City & State New York 121619

GIG WORKER RIGHTS, PREVAILING WAGE, RECREATIONAL POT (TAKE 2)

WINNERS & LOSERS 2019

Ladies & gentlemen, we give you the next president of the United States ...

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City & State New York

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EDITOR’S NOTE

JON LENTZ Editor-in-chief

WHEN JAY KRIEGEL DIED this month, New York’s political class took a moment to remember his achievements. He first made his mark as chief of staff to New York City Mayor John Lindsay, a member of the administration’s “kiddie corps” who helped create an independent oversight body to investigate alleged police misconduct. He was briefly the publisher of The American Lawyer magazine and served as a top executive at CBS Corp. for several years. Mayor Michael Bloomberg tasked Kriegel with bringing the 2012 Olympics to New York City – and while the effort failed, it paved the way for the vast new Hudson Yards development that opened earlier this year. At the time of his death, Kriegel was a senior adviser at Related Cos., the real estate powerhouse behind Hudson Yards.

While it pales in comparison to his legacy in the public and private spheres, Kriegel also has a little-known but enduring legacy here at City & State. During a conversation with our founding editor, Edward-Isaac Dovere, Kriegel proposed what would become our weekly Winners & Losers feature. “You guys should do some kind of list of who’s up and who’s down in politics,” Kriegel told Dovere.

“People really want to read that.”

He was right, and we’ve been doing it ever since. And in this week’s magazine, we are once again expanding the feature to cover the past 12 months, with our Winners & Losers of 2019.

CONTENTS

WINNERS & LOSERS OF THE YEAR … 8 Who was their best and made a mess in 2019 SETTING THE AGENDA … 15

Part 2 of our preview of the 2020 legislative session

CELESTE SLOMAN; PHILIP ROZENSKI/SHUTTERSTOCK

WINNERS & LOSERS OF THE WEEK … 34 Who was up and who was down last week

CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

of the Constitution’s emoluments clause – House Democrats kept their focus narrow. The two articles are for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The committee approved the two articles of impeachment on Friday, which sets up a vote by the full House.

MASS SHOOTING IN NEW JERSEY

DEMOCRATS ANNOUNCE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler announced two articles of impeachment against

President Donald Trump, officially calling for his removal from office. Although many thought or hoped more articles would be introduced – touching on matters ranging from Robert Mueller’s investigation to violations

Six people were killed in a series of gunfights in Jersey City, New Jersey, that lasted for hours. The violent spree began at a cemetery, where a police officer approached a van in connection to a murder investigation. One of the two people in the vehicle killed the officer, then the pair fled, winding up at a kosher deli. After opening fire at the deli, the assailants entered, took hostages and began a shootout with the cops.

In the end, three civilians were killed, as were the shooters. Officials initially believed the deli was chosen at random, but later declared

the incident an act of domestic terrorism fueled by anti-Semitism and anti-police sentiment.

ROBACH LATEST GOP SENATOR TO RETIRE

“It would be very sad if Staten Island was not part of New York City. It’s a really, really special place.”

–New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, on renewed talks of the borough’s secession from the city, via the New York Post

NYC HOMELESS PROGRAM HALTED

SEND IN THE CLOWNS The Daily News’ Dec. 8 cover illustrated a realization many New Yorkers have had over the past few years: We’re taking over Washington, especially as impeachment proceedings put a spotlight on former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney – oh yeah, and the guy from Queens in the Oval Office. Depicted as squeezed into a clown car-sized taxi, these New Yorkers are – for better or worse – making their mark on the nation’s capital.

For the fourth time in about two weeks, a Republican state senator announced he would not seek reelection in 2020.

This time, longtime state Sen. Joseph Robach said that he was retiring.

He acknowledged that Democratic control of the chamber played a role in his decision, saying he was suffering from “divisive New York City politics.” Along with the four retirements, at least two other Republicans may not be able to seek reelection because they are running for other seats, while another was recently elected as a judge. This leaves Republicans in a tough spot in 2020 as they defend their incumbents and fight to retain these newly open seats.

“I almost went through the fucking roof.”

– New York City Transit President Andy Byford, reacting to winter weather disrupting a pricey new subway signaling system, via the New York Post

New York City has agreed to temporarily pause its placement of homeless people in Newark, New Jersey, as part of a program that relocates shelter residents to other cities. The move comes after Newark sued the city over the squalid living conditions of program participants, and after

LEV RADIN, WHITNEY WELSHIMER/SHUTTERSTOCK; AMY LOMBARD; MARC A. HERMANN/MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT

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December 16, 2019

hours of closed-door negotiations between officials from the two cities. In addition to the program’s suspension, the city announced a help line and crisis intervention services for program participants living in poor housing conditions outside New York City.

JAMES LOSES EXXON CASE

State Attorney General Letitia James lost a potentially landmark climate change fraud case against Exxon Mobil Corp.

James had attempted to prove that Exxon Mobil lied to its shareholders about the costs of climate change and alleged that the company kept separate private records that disregarded those costs. However, the judge found that New York failed to prove its case and ruled in favor of the company. The state’s investigation began four years ago under then-

THE

WEEK AHEAD

City & State New York

state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, with the charges announced last year by then-state Attorney General Barbara Underwood. The case was the first of its kind in the nation, and though New York’s loss is a setback for climate activists, a number of other states have similar pending lawsuits.

ROCHESTER’S EDUCATION PROBLEMS

In the ongoing fiscal crisis in Rochester’s schools, credit rating company Moody’s downgraded the city’s debt rating because of “poor budgeting” in the school district. The decision by Moody’s comes just weeks after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into the Rochester City School District. Hundreds of teachers in the city may also be let go due to the district’s financial woes.

TUESDAY 12/17 Gov. Andrew Cuomo reveals his 2020 infrastructure agenda at an Association for a Better New York luncheon at 11 a.m. at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown Manhattan.

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COMMENTARY

Corey Johnson’s flimsy excuse for holding up paid vacation New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made a bold promise earlier this year: He said his city was going to become the first in the nation to ensure that all workers can take paid time off for vacation. But the bill has yet to get a committee vote, let alone a vote in the full City Council.

Many have laid the blame at de Blasio’s feet. But the blame also lies with someone else: Council Speaker Corey Johnson hasn’t gotten behind the bill, saying he’s concerned about the impact it will have on small businesses that have already had to absorb a higher minimum wage and guaranteed paid sick leave.

No other city or state in the country mandates paid personal time off or vacation. But small businesses in the city have been doing just fine with a higher wage floor and paid sick time and they can handle this new benefit, too.

For one thing, not all employees will take it at once, nor will they necessarily use all of their personal time. And when they do take time off, there are plenty of ways that businesses can cope. When minimum wages rise, employers have many ways to compensate.

Some marginally increase prices.

But they also increase the efficiency and productivity of the workers they already have. They see some savings through lower turnover, as replacing workers can be quite costly.

Those last two impacts are likely to be even larger if workers are able to step away from their jobs for some

INSIDE DOPE

Cuomo has gotten into the habit of previewing pieces of his annual agenda before putting it all together at a combined State of the State and budget address. 2020 appears to be no different.

paid time off and then come back reenergized. A universe of research has found that taking vacation makes workers more productive when they return. Former NASA scientists found that employees experience an 82% increase in performance after taking vacations.

Ernst & Young examined its own employees and found that for each 10 hours of vacation they took, their year-end performance ratings improved 8%, and those who took more vacation stayed in their jobs longer. Employees of an industrial plant in Israel were more likely to show up to work for the four weeks after they took a vacation.

Some relaxation away from work clearly does people good.

By failing to require paid vacation time, the United States is an international outlier. Twenty other developed countries require employers to give employees paid vacation time, ranging from 10 days in Canada and Japan to 30 in France. All European countries guarantee at least 25 days. And these countries all clearly still have businesses large and small that are able to cope with the mandate.

Mandating paid personal and vacation time won’t solve the fact that New York City and New York state have the biggest gaps between rich and poor in the country. But for a council speaker who came to office talking about tackling inequality, it’s a good place to start.

Bryce Covert is a contributor to The New York Times opinion section and The Nation.

WEDNESDAY 12/18

WEDNESDAY 12/18

First lady Chirlane McCray keynotes City & State’s Responsible 100 luncheon, honoring those working in corporate social responsibility, at 11:30 a.m. at Sony Hall in midtown Manhattan.

The New York City Council Committee on Public Safety holds a hearing on the reporting and oversight of the NYPD’s surveillance technologies, starting at 1 p.m. at City Hall.

RUN AWAY! 6

CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

BY ZACH WILLIAMS

THE REPUBLICANS FLEEING THE STATE SENATE

ROBERT ANTONACCI

The freshman state senator didn’t even make it halfway through his first term before he decided to ditch Albany for an open state Supreme Court seat.

He’ll now get to spend his days wearing judicial robes and hearing all about civil and criminal conundrums.

Better than listening to the Democrats calling the shots!

GEORGE AMEDORE

Upsetting some pesky environmentalists along the way, he has championed the interests of businessmen like himself during three terms in the state Senate, following more than five years in the Assembly.

After announcing that he won’t run for reelection in 2020, the Hudson Valley legislator can get back to what really matters: a family construction business that made him the highest-earning state lawmaker – and maybe a return to reality television.

CHRIS JACOBS

Chris Jacobs fancies himself a congressman and has plenty of family connections to help him achieve that dream.

Unfortunately, the 27th Congressional District is not big enough for both Jacobs and Robert Ortt. If Jacobs fails to get the party nod (and doesn’t run for reelection in the state Senate), he’ll have more time to practice his MAGA pitch for next time.

ROBERT ORTT

The implosion of former Rep. Chris Collins was a godsend for this western New York military veteran looking for a fresh political deployment.

If Robert Ortt wins the GOP nomination – and the general – he’ll still likely be in the minority, but at least he’ll be in a city that isn’t controlled

by AOC-crazed, anti-Trump progressives.

LIFE HAS NOT BEEN KIND to the state Senate Republicans over the past year. They lost their majority, their real estate donors and possibly their minds as the Democrats passed one landmark bill after another.

They could (in theory) win back control of the chamber next year, but they would need to flip nine seats in the 63-seat chamber. It is not likely that the 23-member GOP conference is capable of such an electoral miracle, but there are more than a few vulnerable Democratic incumbents on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley and even in Brooklyn – so you never know!

But given the long odds, it should come as no surprise that some GOP senators are already eyeing the exits.

Here’s who has already signaled that they are looking to get out of Albany.

BETTY LITTLE

The longtime North Country state senator is calling it quits after nearly 25 years in the state Legislature.

While she cruised to reelection in 2018, she was facing another challenge in 2020. It’s easy to see why she wants to retire, since there is more to life than campaigning – especially if you have 18 grandchildren.

MICHAEL RANZENHOFER

“Family” considerations and a desire not to drop dead in office are the stated reasons why the western New York legislator is hanging up the old spurs after 30 years in elected office.

Six terms in the state Senate featured some wins and losses – but a successful fight to make yogurt the official state snack must’ve left a delightfully sour taste in his mouth.

JOSEPH ROBACH

The Rochesterarea Republican was willing to admit that Democratic dominance of the state Legislature was the reason behind his decision to leave Albany after 28 years, not all of them spent as a Republican.

A slate of Democratic challengers also probably made him feel antsy about his reelection prospects.

December 16, 2019

City & State New York

A Q&A with former state Sen.

JOHN DeFRANCISCO You’ve got a new book out, how has it been received?

