Latest news with #Lander
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuomo the accused sex harasser targets comptroller foe over dog-neutering, smoking-ban suits
Accused serial sex harasser and mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo has tried to make hay of city lawsuits involving Comptroller foe Brad Lander over issues such as dog-neutering. Cuomo leveled his attack against Lander during Wednesday's mayoral debate, and the 15 lawsuits he tied to the city moneyman were later listed in a Thursday social-media post by his campaign. But in all but one of the lawsuits, Lander was only a nominally listed defendant, with many of the suits filed against the City Council, a review by The Post found. And none of the suits accused Lander of personal wrongdoing, unlike some of the accusations levied at Cuomo. The suits tangentially involving Lander span three mayoral administrations and include legal fights over a pro-smoking group fighting smoking bans, dog-neutering laws and a pair of shelter residents filing pro-se lawsuits over asbestos allegations. Cuomo rep Rich Azzopardi told The Post that his boss's comments on the debate stage were about Lander taking issue with the state footing the former governor's legal bills, pointing out that taxpayers have paid for suits against the comptroller, too. Cuomo — who resigned as governor in August 2021 over sex-harassment and COVID nursing-home controversies — has denied all of the accusations against him. 'Lander has amnesia,' Azzopardi said, adding that the substance of the suits was irrelevant and that the accusations against Cuomo have faced difficulties in court. But Lander rep Dora Pekec said substance is the issue. 'While Brad Lander got sued by the cigarette lobby for protecting our children from secondary smoke, predator Andrew Cuomo got sued by numerous employees for sexual abuse, faced looming impeachment, and forced taxpayers to spend $60 million trying to make these scandals go away,' Pekec said in a statement. 'No wonder Cuomo keeps lying about both of their records,' Pekec said. Lindsey Boylan, one of the first of a dozen women who have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, said, 'Cuomo will lie and smear every day of the week to serve himself. 'That's what abusers do.' While Cuomo's debate-night comment began as a response to Lander citing the more than $60 million taxpayers have been forced to shell out for lawsuits regarding sexual harassment and COVID allegations against the ex-gov, Cuomo's comments quickly turned to the legal substance of the cited lawsuits. 'He was sued 15 times,' Cuomo said at the debate. 'He was sued by parents of the disabled. He was sued by homeless providers who said he was unaware, he didn't do anything about the safety conditions. He was sued by people who said he mismanaged the pension fund.' Lander repeatedly said, 'False, false' as Cuomo spoke. The only cited suit that challenged an official decision by Lander was over his move to divest the city's pension fund from fossil fuels — with a state appeal court upholding the suit's dismissal in March. The rest of the suits have next to nothing to do with Lander as comptroller — or City Council member. One was a challenge to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's indoor smoking ban by a pro-smoking group, whose website states their mission is to 'end the discrimination against smokers by exposing the anti-smoking lies' and insisting 'smoking is normal.' Other suits include zoning fights, a law requiring pet stores to sell neutered pooches and a lawsuit by a disability advocacy group over emergency preparedness — which lists neither City Council nor Lander as a defendant. When Cuomo said Lander was 'sued by the parents of the disabled,' he was referring to a pair of suits filed against the city's Education Department — a routine way to secure funding to attend a specialized school for kids with brain injuries. And the suits by 'homeless providers' were a pair of nearly identical pro-se lawsuits filed against the city Department of Homeless Services by residents of a Fort Washington shelter over COVID-19 and asbestos claims. In both suits, Lander is listed nominally as the comptroller, typical for lawsuits filed against the city. A search of federal court records show that Lander has actually been sued more than 15 times — with 19 results as a civil defendant. By comparison, Cuomo appears 1,009 times, stretching back to his time with the federal government.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New York mayoral candidate takes plunge, dropping $2M into catchy roller coaster ad
NEW YORK — Brad Lander rides Coney Island's famed Cyclone roller coaster while calmly taking notes on a legal pad in the second television ad of his mayoral campaign, pitching himself as a steady choice and hoping to improve his third-place standing three weeks before the election. The campaign is dropping $2 million on the 30-second ad, which will air on broadcast and cable channels and streaming services from Tuesday through the June 24 primary, Lander campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said. It opens by taking a shot at the front-runner in the Democratic primary, Andrew Cuomo, as well as the sitting mayor. 'New York City feels like a lot lately. It's been a wild ride,' a narrator says over footage of people riding the iconic wooden coaster. 