THE NEW YORK POST
"Real-estate donors who gave big to NY’s Gov. Kathy Hochul could soon reap 421a tax breaks"
Story by Zach Williams
13 FEBRUARY 2023
ALBANY – Real-estate bigwigs who dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign last year are set to win big if her proposed budget gets the green light.
That’s because the Hochul-backed budget aims to give housing projects until 2030 – rather than 2026 under existing law – to finish work in order to qualify for the lucrative 421a tax abatement program as long as existing projects had work started by last June.
That proposed tweak would seemingly benefit at least a dozen developers who gave her campaign $564,000 amid ongoing uncertainty about the future of 421a and whether it would get extended in a way that allowed their own projects to move forward, public records show.
But critics say the governor ought to be careful.
“The Governor should be distancing herself from any appearances of pay-to-play, especially considering recent controversies with donors and state contracts,” Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Fulton) told The Post while alluding to other instances when official decisions by her administration benefitted her political supporters.
“As the state budget takes shape, it will be obvious if the tax dollars going out have been influenced by the donations coming in."
"This is the business-as-usual approach that Albany has become notorious for.”
In her State of the State speech last month, Hochul vowed to seek renewal of the 421a, which incentivized developers to set aside units in new buildings for affordable housing before it expired in June.
Luxury developers Tactonic Partners, Rockrose Development, Fentner Partners, Moinian Group, Charney and Midtown Equities are touting a range of amenities in buildings qualifying for the affordable housing tax break – including a pet spa and stroller parking at 200 Montague Street in Brooklyn.
Michael McKee, treasurer of the left-leaning Tenants PAC, vehemently opposes the proposed extension.
“This tax money that we’re not collecting, could be used for all sorts of purposes."
"It could be used for education."
"It could be used to expand healthcare."
"It could be used to build affordable housing,” he said.
“So we oppose it."
"We oppose this extension entirely.”
Progressives succeeded in shooting down an extension of 421a last year despite efforts by Hochul to replace it with another program that she argued would boost the share of affordable units in approved projects.
Roughly two dozen other people tied to past 421a projects involving firms like Related Companies and Silverstein Properties gave at least $1 million to Hochul amid efforts to extend the controversial abatement.
A spokesperson for the Cayler family connected to 200 Montague Street said the family “never discussed” the property tax break with Hochul, though it donated $415,000 to her campaign, according to public records.
Hochul also got political backup last year from members of the political left like McKee, who wants to end 421a once and for all.
“It’s a huge waste of money,” McKee said while noting “we held our nose” by reluctantly supporting Hochul’s election against Republican Lee Zeldin, who she defeated 53% to 47% in the closest gubernatorial race in a generation.
“It’s just crazy."
"It’s just utterly nuts,” McKee added.
Some 421a critics like Democratic socialist state Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn) say they are fine with Hochul’s budget proposal, along with conservatives like Barclay.
But he said he nonetheless has qualms with how Hochul is presenting the issue considering she raised a record-smashing $60 million amid controversy.
The Real Estate Board of New York, which represents developers in New York City, has given its stamp of approval to the budget proposal as well.
“The Governor’s call for extending the 421a completion deadline is critical for ensuring that tens of thousands of badly needed rental apartments, including thousands of below market-rate units, get built,” said Basha Gerhards, senior vice president of planning at the Real Estate Board of New York.
Hochul is hoping to spur the construction of 800,000 housing units over the next decade through the budget by leaning on a variety of approaches that include overriding local zoning laws near transit hubs while imposing growth targets on municipalities – ideas that have attracted fierce criticism from suburban Republicans.
Downstate localities must boost housing by 3% per year or else Hochul wants the state to allow developers to get a streamlined regulatory process to build despite local resistance.
The governor, however, has not included a proposed replacement for the expired 421a subsidy for new projects while saying she is willing to work one out with state lawmakers.
Deadline for the state budget is April 1.
Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays said the proposed extension of the 421a deadline for existing projects was a “common-sense solution” that would help deliver 32,000 out of the 800,000 units Hochul says could get built over 10 years if her budget gets approved.
“As we have always said, campaign donations do not have any influence on government decisions and we reject any implication otherwise,” Crampton-Hays said.
Representatives for state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) – who recently said he is boycotting The Post in response to criticism from its editorial board – did not provide comment Friday about whether they supported the proposed 421a extension.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... bfdd6ab72f
CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
REUTERS
"New York state bill seen aiding poor country debt relief"
By David Lawder
FEBRUARY 17, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As major debt-distressed countries and major creditors discussed ways to unlock faster debt relief on Friday, legislation under consideration in New York’s state legislature would push private sector creditors to participate, state lawmakers and non-profit groups say.
New York State Senator Brad Holyman-Sigal, a Democrat representing lower and parts of mid-town Manhattan, said he introduced companion legislation to the “New York Taxpayer and International Debt Crises Prevention Act” already under consideration in the state assembly.
The legislation would compel private sector creditors to participate in debt restructurings of distressed low- and middle-income countries on the same terms as official government creditors.
“As the financial capital of the world, New York has a critical role to play in addressing the crippling debt of other nations,” Hoylman-Sigal said in a statement, adding that the legislation “will help countries struggling to recover from challenges like climate change and COVID and better take care of their constituents.”
It also will help protect taxpayers by preventing defaults and economic collapse among many U.S. trading partners, which could help prevent spikes in import prices, he said.
The New York legislation could have a significant influence on the debt restructuring process as some 52% of private-sector held sovereign debt is under contract in New York state, said Eric LeCompte, executive of Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based non-profit group pushing for debt relief.
LeCompte said participation of the private sector creditors was critical, but they should not have “undue influence” in the process.
New York-based BlackRock and London-headquartered Standard Chartered were among private sector creditors participating in the first meeting of a new sovereign debt roundtable aimed at eliminating sticking points to debt restructurings.
“The bill is critical for many countries struggling with soaring poverty rates and debt crises that became worse during the pandemic,” LeCompte said in a statement.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen intends to press China and other creditors for faster progress on debt relief next week at a G20 finance leaders meeting in Bengaluru, India.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/article/emergin ... SL1N34X21X
"New York state bill seen aiding poor country debt relief"
By David Lawder
FEBRUARY 17, 2023
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As major debt-distressed countries and major creditors discussed ways to unlock faster debt relief on Friday, legislation under consideration in New York’s state legislature would push private sector creditors to participate, state lawmakers and non-profit groups say.
New York State Senator Brad Holyman-Sigal, a Democrat representing lower and parts of mid-town Manhattan, said he introduced companion legislation to the “New York Taxpayer and International Debt Crises Prevention Act” already under consideration in the state assembly.
The legislation would compel private sector creditors to participate in debt restructurings of distressed low- and middle-income countries on the same terms as official government creditors.
“As the financial capital of the world, New York has a critical role to play in addressing the crippling debt of other nations,” Hoylman-Sigal said in a statement, adding that the legislation “will help countries struggling to recover from challenges like climate change and COVID and better take care of their constituents.”
It also will help protect taxpayers by preventing defaults and economic collapse among many U.S. trading partners, which could help prevent spikes in import prices, he said.
The New York legislation could have a significant influence on the debt restructuring process as some 52% of private-sector held sovereign debt is under contract in New York state, said Eric LeCompte, executive of Jubilee USA Network, a faith-based non-profit group pushing for debt relief.
LeCompte said participation of the private sector creditors was critical, but they should not have “undue influence” in the process.
