Plugged In @ Hinman Straub

May 31, 2022

What’s Inside

  • Governor Signs the Adult Survivors Act
  • Delgado Officially Sworn In as Lieutenant Governor
  • Governor Announces Launch of ConnectALL Pilot Initiative to Bring Broadband Internet Access to Rural Communities
  • Governor Announces Court of Claims Appointments
  • Lawsuit to Invalidate Assembly Maps Rejected
  • Chandler-Waterman Wins Assembly Special Election
  • Political Updates
  • Coming Up

Governor Signs the Adult Survivors Act

The Governor signed the Adult Survivors Act (S.66A/A.648A), creating a one-year window for the revival of otherwise time-barred civil claims arising out of sexual offenses committed against people who were 18 or older at the time of the conduct. The bill is modeled after the Child Victims Act, which was enacted in 2019. The one-year window to bring a claim will begin in six months.

Governor Hochul said:

Today is a good day. Today is a righteous day because it is a victory for justice and it is long overdue. So many people have fought for this to finally have their voices heard, including many of those who are with us here today. I want to thank them for their courage, for their dedication, and carrying on this fight. The trauma that comes with experiencing sexual assault does not arbitrarily adhere to a limit of time, nor can justice be held to a period of time. Going forth, after today in New York, it will not to those who thought they got away with horrific crimes they committed I just have one message: Your time is up. Your victims will see you in court and you will be brought to justice.

Delgado Officially Sworn In as Lieutenant Governor

Antonio Delgado was officially sworn in as Lieutenant Governor on Wednesday. The timing of his resignation from his congressional seat will trigger a special election to be held on the same day as the congressional primary, August 23rd. Delgado takes over for Brian Benjamin who resigned after being indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges.

Lieutenant Governor Delgado said:

To Governor Hochul, thank you for your confidence in me and for giving me this opportunity to lead and be a voice at such a critical time for our state and our country. Together in partnership, I know we’ll be able to steer the course true for the Empire State that we both love.

Governor Announces Launch of ConnectALL Pilot Initiative to Bring Broadband Internet Access to Rural Communities

The Governor announced the launch of a ConnectALL four-county model project to bring affordable broadband internet access to more New Yorkers living in rural areas. The Village of Sherburne in Chenango County, the Town of Nichols in Tioga County, the Town of Diana in Lewis County, and the Town of Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County are the initial municipalities to benefit from this first deployment, through the $1 Billion ConnectALL initiative. The program aims to transform New York’s digital infrastructure and expand broadband access, affordability and equity statewide using more than $1 billion in public and private investments.

This initial model project intends to target areas where existing state-owned fiber can create a fiber bridge between large data centers (first mile) and individual homes (last mile), primarily in rural areas that are not serviced by private broadband providers. The New York Power Authority will manage the initial broadband deployment in these four select counties by leveraging existing state-owned networks to connect fiber over the “middle mile” to more than 2,000 homes and businesses.

The statewide ConnectALL initiative includes grant programs to provide funding to local municipalities and other entities to plan, engineer, and construct accessible broadband infrastructure, a rural deployment program to extend broadband networks to unserved and underserved homes and businesses, a digital equity program to ensure equitable access to broadband statewide, and other innovative programs.

The Governor said:

The past two years have reminded New Yorkers of how crucial reliable and affordable broadband is, so we can stay connected to family, work, school and healthcare services, as many were forced to work and attend school remotely, and deep crevices in New York’s digital landscape were exposed. Broadband internet access is every bit as important to daily life as heat, water and electricity, and ConnectALL aims to create a new digital landscape for New York by building secure and affordable broadband connections in every corner of the state. Investment in this vital public infrastructure will not only strengthen the progress of our State’s initial investment, it will boost economic growth and local innovation far into the future.

