Amazon and Taxi Workers Organize + Buffalo Mayor Race Down to Wire

Local News:

• Workers at Amazon’s massive JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island will file today with the NLRB to authorize a union election.
• The New York Taxi Workers Alliance launched a hunger strike at City Hall in support of their push to win debt relief for thousands of taxi medallion owners, joined by Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (District 36, Astoria), City Council Nominee Shahana Hanif (District 39, Kensington), and former City Council candidate Jaslin Kaur.
• Mayor de Blasio announced that all municipal employees—including firefighters and cops—must receive at least one COVID-19 vaccine by October 29th, eliminating the option to opt-out through weekly coronavirus testing.
• Photos released from Rikers Island show the horrifying conditions people are kept in as COVID-19 rates continue to rise among its incarcerated population. The corrections officers’ vaccine mandate has been delayed until December 1.
• Since New York State’s latest fiscal year began in April, the state has already collected $1.8 billion in taxes more than initially projected.
• New York City’s tourism agency plans to spend $6 million on an ad campaign in eight countries to lure international visitors and their money back to the city in time for the holiday season.
• Governor Hochul signed a bill that will require the MTA to release more data to the public, in easily accessible and searchable formats, over the next three years. Currently, the MTA has the fewest data sets of any state agency on the NY open data portal.
• The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), has recommended that 65 NYPD officers face discipline for misconduct during the 2020 police brutality protests. The officers will face an internal trial but their punishment is ultimately determined by the police commissioner.
• While New York’s eviction moratorium is still in place, illegal evictions are on the rise, with landlords facing little consequences.
• Despite a pilot program aiming to send social workers to more mental health crises, data released last week shows that 911 operators still route 75% of such calls to the NYPD.
• A judge halted the city’s plans to shift retired municipal employees onto Medicare Advantage plans to save money. The decision comes after many retirees were concerned that the Advantage plans, which are privately administered Medicare policies, would disrupt their health coverage and sued to block the cost-cutting transition.
• The NY Cannabis Board issued a proposal to allow medical marijuana patients to grow up to six marijuana plants in private residences.

Elections:

• US Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gilibrand endorsed India Walton for mayor of Buffalo, while Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples Stokes (District 141, Buffalo) endorsed Byron Brown for re-election.
• Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, the Democratic mayoral nominee, faced Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa in the first debate before the general election next month. In the Public Advocate debate, Jumaane Williams defended his decision to seek reelection while also pursuing statewide office.
• Governor Kathy Hochul is hoping to raise $25 million for next year’s gubernatorial race, close to the number her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, routinely raised. New York NAACP President Hazel Dukes endorsed Hochul for reelection in 2022.
• Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez is planning to run for State Attorney General in next year’s election if the current AG, Tish James, runs for governor.
• Eric Adams has begun raising money for a PAC, known as Striving for a Better New York, which he claims will support candidates who share his views.