NYC-DSA endorses Julia Salazar + NYC schools strike and occupy

Local News:

• Columbia University graduate workers went on strike to protest unfair working conditions, and students at the New School occupied the school’s cafeteria to demand that laid-off union cafeteria workers retain their jobs.
• The charter revision commission, tasked with making recommendations for changes to the city charter to improve civic engagement, has initiated a series of public hearings to solicit public input. Voting reform advocates and elected officials are pushing the commission and the Mayor to include instant-runoff voting, also known as ranked-choice voting, as one of the proposals the commission could put on the ballot in November.
• As de Blasio moves to make a second push to regulate companies like Uber and Lyft, taxi drivers continue to face worsening work conditions, leading to longer hours, lower pay, and unmanageable debt. Meanwhile, Council Speaker Corey Johnson openly regrets folding under pressure from Uber lobbyists in 2015, when de Blasio first attempted to cap the for-hire vehicle industry while it had half as many cars on the streets as it does now.
• The State Assembly passed a bill to use gender neutral terms for police officers and firefighters in State law. The bill has already passed the Senate and now goes to Gov. Cuomo’s desk.
• Gothamist has coverage of May Day events, including quotes from NYC-DSA Steering Committee member Erin Neff.
• The Vera Institute of Justice published a report about medical parole in New York state, concluding that a “broad, permissive statute is not enough to ensure that people with serious illnesses and incapacitating medical conditions are successfully identified, processed, and released in a timely manner.” Between 2013-2017, 476 people imprisoned in New York applied for compassionate release. During that time, 143 applicants died in custody.
• Gov. Cuomo has formally directed State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to investigate how the NYPD and Manhattan DA’s office handled the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein. The Marshall Project found Vance to be far more punitive than the DAs of other boroughs when prosecuting low-income defendants.
• Despite a pledge by Mayor de Blasio in 2015 that City courthouses would be equipped with “easily accessible ATMs,” courthouses in the Bronx, Staten Island, and Queens do not provide access to them during criminal hearings, making it difficult for defendants to pay cash bail even in cases when they can afford it.

Elections:

• NYC-DSA voted to endorse Julia Salazar for the New York Senate 18th District (Bushwick, Williamsburg) seat at their annual convention. For more details from the convention, check out Tili Solokov’s live-tweet thread.
• Council Member Carlos Menchaca (District 38, Sunset Park) became the first elected official to endorse Cynthia Nixon, signing on to her plan to grant drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.
• Part of Cynthia Nixon’s newly unveiled housing platform includes expanding rent stabilization to the rest of New York state. Nixon’s pro-tenant stances have caused deep concern in New York’s real estate industry and developers and landlords are openly attempting to keep her from either winning the Democratic nomination for Governor or moving Cuomo to the left on housing policy.
• Simcha Eichenstein has formally announced his candidacy for the 48th Assembly seat, where Dov Hikind (D-Boro Park) is retiring. From a prominent rabbinical family, and well-connected in Albany, Eichenstein was rumored to be pursuing the seat for a long time, and is expected to cruise to victory.