Report Slams De Blasio for Campaign Finance, Again

Local News:

• The New York City Department of Investigation released a report accusing Mayor Bill de Blasio of misusing about $320,000 of city funds on travel and security, particularly during his 2020 presidential campaign. This is part of the nearly $1 million the mayor owes to lawyers, campaign consultants, and lobbyists.
• Governor Hochul has officially halted the LaGuardia AirTrain project and is asking the Port Authority to explore alternatives.
• Mayor de Blasio announced a plan to scrap the city’s Gifted and Talented program. Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams has said he is not only opposed to getting rid of the program, but also would work to expand it.
• City Council is considering passing a bill that would require restaurants to include plastic cutlery with to-go orders if only if customers specifically request it. Meanwhile, the ban on plastic straws that City Council last May, will go into effect on November 1.
• More than 200 people currently detained in Rikers Island’s notorious women’s facility will be temporarily transferred to state-run prisons in Westchester County in an attempt to reduce the population at the crisis-ridden jail.
• A Bronx man who had been detained at Rikers Island died the same day a judge granted an emergency conditional release. This is the thirteenth death at Rikers this year, and comes one day after a federal monitor reported the de Blasio administration’s interventions have failed to improve the dangerous conditions at Rikers.
• Senator Chuck Schumer rode along with Los Deliveristas Unidos in Harlem, where the labor group discussed the unsafe working conditions delivery workers face in the city.
• Public Advocate Jumaane Williams joined a rally on Sunday to demand that Senator Schumer live up to progressive policy promises in Washington.
• Advocates are pushing the Metropolitan Transit Authority to expand discounts for commuter rail for riders within the five boroughs.
• Tenants are feeling the pressure as rents continue to rise to pre-pandemic levels.
• New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office is investigating an off-duty NYPD officer for the shooting of two women in Bensonhurst.

Elections:

• Emily’s List endorsed Kathy Hochul in a key early endorsement for governor, deciding not to wait for other potential candidates like Letitia James to enter next year’s race.
• Gotham Gazette profiled City Council District 50 (New Dorp, South Beach) on Staten Island, the seat of current minority leader Steven Matteo and one of the few competitive council races in the general election.