News: POLITICO New York Playbook: Most middle schools drop selective admissions

Thursday, October 27, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: Most middle schools drop selective admissions

Oct 27, 2022

By Erin Durkin , Anna Gronewold and Julian Shen-Berro

Presented by Equinor

An Adams administration overhaul of school admissions may not be so dramatic after all .

The new mayor and his schools chancellor have prioritized more competitive admissions processes — reversing a push to combat segregation by scaling back selective entry policies. Last month, they announced that middle schools will again be able to use grades to determine which students they want to admit. But as it turns out, the vast majority of schools will be dropping those screens .

In schools Chancellor David Banks' view, as expressed at a recent forum , children who work "really hard" should have a better shot at getting into a top school than "the child you have to throw water on their face to get them to go to school every day." He's taken some flak for that comment, though the added emphasis on merit has been cheered on other parents , including many in the Asian American community, who had complained that their children's ability to get ahead through hard work was being compromised.

Accordingly, the city announced that middle schools would again be able to use competitive admissions, reversing a pandemic-era change that conducted all admissions by lottery. But Banks allowed local superintendents in each district to make the call about how children will be admitted.

Now the results are in: Nearly 90 percent of city middle schools will admit students through a lottery. Only 59 out of those 478 schools will use grades and test scores to decide who to let in, a 70 percent decrease compared to before the pandemic. Of those, 24 will screen all students while 35 will use competitive admissions only for certain programs.

This may not be in keeping with the philosophy expressed by Banks, who has taken on an influential role in the Adams administration along with his brother and his fiancee, but he insisted that's beside the point. "It's not about my personal views," he said. "This is about the community and the community voice." Still, the roller coaster of admissions changes may continue. Banks said he'll keep assessing the system and could make additional changes next year.

IT'S THURSDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: EDurkin@politico.com and agronewold@politico.com , or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold

WHERE'S KATHY? Greeting President Joe Biden at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse and joining him to tout Micron's plan to invest in microchip manufacturing in upstate New York.

WHERE'S ERIC? Making a fire related announcement, speaking at the opening of Mexico Week, speaking at a Saint Vincent and Grenadines flag raising ceremony, meeting with the United Precinct Community Council of Brooklyn North, speaking at the at the Climate Mayors' Member Meeting Roundtable and the New York Police & Fire Widows and Children's Benefits Fund's Annual Gala.

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What City Hall's reading

City looks beyond coastal resiliency 10 years after Hurricane Sandy , by POLITICO's Danielle Muoio Dunn: As the city races to complete billions in coastal resiliency projects launched in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, officials are starting to turn more of their attention inland. Top environmental officials on Wednesday announced a new program, Climate Strong Communities, to better address climate risks faced by the millions of New Yorkers who don't live along the city's 520 miles of shoreline. The projects will address hazards like extreme heat and heavy rainfall, which disproportionately affect communities of color that lack adequate infrastructure to mitigate the impact of ever-worsening storms and rising temperatures. "The thing that is protective of a coastal community might not be at all the right solution for an inland community," said Kizzy Charles-Guzman, executive director of the mayor's office of climate and environmental justice.

— " City breaks ground on Two Bridges coastal resiliency project ," by NY1's Patrick Adcroft: "Alongside a bevy of New York City officials and climate change advocates, Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday broke ground on the Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience project, which will see the construction of flood walls and deployable flip-up barriers meant to protect the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan from future flood surges. The project, which aims to keep the waterfront accessible and visible, is one of the four climate resiliency projects that comprise the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience Project, a signature resiliency project former Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration put into place in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy."

" FDNY acting commissioner Laura Kavanagh to become permanent head of department ," by New York Daily News' Thomas Tracy, Michael Gartland and Elizabeth Keogh: "The FDNY's acting commissioner is to be appointed to the job permanently on Thursday, City Hall and Fire Department sources told the Daily News. Laura Kavanagh will become the first female commissioner in the department's 157-year history."

" NYCHA Under Oath: Water Scandal Grows as Authority Admits Suspect Firm Had Much Larger Portfolio ," by The City's Greg B. Smith: "The testing lab that retracted its findings on arsenic at the Riis Houses and that NYCHA claimed had not been used elsewhere in its vast system had, in fact, been used to check the drinkability of tap water at dozens of NYCHA properties, THE CITY has learned. The lab, Environmental Monitoring and Technology (EMT), performed tests on water samples at Riis in August that they said registered the presence of arsenic in the water there. The city Health Department then advised Riis tenants not to drink or use the water for cooking. Eight days later, EMT shocked the city by suddenly retracting its findings, an about-face that infuriated Riis tenants and flummoxed elected officials trying to understand what happened."

