Council Overrides Adams’ Vetoes + Cash Assistance Wait Times Surging
No. 360 | Monday, February 5, 2024
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Local News
After Mayor Adams vetoed a bill to ban solitary confinement in city jails and another bill to require the NYPD to report more data on low-level stops, the City Council overrode both vetoes by a vote of 42 to 9, a wider margin than when the bills first passed.
Council Member Shaun Abreu (District 7, Washington Heights) was uninvited from a Sanitation Department event launching new trash trucks after Abreu refused to help City Hall’s efforts to disrupt the Council’s override of Adams’ vetoes. Abreu’s absence was noteworthy as he is chair of the Council Sanitation Committee and as Manhattan Community Board 9, the site of a new trash containerization pilot also announced at the event, is entirely within his district.
After years of delays, the Department of Sanitation has announced the rollout of its Commercial Waste Zones program, which aims to reduce the number of truck trips and improve worker and pedestrian safety. Crashes involving commercial garbage trucks killed at least 43 New Yorkers and injured 107 others between 2010 and 2019.
Delays and denials for New Yorkers seeking cash assistance have exploded under the Adams administration.
Efforts to legalize and bring basement apartments up to code are receiving pushback from legislators in Albany.
The Department of Education has been denying paid Covid sick leave to substitute teachers who are legally entitled to it, according to the State Department of Labor.
Illegal straw donations made to Mayor Adams's re-election campaign came from businesses that work with the City government.
A group of parents with the Community Education Council for District 14 (Williamsburg, Bushwick, Bed-Stuy) have called out the Department of Education for failing to support Palestinian students and protect students, teachers, and parents calling for a ceasefire from harassment.
Election News
Anathea Simpkins, a nonprofit executive from Greenpoint, announced a challenge to DSA-endorsed Assembly Member Emily Gallagher (District 50, North Brooklyn), touting support from an anti-bike lane organization.
State Senator Neil Breslin (District 46, Albany), the longest-tenured member of the State Senate and a high ranking member of leadership, announced his retirement. Assembly Member Pat Fahy has been endorsed by the Albany County Democratic Committee to succeed Breslin.
City Limits interviewed Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman (District 56, Bed-Stuy), who is facing a challenge from DSA-endorsed candidate Eon Huntley in the June primary. Zinerman, a longtime proponent of charter schools, drew parallels between a "woman's right to choose" an abortion and parents' access to charter schools. She also reaffirmed her opposition to the "Good Cause" bill, saying that landlords "are there to help people [and] they have for generations."
Assembly Member Ken Zebrowski (District 96, Rockland County) announced his retirement. Clarkstown Council Member Patrick Carroll announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination on the same day.
Over 40% of the money raised by George Latimer, a primary challenger to Jamaal Bowman (NY-16, North Bronx, White Plains, Yonkers), has come from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The NYC Local
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Revolutions Per Minute
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