| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by Masterworks | New Yorkers had the chance to vote early in a presidential election for the first time ever this weekend — and they responded in force. As early voting kicked off Saturday, 93,830 people turned out in New York City on day one, and by Sunday evening the total surged to 193,915, the Board of Elections said. Statewide, nearly 212,000 people participated in early voting on Saturday alone. Lines stretching around the block were common at sites across the five boroughs, with waits at some sites stretching to three, four, or even five hours. While all voters have the option to vote absentee this year, many said they were eager to show up in person despite the coronavirus pandemic because they are not confident their ballot would be handled properly by mail. For most in the deep-blue city, casting a vote against President Donald Trump was a high priority. Despite the long lines, reports of problems were not widespread — itself something of a surprise in New York. There's a long history of voting snafus and saw June's primary marred by missing ballots and other glitches, while the general election season kicked off with 100,000 Brooklyn voters receiving mis-marked ballot envelopes. But many are calling for more early voting sites in the future to accommodate demand. A festive atmosphere prevailed at many sites, complete with a marching band outside Brooklyn's Barclays Center, which along with Madison Square Garden have been converted into voting sites for the first time. Those hoping for shorter lines will have plenty more opportunities to vote early: sites are open every day through Sunday, Nov. 1, in addition to the full complement of Election Day locations on Nov. 3. Voters can also drop off absentee ballots in a drop box at poll sites without waiting in the in-person voting line. IT'S MONDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: EDurkin@politico.com and agronewold@politico.com, or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold WHERE'S ANDREW? In Albany with no public events scheduled. WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability and appearing on NY1's Inside City Hall. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Let's just say the boyfriend is no longer with us." — Gov. Andrew Cuomo, dropping an ominous hint on the fate of his daughter Mariah's boyfriend who gained notoriety during the coronavirus crisis. | | | | A message from Masterworks: You don't have to take big risks to make big returns. Take it from us, day trading doesn't work—boost your portfolio stability with art, one of the oldest and largest uncorrelated assets. For the first time ever, Masterworks makes it possible for anyone to invest in iconic works of art by the likes of Banksy, Kaws, Basquiat (and more) at a starting point everyone can afford. Skip the waitlist here. | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "MORE THAN 100 New York City public school buildings will reopen on Monday after alarmingly high COVID-19 rates forced their closure for two weeks, the city Department of Education announced. Principals have now received the letters confirming their reopening, clearing up confusion over whether a school can reopen or not. Those 128 school buildings were originally ordered closed by Governor Andrew Cuomo after he drafted a hotspot map composed of red, orange, and yellow zones. They were once in orange or red zones — where students pivoted to remote learning for two weeks — until Cuomo released a revised map on Wednesday that redrafted the lines … While schools once in red zones in Queens will be allowed to reopen, 45 other schools in red zones in Brooklyn will remain closed, with no word yet on when they can reopen." Gothamist's David Cruz — "More than a month into the academic year, Mayor Bill de Blasio is citing New York City's success so far in reopening schools as a prime example of how the city can serve as a national model on how to handle the coronavirus crisis. Nearly all school buildings are open, and the district's random virus tests so far have found a low infection rate among students and staff: 42 positive cases among more than 33,000 tests this month, by city data. But many parents say the real measures of success — better remote instruction and deeper learning — have yet to materialize consistently." Wall Street Journal's Leslie Brody — An Education Department memo suggests that the city will again refrain from giving failing grades this academic year. — Advocates for children want the city to release class size data for online and in-person classes. "THE NUMBER OF public housing apartments where children under 6 are potentially exposed to lead poisoning is likely to more than double to 20,000 apartments, an examination by THE CITY found. That's far more than the 9,000 apartments believed to have lead paint that NYCHA last week said house young kids, who are particularly vulnerable to developmental damage caused by exposure to toxic lead paint chips and dust. And it's nearly seven times the 3,000 apartments Housing Authority officials had originally estimated two years ago when federal law enforcement charged NYCHA with deliberately covering up its lead paint problems. Meanwhile, officials have yet to inspect tens of thousands of apartments believed to contain lead paint." The City's Greg B. Smith "INCIDENTS OF force used by city correction officers against inmates hit a record high in March as the coronavirus crisis gripped New York, the latest report by the federal monitor overseeing the lockups found. Jailers over rely on heavily armed emergency response 'probe' teams, pepper spray and 'hyper-confrontational staff behaviors,' the report released Friday said. City jails recorded 710 force incidents in March as New York went on lockdown — the highest monthly tally since the federal monitor, Steve Martin, issued his first report on Rikers Island and other Department of Correction facilities in May 2016. 