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For over a decade, City Hall and public sector unions have been part of a joint effort to achieve health care cost savings — culminating in a deal to force civil service retirees to switch to a cheaper insurance plan in order to fund raises for city workers.
But fierce pushback by retired city workers over the proposed Medicare Advantage switch has turned the former friends into foes, fighting over who is now responsible for covering potentially billions of dollars in unrealized savings while also ensuring workers’ health coverage gets funded.
The Municipal Labor Committee is now suing the city government in an attempt to stop Mayor Eric Adams’ chief labor negotiator from pulling the unions into arbitration — with Office of Labor Relations chief Renee Campion asserting that the unions owe $4 billion.
Campion, meanwhile, has claimed that the unions have been unwilling to negotiate other ways to achieve a commitment to $600 million a year in cost savings — leaving a crucial health care fund for city workers bone dry.
The collapse of the pact has burst open a long-simmering conflict between the municipal employee unions and the Adams administration over who is responsible.
Read more here about the escalating combat between the Adams administration and city employees.
Weather 🌤️
Still mostly sunny but slightly cooler, with highs in the low 70s.
MTA 🚇
The uptown 1 train skips 207 Street, 215 Street, Marble Hill-225 Street, 231 Street and 238 Street from 9:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today. Find all the MTA’s planned changes and the latest delays here.
Alternate side parking 🚙
It’s in effect today, April 30.
By the way…
Bend it like Beckham — Brooklyn Beckham. Registration for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s adult soccer leagues is now open.
Our Other Top Stories
Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander says that Mayor Eric Adams should allow an independent party to oversee all matters related to the city’s sanctuary city laws because Adams is “compromised” — referring to the mayor’s alleged quid pro quo with President Donald Trump. The mayor’s spokesperson says Lander’s rhetoric is “desperate and detached from reality.”
The $254 billion budget deal reached Monday between Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature at first glance seems to be a cautious one — but fiscal experts, conservative and progressive alike, slammed the deal as irresponsible. They say it leaves New York vulnerable to looming federal budget cuts.
Nonprofit organizations working under city contracts will soon be able to receive up to half of their payments upfront, Adams announced Tuesday — but service providers say it’s just one of many reforms needed to fix a notoriously problematic billing system.
If you want to throw a party in a city park that’s over 20 people, you’ll need a permit — even if you’re a Grammy-award winning pop star. Here’s how to get one.
Robert Brooks was beaten to death in a prison infirmary. If it hadn’t been for the officers’ body cameras, they may not have been successfully charged with his murder; lawyers for Brooks say they took him to the infirmary on purpose because infirmaries don’t have cameras. While beating deaths and murder charges like what happened to Brooks are rare, alleged physical abuse in New York prison infirmaries is not, an investigation from the Marshall Project finds.
Reporter’s Notebook
Citi Field Casino Wins Senate Committee Support
A state Senate committee voted Tuesday to advance a bill to alienate parts of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park — a crucial step in advancing Mets owner Steve Cohen’s casino bid. The bill — introduced by Sen. John Liu (D-Queens) last month even as the senator representing the 50-acre parcel, Jessica Ramos (D-Queens), opposes the project — narrowly passed with four “ayes without recommendation,” a signal that those members may not support the bill in a full Senate vote.
Liu fielded questions from his colleagues in an otherwise mundane meeting, including one from gaming committee chair Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Queens), who noted that the Metropolitan Park proposal is “not in your district.”
“The site in question is not primarily in my district, but a fair amount of it is,” Liu said at the meeting. “The reality is that it also directly affects my residential and my commercial areas in downtown Flushing. It’s a hop and skip away, notwithstanding the boundary. And so there will be a very big impact — for the most part I believe positive. There are some negative impacts.” Liu previously told THE CITY he still objects to gambling and casinos.
Assemblymember Larinda Hooks (D-Queens), who represents the site, introduced companion legislation in the other chamber of the state legislature last month. That bill has been referred to a committee but no vote has been scheduled yet.
— Haidee Chu
Things To Do
Here are some free and low-cost things to do around the city this week.
Wednesday, April 30: Learn about the history of labor unions in a panel on the eve of May Day, moderated by THE CITY’s labor reporter Claudia Irizarry Aponte. The Cooper Union in Manhattan, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 1: Hear from two memoirists about what it’s like growing up Chinese in New York. Lofty Pigeon Books in Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.
THE KICKER: On this day in 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first president of the U.S. He delivered his first inaugural address from the nation’s capitol: New York City.
Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Wednesday.
Love,
THE CITY
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