Progressive Caucus Responds to Mayor’s Executive Budget,
Calls for Progressive Revenue Solutions

The Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council is concerned by the Executive Budget presented today by Mayor Bloomberg. In the short-term, while we are relieved that the Mayor is backing away from his proposal to reduce 2,750 teaching positions through attrition, a plethora of cuts to vital services are still on the table. We can not balance the budget on the backs of parents, youth, seniors and workers. In the long-term, the Mayor acknowledges that the city is operating at a $3 billion deficit that we will have to face head on in Fiscal Year 2014. The Mayor’s stance that continuing to slash essential programs is the only solution to address this shortfall is troubling. The results of our recent survey on the New York City budget showed that New Yorkers overwhelmingly support sustainable long-term revenue solutions that ask corporations, banks and private equity to pay their fair share. We are calling for the administration to consider these alternative revenue options, such as closing the carried interest loophole and ending future subsidies to big banks. The future of our city depends on it.

Survey: 97% Say Protect Vital Services by Ending Preferential Tax Treatment
for Private Equity, Hedge Funds & Banks

Cuts to Education, Seniors, Runaway Youth and Libraries
At Top of List of Cuts to Prevent

97% of New Yorkers polled think the city should balance the budget by protecting vital services like education, police, fire and the social safety net, and asking a little more from those who can afford to pay more by eliminating preferential tax treatment, according to a survey conducted by the Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council.

The survey, which received over 750 responses in the course of one week, gathered feedback about the New York City budget for Fiscal Year 2013 from constituents and allies.  Only 3% of those surveyed favored balancing the budget through cuts to essential services in order to avoid raising taxes on high-income individuals, banks and corporations based in New York City.

There was overwhelming support for several options to raise revenue in order to prevent cuts to essential services:

• Closing a loophole in business taxes, known as the carried interest exemption, for partners at private equity companies and hedge funds so they are taxed like regular business income by the City.  This revenue option would raise approximately $200 million for the city.
• An end to future subsidies to four major banks who failed to create 19,000 jobs out of a promised 33,000 in exchange for a collective subsidy of $783 million, a measure that would bring in $100 million in revenue.

These options far outweighed the popularity of a proposed revenue option in Mayor Bloomberg’s preliminary budget that would charge non-profit organization a fee for trash pickup that is currently provided free of charge.

According to the survey, New Yorkers are most concerned about the following proposed cuts in the Mayor’s preliminary budget:

• Scaling back senior services such as transportation, elder abuse services and home attendants;
• Reducing 2,750 teaching positions through attrition which would continue the trend of increased class sizes and more elementary school students in classes of 30 or more students;
• Eliminating 159 of 251 shelter beds for runaway and homeless youth while reducing drop-in and street outreach services;
• Closing 40 library branches, significantly reducing library hours to 2-3 day service, and laying off 1,830 library workers;
• Cutting 2,300 slots in Out-of-School Time, an academic & recreational program that operates after school, during school holidays and in the summer.

The Progressive Caucus stands with the people of New York to say that we must pursue sustainable, long-term revenue options to balance the budget rather than continuing to slash vital services. We hope to see this sentiment reflected in the Mayor’s Executive Budget tomorrow.

The complete results of the survey are available here.

Progressive Caucus Commends Passage of Fair Wage Legislation

Vows to Continue to Advocate for Stronger Wage Standards

NEW YORK, NY — The Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council commends today’s passage of the living wage legislation, and stands firm in our support for the prevailing wage recently approved by the Council. As a Caucus that prioritizes just economic policy, we believe that corporate subsidies paid for by the people’s purse should serve the public good.

The prevailing and living wage legislation is vital for those impacted, yet we understand that thousands of working New Yorkers are still in need of relief. We will continue to advocate for even stronger wage standards, and look forward to the day that all corporations who benefit from New York City subsidies are required to pay a fair wage to their workers.

Mayor Bloomberg, who has promised to veto any legislation requiring wage standards, claims that using public funds as a tool to incentivize corporate investment expands economic opportunity for us all. We believe that without mechanisms to ensure that public funds are subsidizing jobs that provide a decent standard of living, the administration’s stance will only reinforce the cycle of poverty and growing income inequality our city faces.

The Progressive Caucus stands in support of the Council’s efforts to hold corporations accountable, and looks forward to continuing the fight for fair wages for all New Yorkers.

—

 For Immediate Release: April 24, 2012

Contact: Raymond Rodriguez,

646-200-5309/305-992-1809, raymond@berlinrosen.com

WALMART TOLD TO TAKE A HIKE

ELECTED OFFICIALS & ADVOCATES DEMAND WALMART WITHDRAW PLANS FOR NYC MARKET; CALL ON BOARD CHAIR AND CEO TO RESIGN

MOMENTUM AGAINST WALMART MOUNTS AS GROUP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO RETAILER’S NYC BUSINESS PRACTICES, BOARD MEMBERS, & EXPANSION PLANS

New York, NY- Following reports of the Justice Department’s inquiry into Walmart’s bribery scandal, city officials today joined with members of Walmart Free NYC to demand that mega-retailer Walmart halt its expansion plans into New York City until an independent investigation is performed and adequate steps are taken to ensure the retailer doesn’t engage in any illegal activity.