Governor Announces Court of Claims Appointments

The Governor announced twelve appointments to the New York State Court of Claims, among the appointees is former congressman Anthony Brindisi. The appointments are as follows:

  • Anthony Brindisi, Oneida County
  • Michael Siragusa, Erie County
  • Betty Calvo-Torres, Erie County
  • Stephanie Saunders, Erie County
  • Stephen Thomas Miller, Monroe County
  • Zainab Chaudhry, Albany County
  • Tim Lewis, Westchester County
  • Anar Patel, Westchester County
  • Joanne Quinones, Kings County
  • Javier Enrique Vargas, New York County
  • Sarika Kapoor, Nassau County
  • Maureen Heitner, Kings County

The Governor said:

I am confident that each of these exceptional appointments will serve our state with honor and distinction. The diversity of perspective and long tenure of expertise each appointee will bring with them to the bench should leave no doubt in the mind of every New Yorker that they have an expert, fair, and impartial voice in our state’s judiciary.

Lawsuit to Invalidate Assembly Maps Rejected

A lawsuit brought in Manhattan Supreme Court to reject the Assembly districts as drawn by the legislature and to combine the primaries under new maps was rejected by the Judge. In his ruling, the judge points out that it is too late in the process to make such an impactful change to an election that is already underway. He argues that consolidating the Assembly primary with the state senate and congressional primaries in August will, at this point, cost more money than it will save as counties have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars printing ballots and preparing for the election.

Because the petitioners argue the matter only involves a constitutional question, they plan to appeal the ruling directly to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals will have to accept jurisdiction in order to bring a direct appeal; the presence of any non-constitutional issues would be fatal.

Chandler-Waterman Wins Assembly Special Election

Monique Chandler-Waterman won the May 24 special election to fill the vacant 58th Assembly District seat in East Flatbush. The Democratic nominee beat third-party opponent Hercules Reid, who had the support of Mayor Eric Adams, by over 60 points. By winning the special election, Chandler-Waterman will hold the Assembly seat, which encompasses parts of East Flatbush, Brownsville, and Canarsie, at least until the end of the year. She and Reid are also running against one another in next month’s Democratic primary; the winner of that race will represent the Democratic Party on the November ballot. The seat became vacant after longtime Assemblymember Nick Perry was confirmed by the US Senate as Ambassador to Jamaica.

Chandler-Waterman said:

I am humbled by the fact that the community has placed its trust in me. As the new Assemblywoman representing the 58th District I pledge to work with the community and do everything in my power to address the needs of our residents. I spent my life in service to this community and I will work even harder to ensure affordable housing, equitable education and healthcare, and that we stop the violence plaguing our streets.

Political Updates

City & State NY’s Weekly Winners and Losers here.

Senator Brooks announces he will not seek reelection only to reverse course.

Senator Biaggi announces congressional primary against Sean Patrick Maloney.

With New York district maps comes challenges for long-time incumbents.

New district map creates eight congressional battlegrounds in New York.

What was he thinking? Mapmaker provides rationale for NY’s congressional lines.

AOC aims to topple Albany incumbents.

Assemblyman Mike Lawler announces Congressional Run in the 17th District.

Rep. Jacobs will run in new Southern Tier congressional district.

Two county executives go head-to-head in Hudson Valley congressional race.

Who’s running for what? In the Hudson Valley, shifted lines fuel slew of new races.

GOP governor candidates on negotiating budget with Dem-controlled state legislature.

Smullen may seek North Country’s state senate seat.

Sen. Tedisco barreling ahead in new district over protests from Sen. Jordan, leadership.

Andrew Giuliani holds slight lead over Lee Zeldin in GOP primary for governor.

Congressional district 10 poll, voters not sold on de Blasio.

Stringer prepares for state senate primary challenge to Hoylman.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pits socialist David Alexis against NY Democrat Kevin Parker.

Coming Up

*POSTPONED* The Senate will hold a public hearing on general oversight of the operations and policies of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in light of the COVID-19 pandemic on May 24.

The Board of Regents will hold their next meeting on June 13 and 14.

The Public Service Commission will hold its next meeting on June 16.

JCOPE will hold its next meeting on June 28.