New York looks for help

Daily Point

Not New York’s first rodeo

As the GOP-controlled United States Senate haggles over the details of the largest economic bailout in our nation’s history, a $1.6 trillion package, the partisan fight is taking on a flavor New Yorkers might well remember. It happened before in similar battles over the state’s needs in the wake of superstorm Sandy and the 9/11 attacks.

A primary sticking point in the bill is the “State Stabilization Fund” that Democrats are demanding to assist states with both the loss of revenue related to coronavirus and the massive expenses of contending with it. That’s money that, as it stands now, would go almost exclusively to blue states. New York alone has more than half of the 38,495 cases reported in the United States and more than 10 times as many as any other state. Every state with significant numbers reported is a blue one.

And the GOP is balking over aiding the Empire State, as usual. 

After Sandy, Republicans blocked the $60 billion recovery package multiple times, and for years the GOP blocked Zadroga Act benefits for first responders and others sickened by their post-9/11 efforts. Now New York will be looking for money for a financially hemorrhaging mass transit system, as well as hospitals, counties and towns going broke fighting this battle. The MTA has already asked for a $4 billion bailout, and is losing $87 million a week due to current restrictions and the outbreak.

With Sandy and Zadroga funding, the holdup was in the House and New York’s protector was soon-to-retire Rep. Peter King. But now, with the holdup in the Senate, New York has no GOP protector. What it does have is filibuster rules that mean this bill needs 60 votes, and the GOP only has 53 (counting coronavirus-stricken Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.)

This time the pressure is on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to hold firm and refuse to pass a bill that does not take care of New York, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is consistently and publicly pushing Schumer to see the bill does not pass without state help.

—Lane Filler @lanefiller

Talking Point

Getting the message out

Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief executive Pat Foye made the rounds on local television and radio programs Monday, appearing on Fox 5’s "Good Day New York,” along with hits on NewYork 1, PIX11, and 1010 WINS and WCBS 880. 

In what seemed to be a message to riders, workers, and Washington D.C. lawmakers, Foye focused his appearances on similar themes, from how the MTA is protecting its workers to how the authority is maintaining service, primarily for essential workers.

Foye also alluded to the possibility of future service changes or reductions.

“Pat has been aware that employees and riders have a lot of questions,” an MTA source with knowledge of the authority’s decision-making told The Point. “He wanted to get out and speak to them directly.”

But underlying Foye’s comments was another constant drumbeat: the MTA’s need for $4 billion in federal emergency funding.

“Federal aid is required as an urgent matter, and time is really of the essence,” Foye said in the Fox 5 interview. 

The funding need comes as the MTA has suffered an enormous systemwide drop in ridership – about 70 percent on the Long Island Rail Road alone.

“The hope is that the more Pat is out there making the case, he has the chance to reach more people, persuade the people who are making the decisions and that the money will come, because it has to,” the source said.

Local representatives, it seems, are on board.

“Senator Schumer and the New York congressional delegation are working effectively on a bipartisan basis to fill the MTA’s $4 billion federal funding grant ask, which is critical to the LIRR,” another source familiar with the negotiations said.

But given the MTA’s deep financial difficulties, and the likelihood of more economic pain to come, don’t be surprised if the $4 billion ask is only the beginning.

—Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

Gobble gobble

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Quick Points

• Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate are arguing over the contents of the trillion-dollar bailout bill, with each side pointing accusatory fingers at the other. And there it is, what the nation has craved: a brief return to normalcy.
• The International Olympic Committee overseeing the 2020 Tokyo Games needs to amend its Olympic motto by adding one more term to the Latin phrase. It now should read: Citius, Altius, Fortius, Delens. Translation: Faster, Higher, Stronger, Canceled.
• FEMA administrator Peter Gaynor on Sunday was unable to say how many masks the federal government has, adding that shipping is a “dynamic and fluid operation” that’s “happening every day” and he cannot provide even “a rough number.” So President Donald Trump was correct. The government clearly is not a shipping clerk.
• President Donald Trump said he would not call on former presidents for advice on dealing with the coronavirus because he didn’t think he would learn much from them. Despite all evidence to the contrary.
• Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tested positive for the coronavirus but maintained his usual routine, including having meals with colleagues and using the Senate gym, while he was waiting for test results. Too bad he didn’t let his political beliefs govern his personal life. Isolation and withdrawal would have been nice.
• One bright spot in the state’s cancellation of assessment exams for grades three through eight: No opt-out controversy this year. The state opted out for everyone.
• Some New York State lawmakers are complaining that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is usurping their powers in taking all sorts of actions related to the coronavirus pandemic. They might want to look in the mirror, given the rate at which they typically produce legislation, and the results when they produce bills quickly — one of which, by the way, gave Cuomo those emergency powers.
• Some Catholic churches responding to the coronavirus crisis are offering drive-thru confessions. It works especially well for drivers with tinted windows.
• Sign of the times: The “Fearless Girl” statue outside the New York Stock Exchange is wearing a mask.
• The NCAA might have cancelled its college basketball tournaments, but safe to say we’re all still living through March Madness.

—Michael Dobie @mwdobie