Comptroller Lander Proposes Charter Revisions to Better Manage New York City’s Finances

 

Lander calls on Charter Revision Commission to demonstrate its independence & seriousness by adopting provisions to strengthen the City’s fiscal management, build reserves, achieve long-term efficiencies, overhaul capital planning, and pay vendors on time

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander proposed a comprehensive set of enhancements to New York City’s fiscal framework to solidify New York City’s financial foundation for the future. Five decades after adopting the Financial Emergency Act (FEA) during the City’s fiscal crisis of 1975, Comptroller Lander’s proposals build upon the FEA’s core provisions for both the City’s operating and capital budgets. The proposals presented in Comptroller office’s latest report, A Stronger Fiscal Framework for New York City, could be codified through amendment of the New York City Charter. Lander called on the hastily-appointed Charter Revision Commission empaneled by Mayor Adams to place them on the ballot this fall.  

“There is good reason to doubt Mayor Adams’ motives for appointing the Charter Revision Commission, but there’s no doubt that our City needs better management—including better fiscal stewardship,” said Comptroller Brad Lander. “If the Charter Revision Commission wants to demonstrate that it is independent and serious, here are five constructive proposals to improve the way our City is run. Fifty years after the City’s fiscal crisis, it’s past time to ensure that we accumulate sufficient reserves for times of economic recession, run City agencies more efficiently while avoiding cuts to vital services, maintain the affordability of the City’s debt, and overhaul our capital planning to better face the future in an era of aging infrastructure and climate crisis. This is also a critical opportunity to start paying our vendors on time – including our nonprofit human service providers and MWBEs – something we have failed to do for many years.”  

New York City has the largest municipal budget in the country by far, with an annual operating budget of more than $110 billion, a capital budget with $88.1 billion in expected commitments, and debt issuers projected to borrow $70.6 billion over this and the next four fiscal years.  

In 1975, following the near bankruptcy of the City during its worst fiscal crisis caused by a combination of shifts in the global economy and the City’s own weak financial practices, the FEA established a framework that guided the City out of its fiscal crisis and put in place strong practices that credit rating and oversight agencies consistently praise. Nearly fifty years later, the City should reflect on the FEA framework (the emergency elements of which largely expired in 2008) and how it can be improved. Comptroller Lander’s proposals to better manage the City’s finances, which build on the FEA’s core provisions, include:

1. Adopt a policy to govern the target size, deposits, and withdrawals from the City’s rainy-day fund. Although voters established the rainy-day fund in 2019, there are no policies to govern its target size or deposits. As a result, the deposits into the fund are subject to the vicissitudes of annual budget negotiations, are far below what the City would need to get through a recession, and could be rapidly depleted by the mayor outside the context of a genuine economic downturn. The City Charter (Chapter 58, Section 1528) should be amended to require the adoption of a formula-driven policy to determine the City’s rainy-day fund target size, deposits, and withdrawals. The Mayor, the City Comptroller, and the City Council should determine the parameters and features of the policy. Reporting on implementation of the rainy-day fund policy should be required annually to the City Comptroller, the State Comptroller, the Financial Control Board, the City’s Independent Budget Office, and the public.

2. Mandate regular efficiency reviews and long-term savings targets, including making agencies accountable for judgments and claims against the City which are their responsibility. While the FEA mandates quarterly updates of the City’s financial plan, efficiency reviews and savings plans are not a part of that process. Instead, the Mayor can propose Programs to Eliminate Gaps (PEGs) on an ad-hoc basis and are predominantly comprised of short-term savings, budget re-estimates, and personnel accrual savings. At the same time, the City’s budgets often structurally and unreasonably underestimate recurring and non-discretionary expenses. To address these weaknesses, the Charter should be amended to require and facilitate the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to work with City agencies to set multi-year savings targets, implement efficiencies that produce recurring savings, eliminate the chronic underbudgeting of recurring and non-discretionary expenses, more accurately budget the cost of the City’s workforce, establish a regular framework for reporting on savings with oversight, and move financial responsibility for judgments and claims from central budget to agency budgets. On the same timelines, agencies could propose new programs for OMB and City Hall’s consideration, along with metrics for determining whether these programs are meeting their outcomes. These programs could then be funded with savings achieved through the efficiency planning process.

