New York City

End of Albany session yields few wins for de Blasio

June 24, 2015 By Jonathan Lemire Associated Press
Bill de Blasio. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
Share this:


The New York state legislative session lurched to an end Tuesday, shunting sweeping changes to the side while largely preserving the status quo, an outcome that yielded scant victories and much frustration for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The first-term Democrat pitched an ambitious agenda to Albany this year, hoping to build off his success of free pre-kindergarten a year ago with the next parts of his liberal agenda, including a focus on creating more affordable housing and reviving struggling schools.

But when the framework of the state deal was announced Tuesday afternoon by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the heads of the Assembly and Senate, its roll call of legislative conclusions ended up resembling a laundry list of disappointments for de Blasio:

— Lawmakers extended rent regulations for four years but ignored the mayor’s hopes to eliminate the state’s vacancy decontrol law, which allows landlords to raise the rent on regulated apartments as soon as a tenant leaves. Instead, they only slightly raised the rent at which an apartment could be deregulated, from $2,500 to $2,700.

— De Blasio wanted a full reform of the affordable housing tax credit known as 421a, saying it was a key to his expansive housing program. But his plan, which became the center of a rare angry public back-and-forth with Cuomo last month, was dismissed in favor of a six-month extension of the current system, one that will be extended for four years if a system is established to pay workers a prevailing wage.

— De Blasio initially wanted permanent extension of mayoral control of the city public school system, though he eventually signaled support for the Assembly-plan to get three years. Instead, he got one.

Other proposals de Blasio supported, like the DREAM Act and a robust minimum wage hike, never were debated seriously, while the fate of others — like a boost to Metropolitan Transportation Authority funding — were not immediately disclosed. The mayor did have a few minor wins, as some plans he opposed — including an overhaul of disability pensions for police officers and firefighters — also were not enacted.

Approval of the legislative activity is expected in the coming days. De Blasio had little to say in the hours after the package was announced in a hastily called press conference featuring Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan.

“We’re waiting to hear more,” the mayor said as he walked away from reporters in the rotunda of City Hall. “We’ll have more to say once we hear the whole situation.”

De Blasio is far from the first New York City mayor to have has agenda dashed on Albany’s rocks. And City Hall officials pointed to the unique circumstances of this session, noting that both Heastie and Flanagan were rookies running the show, as both of their immediate predecessors resigned while under criminal investigation.

But administration officials were frustrated that Cuomo, a fellow Democrat, continued to thwart de Blasio’s agenda even while continuing to praise their friendship of 20-plus years.

A year ago, de Blasio asked for a tax hike to fund an expansion of pre-kindergarten. While Cuomo scuttled the tax, he still allocated state funds for de Blasio to launch the program; but since then the governor has proven more foe than friend to many of the mayor’s plans.

De Blasio has largely taken the high road, except for a flash of pique over 421a. But City Hall officials said the mayor would likely be more apt to show his frustration going forward as he would try to continue to rally support from labor leaders and business groups all while becoming more convinced that the governor may be more obstacle than ally.

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment