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Your afternoon must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Eleonora Francica | |  Gov. Kathy Hochul highlighted budget investments to support workers and make New York more affordable at a rally in Buffalo on May 19, 2023. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | In a new memo obtained by POLITICO, experts criticized the changes to the state’s minimum wage included in the state budget agreement between the governor and the Legislature. Instead of boosting low-wage New Yorkers, the measure fails to help them keep up with the rising cost of living, according to the report from the Robin Hood Foundation. The budget i ncludes increasing the hourly rate downstate from $15 an hour to $16 an hour in 2024. Upstate, the rate will increase from $14.20 an hour currently to $15 an hour. Both will increase by 50 cents to hit $17 an hour and $16 an hour, respectively, by 2026. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2027, the wages will be annually indexed to inflation based on the Consumer Price Index. Some lawmakers wanted a higher wage more quickly, but Gov. Kathy Hochul has touted the deal in the budget as a way to boost employees. ‘After the wage goes fully into effect in 2027, from this day forward, it'll be indexed to inflation, so when prices go up, your wages will go up, and that's what we accomplished here. That'll help 900,000 New Yorkers get a pay increase, and I'm really proud of that.,” Hochul said last week in Buffalo. But some experts rejected Hochul’s optimistic view, saying the state missed an opportunity to raise wages higher. Jason Cone — the chief public policy officer for the Robin Hood Foundation and one of the authors of the report with Paul Sonn, state director for the National Employment Law Project, and James Parrott at the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School — claims that the budget deal will not result in the economic improvement expected. Among them, the group argued that a $2 per hour minimum wage increase over the next few years will not be enough and would have regressive tax implications for low-wage workers. Instead, the gradual hourly minimum wage raise to $21.25 proposed by the Raise the Wage Act would have lifted people out of poverty, according to the experts. “It's always helpful to increase wages. It's just that there was a clear choice not to optimize the overall agreement in favor of workers,” Cone said. “We have struggled to find economic evidence to justify these policy choices.”
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Assembly Republican Leader Will Barclay, Sen. George Borrello, Assemblymember Chris Tague and Assemblymember Jodi Giglio at a press conference calling for whole milk to be returned to schools on May 23, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. | Provided by Assembly Republicans | GOT WHOLE MILK? Milk in schools has been a volatile issue for upstate Republicans. First, they railed against Mayor Eric Adams' talk about removing chocolate milk from schools. On Tuesday, Republicans released a petition calling for whole milk to be returned as an option in schools, and they are pushing for legislation to do so, as well. The push, which has been around since last year, comes after the Congress in 2010 passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that banned whole milk and certain other types of milk, according to PolitiFact. The New York bill would allow New York schools to offer whole and 2% milk, a move supported by the state’s dairy industry — which is among the largest in the nation. With a federal law on the books, though, it’s unclear whether a state law would be able to skirt the federal measure, and it’s unlikely the Democrats that control the Legislature would support the bill before the session ends June 8. “For generations, milk has been known as ‘nature’s most perfect food’ because it is packed with calcium and essential nutrients that promote good health for children and people of all ages,” Sen. George Borrello, a Western New York Republican, said in a statement.
