State Budget Finalized + RGB Votes on Rent Increases
No. 321 | Monday, May 8, 2023
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.
Local News
City & State published an explainer of items that made it into the 2024 state budget.
Among the provisions included in the final budget were the Build Public Renewables Act, which will mandate the New York Power Authority to rapidly build publicly-owned renewable energy projects with union jobs over the next decade, and funding increases for the MTA including a free bus pilot, first championed by Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (District 36, Astoria).
The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) voted to establish a range of 2-5% one-year lease rent increases while being loudly protested by several left-wing City Council Members and housing organizers. Recent reporting on the RGB, including some covered by this newsletter, misrepresented outrageous proposals by landlord groups to make the ultimate 2-5% proposal sound like a relief, while they could still result in some of the highest increases in decades.
Governor Hochul's handling of the budget, the 2022 election, Chief Judge nomination, and other issues, has left The New Republic wondering if she is even worse for New York than her predecessor was.
Eric Adams appeared on a conservative talk radio show and agreed with its host that New Yorkers, including Council Member Tiffany Cabán, should be blacklisted from city services if they dared to criticize the police.
The city's Department of Investigation is severely understaffed and is struggling to meet its mandate to fight corruption in city government.
The collapse of Signature Bank, a commonly used lender by landlords of New York's rent stabilized properties, may have implications on the ability of landlords to finance the purchases of rent stabilized buildings in the future.
Hundreds gathered at Washington Square Park on Friday to protest the murder of Jordan Neely at the hands of Daniel Penny. Both Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams failed to condemn the killing, and Penny has yet to be arrested.
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