New York-based BlackRock and London-headquartered Standard Chartered were among private sector creditors participating in the first meeting of a new sovereign debt roundtable aimed at eliminating sticking points to debt restructurings.
“The bill is critical for many countries struggling with soaring poverty rates and debt crises that became worse during the pandemic,” LeCompte said in a statement.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen intends to press China and other creditors for faster progress on debt relief next week at a G20 finance leaders meeting in Bengaluru, India.
Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
https://www.reuters.com/article/emergin ... SL1N34X21X
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
"Poestenkill and Sand Lake building dog shelter to fill Rensselaer County need"
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Feb. 17, 2023
POESTENKILL – Poestenkill and Sand Lake town supervisors are converting a building on Route 66 into a dog shelter with 10 kennels that they believe will be opened at the beginning of the summer to serve Rensselaer County communities outside Troy.
Poestenkill Supervisor Keith Hammond and Sand Lake Supervisor Scott Gallerie stood inside the building at the Waste Management transfer station location at routes 66 and 351 Friday afternoon outlining how the facility will be rebuilt for an estimated $50,000 to take in stray dogs until their owners can be found.
Hammond and Gallerie said towns are sending dogs to areas outside the county or town dog control officers are keeping them at home due to a lack of kennels in the county.
The county municipalities outside of Troy lost the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands as their shelter when the private organization was overwhelmed with demands for use of its 86 kennels.
“We’re leasing a building for countywide use."
"It will be a county dog shelter,” Hammond said before discussing the plans at the future shelter site.
Gallerie and Hammond said they are negotiating a final monthly rental fee with Waste Management to use the building, which has been used previously for auto repairs and by a small local garbage hauling company.
“We’re starting small,” Hammond said.
The new shelter will have six kennels for dogs and an additional four kennels for quarantine purposes.
There also will be an indoor exercise area as well as space outside the building, which will be remodeled.
The two supervisors said the state Department of Agriculture and Markets has inspected the location and provided advice.
In addition, they said, Richard Crist, the county director of operations, has visited the location to discuss what support the county may be able to provide.
"Rensselaer County has been discussing participation and involvement in a community dog shelter to help our towns and villages," said Crist, who praised Hammond and Gallerie for their work on the project.
"There are now fewer and fewer opportunities to safely care for dogs that are lost or abandoned in the area," Crist said.
Gallerie said the towns will start with the dog shelter.
Eventually, they may be able to expand to have a full-service animal shelter that could take in cats and other animals.
The push for the legislators to take action found a sympathetic audience as Republican and Democratic legislators said the issue has to be studied and a plan developed for dealing with animals in a humane way.
Gallerie said Sand Lake handled about 12 stray dogs that needed to be sheltered in the past year.
Poestenkill had about four dogs that required placement in a shelter, Hammond said.
The Rensselaer County Legislature leadership said it would explore establishing a full-service animal shelter and its financing after hearing residents speak earlier this month about the growing need in the county to house dogs, cats and other animals.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Kenneth C. Crowe II, Albany, New York Times Union
Feb. 17, 2023
POESTENKILL – Poestenkill and Sand Lake town supervisors are converting a building on Route 66 into a dog shelter with 10 kennels that they believe will be opened at the beginning of the summer to serve Rensselaer County communities outside Troy.
Poestenkill Supervisor Keith Hammond and Sand Lake Supervisor Scott Gallerie stood inside the building at the Waste Management transfer station location at routes 66 and 351 Friday afternoon outlining how the facility will be rebuilt for an estimated $50,000 to take in stray dogs until their owners can be found.
Hammond and Gallerie said towns are sending dogs to areas outside the county or town dog control officers are keeping them at home due to a lack of kennels in the county.
The county municipalities outside of Troy lost the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands as their shelter when the private organization was overwhelmed with demands for use of its 86 kennels.
“We’re leasing a building for countywide use."
"It will be a county dog shelter,” Hammond said before discussing the plans at the future shelter site.
Gallerie and Hammond said they are negotiating a final monthly rental fee with Waste Management to use the building, which has been used previously for auto repairs and by a small local garbage hauling company.
“We’re starting small,” Hammond said.
The new shelter will have six kennels for dogs and an additional four kennels for quarantine purposes.
There also will be an indoor exercise area as well as space outside the building, which will be remodeled.
The two supervisors said the state Department of Agriculture and Markets has inspected the location and provided advice.
In addition, they said, Richard Crist, the county director of operations, has visited the location to discuss what support the county may be able to provide.
"Rensselaer County has been discussing participation and involvement in a community dog shelter to help our towns and villages," said Crist, who praised Hammond and Gallerie for their work on the project.
"There are now fewer and fewer opportunities to safely care for dogs that are lost or abandoned in the area," Crist said.
Gallerie said the towns will start with the dog shelter.
Eventually, they may be able to expand to have a full-service animal shelter that could take in cats and other animals.
The push for the legislators to take action found a sympathetic audience as Republican and Democratic legislators said the issue has to be studied and a plan developed for dealing with animals in a humane way.
Gallerie said Sand Lake handled about 12 stray dogs that needed to be sheltered in the past year.
Poestenkill had about four dogs that required placement in a shelter, Hammond said.
The Rensselaer County Legislature leadership said it would explore establishing a full-service animal shelter and its financing after hearing residents speak earlier this month about the growing need in the county to house dogs, cats and other animals.
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article ... 09a3f12c1f
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
REUTERS
"Supply shortages threaten U.S. infrastructure and war efforts"
By Lisa Baertlein
March 29, 2023
LOS ANGELES, March 29 (Reuters) - Manufacturers of everything from pickup trucks to homes are still grappling with tight supplies of microchips and cement - shortages that could translate into delays and higher costs for federal efforts to arm Ukraine against Russian aggression and rebuild U.S. crumbling infrastructure and manufacturing.
The supply chain woes that sent costs soaring and spurred shortages of everything from toilet paper to passenger cars are easing for retail-focused industries, but remain stubbornly persistent in important growth sectors like autos, machinery, defense and non-residential construction, experts said.
"For sectors where demand is still strong, we are still seeing issues of materials shortages, and these problems will take additional time to resolve," said Jason Miller, associate professor of logistics at Michigan State University's business school.
"One of the big issues as we're trying to ramp up the military industrial base is having enough electronic components," Miller said.
Companies that make war weapons like shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles are awaiting U.S. funding before starting new production for Ukraine.
When the defense industry gets that greenlight, their scramble to source semiconductors and other hard-to-find electronic components could usher in a new wave of supply chain snarls that disrupt production and drive up costs.
"Any general shortage in semiconductors will affect defense," said Brad Martin, director of Rand Corp's National Security Supply Chain Institute.
The problem has eased in some areas.
Supplies of semiconductors for personal computers improved after kids went back to the classroom and parents returned to their offices - crushing sales of new machines.
On the other hand, ongoing demand for auto and farm equipment has kept stocks of microchips that act as electronic brains in that machinery tight.
Farm and construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc is still competing with car makers to get its hands on limited supplies, Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby said at a March 14 conference in Las Vegas.
"It's gotten a bit better, but it's still not what it was pre-pandemic," said Umpleby.
General Motors last week reopened its Silao, Mexico, plant that turns out Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras after halting production for more than a week due to hiccups in semiconductor availability that the company is working to resolve.
"As we've moved through the past year or so, we have seen gradual improvement in our supply chain, including semiconductors ..."
