2015: The year in review

This was the year that saw seemingly indestructible power players in New York politics come tumbling down and the corrupt nature of Albany politics brought into the spotlight.

On the first day of the year, the death of legendary former Gov. Mario Cuomo caused an upheaval in Albany. His son, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, postponed his State of the State address and combined it with his annual budget address, ending the speech with language that was nearly identical to his father’s first inaugural address in 1983.

By the end of January, though, most of those departing Albany were doing so in handcuffs. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested on federal corruption charges on Jan. 22, and four months later state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam were arrested as well. The high-profile trials and convictions of the leaders of the state Legislature later that year, along with the guilty verdicts against state Sen. Malcolm Smith, Assemblyman William Scarborough and state Sen. John Sampson, all helped to bolster the image of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara as a white knight who was willing to go after those at the very top of New York’s political power hierarchy. Bharara’s signature “stay tuned” comment, which he made after the arrests, has left many in Albany and elsewhere on their toes as the prosecutor continues his investigations into the Buffalo Billion, campaign fundraising and numerous other issues.

The sudden departure of Silver and Skelos also left two massive holes to be filled in the Capitol. Their replacements, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, both moved quickly to restore order as the end of the legislative session approached, but with a number of bills still left to be voted on and brand new partners at the negotiating table, the end of the session saw multiple extensions until nearly the end of June. The two chambers eventually compromised on a “Big Ugly” omnibus bill, which included rent regulation extensions, a temporary extension of the 421-a real estate tax break (which later expired), a one-year extension of mayoral control of New York City schools and $1.3 billion in property tax rebates, along with several other measures.

While the “Big Ugly” did bring New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio some victories, the lack of long-term extensions for 421-a and mayoral control ended what was left of the mayor and Cuomo’s honeymoon phase. In an interview with NY1, de Blasio slammed Cuomo for his “lack of leadership,” making public the feud between the two. Since then, their conflict has only gotten worse, with each side accusing the other of putting politics before the people.

Cuomo, who has downplayed the fight, used his executive authority to make two historic decisions. First he gave the state attorney general the power to investigate all cases statewide in which a police officer is responsible for the a civilian’s death, a first for the nation. Then he convened a minimum wage board that increased wages for fast food workers to $15 an hour, which quickly became a major debate among the numerous candidates for president (which happened to include four current and former New Yorkers this time around – Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and George Pataki).

OUR COVERAGE: City & State’s Jon Lentz published an in-depth preview of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s trip to Cuba, undercutting some of his claims and casting doubt on whether the trip would spur new trade. Lentz’s report on New York City’s convoluted and unfair property tax code also caught the attention of elected officials, as did a partnership with City Limits asking whether the violence-plagued Rikers Island should simply be shut down.