To provide the institutional framework for the achievement of these goals, the Comptroller proposes the following amendments to the City Charter:  

• The budget process (Chapter 10) should be modified to include the formulation of annual efficiency reviews and long-term savings initiatives for City agencies. The Charter should mandate annual reporting to the City Council, the City Comptroller, and the City’s other fiscal monitors on the implementation of these efficiency measures and long-term savings initiatives, and allow fiscal oversight entities to access information that is necessary to provide independent assessments.  
• The expense budget (Chapter 6) should be amended to require the creation within each agency’s expense budget of a unit of appropriation for judgments and claims. 

3. Require that debt service does not exceed 15 percent of City tax revenues and that the Capital Stabilization Reserve be used to ensure this target is maintained. Annual debt service (consisting of New York City General Obligation bonds, New York City Transitional Finance Authority Future Tax Secured bonds and City-related subject to appropriation debt) as a share of local tax revenue is a key measure of debt affordability. While the City’s 15 percent threshold is included in the City’s Debt Management Policy and is a widely accepted benchmark, there is currently no procedure for ensuring that the target is maintained.

The City Charter (Chapter 10, Section 258) should be amended to require that:

• Annual debt service does not exceed 15 percent of City tax revenues in each year of the financial plan.
• The financial plan includes a Capital Stabilization Reserve in each year of the plan in a minimum amount to be indexed over time. This reserve is already included by the Mayor in each year of the financial plan as a matter of policy.   
• The City deploys the Capital Stabilization Reserve to pre-pay debt service in any fiscal year within the financial plan where debt service is projected to be above the 15 percent threshold. 

4. Modernize the City’s approach to infrastructure assessment, capital planning and budgeting to comply with Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and Municipal Finance Officers’ Association (MFOA) best practices. The City’s Asset Inventory Management System (AIMS) should provide an annual condition assessment of the City’s capital infrastructure, but the AIMS report does not accurately identify the true costs of maintaining the structural integrity of the City’s major infrastructure assets. Meanwhile, the Ten-Year Capital Strategy serves more as a list of agency-generated projects than a strategic set of priorities. The City needs to modernize its capital planning and budgeting process to include better infrastructure assessments (including more effective use of technology) and a process for prioritizing long-term infrastructure investments based on clear criteria that address aging infrastructure, climate resiliency, criticality, and the cost of deferred maintenance. 

The Office of the Comptroller proposes to amend Chapter 49, Section 1110-a of the City Charter to:  

• Explicitly state that the purpose of the infrastructure assessment is to inform the Ten-Year Capital Strategy.  
• Require the inventory to include pertinent details about the function, location, structural dependencies, estimated useful life, and most recent condition assessment of each asset.  
• Require that each agency conduct a realistic assessment of its capital assets based on a protocol developed by the Office of Management and Budget.   
• Require the identification of the capital needs to be included in the Ten-Year Capital Strategy based on considerations including the level of deterioration (particularly any asset conditions that jeopardize public safety), the criticality of an asset to an agency function or mission, and federal and state requirements that may apply to certain types of assets.   
• Require a justification for the exclusion of recommended capital needs from the Capital Commitment Plan. 

5. Mandate timeframes for each stage of the contracting process. Late registration and payment of contracts is a longstanding flaw within the City’s financial management practices. Over three-quarter of the City’s contracts with nonprofit organizations are registered late, with an average retroactivity of eight months. As a result, nonprofit human service providers, MWBEs, and other vendors struggle with cash flow and face severe financial difficulties. 

In February 2022, Mayor Adams and Comptroller Lander released an Action Memo: A Better Contract for New York: A Joint Task Force to Get Nonprofits Paid On Time. The first recommendation was to establish timeframes for each stage of the procurement and contracting process in order to hold the City and vendors accountable for the timely registration of contracts, and in turn, so that the City has the ability to pay its vendors timely. Currently, there are no mandated timeframes that govern the City’s procurement process outside of the 30-day review period that is mandated by the City Comptroller’s Office as set forth in the Charter. Over two years later, the City has yet to implement this recommendation. 