"Short-term disruptions will continue to happen," GM spokesman Dan Flores told Reuters in an email.
A global shortage of cement - a key input for concrete used to build bridges, highways and factories - threatens to slow down federally-funded infrastructure and American-made semiconductor and green energy factory projects.
Cement producer Martin Marietta Materials reported "robust demand" in its largest market of Texas, where it is already seeing "sold-out conditions," CEO Ward Nye said on a Feb. 15 earnings call.
Michigan State University's Miller said ready-mix concrete and concrete products such as blocks and highway dividers are highly sought after.
"It's probably one of the strongest sectors in manufacturing at the moment."
"It hasn't shown signs of cooling down."
Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Bianca Flowers in Chicago and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; editing by Claudia Parsons
https://www.reuters.com/business/ongoin ... 023-03-29/
"Supply shortages threaten U.S. infrastructure and war efforts"
By Lisa Baertlein
March 29, 2023
LOS ANGELES, March 29 (Reuters) - Manufacturers of everything from pickup trucks to homes are still grappling with tight supplies of microchips and cement - shortages that could translate into delays and higher costs for federal efforts to arm Ukraine against Russian aggression and rebuild U.S. crumbling infrastructure and manufacturing.
The supply chain woes that sent costs soaring and spurred shortages of everything from toilet paper to passenger cars are easing for retail-focused industries, but remain stubbornly persistent in important growth sectors like autos, machinery, defense and non-residential construction, experts said.
"For sectors where demand is still strong, we are still seeing issues of materials shortages, and these problems will take additional time to resolve," said Jason Miller, associate professor of logistics at Michigan State University's business school.
"One of the big issues as we're trying to ramp up the military industrial base is having enough electronic components," Miller said.
Companies that make war weapons like shoulder-fired Javelin and Stinger missiles are awaiting U.S. funding before starting new production for Ukraine.
When the defense industry gets that greenlight, their scramble to source semiconductors and other hard-to-find electronic components could usher in a new wave of supply chain snarls that disrupt production and drive up costs.
"Any general shortage in semiconductors will affect defense," said Brad Martin, director of Rand Corp's National Security Supply Chain Institute.
The problem has eased in some areas.
Supplies of semiconductors for personal computers improved after kids went back to the classroom and parents returned to their offices - crushing sales of new machines.
On the other hand, ongoing demand for auto and farm equipment has kept stocks of microchips that act as electronic brains in that machinery tight.
Farm and construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc is still competing with car makers to get its hands on limited supplies, Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby said at a March 14 conference in Las Vegas.
"It's gotten a bit better, but it's still not what it was pre-pandemic," said Umpleby.
General Motors last week reopened its Silao, Mexico, plant that turns out Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras after halting production for more than a week due to hiccups in semiconductor availability that the company is working to resolve.
"As we've moved through the past year or so, we have seen gradual improvement in our supply chain, including semiconductors ..."
"Short-term disruptions will continue to happen," GM spokesman Dan Flores told Reuters in an email.
A global shortage of cement - a key input for concrete used to build bridges, highways and factories - threatens to slow down federally-funded infrastructure and American-made semiconductor and green energy factory projects.
Cement producer Martin Marietta Materials reported "robust demand" in its largest market of Texas, where it is already seeing "sold-out conditions," CEO Ward Nye said on a Feb. 15 earnings call.
Michigan State University's Miller said ready-mix concrete and concrete products such as blocks and highway dividers are highly sought after.
"It's probably one of the strongest sectors in manufacturing at the moment."
"It hasn't shown signs of cooling down."
Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Bianca Flowers in Chicago and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; editing by Claudia Parsons
https://www.reuters.com/business/ongoin ... 023-03-29/
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
FOX NEWS
"Crime victims unload on NYC mayor, DA: 'I don't understand how anybody can feel safe here'"
Story by Bailee Hill
17 APRIL 2023
Victims of violent crime expressed outrage after New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the Big Apple the "safest big city in America" as House Republicans investigate District Attorney Alvin Bragg's progressive crime policies.
Madeline Brame lost her son, Sgt. Hason Correa, in 2018 after he was stabbed to death in Harlem.
The Army veteran was a father of three.
His convicted killer received 20 years to life behind bars, but two other defendants in the case were offered plea deals.
"What happened to him can happen to anybody," Brame said during "Fox & Friends First" on Monday.
"It's been happening every day, all day across this city."
"So no matter what you Mayor Adams says about this being the safest city in America… that's a bunch of nonsense, because what's happening on a daily basis in black and brown communities."
"When we have a society that is completely lawless like that, a society cannot stand."
"And it's decaying from the inside out, especially in black and brown communities," she continued.
"So I think it is very, very disrespectful… and very hypocritical and disingenuous of Mayor Adams to even make that statement… when he knows good and well what's happening in the hood on a daily basis."
Brame will testify Monday as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s field hearing in New York City to "examine how Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents."
Jennifer Harrison, founder of Victims Rights NY, will also testify before Congress.
Her boyfriend was stabbed to death in a brutal double homicide in N.J. in 2005.
Two of the three suspects walked free while a third served minimal jail time.
"It's reprehensible, and it's completely out of touch with reality," Harrison said regarding Adams' remarks on the city's safety.
"Almost immediately after Alvin Bragg's tenure started, he issued a day one memo."
"We saw two police officers gunned down."
"A 19-year-old girl was murdered in Burger King when she was at work."
"Michelle Go was murdered… Kristal Nieves, Christina Lee, Alvin Bragg is all responsible for prosecuting those cases."
"We haven't heard how they're being handled, so I don't understand how anybody could feel safe here."
Violent felony offense complaints jumped from 35,964 in 2020 to 38,645 in 2021 and then to 45,529 in 2022, according to New York Police Department data released earlier this year.
Additionally, the total number of felony offenses — both violent and non-violent — rose from 95,593 in 2020 to 102,741 in 2021 to 126,589 in 2022.
While the city has experienced a recent jump in crime for certain offenses, it is not at a record high like it was in past decades.
Previous NYPD data revealed there were nearly 530,000 major felony offenses in 1990 and more than 160,000 major felony offenses in 2001.
Even so, Harrison argued politicians have prioritized criminals over victims with their left-wing policies, with Bragg enduring targeted heat in wake of the Trump indictment.
"For so long, victims of violent crime and survivors of homicide victims have been erased from this equation and silenced, and I'm just grateful, beyond grateful that we have a voice today and got to shed some light on what is happening here in hopes of changing the depraved indifference towards human life that's sweeping across the country," she said.
Barry Borgen, whose son was beaten in an antisemitic hate crime, will also testify before lawmakers, alongside Democratic NYC Councilman Robert Holden and Paul DiGiacomo, who is the president of the NYC Detectives' Endowment Association.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan will lead the charge, and said Congress will likely visit other cities to help shed light on the nationwide crime wave.
Fox News' Kyle Morris, Brianna Herlihy and Brooke Singman contributed to this article.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/crime ... 4930&ei=12
"Crime victims unload on NYC mayor, DA: 'I don't understand how anybody can feel safe here'"
Story by Bailee Hill
17 APRIL 2023
Victims of violent crime expressed outrage after New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the Big Apple the "safest big city in America" as House Republicans investigate District Attorney Alvin Bragg's progressive crime policies.
Madeline Brame lost her son, Sgt. Hason Correa, in 2018 after he was stabbed to death in Harlem.
The Army veteran was a father of three.
His convicted killer received 20 years to life behind bars, but two other defendants in the case were offered plea deals.
