Homeless New Yorkers Reject Cuomo's Mandated City Round-Up When Temperature Hits Freezing

The Daily News:

Homeless New Yorkers gave the cold shoulder Sunday to Gov. Cuomo’s order that could force them off the streets when the temperature dips below freezing.

“Hell no, I won’t go to a shelter! How’s that even lawful? You can’t force people off a public street,” said Luis Diaz, 31, who was shivering with his girlfriend on a Midtown streetcorner as temps hovered in the mid-40s.

“It’s going to be crazy. They don’t have enough room. They don’t have the infrastructure to do this. Where are they going to put us? If they’re shoving us in shelters with crazies and people who can’t handle being in there, there is going to be a lot of fights. We’re safer out here.”

“I feel violated by this,” added William Sanders, 45, who said he considered it “cruel and unusual punishment” to be forced into a shelter, where he said he has faced hostility from other residents because of sores on his legs but has been unable to get medical services.

“There is going to be anger and violence in the shelters if we go against our will. They are putting us in a really bad situation,” he said.

...

A handful of homeless people welcomed the new policy. “Some nights are really cold. You try to stay warm, but you can’t,” said Jose Flores, 47, who typically sleeps outside a Harlem subway station. “If I’m out here freezing, I’d welcome any van taking me to a warm place. People can die out here."

But most rejected the idea.

“That’s not right,” fumed Steve Jones, 63. “The governor can’t force people into shelters. We should have an option. People have rights.”

This is Cuomo trying to make it look like he's doing something about homelessness while really doing nothing about it.

In fact, he's exacerbated the problem.

Cuomo cut $68 million from a program that provided housing subsidies back in 2011.

He's not adding any more funds to what municipalities receive in order to deal with the mandate he imposed yesterday:

Cuomo's executive order "adds no legal or financial resources to NYC's programs to assist the homeless" https://t.co/6dpoBhKiL2

— Bill Hammond (@NYHammond) January 4, 2016

He's getting headlines, which is one of his main goals, and he's looking to make de Blasio look ineffectual, which is another of those main goals.

But as for alleviating homelessness with this mandate - not so much.

And as to his argument that it's the humane thing to do, it seems many homeless New Yorkers are rejecting that argument.

As to the practical angle of the argument, no one's quite sure how this mandate will work - kinda like other Cuomo mandates like his APPR teacher evaluation and the SAFE Act.

Cuomo's big on big announcements - not so big on making those big announcements work in the real world.

Cuomo Plans To Lead National Gun Control Campaign In 2016

From the "If I'm not under indictment, I have grand political plans" file:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo intends to take a lead role in a broad campaign pressing for a crackdown on the improper dealing of firearms, swerving into national politics on an issue that has caused him some political heartburn in New York but has become a defining subject of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, has pledged to throw his weight behind the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, one of the country’s most prominent gun control groups, in an as-yet-unannounced effort demanding that the Justice Department more closely scrutinize so-called bad apple gun merchants, according to people familiar with the campaign.

Mr. Cuomo, in an interview about his plans to work with the Brady Campaign, promised that his involvement in national gun politics would continue to deepen. He said he would hit the campaign trail in 2016 to emphasize the issue of gun violence, which he repeatedly called “the big issue” in national politics.

Dunno about your reading of this, but my reading is, Cuomo's trying to ride the gun control issue to national prominence to set up future political opportunities for himself.

Of course, that dream could hit this wall.

Co-Dependent Albany Dems Cave To Cuomo - Again

This movie's getting old:

When the Senate Republicans made a surprise announcement of the memorandum of understanding they had signed with a top Cuomo administration aide that appeared to indefinitely delay a key provision of the SAFE Act, the Senate Democrats immediately cried foul.

The minority conference questioned the legality of the MOU, signed by Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and state Operations Director Jim Malatras, which seemed to derail creation of a database for ammunition sale background checks.

Deputy Senate Minority Leader Mike Gianaris said the Senate and Assembly Democrats were in talks about a potential legal challenge to the MOU, which he saw as a slippery slope and something that established a dangerous precedent.

Even as the Senate GOP declared victory – a claim gun rights advocates said was overblown – the Cuomo administration immediately downplayed the significance of the MOU, insisting the database would still go ahead as planned, though failing to explain exactly how and when that would occur.

Apparently, the administration’s assurances were sufficient to quell the Senate Democrats’ concerns – at least in the short term. During a CapTon interview last night, Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins revealed the conference is no longer planning to pursue legal action.

