Redistricting Triggers Competition Among Dems
No. 271 | Monday, May 23
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Local News:
According to an extensive investigation, Mayor Eric Adams has used his public offices to promote a policing product called BolaWrap while his chief of staff Frank Carone held a major financial stake in the company.
The latest NYC Housing and Vacancy Survey revealed that vacancies in the city jumped from 3.63% in 2017 to 4.54% to 2021, with almost 100,000 apartments that rent below $1,500 disappearing.
There are now more Airbnb listings available in New York City than apartments for rent according to a recent report.
Price gouging has increased prices on baby formula amid a supply shortage.
The cost of water is set to rise in New York City.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority will soon host town halls on a proposed interborough express from Bay Ridge in Brooklyn to Jackson Heights in Queens.
City agencies are losing abnormally high numbers of staff to attrition, with some estimates showing a loss of almost 20,000 staff since 2020.
State investigators are looking into why the man accused of killing ten people in a Buffalo food market was allowed to buy a gun after being reported to state authorities for homicidal intent. The widely unknown Red Flag law, which empowers enforcement officers, school officials, even family members to file a petition to ban someone from buying a firearm, could have been but was not utilized.
The New York Public Library branch at 135 East 46th street is in danger of closing. Although it was initially intended to be a temporary branch, it became a fixture in the community, providing career services, homework help for students, and English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes.
Elections:
A "special master" appointed by an upstate judge released new state senate and congressional district lines for the August primary. The lines largely favor Republicans than the previous maps that were drawn by Democrats. The City built a tool for NYC voters to check if they have been redistricted.
The new congressional maps have created an open race in a new Manhattan and Brooklyn district (NY-10) that is leading to strong interest from Bill de Blasio, State Senator Brad Hoylman, Assembly Members Bobby Carroll and Yuh Line Niou, and Council Member Carlina Rivera.
The new maps are likely to cause longtime incumbent congress members Jerold Nadler to face Carolyn Maloney in the new NY-12.
Scott Stringer is considering running for Senate District 49, a new district on the West Side of Manhattan that overlaps with Brad Hoylman's current district.