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Welcome back to this episode of Power and Politics, everyone. I'm Amanda Bossard. Tragedy in the Dominican Republic is hitting hard here at home. Hundreds died in a deadly roof collapse at a popular Santo Domingo club, some even from the Bronx, and leaving many others here in the borough in mourning. Here now to talk about the response to that and more is State Senator Luis Sepulveda. Senator, thank you so much for being with us here on Power and Politics this week. Thank, thank you for inviting me here. In this very sad moment in our in our city and in the Dominican Republic. Of course, and especially so because the Bronx is the home to more Dominicans than anywhere else in the country, and I know that you have this week been at a number of memorials and vigils remembering the tragedy and the lives lost. What are you hearing about how New Yorkers can support in the recovery efforts that are now underway and any efforts at the state level to offer assistance down on the island? Well, there, there's some jurisdictional issues when it comes to the state things they can or cannot do. A lot of it has to be left to the federal government, but there are other ways that you can help, and I recommend everyone call the American consulate in New York City where they have a lot of information, places that you can be helpful. If you have family members over there, uh, perhaps you can ask them to go and assist any way that they can, uh, but it's been a very difficult period, uh, something that it's unprecedented in the Dominican Republic. And you know there's just no way of dealing with this um in in a way that you can say we've had these issues before, so everything is uh is is new and as a result there's some difficulties that the country is dealing with, but I think by and large they've done a very good job. And praying with all of those impacted here at home and of course on the island as well here at home right now you are also working on the state budget, which is late. The deadline April 1st, but what are emerging as some of the key sticking points at this point in time that are still being debated and negotiated now after that deadline? Well, I, I think there, there are predominantly three basic issues that we're dealing with. One is, of course, the issue of discovery, criminal laws that control discovery. There's also the issue of involuntary, ah, ah, individuals with, ah, suffering from severe mental illness to be able to hospitalize them and who can do it on involuntary basis, ah, and there's also the issue of cell phones at our schools. Uh, I think those are the three major issues that are holding up the budget. Um, you know, budgets are essentially they are what we believe as elected officials are important, our priorities, um, and so it makes it easier for a governor to put forth what important policies are to them, but it makes it. Uh, it makes it more difficult for us as legislators to stop certain things, but, you know, this governor is working with the legislature. She's trying to to do her best to get us a budget. We're certainly doing our best, but there's certain priorities that are important to us, uh, that we're gonna stick, uh, we're gonna stick together, um, as a Senate. And hopefully we can come to a to a conclusion sooner rather than later. I'd love to dig a little deeper into the idea of discovery reform specifically. What is your take on making changes to a reform that is only a few years old at this point and technically was initially intended to increase transparency in the court process? Where do you think we'll ultimately land with that this time around? Well, I, you know, the, the, the district attorneys, especially those in New York City. Uh, they're claiming that there have been substantial dismissals on, on basic tech tech uh technical issues that have led to major cases being dismissed. Uh, the realities that I've asked in the beginning of the budget. For evidence, proof that in fact the discovery laws, the changes in laws have created an environment where there are many dismissals that shouldn't be dismissed, and no one has been able to provide that. And when I look at the numbers by the Department of Justice and I compare to what has happened, the reality is that there hasn't been a substantial increase in dismissals because of discovery law. Obviously the district attorneys think differently, you know, district attorneys. Their job is to to make it more difficult for defense counsels to defend their clients, to defend their clients. Defense counsels want to be able to defend their clients as easily as they can as best as they can, and there is the rub and we have to try to meet somewhere in the middle. But the reality is that I believe that the discovery laws are working. Of course there's going to be an increase because that's what that was the whole premise of the laws that it was unfair to defendants in criminal cases. And when you create a fair environment, an equal environment, of course they're gonna be uh the increases in some uh dismissals of cases, but you know there's some issues like, uh, that I believe would give the district attorneys a little bit too much power for my liking, um, and give, uh, the judges too much, uh, control over certain cases, uh, too much discretion, and in my history as a, as an attorney. I've seen that when discretion is given to judges, a lot of the times the outcome depends on the color of the person's skin or the bank accounts that the parents may have, and it's not as fair a system. And so I, I would hope that we can stay as close as possible to what we have now because the reality is it's not the reason why crime is going up, if at all. And I also want to touch on the other big topic that you mentioned among the three, and that's that potential cell phone ban in schools that many parents have been talking about over the last few months. What do you think about the idea overall? Is there a version of that kind of band that you would support? Well, I'm, I'm a supporter of the ban, as the governor has requested. There are some members of my colleagues that have, uh, want to give the local school boards or or schools a little bit more, uh, input and discretion, uh, but I believe that the data has clearly shown that when you have cell phones with school, at least a lot of bullying, at least a lot of uh students not focusing what they should be focusing on and look, I'm, I'm 61 years old. When I went to school there were no such things as cell phones, and we did all right, so I think there should be a ban. Um, there should be the governor has put forth about $13.5 million to assist schools that want to either put lockers or some system in order to retain these cell phones and the kids from the kids until classes are over. But I think it's a good policy that the government is putting forth, and I support it 100%. Yeah, bell to bell ban is what she called it. State Senator Luis Culveta, thank you so much for your time and for breaking down all that's going on across the borough and beyond. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for having us on. Thousands of violations issued in just the first week of composting enforcement, and now a local council member is pushing back. More power in politics right after this. Stay with us.

