Opinion: Putting New York City in charge

The New York City mayoral race, this year’s big political event, is already heating up. Since many pundits say Mayor Eric Adams appears vulnerable, a cast of characters has already been parading their talents for the chance to be his successor. At this point, it is likely hard for the average observer to distinguish one aspirant from another. But there may be one possible person who could not only change the nature of the race, but also might actually be able to completely alter the balance of power between the city and Albany.

Will Andrew Cuomo run for mayor? Apparently, he is seriously considering that possibility. He has great name recognition, and he ranks high on polls of registered New York City voters. However, there have been a couple of published articles pointing out his weaknesses as a candidate. These weaknesses could resurface during a campaign and dampen a strong initial showing in the polls. And Cuomo runs a great risk if he campaigns and loses. A loss could spell the end of his political career. Only he can assess the pluses and minuses of a run.

I am in no way in a position to assess his real chances, but many people rate his chances as good enough to be serious. I also think it may be hard to determine what kind of mayor he would be, but in a field of pure progressives, he may stand out as a sensible choice for those who want to see strong, responsible leadership. Putting those concerns aside, as well as the weaknesses which have been pointed out, I believe there is an important perspective no one has given much thought to.

I began my government service career working in the Lindsay administration. At that time, there was a highly respected Assembly member from New York City named Albert Blumenthal who championed the idea that New York City should be the 51st state in the union. Why not? We would be the fifth largest state if admitted. Well, it wasn’t going to happen and Blumenthal knew it. But one of his objectives was to point out that New York City did not (and does not) have control of its own destiny. Cities are creatures of their respective states, none more so than the way New York City is subject to Albany. Joe Lhota, former mayoral candidate and New York City budget director, estimated that the city sends $10 billion more to Albany than it gets in return. Although that number may have changed over the years, there is no question that when it comes to money and policy, Albany is in charge.

In our history, we’ve had some great and strong mayors, but every one of them was forced to go hat in hand to Albany to get the state to pay attention to the issues important to America’s greatest city, often being rebuked and rejected. Our next mayor may be in the same weak position, with one possible exception: Cuomo.

He was a strong governor. He knew how to get things done in Albany. There was no question about who controlled Albany when he was governor. He might not have been well liked, but he was in charge. Now imagine him as mayor. With any kind of support from the New York City delegation, his influence in Albany, his political skills directed at the Legislature, he might have more influence there than the governor.

What could a mayor with strong ties to Albany and a strong understanding of how the Legislature works do for New York City? The first would, of course, be the budget. New York City’s budget is dependent on tax dollars sent to Albany being returned to the city to fund critical needs. But there are an almost uncountable number of restrictions Albany places on the city that affect housing, education and transportation policy. The city can’t raise (or lower) any taxes, other than property taxes, without express state legislative and gubernatorial approval. The city is required to follow more stringent state procedures when spending certain federal transfer payments for social, health and educational services and programs than the flexibility that the federal government allows. The city must get state Department of Environmental Conservation approval of environmental impact statements for permits to upgrade or build a new environmentally sensitive project. The city can’t change city employee pension benefits without legislative and gubernatorial approval. And of course, the state controls the courts and the rules regarding the release of prisoners.

If I am right, this could be a very different kind of mayoral campaign.