Mayor Eric Adams could be leaving with an unexpected victory in a preliminary state budget deal announced Monday. Sources told the Post that the deal includes extending the mayor’s oversight of New York City schools.
Albany city leaders appear likely to include a two-year extension of the mayor’s control over the city’s public schools in a $237 billion handshake deal, with some caveats, according to people familiar with the talks. the people spoke.
But Gov. Kathy Hochul said the issue was not completely locked in as part of a preliminary agreement reached after two weeks of protracted negotiations over the budget, which was due April 1. , some risk aversion.
“There is still time to see if we can resolve this issue,” Hochul told reporters, stressing that Monday’s announcement was not final.
Both the governor and Mr. Adams had called for a four-year extension of the mayor’s powers as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget.
But rather than include the issue in the budget, state lawmakers have said publicly for months that they would revisit the issue later in a separate bill before the mayor’s powers expire at the end of June. As a result, this proposal would be a victory for Mr. Adams.
The agreement giving the mayor a two-year extension requires him to recomply with a new state law that reduces class sizes in Big Apple schools, which is an issue in Albany, officials said. The Adams administration has repeatedly opposed the change.
As part of the proposed agreement, the chair of the Education Policy Panel, the governing body of the city’s Department of Education, would no longer be appointed by the mayor, officials said.
“If what we are hearing is true, it is clear that the governor and mayor have fought hard to extend the best governance structure to New York City public school students,” said StudentsFirstNY Executive Director Crystal McQueen Taylor said. said in a statement. “We are pleased to be part of this victory for children and families and look forward to celebrating the final agreement on mayoral responsibilities soon.”
The preliminary budget agreement, which includes a series of housing reforms pushed by the Adams administration, includes increased penalties for assaults on retail workers and a surprising addition that would allow prosecutors to bundle a series of petty thefts and charge them as felonies. was also included. .
The amendment was aimed at cracking down on the surge in shoplifting, but it appeared to be a dead giveaway when Council Speaker Carl Heastie killed it earlier this year.
The city’s push for more funding to cover the $10 billion immigration crisis failed, leaving the state with just $2.4 billion in funding, as the governor laid out in his budget.
The Empire State’s powerful unions (from education to construction to health care) scored a big win from what some Albany nerds call a “boring” budget, including one of the most important winners of the handshake deal. They became one.
For example, the budget includes a wage agreement between the New York Real Estate Board and the construction industry on new tax incentives to build affordable housing, as well as setting base wages for construction workers. seems to be included.
The minimum wage for the job will range from $35.00 to $72.45 an hour, depending on the size and location of the project, according to figures shared with the Post.
But landlords and developers are among the losers after failing to block a bill that would allow tenants to challenge large rent increases in housing court and require lease extensions for those who pay on time. It seems like it was.
However, there are significant carve-outs, including for new construction and small landlords. And that cap is higher than tenant activists would like: 10% a year, or 5% plus inflation, whichever is lower. This is the first time since 1974 that the state has imposed rent controls on formerly market-rate housing.
The preliminary agreement also includes a process to consolidate the nearly 700 financial intermediaries that run the $8 billion state Medicaid program into one company directly overseen by the Department of Health. There is. Hochul said the measure could save $500 million a year if implemented.