"What happened to him can happen to anybody," Brame said during "Fox & Friends First" on Monday.
"It's been happening every day, all day across this city."
"So no matter what you Mayor Adams says about this being the safest city in America… that's a bunch of nonsense, because what's happening on a daily basis in black and brown communities."
"When we have a society that is completely lawless like that, a society cannot stand."
"And it's decaying from the inside out, especially in black and brown communities," she continued.
"So I think it is very, very disrespectful… and very hypocritical and disingenuous of Mayor Adams to even make that statement… when he knows good and well what's happening in the hood on a daily basis."
Brame will testify Monday as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s field hearing in New York City to "examine how Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents."
Jennifer Harrison, founder of Victims Rights NY, will also testify before Congress.
Her boyfriend was stabbed to death in a brutal double homicide in N.J. in 2005.
Two of the three suspects walked free while a third served minimal jail time.
"It's reprehensible, and it's completely out of touch with reality," Harrison said regarding Adams' remarks on the city's safety.
"Almost immediately after Alvin Bragg's tenure started, he issued a day one memo."
"We saw two police officers gunned down."
"A 19-year-old girl was murdered in Burger King when she was at work."
"Michelle Go was murdered… Kristal Nieves, Christina Lee, Alvin Bragg is all responsible for prosecuting those cases."
"We haven't heard how they're being handled, so I don't understand how anybody could feel safe here."
Violent felony offense complaints jumped from 35,964 in 2020 to 38,645 in 2021 and then to 45,529 in 2022, according to New York Police Department data released earlier this year.
Additionally, the total number of felony offenses — both violent and non-violent — rose from 95,593 in 2020 to 102,741 in 2021 to 126,589 in 2022.
While the city has experienced a recent jump in crime for certain offenses, it is not at a record high like it was in past decades.
Previous NYPD data revealed there were nearly 530,000 major felony offenses in 1990 and more than 160,000 major felony offenses in 2001.
Even so, Harrison argued politicians have prioritized criminals over victims with their left-wing policies, with Bragg enduring targeted heat in wake of the Trump indictment.
"For so long, victims of violent crime and survivors of homicide victims have been erased from this equation and silenced, and I'm just grateful, beyond grateful that we have a voice today and got to shed some light on what is happening here in hopes of changing the depraved indifference towards human life that's sweeping across the country," she said.
Barry Borgen, whose son was beaten in an antisemitic hate crime, will also testify before lawmakers, alongside Democratic NYC Councilman Robert Holden and Paul DiGiacomo, who is the president of the NYC Detectives' Endowment Association.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan will lead the charge, and said Congress will likely visit other cities to help shed light on the nationwide crime wave.
Fox News' Kyle Morris, Brianna Herlihy and Brooke Singman contributed to this article.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/crime ... 4930&ei=12
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
"American Opportunity tops lobbying spending as Hochul favorability drops - Nearly a majority of New Yorkers say Hochul is 'out of touch with average person"
Joshua Solomon, Albany, New York Times Union
May 17, 2023
ALBANY — No lobbying group has spent more this year attempting to influence state policy than American Opportunity, the shadowy group bolstered by billionaire Michael Bloomberg that sought to support Gov. Kathy Hochul.
American Opportunity, which has ties to the Democratic Governors Association, spent $4.7 million the last two months, primarily on TV ads that aired across the state, according to data submitted to the state’s Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.
The data was made public this week as Hochul faces her lowest approval ratings since taking over as governor, according to a new Siena College poll.
The expenditures by American Opportunity, which are more than double any other individual lobbying entity in the state, reveal the extent of the group’s effort to influence the state budget negotiations.
Hochul maintains she was not involved in the campaign-like effort.
The budget deal reached three weeks ago yielded Hochul with a mix of policy wins, including changes to the state’s bail laws and no tax hikes on the wealthy.
It also brought losses, most notably her signature policy proposal which called for overriding local zoning in the New York City suburbs to stimulate substantial housing growth.
American Opportunity spent $3.6 million in TV ads as well as $380,000 in social media ads and $328,00 for mailers.
The political ads were made by companies Hochul’s campaign used during the past election cycle, and which are used by Democrats across the country.
The group, in a statement, said it is "committed to supporting the policies of governors across that country that strengthen communities and created opportunities for families and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget did just that."
Although American Opportunity registered to lobby the executive chamber and Hochul, it also reported lobbying 28 state lawmakers.
In the Capital Region, the group lobbied state Sen. Neil D. Breslin and assemblymen John McDonald and Phil Steck.
Many of the lawmakers the group lobbied also had mailers distributed in their districts.
“You can tell your legislator Sen. Neil Breslin to back Gov. Hochul’s budget plan,” one mailer said.
American Opportunity formed as a social welfare organization in the District of Columbia in February, according to its incorporation paperwork.
It was filed by Jon Berkon, a partner at the Elias Law Group, which often represents Democratic groups.
The group also registered as a lobbyist in New York with the same address as the Democratic Governors Association.
Social welfare organizations, known under Internal Revenue Service code as a 501(c)(4), “may engage in some political activities, so long as that is not its primary activity,” according to the IRS.
The lobbying efforts were buoyed by $5 million from Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, who is one of New York’s wealthiest individuals.
“Tax the Rich” advocates, along with certain good government groups and lawmakers, previously asserted that Hochul was not in favor of the Legislature’s proposal to increase taxes on New York’s wealthiest because of her support from Bloomberg.
“We’ve been seeing billionaires trying to buy elections, they’re trying to buy our budget process, they’ve been trying to tilt every single step of our political process to make New York their New York,” state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn, said in March.
“It is so disgusting.”
Hochul, when asked about why tax hikes were not entertained by her office during budget negotiations, deflected to the Legislature.
“That’s a question for them,” Hochul said last month.
“I don’t want to raise taxes at this time.”
Despite nearly $5 million in ads and mailers urging New Yorkers to “tell the governor thanks for putting New York families first,” Hochul’s favorability with registered voters took an apparent hit.
The poll released by Siena College on Tuesday found Hochul hit a new low in favorability with voters since taking over as governor in August 2021.
And for the first time, more registered voters — in a state where there are twice as many Democrats as Republicans — found Hochul, a moderate Democrat, unfavorable.
Nearly a majority of New Yorkers also said Hochul is “out of touch with average New Yorkers.”
The view that Hochul is “out of touch” is held by a narrow majority of labor union members, those in the suburbs and upstate area, and those making at least $100,000, according to the poll of 810 registered voters.
Hochul is the first governor from upstate in a century and the first female governor in New York.
A majority of Republicans said they found Hochul to be neither a strong leader nor honest.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... nfidential
Joshua Solomon, Albany, New York Times Union
May 17, 2023
ALBANY — No lobbying group has spent more this year attempting to influence state policy than American Opportunity, the shadowy group bolstered by billionaire Michael Bloomberg that sought to support Gov. Kathy Hochul.
American Opportunity, which has ties to the Democratic Governors Association, spent $4.7 million the last two months, primarily on TV ads that aired across the state, according to data submitted to the state’s Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government.
The data was made public this week as Hochul faces her lowest approval ratings since taking over as governor, according to a new Siena College poll.
The expenditures by American Opportunity, which are more than double any other individual lobbying entity in the state, reveal the extent of the group’s effort to influence the state budget negotiations.
Hochul maintains she was not involved in the campaign-like effort.
The budget deal reached three weeks ago yielded Hochul with a mix of policy wins, including changes to the state’s bail laws and no tax hikes on the wealthy.
