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On Tuesday night in Inwood, at the northern tip of Manhattan, District 10’s councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa organized a community briefing explaining the plan. The measure is expected to go through the City Council’s land-use committee and zoning subcommittee today, and after councilmembers seek changes to the text, a floor vote in the city’s legislative body could arrive as soon as December 5 th . Around 150 constituents gathered at P.S. 48 to hear Ryan Cote, a staffer with the City Council Land Use Division, explain the granular details of the mayor’s proposal. He was also joined by John Mangin, head of the Housing Division of the Department of City Planning, to address constituents’ questions and concerns. “This conversation is going to be spicy at times,” De La Rosa said in introducing the briefing, correctly anticipating some of the negative reactions from the audience that would follow. “I ask for grace.” Cote’s presentation detailed a plan that mainly uses incentives on multiple fronts. These include expanding development rights for landmark buildings and making it easier for them to sell to developers, and allowing churches to sell parts of their lots/campuses to be used for housing, in both cases providing much-needed funding for those types of organizations. City of Yes would also do away with outdated rules, like parking space requirements and restrictions on converting commercial spaces to residences. One key provision that caught a great deal of attention was the plan to have developers include affordable housing as part of their building plan should they choose to build over a certain height, which is dubbed a “universal affordability preference.” The City of Yes plan defines “affordable” as 60% of area median income, which the city has calculated to be $65,220. During the Q&A portion of the briefing, Councilwoman De La Rosa spoke of how constituents who come to her seeking help on housing have incomes ranging from around $17,000 to $30,000 tops. The presentation may have put the best face possible on the plan, but people were not convinced, with nearly every attendee that got a moment at the microphone expressing various shades of frustration with it, mostly centered around the voluntary nature of the UAP proposal. The first constituent to speak set the tone for what followed, saying that “the affordability of that affordable housing is not really affordable for people in our community,” and expressing doubt on the incentive’s effectiveness to achieve its desired result. In response, John Mangin talked about the low vacancy rate and housing stock across the city (both of which lag behind other cities in the country), and how that pushes people to neighborhoods like Inwood, driving up prices locally. He talked up the UAP not just as a moderately effective tool against this, but as one of historic significance: “in 10-15 years, it will create more affordable units than all of our inclusionary programs have created in New York City since the 1980s.” There is no question that increasing the housing stock will go some way towards lowering rent prices, as a report from the city comptroller this year called it “one of the primary drivers of high rents.” That said, while Mangin pushed UAP as a game-changer, the fact that it’s an incentive and not a mandate remained a major sticking point for a community concerned with deep affordability. Another constituent, after seeking clarification from Cote on the UAP, concluded: “so theoretically, we could have thousands of R6 buildings (a class of building that meets Inwood’s density zoning) throughout this city that would have no affordability whatsoever.” Mangin rejected her premise, but did not indicate why that might not be a potential outcome. As he fielded people’s concerns, Mangin found himself receiving comments that at times that bordered on harsh. “You come in here, and you’re trying to tell us about the neighborhood that we live in, it’s a little bit cringe,” said a representative from Community Board 9 (which has not endorsed City of Yes) after he told her he lives on the Lower East Side. As the meeting came to a close, Councilwoman De La Rosa encouraged her constituents to stay informed and keep up their pressure. “All the people who live in our community, and our children, deserve the right to decent, deeply affordable housing, but that fight is not going to be won in one session,” she said. “Tonight you participated, that is a great step.”Bill Clinton is hospitalized with a fever but in good spirits, spokesperson says
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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's current governor and his successor tacked on another lawsuit Monday disputing a key provision within a GOP law that erodes the powers of several incoming Democratic state leaders — the latest in a longstanding power struggle between North Carolina's executive and legislative branches over who controls the state's elections. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's current governor and his successor tacked on another lawsuit Monday disputing a key provision within a GOP law that erodes the powers of several incoming Democratic state leaders — the latest in a longstanding power struggle between North Carolina's executive and legislative branches over who controls the state's elections. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s current governor and his successor tacked on another lawsuit Monday disputing a key provision within a GOP law that erodes the powers of several incoming Democratic state leaders — the latest in a longstanding power struggle between North Carolina’s executive and legislative branches over who controls the state’s elections. The lawsuit challenges one of the law’s core power shifts that move the ability to appoint members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections from the governor’s authority to the state auditor’s office — which will be run by Republican Dave Boliek next year. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Gov.