Category: EconomicDevelopment

NGLCC: New York City to Become Largest City in America   to Recognize LGBT-Owned Businesses

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New York City to Become Largest City in America
to Recognize LGBT-Owned Businesses

Historic agreement between NYC Dept. of Small Business Services
and National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, five years in the making


January 19, 2021
Washington, D.C. – The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community, is proud to announce that New York City Small Business Services (SBS) has approved a measure to include NGLCC Certified LGBT Business Enterprise® (Certified LGBTBE®) suppliers in contracting and procurement opportunities, as well as capacity building and educational programs from small businesses, throughout the city. For LGBT citizens of New York City, this inclusive policy provides fair and equal access to economic development programs that drive innovation, create jobs, and promote economic growth throughout the city.
“Thanks to the leadership of NGLCC, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Department of Small Business Services– especially Commissioner Jonnel Doris and Deputy Commissioner Dynishal Gross– LGBT entrepreneurs in New York City will now have the opportunity to create jobs and develop innovations that benefit all who live there. New York City has a legacy of leadership in promoting inclusivity at every level of public life. Now, history has been made here in New York City, and this victory for inclusivity has once again proved our core values that ‘diversity is good for business’ and that ‘if you can buy it, a certified LGBT-owned business can supply it.’ We are excited to see LGBTBEs in every field, from construction to catering and everything in between, help grow the economy of New York City and beyond as M/WBEs and EBEs,” said NGLCC Co-Founder & President Justin Nelson.
New and Current NGLCC Certified LGBTBE® suppliers can utilize their existing certification to meet a majority of criteria needed to be certified by NYC’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS). The additional information required will be submitted via electronic addendum provided when a supplier begins the online application with the City of New York. Learn more at nglcc.org/nyc. 
“Equity of access and inclusion are at the core of the work we do at SBS,” said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “A diverse vendor pool makes a stronger New York City, and we are excited to maximize the inclusion of LGBTQ certified firms into the City’s certification process. We look forward to our continued partnership with the NGLCC.”
This policy makes New York City the next city to intentionally include LGBT-owned businesses in municipal contracting and procurement opportunities, a best practice of the private sector and of an ever-growing number of states and municipalities. Thanks to the advocacy of NGLCC and its state and local affiliate chambers, New York City follows in the footsteps of large cities like Chicago, Orlando, Nashville, and more as inclusive leaders throughout the United States. 
NGLCC wishes to thank Congressman Ritchie Torres for introducing a New York City Council bill to push this issue forward, which was first raised by Councilmember Daniel Dromm and members of the LGBTQ Caucus.
“LGBTQ-owned businesses in NYC will finally have equal access to city economic development programs thanks to this historic agreement,” said NYC Council LGBT Caucus Chair Daniel Dromm. “When it comes to establishing and growing businesses, LGBTQ entrepreneurs face many significant and manifold challenges. I am pleased that these business owners who were once excluded from sorely-needed contracting and procurement opportunities will be able to participate. I have worked alongside Congressmember Ritchie Torres and the NGLCC to sounds the alarm and raise awareness of this effort which is ultimately about fairness and equity. Thank you to SBS for stepping up and agreeing to this partnership. It will impact the lives of thousands of New Yorkers in a meaningful and lasting way.”
In August 2019, at the 2019 NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference in Tampa, FL, openly LGBT Mayor Jane Castor announced an executive order to include Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in her city. This order followed Mayor Eric Garcetti’s historic announcement to do the same in Los Angeles just days before, as well as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s resolution to do the same in her city. In 2018 and early 2019, NGLCC won the inclusion of Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in Orlando, FL; Nashville, TN; Baltimore, MD; Jersey City, NJ; and Hoboken, NJ, while also advancing statewide bills in New York and New Jersey. Currently, California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania also include Certified LGBTBE® suppliers in city procurement, along with major cities like Seattle, Newark, Columbus, and Philadelphia. Many of America’s largest cities and states are working closely with NGLCC to complete LGBTBE inclusion in 2021. 
“While we have a long way to go for LGBT equality in the nation, NYC has always had a strong and growing network of NGLCC Certified LGBTBE® suppliers and LGBT-owned companies. We hope this resolution in NYC will encourage more cities to proactively include the LGBT community for the optimum social and economic health of their cities. Collectively, LGBT-owned businesses contribute to the $1.7 trillion dollars that the LGBT business community puts into the national economy. Progressive and inclusive leadership, like that of New York City, will ensure greater access to the American Dream for every American,” said NGLCC Co-Founder & CEO Chance Mitchell.

Read more here.

HuffPost: ‘Too Much Death’: This NYC Councilman Says He’s Lost 8 Friends To COVID

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Daniel Dromm’s district in Queens has become one of the epicenters of the pandemic in New York City, which itself is the epicenter of the virus in the world.

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By Christopher Mathias

Originally published in the Huffington Post on April 15, 2020

NEW YORK — As the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged New York City, so far killing over 10,000 people, it’s laid bare the harsh racial and social inequities in the five boroughs.

About 80% of the city’s frontline workers — grocery store cashiers, nurses, bus drivers, food delivery drivers — are Black or Latino. Look at a map of where they live in the city, and then compare it to a map of the most concentrated outbreaks of COVID-19, and you’ll see many of the same neighborhoods highlighted in red.