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A vast majority of residents in the area around Brooklyn's Maimonides hospital say the site needs to improve, according to a poll conducted for a group campaigning to overhaul the hospital. In the poll by Slingshot Strategies for the group Save Maimonides, 46 percent say Maimonides needs a lot of improvement and 37 percent say it needs some improvement. Among the poll respondents, registered voters in the Assembly district covering Borough Park and Midwood, 84 percent say they, a family member or a close friend have received treatment at Maimonides. Sixty-seven percent have left the neighborhood to get better medical care than they would locally. And 59 percent say if they needed to call an ambulance, they would prefer to be taken to a different hospital, while 17 percent would prefer to be taken to Maimonides. After being read a series of complaints about the hospital, 79 percent say they would support a change in management there. — Erin Durkin

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WHAT ALBANY'S READING

Most of New York Gas Tax Holiday Savings Don't Go to New Yorkers, Analysis Finds , by New York Focus' Colin Kinniburgh: "'By suspending certain fuel taxes for the next seven months, New York is providing some $609 million in direct relief to New Yorkers — a critical lifeline for those who need it most,' Hochul said. She has since continued to highlight the gas tax holiday as one of her core policies to fight inflation, a top issue for many voters in the November election. But a new analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), prepared for New York Focus, shows that out of every dollar the policy cost the state, less than 50 cents made it to New Yorkers' pockets. Nearly a third of the tax benefits are retained by fossil fuel companies, the analysis found. Another 22 percent are going to out-of-state residents, and 6 percent are going to New York's richest 5 percent of households."

Lee Zeldin's ad shows a man's final moments. His family wants it removed. " by WNYC's Jon Campbell: "The family of Saheed Vassell, a man killed by the NYPD in 2018, is pleading with Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin to remove footage of Vassell's final moments from Zeldin's first major television advertisement. Vassell's family said the use of the video has caused his relatives 'terrible pain and suffering.' Vassell's family has hired lawyers in recent weeks as it continues to press Zeldin to remove the ad, which the Republican congressman launched with a seven-figure buy in September and continues to host on his Facebook and Twitter pages. The release underscores Zeldin's campaign strategy of painting New York as a crime-riddled state under his opponent Gov. Kathy Hochul."

Ethics chair: Commissioner's fundraiser attendance 'a slight lapse in judgment' " by Times Union's Chris Bragg: "The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government's chairman, Frederick Davie, made the comments during the body's monthly meeting in Albany. He was addressing a Times Union article published Monday concerning Commissioner Leonard Austin's attendance at an Oct. 9 campaign fundraiser for Long Island Assemblyman Charles Lavine. …After saying the new commission is 'unequivocally committed' to adhering both the letter and the spirit of laws and regulations, Davie noted that Austin had retired as a judge in January and in his 'exuberance and enthusiasm for supporting a friend at a campaign event' had 'a slight lapse in in judgment because of that enthusiasm.'"

Court issues stay on decision blocking the counting of absentee ballots , by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: An appellate court issued a stay Wednesday to a ruling that would have delayed the counting of absentee ballots in next month's elections. While the court will hear broader arguments on the case next week, the decision likely means that election officials can return to counting the ballots that have already been submitted, decreasing the chances that the results of any close contests won't be known for weeks. A Saratoga County judge gave Republicans a partial victory last week in a suit they brought challenging the state's rules on absentee voting. Every voter will still have the option of casting a ballot by mail this year, but a new state law that lets local election officials start opening the ballots as they come in was blocked.

#UpstateAmerica: It's a hard sell calling Ulster County "upstate" but a police investigation into an alligator sighting outside a Rosendale puppet theater very much fits the brand.

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FROM THE DELEGATION

How Maloney got here: The suddenly-tough race rattling Dems at the finish , by POLITICO's Anna Gronewold, Sarah Ferris and Ally Mutnick: Republicans first targeted House Democratic campaigns chief Sean Patrick Maloney's blue district here in the Hudson Valley as an act of trolling their arch-nemesis. Now they're taking their prospects seriously. And so is Maloney. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair and his allies are answering the GOP's escalation with millions of dollars from outside groups, while Maloney steps up his already grueling campaign schedule at home. Swooping in to rescue their own campaigns chief is the last place Democrats wanted to be in the final days of the midterms. His struggles have led some in the party to rethink their tendency to elect swing-seat DCCC leaders, but for the moment Maloney's just looking to hang on.

