343 days left for Lame Duck de Blasio.
Saturday, January 23, 2021
DiNapoli: Tax Revenues Through December Were $2.5 Billion Lower Than Last Year
State tax receipts through the first nine months of the state fiscal year were $2.5 billion lower than last year, but were $1.8 billion higher than anticipated by the state Division of the Budget (DOB), according to the monthly State Cash Report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
Tax receipts in the month of December totaled $8.4 billion, $422.5 million above last year, and $1.4 billion above DOB’s latest projections.
“December’s tax receipts were better than expected, but the revenue challenge is still with us,” DiNapoli said. “President-elect Biden’s proposed stimulus plan, with new aid to help states and localities fill gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic, is another hopeful sign. We still have a long way to go, and it’s essential that leaders in Washington act on a robust plan of assistance as quickly as possible.”
Personal income tax receipts in December were $544.8 million, or 12.7 percent, above December 2019, due in part to an additional day of withholding in 2020. Sales tax receipts continued to fall short of the previous year in December, down $86.6 million, or 5.5 percent, from 2019.
State Operating Funds spending through the first nine months of the fiscal year totaled $63.9 billion, which was $7.8 billion, or 10.8 percent, lower than last year. This is largely due to higher federal reimbursement for Medicaid spending, as well as the withholding of certain payments.
As of December 31, the General Fund held a balance of $16.6 billion, $2 billion higher than DOB projections, and $8.4 billion higher than last year at the same time. The higher balance is driven partly by withheld payments as well as receipts from short-term borrowing that DOB anticipates repaying before the end of the fiscal year. The state has repaid $1 billion of that borrowing, with the remaining $3.4 billion due by March 31.
Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic - JANUARY 22, 2021
Additional Cases of UK Variant in Westchester and Kings Counties, Brings Total Cases to 25
8,846 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide
1,546 Patients in the ICU; 992 Intubated
Statewide Positivity Rate is 5.65%
165 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Three additional cases of the UK variant were identified in Westchester and Kings Counties. To date, there are 25 known cases of the variant in New York State
"We are in a war with COVID and as I've said time and again, winning this war will mean winning the footrace between how fast the infection rate goes up and how fast we can vaccinate New Yorkers," Governor Cuomo said. "Positivity and hospitalizations are both down, which is good news, but it in no way means we're out of the woods. What's concerning now is the emergence of three new frightening strains of the virus which could send those numbers back in the other direction. As we have done throughout this crisis, we will continue to monitor these strains closely, follow the science, and continue our work to vaccinate New Yorkers as quickly and fairly as possible."
- Test Results Reported - 268,001
- Total Positive - 15,144
- Percent Positive - 5.65%
- Patient Hospitalization - 8,846 (-209)
- Patients Newly Admitted - 1,045
- Hospital Counties - 57
- Number ICU - 1,546 (-14)
- Number ICU with Intubation - 992 (-19)
- Total Discharges - 119,953 (+1,064)
- Deaths - 165
- Total Deaths - 33,763
Councilman Rafael Salamanca Exits Borough President Race to Stay in City Council
The following statement was given by Councilman Rafael Salamanca on his decision not to run for Bronx Borough President, and run for re-election to his City Council seat.
That leaves City Council members Vanessa Gibson, and Fernando Cabrera, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez, State Senator Luis Sepulveda, Former Police Officer Sammy Ravelo, and Businessman Victor Gutierrez currently as Bronx Borough President candidates for the June Primary. Petitioning begins the last week of February.
Friday, January 22, 2021
News from Councilman Mark Gjonaj
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MAYOR DE BLASIO PLEDGES PARTNERSHIP TO BIDEN WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE EFFORT
“New York City has begun the largest vaccination effort in recent history. Through this effort, over 500,000 doses have been administered here. We are proud of that achievement, but we know it’s not enough. We are ready to do more, and faster, but we can’t do it alone: swift action from your administration on the key strategies you laid out will make a real difference for New Yorkers, helping us speed up this process and get the vaccine to more people.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio today issued a letter to President Joe Biden, pledging the City’s partnership to the new Administration’s vaccine distribution effort. To reach the maximum number of New Yorkers, the City needs more doses of the vaccine and the flexibility to administer all available doses.