One of the hardest-hit working-class neighborhoods is Jackson Heights in Queens — one of the most diverse places on the planet. Daniel Dromm, who’s represented the neighborhood for 10 years in the city council, tweeted earlier this month that he’d already lost five friends in the pandemic, underscoring the desperate situation there.

WILLIAM ALATRISTE FOR NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL
Daniel Dromm, who represents Jackson Heights in Queens, says he’s lost eight friends in the pandemic.

Dromm talked to HuffPost about the growing food emergency in his community, how Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) needs to release people in state prisons now, the need for rent relief, and how, sadly, he’s lost even more friends over the last couple of weeks.

You call your district the “epicenter of the epicenter.” What makes your district specifically so vulnerable to all this? 

Well, we have a lot of service workers that live here, undocumented folks that live here, immigrants who are here, and oftentimes, we see that those folks are of lower income, and in order to survive, they have to live in overcrowded, illegally converted homes, which only makes the spread of COVID worse. So there’s really no place for many people who live in my community to self-isolate because sometimes they live 20 to 25 people in a house. We’ve seen this on numerous occasions here in the district.

So that closeness and that density in the neighborhood is, I think, one of the major contributing factors to COVID. Now, even those of us who are as fortunate as I am, I have a one-bedroom apartment for myself, there’s still the density of the neighborhood so that when you walk down on 37th Avenue, which is kind of like one of the main strips in Jackson Heights, it’s very hard to not bump into somebody or meet somebody that wants to talk.

That was always the case before COVID and in a sense, it was very quaint, very nice, because it’s kind of like a small town in the big city. But of course, that type of interaction between people as well is another contributing factor to the spread of COVID.

So something that for years we liked about the neighborhood, which was that social gathering and connections, now we’re being forced to socially distance, and that’s something we in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst are unfamiliar with. And so I think the density, the poverty, the lack of health care, all of those things have been contributing factors to the spread of the virus.

What is the most urgent thing your constituents need from the state or federal government that they’re not getting right now? 

So it’s kind of changed a little bit. Elmhurst Hospital seems to be a little bit better off than it was. Not much, because every single bed is taken — 545 beds taken at Elmhurst. But my on-the-ground type of feeling is that people now are seeking food.

A number of the supermarkets in the neighborhood had closed down, including Patel brothers, two Asian supermarkets on Broadway, most of the fruit stands and food stores along 37th Avenue closed down, so people were short of food simply by virtue of stores closing, but then again on top of that, you have those who can’t even afford it anymore because they’ve lost their job.

DAVID DEE DELGADO VIA GETTY IMAGES
Dozens of people stand in line outside of Seatide Fish & Lobster market to purchase fish on Good Friday on April 10, 2020, in Jackson Heights, Queens.

So people like taxicab drivers — I have a large constituency of cab drivers — they’re not really working anymore. Many of them are undocumented and don’t have access to SNAP benefits. So food has become last week’s and this week’s biggest issue to conquer. I was lucky that working with Grow NYC, I was able to get 300 boxes of food to be distributed at the United Sherpa Society started this week, and that’s going to last for another 12 weeks.

So finding food and getting access to food is an issue. And then even those who are fortunate enough to have an income or be able to pay for food are facing very, very long lines outside the supermarket, sometimes a block or two long, just waiting to get into the supermarkets that are open. So that is a big issue at this point.

Is there anything that D.C. or Cuomo in Albany can do to alleviate that problem?

So actually, I’m going to be having a conference call with Sen. [Chuck] Schumer and Sen. [Kirsten] Gillibrand and a few of the congressional delegates tomorrow, and that’s my major concern that I’m going to raise is, particularly for undocumented communities who are not eligible for SNAP benefits, what type of provisions are being made for them?

And also a number of food banks have closed in the area — because, one, of the volunteer shortage and two, because of the lack of food availability, but what type of provisions are going to be made for that?

So you were talking before about how this pandemic has kind of unmasked a lot of racial and economic inequalities that were already there, that maybe people in other neighborhoods or districts weren’t paying attention to. Being in the epicenter of the epicenter of this crisis, has it changed your worldview at all? Are there bigger changes that need to be made after all this is over? 

Yes, absolutely. I think what we have to do is really come to a realization: Who are our essential workers? OK. These folks that live in my district are the essential workers during this COVID crisis. They’re the aides in the hospitals, they’re the people who are doing the work in the restaurants. They’re the folks who are driving the buses and operating the trains. And so, you know, oftentimes when people think about essential workers, maybe they think of an elected official, maybe they think of some rich guy in Manhattan, whatever. But really what it comes down to are these people, our community, both documented and undocumented, who are risking their lives on a daily basis for everyone else, and to me, that’s something that’s really jumped out at me.

These delivery men, these delivery men who bring us our takeout orders. They’re essential, OK? They are essential to us and to the economy. And we have to look at that and in the future reward them with paid time off, sick days, etc., because we realize now how essential they are.

Gov. Cuomo has gotten a lot of accolades, and his poll numbers are up, and I was wondering if you thought that was deserved? 

You know, I have a real policy difference with Gov. Cuomo on the issue of how he has treated our New York state prisoners. They’re some of the most vulnerable people in the whole state because they are packed into prisons with very, very little to prevent the virus. They don’t have enough soap, they don’t have enough sanitizer, they don’t have masks, and the most insulting part of it is that the staff does! The corrections officers have that and have access to that but the poor people who are stuck in jail, don’t have access to any of that.

And like Rikers Island, I think today had 383 cases of COVID among the detainees, and I make a differentiation there between detainee and inmates because they haven’t been convicted yet, but upstate, upstate is where the governor has control, and he has done nothing, and he shot down reporters.

So I plead with the governor, to please release the — especially the elderly people who are in prison, and those who are near the end of their term, to release them from prison, because they should not be getting a death sentence simply because they are packed into these prisons. And ultimately, that’s what’s going to happen if we don’t deal with this issue immediately.

OK. And just to be clear, you’re saying he should release elderly people and people near the end of their term but would you even go further than that?

I would. I would look at all records of people who could potentially be eligible for relief. Because very few people in New York state prisons are on life terms, and there’s no death penalty, but by leaving them in prison at this point, you know, it’s really a matter of saving their lives. And so, the whole thing needs to be examined and we need a real change there. And overall, I think he has shown a lot of leadership, but this is one of the things that I think just sticks out in my mind. They have nowhere to go and it just to be looked at.

There’ve been some reports about there being an outbreak among homeless shelters at the moment, and also in NYCHA residences. What solutions do you see for those problems? 

Well, yeah, I mean, it’s very similar to the issue that we’re facing here in terms of overcrowding, within our immigrant community, and I’ve been pushing the mayor for about two and a half weeks now to open up these hotels and get people into hotels. There are enough hotels probably to house, I don’t know how many people really because I don’t have a grip on that, but to have a lot of people, let me put it that way.

And there’s been some hesitancy on the part of the De Blasio administration in that direction, although now they are finally moving in that direction…

The other thing I’m seeing here in the community is people who are in Elmhurst Hospital, they’ve been taken in because they have severe symptoms of the virus, or they have for four or five days, maybe a little longer, but then they’re released but they have no place to go to convalesce. So you know, they go back to their overcrowded conditions where somebody else is infected and who knows, they could infect somebody else or whatever. And in some instances where people don’t even want them back into the overcrowded homes to begin with.

So we’ve been working with Mitch Katz, the head of Health and Hospitals, to at least get those folks who are being released with nowhere to go, to be aware that there is now going to be implemented this program of the availability of a hotel room for a period of convalescence. So that is supposed to be happening as of today.

What needs to be done that’s not being done when it comes to rent?

I think we have to have a rent freeze and the mayor has called for that by the Rent Guidelines Board, and I think there need to be some federal dollars because even if we have a rent freeze, it’s still not going to protect those tenants if they can’t catch up for three, six, eight, nine months, whatever it may be. To expect them then to pay back all that rent when they don’t have an income or haven’t had an income is going to be a very hard burden, particularly on my constituents, but on anybody who finds themselves in that type of situation. So a rent freeze and some type of federal balance to help with the payment of rents.

And so on April 1, you tweeted that you’ve lost five friends to the virus, and I’m very sorry for your loss.

Thank you.

And I hate to ask, but has that number grown since? 

Yeah, yep. I’d say it’s about — of personal friends — eight or nine now. [Editor’s note: It’s eight people. Their names are Lorena Borjas, Priscilla Carrow, Father Antonio Checo, Tarlach MacNiallais, Anne Quashen, Joe Hennessy, Gloria Lippman, and Joe Forman.]

Which is just incredible. And then, of course, I’m the councilman for the area and I’ve heard about, you know, at least two dozen, maybe almost 30 people in the community who have died.

JIM BURKE
LGBT activist Anne Quashen, right, seen here celebrating shortly before the 2019 Queens Pride Parade kick-off in Jackson Heights, Queens, recently died of the coronavirus.

I just found out this morning that a woman who lives in my building complex, not in my exact building, but within the complex, her name is Gloria Lippman, she died last night. She was only 75 years old. But, you know, I used to see her in the neighborhood all the time. She’d go [puts on thick New York accent] “Dannyyy! How are youuu?”

So you know, I hear of maybe one [death] a day. And it’s just too much death. It’s just too much death for anyone to bear.

Well, that was my next question. How are you bearing it? Like, what kind of toll is it taking on you?

I try to keep moving forward. One of the people who was in the original batch of five when I tweeted that out, his name was Tarlach MacNiallais, and he was a member of the St. Pat’s For All Parade, you know, the inclusive St. Patrick’s Parade that we have here in Sunnyside, Queens. So I think that one kind of hit me the hardest because he was the one who was I was closest to.

But I also just lost one of the founding members of PFLAG Queens. Her name is Anne Quashen. She was older, she was 88. And she died on Friday afternoon.

So it’s hard to say, you know, I just keep going forward because that’s all you can do, you know. And what makes it worse is that there’s no grieving period that, you know, you can get together with people and hug and console each other.

For Tarlach, we did an online or a virtual funeral, and a virtual Irish funeral, which went on for six hours. … There were people from Ireland on it, so … at least you can see people that might not otherwise be able to fly here, but you realize how important those things are, you know, to the grieving process. And so without it, all you can do is just keep going and, you know, try to get up each day and do what you can to get to the end of this.

Do you see a light at the end of the tunnel now? Are we at that point? 

Well, I’m always optimistic. You know, I like to say I survived one crisis, the AIDS crisis or the AIDS epidemic, right, and we survived other things as well. 9/11 and other catastrophes. … I’m of the age of Vietnam. I didn’t go to Vietnam, you know, but that was a disaster. I remember the oil crisis where you couldn’t get oil [for] your cars.

Eventually, we came out of all of that, and it’s part of our lived experience. So, yeah, I’m hopeful. You know, I think we’ll get through this and maybe even be more united as a community, and maybe people will stop sometimes being so ugly, but that’s what I’m hoping.