“At this point…I take him at his word that this will not stop anything,” the Yonkers Democrat said. “It will not weaken anything. And what I’m looking for is a timeline as to when we will be getting this done. That’s where we are right now.”

Leaving aside the issue of the SAFE Act (which is unworkable), since when does the state Operations Director get to sign a memorandum of understanding with just 1/4th of the state legislature - in this case, state senate Republicans - that derails some part of legislation that had been passed into law by 4/4ths of the legislature?

Senate Dems should be suing on the principle that the governor (or his state Operations Director) doesn't get to make MOU's with 1/4th of the legislature that affect legislation passed by 4/4ths of the legislature, but instead Senate Dems have caved to Cuomo and pulled back from the legal challenge threat.

You can bet there's some Quid Pro Cuomo between Senate Dems and Cuomo over the state Senate seat Tom Libous vacated after he was convicted of lying to the FBI last week.

Cuomo, who famously has promised to work for a state Senate takeover by Dems in the past, pushed former DMV commissioner Barbara Fiala for the seat.

Fiala is expected to announce that she will run for Libous' old Senate seat on Thursday.

Why Senate Dems would be bought off by Cuomo's promises is beyond me - his word is worthless, as is his backing for the Binghamton seat - it's a conservative district where Cuomo is not terribly popular.

Nonetheless we have another instance of the co-dependent Dems in Albany compliantly coming back to their abuser to give him what he wants.

Apparently the co-dependent Albany Dems will never learn.

Cuomo Said To Cancel Appearance To Avoid Protesters

From WWNY TV:

Governer Cuomo won't be coming to Massena Sunday after all, but Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will.

A source told 7 News Friday that Cuomo was expected to be in Massena Sunday to help promote the Evan Williams Bourbon Bassmasters Elite Tournament, which kicks off July 30 in Waddington.

On Saturday, Cuomo's office said the governor is not coming, but Lt. Gov. Hochul will be instead. No additional explanation was offered.

Hochul is expected to do some ceremonial fishing as part of the visit.

The New York Power Authority Hawkins Point Visitor Center and Boat Launch is closed Sunday until 6 p.m., in connection with the visit, according to a source.

Why the sudden cancellation on Cuomo's part?

Well, there's this:

(Anti-Safe Act protests were threatened) Cuomo Out, Hochul In For Sunday Massena Visit | WWNY TV 7 - http://t.co/hhth8JHsaY

— Fredric U. Dicker (@fud31) July 25, 2015

If true, this wouldn't be the first time Cuomo has tried to avoid protesters by canceling an appearance.

There was that whole Lake Placid charter school thing a while back, where Cuomo "apologized" to his charter school donors who had made him honorary chairman of their conference.

Cuomo had cancelled, claiming he was stuck in Albany, but the real reason was, an anti-Cuomo protest was planned for outside the conference.

Cuomo, like all bullies, is a coward.

Cuomo Poisons Everything He Touches - Including Public Education

This LoHud editorial discussing how New York State will have the opportunity to rethink its test-obsessed education system if NCLB gets an expected overhaul points out one big impediment here in New York to doing just that:

If NCLB is finally left in the dust – just as New York’s participation in the Race to the Top program is expiring – will Albany take advantage of its newfound freedoms to rethink its testing programs? The clear answer is … maybe.

Newly arrived state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia has said she will appoint task forces to review the Common Core standards, New York’s 3-to-8 tests that are now tied to Common Core, and how test results are used to evaluate teachers. Elia has a track record of supporting the standards-testing-evaluations approach to improving education, but seems keenly aware that many New Yorkers have little faith in our testing obsession. She’ll soon realize that a whole new group of parents are now irritated because of the recent Regents exam in algebra, which left even top students scratching their heads.

The state may have bought some time with its critics by dropping mega-corp Pearson for grade 3-8 test development. But Pearson’s replacement, Questar, will also get its marching orders from the Education Department.

Then there’s the Cuomo problem. Our governor is the driving force behind New York’s brutish teacher-evaluation system, which will increasingly rely on test scores to label teachers (even though we won’t use the same scores to evaluate students because the tests are unproven). Many classroom teachers and the parents who appreciate them will remain peeved until the system is changed. Elia will have to confront this problem pronto and figure out a way to circumvent Cuomo’s stubbornness, driven largely by his animus for teachers unions.

We hope that Congress will let states decide how to use test data for their own purposes. But it would be up to New York’s leaders to recognize what even those in Washington see: testing should not drive education policy. Many teachers will spend too much time next year trying to protect their jobs by preparing students for tests. This must not continue.

