams’ Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz, who spoke at the same event, both lamented the lack of interest from the Legislature on reviving the expired 421-a tax incentive. “There’s not been a counterproposal from the Legislature on it…not really any engagement with, let’s look at how we change it, so it’s frustrating,” Visnauskas said. — Janaki Chadha | | From City Hall | |
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Mayor Eric Adams listens during a briefing on security preparations ahead of former President Donald Trump's arrival on April 3, 2023 in New York City. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images |
LOSING ON MIGRANTS: Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday national Democrats are losing the messaging war on asylum-seekers.
“Democrats, we’re losing this argument,” he said during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “We have an obligation to stand true to what I believe the party stands for, and I think the entire party needs to get behind … this mission.” While New York has become a clearinghouse for partisan attacks over immigration and migrants, Democrats have been hampered by infighting and an uneven strategy that could prove problematic in next year’s elections. On Thursday, Adams said the party should support several solutions he has laid out that include a coordinated resettlement strategy, additional funding and expedited work authorization for asylum-seekers. — Joe Anuta LIBRARIES PUSHBACK ON CUTS: The three New York City library systems jointly testified at a Council hearing Thursday on budget cuts proposed by the Adams administration — presenting a politically unique opportunity for lawmakers and library leaders to ding the administration over unpopular reductions. “We are here together because these cuts will have a significant impact on all of us,” Dennis Walcott, head of the Queens Public Library, said during the hearing. “And we are here for the public." The trio of organizations were spared in the latest round of spending reductions. But they are still subject to an earlier savings program mandated by the mayor, who has said ordering efficiencies now is the responsible thing to do with choppy fiscal waters ahead. The display at the hearing was unique, as most City agencies that appear before the Council for budget hearings work directly for the mayor and are thus far less free to criticize the administration. The libraries, however, exist at a slight remove. Their boards are appointed by the mayor and other elected officials. And they supplement taxpayer funding with private dollars. Council members, who are fighting the mayors budget on multiple fronts, were eager to agree. — Joe Anuta DEEPENING THE RIFT: Mayor Eric Adams chastised elected officials on a private migrant call Thursday morning, days after the City Council has ramped up its critiques of his administration’s response, according to four people who dialed in. The mayor, who does not typically attend the periodic briefings, said he had heard the tone of the calls had been disrespectful in the past, and that his staff would not stand for it going forward. The reaction to his remarks, first reported by the Daily News, was mixed. Republican Council Member Joann Ariola said she took the mayor’s comments to mean that electeds “can ask hard questions without being unpleasant.” Other members, however, felt the mayor was being overly defensive and blaming them for reacting to decisions they were never consulted on in the first place. “Had he even tried to be cooperative or collaborative, I think many members would not have been nearly as critical, because we would have been involved in the problem solving,” one member told Playbook. Mayoral Spokesperson Fabien Levy said the tenor of the call was being mischaracterized, and that every elected official involved thanked the mayor’s office and offered to help. — Joe Anuta | | On The Beats | | | | 
Schools Chancellor David Banks said Thursday that schools will embrace ChatGPT. | Christian Williams Fernandez/New York City Public Schools | CONSTRUCTION SLOWDOWN: The number of new foundation filings for multi-family buildings remains low amid dwindling residential development activity, according to a new report from the Real Estate Board of New York. There were 22 new multi-family foundation filings in April, down from an average of about 73 per month over the first half of 2022, prior to the expiration of the 421-a tax break. REBNY, alongside City Hall and the Hochul administration, has argued an incentive like 421-a is essential to rental housing development. Leading legislators, meanwhile, have characterized the program as a costly giveaway to wealthy developers. — Janaki Chadha STATE EDUCATION: With school vote results pouring in on Wednesday, the New York State School Board Association reported 10 of the state’s 675 districts had budgets defeated. According to NYSSBA the average tax levy increase is expected to be 2.17 percent and the average spending increase is expected to go up roughly 5.5 percent. NYSSBA also reported that 17 districts sought approval to override property tax caps this year. Of that group 13 passed and four failed. "As we so often see, voters in communities all across the state resoundingly gave school spending plans their seal of approval," NYSSBA Executive Director Robert Schneider said in a statement. — Katelyn Cordero CITY SCHOOLS: Schools Chancellor David Banks said a more diverse pool of applicants should be getting into specialized schools. “Years ago, Brooklyn Tech [specialized high school] was almost 50 percent students of color. The numbers have dropped dramatically," Banks said on WBAI Thursday. Banks noted that while the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio was trying to eliminate the gifted and talented programs, he received feedback from communities citywide that called for expanding the programs rather than getting rid of them. “Southeast Queens and the South Bronx, they didn’t have any gifted and talented programs,” he added. “All of our kids are gifted and talented but there are some kids who are more accelerated in their learning. We have to support that.” — Madina Touré TECHNOLOGY: The Department of Education will embrace ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that has drawn concerns about cheating, schools Banks said Thursday. The DOE initially prohibited access to ChatGPT on its devices and networks but officials said schools could request it if they sought to study artificial intelligence. “New York City Public Schools will encourage and support our educators and students as they learn about and explore this game-changing technology while also creating a repository and community to share their findings across our schools,” Banks wrote in an op-ed for Chalkbeat. — Madina Touré
| | AROUND NEW YORK | |
— Big Apple restaurants will have to follow this new rule to help New Yorkers live in a free-rodents city. (The New York Times)
— “Brooklyn Couple Suing NYPD for Harrowing ‘No-Knock’ Raid That Resulted in No Charges,” THE CITY reports. — Here’s a list of the best concerts and festivals that are coming to New York City this summer. (WNYC) — A record amount of unused office space in New York risks threatening the city’s economy. (Bloomberg News)
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