Yeah, and then the last question, when this is all over and we’re back to life as normal, when you kind of imagine that situation, what’s the first thing you do to enjoy yourself as a New Yorker?

I’m going to go to a Broadway show. [Laughs.] When I heard that the Broadway theaters weren’t gonna open ’til June 7, I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s a gay man’s nightmare.’

I always love my art and my theater and stuff like that. It kind of makes life worth living. So I’m really looking forward to that.

Read more here.

Bond Buyer: Coronavirus colors New York City Council’s budget response

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By Chip Barnett

Originally published in the Bond Buyer on April 8, 2020

The New York City Council issued its response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $95.3 billion fiscal 2021 preliminary budget, focusing on supporting the social safety net as the coronavirus has ravaged the city and its finances.

“The impact of COVID-19 on our economy has been much like the effect of the virus itself — sudden and with a quick decline,” Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Council Finance Committee Chair Daniel Dromm and Capital Budget Subcommittee Chair Vanessa Gibson said in a joint letter released late Tuesday.

The preliminary fiscal 2021 budget was released by the mayor three months ago, when the city was a drastically different place, the council members said.

The council said its response contains what it deems are essential programs and services that must be retained.

“We recognize that revenues are decreasing because of severely reduced business activity, deferred tax collections, and a sharp drop in tourism. And we understand that a substantial amount of resources will be needed to combat the spread of coronavirus and to protect the health and safety of our people and the heroic essential workers,” the Council members said. “However, as we make the tough decisions about where to find savings and efficiencies, it is imperative that the basic social safety net programs remain untouched, and in some cases expanded with additional investments.”

The Council members said it was crucial that both the city and the state continue to press the federal government for additional stimulus and recovery funding.

“The city’s ability to stabilize its economy, help the tens of thousands of newly unemployed or underemployed workers, provide loans to small businesses, and pay for the public health response to the virus hinges on federal assistance,” the Council members said.

De Blasio released the $95.3 billion fiscal 2021 preliminary budget in January and the council held the first round of hearings on the budget.

The mayor will release his revised executive budget later this month. The 51-member council will hold a second round of hearings, after which they will negotiate adjustments with the mayor.

The mayor said the council’s response would be looked at closely.

“We are in an unprecedented crisis and facing billions of dollars in lost revenue. There is no doubt this budget cycle will be painful,” said Laura Feyer, the mayor’s deputy press secretary. “We are laser focused on fighting COVID-19 and protecting the health and safety of all New Yorkers. We are reviewing the Council’s proposals.”

By law, the council must vote on a budget by July 1. The last four budgets were all approved ahead of schedule.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, left and finance chair Daniel Dromm, right, joined capital budget subcommittee Chair Vanessa Gibson in signing the letter to the mayor.William Alatriste

Last month, the mayor said the budget will be on time despite the spread of COVID-19 forcing $1.3 billion of cost-cutting measures.

The council called on the administration to:

  • Continue to prioritize and maintain services that focus on the prevention and identification of infectious diseases; provide needed mental health supports; address health disparities in the city’s communities of color that cause an excess burden of ill health and premature mortality; support the full range of health services; and conduct surveillance of environmental-related diseases.
  • Invest at least $25 million in food pantries, expand all feeding programs, and increase food allowances for all emergency housing programs. With the drop in employment, thousands more New Yorkers are food insecure.
  • Ensure that every older adult who requests a meal receives one and to adequately fund the enhanced need for senior services.
  • Fund a robust rental voucher program, move families out of shelters into vacant units, invest in homeless street solutions, and expand anti-eviction services, and preserve NYCHA’s affordable housing stock.
  • Continue to support human services providers by ensuring that workers feel protected, safe, and properly compensated; that contracts reflect the increased costs associated with COVID-19; and that agencies allow flexibility in contract scope and services.
  • Support a rent relief and deferral program for adversely impacted families and implement tax deferral programs for struggling homeowners and small property owners.
  • Implement measures to stabilize the small business community. Businesses have certain bills that need to be paid whether or not they are operating, such as rent, utilities, loan payments, insurance costs, and taxes.

“The upcoming budget negotiations will involve many tough choices, but it is clear that there are certain basic items that should remain protected, including investments in public health and the social safety net,” Johnson said. “This is a crisis unlike any we have ever seen, but I believe in New York City.”

The council’s finance chair said average New Yorkers need the city as a backup in these trying times.

“The city must deliver for the thousands of New Yorkers who rely on our social safety net in this time of great need. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to our city and to the budgeting process,” Dromm said. “There is a lot of uncertainty but one thing is clear: services that keep New Yorkers housed, fed, healthy and open for business should remain strong. Because the need for many of these services will only grow in the coming months, New York City needs to prioritize them to the fullest extent possible so that no one falls through the cracks.”

The city is one of the largest issuers of municipal debt in the United States. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2020, the city had about $37.7 billion of general obligation debt outstanding. That’s not counting the various city authorities that issue debt.

Moody’s Investors Service rates the city’s GOs Aa1, but has placed the rating on negative review. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings rate the city’s GOs AA.

The NYC Transitional Finance Authority has $38.9 billion of debt outstanding while the NYC Municipal Water Finance Authority has $30.8 billion of debt outstanding.

Read more here.

