WHO WANTS TO BE NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR? COMPTROLLER LIU RECOMMENDS REFORM OF MAYORAL CONTROL

Comptroller Liu Recommends Reform of Mayoral Control and Strengthened Standards for Top Education Job; Highlights Bloomberg’s Failures

A new report by the office of Comptroller John Liu recommends that all future New York City Schools Chancellors have substantial educational credentials. All three Schools Chancellors named by Mayor Bloomberg required state waivers because they failed to satisfy basic education requirements for the job.

“When people are asked if the Schools Chancellor should be an educator by background, they commonly answer, ‘Of course! In fact, it ought to be the law,’” Comptroller Liu said. “Well, it turns out it is State law. The Chancellor should be an educator, pure and simple. Waivers should not be routinely sought.”

The report, “No More Rubber Stamp,” makes recommendations for reforming the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP), which was intended to provide a check and balance to the Mayor’s overall control, and sets out 15 common-sense educational, managerial, and personal criteria for the Chancellor position. The criteria build from the present City standards for school-district superintendents, envisioning the Chancellor as a “superintendent of superintendents.” Download the report here: http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/bureaus/opm/beyond-high-school.shtm

“A more substantive PEP can only strengthen school governance to improve the quality of education. A PEP that is not merely a rubber stamp will restore the accountability that was always the goal of mayoral control,” Comptroller Liu said.

The report points out that current Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and former Chancellors Cathleen Black and Joel Klein each lacked crucial educational credentials, such as prior experience in running a large city school district and at least 10 years of successful experience as an educator.

The report, part of Comptroller Liu’s “Beyond High School NYC” initiative, also looked at the Mayor’s interactions with the PEP and proposes changes in the way members of the PEP are selected so that the panel is less of a mayoral rubber stamp and more responsive to community and educational stakeholders. It proposes the creation of a PEP nominating committee, fixed and secure terms for PEP members, stipends and staff support for the PEP, a PEP veto on Chancellor nominations, and an end to the State waiver of unqualified Chancellor selections.

“It’s clear that the current form of centralized mayoral control under Michael Bloomberg has not worked.  There are many approaches we should consider to create more checks and balances, and this report puts forth some creative suggestions that could help make the system more democratic and more responsive to parents,” said Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers.

“‘No More Rubber Stamp’ is another thoughtful education report from the Comptroller’s office, this one exploring much needed improvements to the PEP. It recommends possible steps that might add legitimacy and independence to a potentially important panel that currently has no muscle at all,” said Ernest A. Logan, President of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators.

“The New York City Parents Union has been at the forefront of the fight to reform the Panel for Educational Policy, including introducing legislation to change the PEP’s composition.  We thank Comptroller Liu for recognizing the undemocratic nature of the PEP and applaud his efforts to include parents and communities in his recommendations.  These PEP reforms will put the public back in public education,” said Mona Davids, President of the New York City Parents Union.

“There is the widespread concern about the functioning of the PEP, and this report starts the discussion with an interesting proposal. It is a very important discussion that needs to be had,” said Joseph P. Viteritti, Thomas Hunter Professor of Public Policy and Chair, Department of Urban Affairs & Planning at Hunter College, CUNY.

“It’s clear that John Liu believes and respects the value of parent and community voices when it comes to education in New York City. He has engaged in a thoughtful proposal that would offer a larger voice to those constituents, much different than what we are currently experiencing,” said Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director, Alliance for Quality Education.

“This study has essentially solved the dilemma of how to conduct mayoral control of education in a fair and democratic manner.  There is always more that can be done, but restructuring the PEP to be an independent, education-oriented body is essential, and that is what has been done here,” said Chris Owens, Brooklyn education advocate and former President of Community School Board 13.

Background:

The “Beyond High School NYC” initiative seeks to increase the proportion of New Yorkers with a college degree to 60 percent by the year 2025 through strategic investments in public education. It consists of “No More Rubber Stamp” and two earlier reports:

·         “The Power of Guidance,” which shows that a critical impediment for students seeking success in higher education is the lack of quality counseling, advising, and mentoring programs in New York City public high schools, and makes five recommendations to enhance student support systems to help overcome the obstacles to obtaining a college degree. Information and a link to the report can be found here: http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/press/2012_releases/pr12-10-108.shtm and here: http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/bureaus/opm/reports/2012/Power_of_Guidance_Oct_PDF.pdf

 

·         “Beyond High School: Higher Education as a Growth & Fiscal Strategy for New York City” found that New York City, which regards itself as the intellectual capital of the country, is actually only in the middle of the pack of major cities based on the percentage of the working-age population with an Associate’s Degree or higher, and shows how that hampers the City economically. Information and a link to the report can be found here: http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/press/2012_releases/pr12-09-105.shtm and here: http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/bureaus/opm/reports/2012/Higher-Education-Report-FINAL.pdf