" New York House Republicans urge reversal of farm labor overtime change ," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman: "Rep. Elise Stefanik's office on Wednesday is releasing a letter to state labor officials calling for a reversal of New York's plan to lower the overtime threshold for farm workers from 60 hours a week to 40. Republicans who represent New York in the House of Representatives sent the letter as part of the public comment period before the change goes into effect by the end of the year."

AROUND NEW YORK

— City health officials are investigating a potential Brooklyn outbreak of campylobacter, a foodborne illness that causes gastrointestinal symptoms.

— The MTA chairman rejected calls to bring back the subway mask mandate.

— Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York finds that long Covid is behind an increase in the number of disabled people in the workforce.

— The MTA will start allowing cyclists on the Cross Bay and Henry Hudson bridges.

— A Central Park jogger is in critical condition after being hit by a bicyclist.

— The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar a Park Slope home that could be Brooklyn's first official landmark marking LGBT history.

— The Fair Fares program will become available on the OMNY fare payment system next year.

— The MTA has contracted unarmed private security guards to crack down on fare evasion.

— Fewer than 10 percent of New York City tenants facing eviction were assigned a lawyer last month, despite most having the right to a free attorney.

DON'T MISS POLITICO'S 2nd ANNUAL DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/16: The United States is facing a defining moment in the future of its defense, national security and democratic ideals. The current conflicts and developments around the world are pushing Washington to reshape its defense strategy and how it cooperates with allies. Join POLITICO for our second annual defense summit, "At a Crossroads: America's Defense Strategy" on November 16 in person at the Schuyler DC or join online to hear keynote interviews and panels discussing the road ahead for America's national security. REGISTER HERE .

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Matt Drudge … Vanity Fair's Michael Calderone … Zoe Chace of "This American Life" … Sara Latham … POLITICO's Meridith McGraw … Emily Vander Weele of Weber Shandwick ... Nina Easton … Clark Reid of Commerce … Christina Mountz Donnelly … NYT's Ali Watkins … Chris Vlasto … Ryan Eisenman ... state Sen. Brad Hoylman ... Stephanie Abrams

MAKING MOVES — Maria Comella has started the strategic communications and issue advocacy firm Comella & Co. She most recently was head of public affairs and brand at CLEAR and has served in senior leadership across party lines working for both Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo and on multiple presidential campaigns. … Raffi Williams is now VP of communications at the Managed Funds Association. He most recently was VP on the financial communications team at Edelman Smithfield and is an alum of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Trump HUD.

MEDIAWATCH — Greg Overzat is now coordinating booking producer for NBC's "Meet the Press." He previously was senior editorial producer for CNN+.

Real Estate

" NYC unveils proposals for Governors Island climate hub ," by Gothamist's Michelle Bocanegra: "The new face of a portion of Governors Island has been narrowed down to three proposals for its Center for Climate Solutions, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday — amid ongoing legal fights over the island's rezoning. Three final proposals have made the cut for the development of the research center, which will be tasked with exploring potential solutions to climate change and eventually located on the southern part of the island."

" Former 'Worst Landlord' Forced to Pay $82K in Latest Settlement with NYC Housing Agency ," by City Limits' David Brand: "One of New York's most notorious landlords will pay $82,500 to settle dozens of lead paint violations inside six of his Brooklyn apartment buildings, the city's housing agency said Wednesday. It's the latest civil penalty leveled against Jason Korn, the former 'Worst Landlord' on the Public Advocate's annual list of terrible property owners, and comes after the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) ordered him to correct over 80 lead paint violations at buildings in Crown Heights, Flatbush and Midwood. Last year, HPD fined Korn $235,000 and also made him remove lead paint in six of his buildings, all incorporated under limited liability companies (LLCs), with more than 388 households in Brooklyn and Manhattan."

" Should a Park Include a Burial Ground? Residents of Newburgh, N.Y., Can't Agree ," by The New York Times' Jane Margolies: "All was calm on a recent morning in Downing Park, a pastoral landscape of rolling lawns, winding paths, majestic trees and a placid pond in which ducks were paddling. But tensions have been simmering in this city on the west bank of the Hudson River some 60 miles north of New York over plans for some new additions to the park. Ever since 2008, a group of residents here has been searching for a place to build a memorial and reinter the remains of African Americans whose nearby burial ground was taken over by municipal projects. After other sites didn't work out, they identified a serene spot here, high on a hill overlooking the Hudson. The City Council approved the selection in May. Not everyone in this city of about 28,000 is happy with the plan."