It’s not going to be a bestseller, but it’ll have more copies than the governor’s book. I don’t know if he has sold any yet – just kidding about that – but my book’s on Amazon.

You express frustration in the book with how politics works in the Capitol, such as when the governor called you to say you would’ve been a good GOP leader but denied lobbying for state Sen. John Flanagan to be the majority leader, or when Flanagan said he would bring procurement

reform up for a vote, but didn’t. How did you handle those issues at the time?

Those things were frustrating, but you can talk to anybody that was in the Republican conference when I was there – I wasn’t shy. I completely brought the same points and brought up the same frustrations as I expressed in the book.

What did you mean when you said in the book that state Budget Director Robert Mujica got close with Gov. Andrew Cuomo while working for the Senate Republicans?

I didn’t mean that he was in some way double-

dealing. I just mean that the governor saw somebody who was excellent and he took advantage of his position to get a good person to work for him.

The hardest problem in my mind when that move took place is Mujica was in the Senate for many years.

He knew every legislator – their strengths, their weaknesses, who is more

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It’s not going to be a bestseller, but it’ll have more copies than the governor’s book.

susceptible to trying to get a vote for one reason or another. That clearly aided the governor in getting deals through the budget process.

Why did you choose to self-publish this book?

I did make efforts to try to get a publisher interested in it, and I made several contacts. As time was running out in the

Legislature, my concern was that it wouldn’t be topical anymore. So rather than continue to chase publishing companies, I learned of the selfpublishing opportunity and I did it. It’s a lot easier with Kindle Direct Publishing. You can get your manuscript in e-form.

There’s really no upfront costs. As a book is ordered online, it’s printed so you don’t have to print a thousand copies.

The book is called “Never Say Never.” I hear there’s an open state Senate seat in Syracuse. What are the chances we see a DeFran comeback?

The chances are never.

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CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

FROM AMAZON TURNING TAIL TO POLLING AT ZERO FOR THE PRESIDENCY, HERE ARE THE HIGHEST HIGHS AND LOWEST LOWS FOR NEW YORK POLITICIANS THIS YEAR.

by CITY & STATE When elected officials climb high enough on the political ladder in New York, they tend to arrive at the same conclusion: I could be president! Most of them end up being wrong, but it doesn’t stop them from trying. This cycle alone, New York’s junior senator and New York City’s mayor have jumped in (and out) of the Democratic presidential primary, followed by a belated campaign launch

by New York City’s previous mayor. New York’s governor was widely rumored as a potential contender but opted to hang back. Meanwhile, a New York tech entrepreneur has been doing surprisingly well in the polls. And let’s not overlook the current first-term occupant of the White House, who is a longtime New Yorker – even if he’s technically a “Florida Man” these days.

Of course, we’ll have to wait until next year to see how it all shakes out. What we do know is who had a strong enough – or dismal enough – 2019 to land on our annual list of the biggest Winners & Losers of the Year.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, MICHAEL GIANARIS & JIMMY VAN BRAMER If Western Queens had a team of Avengers brought together by their shared love of progressive ideals and hatred of powerful corporations, that lineup of mighty heroes would feature Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, state Sen. Michael Gianaris and New York City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. In what amounted to one of the biggest New York political stories of the year, this trio spearheaded a movement of progressive politicians and community organizations to oppose Amazon’s plan to build a second headquarters in Long Island City, which the company promised would bring 25,000 new jobs and billions in investment – as well as a taxpayer-funded helipad for Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest man.

Though Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hailed the so-called HQ2, this progressive trio immediately came out against it, calling the deal corporate welfare and warning that the development of a megacampus in Long Island City would exacerbate gentrification.

Like any team of superheroes, each had their own unique role to play in taking down their foe. Ocasio-Cortez, the social media star, helped catapult the case against Amazon into the national spotlight. Van Bramer played a bit of a sidekick, helping stir up fury at a New York City Council hearing where an Amazon executive refused a request to stay neutral in the decision of workers to unionize at the planned site. The real silver bullet, however, was Gianaris’ nomination to the state Public Authorities Control Board, an obscure panel that could have blocked the project. Just weeks after state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins nominated Gianaris for the seat, and he gave every signal that he would move to block the deal if given the chance, Bezos ultimately made a hasty retreat from Queens. For better or worse, this mighty trio represents the reason HQ2 will not materialize in Queens, and in taking down the behemoth company and its $100 billion man, they have – so far, at least – lived to tell the tale.

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City & State New York

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RON ADAR, KRISTIN CALLAHAN/ACE PICTURES, MICHAEL BROCHSTEIN/SOPA IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK; WILLIAM ALATRISTE/NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL; SARAH BLESENER

MELINDA KATZ

Queens politics continued its run as the hottest show in town this year, and as the final act concluded, it was Queens District Attorney-elect Melinda Katz who was standing in the spotlight and taking a bow.

And what an impressive show it was, with Katz acting as a prosecutor, a progressive and a political insurgent. The entire cast was great – who could forget Judge Greg Lasak’s turn as the straight-talking tough cop? – including high-profile cameos by national figures like U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Of course, like so many great performances, Katz was elevated by her co-star.

The previously unknown Tiffany Cabán, making her debut on the political stage, absolutely dazzled audiences in the first act. But her lack of experience showed after the primary night intermission, and Katz’s commitment to the craft stood out in the courtroom drama of the second act. Already well-known for previous roles as “Queens borough president” and “New York City councilwoman,” history will remember Katz for this winning performance.

CAROLYN MALONEY Rep. Carolyn Maloney may have been in Congress for more than a quarter century, but she rose to new heights this year. She became part of the tenacious trio of Democrats heading the impeachment inquiry in November when her peers made her chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Sure, she’s not getting the same attention that Rep. Adam Schiff is, but she’s now holding a key position at a historic moment – and is the

first woman to lead the key committee. But while she’s touting her new role opposing President Donald Trump, she also found a rare ally in him earlier this year. He signed her bill extending health care benefits for 9/11 survivors, which also managed to get through a, shall we say, divided Congress. In February, she pledged to wear a firefighter’s jacket until the bill passed, even donning it over her gown at the Met Gala. And it must’ve felt good for her to take it off in the stifling heat of July, when she finally succeeded and the bill was signed.

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December 16, 2019

ANDREA STEWARTCOUSINS

JUMAANE WILLIAMS

You knock him down, but he gets back up again. Jumaane Williams had been on something of a losing streak, falling short to Corey Johnson in the race for New York City Council speaker, and then losing his lieutenant governor challenge against Kathy Hochul. But no backpack can weigh this man down, and this year he finally won the office of New York City public advocate – first in a special election and then again in November, just to make sure voters knew he still had it in him.

Williams has a knack for turning negatives into positives, using the momentum and higher profile from running alongside gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon in 2018 to help propel him to success in the public advocate special election. He’s even perfected turning getting arrested into a kind of art form.

Public advocate may be a pretty powerless role, but Williams need only look at where former New York City Public Advocates Bill de Blasio and Letitia James are now to see what other victories might lie in his future.

HANS PENNINK, EVAN AGOSTINI/INVISION, RICHARD DREW/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

The state Senate majority leader kept her Democratic conference together in what turned out to be an extremely productive legislative session. There were plenty of doubts following the 2018 elections that state Senate Democrats could hold a majority together, considering their disastrous stint in power a decade ago, but Stewart-Cousins showed it could be done. She kept intraconference conflict behind closed doors and pushed back against the governor’s attacks on the conference. The results speak for themselves: a nonstop sequence of legislative victories that are setting the Democrats up to win an even bigger majority in 2020. She couldn’t have gotten this all done without Cuomo and fellow Wonder Twin Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. However, both men have been ensconced in power for years – and it was only when a black woman entered the room that things really got done on rent regulations, climate change, voting rights, driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, the state DREAM Act, reproductive rights and a litany of other issues. No wonder Democratic senators sing her praises every chance they get.

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City & State New York

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BILL DE BLASIO This was the year New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio became a national laughingstock. The punchline of a joke about an oblivious politician, a wide-eyed gladhander who can’t see the truth. A man on an ego trip in Iowa while his constituents were stuck in darkened skyscrapers. When he joined the presidential race in May – late in the game – where did he fit? Bernie Sanders, but younger? Elizabeth Warren, but taller? Cory Booker, but with a black son? Jay Inslee, but less handsome?

The voters didn’t find much to like. De Blasio never topped 2% in a Democratic primary poll – and those were the good ones. Among New Yorkers, who know him best, he polled at a cool 0%. How did his campaign stay afloat? Money. And how did he get that money?

By tiptoeing through an ethical minefield. They didn’t want you, Bill, they wanted something from you. So de Blasio once again spent 2019 in an ethical gray area, getting checks from the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council while insisting that his support for their

favored legislation was just a coincidence. He wouldn’t take money from a developer doing business with the city, but donations from their family members were A-OK. It’s the same de Blasio we’ve always known, just gone national.

And back home, it was more of the same. His wife’s mental health program got its budget slashed after being diagnosed with a failure to Thrive.

He couldn’t pass his marquee paid vacation bill. He couldn’t convince Amazon to follow through on its plan to build a second headquarters in Queens. Even though the cop who put Eric Garner in a chokehold finally got fired, not a single New Yorker liked the way it went down. And it probably cost the mayor his favorite police commissioner.

De Blasio ended his presidential campaign a weaker man, with his city’s political class – and we keyboard warriors in the press – more emboldened to insult the lame duck. His favorability rating may be 13 percentage points deeper in the dumps, but at least he has fond memories of campaigning in Red Sox country to get him through the next two years.

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CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

RUDY GIULIANI Despite his newfound mobster ethos, the former New York City mayor broke Jimmy Conway’s cardinal rule this year when he ratted on himself and his client. Rudy Giuliani acknowledged pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son during an appearance on “Cuomo Prime Time” in September – an admission that acted as a catalyst for President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry. Soon after, incriminating reports about Giuliani began to surface, alleging that he ousted the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and set up his own unorthodox foreign policy channel. Now everyone is second-guessing his sanity, and with good reason. He’s been answering prank texts from reporters, floating the idea of recording an impeachment podcast – and he even flew to Ukraine during the impeachment hearings. While things aren’t looking good for Giuliani, Trump may well stay in the Oval Office – and could potentially win another four years. But at least one thing is certain – Giuliani’s once sterling reputation has been “whacked.”

Has a year truly passed in New York if at least one politician isn’t on their way to the slammer? In 2019, the politician most likely to be headed to prison is former Rep. Chris Collins, who tried his damndest to fight insider trading charges before pleading guilty in October and resigning from office. He had initially pleaded not guilty to the 2018 indictment and maintained his innocence.

“Why would I ever enter a plea deal?” Collins asked in July, months before entering a plea deal. He even kept his options open to run for reelection. The real kicker is that those close to him believe he only changed his plea – which came as a shock – to help protect his son, who was also wrapped up in the charges. Perhaps if he simply hadn’t tipped off his son, Collins wouldn’t potentially be facing years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. And now the special election to replace him is threatening to tear apart the western New York GOP.

PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS, FRANK FRANKLIN II, MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK; WILLIAM ALATRISTE/NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

CHRIS COLLINS

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ANDY KING New York City Councilman Andy King is known for his colorful suits and bow ties, but the Bronx politician has quickly fallen out of fashion. In October, his colleagues voted to punish him with a 30-day suspension and a $15,000 fine – although he appears to be shying away from paying up and the City Council is considering suing to get the money. The unprecedented move by the City Council was in response to a number of ethics violations substantiated by an investigation conducted by the council’s ethics committee, which found that King used council resources to finance his stepdaughter’s dream wedding in the U.S. Virgin Islands, allowed for his wife Neva Shillingford-King to have a substantial hand in the hiring process at his district office, and retaliated against staffers who had accused him of harassment. Despite being openly urged to resign – and a legislative push to expel him that fell short – King instead kept up a public political presence in his district during his suspension and is now back in City Hall, despite making enemies with other council members.

