Grand Street Democrats encourages voters in New York City to leave Andrew Cuomo off their ranked choice ballots in the Democratic primary for NYC Mayor.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo entered the mayoral race hoping that New Yorkers don’t recall why he resigned in 2021. But we remember:

• Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor after a thorough investigation by the Office of the Attorney General found he sexually harassed and retaliated against at least 11 women, including government employees.
• According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Andrew Cuomo and his senior staff discriminated against female government employees in violation of Title VII by subjecting them to, and tolerating, a sexually hostile work environment created by Cuomo for eight years.
• A 2024 House Select Committee held Andrew Cuomo publicly accountable for his involvement in issuing the disastrous March 25 Directive — which forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients — and publicly exposed his efforts to cover-up the tragic aftermath of his Administration’s deadly decision.

New York City’s ranked choice voting system for primaries lets voters select up to five candidates for Mayor on June 24. Ranking Andrew Cuomo anywhere on your ballot (even last!) means that there’s a chance your vote will count for him. To make sure Andrew Cuomo does not win the Democratic primary, remember: Don’t rank Andrew Cuomo on June 24.

Resolution adopted April 25, 2025

Grand Street Democrats supports NYC Bill 1096-2024, which will protect the vested health insurance and contributions of retired employees of the City of New York.

In 2021, New York City announced that it would stop paying for Medicare supplemental insurance for all retired municipal employees, including teachers, sanitation workers, police officers, and firefighters.

In place of getting direct payments through Medicare, retirees would instead be enrolled in a private insurance plan called Medicare Advantage. Unlike Medicare supplemental insurance, Medicare Advantage plans limit access to certain doctors, regularly deny coverage for recommended care, and feature rising deductibles that retirees would have to pay out of pocket.

In response, municipal retirees banded together and sued the City to protect their right to maintain the quality of healthcare they had been promised over decades of contractual negotiations.

Retirees have won those lawsuits, over and over again, including ten favorable State Supreme Court decisions and two unanimous Appeals Court decisions in the State of New York.

Nevertheless, the City of New York under Mayor Eric Adams persists in its plan to force retired city workers off of Medicare and onto privately-managed Medicare Advantage plans.

Over the past 40 years, municipal employees have frequently accepted lower salaries in difficult contract negotiations in exchange for the promise of security in retirement through pensions and health insurance.

Reneging on that promise now is a breach of contract. If enacted, Bill 1096-2024 would commit the City to honor its obligations to retirees and continue to give them the option of Medicare supplemental insurance.

Grand Street Democrats urges all elected officials to publicly support this proposed legislation in order to maintain municipal retirees’ promised health insurance options, consistent with contractual and statutory obligations.

Resolution adopted March 5, 2025

Update: This amendment passed by a vote of members on 11/18/24.

At our 11/18/24 Annual Meeting, voting members will be asked to approve a change to our bylaws that would make a member of the Democratic State Committee who is also a member of Grand Street Dems with voting privileges ex officio a member of GSD’s Executive Committee.

From the start of the club, we have had the same accommodation for District Leaders. This is the first time we have had a State Committee member who is also a member of the club, so members of the Executive Committee proposed to extend that rule.

Below is the section of the bylaws in question, with the proposed amendment highlighted:

Article 6, Section 1

Membership in the Executive Committee shall consist of the Officers and current District Leaders and State Committee members who are members of this Club with voting privileges.

Dear GSD community,

The demolition of the Manhattan Detention Center (aka The Tombs) is imminent — to make way for an $8.3 billion borough-based jail project across four boroughs. To the best of our knowledge, $8.3 billion is only for the buildings to be built by 2028 and not for services needed now by the inmates and those who work on Rikers Island. 

In the interest of time, the Executive Committee drafted the letter below to be sent to Mayor Eric Adams for his attention via email, postal mail, social media, and this video:

Please help circulate this message.

We will vote on this as a club resolution at the next GSD meeting on March 21st.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

The Executive Committee of Grand Street Democrats
Marion Riedel, President
Sandra Strother-Ribeiro, Vice President
Julie Huang, Vice President
Melissa Shiffman, Secretary
Kenny Wind, Treasurer
Lee Berman, District Leader
Caroline Laskow, District Leader

At our fall meeting on October 16, Grand Street Dems members voted to recommend “Yes” votes for all five City Charter revision proposals that will be on the ballot in November.

We were fortunate to have three members of City Council with us to give us the Charter revision highlights — Ben Kallos, Mark Levine, and Brad Lander.

There will be five revisions to the City Charter that need voter approval in November:

1. Changes to NYC elections, including introducing ranked choice voting for primaries and special elections.
2. Reforms to the Civilian Complaint Review Board that adjudicates alleged misconduct by NYPD officers.
3. Changes to ethics and governance statutes.
4. Modifications to City budgeting, including allowing a rainy-day fund for the first time.
5. Additional transparency to approving land use changes (ULURP).

There are a few very useful documents you can find online:

• Actual wording of the ballot questions.
• Charter revision fact sheet, for a little more context.
• Full ballot abstracts, for more in-depth reading.

Again, Grand Street Dems recommends voting YES for all five Charter revision proposals on November 5.

Grand Street Democrats supports New York State Committee Members in their efforts to move the deadline for Democratic party registration for voters to 25 days before any primary.

Resolution adopted May 16, 2019

Update: One of our State Committee Members, Chris Marte, let us know this morning that he will be voting for the “Let All Democrats Vote Amendment” at today’s State Committee meeting. He sent us a fuller explanation of the rules change, which is included below:

This amendment would change the “Primary Participation” section (Part Two, Section A, 2) of the NYSDC 2020 Delegate Selection Plan and would guarantee that all New York voters who apply to join the Democratic Party at least 25 days before the 2020 Presidential Primary get to vote in that Primary. As currently written, this section states that participation in the Presidential Primary will be limited to New York voters who have enrolled in the Democratic Party by October 11, 2019, which is over six months in advance of the Presidential Primary, and the longest waiting period in the entire nation. 

It is critical that we pass this amendment for several reasons:

• The draft delegate selection plan does not comply with the DNC Delegate Selection Rules.
  
  • The “Primary Participation” section of our delegate selection plan does not meet the requirement that State Parties are to do everything in their power to guarantee a change of party enrollment deadline no earlier than the voter registration deadline of 25 days in New York.
  • DNC Rule 2, Section J requires State Parties to ensure “an open and inclusive process” in the selection of convention delegates by “revising State Party rules and encouraging administrative rules, legislation, or considering litigation to… allow voters to switch parties at least as late as the deadline for registering to vote.”
  • DNC Rule 2, Section C requires State Parties to take “all feasible steps” to eliminate excessively long waiting periods for voters to change their enrollment status, including revising Party rules.
    
• If the State Committee does not amend its delegate plan and fix this problem, it could cost NY delegates and money.
  
  • DNC Rule 21, Section C(6) states that the DNC may take action against State Parties that have “failed or refused to comply” with the DNC rules by reducing the size of the NY Delegation to the National Convention, diminishing the voice of New York Democrats in the nomination process.
  • DNC Rule 22, Section C gives the DNC the power to force non-complying State Parties to pay for a private selection of delegates, which could cost the party millions of dollars.

The “Let All Democrats Vote Amendment” not only brings New York in compliance with the DNC, but also meets the national average time required to change Party enrollment and matches New York’s new-voter enrollment deadline (of 25 days before the Primary). For the 2020 Presidential Election, it is critical that we pass this amendment and not miss the opportunity to capitalize on the energy of the Primary to build Party enrollment and to demonstrate the Party’s commitment to fundamental democratic values and fairness.

Best,
Chris