News in New York – Primary Day, Outdoor Dining, and Admin Appointment

August 22, 2022

New York Primary Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the second of two primary election days in New York State, with voters will cast their ballots for Congress and State Senate along party lines. As a result of redistricting, there are several high profile races between incumbents and races where candidates are vying for open seats. Long-time Congress Members Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney are competing in the newly redrawn 12th district, in which Nadler has been polling significantly ahead as of recently, in part due to endorsements from the NY Times and Senator Chuck Schumer. In the redrawn 10th district, Trump impeachment lawyer Daniel Goldman has been polling slightly ahead of several challengers, including Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, Council Member Carlina Rivera, and Congress Member Mondaire Jones. However, Goldman has drawn heavy criticism from all of his challengers given his frontrunner status and the race is expected to be close. Just north of NYC, Congress Member and DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney is widely expected to win his primary challenge from State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. On the State Senate side, there are at least seven Democratic incumbents who are facing primary challenges, some from their left and others from more moderate candidates. In addition, there are several instances in which candidates are vying for open seats, either in newly drawn districts or instances in which incumbents are retiring. Overall, early voting turnout was low, with only about 75,000 NYC residents participating in early voting, even lower than June’s primary.

Mayor Adams Announced Outdoor Dining Enforcement Initiative

Last Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a new, multiagency enforcement initiative focused on enforcing guidelines for NYC’s Open Restaurant program and removing deserted dining sheds that are no longer in use. The initiative will be led by Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi, and the taskforce will be comprised of DOT, DSNY, NYPD, and DPR. During the announcement, Adams stated that the taskforce had removed 24 unused sheds over the span of a few days, and are investigating another 37 sheds identified as violators of Open Restaurants guidelines. The Mayor also invited the public to help identify sheds that appear abandoned by reaching out to 311 and sharing its location.

Mayor Adams Reappoints Hendon as Commissioner of the Department of Veterans’ Services

Last Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams reappointed James Hendon as Commissioner of the NYC Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS), where has served since the fall of 2019. As Commissioner, Hendon advocates for the city’s veterans and provide them with essential services and programs focused on pivotal areas, such as economic empowerment, health and wellness, housing security, and benefits. Prior to DVS, he was the Director of the New York University Veterans Future Lab, a small business incubator for entrepreneurs who are U.S. military veterans or veterans’ spouses, and was a veteran entrepreneur himself as the Founder and former CEO of the Energy Economic Development Corporation. Hendon will continue to report to Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom.

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