Blog

This week, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie began his annual statewide tour, his fourth such tour since becoming Assembly Speaker. The Speaker began this tour in Plattsburgh, NY, joined by Assembly member Billy Jones, where they toured the Bombardier manufacturing plant. Speaker Heastie said: “As speaker it is important for me to understand the needs of all of […]

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) announced this week that its President, John Banks, will retire after five years of service to REBNY and 33 years in the private and public sectors. The REBNY Board of Governors confirmed Jim Whelan as new President, effective July 1, 2019. Outgoing REBNY President John Banks said: “Throughout my career, […]

City & State NY’s Winners and Losers here. Politico: What will New York Dems do for an encore in 2020? New Jersey becoming the Vegas of the East? Times Union: The cost of New York’s battle against climate change.

The Assembly Committees on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions and Consumer Affairs and Protection will hold a joint public hearing on robocalls, spoofing and nuisance calls on a date to be determined (Postponed – Date TBD). The PSC will hold its next meeting on Thursday, July 11. The Board of Regents will hold its next meeting on July 15th and 16th. JCOPE will […]

The Senate unanimously confirmed five more of the Governor’s nominations this week. Those confirmed this week are as follows: ·        Keith Corlett, Superintendent, State Police ·        Robert Williams, Executive Director, Gaming Commission ·        Mark Schroeder, Commissioner, Department of Motor Vehicles ·        Michael Hein, Commissioner, Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance ·        Cesar A. Perales, Trustee, State University of New York Corlett, Williams, Schroeder, […]

This week Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins pledged via press releaseenough conference support for the passage of a nine bill package dealing with rent regulations. “Following a long discussion within the Senate Majority Conference, it is clear that we have support for all nine priority housing bills. We have 11 days remaining before current rent regulations […]

This week the Governor called on the legislature to codify a 2015 Executive Order that establishes a special prosecutor to investigate cases of unarmed civilian deaths involving police officers. The Governor argued that the executive order was a temporary measure, to be in place only until a law could be passed to codify the practice. The Governor […]

This week the Senate and Assembly passed a package of bills to commemorate animal advocacy day. Chief among the bills passed was a ban on the practice of declawing cats. If signed into law, New York will become the first state in the nation to ban the practice. Violators would face a $1,000 fine. The bill […]

This week the Senate passed a package of bills aimed at increasing limousine safety in the wake of two recent tragedies that together killed 24 people. The news laws, if passed by the Assembly and signed by the Governor, would require drivers go through drug and alcohol testing and obtain a commercial driver’s license with a passenger […]

City & State NY’s Winners and Losers here. Crain’s NY Business: 50 Most Powerful Women in New York here. City & State NY’s Queens District Attorney endorsement tracker here. Cuomo on Chartock (6/6/19) here. Cuomo on Chartock (6/7/19) here. Belmont Stakes: Post positions, odds etc. here.