'Too often, staff select approaches which escalate and exacerbate the problem rather than solve it, which increases both the likelihood that force will be used and the potential for harm,' Martin's report said." The City's Reuven Blau and Eileen Grench "THE OFFICIAL WHO oversees voter registration in New York City is the 80-year-old mother of a former congressman. The director of Election Day operations is a close friend of Manhattan's Republican chairwoman. The head of ballot management is the son of a former Brooklyn Democratic district leader. And the administrative manager is the wife of a City Council member. As the workings of American democracy have become more complex — with sophisticated technology, early voting and the threat of foreign interference — New York has clung to a century-old system of local election administration that is one of the last vestiges of pure patronage in government, a relic from the era of powerful political clubhouses and Tammany Hall. Already this year, the New York City Board of Elections failed to mail out many absentee ballots until the day before the primary, disenfranchising voters, and sent erroneous general election ballot packages to many other residents, spreading confusion." New York Times' Brian M. Rosenthal and Michael Rothfeld | | | | HAPPENING TUESDAY - A GEN Z RISING DISCUSSION: Did you know Gen Z now makes up 1/10th of the electorate? Join a virtual conversation with Mike Brodo, executive director of Gen Z GOP, and Chelsea Miller, co-founder of Freedom March NYC, and other Gen Z voters to find out how young voters are interacting with the political parties, technology and electoral process. Moderated by Laura Barrón-López and Rishika Dugyala, this virtual conversation explores the mindset of Gen Z voters, their policy priorities, and their impact on Election Day. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "FOR THE FIRST TIME in four months, over 1,000 New Yorkers were hospitalized for the coronavirus, according to new state data released on Friday. The state recorded 1,023 patients hospitalized for the virus on Thursday, the highest level recorded since June 22 when 1,104 New Yorkers were admitted for COVID-19. The statewide hospitalization figure has steadily increased over the last month and a half, as Sept. 5 marked 410 individuals hospitalized following a decline throughout July and August. But since that date, the total recorded coronavirus hospital patients continued to climb — nearly doubling a month later to 710 patients on Oct. 5. Nearly 50 percent of all new hospital admissions over the last two week period was tracked in Brooklyn, Queens, Rockland and Orange counties as well as Upstate counties along the Pennsylvania border. New York reached a high of 18,000 virus-related hospitalizations in April." New York Post's Bernadette Hogan — "Gov. Andrew Cuomo attacked comments Sunday by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that the Trump administration is 'not going to control the pandemic' and instead focus on COVID-19 remedies. Cuomo called Meadows' remarks on CNN the 'great American surrender' and charged it was another sign of the White House's 'preemptive capitulation' over the virus." USA Today Network's Joe Spector "NEW YORK could legalize adult-use marijuana as a way to generate revenue and help with the state's coronavirus-fueled, multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo . Cuomo's comments on the future of recreational marijuana came during a virtual event held Oct. 15 to promote his new book, American Crisis, which details his efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Democratic governor was interviewed by Bravo television personality and producer Andy Cohen for viewers who paid $35 for a signed book and the right to watch the event. Cohen asked Cuomo: When is New York going to legalize marijuana? 'Soon, because now we need the money,' Cuomo said in response, according to a recording of the event obtained by the USA TODAY Network New York." USA Today's Jon Campbell "A BACK AND FORTH between Mayor Kathy Sheehan's office and Council President Corey Ellis is providing a glimpse into what could be a potential 2021 mayoral primary. Sheehan's office pushed back against comments Ellis and other council members made at the end of the Oct. 19 Common Council meeting about the city's efforts to battle gun violence. Two men were shot on Mount Hope Drive in the city's South End while the meeting was taking place - the fifth and sixth shooting victims within 48 hours in the city. Albany has seen 118 people shot and 16 homicides so far in 2020." Times Union's Steve Hughes #UpstateAthletics: Someone drew the Bills logo with a flight path. #UpstateAmerica: It was the hottest Oct. 23 on record in Syracuse, Buffalo and Binghamton last week. | | | | A message from Masterworks:   | | |
