ERIC HOPEFUL ON ALBANY AGENDA
With deadline looming on control of schools, he sez: ‘The last week is when stuff gets done’
Several of Mayor Adams’ policy priorities in Albany remain outstanding with less than two weeks left in the legislative session — but Hizzoner isn’t breaking a sweat about it.
Adams, who served as a state senator between 2007 and 2013, said Monday he’s confident that state lawmakers will rubber-stamp the remaining aspects of his Albany agenda before they pack up for the year on June 2, including his push for keeping the city’s public school system under mayoral control.
“I know Albany. The last week is when stuff gets done up there,” Adams told reporters at an unrelated press conference in Harlem.
Adams, who visited Albany last week for the second time since taking office, has faced pushback from some lawmakers over a perceived lack of urgency and strategy on his legislative priorities.
But Adams countered at Monday’s press conference that his team has secured several “wins” in the state Capitol already.
“We had a successful record in Albany, yet people said we didn’t have the right strategy. I always thought good strategy means you get wins. I got wins!” the mayor said, citing the Legislature’s renewal of childcare and earned income tax credits as well as rollbacks of some criminal justice reforms that he has blamed for the city’s crime spike.
There are several other items on Adams’ Albany wish list that remain up in the air, though.
Extending mayoral control of city schools tops the list, with Adams describing it as a critical component of his administration’s education plans. If the Legislature does not extend mayoral control, the city’s public schools will fall back under the purview of the much-maligned Board of Education system, which critics say was fraught with dysfunction and corruption.
Gov. Hochul initially floated giving Adams
control of the school system for four years, covering his entire first term in City Hall, but state lawmakers ditched that proposal amid contentious budget negotiations earlier this year.
It’s instead looking increasingly likely that Adams will get a shorter period of mayoral school control as part of a deal that will also make tweaks to the city Department of Education’s governing body in order to allow for more parental influence.
In addition to school control, Adams is hoping that the Legislature renews some version of the 421-a tax break for real estate developers that proponents say is critical for maintaining affordable housing in the city.
Adding another twist to the legislative knot,
Adams announced at Monday’s press conference that he wants lawmakers to pass a bill creating a New York City Housing Authority trust before the end of the session.
The trust would double the federal subsidy the embattled public housing authority can receive. Proponents say that would allow NYCHA to make a serious dent in its enormous $40 billion backlog of repairs and other capital projects.
Asked why he waited until this late in the session to offer support for the NYCHA trust legislation, Adams demurred.
“I know how to process and navigate the complexities of Albany,” he said, “and my team did a great job.”