ROGER STONE The longtime GOP operative violated a cardinal rule of the political dark arts when he got convicted by a federal court in November. The lengthy prison sentence he now faces for obstructing congressional investigators is bad enough, but the sequence of events that led to that legal reckoning is what makes Stone a true loser. First came the made-for-TV raid on his home and perp walk.

Then came the court-issued gag order that prevented Stone from speaking publicly about the case.

President Donald Trump could still pardon his longtime buddy, but he better move fast if he truly wants to help Stone when it matters. Washington, D.C., is in the midst of an impeachment battle. Political operators of all persuasions are getting ready to pull all the strings they can to manipulate the proceedings.

Where is Roger Stone? It goes without saying that he’d prefer to be playing some dirty tricks.

Becoming irrelevant is what he has truly feared all along, and that is what he has become.

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SETTING THE AGENDA PART TWO

City & State New York

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EMOCRATS SCORED many legislative victories in 2019, but some issues ultimately proved too tricky to resolve before lawmakers left Albany in June. These include stalled efforts to legalize recreational marijuana, to expand the definition of public works and to boost ethics oversight across state government.

Democrats in the state Senate and Assembly are now focusing on striking deals while also confronting a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Can Democrats figure out how to address public safety concerns over recreational marijuana while also ensuring that future tax revenue is earmarked for communities that have been most affected by the drug’s prohibition? Will labor-friendly liberals win over progressive skeptics who fear that higher wages on publicly funded projects would increase the costs of affordable housing construction?

Will lawmakers ever set up a truly independent state agency to investigate corruption? The second part of our annual legislative preview takes a look at what it will take to get things done on these key issues in the coming months.

CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

Is it time to replace JCOPE?

ETHICS

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A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT COULD REDUCE CUOMO’S INFLUENCE ON ETHICS ENFORCEMENT.

By Zach Williams

T

HERE WAS much celebrating among good-government advocates and elected officials when state leaders reached a deal on ethics reform eight years ago. Among other changes, the Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 created the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics to hold members of the legislative and executive branches accountable for wrongdoing in a state capital frequently tainted by corruption. “This bill is the tough and aggressive approach we need,” Cuomo said in a statement at the time. “Government does not work without the trust of the people and this ethics overhaul is an important step in restoring that trust.” But JCOPE never really lived up to that promise. From the beginning, it was criticized as a “toothless” body “chock full of cronyism” – a reputation it would not shake in subsequent years.

JCOPE has faced renewed scrutiny in recent weeks. It was criticized for pursuing a case against an alleged rape survivor because it said she spent too much money in support of the Child Victims Act and didn’t register as a lobbyist – a case the ethics commission ultimately dropped. Then came reports that a member of the commission had illegally leaked information on a confidential vote. The fact that the commission waited two years to hold a hearing about an allegation that

former state Sen. Jeff Klein forcibly kissed a staffer has hardly inspired confidence that JCOPE has lived up to its mission of weeding out corruption.

“Something has to be done because JCOPE does not work and has repeatedly been shown not to work and (was) designed not to work,” said John Kaehny, executive director of the good-government group Reinvent Albany. Now, state lawmakers are looking to take action in the coming months.

A proposed state constitutional amendment would create a nine-member Government Integrity Commission – modeled on the existing state Commission on Judicial Conduct – to address many of the perceived shortcomings of JCOPE. But even if it garners support, change would not happen overnight because it is a multiyear process to adopt constitutional amendments. Two successive state Legislatures have to pass an amendment, which would then go before voters – with the amendment taking effect in 2022 at the earliest.

If that happens, it would mark a big break from the current system for enforcing state ethics laws. The governor and legislative leaders would have much less control over the process. Employees of the legislative and executive branches would be easier to fire. There would even be a constitutionally mandated level of funding equivalent to about five

times the approximately $5 million the state currently spends on JCOPE. However, many constitutional amendments get proposed, but few become law – especially when one of the hurdles is the difficulty inherent to convincing lawmakers to weaken their own power.

The sponsors, state Sen. Liz Krueger of Manhattan and Assemblyman Robert Carroll of Brooklyn, will not be alone in pursuing the changes, which were developed with the help of attorney Evan Davis, a counsel to thenGov. Mario Cuomo.

Good-government groups say they support the effort and aim to mobilize public support with rallies at the state Capitol as well as lobby lawmakers in the upcoming session. “We’re in the beginning stages of trying to push this,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, a good-government group. He added that while the amendment had to take a back seat to other issues this past session, this has unexpectedly resulted in a renewed effort now that state ethics laws are back in the headlines. “The most recent controversy around the inspector general report of JCOPE heightens concerns that something has to be done,” Horner said.

The Times Union reported in November that Cuomo had called Heastie in January to complain that the speaker’s JCOPE appointees

December 16, 2019

City & State New York

had voted against the gover- attorney general. Elected of- JCOPE as a secretive body, nor in a closed-door meeting ficials would have their influ- though the legislative lanapparently involving former ence further diluted because guage itself is fairly vague on gubernatorial aide Joseph Per- the commission would be able this point. “Right now, you coco. Heastie has acknowl- to act with a majority vote, can bring a complaint and edged talking to Commissioner unlike the current system you might never ever learn James Yates that day since he whereby as few as two com- whether JCOPE even had a is “a friend and a mentor,” but missioners out of the 14 can discussion or (a) vote to folhe did not say what they dis- block investigations. To add low up on an investigation,” cussed. A secret investigation some legal teeth to its enforce- Krueger said. An example of by the state inspector gener- ment, the commission would this is a complaint brought by al’s office was not able to sub- also be empowered to compel former legislative staffer Erica stantiate any wrongdoing by testimony through subpoenas Vladimer, who has alleged the commissioners, Cuomo or and could refer investigations that Klein forcibly kissed her outside an Albany bar Heastie, though in 2015. An investithe governor gation was launched and speaker three years after the were not interalleged incident, but viewed by invesVladimer told Polittigators. Even ico that she was left if more facts – John Kaehny, Reinvent Albany executive director in the dark about the come to light, progress of the inthey might revestigation, which flect more on will be the subject of the shortcoman upcoming hearings of the curing. The amendment rent ethics laws states that the prorather than posed commission legal violations would be subject to by state leaders all “transparency and or their staffs. public access laws,” “Remember, lethough “reasonable gally, the only exceptions for pendlegal obligation ing confidential inis on the commissioners not to disclose,” to state or federal prosecutors. vestigations” would be made.

Majority votes of the 63-seat An executive director and Cuomo said in late November, according to the Daily News. staff would be authorized by state Senate and 150-member “That’s why they talked to the the amendment to conduct the Assembly are needed to pass commissioners because the day-to-day work of the com- the amendment. The numcommissioners are the only mission, which would assume ber of co-sponsors in both ones who have a legal obliga- many of the noninvestiga- chambers – a rough measure tive roles of JCOPE, like pub- of support – is currently well tion.”

The proposed amendment lic education and compliance short of the numbers needed would prohibit elected offi- with the state’s lobbying laws. for passage. Two key lawmakcials from having private “ex The amendment also includes ers – state Senate Majority parte” conversations with provisions that make the new Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousthe commissioners they ap- commission responsible for ins and Assembly Speakpoint, a provision which aims the administration and en- er Carl Heastie – have yet to to prevent the appearance forcement of the state’s cam- sign on to the legislation or of wrongdoing. The propos- paign finance laws. Though speak publicly in support of it. al would also dramatically the state public financing Members of both Democratic alter how commissioners are commission has already is- conferences met in early Deappointed in the first place. sued binding recommenda- cember to discuss their priorThe state legislative leaders tions to change the campaign ities for the upcoming session, and the governor current- finance laws, the amend- but other issues like the conly choose all of the members ment would grant authority troversial new public camof JCOPE. The new proposal to the Government Integrity paign financing laws took would have five seats appoint- Commission to recommend precedence over ethics reed by judges and the remain- to the Legislature new limits forms. Given Krueger’s stating four appointed by elected on campaign contributions to ure as a longtime senator and officials. Two of these would candidates and political orga- chairwoman of the Finance Committee, it appears more be appointed by the leaders nizations.

Krueger said that the likely that she would be able of the legislative conferences and the rest by a joint agree- amendment would ensure ad- to get the proposed amendment among the governor, ditional transparency to ad- ment through her chamber. state comptroller and state dress a common criticism of More than two dozen Demo-

“JCOPE DOES NOT WORK AND (WAS) DESIGNED NOT TO WORK.”

17

cratic and GOP senators have already signed on, so just a few more votes are presumably needed to ensure passage.

In the Assembly, only about half of the 76 members needed for passage are co-sponsors.

For now, neither Krueger nor Carroll are making promises that the amendment will pass in the upcoming months. “It’s up to Sen. Krueger and I to do the hard work to convince our colleagues,” Carroll said.

“That’s a tough task, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

A representative of JCOPE said that the commission is agnostic about the proposed amendment, though the agency does have reform proposals of its own. “It’s up to the executive and the Legislature to make decisions about the laws that govern what we do and how we do it,” said Walter McClure, a JCOPE spokesman.

The commission’s website includes numerous proposals of its own on how to increase oversight and tweak the state ethics laws. McClure rejected criticisms that the commission is not proactive enough in pursuing investigations, noting the confidentiality laws preclude the commission from disclosing much of its work. State and federal law enforcement also occasionally request that the commission avoid pursuing a case while a criminal investigation is being conducted, added McClure, who noted that ethics investigations are just one part of what the commission does. “The core mission of our agency is essentially a compliance agency,” he said. “We’re here to provide training and information to help state employees and state officials to follow the law.”

While lawmakers do not need to change the state constitution in order to reform the state’s ethics laws, the amendment process would not require gubernatorial approval. Amending the constitution also would make the changes more permanent. “They’re very hard to pass (but) they’re also very hard to undo,” Krueger said.

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December 16, 2019

Will gig workers finally get overtime?

AFTER FALLING BY THE WAYSIDE, ALBANY WILL REVIVE THE QUESTION OF WHETHER YOUR UBER DRIVER SHOULD HAVE LABOR PROTECTIONS.

By Annie McDonough ness in order to be classified as an independent contractor. For companies like Uber and Lyft, it has been estimated that the cost of classifying drivers as employees in California could be around $500 million and $290 million, respectively.

In November, New Jersey hit Uber with a $650 million lawsuit alleging the company has been misclassifying its workers as independent contractors. In comparison, it may seem that New York is moving more slowly to determine the rules of the new economy. But as the California law faces a backlash, people on different sides of the issue say that New York has a chance to nail down the right approach to affording gig workers and other independent contractors more labor protections. If only those parties could agree on what the right approach is.

“Everybody wants to hit the ground running come January, and I think we’re all on that path now to figuring out how to address this so that these workers, in fact, are treated as employees,” said Mario Cilento, president of the New York State AFL-CIO. In California, Uber, Lyft and DoorDash said they plan to spend a collective $90 million on a ballot measure against AB5 in 2020. Whether or not efforts to combat a similar bill in New York would rack up such a hefty tab, the factions on all sides of this issue are already forming and gearing up to have it out next year.

