Assembly Approves 2-Year Deal on Mayoral Control of New York City Schools
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Version 0 of 2. ALBANY — In a potential reprieve for Mayor Bill de Blasio, the New York State Legislature seemed poised to grant two years of mayoral control over New York City’s schools, ending a looming uncertainty over the nation’s largest school system and its 1.1 million students. The shape of an agreement came into focus late Wednesday night in a special legislative session in Albany that also included deals on issues as diverse as flood relief and help for harness racing. Early Thursday morning, the state Assembly passed an omnibus bill containing a two-year deal for mayoral control, which was scheduled to expire after Friday, and whose expiration had prompted the special session, convened by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. There was also a three-year extension on a variety of sales taxes that are a vital source of income for municipalities, including New York City’s personal income tax rates, and incentives for developers in Lower Manhattan. The Senate, which had adjourned on Wednesday evening without taking up any bills, was expected back in the State Capitol on Thursday to approve the extensions and other elements of the bill, which also contained a relief package to Vernon Downs, a racetrack and casino outside Utica; access to more money for Adirondack road and well construction; and more than $50 million for flood victims on Lake Ontario. Pensions for some firefighters, police officers and other uniformed public employees would also be bolstered. Also included was an issue near and dear to Mr. Cuomo: Naming a new multibillion-dollar bridge spanning the Hudson River for his father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. With the Senate gone for the evening, nothing could be ratified in that chamber and finalized for Mr. Cuomo’s signature. Yet Scott Reif, a spokesman for John J. Flanagan, the Long Island Republican who leads the Senate, confirmed the general outline of the schools deal and other elements passed by the Assembly. Missing in the deal, however, were any new money for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which had been subject of a late push as New York City’s subway system continued to suffer from delays and a derailment on Tuesday. The tentative agreement came after a confusing day of closed-door negotiations that seemed, at times, destined to result in paralysis. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, formulated the plan to call legislators back to Albany this week for a rare special session to address one big issue: the extension of mayoral control. The hope was for a nice, neat, one-year extension — “clean,” as one administration official put it — settling an issue that was left unresolved last week when the Legislature ended its session. No other major policies would be discussed, Mr. Cuomo’s office implied. But by the time lawmakers arrived at the State Capitol on Wednesday, that limited agenda had become — perhaps inevitably — a laundry list of potential add-ons that were unaddressed during the regular session. “It’s like we never left,” Senator Jeffrey D. Klein, who represents parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, said after he emerged from an afternoon meeting with the governor and legislative leaders. “Everything is still on the table.” Indeed, the idea of a quick resolution to the year’s legislative business seemed to be butting into a harsh, timeless political reality: Nothing is ever easy in Albany. And nobody, it seemed, was happy to be here. “I think it’s absurd that grown men — that’s why we need more women in the room — can’t get together in a reasonable time and come up with stuff that could have been dealt with last week,” said Charles Barron, a Democratic assemblyman who represents the East New York section of Brooklyn. He said he would not stay for more than a day. “Some people just don’t know how to respectfully use power,” Mr. Barron said. Mr. Barron, a progressive firebrand, did praise the Assembly speaker, Carl E. Heastie of the Bronx, for refusing to bend to the Senate’s demands to increase the number of charter schools in the state as a condition to extend mayoral control of the city’s schools. “That was a real victory for the Assembly,” Mr. Barron said. By midafternoon, a restless atmosphere permeated the marble corridors of the State Capitol as a perfect summer day beckoned outside. Some lawmakers had young children in tow, their squeals punctuating the wait. The phalanx of lobbyists and activists who usually occupy the halls had thinned, but there were still some trying to push their causes. They included Amy Cohen, a social worker from Brooklyn who was pressing lawmakers to pass a bill that would, among other things, allow speed cameras to operate in 290 school zones in New York City, up from the current 140. Ms. Cohen, whose cheek was emblazoned with a tire tread mark, lost her 12-year-old son, Sammy Cohen Eckstein, when a van hit him near their home in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn in 2013. Another parent familiar with grief, Michael Carey, was urging lawmakers to require those who work with the physically and mentally disabled to call 911 for patients who are in medical distress or are the victim of a physical or sexual assault, among other things. His son, Jonathan, who had autism, was asphyxiated while being restrained by a state employee in a van outside Albany in 2007. “I’ve been fighting for this for 10 years,” Mr. Carey said. In the end, however, neither Mr. Carey nor Ms. Cohen’s causes had made it into the bill passed by the Assembly. Adding to the special session to-do list were lawmakers who arrived with their own priorities. State Senator Rich Funke, an amiable second-term Republican from the Rochester area, said he wanted the extension of local taxes but also wanted money for flood relief for property owners along Lake Ontario, which has been spilling into homes. For his part, Mr. Cuomo remained out of sight, although he made his presence known in a statement offering support for the Vernon Downs casino and racetrack, which has been the subject of a last-minute lobbying campaign from nine Mohawk Valley legislators seeking a relief package. And while the Assembly’s early morning vote — taken long after most of the state’s nearly 20 million residents were asleep — evinced optimism, some lawmakers were cautious early on about how long this session could last. “Whether we’ll be a long day here, here tomorrow, here through the weekend, I don’t know yet,” Mr. Funke said Wednesday afternoon, adding, “I always bring three suits.” |