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Welcome back to Power and Politics. I'm Amanda Bossard. Nearly 2000 tickets were issued to alleged violators of the city's new composting initiative in just the first week of enforcing the new rule. The composting requirement has been in effect since October, but on. April 1st, the sanitation department began issuing fines, and those start at $25 per violation. We're told that those summonses though also led directly to a 240% increase in compostable material that was kept out of a landfill. But some local lawmakers are saying enough is enough, calling the new composting mandate unfair and unrealistic. News Twelve's Melissa Rose Cooper shows us why they're fighting to put a stop to it. I think that's not a good idea for the people to have a separation of garbage or anything like that because everything should go where it belongs. And for Stanley Jackson, food scraps are meant for the trash, not composting bins the city is mandating residents use. It's like mixing chemicals, but as of October, legislation requires New Yorkers to compose food and other organic material with fines going into effect April 1st. For anyone who doesn't comply, the city issued nearly 2000 tickets to violators during the first week of enforcement. I'm OK with that because I don't want any more rats and stuff like that. Composting fines can range anywhere from $25 to $300 per offense, but some lawmakers say it's just another unfair tactic for the city to make money at the expense of the working class. Single family homes, two family homes are the only ones that are getting tickets for this. Councilwoman Christy Mamarato says over 100 fines have been issued within her district alone. She plans to introduce legislation next week to end mandatory composting. It's just not realistic here in the city. It's, we're not set up for this. Meanwhile, the city is praising composting efforts. The sanitation department confirms 2.5 million pounds of scraps, food, soil, paper, and yard waste were diverted for renewable energy or compost for gardens last. In Throng's neck, Melissa Rose Cooper, News 12, the Bronx. Melissa, thank you. We'll follow that proposal as it moves through the council. Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams plans to sign 5 bills that limit sidewalk sheds and scaffolding across the city. One of them aims to shorten the length of their permits and increase penalties. Others look to implement new color options and even LED lighting. Adams held a public hearing on the move earlier this week. Uh, New York City sidewalks must be safe for New Yorkers who use them, and they need to look as good as the people who walk on them. No word on when Mayor Adams will sign those bills just yet, but city data shows there are more than 8500 active sidewalk sheds throughout the city. That's all for this week here on Power and Politics on News 12. Thanks for watching.

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City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farias and State Sen. Luis Sepulveda join the show.

Power & Politics: Unpacking the Hudson helicopter crash, Dominican Republic roof collapse tragedies

City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farias and State Sen. Luis Sepulveda join the show.

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