This weekend’s New York Times story revealed that Walmart de Mexico paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to curry favor with Mexican officials expedite new store growth. When the issue was brought to the attention of the company’s senior leaders, they covered it up and hit it from the authorities.

“Wal-Mart has once again revealed its true colors. The corporation’s tactics of bribery, scheming and corruption are the latest in a litany of despicable business practices including discrimination, worker mistreatment and predatory pricing. This is precisely the type of business we do not want in our communities and I remain committed to fighting against Wal-Mart’s corporate poison from entering the five boroughs. Wal-Mart’s actions in Mexico should be investigated and they must be held fully accountable for any laws, American or Mexican, that were broken,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

“New York City cannot open its doors to a company that relies on bribery and cover-ups as part of its business model,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “Walmart has a long history of breaking laws and promises to pad its profits, but these new revelations show just how far Walmart will go for its own bottom line. New Yorkers should be put on notice: there is no tactic too underhanded for Walmart to try in order to open in our City, and anyone who thinks the jury is still out simply hasn’t been paying attention. All of our City’s leaders—especially the Mayor—should know by now that a Wal-Mart in New York would destroy jobs, squeeze out hundreds of small businesses and depress retail wages. None of us should support that.”

“The New York Times’ expose of WalMart’s consistent pattern of bribery demonstrates that they cannot be trusted to play by the rules,” said Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Bronx). “Instead, they do whatever it takes to squeeze out every dollar they can from the communities in which they operate. They keep wages down and bust unions, destroying jobs. They abuse civil rights by paying women less than men and don’t accept food stamps. They’re a multinational corporation that doesn’t pay its fair share of taxes. They are definitely not welcome and have no place in New York City.”

“Any company that tries to bribe elected officials does not deserve to operate in New York City or anywhere else in the country,” said NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Queens). “Walmart has a proven track record of these types of violations and a history of paying poverty wages, offering little to no health insurance and mistreating women. Their obsession with corporate growth and reckless disregard for communities across America is deeply troubling.”

“I cannot in good conscience support a multinational corporation like Walmart that relies on bribery and shady tactics to make a buck, all while crushing our true community partners,” said NYC Council Member Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn). “Corporate greed run amok presents a serious danger to the future of small business in this city. As chair of the Oversight and Investigations Committee, I stand ready to be a part of any probe into Walmart’s political activities in New York, to ensure this does not become another Mexico-type scandal.”

“Walmart is a company built on unfair labor practices.  We don’t want to invite companies like Walmart into New York City to undermine the worker friendly policies we have been fighting for over many years,” said NYC Council Member Stephen Levin (D-Brooklyn).  “Further complicating Walmart’s attempt to gain a foothold in NYC is that we are a city of small villages and each of our communities has their own grocers, butchers and pharmacies.  We are not interested in losing our identity at the hands of Walmart.”

Advocates urged the City Council to investigate Walmart’s New York City business practices.

 “More and more New Yorkers are growing skeptical of Walmart’s plans and promises for our city—and for good reason,” said Matt Ryan, Executive Director at ALIGN. “Armed with the latest news about Walmart de Mexico’s illegal practices, the City must investigate Walmart’s recent dealings with public officials and developers in its bid to move to New York City.”

“We now have evidence of what we have been saying all along: that this company will stop at nothing to increase their bottom line. New York will not stand for a company as duplicitous as Walmart coming into our city, said Walmart Free NYC spokeswoman Stephanie Yazgi. “Its actions in Mexico prove that Walmart refuses to play by the rules, and communities pay the price. Its recent behavior means that we must be hyper vigilant about any potential deals or developments involving Walmart and that they and their intermediaries be held to the highest levels of scrutiny possible.”

The group also said Walmart NYC Board members Michele Burns and Christopher Williams- both of whom were on Walmart’s audit committee at the time of the alleged bribery and cover-up- must explain what they knew and when they knew it. It vowed to keep the pressure on until they come clean.  Walmart Free NYC also called on the Walmart Board of Directors to appoint an independent, respected expert from outside the company to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of the corruption scandal and cover-up.

Walmart Free NYC also called for the resignation of top executives, Walmart Board Chairman Rob Walton and CEO Mike Duke.

Today’s actions come amidst a global inquiry into the company’s illegal practices.

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While the Mayor’s preliminary budget avoids new drastic cuts to services, the funding lost during the austerity of the economic recession is not restored, and smaller cuts and layoffs continue throughout City agencies. Despite an improving economy, the proposed budget would continue the pattern of shrinking essential programs and services.

This survey asks for your guidance as we look for progressive solutions to balance the budget.

Please respond by April 25th, and help us spread the word by sharing the survey with your friends.

We appreciate your feedback!

Progressive Caucus Calls on Mayor Bloomberg to Protect Child Care and After-School

NEW YORK, NY — The Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council is extremely troubled that the Mayor’s Preliminary Budget would result in the loss of child care and after-school for 47,000 children.