Bond Buyer: NYC Council’s Johnson proposes $12B plan to help business, workers hit by COVID-19

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By Chip Barnett

Originally published in the Bond Buyer on March 19, 2020

New York City could sell up to $12 billion in “relief bonds” to help businesses and workers hit financially by the COVID-19 virus under a plan proposed by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

Johnson on Thursday proposed the plan to be paid for by the federal government but said the city could sell bonds if that doesn’t happen.

“Ideally, the federal government would step up and immediately fund each of these programs. But the city can’t wait on that,” Johnson said. “After the 9/11 attacks, the city got to work rebuilding right away, which was financed by selling bonds. The state Legislature took action to allow the sale of new bonds by the New York City Transitional Finance Authority and they were on the market by early October.

“If we act quickly, we can replicate the success of that program and invest in our shared recovery again. New Yorkers who are able can give back by buying these bonds. It will be a great way to help the city and fellow New Yorkers during this crisis,” he said.

Johnson added that a new revenue stream would be needed to pay for the bonds.

“To issue these bonds, our city is going to need new revenue streams. We should ask the wealthiest corporations and people, those who are most able to weather this storm, to chip in a bit more. That could be in the form of a temporary payroll tax, a surcharge on high-end commercial property, or a small tax increase on personal income over $500,000 a year,” he said.

“If we provide these benefits for six months, it will cost about $12 billion. We might come out of this crisis before then. But the longer we wait, the harder it will be to bring the city back to normal. The costs of failure here are incalculable,” Johnson said. “This is a defining moment. New York has faced many challenges, each different than the last. We have persevered by coming together and rallying around the common good. We will do the same here.”

The proposal includes a temporary universal basic income for all New Yorkers, temporarily deferring fees and refunding business taxes, and up to $250,000 to cover fixed costs for impacted businesses. It also includes unemployment protections for those who have had their hours cut, gig economy and freelance workers.

The Council estimates that over 500,000 workers and more than 40,000 businesses are in the industries hardest hit during the COVID-19 crisis. These businesses generated $40 billion in taxable sales last year.

While full economic extent of this pandemic is unknown, Council members said they wanted to take action now.

“We have a plan to bring relief to the hundreds of thousands of NYC workers who have been hit hard by COVID-19. By deferring fees without penalty, refunding business taxes, expanding the safety net and putting money into New Yorkers’ pockets, this plan will ensure that many who need help will receive it,” said Council Finance Chair Daniel Dromm. “At the same time, it will serve to stimulate our local economy. Our plan takes into account the fact that federal dollars may be slow in coming or may simply not be enough. Regardless of how the federal government acts, all New Yorkers should know that, under the leadership of Speaker Corey Johnson, the Council is stepping up for them in a big way.”

The components of the plan are:

  • Institute a temporary universal basic income. Even if current federal proposals for immediate payments of $1,000 or $2,000 to Americans pans out, the impact of those dollars is far less in New York than almost every other city in the country. Under the Council’s proposal, every New York City resident would get money in their pocket — $550 for each adult and $275 for each child. This means we reach everyone and provide some much-needed stimulus.
  • Provide extra help for impacted New Yorkers. The plan would temporarily expand eligibility for unemployment to freelancers, gig workers, and those who have had their hours reduced. It would also temporarily enhance benefits for everyone by 30%. To do so, the city would also need to shore up New York’s unemployment insurance trust fund, which started the year with a balance of $2.6 billion. With a surge in workers applying for benefits and fewer businesses paying in, the fund won’t hold out long.

To help impacted businesses, the plan would:

  • Immediately defer sales and use taxes due in March, as well as the commercial rent tax and business taxes.
  • Institute penalty-free deferment of the collection of city fees, such as sidewalk cafe fees and permit renewal fees.
  • Build on the city’s small business loan program by expanding eligibility to reach more businesses and increasing the maximum loan amount to $250,000. These should be structured as zero-interest loans, but the city, with the help of the federal government, should be prepared to forgive some of this debt if it’s necessary to keep businesses afloat.

The city is one of the largest issuers of municipal debt in the United States. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2020, the city had about $37.7 billion of general obligation debt outstanding. That’s not counting the various city authorities that issue debt.

Moody’s Investors Service rates the city’s GOs Aa1 and S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings rate it AA. All three rating agencies assign stable outlooks to the GOs.

The NYC Transitional Finance Authority has $38.9 billion of debt outstanding while the NYC Municipal Water Finance Authority has $30.8 billion of debt outstanding. The TFA’s debt consists of future tax-secured senior bonds (Aaa/AAA/AAA), future tax-secured subordinate bonds (Aa1/AAA/AAA) and building aid revenue bonds (Aa2/AA/AA). The MWFA’s debt consists of general resolution bonds (A1/AAA/AA+) and second general resolution bonds (Aa1/AA+/AA+).

For fiscal 2020, the city had estimated total bond issuance at $8.61 billion, with sales of $9.9 billion in fiscal 2021, $11.3 billion in fiscal 2022, $12.7 billion in fiscal 2023 and $13.3 billion in fiscal 2024.

Read more here.

Bond Buyer: NYC Council approves $500M bond issue to expand Hudson Yards

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By Chip Barnett

Originally published in the Bond Buyer on August 8, 2018

The New York City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved up to $500 million of bonds to back additional financing by the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corp.

Earlier on Wednesday, the finance panel, under the chairmanship of Daniel Dromm, voted 9-0 to approve a financing that will implement Phase 2 of the development on Manhattan’s Westside and expand the Hudson Boulevard and Park three blocks north to West 39th Street from West 36th Street.