 

 

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Senate Co-Leader Jeff Klein and Bipartisan Group of Senators Propose Tax Credit for Businesses Hiring Young Returning Veterans

  

Local Business Owners Voice Support for Bill

        Seeking new and effective ways to spur job creation and address perennially high unemployment rates amongst New York’s returning combat veterans, Senator Jeffrey D. Klein, alongside fellow IDC member Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland) and a bipartisan group of Senators from across New York, introduced legislation yesterday providing major tax credits to private employers hiring veterans discharged after 9/11. The legislation is named “Jobs for Heroes.”

Senator Klein called the bill (S.3043) a win-win for business and veterans: “With this bill, we’re tackling two major issues head-on. Not only are we incentivizing job creation, but we’re also putting our returning soldiers at the front of the employment line.” Jobs for Heroes marks a culmination of work on veteran employment issues for Senator Klein, including hosting a veterans job fair and holding “Thought Raisers,” small roundtable discussions comprised of veterans, veterans groups and business leaders.

Business leaders from across the state also came out to support the proposal. These leaders included Tim Rooney, the Owner of Yonkers Raceway and Empire City Casino, and Chuck Tobin, the CEO of Focused Technologies in Albany. Both business owners regularly seek out and employ veterans for critical jobs at their companies.

Also in attendance was Bronx small business owner, Bob Bieder, who expressed his support of the bill. Mr. Bieder said, “As a small business owner, finding hard-working, dependable employees who I can invest in can be challenging at times. American veterans have been put to the test time and time again and Jobs for Heroes makes it possible for me to hire returning servicemen and women as my business grows.”

New York State is home to more than 8,000 unemployed post-9/11 veterans. The unemployment rate among these veterans is a startling 10.7%, according to statistics released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Under the proposal released today, business owners who employ a post-9/11 war veteran to a new, full-time job will receive a state tax credit equal to 10% of the new employee’s gross annual salary. The tax credit can be up to $10,000 for each non service-disabled veteran and up to $15,000 for each newly hired service-disabled veteran. Employers may apply the tax credit towards each and every new veteran that they hire for a qualifying job, without limit.

Senator Carlucci is the prime sponsor of the legislation.

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Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez Responds to Mayor Bloomberg's Preliminary Budget Proposal

  

The preliminary budget proposed by Mayor Bloomberg this morning focuses way too heavily on cuts when there are clear opportunities to recover revenue. However, it is on the mayor to realize those opportunities by coming to the table with unions and the city council.

As it stands, Mayor Bloomberg's refusal to sit down with the UFT to develop a plan that works for all parties will end up costing the city $724 million in state aid over the next two years and $1 billion in the out years. This means we will immediately lose 2,500 teachers from our classrooms; vital hours of school aides and substitute teachers; 700,000 hours of after school programs, crucial for struggling students; key services for bullying prevention, conflict resolution, professional development and technology in the classrooms; and countless supplies such as textbooks and basic classroom necessities.

Additionally, because of his refusal to meet with council members to develop a new home taxi plan for the outer boroughs the city projects to lose $190 million in revenues. But the city is capable of securing the full $790 million in taxi medallion sales, currently in jeopardy in the courts, should the mayor decide to come to the table and work out a plan with council members.

Mayor Bloomberg's decision to act unilaterally on these issues will cost the city close to $1 billion in revenue over this year and the next, which will now be cut from our children's education, the most important aspect of our city's future.

I ask the mayor to come together with the respective parties to secure this much needed revenue. Collectively we can come up with new and creative revenue streams that will ensure the budget is not balanced on the backs of the middle and lower class families and our city's children.

Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. 

 

LIU STATEMENT ON MAYOR’S PRELIMINARY BUDGET

   City Comptroller John C. Liu stated the following on the Mayor’s FY 2014 Preliminary Budget:

“In order to make up the budget shortfall resulting from City Hall’s failed negotiating strategy on teacher evaluations, the Mayor has decided to scapegoat our City’s public school teachers. The real fault, however, lies with his own misguided ideology, which could cost our children over $720 million this year alone.  He should look to the DOE’s runaway consultant spending rather than make cuts to the classroom.

“This budget illustrates the Mayor’s continuous refusal to negotiate contracts with our City’s workforce, which he is leaving for the next administration. His reliance on one-shots and a ‘my way or the highway’ negotiation strategy has led us here, and, sadly, our kids will pay the price.”