On one side is Flexible Work for New York, a business coalition that includes app-based companies like Uber and Lyft.

The group points to existing programs that could be expanded to grant independent contractors more benefits without

workers a choice of when and where they work, but companies might choose to cope with the cost of complying with AB5, for example, by capping workers at off-peak hours or in less busy markets.

On the other side of the issue is the NY Do It Right Employment Classification Test (DIRECT) Coalition, which brings together groups like the New York Taxi Workers Alliance and 32BJ SEIU to advocate for an ABC test in New York.

At the end of the previous session, the debate kicked off in Albany with the introduction of the Dependent Worker Act, a bill sponsored by state Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo that would create an employment classification for gig economy workers and grant them the right to organize and collectively bargain. The bill didn’t pick up any momentum, and garnered criticism from labor and business groups alike.

After the session ended in June, state Sen. Robert Jackson and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick introduced a bill similar to AB5, which would reclassify many independent contractors as employees using the ABC test. Jackson emphasized that his bill also applies to those who wouldn’t be considered a “gig worker,” such as home health aides, adding that Albany could very well address this issue with a package of legislation that might incorporate measures introduced by Savino and Crespo as well.

In California, some have criticized AB5 over carve-outs for specific professions. Freelance writers, for example, are exempt from the ABC test but are capped at writing 35 pieces a year per employer, which some freelancers say will force them to try to publish at many more outlets than they already do. The bill

by Jackson and Glick does not yet contain any carve-outs, so it’s not clear how it would treat other professions, but supporters of an ABC test in New York say they’re aware of the criticisms of AB5’s exceptions and are considering how to improve a New York version.

Crespo has said that he and

LABOR

T

HINGS DON’T ALWAYS get done in Albany on the first try. Or the second, third or fourth, for that matter. But some are hoping that after a failed start at the end of this past legislative session in June, state lawmakers will be ready to seriously consider updating New York’s employment laws for the 21st century.

The issue at hand is the classification of independent contractors, as labor organizations fight to have gig economy workers like Uber drivers and Postmates delivery cyclists classified as full employees – along with the many other jobs, like nail salon workers, that can fall under the independent contractor classification. As more work moves toward the gig economy, some labor advocates argue that the definitions of employment ought to change so that those workers can have the labor protections that others take for granted, including having a minimum wage and earning overtime pay.

The companies that employ those gig workers argue that their workers ought to be able to get some benefits without being classified as employees, emphasizing that workers enjoy the flexibility of working for different platforms and choosing their own hours.

California recently passed Assembly Bill 5, or AB5, a law that codifies a 2018 California Supreme Court decision that would classify workers using what’s called an “ABC test.” Under the test, workers would have to be free from the control of their employer, doing work outside the usual course of business of an employer and be engaged in an independently established busi-

reclassifying them. “We’ve already seen New York be a leader and take successful programs like The Black Car Fund, which provides drivers across the state with free or discounted benefits like medical, vision and dental, and workers’ comp,” said Christina Fisher, the Massachusetts and Northeast executive director of the tech executive network TechNet who also acts as a spokeswoman for the Flexible Work coalition.

Opponents of the ABC test also claim that what gig workers really value is flexibility in their work schedule. A bill like AB5 doesn’t necessarily stop gig platforms from offering their

20 CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

“THERE’S SORT OF THIS ASSUMPTION THAT SOMEONE HAS TO BE AN EMPLOYEE IN ORDER TO GET BENEFITS. THAT’S NOT THE CASE.”

Savino are working on new legislation that may move away from their proposed dependent worker model and consider a more “workable” ABC test for New York, while Savino has maintained that collective bargaining rights should be a part of any solution.

Crespo and Savino did not return requests for comment for this story. Cuomo has not come out in favor of an ABC test, but has suggested that he favors classifying more gig workers as employees, and doesn’t want to fall behind California. The governor’s office also did not respond to a request for comment.

Many maintain that an ABC test is not the only way forward for New York’s gig workers, however. “There’s sort of this assumption that someone has to

fits program, while having platforms contribute different amounts to workers’ funds relative to how much work they do for each employer.

One supporter – Arun Sundararajan, professor at New York of such an arrangeUniversity’s Stern School of Business ment is Oisin Hanrahan, co-founder and CEO of the home services startup Handy, who also advocates for reclassifying gig workers as full-time employees, but only for people who work more than 25 hours per week for a single platform. That be an employee in order to get number – 25 hours – is just a benefits. That’s not the case,” starting point for discussion, he said Arun Sundararajan, a pro- said. It’s entirely possible that fessor at the New York Univer- companies would skirt reclassisity’s Stern School of Business. fication by limiting workers to “You just need a funding portal fewer than 25 hours per week.

Jackson acknowledged that that funds the benefits for different work arrangements.” Others the gig worker issue wasn’t likehave proposed a portable bene- ly to arise much in discussion

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during the Democrats’ presession retreat in Albany on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, taking a back seat to larger issues, like housing, Medicaid and criminal justice. But with a long session ahead, the question of how to treat independent contractors is at least gaining steam as a debate that ought to be had.

“It comes in the context of a national discussion about the power of technology companies and the status of the American worker in the midst of this growing income inequality crisis the country faces. And I think state legislators are looking for the opportunity to provide solutions for that,” said Larry Engelstein, secretary-treasurer at 32BJ SEIU – a member of the DIRECT Coalition – who is leading efforts in Albany on this issue. “The fact that it happened in California obviously puts wind in the sails of others, to see that it can be done and that the threats of the platform companies to stymie it were not effective. And that should help us to bring the effort to a fruitful conclusion.”

■

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December 16, 2019

BOOSTING WORKERS’ RIGHTS MORE BIG LABOR ISSUES FOR NEXT YEAR.

BY ZACH WILLIAMS CONSTRUCTION SAFET Y LAWMAKERS ARE looking to

finally get Carlos’ law over the finish line in the upcoming session, a bill that would establish the crime of endangering the welfare of a worker and increase fines on negligent developers. The bill is named in honor of Carlos Moncayo, a 22-year-old construction worker who died in 2015 after a work site trench collapsed on him. The bill passed an Assembly committee this past session but did not get a floor vote in either legislative chamber.

With Democrats in control, reforming the state Scaffold Law is highly unlikely to gain any traction in the state Legislature this year.

The construction industry and some lawmakers want to change the law that makes property owners solely liable for injuries incurred on work sites. Critics say that this makes it more expensive to build

City & State New York

in New York, while supporters say that the 135-year-old law is as relevant to worker safety now as it was when it first passed.

Labor advocates and the New York State Trial Lawyers Association are also vowing to push for a law that could boost payouts in wrongful death lawsuits. The bill has failed to pass for more than a decade, and though it has wide-ranging bipartisan support, opposition from the construction industry and government fiscal watchdogs could keep the bill stuck in committee once again.

CIVIL SERVICE THE WORK of the legislative civil service committees do not usually garner headlines, but they are an important nexus between elected officials and powerful public sector unions. In the upcoming year, those committees will deal with many pieces of parochial legislation tailored to help individuals and localities secure exceptions to the state’s pension and civil service laws. Efforts will also continue to resolve ongoing issues with first responders and other public employees who have 9/11-related illnesses.

State Sen. Andrew Gounardes has expressed interest in using his civil service committee to examine how best to reassert the role of public universities as feeder schools to the civil service system, as well as the effects that proposed cuts to the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program – which reduces student college debt for government workers – would have on public employees in New York.

Public sector unions representing transit workers and firefighters are also looking to secure more benefits for their members and “pension equity,” whereby they would have the same pension benefits as other public employees or what they had before previous budget cuts.

Plans to restructure the state court system could affect public employees and their benefits, potentially catalyzing additional legislative action if the restructuring is implemented.

DECRIMINALIZING SEX WORK ONE CONTROVERSIAL is-

sue that came up at the end of the previous legislative session was

legislation that would decriminalize the buying and selling of sex.

A coalition of groups advocating for the bill argued that full decriminalization would reduce the harm caused by sex trafficking by eliminating the enforcement of laws forbidding paid sex between consenting adults. Opponents include people who oppose the legislation on moral grounds, while a competing coalition supports decriminalizing prostitution while still enforcing laws against johns, pimps and traffickers. The competing bills highlight differences within the Democratic legislative conferences over the extent to which prostitution laws should be relaxed or eliminated.

Democrats are also looking to repeal a state law that outlaws loitering for the purposes of prostitution. Supporters of the legislation say that the law has been disproportionately enforced against transgender people of color. The bill passed an Assembly committee but did not come up for a full vote in either chamber.

A third bill would allow victims of human trafficking to get prostitution-related criminal convictions vacated.

-with reporting by Jeff Coltin

More Supervisors Are Needed To Keep Students Safe The first and most important priority of school leaders is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our students. With that in mind, CSA strongly urges city and state education officials to consider minimum staffing requirements for supervisors and mandate that every public school have at least one assistant principal.

Assistant principals are the backbone of our school system.

Anyone who has ever led a school understands how essential they are to the lives of our children and the development of our teachers. They are confidants and sounding boards to our principals; more importantly, they are often students’ most trusted ears.

They help manage curricular and extracurricular activities, organize schoolwide data, engage parents, and handle many compliance-related tasks. APs are also expected to have a deep understanding of pedagogy as they provide teacher observations and evaluations to

school discipline and shape instructional ensure positive school focus. We should view culture. Supervisors school supervision are particularly necesthrough an equity sary to any system that lens as we would any is deeply committed lack of resources or to using restorative support. Given how much a community approaches to address truly benefits from student missteps, dedicated assistant which understandably take time and care. principals, schools with too few APs or none Though we champion restorative justice and at all are clearly being Mark Cannizzaro underserved. de-escalation techPresident, Council Most importantly, niques, recent changes of School Supervisors to our discipline code assistant principals and Administrators, have an incredible im- Local 1: AFSA, AFL-CIO have eroded principals’ discretion. As a result, pact on school safety. misconduct is on the rise in many This is particularly true for schools without APs: When principals are schools throughout NYC, leading taken out of their buildings -- which some students to believe there are no consequences for disruptive, occurs far too often -- there is simply no licensed administrator to openly defiant, threatening and even violent behavior. oversee the protocols and procedures that keep students safe in an Our members’ concerns regardemergency. ing school safety are obviously heightened when schools are The leadership of assistant principals is critical to help enforce underfunded. In a recent survey

21

conducted by an independent research firm and completed by over 2,300 NYC school leaders, only 20% believed that that they had the fiscal resources necessary to provide a safe and positive learning environment for students.

Many steps need to be taken to address these concerns. To start, however, principals must have full discretion and the requisite funding to staff our schools with adequate supervisory support.

While school leaders will always do everything in their power to keep children safe, they are increasingly concerned they will be unable to do so without more resources and support.

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23 CityAndStateNY.com

Prevailing wage, take two THE LEGISLATION IS EXPOSING FISSURES WITHIN THE ASCENDANT DEMOCRATIC PARTY.

By Bob Hennelly

B

ACKERS OF A controversial bill to expand New York state’s existing prevailing wage law, which sets minimum pay levels for the construction trades, are vowing to renew their effort at the start of Albany’s 2020 legislative session.

The proposal – which is sponsored by Assemblyman Harry Bronson and state Sen. Jessica Ramos, both Democrats – would broaden the universe of projects required to pay the prevailing wage to include ones that receive at least 30% of their financing from taxpayers, including economic development subsidies for private sector projects.