| | ... 2020 VISION ... | | NEARLY 212,000 people participated in early voting in New York on Saturday, the first of nine days that polls will be open before Election Day itself. New Yorkers are still getting used to early voting — 2019 was the first year that the state allowed it, and the contests on the ballot garnered far less attention than this year's. But Saturday's turnout indicates that the 2019 records will be left in the dust. That year, only 33,000 people participated on the first day. A total of 256,000 ballots were cast over the entire nine-day period. POLITICO's Bill Mahoney "ALL THE MONEY in the world is not likely to influence the outcome of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's re-election bid in November. But that has not stopped people from trying: The contest has improbably become the second most expensive House race in the country. Money has been pouring in from all sides. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, has raised $17.3 million, much of it from small donors attracted to her star power, progressive policies and outsize social media presence. Her Republican challenger, John Cummings, a 60-year-old former schoolteacher at St. Raymond High School for Boys in the Bronx and a former officer for the New York Police Department, has collected $9.6 million in his first bid for office." New York Times' Jeffrey C. Mays "REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES hoping to roll back gains made by New York Democrats in 2018 are trying to differentiate themselves from President Trump, who trails in polls in many districts. The question of whether voters will cross party lines in down-ballot races for the state Senate and Assembly is key for several contests in the Hudson Valley and on Long Island. Experts say it will be difficult for the GOP in most areas, but Republicans hope campaigns based on state issues — including a series of recent laws changing the criminal-justice system — will help them break through. One is Rob Astorino, a former Westchester County executive who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2014 and lost his bid for a third term in 2017. Mr. Astorino said his 2017 loss was largely due to anti-Trump sentiment, but in his current bid for a state Senate seat, he is arguing to bring balance to a state government that is now completely controlled by Democrats." Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind "A NEW YORK City police officer is suspended without pay after videos shared over social media Saturday night appeared to show him using his patrol vehicle's speaker to say 'Trump 2020.' The department's official NYPD News Twitter account shared one video posted of the incident and said that the Brooklyn South Investigation Unit was investigating the matter. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea also commented on the matter, calling the incident 'one hundred percent unacceptable.'" NBC News' Doha Madani — Trump supporters and opponents clashed on Sunday, with counter-protesters shouting at Rudy Giuliani and throwing eggs at a pro-Trump caravan. — The NYPD has advised businesses located in Midtown Manhattan to take additional security measures in preparation for the possibility of large-scale demonstrations around the coming presidential election. "HUNDREDS OF New York City refugees have registered to vote in the Hamptons, where they could help decide the dead heat in eastern Long Island's congressional race. Polls show Republican incumbent Rep. Lee Zeldin, 40, neck and neck with rookie Democratic candidate Nancy Goroff, 52, in New York's 1st district, covering much of Suffolk County. 'I changed my registration to East Hampton because I feel my vote counts for a lot more here,' said a Manhattan lawyer and registered Republican who did not want to be identified. He said he decamped to his East Hampton home during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and decided to make it his primary residence." New York Post's Isabel Vincent | | | | DONT MISS - NEW EPISODES OF POLITICO'S GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, but many of those issues exploded over the past year. Are world leaders and political actors up to the task of solving them? Is the private sector? Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, unpacks the roadblocks to smart policy decisions and examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | |
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "IN JULY, Ivanka Trump released a photo of herself cradling a can of Goya beans in an effort to support a Trump-friendly company facing a boycott. The photo raised concerns among ethics watchdogs that Ms. Trump had used her government position to market a consumer product. Now, Ms. Trump's act of guerrilla marketing is causing agita of another sort. On Thursday morning, the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group made up mostly of Republicans, posted that image of Ms. Trump on a billboard in Times Square, with statistics about Covid deaths substituting for the beans. Ms. Trump's husband, Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, beams from the adjacent billboard alongside body bags and a quote, attributed to him in a Vanity Fair article, stating that New Yorkers will suffer during the pandemic, and 'that's their problem.' The billboards sparked a prompt reaction from the couple's lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, who called them 'false, malicious and defamatory' and threatened to sue." New York Times' Dana Rubinstein "TWO YEARS AGO, the Trump administration offered a seat on the board of the National Endowment for the Humanities to Ken Kurson, a close friend of the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. As part of the routine background check for the position, the F.B.I. uncovered a swirl of harassment allegations against Mr. Kurson over his divorce in 2015. He then withdrew from consideration, but the fallout from the nomination did not end there. On Friday, federal prosecutors charged Mr. Kurson with cyberstalking three people and harassing two others, including a friend whom he blamed for the deterioration of his marriage." New York Times' Nicole Hong and Jesse Drucker "STAY IN your lane, Florida Man. New Yorkers scoffed Friday at President Trump's claim that the city has turned into 'a ghost town' and noted that he wouldn't know the first thing about it since he doesn't even call the Big Apple home anymore. 