The Office of the Comptroller proposes to amend Chapter 13, Section 311 of the City Charter to require that the Procurement Policy Board set prompt contracting timelines for each step of the procurement process and report regularly on how well each contracting and oversight agency is complying with those timelines. 

In addition to the five proposals to amend the New York City Charter, the Comptroller’s fiscal framework calls for making the core features of the FEA framework permanent. The core features of the FEA framework will expire after November 15, 2037, or earlier, if outstanding bonds that contain the State Covenant from subdivision one of section 10-a of the FEA were to be refunded. State law should make several of the main features of the FEA framework permanent, including:  

• The General Debt Service Fund, which retains the City’s property taxes upon collection and prioritizes them for payment of GO debt service and any short-term debt.  
• The FEA provisions that were added over time to the City Charter (budget balancing, GAAP accounting, four-year planning, etc.) 
• The fiscal monitoring functions and the annual certification of the Financial Control Board (FCB), with the addition of provisions enabling fiscal oversight entities to collaborate more effectively.

In response to Comptroller Lander’s report, numerous fiscal watchdogs voiced support for its proposals. 

“This Charter Revision Commission presents an opportunity to review and improve the rules that govern our City,” said Independent Budget Office Director Louisa Chafee. “As an independent agency with a steadfast commitment to sound fiscal management, transparency, and government accountability, the IBO welcomes the proposals shared by the Comptroller as an important contribution to this effort. IBO looks forward to participating in a robust and wide-ranging examination of ways to enhance New York City governmental functions through this Charter Revision Commission process.”   

The Comptroller plans to present this fiscal framework to the Charter Commission in the coming days. Read in full here.

NYC Council Votes to Pass Bill That Would Provide New Yorkers with Opportunity to Expand Council Advice and Consent to 20 More Commissioners, Increasing Public Transparency of Appointment Process

 

The New York City Council voted to pass legislation that would require the advice and consent of the Council as part of the appointment process for 20 additional city agency commissioners, upon subsequent approval by voters in a citywide election. Currently, the Council already has advice and consent power for more than a dozen roles, including the Corporation Counsel, Department of Investigations (DOI) Commissioner, and Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Commissioner.

The Council also voted to approve modifications to the City of Yes for Economic Opportunity citywide zoning text amendment. The Council’s modifications to 14 of the 18 proposals address concerns about the initial proposal by including limitations and safeguards, striking the right balance to expand opportunities for small businesses, create jobs, and protect neighborhoods and quality of life for all New Yorkers. The Council also secured commitments to regulate last-mile facilities, support the city’s industrial sector, and boost enforcement resources.

Additionally, the Council passed packages of legislation to address the pay disparity in the municipal workforce and to support the needs of migrants and new arrivals.

“Advice and consent is a safeguard of good government, ensuring the city’s agency leaders are qualified and their priority is the public interest,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “When you cut through the noise, the truth is that advice and consent is a common feature of representative democracy in cities and states across this country, including New York, and New York City is an outlier. Today’s vote to pass this legislation supports the Council’s efforts to advance transparency and is a first step in this important conversation about representative democracy that is accountable to its people, and the final decision ultimately must be made by voters.

“In our ongoing commitment to achieve pay equity for our municipal workforce, the Council is proud to pass a package of legislation to ensure our city employees, especially women of color, have equitable access to the opportunities and tools that help them advance their careers,” continued Speaker Adams. As a women-majority Council, and the most diverse in history, our goal is to make government and our entire city work for all New Yorkers.”

Increasing Transparency in Appointment Process for 20 City Agency Commissioners

Introduction 908-A, sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams, would require the advice and consent of the Council as part of the appointment process for 20 additional city agency commissioners, upon subsequent approval by voters in a citywide election. During this administration, the Council has approved over 35 appointments of nominees put forward by the mayor without issue. This bill takes an incremental approach to expanding advice and consent and includes guardrails to ensure the process does not delay appointments by requiring Council action within 30 days of receiving a nomination.