While the Democratic majorities in the Assembly and state Senate passed an ambitious progressive agenda in this year’s session, including the landmark Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act, they never came close to reaching a consensus on the prevailing wage measure.

The skirmish over what the final bill would look like exposed some geographical and ideological fissures within the state’s ascendant Democratic Party, and in the labor movement that helped power its takeover of the state Senate.

The Buffalo News in July attributed the bill’s demise to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and some Senate Democrats getting “cold feet” because they “became increasingly worried about warnings from business groups, especially developers and builders, that economic development in some areas, including Buffalo, could be sharply undermined by new and higher wage edicts.”

And the debate over the final version of the prevailing wage legislation came just several

weeks after Amazon pulled out of its multibillion-dollar deal with New York state and New York City.

The Amazon deal itself fractured New York’s labor movement, with the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and 32BJ SEIU standing with Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in favor of it, and the state AFL-CIO, Teamsters and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union opposing the corporate behemoth.

And Cuomo, who has generally aligned himself with organized labor, called for significant exceptions to the prevailing wage bill. “I would exempt affordable housing projects because you can make a case that it increases the cost of construction,” he said on WNYC. Cuomo also wanted to exempt New York City from the bill.

“This time of year in the Capitol you have a lot of political desires, which are sometimes uninformed or unsophisticated as the actual effect,” Cuomo said in another radio broadcast.

“If you pass a prevailing wage bill that actually stops construction, then you help no one.”

With preparations for the next session underway, Bronson said he was not discouraged by the heavy resistance that the bill met earlier this year.

“The New York state Constitution states that workers on public works projects are to be paid a prevailing wage, and I am proud to sponsor legislation in the Assembly that would make this constitutional mandate a reality for New York’s hardworking families,” he said in a statement to City & State. “After speaking with numerous stakeholders and partners in government during negotiations this

INFRASTRUCTURE

December 16, 2019

past year, I am confident that there is a path forward, and advancing this bill will be one of my highest priorities in the upcoming legislative session.”

Several union leaders were reluctant to go on the record because the behind-the-scenes dynamics around the measure were still very much in flux.

But one described what went on during the previous session’s debate over the bill “as a circular firing squad, where everybody was blaming somebody else” for its collapse at the end of the session.

But state Sen. John Liu, who as New York City comptroller was a key player in the enforcement of existing prevailing wage law, rejected the “circular firing squad” analogy.

“Absolutely, prevailing wage will not only happen, but it will be expanded in New York City,” he said in an interview.

“Sometimes, the legislative process is driven by deadlines, and the deadline is not this year, it is 2020” – referring to the June expiration of the state’s 421-a tax exemption for affordable housing that’s publicly financed.

Liu dismissed the conservative critique that an expansion was a kind of corrupt quid pro quo between the Democrats and their union supporters. “We do this as a way to not undercut in the public sector what unions are able to achieve in the private sector,” he said. “Prevailing wage is not a giveaway and it is not favoritism, it is just upholding what unions are able to uphold on their own.

If public dollars are being used, it should not be used to undercut the unions.”

Any deliberations over expanding the prevailing wage can be expected to reignite the underlying debate about the state’s existing prevailing wage law. While the union movement sees it as an essential protection against marketplace competition driving down wages, fiscal conservatives see them as an inhibitor of economic growth and job creation.

According to James Parrott, senior director for fiscal and economic policy at The New School’s Center for New York

24 CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

“IF PUBLIC DOLLARS ARE BEING USED, IT SHOULD NOT BE USED TO UNDERCUT THE UNIONS.”

City Affairs, strong prevailing wage laws are “an essential support for middle-income jobs” that also ensure construction workers get “critical health and safety training.”

But E.J. McMahon, the research director at the right-leaning Empire Center for Public Policy, counters that “it is frequently misrepresented as representing some sort of minimal ‘living’ wage when it actually is used to impose union work rules, manning ratios and combined wage and benefit levels on all public jobs subject to it.”

As for expanding the prevailing wage, McMahon describes “the relentless push for so-called prevailing wage expansion” as being driven by “the unions’ need to keep pumping more cash into underfunded pension plans, in order to keep paying benefits

ship between the deep-pocketed real estate industry and the building trades came after Albany’s – state Sen. John Liu shift away from the real estate industry, the passage of landmark tenant protections and the defeat of Amazon’s second headquarters in Queens.

“The agreement puts a blue-collar face on development and simultaneously tries to paint progressive lawmakers to the already retired and soon- and tenant groups as opponents of organized labor,” The New to-retire.”

As boosters of an expansion York Times reported last month.

“I understand advocating on begin to count votes, they have to account for the new strate- the part of tenants,” Gary Lagic alliance between the Real Barbera, president of the buildEstate Board of New York, ing trades council told the Times. which represents develop- “Many of our members are teners, and the Building and Con- ants. But at the same time, part struction Trades Council of of that advocating should be Greater New York, which is about building more affordable composed of 15 unions. The po- housing for New York City. And tential game-changing partner- if the development community is

not building, then our members are not working.”

As for what position the new coalition will take on the prevailing wage legislation, a building trades spokesperson only offered some contextual background about how the new alliance might find “common ground.”

In a statement to City & State, James Whelan, the Real Estate Board of New York president, said that his members “undertake private sector developments that are built with union labor and staffed with union building service workers,” and that the trade group supports “fair wages and benefits for workers across New York.”

“The state Legislature can and should take steps to ensure a living wage for all construction workers in New York,” he added, “rather than passing legislation that would not achieve that goal and would instead exponentially increase the cost of construction, leading to less development and fewer jobs for both union and nonunion construction workers.”

■

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December 16, 2019

IN THE WORKS ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL WHEN IT COMES TO PORK BARREL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

BY ZACH WILLIAMS TRANSPORTATION FUNDING THE RACE is on to lobby lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the state Department of Transportation’s next fiveyear capital plan. A coalition of construction and business groups called Rebuild New York Now is pushing for more funding of local transportation infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on small projects to fix issues with roads and bridges. This effort includes an ad campaign to highlight the potential economic benefits of increased spending at the local level. While much of this effort has focused on western New York, Long Island is also looking to get its share of new funding in the upcoming capital plan. A new report commissioned by the Long Island Contractors’ Association

City & State New York

found that four out of five roads on the island needs to be repaired. While these interests want Cuomo to focus more on smaller projects, the governor is likely to give at least some attention – and resources – to higher-profile projects. His previous budget address highlighted $150 billion in infrastructure spending, though the state’s looming budget deficit could dampen his appetite for proposing any new massive projects this time around.

STATE AND MUNICIPAL FACILITIES PROGRAM FUNDING FOR capital proj-

ects through Cuomo’s control of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, which oversees the State and Municipal Facilities Program, is one of the low-profile ways that the governor can exert leverage over lawmakers. At the end of the legislative session, lawmakers secured a $385 million increase in borrowing authority to fund the State and Municipal Facilities Program, money which can be used to fund everything from police cars to skate parks in members’ districts. Press releases

from lawmakers over the summer show just how good legislative life can be when they play nice with the governor. Rewards include a new playground for children with disabilities, library improvements and surveillance cameras to benefit legislators’ constituents.

While the program had more than $1 billion in funding as of this past summer, there is always the possibility that lawmakers will want to secure more for their pork projects – especially since the associated debt is kept on the ledgers of a public authority rather than in the state budget.

With a multibillion-dollar budget deficit now facing the governor and the Legislature, this might become an increasingly attractive option to keep constituents happy at a time when officials are looking to cut spending and raise taxes to close the fiscal shortfall.

RURAL BROADBAND STATE LAWMAKERS have

been meeting in recent months to develop solutions for expanding internet access across upstate rural areas. This has

25

included a joint hearing of state senators and Assembly members in Albany as well as the creation of a new Upstate Cellular Coverage Task Force. While the efforts often involve securing more funding in the state budget, in part to match federal funding, it is also an issue with significant parochial differences between different areas of the state. In the North Country, for example, there are formidable restrictions on what can and cannot be built within the Adirondack Forest Preserve, where cell towers have to be as inconspicuous as possible. Lawmakers from that area are already making plans to push for more subsidies in the upcoming budget to motivate businesses of all kinds to open in the area. Making that possible depends in part on ensuring high-speed internet access, which is far from a sure thing in rural areas of the state. There are already a number of bills proposed in the Legislature to address the matter by studying current access, creating grant programs for municipal broadband and requiring the state to step up its efforts to expand broadband access.

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26 CityAndStateNY.com

Time to stop passing on pot DEMOCRATS ARE DETERMINED TO MAKE A DEAL AFTER THEIR LAST EFFORT WENT UP IN SMOKE.

By Rebecca C. Lewis

A

S THE STATE Legislature prepares for the second year of full Democratic control of state government, recreational marijuana legalization remains one of the big-ticket holdovers from the previous session. The legislation came close to passing but was held up by disagreements over diverting revenue to minority communities disproportionately affected by the enforcement of drug laws.

Most legalization supporters agree that tucking recreational marijuana legislation into the budget is the best way to get the bill passed. Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo included his own proposal in the executive budget, although Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie warned that the short window of budget negotiations would not allow enough time to iron out the complicated details of a regulatory framework.

After the issue was dropped from the budget, state Sen. Diane Savino, a prominent legalization backer, argued that the state had lost its only chance to pass the legislation this year. Cuomo said at the time that while he was hopeful, passage in the second half of the session would be more difficult – hardly the resounding expression of support that advocates and some lawmakers were hoping for. Ultimately, Savino and Cuomo were right: The session ended with new versions of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act from state Sen. Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, but no votes were scheduled.

Krueger said the Legisla-

MARIJUANA

December 16, 2019

ture and the governor’s office were close enough to a deal by the end of the budget season that one could have been reached had the governor not dropped it. Cuomo said at the time that there wasn’t enough time to come to an agreement.

The governor, who maintained that he remained supportive, put the onus on the Legislature to muster up the votes to pass it. The latest version of the bill reflected negotiations between the Cuomo administration and legislators, significantly closing the gap between the governor’s proposal and the one from Krueger and Peoples-Stokes.

And Krueger said that discussions with other lawmakers, including those who were on the fence during the session, have continued in the second half of 2019 as she and Peoples-Stokes worked on a new version of their proposal to introduce next year.

Whether that comes before the budget, or if they will work off of an executive proposal, remains to be seen.

Advocates, who have been active during the summer and fall, are preparing to hit the ground running in January.

“We’ve never really stopped running,” Michael Sisitzky, lead policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, told City & State. He said it was critical to keep the racial equity component of the legislation, which would aim to reinvest tax revenue from legal marijuana sales into communities most affected by marijuana criminalization as well as fund initiatives to help minorities start legal marijuana businesses. Sisitzky said that while the governor’s original plan had many good components, the social justice aspects did not go far enough, while the newer

version of the Legislature’s bill did. Those details, according to Krueger, also represent the bulk of what is left to negotiate with the governor in 2020, including the exact nature of these racial justice programs and how much money will specifically be set aside for those purposes.

Cuomo appears to be fully on board with the push to legalize recreational marijuana, despite concerns from some lawmakers, activists and lobbyists that his heart wasn’t really in it during the last go-round. Certainly, the governor is known for applying pressure on members of the Legislature standing in the way of his policy goals, something he declined to do to suburban Democrats who harbored reservations. The micromanaging Cuomo seemed fairly hands-off after his proposal dropped out of the budget. But in September, Cuomo said that he plans to introduce a new marijuana plan in his executive budget and would consult with legislative leaders and other states to formulate the best possible bill. A spokesperson for the governor said that he and his staff have since been talking to legislative leaders to hash out details before the start of the 2020 session.