The boundaries of the Hudson Yards Financing District in Manhattan are approximately from West 29th and West 30th Streets in the south, 7th and 8th Avenues in the east, West 42nd and 43rd Streets in the north and 11th and 12th Avenues in the west.

Construction continues at Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side. Photo: Chip Barnett

Since 2001, the city, the state and the N.Y. Metropolitan Transportation Authority have worked to create a redevelopment program to transform the Hudson Yards area into a transit-oriented, mixed-use district.

Two entities make up the HYFD: the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corp. and the Hudson Yards Development Corp.

The HYIC, formed in 2004, is a local development corporation created to finance infrastructure improvements and related construction costs at Hudson Yards. The HYDC, formed in 2005, is a local development corporation created to manage the redevelopment process of the Hudson Yards.

In 2005, the Council approved a $3 billion plan for financing Phase 1 of the infrastructure improvement for the HYFD.

The Phase 1 plan provided that payments in lieu of property taxes, or PILOTs, from the area would be used to fund the infrastructure improvements; it said that the Council would make sure that interest payments on the debt to fund the infrastructure improvements were made until revenues from the development were sufficient to make the payments; and approved the use of the city’s Transitional Finance Authority to provide credit support for a some of the debt issued, subject to unanimous approval of the TFA Board.

N.Y. City Council/Emil Cohen

The resolution passed Wednesday also supports city efforts to pay current interest, subject to appropriation, to the extent not paid from revenues of HYIC on its indebtedness; and authorizes that interest support payments may be made by the city, subject to appropriation, in connection with interest on bonds issued by HYIC to refund or refinance any HYIC bonds for which the city was or is currently obligated to provide interest support.

Late Wednesday, the de Blasio administration announced the city will begin the process of acquisition, design and construction of Phase 2 of the master plan for Hudson Yards.

“Every New Yorker deserves well designed public space,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press release. “In a growing neighborhood like Hudson Yards, three acres of new parks is a vital investment in the wellbeing of residents for generations to come.”

The construction of the Park and Boulevard will not only provide public space but it will also unlock the commercial development of the northern area of Hudson Yards. The addition of the new parkland expands Hudson Yards’ parkland by 75%.

The HYDC will manage the acquisition, design and construction process. When it’s completed, the land will be transferred to the Department of Transportation and NYC Parks, who will collaborate with the Hudson Yards Hell’s Kitchen Business Improvement District on daily management. The design process will begin this fall.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Photo: Chip Barnett

In May, the HYIC sold about $2 billion of second indenture revenue bonds. The HYIC issued $2 billion of bonds in 2007 and $1 billion in 2012 and proceeds from May’s sale refunded all $2 billion of the 2007 bonds and $391 million of the 2012 bonds.

The deal was rated Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service, A-plus by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. Just before May’s sale, S&P upgraded its rating on the HYIC’s outstanding Fiscal 2012 Series A first-indenture senior revenue bonds to AA-minus from A.

In June, the New York City Independent Budget Office reported that the HYIC needed an additional $96 million to cover higher-than-expected development costs. The IBO said the funding gap came even as the city coughed up $128 million from its capital budget to cover project costs from Fiscal 2005-2016; the city has another $138 million budgeted over the next five years.

The capital costs are in addition to the $360 million that the city has spent to subsidize interest costs on the $3 billion in bonds the infrastructure corporation issued to pay for the project. The HYIC’s 2007 and 2012 bonds financed the extension of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s No. 7 subway line and to make other infrastructure improvements necessary for related commercial and residential development in the neighborhood.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson at City Hall. — John McCarten/NYC Council

“Completing this park has been a goal of the West Side community for years,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson. “Securing this financing is an important step in ensuring that this neighborhood has essential public green space as Hudson Yards grows. All New Yorkers and people from around the world will one day enjoy this remarkable public park in what is currently a rail-cut. I want to thank Mayor de Blasio, Community Board 4 and everyone else who helped make this a reality.”

Paul Burton contributed to this article.

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Bond Buyer: NYC assesses the damage from the new tax law

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City Council Finance Chair Daniel Dromm presides over tax cut hearing on Monday.
Photo: Chip Barnett

By Chip Barnett

Originally published by the Bond Buyer on February 27, 2018

New York City’s economic health is under threat from a variety of provisions in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act passed by Congress last year, officials testified at a City Council Finance Committee hearing at City Hall Monday.

Officials estimated the law’s ban on advance refundings would cost the city $425 million in savings over four years and said changes in state law were needed to offset the damage to city finances from the new limit on the state and local tax deduction.

Councilperson Daniel Dromm, chair of the committee that held the oversight hearing on the effects of the recent federal tax law changes, said some of the new law’s effects are only just starting to become apparent.

“Throughout the process leading to the enactment of the TCJA, Congress considered several provisions that would have affected the market for municipal bonds and the financing of affordable housing,” he said. “The House of Representatives originally targeted private activity bonds, a significant source of financing of affordable housing development in New York City (over 49,000 units of affordable housing in the city were financed by such bonds between 2005 and 2013) by proposing to remove the exemption from federal income tax for all interest paid/earned on the bonds.”

He added, “However, the final version of the TCJA retained the exemption for private activity bonds. The TCJA did eliminate tax-exempt advance refundings of governmental and 501(c)(3) debt after Dec. 31, 2017.”