|  | From City Hall | | |  Schools Chancellor David Banks is vowing to retain arts programs in city schools. | Christian Williams Fernandez/New York City Public Schools | EDUCATION: Schools Chancellor David Banks vowed to keep the Department of Education’s New York City Public Schools Arts Office as well as arts programming robust. “To be a champion for the arts, there’s a lot of things that you have to do,” Banks said during a press conference at Tweed Courthouse, the DOE’s headquarters, on Tuesday morning. “We’ve gotta be fully committed to raising the kinds of funds and finding the dollars in our budget in spite of challenging fiscal times to ensure that our arts are always held to the highest level.” This comes amid the release of the DOE’s “Annual Arts in Schools” report for the 2021-22 school year Tuesday. Banks pointed to an increase in arts offerings across first through 12th grades and said more than 400 cultural arts organizations are providing arts education in city public schools. He also said the DOE is piloting new initiatives through the Arts Hub, which features “world-class performances” to inspire principals to infuse the power of the arts throughout school campuses. “We see it as an arts incubator for school leaders. It also includes a professional learning opportunity where principals can collaborate, create and learn together in the hub,” the chancellor added. — Madina Touré COUNCIL ENDORSEMENTS: The housing advocacy group Open New York has endorsed six City Council candidates ahead of the primaries next month — five incumbents, and Yusef Salaam, who’s running in a competitive race for the seat currently held by Council Member Kristin Richardson Jordan, who recently announced she won’t seek reelection. The organization, which advocates for policies to boost residential development, is also backing Council Members Carlina Rivera, Keith Powers, Erik Bottcher, Shaun Abreu and Pierina Sanchez. “Each of our endorsed candidates is committed to ending the housing crisis by creating new housing while protecting tenants, and if elected, will use their position to make change at the city level while advocating for state reform,” the group wrote on Twitter. — Janaki Chadha
| | On The Beats | | | | 
The state Department of Labor released the latest unemployment figures by region on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. | New York Department of Labor | UNEMPLOYMENT: New York's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 4.1 percent in March to 4.0 percent in April 2023. It was 3.4 percent nationally. In New York, the highest rates were in New York City at 5.3 percent, down from 5.7 percent a year ago. — Joseph Spector ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES PUSHED: Environmental advocates are pushing for a package of bills to ban toxic chemicals known as PFAS in some products as the final days of session tick down. “I would like to see PFAS banned in every way, shape and form,” said Assemblymbmer Emily Gallagher (D-Brooklyn) at a press conference today with the JustGreen Partnership, a coalition coordinated by Clean and Healthy New York and WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “These are the forever toxins that are forever transforming our health and safety.” The package of bills includes one to ban PFAS in anti-fogging sprays (S992) sponsored by Gallagher and another targeting the class of chemicals in menstrual products (S3529). Another takes a broader look and seeks to ban PFAS in cookware, textiles, ski wax, cleaning products and more (S5648). The coalition of environmental groups is also backing the “birds and bees” bill to ban a certain class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids (S1856), which faces staunch opposition from several agricultural industry groups. That measure has passed the Assembly, but is expected to be amended in the Senate, according to Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan). “We’ve got some concerns in our newly configured districts,” Hoylman said last week. He added that he was more hopeful it would get done this session than at the same time last year. The opposition from farmers resonates particularly with some lawmakers. “Listen to the farmers on that one,” Sen. John Mannion (D-Onondaga County) said last week when asked about the measure. “I’ve got a lot of them.” Any potential amendments haven’t yet been circulated, teeing up an end-of-session crunch as supporters hope to see it move forward. The Business Council of New York State, Inc., also issued a memo of opposition on the bill today, highlighting concerns about farmers using more pesticides if those included in the bill, including applications for seed coating, are banned. — Marie J. French HEALTH CARE: The New York Young Republican Club — a group of young Republicans with ties to white nationalists, far-right European parties and conservative conspiracy theorists — is calling on City Council members to introduce legislation that would maintain health benefits for city retirees “that were promised and negotiated years ago.” “The Council has historically stood up for Retirees as it did in 2001 when a bipartisan coalition of council members overruled a Mayor when he tried to diminish municipal retirees’ benefits,” the club said in a statement. “Now, it falls on the Council again to go around the three political power players (the union leaders, the mayor, and the speaker) of this city to preserve what was promised to countless city employees decades ago, including to first responders who stood on Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.” At the end of March, the city signed a contract with insurance giant Aetna to cover about 250,000 municipal retirees as well as their dependents with a Medicare Advantage plan. The administration tried unsuccessfully to get the City Council to pass legislation that would permit the city to charge retirees who wanted to opt out of the Medicare Advantage plan. Retirees had urged Adams’ administration to pick “Option C,” a provision that would have permitted them to stay on traditional Medicare plan at no extra cost, but the administration said it was not considering that option. — Madina Touré
| | — Via Jewish Insider: “Former Rep. Suozzi looks to reclaim old House seat, now held by George Santos” — Syracuse is one of the best performing cities in the United States. Other Upstate New York’s cities made it into the top list, too. (Upstate New York) — Via Times Union: “UAlbany may house asylum seekers this summer.” | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
