The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Local News
Former Assembly Member Diana Richardson was fired from her position as Deputy Brooklyn Borough President after stories of a toxic workplace environment emerged.
The State Department of Education ruled that a Hasidic yeshiva in Brooklyn was failing to provide a basic education in violation of the law, the first ruling of its kind. This ruling directly opposes the position of Mayor Eric Adams's City Department of Education, which believes the school complies with the law.
Mayor Adams and municipal union leadership are seeking to force retired city employees to shift into privatized Medicare Advantage plans, but lack support from the City Council who would need to amend city law to enable this plan.
Louis Molina, the Department of Corrections Commissioner, wants to expand the use of punitive solitary confinement in response to increased violence at Rikers Island.
Mayor Adams finally released his 2021 tax returns, which show modest rental income from the Brooklyn apartment he insisted was his primary residence during last year’s election.
An interview with a former Office of Management and Budget analyst in Hell Gate revealed the ways that the City is increasingly deflating its municipal workforce through slow hiring and salary lowballing.
In a desperate attempt to garner sympathy despite skyrocketing rents and profits, a landlord group has launched a Twitter account to showcase vacant units.
Elections
November's ballot will include questions to ratify three City charter amendments developed by a racial justice commission. The amendments would add a land acknowledgement to the charter; task a new City office to develop a racial-justice plan every two years; and develop a new cost-of-living metric to measure eligibility for government services, as an alternative to measurements based on the federal and city poverty lines.
City & State previews 12 State Senate races likely to be competitive in next month’s general election.
After a judge threw out the State legislature’s original district maps, New York has more competitive congressional races than almost any other state in the US.
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