The city has about $37.7 billion of general obligation debt outstanding. Moody’s Investors Service rates the city’s general obligation bonds Aa2, while S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings rate them AA. All three assign stable outlooks.

Dromm said that one program that remained unchanged was the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which gives state and local agencies the equivalent of about $8 billion in annual budget authority to issues tax credits for the acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of rental housing targeted to low-income households.

Preston Niblack, NYC Deputy Comptroller for Budget, told the panel that Comptroller Scott Stringer’s analysis shows about 475,000 mostly middle-class federal taxpayers in the city would face higher tax liabilities under the TCJA.

“The capping of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction at $10,000, and the elimination of certain other deductions, is the most common reason,” he testified. “We estimate that roughly half of taxpayers earning between $100,000 and $500,000 in income are likely to face higher tax bills.”

Michael Hyman, First Deputy Commissioner at the city’s Department of Finance testified that the SALT cap would sting many city taxpayers.

“DOF and [the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget] predict that the combined impact or the [TCJA provisions] will increase the Federal taxes an average of 8% on hundreds of thousands of New York City residents, the majority of whom have incomes below $100,000. A primary reason is the $10,000 limit on the SALT deduction.”

He added that IRS data show Manhattan is the top county nationwide in terms of SALT deductions, with an average deduction of almost $24,000. Among states, New York ranks second.

George Sweeting, Deputy Director of the city’s Independent Budget Office, testified that the SALT caps would hurt the city’s finances in the short-term, but may not be as dire as some critics have suggested.

“Capping SALT deductions at $10,000 poses long-term threats to the city and state economies and will have immediate consequences for many city taxpayers,” he said. “But the number of taxpayers affected may be less than frequently discussed.”

Sweeting added that the TCJA holds both good and bad news for city residents.

“The act will affect most New York City taxpayers in diverse ways, some positive and some negative. It also brings significant economic and fiscal risks for New York City and New York State,” he said.

“Some of these problems are readily addressed by straight-forward changes to the personal and business income tax laws of the city and state. Others could require more significant changes to our tax system that would benefit from careful vetting and analysis before proceeding, particularly because many of the taxpayers who are negatively affected are benefiting from other provisions in the act,” Sweeting said.

Niblack said that the tax bill also raises a number of concerns for the long-term economic competitiveness for high-tax jurisdictions like New York.

“First, because of the cap on SALT deductions, the difference in top marginal tax rates between high-tax and low-tax states has widened,” he said. “The ability to deduct state and local taxes on your federal return prior to this year meant that your effective state and local tax rate was lower than your nominal rate. That is now no longer the case, with state and local tax rates effectively a third higher than they were.”

Next week, the City Council will begin hearings into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s $88.67 billion preliminary fiscal 2019 budget and the Council will be looking at how reserves can be buttressed against any possible negative fallout from the TCJA.

According to the February Financial Plan Detail released by the Mayor’s Office, the TCJA altered the federal and person income tax in such a way that the city will be impacted by the changes.

“New York City uses federal income as the starting point to determine New York City liability for both the personal income tax and and the business corporation tax,” the plan said. “As a result the Federal changes will have potential flow-through effects on revenues that will need to be assessed. Such effects ate not currently included in the tax forecast.”

Hyman also testified that the new tax law will impact would fall heavily on city finances.

“The Federal tax act has a direct and negative impact on the city budget,” he said. “For example the act eliminated tax-exempt advance refunding bonds, which may cost us up to $425 million in savings over the next four tears and increase the cost of repairing roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.”

He added that the law would also hit the city indirectly “lowering the corporate tax rate to 21% devalues low-income housing tax credits, which could impact our affordable housing plan by some $200 million annually.

Michael Hyman, DOF First Deputy Commissioner, testifies before the City Council with colleagues Sheelah Feinberg, Zal Kumar and Francesco Brindisi
Photo: Chip Barnett

Last week, City Comptroller Scott Stringer said the budget cushion in the preliminary fiscal 2019 budget is not enough to ward off any problems that could be caused by the TCJA.

Stringer said that the city’s projected budget cushion — the budget resources available at the beginning of each fiscal year to help the city weather unexpected events – is currently insufficient. At 9% of adjusted FY 2019 spending, it is under the optimal range of between 12% and 18% of spending.

Sweeting said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made several proposals to help mitigate the negative effects of the TCJA.

“The governor’s 30-day amendments include two proposals for limiting the effect of the SALT change for the Federal tax liability of New York residents,” he said. “One would create trusts to receive donations from state and local taxpayers of payments for various public purposes … Taxpayers would then receive a new state tax credit equal to 85% of the donations made to such trusts. Because charitable contributions remain deductible for federal tax purposes, taxpayers would regain much of the benefit they had previously received through the SALT deduction. It remains to be seen whether the Internal Revenue Service would be willing to treat such donations as legitimate charitable donations,” he said.

“The second proposal by the Governor would create a new optional employer payroll tax in the state,” Sweeting said. “The tax would be 5% wages of employees who earn over $40,000. The employees would then receive a credit for the tax paid by their employers to be used against their state personal income tax. Because payroll taxes remain deductible for federal business taxes, employers would be held harmless. There are several potential complications that could undermine how well such a system works, not to mention the question of whether the federal government would allow it to stand.”

Niblack said, “the legislature will need to make similar changes at the city level as well, which the mayor’s preliminary budget assumed will happen. Without these changes, city taxpayers will face an increased tax bill of some $365 million, by our estimate.”