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NYC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 7th Annual Women's History Month Luncheon

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What You Should Know

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York


What is it, Senator Adams:
Ignorance, Vengeance or Pure Greed?

You should know that the latest bombshell in the saga of what's going on in the New York State Senate has been contributed to by Brooklyn State Senator Eric Adams, who suddenly and unexpectedly jumped ship to accept the Chairmanship of the Senate Aging Committee that was offered to him by Senators Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein.

As you know, even though the Democrats have 33 Senators making them the Majority of the State Senate – and thereby entitling them to be in control of the Chamber – this has been impossible to achieve due to 4 Democratic rebel Senators Jeff Klein, Diane Savino, David Valsesky, and David Carlucci – none of whom are Black or Hispanic.  
These 4 Senators decided to abandon the Democrats and join the Senate Republicans – none of whom are Black or Hispanic  – thereby preventing Black and Hispanic Senators from ruling as the Democratic Majority and obtaining the primary leadership roles in the New York State Senate.

Since that time, the Republicans and Senator Jeff Klein (leader of the rebel Democrats) have been very active trying to find any token Black or Hispanic Senator to join their Coalition, in order to prevent any appearance that their coup was, in fact, against the minority community. In that process, they have been quite successful after luring Senator Malcolm Smith to their side – and this week, they hit a home run by convincing Senator Eric Adams (from Brooklyn) to join them and accept their offer of Chairmanship of the Senate Aging Committee.

You should know that some people have been asking me why a leader like Eric Adams, who is well-respected, has a good reputation, and has been fighting on behalf of his community since his days as a New York City Police Officer and Captain, would allow himself to be used in this manner and give more power to the Republicans.  They want to know how Senator Adams could put a nail into the coffin of the Democratic Leadership in the New York State Senate.

Some of these same people have tried to explain why they believe Senator Adams has done such a thing.  There are those who believe it's because of ignorance; others conclude that it was an act of vengeance; and the rest just say it was because of pure greed.

Here are some of their explanations.

The first group of people understand that these offers by Republicans to certain Black and Hispanic Senators are only to serve in minor Committees, and that this is nothing except window dressing.  They believe that the Republicans would never allow Senator Adams to do anything important or independent because “they” will always control and rule what should be done in the State Senate.  They also say that since Senator Adams is running for Brooklyn Borough President, many Democrats might be inclined to reject him as he has rejected them  … unless he has been instructed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to do this in exchange for the Governor’s endorsement, and for the Governor’s help campaigning and fundraising for him.  If this is so, I’m afraid we’ll have to disregard the reason of ignorance.

The second reason some people offer is an act of vengeance.  You should know that many people believe that when Senator John Sampson was the New York Senate Democratic Conference Leader, it was Senator Adams who was the power behind the throne.  When a coup was organized by Senator Liz Krueger, Senator Mike Gianaris and others to bring Senator Sampson down and install Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins as the Conference Chair, Senator Adams lost all of his power and influence in the Conference – and in an act of vengeance, he is helping to bury what's left of the New York State Senate Democratic Conference and its new leaders.

The third reason, pure greed, has a more complicated explanation by some people about what Senator Adams has done.  You should already know that any Senator who becomes Chair of a Committee receives a “lulu,” and the amounts of these lulus depend upon how important the Committee is.  In the case of Senator Adams, the $12,500 he will now receive as the Chair of the New York State Senate Aging Committee will not make a dent in what he's already receiving.  We already know that Senator Adams is a retired New York City Police Captain, receiving an annual pension of  what is believed to be $92,000 per year.  If you add those figures to the base salary of $79,500 as a New York State Senator, and also add in the per diem stipends Senator Adams receives for daily expenses while in Albany – $171 per full day and $61 per half day – we know that this lulu will not make him much richer. I don't believe that Senator Adams would jump and compromise his principle and his standing in the community for just $12,500, when he doesn't need that.

However, all of these questions – Was it ignorance? Was it vengeance? Or was it pure greed? – that people are asking me and the possible reasons for Senator Adams jumping ship and joining Governor Andrew Cuomo and those working behind closed doors to keep the Republicans in power and us minorities in the back seat of the bus, can only be properly answered by Eric Adams himself.

This is Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz and this is what you should know.

