State Looks to Enshrine Abortion Rights in Constitution + AOC Endorses “For the Many” Slate

May 30, 2022

The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA.

Local News:

The State legislature is considering different versions of an equal rights amendment to the New York State constitution, one of which would codify abortion protections.
An investigation by Law360 examined which New York neighborhoods saw the most applications for pandemic rent relief, as well as other trends in the disbursement of New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
The NYPD’s gun unit, recently revived by Mayor Adams, includes many officers with a history of complaints for excessive use of force.
State Senator Julia Salazar (D-Bushwick) introduced controversial legislation that would create a new trust for NYCHA tenants by converting residents from Section 9 to Section 8 tenants. The trust could be used to pay for needed NYCHA repairs, but critics say it could open the door to privatization of NYCHA.
The City Education Department has yet to release the calendar, budget, and high school acceptance letters for the upcoming school year. The delay has left parents and students in the dark about the future.
Buffalo Starbucks workers had to wait six months for the National Labor Board to properly investigate hundreds of claims made against the company. This is due to the agency being woefully underfunded and understaffed.
A task force to prevent mass shootings, created by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2020, has not had a single meeting.

Elections:

The Brooklyn Democratic Party machine is mobilizing to support Olanike Alabi's challenge NYC-DSA Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest (District 57, Fort Greene, Crown Heights). Alabi reported raising over $60,000, mostly from institutional Democratic Party donors – her average individual donations was over $242.
Jonathan Cervas, the man who drew the current redistricting maps, is pushing back against criticisms that the new maps are a product of Republican gerrymandering.
The crowded field of candidates for New York’s newly drawn 10th district–a field that includes Rep. Mondaire Jones, City Council Member Carlina Rivera, State Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, and former Mayor Bill De Blasio–met for the race’s first forum.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed the entire NYC-DSA For the Many slate.

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