It also brought losses, most notably her signature policy proposal which called for overriding local zoning in the New York City suburbs to stimulate substantial housing growth.
American Opportunity spent $3.6 million in TV ads as well as $380,000 in social media ads and $328,00 for mailers.
The political ads were made by companies Hochul’s campaign used during the past election cycle, and which are used by Democrats across the country.
The group, in a statement, said it is "committed to supporting the policies of governors across that country that strengthen communities and created opportunities for families and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget did just that."
Although American Opportunity registered to lobby the executive chamber and Hochul, it also reported lobbying 28 state lawmakers.
In the Capital Region, the group lobbied state Sen. Neil D. Breslin and assemblymen John McDonald and Phil Steck.
Many of the lawmakers the group lobbied also had mailers distributed in their districts.
“You can tell your legislator Sen. Neil Breslin to back Gov. Hochul’s budget plan,” one mailer said.
American Opportunity formed as a social welfare organization in the District of Columbia in February, according to its incorporation paperwork.
It was filed by Jon Berkon, a partner at the Elias Law Group, which often represents Democratic groups.
The group also registered as a lobbyist in New York with the same address as the Democratic Governors Association.
Social welfare organizations, known under Internal Revenue Service code as a 501(c)(4), “may engage in some political activities, so long as that is not its primary activity,” according to the IRS.
The lobbying efforts were buoyed by $5 million from Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, who is one of New York’s wealthiest individuals.
“Tax the Rich” advocates, along with certain good government groups and lawmakers, previously asserted that Hochul was not in favor of the Legislature’s proposal to increase taxes on New York’s wealthiest because of her support from Bloomberg.
“We’ve been seeing billionaires trying to buy elections, they’re trying to buy our budget process, they’ve been trying to tilt every single step of our political process to make New York their New York,” state Sen. Jabari Brisport, a democratic socialist from Brooklyn, said in March.
“It is so disgusting.”
Hochul, when asked about why tax hikes were not entertained by her office during budget negotiations, deflected to the Legislature.
“That’s a question for them,” Hochul said last month.
“I don’t want to raise taxes at this time.”
Despite nearly $5 million in ads and mailers urging New Yorkers to “tell the governor thanks for putting New York families first,” Hochul’s favorability with registered voters took an apparent hit.
The poll released by Siena College on Tuesday found Hochul hit a new low in favorability with voters since taking over as governor in August 2021.
And for the first time, more registered voters — in a state where there are twice as many Democrats as Republicans — found Hochul, a moderate Democrat, unfavorable.
Nearly a majority of New Yorkers also said Hochul is “out of touch with average New Yorkers.”
The view that Hochul is “out of touch” is held by a narrow majority of labor union members, those in the suburbs and upstate area, and those making at least $100,000, according to the poll of 810 registered voters.
Hochul is the first governor from upstate in a century and the first female governor in New York.
A majority of Republicans said they found Hochul to be neither a strong leader nor honest.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... nfidential
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
"Thousands of pounds of marijuana, but not enough stores to sell it - Small farmers in New York's cannabis market struggling as few retail stores have opened; slow pace of state rollout is blamed"
Brendan J. Lyons, Albany, New York Times Union
May 25, 2023
ALBANY — Farmers who received conditional licenses to cultivate the first crops for New York’s retail marijuana market are sitting on thousands of pounds of product they grew last year but have been unable to sell, in part, because of the state’s languishing rollout of the industry.
The situation has been exacerbated by a federal injunction that for months had temporarily suspended retail marijuana licensing in five of the state’s 14 regions.
That court order, which has been modified to suspend retail licensing only in the Fingers Lakes region, was issued in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a company part-owned by a Michigan man who is challenging the constitutionality of New York’s conditional licensing system, which prioritizes in-state residents.
Still, statewide there are just 12 retail operators — far fewer than the marketplace needed to support hundreds of cannabis farmers.
Last year, more than 200 licensed cultivators grew cannabis in New York, and about 80 of those farms produced “significant” amounts of marijuana — roughly 300,000 pounds.
“New York has prioritized equity and opportunity, opening our cannabis market with independent operators, the type of farmers who have been shut out of other state’s markets,” said Aaron Ghitelman, a spokesman for the state Office of Cannabis Management.
“We are proud of the quality and quantity of cannabis our first cultivators grew, and are working diligently to get retail licenses out and more stores open."
"We know these cultivators are worried about how to sell last year’s harvest as they decide whether to plant a cannabis crop in 2023, and we will continue to support them as more adult-use dispensaries open to sell their products.”
The small number of retail operations that are open are also competing with an illicit marketplace that has seen thousands of underground merchants selling marijuana over the past two years with very few legal repercussions, especially in New York City.
In addition, the state recently announced that medical marijuana companies will be allowed to enter the retail industry next year — leaving many small growers and retail license-holders wary of competing with the well-funded operators.
Several cannabis farmers testified at a recent state Cannabis Control Board meeting that the lack of a significant retail market has left them at risk of going under; some are considering filing for bankruptcy protection.
Joseph Calderone, chief operating officer for the Grateful Valley Farm in Steuben County, told the control board earlier this month that without immediate relief the cultivators “are going to fail.”
“It’s an unnecessary emergency,” Calderone said.
“We earned our license and were promised there would be stores that would sell the cannabis that we grew."
"We held up our end of the bargain: We have created a mountain of high-quality cannabis that is ready for market; and the market is there."
"People are buying a lot of cannabis."
"They should be buying New York-grown cannabis — our cannabis.”
‘Pop-up’ pot retail?
New York lawmakers who legalized cannabis in March 2021 had estimated the industry would be up and running in 18 months.
Many entrepreneurs started investing in setting up proposed shops, processing facilities or farms, and many also hired consultants and lobbyists.
But the state’s rollout initially stalled for months when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo — then in his final months in office — declined to make key appointments to the new regulatory bodies, and has been beleaguered with issues including shifting deadlines for industry regulations and applications.
There have been various proposals by lawmakers and farming-industry stakeholders to try and help the cannabis farmers.
A bill in the state Legislature would allow them to sell their products directly to consumers until the fledgling retail market is more widely operational.
But retail license-holders — who were selected under a system that prioritizes those with past marijuana convictions and from the communities most affected by the “war on drugs” — said they also have also been hurt by the delayed setup and that it would cause them further harm to be cut out of any retail sales.
An organization representing the interests of conditional retail licensees — most of whom still don’t have a store to open — said they should be allowed to sell the stockpiled cannabis on a temporary basis using “pop-up” sites.
“So, in other words, the cultivators selling their stockpile of cannabis products directly to the general public is (a process) really done through the retail license-holders who don’t yet have shops but could open on an emergency basis,” said Reginald Fluellen, a senior consultant with the Cannabis Social Equity Coalition.
“That’s common in the industry right now and it could be done and financed through (the Office of Cannabis Management)."
"… And in doing that you maintain the supply chain, you don’t disrupt the two-tier system that was in place to protect everybody.”
Another setback in the rollout has been the state’s pledge to establish a $200 million public-private fund managed by the state Dormitory Authority to help build retail shops.
The state allocated $50 million for that fund but Social Equity Impact Partners, the fund’s private partner, has apparently failed to raise its $150 million target by last September’s deadline.
State officials have declined to disclose the amount that has been raised.
