Hoylman
commends
Supreme Court
for ruling on
Trump tax case
State Senator Brad Hoylman released
a statement Monday after
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that Manhattan District Attorney Cy
Vance could move forward with his
subpoena of former President Donald
Trump for his tax returns.
New York’s TRUST Act, of which
Hoylman was a sponsor, allows Congress
to request the New York State
tax returns of all lawmakers and other
political offi cials.
“Donald Trump spent four years trying
to Make America Corrupt Again.
His disregard for ethics and the rule of
law set a dangerous precedent—and he
must be held accountable.
“That’s why we passed the TRUST
Act two years ago, allowing Congress
to request the New York State tax
returns of certain elected offi cials
including the President of the United
States. It was a crucial step forward in
presidential accountability. Now, New
York stands ready to assist Congress in
carrying out its oversight duties.
“There must be accountability for
Trump’s egregious misconduct. We
must protect the rule of law.”
— New York County Politics
Maloney package of bills aiming to include
$70B for state in American Rescue Plan
BY MARK HALLUM
A package of bills advanced from the
Oversight Committee to a full fl oor
vote in the House of Representatives
that could provide up to $23 billion in
federal aid to New York state, according to
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
The package also includes direct payments
to families as well as $23 billion to the state
government and $12.7 billion to New York
City to absorb the costs of fi ghting the COVID
19 pandemic. About $8.8 billion for
transit agencies in New York was approved
through a different committee.
“We have many, many bills to pay at this
point, we have a desperate need for federal
aid in our city and our state and this is a
package that we are passing next Friday from
Congress to the Senate will do just that,”
Maloney said in Union Square on Saturday.
“This bill is the embodiment of President
Biden’s American Rescue Plan and it’s projected
to provide over $70 billion to New
York state communities, families, the city
and provide rent relief.”
The $70 billion for New York state
overall was approved through a number of
committees.
But the benefi ts are not only for New York.
According to Maloney, the entire package
delivers up to $350 billion nationwide with
congress expected to cast a vote on Friday.
Direct to relief to Americans through this
bill will amount to $1,400.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer with Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney, state Senator Brad Hoylman, and Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards on Feb. 20 in Union Square.
Extended unemployment supplements of
$300 could be provided through the funding
in these bills.
“What we’ve seen since the beginning
of this pandemic is, unfortunately, a lot of
temporary help, a lot of stopgap measures,
Right? And while that is important and while
that has been helping people survive, it really
is urgent that we see meaningful comprehensive
aid from every level of government,”
Brooklyn state Senator Julia Salazar said
Maloney was joined in this press conference
by Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards who said up to 7,000 residents died
while immigrant communities, especially in
the northwestern section of the borough,
faced considerable hardship. Elmhurst
PHOTO BY MARK HALLUM
Hospital in particular shared the highest
burden of any medical center in the country
during the spring.
“This this package is not just about dollars.
It’s about ensuring that we can keep people
stable in their homes. You talk about healthcare
and the impacts on our local hospitals,
hospitals that were inundated at one point
with so many positive cases, frontline workers
who had to endure seeing bodies refrigerated
outside their institutions, because we
know that there are not enough beds in our
system, not enough hospitals,” Richards said.
According to Maloney, this package
will precede more funding in the form of
infrastructure payments to aid economic
recovery, but did not elaborate at this time.
Former City Council Speaker Christine
Quinn rules out run for mayor in 2021
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Former City Council Speaker
Christine Quinn won’t be
making a last-minute bid to
become the next mayor of New
York City.
Quinn announced Monday
that she would not seek the highest
offi ce in New York City this
year, opting instead to continue
focusing on “fi ghting for homeless
families” as CEO of Women in
Need (Win), a nonprofi t focused
on lifting homeless women in the
city out of poverty.
The former City Council
speaker, who served between
2006 and 2013 and was the fi rst
openly gay person to hold the
offi ce, did not give any hint as
to who she would support in the
New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn speaks at a
news conference in New York October 30, 2013.
2021 race for mayor — which has
more than two dozen declared
candidates seeking to succeed
term-limited Bill de Blasio.
PHOTO BY REUTERS/ERIC THAYER
But she expressed disappointment
that “homelessness has
barely registered” as a major
topic in the campaign — and
took a swipe at de Blasio for not
following through on his promises
to alleviate homelessness.
“This is completely unacceptable
and disrespectful to the thousands
of New Yorkers in the shelter
system,” Quinn said in a statement.
“I intend to use my platform as a
leader in homeless advocacy, and
experience both inside and outside
of government, to hold the fi eld of
candidates running for mayor accountable
and ensure that, unlike
Bill de Blasio, the next mayor actually
makes good on their promises
to homeless families.”
Quinn says she plans to engage
with the candidates and urge
them to speak publicly about their
plans to “create more affordable
housing, increase the value of
rental vouchers, support students
in shelter and provide services for
families in shelter to access goodpaying
jobs.”
The former speaker also said
the candidates must “reject racist
and classist fear-mongering and
treat all New Yorkers with respect
and compassion” in order to resolve
“the structural failures” that
the pandemic exposed and forced
“so many families into shelter.”
Quinn had previously run for
mayor in 2013 and was, at one
point, one of the front-runners in
the race to succeed then-Mayor
Mike Bloomberg. However, Quinn
came under fi re from her opponents
in the Democratic primary,
including de Blasio, for her previous
support of Bloomberg and the
alteration of the term-limit law in
2008, which permitted Bloomberg
and other citywide offi cials to seek
a third term in offi ce.
Quinn wound up finishing
third to de Blasio and former City
Comptroller Bill Thompson.
4 February 25, 2021 Schneps Media