'But it won't change if we just swap Eric Adams for corrupt Andrew Cuomo.' The ad touts Lander's record as New York City comptroller, saying he's fought corruption, built affordable housing and taken on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk for clawing back $80 million in migrant funding from the city. The ad also shows Lander's goofy side, as the 'dad-joke'-loving Democrat bounces back and forth in the coaster while calmly munching on a hot dog. Lander's new ride may draw derision from rivals. His first ad showed him riding in a construction truck, leading Cuomo's team to call him 'Junkyard Brad' and compare him to children's character 'Bob the Builder.' Coney Island is a popular location for candidates this year — comptroller hopeful Justin Brannan, who represents the neighborhood in the City Council, also recorded an ad with the Cyclone. And in 2021, mayoral candidate Andrew Yang made a splash with his own Cyclone ad. With three weeks until the primary, Lander is seeking to climb in the polls and find the momentum he needs to turn around his chances. The Working Families Party gave Zohran Mamdani its number-one ranked endorsement on Friday, despite its long and close relationship with Lander. Its leaders instead encouraged supporters to pick Lander second. Mamdani, a democratic socialist lawmaker, consistently outperforms Lander in polls. Lander's new advertisement doesn't mention Mamdani, but the message emphasizing his experience and steadiness appear designed to present a contrast with the 33-year old legislator, whose limited experience has become a vulnerability on the campaign trail. The $2 million ad spend will eat up most of the $2.8 million balance Lander's campaign reported late last month. His team has already reported spending $4.7 million — more than any of his opponents in the race. As a result, he's entering the final month with significantly less to spend than Cuomo and Mamdani.
Politico
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Politico
New York mayoral candidate takes plunge, dropping $2M into catchy roller coaster ad
NEW YORK — Brad Lander rides Coney Island's famed Cyclone roller coaster while calmly taking notes on a legal pad in the second television ad of his mayoral campaign, pitching himself as a steady choice and hoping to improve his third-place standing three weeks before the election. The campaign is dropping $2 million on the 30-second ad, which will air on broadcast and cable channels and streaming services from Tuesday through the June 24 primary, Lander campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said. It opens by taking a shot at the front-runner in the Democratic primary, Andrew Cuomo, as well as the sitting mayor. 'New York City feels like a lot lately. It's been a wild ride,' a narrator says over footage of people riding the iconic wooden coaster. 'But it won't change if we just swap Eric Adams for corrupt Andrew Cuomo.' The ad touts Lander's record as New York City comptroller, saying he's fought corruption, built affordable housing and taken on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk for clawing back $80 million in migrant funding from the city. The ad also shows Lander's goofy side, as the 'dad-joke'-loving Democrat bounces back and forth in the coaster while calmly munching on a hot dog. Lander's new ride may draw derision from rivals. His first ad showed him riding in a construction truck, leading Cuomo's team to call him 'Junkyard Brad' and compare him to children's character 'Bob the Builder.' Coney Island is a popular location for candidates this year — comptroller hopeful Justin Brannan, who represents the neighborhood in the City Council, also recorded an ad with the Cyclone. And in 2021, mayoral candidate Andrew Yang made a splash with his own Cyclone ad. With three weeks until the primary, Lander is seeking to climb in the polls and find the momentum he needs to turn around his chances. The Working Families Party gave Zohran Mamdani its number-one ranked endorsement on Friday, despite its long and close relationship with Lander. Its leaders instead encouraged supporters to pick Lander second. Mamdani, a democratic socialist lawmaker, consistently outperforms Lander in polls. Lander's new advertisement doesn't mention Mamdani, but the message emphasizing his experience and steadiness appear designed to present a contrast with the 33-year old legislator, whose limited experience has become a vulnerability on the campaign trail. The $2 million ad spend will eat up most of the $2.8 million balance Lander's campaign reported late last month. His team has already reported spending $4.7 million — more than any of his opponents in the race. As a result, he's entering the final month with significantly less to spend than Cuomo and Mamdani.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democratic mayoral candidates make pitch to voters on child care
NEW YORK — One New York City mayoral candidate, Brad Lander, is promising free child care for every 2-year-old. Another, Zellnor Myrie, wants to launch a universal after-school program. And a third, Scott Stringer, is pushing to extend the school day. Several Democrats looking to become the city's next mayor have pitched plans around making preschool programs available to all 3-year-olds, or extending universal child care to support families with younger children. It's a sign frustrations among working- and middle-class families over skyrocketing child care costs are resonating in the body politic of a city that's increasingly unaffordable — and that those voters are poised to shape the Democratic primary, which is now just five weeks away. A recent poll found that nearly 80 percent of likely voters support free child care for 2-year-olds. Families with young children were twice as likely to leave the city as those without them. And last year, the average cost of child care for infants and toddlers in family-based care — in a provider's own home — was $18,200 annually. In center-based care, which is offered in classrooms, it averaged out to $26,000 a year. 'Elected officials and would-be elected officials are seeing that this is a constituency that is good for them to be thoughtful of,' said Rebecca Bailin, who leads New Yorkers United for Child Care, a parent-led group. The issue is an obvious political vulnerability for Mayor Eric Adams, a registered Democrat who's sitting out the primary to run as an independent in the general election. He announced a permanent investment of $167 million in early childhood funding last month — a significant reversal after accusing his predecessor Mayor Bill de Blasio of mismanaging the preschool program. De Blasio made implementing universal prekindergarten a centerpiece of his 2013 mayoral campaign. Since then, Adams abandoned the former mayor's goal of making pre-K available to all 3-year olds. The mayoral contenders running in the Democratic primary are generally aligned in their quest to expand access to child care, but they have outlined an array of different approaches. State Sen. Jessica Ramos, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Lander, the city's comptroller, have prioritized expanding child care to earlier ages. Lander has promised a preschool seat for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old and 16,000 new seats for 3-year olds — the latter of which he said he could achieve with or without help from Albany. He's said he would then begin building a '2-K for All' program to serve 2-year-olds with help from the state, at a price tag of $1.3 billion. Mamdani has called for free child care for children between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years old, as well as boosted wages for child care workers. His plan would cost at least $5 billion in city money and additional state and federal dollars, said Andrew Epstein, his campaign spokesperson. Epstein also pointed to new taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, which would have to be approved in Albany, as another potential source of funding. Ramos wants to expand universal child care to all children under the age of 5 and increase salaries for child care staffers as well. She intends to pay for those proposals through taxes on companies with payrolls higher than $250 million, a funding stream which would also require approval from Albany. She helped roll out universal pre-K as an aide to de Blasio. Other plans focus on ways to accommodate parents who work long hours. In March, Myrie, a state senator, unveiled a proposal for universal after-school and full-day preschool for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds. He said he would finance it through several sources, including savings from decreased city spending on migrant funding. The plan would cost at least $400 million in its first year. (Lander and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner in the race, also vowed to expand after-school access.) Stringer, a former city comptroller, wants to extend the school day to 4:30 p.m., a plan which he intends to fund through federal and state grants. He has also proposed a fund that would divide the costs of child care between the city, employers and families — a program Michigan has already implemented. Cuomo hasn't explicitly called for universal child care. He promised to guarantee slots for all 3-year olds — a surprise to some given that he rejected de Blasio's demand that universal pre-K be funded through a tax on the wealthy. Cuomo ultimately ended up financing universal pre-K in the state budget. The former governor said in his 25-point education plan that he would achieve his 3K guarantee by offering 'capital and operational support' to community-based providers and prioritizing expansion in underserved neighborhoods. He's also planning to find space in elementary school buildings for support services for developmentally delayed babies and toddlers, as well as preschool classes. The goal is to give families 'a one-stop hub for education, health and developmental support,' his plan states. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who launched her last-minute mayoral bid in March, has called for expanding child care subsidies to more families. She's also pushing for more funding for extended-day preschool seats and outreach to help families access early childhood programs. At the moment, Cuomo holds a commanding lead with a double-digit advantage over Mamdani, who's in second place, according to a recent Marist poll. Under ranked-choice voting, Cuomo led the first round with 44 percent of likely primary voters to Mamdani's 22 percent, excluding undecided voters. Adrienne Adams placed third in the first round, at 11 percent, followed by Lander at 10 percent. The rest of the field lagged in single digits, according to the poll. Groups like the 5BORO Institute think tank have been pressuring Eric Adams specifically and elected officials more broadly to prioritize child care. New Yorkers United for Child Care also opposed Adams' preschool funding cuts in 2023 — cuts he has partially rolled back. That group has also urged mayoral candidates to prioritize universal child care. The Day Care Council of New York, a membership organization of child care providers, sent a guide on early childhood education to candidates Wednesday. Its recommendations included higher salaries for child care workers and ameliorating the contracting process so providers can get paid on time. They are also demanding universal child care for 2-year-olds, as well as more outreach and marketing. 'If you're talking about doing universal, if you are talking about expanding — which we're really excited almost all of the candidates are — it has to include investing in the workforce,' said Gregory Brender of the Day Care Council. All of the candidates have called for salary bumps for staffers. Stringer has put forward a plan aimed at helping providers navigate complex city regulations. And Ramos is seeking more effective collaboration between city agencies to speed up licensing, background checks and safety inspections. Their policy prescriptions all come at a time when problems continue to afflict the city's early childhood system. Tens of thousands of preschool seats will likely sit empty next year. Some 55,582 students received pre-K offers last week, out of 70,000 available seats, according to data the Department of Education shared with city lawmakers earlier this week. And 44,386 students recently received 3K placements, out of 47,000 spots. About 15 percent of 3K applicants — over 6,000 students — did not get accepted into their desired programs. Advocacy organizations and think tanks pushing for universal child care believe it has enormous economic benefits. In 2022 alone, the city lost an estimated $23 billion as parents left the workforce, according to the city's Economic Development Corporation. Providing it, though, will likely be expensive. New Yorkers United for Child Care projected universal child care for 2-year-olds would cost $1.3 billion annually — and $12.7 billion a year to implement it statewide for children under the age of 5. 'Child care is both a challenge to affordability and labor force participation,' said Ana Champeny of the Citizens Budget Commission. 'The question about any public program is whether it is affordable and sustainable within the context of the city budget — how would it be paid for and would other spending need to be reduced?'
Politico
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Democratic mayoral candidates make pitch to voters on child care
NEW YORK — One New York City mayoral candidate, Brad Lander, is promising free child care for every 2-year-old. Another, Zellnor Myrie, wants to launch a universal after-school program. And a third, Scott Stringer, is pushing to extend the school day. Several Democrats looking to become the city's next mayor have pitched plans around making preschool programs available to all 3-year-olds, or extending universal child care to support families with younger children. It's a sign frustrations among working- and middle-class families over skyrocketing child care costs are resonating in the body politic of a city that's increasingly unaffordable — and that those voters are poised to shape the Democratic primary, which is now just five weeks away. A recent poll found that nearly 80 percent of likely voters support free child care for 2-year-olds. Families with young children were twice as likely to leave the city as those without them. And last year, the average cost of child care for infants and toddlers in family-based care — in a provider's own home — was $18,200 annually. In center-based care, which is offered in classrooms, it averaged out to $26,000 a year. 'Elected officials and would-be elected officials are seeing that this is a constituency that is good for them to be thoughtful of,' said Rebecca Bailin, who leads New Yorkers United for Child Care, a parent-led group. The issue is an obvious political vulnerability for Mayor Eric Adams, a registered Democrat who's sitting out the primary to run as an independent in the general election. He announced a permanent investment of $167 million in early childhood funding last month — a significant reversal after accusing his predecessor Mayor Bill de Blasio of mismanaging the preschool program. De Blasio made implementing universal prekindergarten a centerpiece of his 2013 mayoral campaign. Since then, Adams abandoned the former mayor's goal of making pre-K available to all 3-year olds. The mayoral contenders running in the Democratic primary are generally aligned in their quest to expand access to child care, but they have outlined an array of different approaches. State Sen. Jessica Ramos, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Lander, the city's comptroller, have prioritized expanding child care to earlier ages. Lander has promised a preschool seat for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old and 16,000 new seats for 3-year olds — the latter of which he said he could achieve with or without help from Albany. He's said he would then begin building a '2-K for All' program to serve 2-year-olds with help from the state, at a price tag of $1.3 billion. Mamdani has called for free child care for children between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years old, as well as boosted wages for child care workers. His plan would cost at least $5 billion in city money and additional state and federal dollars, said Andrew Epstein, his campaign spokesperson. Epstein also pointed to new taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, which