On Monday, the Cannabis Social Equity Coalition called for the state to remove Damian Fagon, chief equity officer at the Office of Cannabis Management, alleging he has failed to meet his obligations in that role as defined by the state law that legalized marijuana.
The group contends portions of the social and economic equity plan are “thin in terms of substance,” according to Fluellen, including a plan to get zero-interest and low-interest loans into the hands of industry stakeholders.
“The failure of the social and economic plan to offer any reasonable semblance of a strategy for the social equity goals spelled out in the (law) dashes any hope that the chief equity officer is capable of fulfilling his obligation to promote the interest of the social equity community,” the group said in a statement.
As a result, it continued, Fagon should be replaced “with someone more capable and committed and a new (social and economic equity) plan should be developed,” or the existing plan should be modified to meet the law’s requirements.
‘Frustrating’
Phil Spinelli, who operates Night Shade cannabis farm in Albany County, said he has been lucky to have his product being sold in six of the 10 open retail dispensaries.
He supports plans to help struggling cannabis farmers who have no one to sell their products to, but also questioned whether allowing them to sell directly to consumers on an emergency basis could work quickly because retail sales are subject to strict taxation rules.
“But in one way, shape or form it needs to happen immediately, right?"
"Because there are… the better part of 270-plus cultivators out there that are definitely in a very distressed situation,” Spinelli said.
“Everyone really doubled down to take part in this opportunity.”
Spinelli’s farm also holds a processing license that has enabled them to produce and sell a cannabis concentrate oil to retail stores, which he says has helped produce some revenue.
Allan Gandelman, a farmer and president of the Cannabis Association of New York, said their organization, which has held workshops offering guidance and updates for the distressed farmers and prospective retailers, has supported the idea of allowing retail license-holders to sell marijuana from last year’s crop on a temporary basis.
“They can start making money by doing this so that they can start having cash to fund their own stores,” he said.
“There is a way that the OCM could allow the temporary 'pop-up' farmer’s markets that these cultivators could sell directly (to) and they could do it with existing current (retail) license-holders.”
Gandelman said another proposal that’s been discussed is to have the state establish a loan or grant program to buy product from farmers and have it turned into distillate THC oil.
The farmers could then share in the profits of those sales.
Several weeks ago, Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed her frustration and disappointment with the state’s legalized marijuana rollout, saying she was “not happy at all” and also has been disappointed with the state’s slow response to cracking down on the wave of illegal pot shops.
“This is so frustrating,” Hochul told PIX11 in an interview.
“There’s literally over a thousand of these places where they’re selling an illegal product, and the law didn’t have the authority for individuals to go in and seize it."
"So, we’ve now empowered the state Department of Taxation to go in and search, to seize, and to levy very hefty fines up to $100,000 to shut these down.”
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... nfidential
Brendan J. Lyons, Albany, New York Times Union
May 25, 2023
ALBANY — Farmers who received conditional licenses to cultivate the first crops for New York’s retail marijuana market are sitting on thousands of pounds of product they grew last year but have been unable to sell, in part, because of the state’s languishing rollout of the industry.
The situation has been exacerbated by a federal injunction that for months had temporarily suspended retail marijuana licensing in five of the state’s 14 regions.
That court order, which has been modified to suspend retail licensing only in the Fingers Lakes region, was issued in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a company part-owned by a Michigan man who is challenging the constitutionality of New York’s conditional licensing system, which prioritizes in-state residents.
Still, statewide there are just 12 retail operators — far fewer than the marketplace needed to support hundreds of cannabis farmers.
Last year, more than 200 licensed cultivators grew cannabis in New York, and about 80 of those farms produced “significant” amounts of marijuana — roughly 300,000 pounds.
“New York has prioritized equity and opportunity, opening our cannabis market with independent operators, the type of farmers who have been shut out of other state’s markets,” said Aaron Ghitelman, a spokesman for the state Office of Cannabis Management.
“We are proud of the quality and quantity of cannabis our first cultivators grew, and are working diligently to get retail licenses out and more stores open."
"We know these cultivators are worried about how to sell last year’s harvest as they decide whether to plant a cannabis crop in 2023, and we will continue to support them as more adult-use dispensaries open to sell their products.”
The small number of retail operations that are open are also competing with an illicit marketplace that has seen thousands of underground merchants selling marijuana over the past two years with very few legal repercussions, especially in New York City.
In addition, the state recently announced that medical marijuana companies will be allowed to enter the retail industry next year — leaving many small growers and retail license-holders wary of competing with the well-funded operators.
Several cannabis farmers testified at a recent state Cannabis Control Board meeting that the lack of a significant retail market has left them at risk of going under; some are considering filing for bankruptcy protection.
Joseph Calderone, chief operating officer for the Grateful Valley Farm in Steuben County, told the control board earlier this month that without immediate relief the cultivators “are going to fail.”
“It’s an unnecessary emergency,” Calderone said.
“We earned our license and were promised there would be stores that would sell the cannabis that we grew."
"We held up our end of the bargain: We have created a mountain of high-quality cannabis that is ready for market; and the market is there."
"People are buying a lot of cannabis."
"They should be buying New York-grown cannabis — our cannabis.”
‘Pop-up’ pot retail?
New York lawmakers who legalized cannabis in March 2021 had estimated the industry would be up and running in 18 months.
Many entrepreneurs started investing in setting up proposed shops, processing facilities or farms, and many also hired consultants and lobbyists.
But the state’s rollout initially stalled for months when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo — then in his final months in office — declined to make key appointments to the new regulatory bodies, and has been beleaguered with issues including shifting deadlines for industry regulations and applications.
There have been various proposals by lawmakers and farming-industry stakeholders to try and help the cannabis farmers.
A bill in the state Legislature would allow them to sell their products directly to consumers until the fledgling retail market is more widely operational.
But retail license-holders — who were selected under a system that prioritizes those with past marijuana convictions and from the communities most affected by the “war on drugs” — said they also have also been hurt by the delayed setup and that it would cause them further harm to be cut out of any retail sales.
An organization representing the interests of conditional retail licensees — most of whom still don’t have a store to open — said they should be allowed to sell the stockpiled cannabis on a temporary basis using “pop-up” sites.
“So, in other words, the cultivators selling their stockpile of cannabis products directly to the general public is (a process) really done through the retail license-holders who don’t yet have shops but could open on an emergency basis,” said Reginald Fluellen, a senior consultant with the Cannabis Social Equity Coalition.
“That’s common in the industry right now and it could be done and financed through (the Office of Cannabis Management)."
"… And in doing that you maintain the supply chain, you don’t disrupt the two-tier system that was in place to protect everybody.”
Another setback in the rollout has been the state’s pledge to establish a $200 million public-private fund managed by the state Dormitory Authority to help build retail shops.
The state allocated $50 million for that fund but Social Equity Impact Partners, the fund’s private partner, has apparently failed to raise its $150 million target by last September’s deadline.
State officials have declined to disclose the amount that has been raised.
On Monday, the Cannabis Social Equity Coalition called for the state to remove Damian Fagon, chief equity officer at the Office of Cannabis Management, alleging he has failed to meet his obligations in that role as defined by the state law that legalized marijuana.
The group contends portions of the social and economic equity plan are “thin in terms of substance,” according to Fluellen, including a plan to get zero-interest and low-interest loans into the hands of industry stakeholders.
“The failure of the social and economic plan to offer any reasonable semblance of a strategy for the social equity goals spelled out in the (law) dashes any hope that the chief equity officer is capable of fulfilling his obligation to promote the interest of the social equity community,” the group said in a statement.