The text of the letter is in full below:
Dear President Biden:
On behalf of the City of New York, I extend my deepest congratulations to you in your new role as President of the United States of America. We look forward to working closely with your team to address the needs of New Yorkers and ensure a strong, fair recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are heartened by the clear, comprehensive plan you have laid out to tackle the pandemic. It speaks to key issues we have identified here relating to multilevel government coordination, advance notice of dosage allocations to facilitate vaccine planning and community trust, and the need for sufficient resources to ensure we all reach the communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
New York City has begun the largest vaccination effort in recent history. Through this effort, over 500,000 doses have been administered here. We are proud of that achievement, but we know it’s not enough. We are ready to do more, and faster, but we can’t do it alone: swift action from your administration on the key strategies you laid out will make a real difference for New Yorkers, helping us speed up this process and get the vaccine to more people.
Supply continues to be our biggest challenge. We have exceeded our weekly vaccination targets for two weeks in a row. Demand has been extraordinary, and our effort to build capacity has been effective at getting shots into arms. However, we are now on the verge of running out of vaccine. At the current rate, New York City’s supply will be exhausted by the end of this week. But with enough vaccine doses, we are confident we can rev back up, increasing our output to be able to vaccinate at least 500,000 people per week, leveraging existing and new infrastructure, all while prioritizing equity. Instead, as supply dwindles, we are actively canceling appointments—starting with this weekend, and now going into next week, as we await re-supply. New York City has come too far and New Yorkers have fought too hard to allow that to go on.
We deeply appreciate your administration’s commitment to enhancing manufacturing through the Defense Production Act. Supporting increased speed of vaccine manufacturing to increase overall supply is critical in this fight. We are ready to partner with you and our allies to get this done.
Relatedly, we urge you to look at the allocation of doses across the county, as New York City and other commuter jurisdictions are vaccinating more than just their residents. Vaccine doses are currently allocated pro-rata based on resident population, but here in New York City, we are vaccinating more than just our residents: as the center of a highly interconnected regional economy, we are also vaccinating all eligible populations who work in the city even if they do not live here— which is the right thing to do. To date, non-residents make up 30% of all vaccinated within New York City. But we are not receiving the doses to match, as these additional vaccinations are not incorporated in calculating the New York City allocation. This is true of other commuter jurisdictions, like the Capitol Region, Los Angeles, and Chicago. We are well-positioned to efficiently vaccinate eligible populations, including those who live and work in NYC, as we should, but we need to be allocated an equitable share of doses to keep up with demand.
We are also seeking flexibility to administer the doses we have now to protect as many New Yorkers as possible. In this moment of accelerated demand and growth in capacity, curtailed by extremely limited supply, we hope to work with your administration to optimally utilize existing supply, in line with your plan. While maintaining a secure reserve of second doses (two-week supply), the City is seeking the flexibility during this time to temporarily use the remaining supply of second doses to bridge the gap to a time of increased production, replenishing the second dose supply as production ramps. This would allow the City to maximize first dose vaccinations, while continuing to stay on target for the FDA-recommended second dose regimen.
The availability of the COVID-19 vaccine has restored optimism across the country. Your election and inauguration have given us hope. New York City is well-positioned to contribute significantly to your goal of 100 million doses administered. It’s going to take all we’ve got, and New York City stands ready to do our part.
Sincerely,
Bill de Blasio
Mayor
NYC Public Advocate WILLIAMS' STATEMENT ON THE STATEN ISLAND DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S USE OF CLEARVIEW AI FACIAL RECOGNITION
"I was alarmed to learn that the Staten Island District Attorney's office has worked with Clearview AI beginning in May of 2019, and I am grateful that the Legal Aid Society helped to uncover the existence of this contract. That the District Attorneys' office deemed the pursuit of further transparency about this purchase to be an invasion of privacy is ironic, hypocritical, and unacceptable.