Indeed, Cuomo and his hedge fund backers are huge impediments to any positive change to public education in New York, though they certainly are both squarely behind damaging changes to it, like making test scores 50% of a teacher's evaluation.

Fred LeBrun, writing about Cuomo's unworkable SAFE Act and the ridiculous MOU that Cuomo and Senate Republicans agreed to earlier in the month that said the state would not enforce the unenforceable parts of the law, wrote this about Cuomo:

Cuomo has proved to be a politician with an uncanny knack for poisoning the well at every oasis he visits. Except those where hedge fund managers gather to squat.

That LeBrun statement certainly applies to public education, the quality of which Cuomo has made much worse since he became governor.

The system is test-obsessed, teachers are held accountable for test scores that don't count for their students, some teachers are evaluated based upon test scores in subjects they don't teach and/or of students they don't teach.

What does all this test obsession do for schools? 

As the LoHud editorial notes, it means teachers have to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to protect their jobs by preparing students for the state tests.

With the new receivership program shoved through by Cuomo in the last budget, so do schools.

All it takes is a couple of years of being deemed "persistently struggling" via the state's test score data to have NYSED swoop in and hand a school over to an "independent receiver" (i.e., charter operator.)

The public education system is fear-fueled, in large measure because Cuomo wants it that way - he wants to pay back his hedge fundie donors who started giving him suitcases full of cash before he was elected governor and have continued to do so ever since.

As with the SAFE Act, much of the "change" Cuomo has imposed was meant to become part of Cuomo's political record that he would use to run for president in the future - the governor who got gun control before anybody else after the Sandy Hook tragedy, the Dem governor who took it to the teachers unions and "busted" the public school monopoly.

Given Cuomo's plummeting poll numbers, it's doubtful he'll get the chance to run nationally for anything, but that hasn't stopped him from continuing to do damage with his policies.

As Fred LeBrun says, he poisons everything he touches.

Everything.

Cuomo Plays Games With SAFE Act

From Rich Karlin at Capitol Confidential:

It was initially touted as a key component of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s SAFE Act gun control law, but a statewide ammunition registry, which was supposed to begin in January 2014 has never been triggered and is being laid aside, according to an agreement announced late Friday between the Republican-led Senate majority and the Administration.

...

Shelving of the data base was memorialized through a memorandum signed by GOP Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and Jim Malatras, Cuomo’s state operations director.

Timing of news about the deal was notable — just before 5 p.m. on a July Friday.

Ah, yes, sending out news of the MOU at 5 PM on a July Friday - must be something Cuomo is quite proud of.

Cuomo Watch had some analysis on twitter last night:

@TomPreciousALB Yes we do. Because the MOU did nothing. It was an illusion to help GOP senators facing primary threats.

— Jake Palmateer (@Tahawus506) July 10, 2015

Cuomo spox @RichAzzopardi: “No provision of the SAFE Act -- including the ban on Internet ammunition sales has been rolled back or altered"

— Nick Reisman (@NickReisman) July 10, 2015

Updated X2: @RichAzzopardi says SAFE Act isn't being rolled back. @billnojay doubts impact http://t.co/fPiXskNFoe

— Nick Reisman (@NickReisman) July 10, 2015

ASTOUNDING: Cuomo & Flanagan-State Senate agree to block parts of SAFE Act that can't be blocked b/c they don't exist http://t.co/hiobPd1Ue9

— Cuomo Watch (@CuomoWatch) July 11, 2015

Radio listener:"Cuomo just agreed not to enforce an unenforceable section of the 'Safe Act' to help the Senate GOP in the 2016 elections.''

— Fredric U. Dicker (@fud31) July 10, 2015

There you have it - an unenforceable part of a paper law rolled back as a political ploy to help some of Cuomo's Republican allies in the state Senate.

Cuomo Loses Lawsuit Over SAFE ACT, Must Release State Registry Records

From the Washington Free Beacon:

A court has ordered New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to release records from his SAFE Act’s assault weapons registry immediately as a result of a lawsuit filed against him by a radio talk show host.

The New York Supreme Court in Albany County ordered Cuomo to release statistical records related to the registry from the New York State Police. Judge Thomas J. McNamara directed the release of records after Freedom of Information Act requests were denied for over a year.

The court’s judgement indicated that the State Police received 2,019 FOIA requests for records similar to the petitioner’s request from January to September 2014.

“The reason we pursued it for our station was to get figures from the government, and they weren’t providing it,” said Bill Robinson, host of the Second Amendment Radio Show and the Homeland Security Radio Show at WYSL, a talk radio station in Avon, New York.

