Nurses Strike + Hochul Sticks to LaSalle
No. 304 | Monday, January 9, 2023
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Local News
More than 10,000 private-sector nurses belonging to the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) are set to strike as a tactic in that union’s fight for safer staffing numbers, increased wages, and better healthcare benefits in the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, having not reached a deal by their deadline of January 9. Contract talks have been falling apart, with Mount Sinai Hospital (representing all six of its hospital campuses) leaving the negotiation table on January 6, the same day other hospitals reached a tentative agreement with the nurses’ union.
Governor Kathy Hochul remained stubbornly committed to advancing the nomination of Chief Judge Hector LaSalle, even as State Senate Democratic leadership indicated it may not even grant LaSalle’s nomination a floor vote.
City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa (District 10, Washington Heights) will propose a bill to amend the city's administrative code that will allow the City to force public sector retirees onto Medicare Advantage health plans. Retiree groups and the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York (PSC-CUNY) are mobilizing to prevent this bill from passing.
After mostly avoiding vetoes in her first calendar year in office, Governor Hochul vetoed 165 bills passed by the legislature in 2022.
Several major offshore wind projects off the coast of Long Island are due to become active in the next few years, and will be central to meeting the State's renewable energy targets set in 2019's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Daniel Khandorov, an investor with close ties to Mayor Eric Adams and his former chief of staff Frank Carone, was sued for alleged insurance fraud worth $12 million.
Mayor Adams lashed out at former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration in a press conference, claiming that members of the prior administration have unfairly criticized the current mayor’s policies.
The borough-wide composting pilot in Queens has been paused for the winter while the Department of Sanitation and City Council consider expanding the program.
Elections
Assembly Democrats decided not to expel Assembly Member Lester Chang (District 49, Bensonhurst) from the chamber even though he likely failed to meet residency requirements in the November 2022 election.
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