In October, Cuomo held a summit with the governors of three other Northeast states to discuss and collaborate on regional marijuana and vaping policies. Krueger said such an initiative would make little sense if Cuomo did not intend to fully support legalization efforts in 2020. “I said, ‘Thank you very much for inviting me, I found it very educational,’” Krueger recounted to City & State. “He said, ‘I think we can get it done in the budget this year, don’t you?’”

Part of the problem in the previous session, once the budget was done and a new standalone bill had been introduced, was that the state Senate never secured enough votes to pass it despite Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins allowing it to be debated by the full caucus more than once. People involved in the negotia-

December 16, 2019

27

City & State New York

THREE MORE HITS MORE QUESTIONS SURROUNDING RECREATIONAL POT.

BY REBECCA C. LEWIS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ONE CONCERN about legalizing recreational marijuana is the massive environmental impact of actually growing the plants. Unlike its nonpsychoactive cousin hemp, which can act as a carbon sink and replace crops like cotton whose cultivation has greater negative environmental effects, cannabis requires lots of water and pesticides. The massive water consumption in particular has caused issues in California like water theft, particularly where marijuana is grown illegally. Most legal marijuana cultivation happens indoors, reducing the effects of pesticides and impact on the local ecosystem, but it requires massive amounts of electricity.

Grow rooms accounted for an estimated 1% of national electricity consumption in 2012 – a number that is likely higher today now that more states have legalized the drug – most of which is still produced through fossil fuels.

According to cannabis and environmental lawyer Liz Bogle,

tions have said that at one point, there were verbal agreements with enough lawmakers that it could have passed.

But the fairweather legislators, largely from the suburbs, kept changing their demands regarding public safety and the allocation of revenue. Including a plan in the budget removes some of the complicating factors, while providing potential cover for lawmakers wary of voting for a stand-alone bill.

Melissa Moore, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, said that she and other marijuana legalization advocates have been speaking with lawmakers and constit-

the majority of states where recreational marijuana can be grown legally did not take proactive steps to mitigate the energy and environmental impacts of indoor grow sites. To her knowledge, Massachusetts was the first state to institute energy regulations, including energy efficiency standards, for indoor grow operations at the time of legalization. Proposals from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature from this past session mention addressing environmental concerns, but offer no specifics on what those rules would look like, leaving those determinations to a proposed state Office of Cannabis Management.

CBD AND INDUSTRIAL HEMP EXTRACTS MARIJUANA AND hemp are

used for very different purposes.

Hemp has very low amounts of the psychoactive chemical THC that is found in marijuana and can be used to make concrete, clothing and paper, among other things, and most of it will continue to be regulated by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. However, hemp grown for its extracts – namely CBD – and for human or animal consumption would be overseen by the proposed state Office of Cannabis Management. Under legislation recently signed by Cuomo, however, CBD production will be overseen

by the agriculture department, at least until a recreational marijuana legalization bill passes.

The most significant change that came with the new law is that it explicitly regulates CBD. The extract has grown in popularity in recent years and is commonly ingested for its purported calming effects. It is also used as an additive in personal hygiene products and even clothes. Although the federal 2018 Farm Bill officially allows hemp to be grown in the United States for commercial purposes – provided states institute a regulatory framework – it did not promulgate rules for drug products that contain CBD, which are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This left New York, among other states, in a regulatory purgatory, resulting in a Wild West of sorts for a substance that has had relatively little research conducted on it.

CRIMINAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE ONE OF the biggest reasons behind the push for legalizing recreational marijuana is to end the overpolicing of black and Latino communities that have disproportionately been targeted due to the drug’s criminalization.

Data has shown that minorities, particularly black New Yorkers, are far more likely to be charged for minor marijuana-related

Marijuana, polling shows that a majority of New Yorkers support recreational marijuana legalization. “I think – state Sen. Liz Krueger we’re heading into this session in a good place,” Moore said.

Krueger said that she has spent time discussing marijuana with her colleagues, the governor’s staff, district attorneys and other stakeholders.

“There hasn’t been uents since the session ended, a quiet time on marijuana,” she holding education sessions and said. She added that she recentattempting to assuage any lin- ly had a positive conversation gering fears, particularly in the with a suburban senator who suburbs. Although there was had traveled to Massachusetts, strong opposition this year, which recently legalized the most notably from the advoca- drug, to learn more after previcy group Smart Approaches to ously having reservations about

“(CUOMO) SAID, ‘I THINK WE CAN GET IT DONE IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR, DON’T YOU?’”

crimes than white people, getting young people caught in the criminal justice system. A key aspect of the pending recreational marijuana legislation involves expunging low-level marijuana convictions and reducing the sentences or reclassifying the convictions of those charged with more serious offenses. The process of expunging criminal records has already begun under a marijuana decriminalization law that passed at the end of the previous session.

Another provision that has been a sticking point is using tax and licensing revenue generated from legal marijuana sales to reinvest in communities harmed the most by marijuana criminalization. Conservative estimates put state tax revenue at about $300 million per year once the market is established. Some of that money could be used for other priorities, such as investing in public safety and education, but advocates want to see a considerable amount steered into minority communities and toward efforts to help black and Latino people enter the legal marijuana business. One major issue legalization supporters had with the governor’s proposal last session was that it did not detail how the revenue would be spent, instead putting most of the money into the state’s general fund.

legalization. Although she did not give a name, Hudson Valley state Sen. Pete Harckham could fit the bill as a Democrat who opposed legalization last session and took a trip to Massachusetts last month. After returning, Harckham said on “The Capitol Pressroom” that New York must address the issue in the next session.

Ultimately, while Krueger believes her bill could pass by itself, the budget is where she, the governor and advocates agree it has the best shot.

Cuomo is expected to roll out a new proposal in January. “I would assume it will not be exactly the version that (Assemblywoman) Crystal (Peoples-Stokes) and I want,” Krueger said. “And then I assume we will be negotiating hard during the budget process to bring him closer on the issues he’s not yet close on.”

■

28 CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

THE TOP CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILLS ON ALBANY’S 2020 AGENDA.

N

CRIMINAL

By Zach Williams and Jeff Coltin EW YORK CITY’S plan to build new jails to replace the notorious Rikers Island complex dominated headlines this fall – and those plans got a boost from Albany, in the form of new laws that are expected to seriously reduce the number of New Yorkers detained before trial. But debate continues on that law, and other related measures. Here’s a preview of the biggest criminal justice issues of the 2020 state legislative session.

PRETRIAL REFORMS New laws limiting cash bail don’t take effect until Jan. 1, but a legislative battle is already brewing over whether there should be amendments to the far-reaching reforms that passed as part of the state budget deal earlier this year. The new bail law basically abolishes cash bail for all but the most serious felonies and misdemeanors, and requires judges to give criminal defendants the most lenient form of pretrial detention possible. Critics say this will endanger public safety – although those same defendants are already eligible for release under the existing system if they can afford bail. One bipartisan effort seeks to reopen the debate over whether the “dangerousness” of a criminal suspect should be considered when determining whether a defendant is released pretrial. While that proposal has traction among moderate Democrats and has become a talking point for Republicans, it is a non-starter for progressive Democrats who kept it out of the original legislative package.

But that’s not to say Democrats are set on sticking with the laws as written. Both state Senate Deputy Majority

secret the identities of police officers accused of wrongdoing, and criminal justice reform-minded Democrats have pushed for its repeal for years.

Bailey, the Codes Committee chairman and sponsor of the repeal bill, calls it his top priority. Cuomo has more or less been quiet on the issue, but Pantaleo’s firing – along with a pair of contentious public hearings this fall – may force him to take a side. The primary opposition comes from the police unions, who claim too much disclosure would put their officers at risk.

Though NYPD leaders support reforming the law and not repealing it, some lawmakers may be wary of facing the wrath of the police unions.

■

JUSTICE

Locking up legislative support

Leader Michael Gianaris and state Senate Codes Committee Chairman Jamaal T. Bailey have signaled they are open to revisiting the reforms once they’ve taken effect.

Local governments and prosecutors may have more luck with securing additional funding to comply with – rather than tweaking – the new legislation, which also includes speedy trial and discovery laws mandating that prosecutors and courts move faster to try suspects and more readily disclose evidence before and during trial. Gianaris, a leading proponent of the criminal justice reforms, recently told reporters that he would be willing to discuss higher funding levels.

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT Among the biggest disappointments for criminal justice reform advocates in the previous session was the failure to pass the Humane Alternatives to Longterm Solitary Confinement Act. Though they are pushing for legislative leaders to again take up the bill – which would limit solitary confinement in local jails and state prisons to 15 days – on the first day of the upcoming session, there have been no indications that state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will do so. The state Legislature could take up the bill later, though Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already taken administrative action to limit the use of solitary confinement. Like other criminal justice issues, the issue of solitary confinement divides progressive activists and unions that represent police and corrections officers as well as moderate Democratic lawmakers wary of appearing soft on crime. Solitary confinement has become an issue for several leftwing primary challengers targeting incumbent Democrats.

REPEALING 50-A Talk of repealing state Civil Rights Law Section 50-a has heated up even further following the August dismissal of NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold in 2014. Section 50-a, in many cases, keeps

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legalnotices@cityandstateny.com Notice of Formation of ENC Property Maintenance, LLC filed with SSNY on May 20, 2019.

Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 39 Tynan Street Staten Island, NY 10312. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Sylverlink LLC. Arts of Org. filed on 10/01/2019 w/ the Sec. of State of NY (SSNY). Office in NY. SSNY is designated agent upon whom process may be served and mail a copy to 40 Morningside Ave Apt 21, NY, NY 10026. For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of MKP SUPPLY LLC. Articles of Org. filed with the Secretary of State of New York(SSNY) on 10/2/2019.

Office located in Richmond County. SSNY has been designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail copy of any process served against the LLC to: 354 Castleton Ave Staten Island NY 10301.

Purpose: any lawful activity or purpose.

Notice of Formation of Mindful Modern Designs LLC filed with SSNY on September 11, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 3845 Gromer St, Yorktown Heights NY 10598. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

65 CPW 1F LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/24/2019.

Office loc: NY County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 65 Central Park West Apt 1F, NY, NY 10023. Reg Agent: Anand P. Desai, 65 Central Park West Apt 1F, NY, NY 10023. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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Notice of Qualification of S + B CHELSEA, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Maryland (MD) on 08/19/19. Princ. office and MD addr. of LLC is: 8171 Maple Lawn Blvd., Ste. 200, Fulton, MD 20759. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Theodore A. Offit, Esq., c/o Offit Kurman, P.A. at the princ. office of the LLC. Cert. of Form. filed with Michael L. Higgs-Director, 301 W. Preston St., Rm. 801, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Purpose: To lease real property.

Brooklyn Eye Plastics MD, PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/03/13.

Office: Kings County.

SSNY designated as agent of the PLLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the PLLC, c/o Chaneve Jeanniton, 115 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Purpose: For the practice of the profession of Medicine.

Notice of Qualification of Wildflower Renewables LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/18/19.

Office location: NY County.

Princ. bus. addr.: 80 8th Ave., Ste. 1602, NY, NY 10011. LLC formed in DE on 10/16/19.

NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc. (CGI), 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LLC: CGI, 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of S + B UPPER EAST SIDE, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/28/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Maryland (MD) on 12/14/18. Princ. office and MD addr. of LLC is: 8171 Maple Lawn Blvd., Ste. 200, Fulton, MD 20759. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Theodore A. Offit, Esq., c/o Offit Kurman, P.A. at the princ. office of the LLC. Cert. of Form. filed with Michael L. Higgs-Director, 301 W. Preston St., Rm. 801, Baltimore, MD 21201. Purpose: To lease real property.

THE WATCH LOUNGE LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/29/19. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 99 Tulip Avenue, Suite 308, Floral Park, NY 11001. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

December 16, 2019

Imose Fashion, LLC, Arts. Of Org. filed with SSNY 09/12/2019. Office loc: Richmond County.

SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Michelle Emokpae, 15 Bailey Place, Staten Island, NY 10303. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of Louisiana PDC, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/15/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Louisiana (LA) on 02/08/17. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o C T Corporation System, 28 Liberty St., New York, NY 10005. LA addr. of LLC: c/o , 200 Corporate Blvd, Lafayette, LA 70508. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of LA, 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70809 708049125. Purpose: Any lawful activity Notice of Qualification of HR Buds, LLC. Authority filed with SSNY on October 1, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 10 E. 40th St., 10th floor, New York, New York 10016.

Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of Graphic Athletics, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/02/19. Office location: Westchester County. LLC formed in Florida (FL) on 08/17/18.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Cohen & Grieb, P.A. (CG), 4890 West Kennedy Blvd., Suite 370, Tampa, FL 33609. FL addr. of LLC: c/o CG, 12468 Jacqueline Rd., Brooksville, FL 34613. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of FL, Div. of Corps., 500 South Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399.

Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation: Mojo 33 LLC filed with SSNY on 10/24/2019. Office: Kings County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Mojo 33 LLC 4024 Ave U - 2nd Fl, Bklyn NY 11234. Purpose: any lawful purpose

Notice of Formation of Brownstone Recordings, LLC filed with SSNY on August 31, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 28 W 123rd st , NY, NY 10027. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

SMITH BERGEN HOLDINGS LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/22/19.

Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 102 Bergen Street, Unit 1, New York, NY 10014.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of ALMS HILL ROOF LESSEE, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/30/19. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Sant Epernay, LLC filed with SSNY on July 22, 2019. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 8 W. 75 St. 4A, NY, NY 10023. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation Hernandez Consulting, LLC filed with SSNY on 07/29/2019. NY County. Florintino Hernandez designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served at 68 Bradhurst Ave. Apt. 4M New York, NY 10039 Purpose: any lawful act of activity.

Notice of Formation of JMD TITLE SERVICES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, One Penn Plaza, Ste. 4530, NY, NY 10119. Purpose: Perform title services.

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Notice of Qualification of 250 WEST NYACK PROPERTY LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/30/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/23/19. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St. Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

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Notice of Qualification of Wildflower Partners LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 9/18/19. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 80 8th Ave., Ste. 1602, NY, NY 10011. LLC formed in DE on 9/17/19. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc. (CGI), 10 E. 40th St., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10016. DE addr. of LLC: CGI, 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of INNOVATUS CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/01/19. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/22/15. Princ. office of LLC: 777 Third Ave., 25th Fl., NY, NY 10017.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State of the State of DE, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity Notice of Formation of LUMBER LANE REAL ESTATE, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/04/19. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of LLC: c/o Philip Krim At Casper Sleep, Inc., 3 World Trade Center, NY, NY 10007.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of GPMT CLO REIT HOLDINGS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/04/19. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of THE DTE DEVELOPMENT FUND LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/06/19. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of LLC: c/o DTE Holdings LLC, 1501 Broadway, Ste. #1304, NY, NY 10036. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of FEATHERSTONE DISTRIBUTION, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/08/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/12/19. Princ. office of LLC: 220 E. 42nd St., 29th Fl., NY, NY 10017.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

GPG MEDALLION LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/1/19. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 6073 Flagstaff Dr, Eastvale, CA 92880. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of Atacama Real Estate LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/6/19. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Alfredo Miguel Irigoin, 101 Warren St., Unit 2660, NY, NY 10282, principal business address. Purpose: any lawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of THE PRIVACY CO. MANAGEMENT LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/12/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/07/19. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Renee M. Lercher, CFO, The Privacy Co. LLC, 845 3rd Ave., Fl. 18, NY, NY 10022. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of EDEN POINT PARTNERS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/08/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/09/18. Princ. office of LLC: Andrew Lutakome Kayiira Jr., 20 E. 35th St., Apt. 15L, NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Happiness Ventures LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/06/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/06/19. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 112 E. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Address to be maintained in DE: 2140 S Dupont Hwy., Camden, DE 19934. Arts of Org. filed with the DE Secy. of State, Division of Corporations, PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activities.

GO-ORGANIC UGANDA’S BEST COFFEE LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/21/2019. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 215 W 104th St. #1860, NY, NY 10025. Reg Agent: U.S. Corp. Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave., Ste 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose Notice of Qualification of KOHLBERG MANAGEMENT IX, L.L.C. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/15/19. Princ. office of LLC: 111 Radio Circle, Mt. Kisco, NY 10549. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Corporate Div., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HUDSON MEDICINE, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/14/19. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of PLLC: 281 Broadway, Second Fl., NY, NY 10007. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Jonathann C. Kuo, MD at the princ. office of the PLLC. Purpose: Practice of medicine. \ Notice of Formation of Classic Dutch Cookie LLC filed with SSNY on 10/21/2019.Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 689 Fort Washington Ave PH5, NY, NY 10040. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of Center Rock Advisors LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 11/12/19. Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Brad McFadden, 200 W. 67th St., 10L, NY, NY 10023, principal business address. Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of Formation of Yonkers CSG LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 10/11/19.

Office location: NY County. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Dimension Energy LLC, c/o Rafael Dobrzynski, 3280 Peachtree Rd. NE, 7th Fl., Atlanta, GA 30305, principal business address.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of BILTMORE PRESERVATION CLASS B, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/25/19. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qual. of MAINSPRING PARTNERS LLC, Authority filed with the SSNY on 11/07/2019.

Office loc: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 09/30/2019. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Cogency Global Inc. 10 East 40th St., 10th Fl, NY, NY 10016.

Address required to be maintained in DE: 850 New Burton Rd, Ste 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert of Formation filed with DE Div. of Corps, 401 Federal St., Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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Notice of Formation of BILTMORE DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/25/19. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Hart - Ditmars, LLC filed with SSNY on October 21, 2019. Office: Kings County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 53 Bainbridge Street, Brooklyn, NY 11233. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1323738, FOR WINE & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL WINE & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 252 FRANKLIN ST BROOKLYN, NY 11222.

KINGS COUNTY, FOR ON-PREMISE CONSUMPTION. ALULA CAFÉ INC. Notice of Formation of Spin Cycle Coffee LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o James Veltri, 27 West 70th St., Ste. 2A, NY, NY 10023.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

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CityAndStateNY.com / PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF FORMATION MerchantCantos LLC. Application for Authority filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/21/2019.

Office location: NEW YORK County.

LLC formed in Delaware on 02/07/2013. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/ her is: MerchantCantos LLC, Legal Department, 245 Park Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10167 The principal business address of the LLC is: 245 Park Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10167 Delaware address of LLC is: c/o The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington DE 19801 Certificate of LLC filed with Secretary of State of Delaware located at: John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901 Purpose: any lawful act or activity

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Formation of Ciella James, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/05/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Denise Kilburg, 71 Broadway, Lobby 2B #138, NY, NY 10006.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of Primary Care Offices Of Manhattan LLC filed with SSNY on November 19, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 274 Madison Ave Suite 705, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

December 16, 2019

Notice of Auction

Notice of Auction

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice of Auction Sale is herein given that Access Self Storage of Long Island City located at 2900 Review Avenue, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101 will take place on WWW. STORAGETREASURES. COM Sale by competitive bidding starting on December 26, 2019 and end on January 07, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. to satisfy unpaid rent and charges on the following accounts:

Notice of Auction Sale is herein given that Citiwide Self Storage located at 45-55 Pearson Street, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101 will take place on WWW.STORAGETREASURES.COM Sale by competitive bidding starting on December ,26 2019 and end on January 7, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. to satisfy unpaid rent and charges on the following accounts:

Cellco Partnership a n d its controlled affiliates doing business as Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless) proposes to collocate wireless communications antennas at a top height of 643-feet on 643-foot building at the approx. vicinity of 570 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York County, NY 10022. Public comments regarding potential effects from this site on historic properties may be submitted within 30 days from the date of this publication to: Trileaf Corp, Lauren Schramm l.schramm@trileaf.com, 1395 South Marietta Pkwy, Building 400 Suite 209, Marietta, GA 30067, 678-653-8673.

Contents of rooms generally contain misc. #2101-Peter Hargrove; tennis racket, 100 + boxes, 10 hangers with clothing, 6 milk crates, scattered bags, 1 guitar#2112-Peter Hargrove; 30+ boxes, clothes, bags, shopping carts, DVD’s, magazines, newspapers, VHS tapes, dresser, 2 picture frames on top of unit. #2412-Thomas J. Delmastro; Approx.

24 boxes, 2 filing cabinets. #4708-Rhonard Bryce-Thurton; Tv, 15 + boxes, 2 plastic containers, 4 bags, a CD rack.

The contents of each unit will be sold as a lot and all items must be removed from the premises within 72 hours. Owners may redeem their goods by paying all rent and charges due at any time before the sale. All sales are held “with reserve”.

Owner reserves the right to cancel sale at any time.

Sunrise D LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 08/06/2019. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Jin Qian, 15 WEST 61ST STREET,UNIT 22D,NEW YORK, NY 10023 Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose NOTICE OF FORMATION of Natural Shea and Textiles LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/15/2019. Office location: Bronx County.

SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against 790 Concourse Village West, Bronx, #9E New York, 10451. Purpose: any lawful act.

Contents of rooms generally contain miscellaneous items: #5K08 Louis Flores roughly 50-boxes, 2- stools, mattress, 2-lamps, misc. furniture, roughly 5-bags # 5H09 Alan McElroy 10-boxes, 5-tote bags #7Q19 Benjamin Brannan mattress, sofa, small dresser, misc. furniture #3P33 David Zimman matress,boxspring and rails #5T20 Alfredo Villamar several bags/ boxes, shoe boxes, misc. clothes, 1-luggage bag # 7Q17 Lisbet Crowey Polar packing materials, 4-cases of sletzer water, cooler, 1 - box of cups, loose packages of cups The contents of each unit will be sold as a lot and all items must be removed from the premises within 72 hours. Owners may redeem their goods by paying all rent and charges due at any time before the sale. All sales are held “with reserve”.

Owner reserves the right to cancel sale at any time.

CORR EQUITY HOLDINGS, LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 11/26/19. Off. Loc. : New York Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served & shall mail proc.: c/o Ciara Corr, 334 West 46th Street, (Suite 1), New York, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Harmony Medical, PLLC filed with SSNY on October 15, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to PLLC: 170 E 87TH ST, E12H, NY, NY 10128. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of SURF AVENUE L/CAL LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/14/19. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/07/19. Princ. office of LLC: One Penn Plaza, Ste. 1801, NY, NY 10119. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Own real estate and other activities related to it.

Notice of Formation of 451 TENTH MEMBER II LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/03/19. Office location: NY County.

Princ. office of LLC: 60 Columbus Circle, NY, NY 10023. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

SUPREME COURT – COUNTY OF KINGS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, FOR LEHMAN MORTGAGE TRUST MORTGAGE PASS THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2006-2, Plaintiff against SARA MITTELMAN A/K/A SARAH MITTELMAN; MAX MITTELMAN, et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on August 9, 2019.

