For most of the last half-century, New York leaders bemoaned the raw deal they said their state got in Washington.
Beginning in the 1970s, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan would push out annual reports describing an imbalance in the amount of money New York State paid into and received from federal coffers.
The late Moynihan, a Democrat, grumbled that New York was rendered a donor state, paying more than it got back. The reports, carried on recently by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, told the same story year after year.
But then, in this year’s report, the math flipped: New York received more money than it paid in the 2020 fiscal year, according to DiNapoli’s numbers. Most states still netted more funding per resident than New York. And federal COVID relief efforts leavened state government balance sheets from coast to coast.
But another element may have helped shift the script. New York had one of its own leading Democrats in the Senate: Chuck Schumer of Brooklyn.
Schumer, who became New York’s first-ever Senate majority leader last year, has proudly announced local wins drawn from his efforts, hailing aid for low-income households, funding for ambitious infrastructure projects and a historic haul of earmarked cash for community programs.
At one point last year, Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, sarcastically sniped that Schumer had asked for enough money to “gold-plate every rail” in the New York City subway system.
The struggling subway is far from reaching gold-plate shape, and the city faces formidable financial challenges almost a year into Mayor Adams’ administration. But New York received two doses of national news in recent weeks that could prove local boons.
Democrats retained control of the Senate in the midterm elections, allowing Schumer to stay on as majority leader in January. And Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn was tapped by House Democrats to be the minority leader after Republicans won a paper-thin majority in the chamber.
Jeffries is not on track to have power comparable to Schumer’s — at least until after the 2024 election, when Democratic victories could make the congressman New York’s first House speaker since 1869.
Still, his elevation to minority leader figures to generate benefits for New York, giving the state another powerful advocate to help pry open federal funding streams.
“The emergence of both Hakeem and Chuck as legislative leaders is a massive win for New York,” Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Bronx Democrat, told the Daily News. “It’s the equivalent of New York winning the political lottery. And it will mean a greater infusion of resources for New York in the long run.”
Jeffries, of Prospect Heights, lives less than a mile from Schumer, of Park Slope. They get along well personally, according to advisers of both men.
Jeffries has dismissed the notion that other states might be feeling some envy toward New York’s plum political fortunes, telling reporters last week that the House and Senate carry different roles.
“The House is the House,” Jeffries said. “The Senate is the Senate. We respect the Senate. But the House works its own will.”
But there is little doubt that the pair will serve as partners in supporting New York, pushing funding for areas like transit and public safety.
“New York City is going through what will likely be a very difficult transition,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant. “Having leadership with that kind of clout in Congress can do all kinds of things to make those changes more bearable.”
At a news conference on Wednesday, the day that House Democrats selected Jeffries as their next leader, Schumer said…
Read More: NY stands to benefit from new Dem leadership in Congress