March Madness in New York Politics
What you may have missed lately
Hi All,
March is madness in New York politics.
Let’s cut right to it: here’s what you may have missed lately, from Brooklyn Borough Hall to the back rooms of Albany.
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🏠 HOUSING IN THE BIG UGLY? The state budget is due April 1st. While it’s rarely delivered on time, it is where much of our annual lawmaking happens. (It’s the “Big Ugly” because it’s the Frankenstein’s monster of New York legislation.)
Last year, the legislature shut down the Governor’s proposed Housing Compact: requiring that new homes be built is currently off the table. Instead, we’re hoping we get a (baby) grand bargain including new funding for affordable housing development combined with tenant protections to help keep folks in their homes while new units get built. It won’t be everything, but it will be a start.
👂 LISTEN to Ben Max discuss housing in the state budget with Emma Whitford of City Limits in the back half of his latest podcast episode.
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🏠LEAVE IT TO THE CITY. The state has temporarily given up on supercharging new supply, but the City Council will be voting on the Department of City Planning’s “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” proposal—to legalize a little bit more housing in every neighborhood—in the fall.
This month, we heard State of the City and Borough addresses from many-a-podium, and pro-housing voices have been clarion. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams rolled out a plan for new housing across 172-acres of state-owned land in Queens. Meanwhile, Borough Presidents Mark Levine of Manhattan and Antonio Reynoso of Brooklyn both centered the need for more homes in their addresses.
⇨ ACT: Folks in our community hosted a fundraiser for Levine in December, and one for Reynoso is coming up in April. RSVP here: $175 donations will be matched 8-to-1!
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🚗CONGESTION PRICING ROLLING AHEAD. Public comment on congestion pricing is closed, and the story is that there’s significant support for the tolling program. (Thanks for all your advocacy!)
We wrote last month about how it’s long past time to free up our streets for faster rides in cars and on buses, to fund improved subways, and to cut down on carbon emissions and traffic violence. The last hurdle: lawsuits seeking to block the whole thing after years of legislative dealmaking, community feedback, and environmental review. But apparently New Jersey and the MTA are near a settlement to end at least one major suit.
📖 READ: New York Magazine has a great FAQ about the state of the program, noting that June 15th is when things will finally start moving.
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🌱 OUR FIRST OFFSHORE WIND. Governor Hochul unveiled the state’s first large-scale offshore wind project last week. Twelve turbines 35 miles east of Montauk Point will power 70,000 homes.
But we need to do much more to expand this kind of clean energy generation, which (like new housing or people-first streets) often hits pushback from folks afraid of change in their communities. Multiple offshore wind projects have been scrapped, and the Governor herself vetoed a plan to connect new clean power to the state electric grid.
⇨ ACT: Our climate allies are hosting a petition imploring the Governor to maximize our offshore wind capabilities. Sign it here!
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🗑 TRASHING THE TRASH HEAPS. The New York Times ran a phenomenally comprehensive feature about how New York handles trash (spoiler: poorly), discussing the historical decisions that led to the trash-heap status quo and highlighting the tradeoffs that have kept us here—till now.
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Clearly there’s a lot happening re: addressing our crisis of housing affordability, equitably allocating our street space, and securing our future against the threat of climate change.
Watch this space for more about what’s going on and how you can help!
Ryder