The commissioners of the following agencies are covered by the bill: Aging; Buildings;  Children’s Services; Citywide Administrative Services; Consumer and Worker Protection;  Cultural Affairs; Design and Construction; Environmental Protection; Finance; Health and Mental Hygiene; Homeless Services; Housing Preservation and Development; Information Technology and Telecommunications; Parks and Recreation; Sanitation; Small Business Services; Social Services; Transportation; Youth and Community Development; City Planning.

The legislation seeks to move the appointment process for commissioners out of the shadows for greater public transparency. It can ensure appointments of highly qualified commissioners, potential conflicts of interests and ethical issues are proactively resolved and provide an opportunity for appointees to demonstrate their qualifications, build working relationships of trust with stakeholders, and learn more about the range of diverse issues they will be expected to address.

Dual U.S.-Russian Citizen Pleads Guilty to Sending Weapon Components to Russia

 

A dual U.S.-Russian citizen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm parts, components, and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization.

According to court documents, from at least July 2020 to 2023, Dimitry Timashev, 58, coordinated with an associate in Russia to send weapon parts from the United States to Russia. In exchange, the associate paid tuition for Timashev’s daughter and rent for an apartment in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Timashev’s associate provided him with the names and addresses to which the firearm components and ammunition were sent. Before July 6, 2022, all the packages were shipped to Russia. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, Timashev could no longer create a U.S. Postal Service label to send packages of firearm components to Russia. Instead, Timashev’s associate directed him to send the components to his relative’s apartment in Kazakhstan, from where the goods would be sent to Russia.

Timashev sent multiple packages of components to Kazakhstan, knowing they were ultimately bound for Russia. He also knew exporting the parts through Kazakhstan to Russia required a license from the Department of Commerce that he did not have. Timashev concealed the illegal exports by misrepresenting the contents of the shipments on the accompanying manifests.

Timashev pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm parts, components, and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations; ATF; Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement; U.S. Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating the case.

Former High School Dean Sentenced To Life Plus Five Years In Prison For 2010 Murder

 

The Defendant, the Leader of the GMG YGz Street Gang, Also Sentenced for Firearms and Narcotics Offenses

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ISRAEL GARCIA, a/k/a “Shorty Rock,” the former leader of the Get Money Gunnaz set of the Young Gunnaz street gang (the “GMG YGz”), was sentenced to life plus five years in prison for the October 11, 2010, murder of Alfonso “Joey” McClinton.  GARCIA shot and killed McClinton on a residential street in the Bronx, New York, as part of a dispute over narcotics trafficking territory.  Following a seven-day trial in July 2023 before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who imposed this sentence, a jury also convicted GARCIA of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics, murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy, murder through the use of a firearm, possessing firearms in connection with narcotics trafficking, and attempted witness tampering.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “This strong sentence reflects our unwavering commitment to holding those who take another life fully accountable for their heinous crimes.  Israel Garcia, a former high school dean who could have had a positive impact on our community, will now spend the rest of his life in prison for the brutal murder of Joey McClinton, for engaging in a narcotics conspiracy, and for witness tampering.  I commend the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners for doggedly pursuing this case and for bringing justice to Joey McClinton, nearly 14 years after his death.”    

According to court filings and the evidence presented in court during trial: 

For more than a decade, the defendant controlled the sale of narcotics in the vicinity of East 184th Street and Morris Avenue in the Bronx as the leader of the GMG YGz.  As part of their narcotics operation, GMG YGz members carried firearms and engaged in back-and-forth shootings with neighboring, rival crews.  This violence resulted in, among other acts, the 2010 murder of Alfonso “Joey” McClinton (“McClinton”).  The State of New York arrested and prosecuted GMG YGz member Joseph Johnson, a/k/a “Juice,” for the killing.[1] However, Ballistics, video evidence, and eyewitness testimony revealed that there was a second shooter involved in Mr. McClinton’s murder.  GARCIA was that second shooter.  When GARCIA became concerned that Johnson might cooperate with law enforcement, GARCIA took steps to prevent Johnson from identifying GARCIA as the person with whom he committed the murder.

