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Dear New Yorkers,

At his campaign headquarters in Flushing, Queens, Assemblymember Ron Kim has been collecting small amounts of cash: neighbors in his district give his campaign $5, $10, $20 at a time.

Because the six-term incumbent is taking advantage of New York's new public matching program for state elections, each of these small contributions could be matched by as much as $12 in public financing for every dollar donated up to $250.

Kim’s rivals are also poised to benefit from the program. One, medical supply company owner Yi Andy Chen, has submitted donations that stack up to $150,000 with the public match. That’s comparable to Kim's matchable haul — but Chen has far outstripped Kim in donations that are too big to match.

The race highlights a controversial aspect of the new campaign finance system's design: there is no limit to how much participating campaigns can spend outside the program, so candidates can benefit from small-dollar matching and big-donor spending at once.

And the state's fledgling public finance campaign is getting underway as the city’s program is under fire. As THE CITY has reported extensively, several Adams donors are alleged to have made — or have admitted to making — contributions under other people’s names to unlock more matching dollars. Yet even as NYC’s public campaign finance system endures scandals, the state won’t audit the majority of campaigns.

Read more about the controversies surrounding the state and city campaign finance systems here.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Wednesday’s Weather Rating: 8/10. A bit warmer today with high temperatures in the lower 70s. Mostly cloudy for much of the day with an onshore breeze. Still, the vibes are pretty good!

Our Other Top Stories

The NYPD has scheduled a disciplinary trial of its highest ranking uniformed officer, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, for June 24, THE CITY has learned. Maddrey presides over the department’s nearly 34,000 uniformed officers. The case is being prosecuted by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which just over a year ago found that Maddrey abused his authority in late 2021 when he ordered the voiding of the arrest of a retired police officer who had allegedly menaced three young boys with a gun in Brooklyn, as THE CITY had reported.  The NYPD arrested dozens of students at Columbia University and the City College of New York (CCNY) last night. At Columbia, police in riot gear entered campus at around 9 p.m. and cleared a protest encampment and Hamilton Hall, which protesters had occupied and barricaded early Tuesday morning. At CCNY, officers who’d arrived hours earlier began arresting demonstrators at around 11 p.m. Pregnant bus operators suing the MTA attended the agency’s monthly board meeting on Tuesday. In their lawsuit, the workers contend that the MTA fails to provide reasonable accommodation for bus operators with advanced pregnancies who can no longer drive buses — even though the agency offers temporary “light duty” roles to its train operators. At the meeting, Brooklyn bus operator Latoya Christian, who is due to give birth in July, told officials she would prefer to be shifted into another role, rather than having to burn through her time off.“I love my job,” she said. “But this is a disservice.”

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Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Wednesday, May 1: The Career Resources Fair for Teens, hosted by the New York Public Library. The expo-style fair includes workshops, resources and more. Free from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the NYPL’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in Manhattan. Saturday, May 4: GrowTogether events in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, hosted by the Parks Department. Activities include DIY projects, mushroom workshops and a film screening. Times vary by location. Free. Saturday, May 4: Wall to Wall Prince, a daylong tribute in music, film, dance, stories, and more led by artists. Free from 3 to 11 p.m. at Symphony Space’s Peter Jay Sharp Theatre in Manhattan.

THE KICKER: The area around Penn Station is undergoing a $65 million revitalization that includes a big pedestrian plaza and wider sidewalks.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Wednesday.

Love,

THE CITY

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