As a result, it continued, Fagon should be replaced “with someone more capable and committed and a new (social and economic equity) plan should be developed,” or the existing plan should be modified to meet the law’s requirements.
‘Frustrating’
Phil Spinelli, who operates Night Shade cannabis farm in Albany County, said he has been lucky to have his product being sold in six of the 10 open retail dispensaries.
He supports plans to help struggling cannabis farmers who have no one to sell their products to, but also questioned whether allowing them to sell directly to consumers on an emergency basis could work quickly because retail sales are subject to strict taxation rules.
“But in one way, shape or form it needs to happen immediately, right?"
"Because there are… the better part of 270-plus cultivators out there that are definitely in a very distressed situation,” Spinelli said.
“Everyone really doubled down to take part in this opportunity.”
Spinelli’s farm also holds a processing license that has enabled them to produce and sell a cannabis concentrate oil to retail stores, which he says has helped produce some revenue.
Allan Gandelman, a farmer and president of the Cannabis Association of New York, said their organization, which has held workshops offering guidance and updates for the distressed farmers and prospective retailers, has supported the idea of allowing retail license-holders to sell marijuana from last year’s crop on a temporary basis.
“They can start making money by doing this so that they can start having cash to fund their own stores,” he said.
“There is a way that the OCM could allow the temporary 'pop-up' farmer’s markets that these cultivators could sell directly (to) and they could do it with existing current (retail) license-holders.”
Gandelman said another proposal that’s been discussed is to have the state establish a loan or grant program to buy product from farmers and have it turned into distillate THC oil.
The farmers could then share in the profits of those sales.
Several weeks ago, Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed her frustration and disappointment with the state’s legalized marijuana rollout, saying she was “not happy at all” and also has been disappointed with the state’s slow response to cracking down on the wave of illegal pot shops.
“This is so frustrating,” Hochul told PIX11 in an interview.
“There’s literally over a thousand of these places where they’re selling an illegal product, and the law didn’t have the authority for individuals to go in and seize it."
"So, we’ve now empowered the state Department of Taxation to go in and search, to seize, and to levy very hefty fines up to $100,000 to shut these down.”
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... nfidential
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
Benzinga
"Tesla's Solar Factory — A Billion-Dollar Misstep For New York: WSJ"
Story by Benzinga Newsbot
6 JULY 2023
New York’s nearly $1 billion investment in Elon Musk‘s plan for a massive solar-panel factory, once touted as the largest in the Western Hemisphere, has largely failed to deliver on its promises, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Unfulfilled Promises
The state-owned facility, leased to Tesla Inc. for $1 a year, was expected to produce enough solar-panel shingles to cover 1,000 roofs each week by 2020.
However, Tesla’s solar-energy unit is averaging just 21 installations a week.
The anticipated suppliers and modern manufacturing hub never materialized, and most of the solar-panel manufacturing equipment purchased by the state has been sold or scrapped.
State’s Response
Despite the shortcomings, the state has amended the terms of its subsidy 12 times over the years to accommodate Tesla.
The company reported in February that it has created 1,700 positions at the facility, enough to meet its obligations to the state and avoid a $41 million annual penalty.
Spokespersons for the former governor and the state agency overseeing the project defended the factory, citing its contributions to the local economy.
Current State of Affairs
The factory, which was supposed to be a manufacturing hub, is now largely populated by Tesla data analysts.
The high-tech factory jobs that the state intended have not materialized, and the state agency overseeing the subsidies does not track what is being produced at the factory.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/te ... 5449&ei=62
"Tesla's Solar Factory — A Billion-Dollar Misstep For New York: WSJ"
Story by Benzinga Newsbot
6 JULY 2023
New York’s nearly $1 billion investment in Elon Musk‘s plan for a massive solar-panel factory, once touted as the largest in the Western Hemisphere, has largely failed to deliver on its promises, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Unfulfilled Promises
The state-owned facility, leased to Tesla Inc. for $1 a year, was expected to produce enough solar-panel shingles to cover 1,000 roofs each week by 2020.
However, Tesla’s solar-energy unit is averaging just 21 installations a week.
The anticipated suppliers and modern manufacturing hub never materialized, and most of the solar-panel manufacturing equipment purchased by the state has been sold or scrapped.
State’s Response
Despite the shortcomings, the state has amended the terms of its subsidy 12 times over the years to accommodate Tesla.
The company reported in February that it has created 1,700 positions at the facility, enough to meet its obligations to the state and avoid a $41 million annual penalty.
Spokespersons for the former governor and the state agency overseeing the project defended the factory, citing its contributions to the local economy.
Current State of Affairs
The factory, which was supposed to be a manufacturing hub, is now largely populated by Tesla data analysts.
The high-tech factory jobs that the state intended have not materialized, and the state agency overseeing the subsidies does not track what is being produced at the factory.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/te ... 5449&ei=62
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
The New York Post
"The wheels are coming off New York’s insane alternate-energy plans"
Opinion by Post Editorial Board
16 OCTOBER 2023
New York state’s insane renewable-energy plan is starting to implode; the sooner Gov. Kathy Hochul and other leaders admit the truth, the better.
On Thursday, the state Public Service Commission nixed a request for vastly greater subsidies — about $12 billion worth — for 90 alternate-power projects that are supposed to provide a quarter of the state’s electricity by 2020.
That would have doubled public support, most likely meaning huge increases for ratepayers in a state where power already costs far above the national average and rates are even now rising to help pay for this “transformation.”
The companies involved say they’re facing far higher costs, thanks to inflation, supply-chain issues and other developments since they inked the original deals.
Many, likely most, will now look to exit.
Hochul, meanwhile, released a new “10-Point Action Plan” that rhetorically doubles down on the state’s commitment its goals but doesn’t hold a hint of how to pay for it.
The state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires cutting fossil-fuel emissions 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050.
Solar and (mostly offshore) wind plants are supposed to replace that electricity.
Oh, and cover the natural growth in demand for power.
Plus, New York wants everyone switching to electric cars, electric heat and electric cooking, so these green dreams require even more growth in electricity generation.
Again, the PSC’s (wise) ruling means the wheels are coming off the entire alternative-energy scheme.
Fishermen, activists protest offshore wind farms near Montauk, cite recent whale deaths
Nor is that the only blow.
For example, part of the supply-chain issue is the utter lack of ships that can actually build the vast fields of offshore wind towers that New York’s leaders want.
The only vessels with that capability are foreign-flagged, and so prohibited under the federal Jones Act, a sacred cow for the American labor movement.
Then, too, plans for a battery factory in the Hudson Valley are on the brink of collapse after its CEO resigned, its stock cratered and its workers got laid off.
Vancouver-based Zinc8 Energy Solutions had won $68 million in state tax credits for a Kingston plant to manufacture long-duration energy storage systems.
Its implosion means the imagined renewables-heavy electric grid would lack crucial help in maintaining service when the sun isn’t shining or wind isn’t blowing.
Meanwhile, the folks in charge of overseeing the state electric grid have warned that this “transition” risks leaving New York City facing blackouts as soon as 2025.
By the way, statewide conversion to electric heat would mean peak power demand will come in the coldest months, not the hottest: So the blackouts won’t leave people sweating uncomfortably but instead freezing in the dead of winter.
The entire US and Western drive to end carbon emissions is a ruinous wild-goose chase.