GARCIA, 33, of the Bronx, New York, was previously found guilty of murder in aid of racketeering, narcotics conspiracy, murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy, murder through the use of a firearm, use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, and attempted witness tampering offenses.  Judge Rakoff imposed the following sentences on each count of conviction, with the sentences on Counts One, Two, Three, Four, and Six to run concurrently with one another, and the sentence on Count Five to run consecutively to all other sentences:

COUNT	SENTENCE
Count One: Murder in Aid of Racketeering	Life in prison
Count Two: Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances	35 years in prison
Count Three: Murder While Engaged in a Narcotics Conspiracy	40 years in prison
Count Four: Murder Through the Use of a Firearm	40 years in prison
Count Five: Possession of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime	Five years in prison
Count Six: Attempted Witness Tampering	10 years in prison

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York City Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals Service.  

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the U.S. using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Gutwillig, Maggie Lynaugh, and Jonathan Bodansky, with the assistance of paralegal specialist Owen Foley, are in charge of the prosecution.

[1] Johnson was convicted at trial of second-degree murder in The People of the State of New York v. Joseph Johnson, Index Number 4311/2010.  On February 3, 2022, the verdict against Johnson was vacated.  Johnson subsequently pled guilty to manslaughter and is serving a 17-year sentence. 

Permits Filed For 4509 Park Avenue In Belmont, The Bronx

 

Permits have been filed to expand a two-story structure into a seven-story mixed-use building at 4509 Park Avenue in Belmont, The Bronx. Located between East 182nd Street and East 183rd Street, the lot is near the 182-183 Streets subway station, serviced by the B and D trains. Shams Shawar of Shamas Contracting Co. is listed as the owner behind the applications.

The proposed 74-foot-tall development will yield 16,326 square feet, with 13,382 square feet designated for residential space and 2,944 square feet for community facility space. The building will have 18 residences, most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 743 square feet. The masonry-based structure will also have a cellar, a 28-foot-long rear yard, and two open and two enclosed parking spaces.

Saleh and Associates is listed as the architect of record.

Demolition permits will likely not be needed as the project calls for a vertical expansion. An estimated completion date has not been announced.

OIG Releases 2023 Annual Report on Gaming Oversight

 

On the eve of the 156^th running of the Belmont Stakes, New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang released her office’s 2023 Annual Report on Gaming Commission Oversight, detailing the ongoing efforts to ensure integrity, transparency, and accountability within the state’s thriving gaming industry.

"From the backstretches to the barns, casino floors to mobile sports wagering apps, I am proud of the dedication of my staff to ensure New York State’s gaming industry provides a level playing field for all,” said New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang. “In the short time Gaming Commission Oversight has fallen under my office’s jurisdiction, we have made enormous strides in training not only our own staff on how to identify and root out misconduct in various gaming contexts, but also taken that knowledge to the Commission staff we oversee in over thirty in-person trainings. I look forward to the public learning about these efforts and more in our 2023 Annual Report.”

Gaming, gambling, wagering, and the services which accompany its many forms, is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise in New York State, spanning the entire geographic stretch of the state. The operating processes and regulatory requirements for these industries are overseen by the New York State Gaming Commission. Since July 18, 2021, in order to ensure the absence of any self-dealing, conflict, or other fraud in the Commission’s execution of these responsibilities, the Offices of the New York State Inspector General (OIG) has had specific statutory authority to receive and investigate complaints from any source regarding allegations of corruption, fraud, criminal activity, conflicts of interest or abuse in the Commission and to undertake proactive initiatives aimed at preventing, eliminating, and/or detecting such concerns.

As detailed in the Inspector General’s 2023 Annual Report, this past year yielded a record number of gaming-related complaints, including a more than 20% increase from the year prior and 150% increase compared 2021. 2023 also saw OIG engage in extensive outreach and in-person training efforts, involving almost 300 full-time, part-time, and per diem Commission employees. 

In addition, the report includes a detailed review of the impact of the 2022 legalization of Mobile Sports Wagering (MSW) in New York State and OIG’s efforts to ensure its integrity. Since its introduction in January 2022 to December 2023, MSW exceeded all estimates and expectations, generating over $1.5 Billion in State MSW tax revenue.

"Given all the changes and gaming initiatives on the horizon, it will be crucial that OIG continue to increase its visibility with the public, other law enforcement organizations, and of course, the Commission and its licensees and vendors," Lang continued. "I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Deputy Inspector General for Gaming Lisa Lee and the entire OIG team for their invaluable contributions to our mission.”