Substantially cutting child care and after-school programs flies in the face of the values of our Caucus.  These cuts will leave low-income working parents who are striving to achieve economic stability with the untenable choice of quitting their jobs or potentially leaving their children in unsafe care while they work.  Furthermore, these cuts would stymie the success of the next generation by depriving them of the early childhood education that prepares them for kindergarten, and the after school programs that keep school-age children engaged in safe academic and social activities after the school day ends.

The Progressive Caucus calls on Mayor Bloomberg to include at least $104 million for the Administration for Children’s Services for child-care and $66 million to the Department of Youth and Community Development for after-school programs in the Executive Budget.  The children and families of New York City deserve no less.

Members of the Progressive Caucus and their colleagues wore hoodies today to symbolize the call for justice for Trayvon Martin.

NEW YORK, NY — The Progressive Caucus commends today’s passage of prevailing wage legislation that will protect building service workers at minimal cost to the city. We thank Speaker Christine Quinn for her support, and laud Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Melissa Mark-Viverito and Finance Committee Chair Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. for their leadership on this important issue. This legislation requires certain developers who benefit from significant City subsidies and building owners who lease space to the City to pay their building service employees the prevailing wage.  This policy will prevent good jobs from being eroded by those employers who receive substantial benefits from the City but pay their workers poverty wages in exchange.  Just economic policy is a core tenet of the Progressive Caucus, and we support this legislation which will balance the City’s efforts to incentivize economic development with the need to maintain fair wages for New York’s workers.

 Local Business Leaders and Community Residents Rally in Northwest Queens

QUEENS, NY – With growing momentum behind a City Council proposal to guarantee paid sick days for New York City workers, a group of business owners from Jackson Heights and Corona will hold a press conference with local residents and the NYC Paid Sick Leave Coalition to launch the “Conscious Consumer, Conscious Business” initiative. The new initiative will support and elevate neighborhood businesses that bolster the economy, value families and protect public health by providing paid sick days to employees.

At the rally, participating businesses will explain why they provide paid sick days and stand in support of the proposed paid sick days bill, and will call on other area businesses to join the campaign.

Through the creation of “Conscious Consumer Cards” and grassroots mobilization, Make the Road NY, which has over 4,000 members in Queens, will educate community members about local businesses that are employing these responsible practices. Patrons will leave the Conscious Consumer Cards at participating businesses to show the role that paid sick days played in their decision to shop there.

WHERE: Terraza 7 Live Music
40-19 Gleane Street, Elmhurst, NY (7 train to 82nd Street)

WHEN: 12pm (noon), Tuesday, March 13

WHO:
Make the Road New York
Wilfredo Larancuent
Working Families Party
NYC Paid Leave Coalition partners, including SEIU 1199, the United Federation of Teachers, and New York Communities for Change

BUSINESS OWNERS: Freddy Castiblanco, Owner, Terraza 7 Live Music
Bryan Pu-Folkes, Owner, Law Offices of Bryan Pu-Folkes
Helen Arteaga, Director, Plaza del Sol Health Center
Leni Juca, Owner, Oxium Copy and Print
Gurpatwant S. Pannun, Owner, Law Offices of Gurpawant Pannun

This afternoon, Progressive Caucus members stood with Council Member Jumaane Williams and a coalition of advocates to launch a landmark legislative effort to increase NYPD accountability and improve policing for all New Yorkers, especially those in currently disparately affected communities.

Council Members expressed concern about the NYPD’s growing reliance on stop-and-frisk tactics and the impact of this practice on communities of color. In 2002, the NYPD made approximately 97,000 stops. By 2010, the number of stops had increased to more than 601,000. Black and Latino New Yorkers face the brunt of this practice and consistently represent more than 80 percent of people stopped despite representing just over 50 percent of the city’s population. Moreover, stop-and-frisk practices have not increased public safety, as year-after-year nearly 90 percent of individuals stopped are neither arrested nor issued a summons. Bias-based profiling by the police alienates communities from law enforcement, violates New Yorkers’ rights and freedoms, and is a danger to public safety.

Council Member Williams introduced three bills at today’s City Council Stated Meeting, which will have public hearings before they brought back before the Council for a vote.

These bills would reform current police practices by:

1. Prohibiting bias-based profiling by law enforcement officers that relies, to any degree, on actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, immigration or citizenship status, language, disability (including HIV status), housing status, occupation, or socioeconomic status.

2. Requiring law enforcement officers to identify themselves and the reason for questioning, and present a business card at the end of the encounter which will identify the name, rank, and command of the officer, and a phone number for the Civilian Complaint Review Board that the subject of the law enforcement activity may use to submit comments or complaints about the encounter.

3. Requiring law enforcement officers to provide notice and obtain written or recorded proof of consent to search individuals. Many New Yorkers are unaware of their constitutional right to privacy when interacting with law enforcement officers.

The Progressive Caucus is proud to support Council Member Williams and the coalition of advocates who have been fighting for these crucial reforms.

Visit changethenypd.org to stay in the loop about grassroots efforts to end discriminatory policing practices in New York, and follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and check back on this blog over the coming weeks to check in on the progress of this landmark legislative effort!