I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 224 of the Kings County Courthouse, 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. on the 16th day of January, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. premises described as follows: All that certain lot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York.

Said premises known as 1518 53rd Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11219.

(Block: 5477, Lot: 12).

Approximate amount of lien $ 948,631.65 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

Index No. 506279-13. Zvi A. Storch, Esq., Referee.

McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 420 Lexington Avenue – Suite 840 New York, N.Y. 10170 (347) 286-7409

Notice of Formation of TW OWNER 59B, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/19. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Jeffrey D. Zukerman, Esq., Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman, LLP, Eleven Times Sq., NY, NY 10036.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Formation of Innovative Designs Enhanced American Spaces LLC, Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on November 08, 2019. Office Location: Westchester County. SSNY is designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC at: Innovative Designs Enhanced American Spaces LLC 6 Robbins Avenue, Elmsford NY 10523.

Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT A LICENSE, SERIAL # 1319287, FOR WINE & BEER HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR BY THE UNDERSIGNED TO SELL WINE & BEER AT RETAIL UNDER THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAW AT 48-11 VERNON BLVD LIC, NY 11101, QUEENS COUNTY, FOR ON-PREMISE CONSUMPTION. 48-11 VERNON BLVD REST INC Notice of Qualification of 11-01 43RD AVENUE LENDER LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/19. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/20/19. Princ. office of LLC: 280 Park Ave., 5th Fl. E, NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES / CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

Notice of Formation of Ada Supper Club, LLC filed with SSNY on November 12, 2019. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 2601 Frederick Douglass Blvd, Apt 2D, NY, NY 10030. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of Maya Khouri LLC filed with SSNY on October 09, 2019. Office: Kings County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 305 Stuyvesant Ave #1, Brooklyn, NY, 11233. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Xallarap Advisory, LLC. Arts of Org filed with the SSNY (SSNY) on 11/25/2019. Office loc: NY Co. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: : 99 Wall Street #3223 New York, NY 10005.

The principal business address of the LLC is: 121 Reade St Apt 4F New York, NY 10013. Purpose: any lawful act or activity Notice is hereby given that license number 1324144 for beer, liquor, and wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, liquor, and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 735-739 9th Ave., New York, NY 10019 for on premises consumption.

SC LIC LLC dba Shaking Crab.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

New York City Dept. of Consumer Affairs

SprintCom, Inc. proposes a new antenna facility atop an existing 53’ building at 19-33 Ditmars Blvd in Queens; atop a 139’ building at 1 Hoyt St in Brooklyn; atop an existing 84’ building at 10 Christopher St in Manhattan; atop an existing 79’ building at 2775 Morris Ave in the Bronx; and an upgrade to an existing facility atop an existing 90’ building at 101-06 67th Dr in Queens.

Notice of Public Hearing Notice is hereby given, pursuant to law, that the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs will hold a public hearing on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 08, 2020 2 P.M. at 42 Broadway, 5th floor, on a petition for independent THE CONSULATE NYC LLC to ESTABLISH, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE an unenclosed sidewalk cafe at 519 COLUMBUS AVE IN THE BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN FOR A TERM OF TWO YEARS. REQUEST OF THE CONSENT MAY BE TO:

FOR COPIES REVOCABLE AGREEMENT ADDRESSED

DEPT. OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, 42 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY 10004 ATTN: FOIL OFFICER Notice of Formation of Etesian Capital, LLC, filed with SSNY on 12/03/19. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 85 Leonard Street, Apt 4, New York NY 10013. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

GPG MEDALLION LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 10/1/19. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 6073 Flagstaff Dr, Eastvale, CA 92880. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended and the 2005 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for Review Under the National Preservation Act; Final Rule, SPRINT is hereby notifying the public of the proposed undertaking and soliciting comments on Historic Properties which may be affected by the proposed undertaking. Accordingly, if you would like to provide specific information regarding potential effects that the proposed undertaking might have to properties that are listed on or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and located within ½ mile of the above address, please submit the property’s address and your comments to: Charles Cherundolo Consulting, Inc. at 976 Tabor Road, Suite 4B, Morris Plains, NJ 07950 or via email at tcns@cherundoloconsulting.com.

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

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34 CityAndStateNY.com

December 16, 2019

CITY & STATE NEW YORK MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING CEO Steve Farbman, President & Publisher Tom Allon tallon@cityandstateny.com, Comptroller David Pirozzi, Business & Operations Manager Patrea Patterson, Administrative Assistant Lauren Mauro

Who was up and who was down last week

LOSERS BRAD HOYLMAN & JEFFREY DINOWITZ For the second time, a state judge upheld their state law eliminating religious exemptions from vaccines and ruled the ban constitutional.

Anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been trying to fight the law for months on behalf of families who want their kids to get the measles, but he’s been defeated at every turn.

The anti-vaxxers have promised to appeal the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, so the legislators’ law may still need defending.

OUR PICK

OUR PICK

WINNERS

After the MTA, there’s nothing New Yorkers love to hate more than SantaCon, the annual drunken bar crawl of frat bros, sorority gals and others of their ilk that fills Manhattan’s streets with pools of puke. So while it’s understandable that a trio of local elected officials wanted to keep the booze cruise queue out of their district, it just means the Santas turned Times Square into their personal North Pole. In all the confusion, no one involved made our Winners & Losers list – we checked it twice.

EDITORIAL editor@cityandstateny.com Editor-in-Chief Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com, Managing Editor Ryan Somers, Senior Editor Ben Adler badler@cityandstateny.com, Special Projects Editor Alice Popovici, Copy Editor Eric Holmberg, Staff Reporter Jeff Coltin jcoltin@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Zach Williams zwilliams@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Rebecca C. Lewis rlewis@cityandstateny.com, Tech & Policy Reporter Annie McDonough amcdonough@ cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Kay Dervishi CREATIVE Art Director Andrew Horton, Senior Graphic Designer Alex Law, Graphic Designer Aaron Aniton DIGITAL Digital Marketing Director Maria Cruz Lee, Project Manager Michael Filippi, Digital Content Manager Amanda Luz Henning Santiago, Digital Marketing Strategist Caitlin Dorman, Digital Marketing Associate Chris Hogan, Web/ Email Strategist Isabel Beebe

LETITIA JAMES Tish James lost her ambitious lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, much to the chagrin of environmental advocates who thought New York’s attorney general might be able to take down the oil giant or, at the very least, drain its hefty bank account. And things only got worse for Tish last week when she was accused of turning her back on the WFP – the third party that made her – for defending the state against a lawsuit filed by the political party.

ADVERTISING Vice President of Advertising Jim Katocin jkatocin@ cityandstateny.com, Account/Business Development Executive Scott Augustine saugustine@cityandstateny.com, Event Sponsorship Strategist Danielle Koza dkoza@ cityandstateny.com, Sales Associate Cydney McQuillanGrace cydney@cityandstateny.com, Legal Advertising Executive Shakirah Gittens legalnotices@cityandstateny. com, Senior Account Executive William Thomas EVENTS events@cityandstateny.com Sales Director Lissa Blake, Events Manager Alexis Arsenault, Event Coordinator Amanda Cortez, Editorial Research Associate Evan Solomon

Vol. 8 Issue 47 December 16, 2019 GIG WORKER RIGHTS, PREVAILING WAGE, RECREATIONAL POT (TAKE 2)

WINNERS & LOSERS 2019

THE REST OF THE WORST

RAS BARAKA

JOHN BANEWICZ

NYC hit pause on shipping its homeless to his apparently uninhabitable city of Newark.

DAVID CLEGG

By 77 votes, he’ll be the first Democratic Ulster County district attorney in 162 years.

KATHY HOCHUL

She’ll chair the Dems’ Lieutenant Governors Association as the queen of the No. 2s.

KEVIN SCHULER

He avoided prison in the Buffalo Billion scandal, now he’s Niagara County’s public information officer. Guy keeps failing up.

The Cortland treasurer had a reasonable explanation for his donation to David Duke: the KKK is just misunderstood.

CYNTHIA BRANN

The NYC jails chief has to answer for guards who let a mentally ill teen hang himself.

Ladies & gentlemen, we give you the next president of the United States ...

CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

December 16, 2019

Cover image Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

SAM CHANG

The double-dipping hotelier is now being investigated for firing unionizing workers.

JOHN FLANAGAN

At this rate, the state Senate minority leader will be the only Republican left.

WINNERS & LOSERS is published every Friday morning in City & State’s First Read email.

Sign up for the email, cast your vote and see who won at cityandstateny.com.

CITY & STATE NEW YORK (ISSN 2474-4107) is published weekly, 48 times a year except for the four weeks containing New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas by City & State NY, LLC, 61 Broadway, Suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2763. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices.

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RON ADAR, LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK; ASSEMBLY

THE BEST OF THE REST

MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE 36 BATTERY PLACE, NEW YORK, NY 10280 THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020 | 9:00AM-4:00PM New York residents rely on its public transportation systems and roads to get everywhere, with varying degrees of success and frustration. Following the release of the MTA’s five-year capital plan and the continuation of long-planned expansion projects, New York’s systems for moving people and information are poised for a huge makeover. The NEW YORK IN TRANSIT SUMMIT will bring together experts across sectors to assess the current state of New York’s transportation systems, break down recent legislative actions, and look towards the future of all things coming and going in New York.

PANEL TOPICS MOVING NEW YORKERS SAFELY RESHAPING NEW YORK’S TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE CAN ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION METHODS SAVE NEW YORK? HOW TECHNOLOGY IS TRANSFORMING PUBLIC TRANSIT

FEATURED SPEAKERS POLLY TROTTENBERG, Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation ERIC BEATON, Deputy Commissioner for Transportation and Management, New York City Department of Transportation CATHERINE RINALDI, President, Metro-North PHILLIP ENG, President, Long Island Rail Road GEORGE LATIMER, Westchester County Executive Assemblywoman NILY ROZIC, Sponsored legislation on ebikes and escooters CECILIA KUSHNER, Executive VP for Planning, Development, and Transportation, NYC Economic Development Corporation NYC Councilman RAFAEL ESPINAL JR., Sponsored legislation for ebikes Senator LEROY COMRIE, Chair Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee Councilman YDANIS RODRIGUEZ, Chair Committee on Transportation JOSHUA BENSON, Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Operations, New York City Department of Transportation RSVP at CityAndStateNY.com/Events For more information on programming and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Lissa Blake at lblake@cityandstateny.com

HAPPY HOLIDAYS & Best Wishes for a HAPPY HOLIDAYS & Best Wishes for a Successful 2020 Successful From 2020 From

PATRICK B. JENKINS PATRICKM. B. ANDREWS JENKINS DWAYNE DWAYNE M. ANDREWS JENNIFER RICHARDSON JENNIFER CORY RICHARDSON LOOMIS CORY LOOMIS BHARATI KEMRAJ BHARATI KEMRAJ

JORDAN Y. CARELUS JORDAN RYANY.A.CARELUS DAY RYAN A. JONES DAY VICTORIA VICTORIAVALERA JONES AMANDA AMANDA VALERA NAZARETH MUNGIN NAZARETH MUNGIN

5 Penn Plaza 19th Floor New York, NY 10001 119 Washington AveFloor 2nd Ave NY10001 12210 5 Penn Plaza 19th NewAlbany, York, NY www.patrickbjenkins.com 119 Washington Ave 2nd Ave Albany, NY 12210