Read the IG’s complete report here and follow the office’s work @NewYorkStateIG. 

Senator Rivera’s Statement on the Congestion Pricing Delay

 

State Senator Gustavo Rivera released the following statement on Governor Hochul's decision to delay the implementation of the congestion pricing program.

"I could not in good conscience have supported any proposal to commit a $1 billion dollars a year to address a shortfall unilaterally created by a shortsighted decision from Governor Hochul just one day before the last scheduled session day. The proposals before us included raising this funding through either a payroll tax on New York City residents or an empty promise to find revenue by kicking the can down the road; options that are unacceptable to me and would hurt the constituents I serve. I want to thank Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins for her discerning ability to represent our conference's priorities and focus on the people's business.

 

"Congestion pricing is law. It will positively impact more than 95% of commuters who do not regularly drive their cars into lower Manhattan. That includes the overwhelming majority of my constituents who use a bus or a train every single day. I will not betray them by legitimizing this unjustifiable delay or avoidable fiscal gap it would create.

 

"It takes courage and conviction to bring our city and state into a better future and to invest in what truly benefits New Yorkers in the long run. That is exactly what congestion pricing will do, and I will continue to stand by it."

New York State DEC Announces New 'Love Our New York Lands' Photo Contest

 

Visitors Encouraged to Capture Ways to Safely and Responsibly Enjoy DEC’s Outdoor Offerings

Monthly Contest Kicks Off Seeking Pride Month Submissions through June 30 to Highlight Keeping State Lands Welcoming to All

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar announced the launch of the 2024 ‘Love Our New York Lands’ photo contest. The online contest will feature five monthly themes through mid-October, with the winning images receiving prizes and featured in statewide digital and print campaigns to help increase awareness of important principles and guidelines that encourage safe, accessible, respectful, and sustainable use of public lands.

“Every day, New Yorkers are outside enjoying DEC public lands and want to share their experiences by capturing beautiful images,” DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said. “Building upon the success of DEC’s annual fall foliage photo contest, DEC’s multimedia will feature winning photos that help represent the many ways visitors can access, feel welcome, and Love Our New York Lands to protect natural resources for future enjoyment and appreciation by all New Yorkers.”

Each month of the Love Our New York Lands contest will have a different theme. June’s theme is “Pride” to highlight the importance of sharing State lands with all New Yorkers, including the LGBTQIA+ community, and ensuring a safe and welcoming space. Seven winning pictures will be chosen that represent each color of the rainbow Pride flag: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo/violet. The Pride pictures will be used next year in a curated compilation similar to this year’s image created by DEC and found here, among other potential uses.

 

Prizes will be awarded to the winning entries. Photos will be judged on the following criteria: originality; artistic composition; technical quality; and whether the photograph showcases people enjoying New York’s outdoor activities safely and responsibly.

 

Pride month submissions should be emailed to social@dec.ny.gov by June 30 with the subject line “LONYL Photo Contest.” Full name, the DEC land where the image was taken (if applicable), and Instagram/social media handle should also be included. Themes for future months of the contest will be announced later this summer.

New York State has many wonderful opportunities to get outside and enjoy activities year-round, including birding and wildlife viewing; warm-weather adventures such as swimming, biking, and horseback riding; cold-weather pursuits such as skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling; and even more challenging adventures like geocaching or rock and ice climbing. For accessible recreation, check out the Accessible Recreation destinations webpage.

The Love Our New York Lands campaign, launched in 2020 by DEC and State Parks, encourages all users of state-owned lands to recognize that these lands are shared by ALL of us, our families, and our neighbors, and we all need to take care of them. The campaign includes guidance on Leave No Trace™ principles so that visitors can do their part to help ensure these special places are protected for future generations. Love Our New York Lands encourages visitors to be respectful of other visitors in these shared spaces. Visitors are asked to share trails, treat people with kindness, and leave things as they found them for others to enjoy. Visitors are encouraged to think of themselves as responsible for helping protect these irreplaceable destinations for future generations. More information is available on DEC’s website.