“They are supposed to be public servants, and we pay them,” said Robinson. “We’ve had enough of this nonsense. They work for us and we want to remind them of that.”

Robinson said he was asking for general statistical information from the registry, not confidential material such as names of those on the registry or their addresses. “And we had to sue for it,” he said.

Robinson’s attorney, Paloma Capanna, said in a prepared statement that the ruling takes effect immediately.

“We won. The ruling is clear and unequivocal. The effect of the ruling is immediate,” said Capanna. “Any failure to comply with the ruling can—and will—be met with an application for civil contempt against the New York State Police.”

Didn't Andrew Cuomo say he was going to run the most transparent governorship in state history?

How come people have to keep suing to get FOIA requests fulfilled by Cuomo and his government?

Is it possible that the so-called SAFE Act Cuomo rammed through will be exposed as ineffectual once the statistics are released?

“The Cuomo Administration has the worst record for transparency in modern New York political history. Everything is a secret to the governor, and he fights tooth and nail to keep the public from knowing what is going on,” said Assemblyman David DiPietro (R.).

“Maybe with this great victory in court, we will finally have an open window to see whether this registry is yet another maneuver by the Cuomo Administration for personal gain with no public benefit,” said DiPietro.

“The SAFE Act never had anything to do with preventing crime or tragedy, which is why Andrew Cuomo is now refusing to provide any meaningful information about its enforcement. It was a staged theatric, which will do nothing more than snag otherwise law-abiding New York citizens in a nightmare of compliance problems,” said Assemblyman Bill Nojay (R.).

Syracuse.com reports Cuomo may appeal the decision:

A spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office said the administration is reviewing the decision. It's possible Cuomo could appeal the decision, delaying the release of information.

As for the effectiveness of the SAFE Act, here again is Syracuse.com:

The NY Safe Act passed in January 2013, one month after the school shootings in Newtown, Conn. At the time, Cuomo championed the legislation as the strictest gun control laws in the nation.

Since then, a federal judge has rejected a seven-bullet maximum as arbitrary. A background check for all ammunition sales still has not been implemented.

A commenter at Syracuse.com puts the SAFE Act into perspective:

Baby Mario's refusal to release the data merely highlights the impotence of these gun laws which he is now trying to hide from the public.  Remember the "spent case database" that NYS rammed through years ago.  Millions of dollars spent and how many crimes did it help solve - ZERO!  So it is with the so-called Safe Act which was yet another shameless bill rammed thru in the dead of night by a person who - like his father before him - aspires to run for president some day.  Only if you agree first to tell the American people of your complicity while running HUD in the 2008 mortgage lending meltdown.  The "goal" of the Safe Act was never to actually "impact crime" for which it's impact in truth has been negligible - the goal was nothing more than Baby Mario's attempt to pander to the anti-gun Left in NYC. 

The SAFE Act, badly designed and rammed through quickly so that opponents and critics could point out the flaws...

Gee, sounds like Cuomo's teacher evaluation system and education reform agenda too.

And those won't be any more effective than the SAFE Act in doing what it is Cuomo claims they're supposed to do.

Common Core To Cost John Flanagan Senate Majority Leader Position?

Finally we may see a politican pay a political price for backing Common Core:

“Monday could be D-Day for Dean,” said one Republican senator, who noted that pressure is increasing from constituents and advocacy groups.

“It is clear the votes are not there and that he has lost confidence with the conference — that’s clear,” said another Republican close to Skelos. “It’s just a matter of time for him to accept it and take the next step.”

...

The Republican close to Skelos said he believed it is a “done deal” for DeFrancisco to take over as leader, after some quiet campaigning by candidates for the job, although others said the debate was ongoing. The Republican said Flanagan, the Senate Education Committee chairman, was seen as too deeply connected to the Common Core effort that has enraged some parents and teachers statewide. Others said some members feel “it’s upstate’s turn” to hold the office.

It's not only his support for the Common Core that is likely to do Flanagan in for the majority leader position.

His support of Cuomo's SAFE ACT is the other nail:

Gun rights advocates have been urging their local senators to support DeFrancisco, citing his opposition to the SAFE Act, on which Flanagan – along with Skelos – voted “yes.”

It will be interesting to see the effects on education policy if Flanagan doesn't get the majority leader position in part because of his support for Common Core.

I keep writing that until politicians are made to pay a political price for their support of and water-carrying for Common Core, we'll not get much in the way of substantive policy changes.

Well, it's possible we're about to see a politican - one John Flanagan, happy Common Core warrior - pay a political price for that support.