-elect Josh Stein, who currently serves as the state attorney general, filed the suit in Wake County Superior Court on Monday, saying in the complaint that the provision is unconstitutional and violates the separation of powers. The change to state election board appointments will take place next spring if it isn’t blocked in court. The state elections board would likely remain under GOP control for the next few years and would trickle down to county boards as well. “We have had the same structure for our state board of elections for nearly a century and it has served North Carolina well, with fair and secure elections across our state through every cycle,” Cooper said in a news release Monday. “These blatantly partisan efforts to give control over elections boards to a newly elected Republican will create distrust in our elections process and serve no legitimate purpose.” The suit from Cooper and Stein is the second challenge the pair has levied against the GOP-controlled state legislature concerning the law. Cooper and Stein are also contesting another provision that prevents the governor from choosing his State Highway Patrol commander. Those alterations to the governor’s powers were part of a larger swath of changes to several statewide offices that Democrats won in November and will preside over next year — such as attorney general, state schools superintendent and lieutenant governor. If the law withstands the court challenges, it would further underscore the GOP-led legislature’s tightened grip over the other two branches of government since Republicans took control of the General Assembly more than a decade ago. Last year, GOP supermajorities in both the House and Senate firmed up power even more. Pending legal disputes in a few outstanding races, Republicans could lose their supermajority if Democratic challenger Bryan Cohn’s attempt to oust incumbent Republican Rep. Frank Sossamon proves successful. That would give Stein a slightly more effective veto stamp on future Republican legislation if Democratic lawmakers stay unified. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Republican legislators passed the law in both chambers earlier this month — not without scathing disapproval from crowds of protesters in the building. The bill drew the ire of House and Senate Democrats, as well as some community organizers, who denounced it as a “power grab.” They also criticized Republican lawmakers for tying the power shifts to disaster relief funding for western North Carolina in Hurricane Helene’s aftermath. Most of the $252 million in recovery funds included in the law can’t be spent until the next time the General Assembly acts. But GOP legislators defended the bill, with incoming House Speaker Destin Hall saying during the House vote that the changes are within the legislature’s constitutional right. Republicans also point to previous Democratic actions, such as weakening the state’s first GOP governor in 1972, as reasons necessitating the legislation. Spokespeople for Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore — who are both defendants listed in the lawsuit — did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday evening. A state elections board spokesperson also did not immediately respond. Changes to the state elections board aren’t a first for GOP lawmakers. Previous attempts have been blocked by courts, including a suit last year that would move board appointment authority from the governor to the General Assembly. Berger and Moore’s attorneys moved to dismiss that case last week, and the new lawsuit from Cooper and Stein seeks to replace it. Advertisement AdvertisementSabrina Ionescu was thrilled to be part of Unrivaled — the new 3-on-3 league. The Liberty star guard who helped New York win the first championship in franchise history earlier this year signed a historic agreement on Monday with the league. She'll join the Phantom BC that made a trade Saturday night to acquire Natasha Cloud. "It was a huge decision getting me to play or not," Ionescu said in a phone interview Monday night. "I weighed out all my options and decided to do what’s best for me and my career. Being able to take part in a league that is the first of its kind with a historic deal and be on the ownership side of it is important for me.” Ionescu said the league gave her some flexibility in her schedule if she needs to step away for a day or two. The NBA All-Star Game is on Feb. 16, which is in the middle of the Unrivaled season. The league has no team games during the NBA All-Star weekend. There's discussions of her potentially competing in another 3-point contest with Stephen Curry. “I have certain dates that I have to be gone for. They were very accommodating with things I already accepted and have to be gone for before I committed to the league,” Ionescu said. Ionescu will also be playing with Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Katie Lou Samuelson and Satou Sabally. Ionescu was teammates with Sabally at Oregon. “I’m really excited being able to play with her and knowing we’ve wanted to play with each other for a long time since we departed from Oregon,” Ionescu said. The 27-year-old Ionescu is recovering from a procedure she had earlier this month on her right thumb to stabilize the ulnar collateral ligament. She's not cleared yet, but is on target to be able to play at the start of the Unrivaled season. “I should be cleared and ready to go and be able to be there and be a part of it,” Ionescu said. “The first year was something I wanted to experience and have ownership is a big part in that as well.” Ionescu said she hurt the thumb in the final 90 seconds of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, but there was no way she was going to miss the decisive Finals game which New York won. She went 1 for 19 in the deciding Game 5 against Minnesota but found other ways to help the team win, with eight assists and seven rebounds. “I didn’t know the severity of my injury when I did it. I didn’t care to know and wanted to do whatever I could to play and try to do the best I can for us to win,” she said. “Thankfully I was able to do everything beside shooting which now makes a lot of sense since I couldn’t grip a basketball.” Ionescu took a few weeks to see if the injury would heal on its own after the season was over. She got a few opinions from doctors before deciding that surgery was the best option. This is the first time that Ionescu is taking part in an offseason league. “I’m excited. Obviously it's a great opportunity to be able to play and continue to refine my game in the offseason," she said. “It’s a great opportunity to compete against the best players in the league that are now in Unrivaled.” It has been a busy year for the former Oregon great, who also got married and earned an Olympic gold medal . “It’s been amazing. When I sit back and think about everything that happened this year, it puts a lot in perspective when things aren’t going as well,” she said. “I've had those years where everything was going wrong and then to have a year like this where you stop and smell the roses and everything you prayed and wished for happens.” AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball