Adams Announces Willets Point Deal + Battle Lines Drawn Around Jacobs Leadership
No. 297 | Monday, November 21, 2022
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Local News
Mayor Eric Adams reached a deal with Related Management, the New York Mets, and NYCFC to build a soccer stadium and 2500 units of housing on public land across the street from Citi Field in Willets Point, Queens. There are still significant questions about the extent of tax benefits given to the consortium of billionaires behind the deal, the amount of affordable housing planned, and the possibility of a casino being squeezed into the project.
Adams announced a November Financial Plan that realizes a call made by his administration earlier this year for all agency heads to find 3% cuts in Fiscal Year 2023 and 4.75% cuts in FY2024. Nearly every city agency made these cuts, but the NYPD reached only 41% of the required amount.
A 2021 law passed by the City Council will establish a minimum wage for food delivery drivers starting next year that will rise to $23.82 per hour by 2025, a significant increase from the current average delivery worker salary.
2019's landmark Local Law 97 that mandates green building retrofits may become subject to a major loophole written by the Adams administration that allows wealthy landlords to pay for Renewable Energy Credits instead of committing to the retrofits.
The Kings County Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against the Gowanus Rezoning. The rezoning was passed by the City Council last November, with local Council Members and the de Blasio administration citing it as the first rezoning in a "whiter, wealthier neighborhood."
Make the Road New York released an immigration policy platform for the 2023-24 state legislative period.
A retired police lieutenant testified in federal court aboutwidespread racism in the Buffalo Police Department.
Elections
An open letter calling for State Democratic Leader Jay Jacobs’ resignation was released by a coalition of largely progressive Democrats across New York. Jacobs responded with a letter signed by most of the state’s Democratic county bosses that affirms his leadership.
Slate examined how Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney managed to lose a district President Joe Biden won by 10 points despite Democrats faring well nationwide.
Kathy Hochul’s dramatic underperformance to Joe Biden’s 2020 results in New York appears to be explained at least in part by a collapse in turnout within NYC compared with more conservative parts of the state.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8, Brooklyn) is the frontrunner to replace Nancy Pelosi as leader of the House Democratic Caucus. Jeffries has opposed and/or attempted to oust many of NYC-DSA’s endorsed candidates.
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