'How would he know? He's a Florida resident now,' State Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Democrat who represents parts of lower Manhattan and Midtown, told the Daily News. 'It's tone-deaf and absurd that someone who used to live in Trump Tower and didn't leave his gilded cage other than to get into his limousine can pretend to be an expert on New York.'" New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Longtime legislative director for state Assemblymember Peter J. Abbate, Jr., was arrested over the weekend on charges of sexually abusing an 18-year-old girl at his Third Avenue residence. — New Rochelle's development commissioner is being sued for his part in an elevator altercation at Trump Plaza New Rochelle from last year. — The State Liquor Authority has suspended licenses for another 21 bars and restaurants. — A 20-year-old tourist from Indiana was killed by a stray bullet in Brooklyn. — Astor Place Hair Stylists plans to close next month after nearly 75 years as an East Village fixture. — Jackson Heights residents rallied to make their major open street permanent, and a local pol says the mayor seems amenable to the idea. — The New York City Ballet won't reopen until September 2021. — The MTA's new OMNY fare payment system won't be available for subway riders with disabilities until fall of 2021. — An NYPD officer who complained he was penalized for taking anti-depressants is suing the department for $1 million. — The city plans to move ahead with a Flushing busway after months of delays. — A man was charged with setting a fire at his ex-girlfriend's East Harlem apartment building that injured seven people. — Coronavirus continues to surge on Staten Island. — Newburgh residents responded to an appeal to be photographed while wearing face coverings, hoping it will inspire others. — A 400-pound wreath was stolen from the Columbia County grave of Samuel Tilden. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Hillary Clinton is 73 … Taffy Brodesser-Akner … Nico Pitney, political director at NowThis … Catherine Sullivan, EVP of global comms at BCW Global (h/t Bennett Richardson) … Mark Landler, NYT London bureau chief … Courtney McNamara, attorney with the International Trade Commission, is 47 (h/t Adele Sheehan) … Bianca Brosh of NBC … Glover Park Group's Aleta Greer … USA Today's Caren Bohan … Scott Jennings , principal at RunSwitch Public Relations and a CNN contributor, is 43 … … (was Sunday): Joel Klein turned 74 … James Carville turned 76 … Kimberly Manecke of Ex-Im (h/t Chrissy Harbin) … Brigid Ueland of the Senate Finance Committee … Joe Christinat, VP of comms at Nasdaq … Louis Burgdorf … Nate Hodson … CBS' Jan Crawford … Gary Regenstreif … JPMorgan Chase's Irene Baker … Edward R. Korman ... Steven Rosenberg ... Victoria Nuland ... Krista Vernoff ... Kendall Heath … Corey Weaver … Jacob W. Shaver … Harry Wilson ... … (was Saturday): NYT's Jonathan Weisman turned 55 … CNN's Pamela Kirkland and Bonney Kapp … NBC's Jordan Frasier … Rep. José E. Serrano (D-N.Y.) turned 77 … Roman Abramovich turned 54 … NPR's Tim Mak … David W. Mastrangelo ... Cindy Rogers MEDIAWATCH — "Trump Had One Last Story to Sell. The Wall Street Journal Wouldn't Buy It," by NYT's Ben Smith: "Inside the White House's secret, last-ditch effort to change the narrative, and the election — and the return of the media gatekeepers." | | | | A message from Masterworks: History shows adding blue-chip art can boost portfolio stability. Data from Citi's Global Art Market Report 2019 finds art to be one of the least volatile asset classes, sharing a correlation factor of just 0.13 to public equities. Beyond that, contemporary art has outperformed the S&P by over 180% from 2000–2018, according to industry benchmarks. Although investing in art has been around for centuries (Sotheby's was once the oldest company listed on the NYSE) only the ultra-wealthy have been able to participate. Modern investing platforms like Masterworks are finally democratizing the $1.7 trillion art market by giving anyone access at a starting point everyone can afford. Skip the 25,000+ waitlist by signing up today. | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "REAL ESTATE is everyone's business in New York City. The industry generated nearly $32 billion in taxes last year, 53 percent of the city's tax revenue, and it employed more than 275,000 people, according to the Real Estate Board of New York and labor statistics. An inveterate source of obsession, envy and frustration, real estate colors the aspirations and agendas of countless people, companies and policymakers. So how the industry weathers an unparalleled economic collapse fueled by a global pandemic will reshape not just the chronically underfunded public housing system and the overbuilt luxury condominium market, but also virtually every aspect of urban life. "The outlook is daunting. Unemployment in New York City is still 14 percent, after hitting 20 percent in June and July. The hotel occupancy rate is 39 percent, down from 95 percent this time last year, according to the research firm STR. Roughly one-third of the city's 240,000 small businesses may never reopen, and iconic retailers like Neiman Marcus are closing.Residential real estate sales plummeted 40 percent in July, and 57 percent in August, compared to 2019, according to the New York City Comptroller's Office. Commercial sales were down 28 and 43 percent in July and August, compared to last year. Still, many experts predict that New York will eventually bounce back — as it always does, citing the eventual rebounds after the Great Recession, 9/11 and the fiscal crisis of the 1970s." New York Times' David W. Chen and Stefanos Chen
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