"Use of this kind of technology disproportionately targets and falsely condemns people of more color- It amounts to a more technologically advanced version of the same biased-based law enforcement we have battled for many years. District Attorney McMahon must immediately halt any usage of this tool, and District Attorneys across the five boroughs must commit to banning the use of this software in their own offices. Facial recognition technology like Clearview AI has the capacity to be not a tool for public safety, but a threat to it."
Governor Cuomo Announces Nation's First-Ever Center for Glass Innovation at SUNY Alfred to Improve Glass Recycling
NYS College of Ceramics at SUNY Alfred to Lead Innovative, Three-Year Research and Collaboration Initiative
Fulfills Governor's 2020 State of the State Proposal to Promote New Glass Production and Reuse Options
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a new nation-leading collaboration with the State College of Ceramics at Alfred University to bolster markets for recycled glass and improve the quality of glass available for recovery throughout New York. The Center for Glass Innovation was first announced in the Governor's 2020 State of the State Address and will play an instrumental role in helping recycling markets and municipal recycling programs find new ways to produce and recycle glass.
"The College of Ceramics at Alfred University is playing a critical role in enhancing recycling markets and the overall economic revival of the Southern Tier," Governor Cuomo said. "This first-ever Center for Glass Innovation builds on our efforts partnering the best academic institutions with industry experts to develop strategies to make New York a cleaner and greener state. The investment will also help to ensure our students have the education and skills they need for new opportunities and jobs in the green economy of the future."
Recycling markets continue to experience volatility. As a result, recycling operations are struggling to find suitable markets for material, impacting local solid waste recycling efforts. Glass is the heaviest component of the municipal waste stream and costly to process. The State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is working with key stakeholders, including municipalities, to strategize on how to bolster new markets to build capacity in the state and the northeast region to address these challenges.
As a major focus of this initiative, the New York State College of Ceramics (NYSCC) will form the Center for Glass Innovation as a research resource for glass producers in New York State and, ultimately, nationally. The Center will create space for basic and applied research, user facilities, and experimental glass tanks for applied, industrial-scale research, with an emphasis on creating higher value end markets for curbside collected glass. This will be the first center of its kind in the United States where glass companies will be able to test small batches of new glass compositions in a pilot production environment.
State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras said, "With the launching of the Center for Glass Innovation, the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University will be at the epicenter of the glass industry's growth and evolution. In the latest chapter in a long history of public-private partnership, the College of Ceramics—a national leader in glass science research and education—will collaborate with industry-leading private companies to develop next generation glass materials, make manufacturing processes more energy efficient, and uncover ways to reuse glass that would otherwise be dumped into a landfill. Ultimately, this initiative will create more sustainable, eco-friendly communities and help accomplish Governor Cuomo's ambitious goal of achieving a carbon-neutral economy. I want to thank Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation for their investment in this important research project, and New York's leading glass companies for their partnership."
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "We want to keep New York's academic institutions ahead of the curve when it comes to emerging trends in recycling. Governor Cuomo's investment in this center is a sign of New York's commitment to not only providing top notch educational opportunities to Alfred University students, but also helping to grow the highly skilled workforce that employers want and need in this competitive field."
SUNY's statutory unit at Alfred University, the NYSCC, will receive nearly $1.7 million for this initiative through the State's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) as part of a three-year agreement. NYSCC has a world-renowned reputation in the field of glass science and engineering and is the only institution in the country to offer a doctoral degree in glass science. Since NYSCC's glass science and engineering degree was established in 1932, thousands of graduates have found successful positions at the forefront of materials discovery, glass processing, and manufacturing. NYSCC's location in the Southern Tier of New York State is in excellent geographic proximity to important facilities such as: Corning Inc.; Guardian Glass; Anchor Glass; and Tesla/SolarCity. Other collaborators include Monofrax; St. Gobain; Owens-Illinois; and the Glass Manufacturer Industry Council.