 

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City Council Speaker Christine Quinn Endorses Andrew Cohen For the 11th City Council Seat

   Current City Council Speaker Christine Quinn came up to the 11th council district this afternoon, but not to see the current councilman G. Oliver Koppell. Speaker Quinn came to Louie's Dale Dinner located on West 231st Street in the Kingsbridge section of the 11th council district to endorse Andrew Cohen as her choice to be the candidate to replace the current Councilman, G. Oliver Koppell. Koppell  by the way has already endorsed Andrew Cohen as has local Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, Congressman Eliot Engel, and State Senator Jeff Klein. Quinn said that she has know Mr. Cohen a long time saying that they had met in 1997. She stresses that candidate Andrew Cohen's community record as a member of Community Board 8, along with his fine law background, and constituent work is exactly what is needed in someone you want to be as your council member. Quinn continued that it is important to be able to get out in the community to do constituent work such as Mr. Cohen has done, but that he can also do the job that is needed at City Hall. 

   After the brief endorsement statement both Quinn and Cohen took questions. There was a question from another newspaper reporter as to why she is endorsing Mr. Cohen and not one of the other candidates, to which Quinn answered "I know Andrew, and I know that he is the best candidate in the race". She added that Mr. Cohen has done a lot of work supporting the local merchants, and that is why the endorsement is being done here on this merchant strip. I asked about the speaker's thoughts on the Kingsbridge Armory, and which of the two latest proposals she prefers. Quinn answered by saying that she is not fully clear on the  Young Woo plan, but wants to consider Councilman Cabrera's thoughts on the armory plans. 

    To my question about if she would reintroduce "Congestion Pricing", while not outright saying yes Speaker Quinn hinted strongly that it could happen as the city will have to look for new revenue in the future. After a few more questions Speaker Quinn had to leave, but on the way to her car I asked one final question. I asked Speaker Quinn with the conviction of former Councilman Larry Seabrook if there was any investigation into her office as to the matter. Quinn said that any investigation was over a long time ago, and that nothing is to come of it. Below are a few photos of the endorsement. 

 

Left - 11th City Council Candidate Andrew Cohen Greets current City Council Speaker Christine Quinn as she arrives to endorse him for  the 11th council seat.

Right - Inside Louie's Dale Diner located on West 231st Street Speaker Quinn and 11th council candidate Andrew Cohen talk over their old friendship as they make the endorsement announcement of him. 

 

Left - Speaker Quinn poses with Louie's Dale Diner owner Steve Kathikouisas, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (who was on hand for the Cohen endorsement), and 11th council candidate Andrew Cohen.

Right - 11th council candidate Andrew Cohen says good bye to Speaker Quinn as he thanks her for her endorsement of him.

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SENATOR RIVERA BECOMES RANKING MEMBER OF SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE

Senator Rivera Becomes Ranking Member of Senate Health Committee

Bronx, NY - State Senator Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) was today named ranking member of the New York Senate's Health Committee.  As a member of the Senate Democratic Conference, Senator Rivera will be representing the interests of the conference on issues of health.

"I am proud to represent the people of the 33rd Senate District as well as the Senate Democratic conference as the ranking member of the Senate health committee," said Senator Rivera. "The issues that will be addressed in the health committee in the coming years are of particular interest to the individuals I represent. The Bronx is unfortunately the unhealthiest county in the state, and yet also looks to the healthcare industry as an economic engine, employing a great deal of my constituents. "

"Senator Gustavo Rivera is an outstanding choice to serve as Ranking Member on the Senate Health Committee," said Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Health. "He brings knowledge, passion, and dedication to the many health care challenges facing New York.  I look forward to working with him to build a progressive health care policy for our state."

"I congratulate Sen. Gustavo Rivera on his appointment as a ranking member of this important committee," said Dr. Steven Safyer, President of Montefiore Medical Center. "The Senator is a true leader whose passionate commitment to health and healthcare is an inspiration to our community. I look forward to our continued partnership."

"I congratulate my friend, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, on his appointment as the ranking member of that body's health committee. Gustavo and I have done great work through the Bronx CAN-Changing Attitudes Now-health initiative in the Bronx, and I know firsthand that he has what it takes to develop a robust agenda on health for the entire state," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

"I congratulate Senator Rivera on his new appointment," said Dr. Scott Cooper, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Barnabas Hospital. "He has always been a passionate advocate on behalf of the St. Barnabas Hospital community, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with him in his new capacity."

From Douglas L. York, CEO, Union Community Health Center stated, "Union Community Health Center congratulates Senator Gustavo Rivera on his appointment as Ranking Member of the Senate Standing Committee on Health. There has been no better health advocate for our community. Both personally and professionally, Senator Rivera embodies Union's mission of improving health outcomes in our neighborhoods.  Union Community Health Center looks forward to continuing to partner with Senator Rivera towards a healthier Bronx."

Senator Rivera has served on the health committee since he was elected two years ago. Over the past two years, Senator Rivera has focused on addressing issues of health equity, as well as promoting better nutritional and exercise habits through his Bronx CAN Health Challenge and his partnership with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.