In article <t1toqi$38sv9$***@news.freedyn.de>
<***@gmail.com> wrote:
Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out more than 220 proposals and
initiatives in her first State of the State address Wednesday,
embracing a wide-ranging plan intended to mark a new era of
state government.
Almost as notable was what she didnt mention in her 33-minute
speech.
Hochuls agenda-setting address touched on topics ranging from
climate change to bolstering public colleges to retaining and
recruiting health care workers. She also outlined more specific
proposals such as building a new rail line from Brooklyn to
Queens.
But she avoided hitting on some of the more difficult issues
facing state policymakers in 2022, including the fate of the
states bail reform measures and a soon-to-expire moratorium on
evictions.
What Hochul did and didnt mention has already become fodder
for her political opponents, who will closely scrutinize her
every word and proposal to look for an opportunity to use it
against her on the campaign trail as she remains among the top
gubernatorial candidates this year.
That includes U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Long Island Democrat
challenging Hochul in the June primary.
The governor today said she wanted a new era for New York,
yet she ducked fixing the bail crisis that is helping fuel
crime, failed to fix the chaos due to her lack of a COVID plan
and wont stop the pay to play mess that corrupts Albany,
Suozzi said in a statement following Hochuls speech.
Along with avoiding mention of the states bail laws and
eviction moratorium, Hochul also declined to address the issue
of good-cause eviction, a measure pending in Albany that would
guarantee tenants a right to a lease extension in many cases and
limit how much landlords can increase the rent.
Hochul, a Buffalo native, also didnt raise a topic near to her
heart: Ongoing negotiations to build a new stadium for the
Buffalo Bills, which could cost state taxpayers hundreds of
millions of dollars or more.
On Friday, Hochul said she is discussing the issues of bail
reform and the eviction moratorium with the state Legislature.
To be determined, but people will be hearing our position on
those very shortly, she said.
Bail Reform
For those who support New Yorks repeal of cash bail for most
crimes, no news is good news.
And thats what they got on Wednesday, when Hochul declined to
embrace any effort to repeal the bail reforms or mention the
issue at all.
Under New Yorks 2020 reforms, judges were prohibited from
requiring cash bail as a condition of release for those accused
of most crimes in New York. The majority of violent felonies and
some other serious crimes, including certain burglary charges
and any case that results in death, were still eligible for bail.
But Republicans and some center-leaning Democrats have called
for changes to the system, citing fear over crime rates across
the state and a desire for judges to have more discretion.
Theres no doubt this has created more victims, said Senate
Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a western New York Republican whose
conference wants to overhaul the reforms. The goal of every
legislator, every elected official should never be to create
more victims. Is that, like, a price that were paying to be
more socially just or more woke?
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Senate
Democrats have no desire to change the bail reforms at this
time.
We cant make changes based on innuendo or hysteria or because
its a great political talking point, she said. We made the
change because the way it was, with penalizing and incarcerating
people pretty much because of poverty, thats not what we call
justice.
While she didnt mention bail, Hochul did embrace another
proposal supported by criminal justice reform advocates: A bill
known as the Clean Slate Act.
If passed and signed into law, the Clean Slate Act would
automatically seal many felony convictions seven years after a
sentence is served. For most misdemeanors, it would be after
three years.
The measure wouldnt apply to those convicted of sex crimes.
Hochul didnt mention the bill in her speech itself, but did
include her support for it in her 237-page written message to
the legislature.
For the 2.3 million New Yorkers with a conviction, the stigma
of a criminal record stifles access to opportunities such as
employment and housing, the message reads.
Eviction Moratorium
New York first enacted a moratorium on evictions in the early
days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As the pandemic lingered,
then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers extended it twice as
it was about to expire.
Now its set to expire again on January 15th. And though Hochul
hasnt said so publicly, tenant advocates are bracing for her to
allow it to sunset.
Hochul laid out the broad strokes of what shes calling a five-
year, $25 billion housing plan to create or preserve 100,000
affordable rental or co-op units across the state, including New
York City. But she made no mention, explicit or otherwise, of
the pending expiration of the moratorium.
Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, said her legislative
conference will soon meet to discuss what, if anything, they
will do with the moratorium.
I really dont have an answer for you but it is something we
are going to look at, Stewart-Cousins said Wednesday when asked
if her conference would back extending the moratorium a third
time. Its just important that we make sure that we are
sensitive in every way to the impacts of the pandemic as well as
getting people to stay in their homes while trying to reopen New
York.
Good Cause Eviction
Some of the more progressive-minded Democrats in the state
Legislature are exploring a plan to enact whats known as good
cause eviction in New York.
The proposal would give most tenants a right to an extension on
their housing rental lease unless a landlord has good cause to
reject them.
It would also limit how much landlords could raise the monthly
rent, preventing them from exceeding the rate of inflation.
Such a proposal remains controversial in Albany. Landlords, long
a powerful lobbying force at the Capitol, arent in favor, while
tenant advocates say it would go a long way toward preserving
housing that is affordable to New Yorkers.
Hochul hadnt previously taken a stance on the issue. And she
didnt during her State of the State either.
Stewart-Cousins noted Senate Democrats are holding hearings on
the bill before they advance anything to a vote.
Obviously, one of the things that the governor brought up in
her State of the State is the housing issue making sure that
people are housed and we have affordable housing and so on, she
said. So we are having a hearing on good cause to get the
thoughts on that particular piece of legislation.
An organization known as the Small Property Owners of New York
is pushing back against the proposal, saying it would hamstring
small landlords and prevent them from keeping homes in good
repair.
We need to work together to strengthen housing options in New
York but good cause eviction would do just the opposite and
make todays problems even worse, said Deb Pusatere, who owns
property in Albany and is affiliated with the group.
A New Buffalo Bills Stadium
Hochul is an unabashed supporter of the Buffalo Bills, the
National Football League team that hails from her home region.
Her administration has been locked in negotiations with Erie
County and the Pegula family, the owner of the team, over
building a brand new stadium to replace the aging, county-owned
Highmark Stadium that is the teams current home.
The talks will have a significant impact on how much taxpayer
money will be spent on the project. The stadium is projected to
cost at least $1.4 billion, which would be split in some way
between the state, the county and the Pegulas.
The various sides had expressed hope they could iron out a deal
by the end of 2021. And while Hochuls State of the State could
have been a potential venue to announce a deal, it didnt happen.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, one of the parties to the
negotiations, said the talks have progressed, but he warned a
deal is not imminent.
"There have been significant discussions over the last two
weeks," Poloncarz said during a briefing Tuesday. "But we are
not imminent to a deal.
Its complicated, he said. The negotiations are extensive,
covering not just the building of the new stadium but also a
lengthy lease for the team to actually occupy the venue. And
there are three parties: The current stadium is owned by Erie
County, leased to the state and subleased to the team.
These are exceptionally complicated discussions, he said.
Were talking about construction of a new football stadium, a
long-term stadium and everything that goes along with it. This
is not like a lease with your house.
On Friday, Hochul said negotiations remain ongoing.
In terms of negotiations, conversations have been going on
literally for months very positive, she said. And there is
not a date certain other than the next few months where it has
to be completed.
https://gothamist.com/news/here-are-the-key-issues-gov-kathy-
hochul-didnt-mention-in-her-state-of-the-state-address