Democrats Take State Senate: What It Means For NYC

NEW YORK — Democratic candidates for state Senate scored a historic victory for their party on Tuesday by ushering in one-party rule of the state government. Democrats appeared poised to take as many as eight Senate seats from Republicans, giving them a comfortable majority in a chamber they haven't controlled since 2010.

The landmark power shift will likely allow lawmakers to finally move forward with liberal policies that have gotten through the deep-blue Assembly but stalled in the Senate, the GOP's last bastion of state power.

"The list of progressive proposals that have been bottled up for so long in the Senate will take us most of the session to get through, but we’re going to get through them all," state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) said in a WNYC interview Wednesday.

Many of those proposals, from tighter rent laws to election reforms to funding for the ailing subway system, could have major implications for New York City in particular. Here's a look at some of them and what they could mean for the five boroughs.

Making It Easier To Vote

New Yorkers encountered rampant problems at polling places Tuesday, including interminable lines and scanning machines apparently jammed by wet ballots.

Voting reform should be one of the Senate Democrats' top priorities after such a disastrous showing, state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) said on WNYC's "The Brian Lehrer Show."

"We have had a majority that for too long has been focused on keeping people from voting because they thought it was in their political interest, and one of the first orders of business I think we should take up is changing that," said Gianaris, the deputy leader of the Democratic Conference.

That could mean implementing early voting, which 37 states currently offer, or making it easier to vote absentee or by mail.

It could also mean offering same-day or automatic voter registration, which would be a stark contrast to the current requirement that voters register at least 25 days in advance of an election. The New York Civil Liberties Union is challenging that cutoff in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Such reforms would "take all of the road blocks out of the process," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"We could relieve a lot of the pressure on the Election Day operations if we would do the things that states all over the country do, red states and blue states," he said.

Fixing The Subway

New York City Transit President Andy Byford has a $40 billion plan to resurrect the city's ailing public transportation system. But the question has always been how to pay for it.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has embraced congestion pricing, a proposal to raise money for the MTA by tolling vehicles entering central and lower Manhattan. But it's uncertain whether that would give the agency the amount of money it needs. Outer-borough politicians reportedly fought a similar proposal that died in 2008.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, the governor's political nemesis, has favored a so-called millionaire's tax, an income tax hike for the richest New Yorkers that would help support the MTA. Gianaris has sponsored legislation aligned with the proposal, but Krueger deflected when asked about the proposal on Wednesday.

"Our conference has not discussed any specific tax proposals or the MTA, how we do it, so to speak," she said. "So I’m not prepared to take that position now."

The mayor named securing a permanent funding source for the MTA as one of his top state legislative priorities. He said the millionaire's tax is still "the single best solution," but acknowledged more than one revenue stream might be needed.

"Something's got to give," de Blasio said. "It's got to be one of these two things or something else or some combination."

Tougher Rent Regulations

Also at the top of the mayor's wish list is strengthening the city's rent regulations and protecting affordable housing.

The state's rent regulation laws, which govern the city's nearly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, will come up for renewal in 2019. Tightening them is a key goal of some insurgent senators-elect who ousted incumbents in Democratic primaries last month.

The newcomers Alessandra Biaggi of The Bronx, Jessica Ramos of Queens and Julia Salazar of Brooklyn all want to end vacancy decontrol, which allows landords to hike prices after tenants move out of rent-controlled apartments. They also support reforms around rent increases allowed for major capital improvements to a building.

De Blasio said change is possible now that powerful groups such as the Real Estate Board of New York and the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents landlords, no longer have a grip on the Senate.

"REBNY had a particular influence over the state Senate republicans. That’s gone now," the mayor said. "RSA as well. That’s gone now. So the door is wide open for strengthening rent regulations."

School Control

Senate Republicans gave de Blasio a hard time when it came to renewing mayoral control of the city's biggest-in-the-nation public school system. A deal for a two-year extension was reportedly struck at the last minute in 2017.

The mayor said he expects a Democratic Senate will be friendlier, meaning such a dramatic showdown could be avoided when the question comes up again next year.

"I think Democrats are ready to extend mayoral control of education and end this madness of just one year at a time, but really let us do the things we need to do, like pre-K, 3K, a lot of other reforms in our schools," de Blasio said after voting Tuesday, referring to his universal pre-school programs.

(Lead image: The New York State Capitol is seen in March 2008. Photo by Daniel Barry/Getty Images)