New York’s rush to lead the way, begun simply to boost then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s presidential hopes, only guarantees that Empire Staters will suffer the worst ruin before reality comes crashing down.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets ... 5279&ei=23
"The wheels are coming off New York’s insane alternate-energy plans"
Opinion by Post Editorial Board
16 OCTOBER 2023
New York state’s insane renewable-energy plan is starting to implode; the sooner Gov. Kathy Hochul and other leaders admit the truth, the better.
On Thursday, the state Public Service Commission nixed a request for vastly greater subsidies — about $12 billion worth — for 90 alternate-power projects that are supposed to provide a quarter of the state’s electricity by 2020.
That would have doubled public support, most likely meaning huge increases for ratepayers in a state where power already costs far above the national average and rates are even now rising to help pay for this “transformation.”
The companies involved say they’re facing far higher costs, thanks to inflation, supply-chain issues and other developments since they inked the original deals.
Many, likely most, will now look to exit.
Hochul, meanwhile, released a new “10-Point Action Plan” that rhetorically doubles down on the state’s commitment its goals but doesn’t hold a hint of how to pay for it.
The state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires cutting fossil-fuel emissions 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050.
Solar and (mostly offshore) wind plants are supposed to replace that electricity.
Oh, and cover the natural growth in demand for power.
Plus, New York wants everyone switching to electric cars, electric heat and electric cooking, so these green dreams require even more growth in electricity generation.
Again, the PSC’s (wise) ruling means the wheels are coming off the entire alternative-energy scheme.
Fishermen, activists protest offshore wind farms near Montauk, cite recent whale deaths
Nor is that the only blow.
For example, part of the supply-chain issue is the utter lack of ships that can actually build the vast fields of offshore wind towers that New York’s leaders want.
The only vessels with that capability are foreign-flagged, and so prohibited under the federal Jones Act, a sacred cow for the American labor movement.
Then, too, plans for a battery factory in the Hudson Valley are on the brink of collapse after its CEO resigned, its stock cratered and its workers got laid off.
Vancouver-based Zinc8 Energy Solutions had won $68 million in state tax credits for a Kingston plant to manufacture long-duration energy storage systems.
Its implosion means the imagined renewables-heavy electric grid would lack crucial help in maintaining service when the sun isn’t shining or wind isn’t blowing.
Meanwhile, the folks in charge of overseeing the state electric grid have warned that this “transition” risks leaving New York City facing blackouts as soon as 2025.
By the way, statewide conversion to electric heat would mean peak power demand will come in the coldest months, not the hottest: So the blackouts won’t leave people sweating uncomfortably but instead freezing in the dead of winter.
The entire US and Western drive to end carbon emissions is a ruinous wild-goose chase.
New York’s rush to lead the way, begun simply to boost then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s presidential hopes, only guarantees that Empire Staters will suffer the worst ruin before reality comes crashing down.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets ... 5279&ei=23
Re: CORRUPT AND INEPT GOVERNMENT
"'Poor communication' before PPE rotted under tarps during pandemic - Inspector general's investigation examined circumstances leading up to $560K in PPE rotting on pallets outside a Queens nursing home"
By Brendan J. Lyons, Albany, New York Times Union
Nov 21, 2023
ALBANY — A state inspector general’s investigation found that poor communication and planning by multiple agencies contributed to a state-run home for veterans in Queens wasting more than $560,000 worth of personal protective equipment that was stored on tarp-covered pallets in its parking lot in early 2021, as many residential facilities planned for a third wave of COVID-19 that never fully materialized.
A lack of storage space and a procurement process that resulted in months-long delays in ordering and shipping the materials, which included masks, gowns, gloves and other protective equipment, were key factors in the breakdown.
The inspector general’s office said the waste was attributed to ineffective communication among multiple agencies, including the state Department of Health and Office of General Services, as well as the state Veterans Home at St. Albans in Jamaica, Queens, which is among five state-run homes for veterans in New York.
The personal protective equipment that sat on pallets outside St. Albans two years ago had been purchased through an “aggregated buy” that was handled by the Office of General Services in late 2020.
The massive orders were placed as state officials warned of an impending post-Christmas wave of COVID-19, but the amount of equipment purchased far exceeded needs at the time.
The Health Department and veterans homes “were operating in a quickly changing regulatory environment, where they needed to adapt to new rules and guidelines on a regular basis,” the inspector general’s report states.
“There was no choice but to prepare for a third wave as directed and then to be grateful that it never came.”
The breakdown in the St. Albans' case took shape in November 2020 when the Office of General Services suggested using a rate of personal protective equipment from the height of the pandemic — without taking into account on-site storage space.
Officials at St. Albans ordered 5 million units of personal protective equipment and expected that it would be delivered in monthly quantities.
But the purchase orders were not submitted by the Health Department until February 2021, a delay that was not communicated to St. Albans, and resulted in a much larger delivery of equipment that ultimately was not needed.
“In the months that followed, (protective equipment) continued to arrive, and when communication between the various stakeholders with an ability to address the growing storage crisis failed, the (equipment) was moved to the St. Albans parking lot, where it would slowly decay,” the report states.
“As New York state continues to prioritize public safety and living our shared values by efficiently deploying resources, our report calls for increased and consistent communication to mitigate waste and save lives,” Inspector General Lucy Lang said in a statement.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... 0headlines
By Brendan J. Lyons, Albany, New York Times Union
Nov 21, 2023
ALBANY — A state inspector general’s investigation found that poor communication and planning by multiple agencies contributed to a state-run home for veterans in Queens wasting more than $560,000 worth of personal protective equipment that was stored on tarp-covered pallets in its parking lot in early 2021, as many residential facilities planned for a third wave of COVID-19 that never fully materialized.
A lack of storage space and a procurement process that resulted in months-long delays in ordering and shipping the materials, which included masks, gowns, gloves and other protective equipment, were key factors in the breakdown.
The inspector general’s office said the waste was attributed to ineffective communication among multiple agencies, including the state Department of Health and Office of General Services, as well as the state Veterans Home at St. Albans in Jamaica, Queens, which is among five state-run homes for veterans in New York.
The personal protective equipment that sat on pallets outside St. Albans two years ago had been purchased through an “aggregated buy” that was handled by the Office of General Services in late 2020.
The massive orders were placed as state officials warned of an impending post-Christmas wave of COVID-19, but the amount of equipment purchased far exceeded needs at the time.
The Health Department and veterans homes “were operating in a quickly changing regulatory environment, where they needed to adapt to new rules and guidelines on a regular basis,” the inspector general’s report states.
“There was no choice but to prepare for a third wave as directed and then to be grateful that it never came.”
The breakdown in the St. Albans' case took shape in November 2020 when the Office of General Services suggested using a rate of personal protective equipment from the height of the pandemic — without taking into account on-site storage space.
Officials at St. Albans ordered 5 million units of personal protective equipment and expected that it would be delivered in monthly quantities.
But the purchase orders were not submitted by the Health Department until February 2021, a delay that was not communicated to St. Albans, and resulted in a much larger delivery of equipment that ultimately was not needed.
“In the months that followed, (protective equipment) continued to arrive, and when communication between the various stakeholders with an ability to address the growing storage crisis failed, the (equipment) was moved to the St. Albans parking lot, where it would slowly decay,” the report states.
“As New York state continues to prioritize public safety and living our shared values by efficiently deploying resources, our report calls for increased and consistent communication to mitigate waste and save lives,” Inspector General Lucy Lang said in a statement.
https://www.timesunion.com/state/articl ... 0headlines