Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie Has Been Dating a Legislative Lobbyist
While Heastie privately pledged to avoid meetings with relevant interests, lobbyist Rebecca Lamorte has sought to keep representing them before the Assembly, according to her employer’s attorney.
Update: March 14, 2024 — This story has been updated to include responses to a question that Devoe, the Empire State Development spokesperson, answered after publication. Devoe added that Lamorte answered “yes” when asked whether she was a lobbyist with business before state government, but ESD did not publish that information. ESD declined to provide New York Focus with a copy of its form, citing concerns about personal information.
While New York City’s public campaign finance system endures scandals, the state won’t audit the majority of campaigns.
After DA Sandra Doorley berated a police officer, Hochul referred her to a commission that is yet to become active — and lacks the authority to issue discipline.
A version of good cause eviction and new hate crimes are in; new taxes on the wealthy and education cuts are out. Here’s where things landed in this year’s budget.