Sweeting said the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center had analyzed the distributional effects of some possible spending reduction plans and found that the combined effects of the act and potential spending reductions range from regressive to extremely regressive.

“If such federal spending reductions are enacted, demands to replace the federal dollars would present very difficult choices for both New York City and State,” he said.

Read more here.

MTA Will Fund New Elmhurst LIRR Station

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By Yvette Brown

Originally published in the Queens Tribune on January 14, 2016

The Long Island Rail Road is coming back to Elmhurst in the near future to help local residents get to and from the city in a more convenient way.

The reopening of the Elmhurst LIRR station, located on Broadway between Cornish and Whitney avenues, has been a goal of U.S. Reps. Joe Crowley (D-Queens), Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) since 2012. The station was shut down in 1985 because of the lack of usage.

The site of the former, and perhaps future, Elmhurst LIRR Station on Broadway in Elmhurst. File Photo courtesy of the Queens Tribune.

The elected officials had written letters to the LIRR president, held walk-throughs and conducted a ridership survey to get the process moving along, and it appears to have worked.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority’s 2015-2019 Capital Program, which includes $40 million and reconstructing the Elmhurst LIRR station, was approved in November 2015.

The first letter to the NYS Department of Transportation Commissioner and MTA Capital Program Review Board Chair Joan McDonald was to discuss the reopening and speak about how vitally important it is to ensure greater transportation options in the area. Crowley and Dromm initially wanted to reopen the LIRR station in January of 2012, which they both explained would not only create improved access to Midtown Manhattan, but also help create jobs in Elmhurst as well. Both elected officials led a walking tour of the site with officials from MTA to further explore the possibility of reopening the station in March of 2012. This was followed by a town hall with residents about a month later to discuss transportation issues within the community.

According to the 2010 Census, “Elmhurst is home to one of the most diverse populations in the country, a trend that will likely continue in the near future as the community continues to grow.”

The ridership survey was then conducted in June of 2013. There were two components of the survey, a written version and the other was in person with sites located at nearby subway stations and areas surrounding Elmhurst Hospital Center. Both of them contained questions about what means of transportation residents use at the time, their travel frequency, their mode of choice and how they might avail themselves of LIRR service.

“This survey will be very important in helping us determine if there is sufficient demand in the Elmhurst community to consider reopening the station,” said Helena Williams, LIRR President, during the time of the ridership survey. “We urge residents to take a few minutes to fill it out. There are many issues that need to be carefully evaluated as part of this process but this is an important first step.”

Following the ridership survey came the funding. Crowley, Meng and Dromm released a statement following the release of the MTA’s Capital Program.

“Restoring LIRR service to Elmhurst will help a burgeoning neighborhood reach its full economic potential and become a destination for all New Yorkers,” said Crowley, Meng and Dromm. “We are thrilled to learn the MTA agrees that investing in this community is a win-win and that they have included critical funding to rebuild the station in their recently proposed capital budget. For years, Elmhurst residents have called for greater transportation options and we are now one step closer to turning this idea into a reality. We will continue to work with MTA officials to ensure this project remains a top priority and look forward to the day when Elmhurst will be the next stop for millions of New Yorkers.”

“We have budgeted $30.5 million for the design and construction of a new LIRR station at Elmhurst,” said Aaron Donovan, spokesperson for the MTA. “It would include two new 12-car-long platforms along with staircases, platform railings, platform shelters, ticket vending machines, as well as lighting, communication and security systems. The station will be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, with elevators. The funding includes environmental review, design and construction.”

“For Elmhurst, one of Queens’ most vibrant and fastest-growing communities, the reopening of its LIRR station will be transformational,” said Crowley. “I applaud the MTA Board for approving the project as part of its 2015-19 capital program and I thank both Congresswoman Grace Meng and Council Member Daniel Dromm for their roles in helping to make this a reality. After years of advocating for this new station, the MTA Board approval means we are yet one step closer to not only ensuring local residents have the transportation options they deserve but also making sure Elmhurst lives up to its full economic potential.”

Read more here.

Queens Gazette: Dromm Honored By Korean Dry Cleaners Association

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The Korean Dry Cleaners Association of New York honored Councilmember Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst) at their recent gala, which was held at Dae Dong Manor in Flushing.

“I thank the Korean Dry Cleaners Association of New York for honoring me at this year’s gala,” said Dromm. “It has been a pleasure to work with the Korean Dry Cleaners Association on many different projects. Particularly pleasing were the workshops on which we collaborated and the collection of coats for the less fortunate. I look forward to working with the Korean Dry Cleaners Association again in the future.”

The Korean Dry Cleaners Association has a long history of advocating on behalf of hundreds of Korean dry cleaning establishments throughout the City of New York. Since 1978, the Korean Dry Cleaners Association has fostered the establishment and growth of small businesses throughout our city. They have assisted these small businesses in every aspect of operating in New York City, ensuring that immigrant entrepreneurs understand and comply with local laws, obtain financing and operate successfully.

Each year since 1989, the Korean Dry Cleaners Association donates thousands of clothing items to New Yorkers in need. Dromm was proud to partner with the association to collect coats for families in need, many of whom reside in the immigrant-rich neighborhoods of Elmhurst and Jackson Heights that make up the council member’s City Council District.  Not long ago, their charitable work reached far beyond the borders of New York City in their massive effort to aid the victims of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti.

read more: http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-01-29/Features/Dromm_Honored_By_Korean_Dry_Cleaners_Association.html