would have to be approved in Albany, as another potential source of funding. Ramos wants to expand universal child care to all children under the age of 5 and increase salaries for child care staffers as well. She intends to pay for those proposals through taxes on companies with payrolls higher than $250 million, a funding stream which would also require approval from Albany. She helped roll out universal pre-K as an aide to de Blasio. Other plans focus on ways to accommodate parents who work long hours. In March, Myrie, a state senator, unveiled a proposal for universal after-school and full-day preschool for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds. He said he would finance it through several sources, including savings from decreased city spending on migrant funding. The plan would cost at least $400 million in its first year. (Lander and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner in the race, also vowed to expand after-school access.) Stringer, a former city comptroller, wants to extend the school day to 4:30 p.m., a plan which he intends to fund through federal and state grants. He has also proposed a fund that would divide the costs of child care between the city, employers and families — a program Michigan has already implemented. Cuomo hasn't explicitly called for universal child care. He promised to guarantee slots for all 3-year olds — a surprise to some given that he rejected de Blasio's demand that universal pre-K be funded through a tax on the wealthy. Cuomo ultimately ended up financing universal pre-K in the state budget. The former governor said in his 25-point education plan that he would achieve his 3K guarantee by offering 'capital and operational support' to community-based providers and prioritizing expansion in underserved neighborhoods. He's also planning to find space in elementary school buildings for support services for developmentally delayed babies and toddlers, as well as preschool classes. The goal is to give families 'a one-stop hub for education, health and developmental support,' his plan states. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who launched her last-minute mayoral bid in March, has called for expanding child care subsidies to more families. She's also pushing for more funding for extended-day preschool seats and outreach to help families access early childhood programs. At the moment, Cuomo holds a commanding lead with a double-digit advantage over Mamdani, who's in second place, according to a recent Marist poll. Under ranked-choice voting, Cuomo led the first round with 44 percent of likely primary voters to Mamdani's 22 percent, excluding undecided voters. Adrienne Adams placed third in the first round, at 11 percent, followed by Lander at 10 percent. The rest of the field lagged in single digits, according to the poll. Groups like the 5BORO Institute think tank have been pressuring Eric Adams specifically and elected officials more broadly to prioritize child care. New Yorkers United for Child Care also opposed Adams' preschool funding cuts in 2023 — cuts he has partially rolled back. That group has also urged mayoral candidates to prioritize universal child care. The Day Care Council of New York, a membership organization of child care providers, sent a guide on early childhood education to candidates Wednesday. Its recommendations included higher salaries for child care workers and ameliorating the contracting process so providers can get paid on time. They are also demanding universal child care for 2-year-olds, as well as more outreach and marketing. 'If you're talking about doing universal, if you are talking about expanding — which we're really excited almost all of the candidates are — it has to include investing in the workforce,' said Gregory Brender of the Day Care Council. All of the candidates have called for salary bumps for staffers. Stringer has put forward a plan aimed at helping providers navigate complex city regulations. And Ramos is seeking more effective collaboration between city agencies to speed up licensing, background checks and safety inspections. Their policy prescriptions all come at a time when problems continue to afflict the city's early childhood system. Tens of thousands of preschool seats will likely sit empty next year. Some 55,582 students received pre-K offers last week, out of 70,000 available seats, according to data the Department of Education shared with city lawmakers earlier this week. And 44,386 students recently received 3K placements, out of 47,000 spots. About 15 percent of 3K applicants — over 6,000 students — did not get accepted into their desired programs. Advocacy organizations and think tanks pushing for universal child care believe it has enormous economic benefits. In 2022 alone, the city lost an estimated $23 billion as parents left the workforce, according to the city's Economic Development Corporation. Providing it, though, will likely be expensive. New Yorkers United for Child Care projected universal child care for 2-year-olds would cost $1.3 billion annually — and $12.7 billion a year to implement it statewide for children under the age of 5. 'Child care is both a challenge to affordability and labor force participation,' said Ana Champeny of the Citizens Budget Commission. 'The question about any public program is whether it is affordable and sustainable within the context of the city budget — how would it be paid for and would other spending need to be reduced?'
