| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by AT&T | New York City's elementary schools will reopen next Monday, weeks after Mayor Bill de Blasio shut them down due to rising Covid-19 infections in the city. The city shut down its school system for in-person learning after the average positive coronavirus test rate hit 3 percent, a trigger that came under heavy criticism from parents and elected officials when it forced the closures. Now de Blasio is abandoning that trigger, he announced Sunday, and will reopen many schools even though the infection rate has only worsened, to 3.9 percent on a seven-day average. Nearly 200,000 students will be eligible to return next week, with pre-school through fifth grade going back on Dec. 7, while programs for students with serious disabilities will reopen on Dec. 10. The 3-percent rule, which de Blasio adopted in July, became an albatross for the mayor as schools reported few coronavirus cases among students and staff, and critics grumbled that restaurants and gyms (which are under state jurisdiction) were allowed to stay open even as schools were forced to close. The decision also sparked anger within City Hall, with many public health officials advising against it in advance of Sunday's reversal. There is no plan to reopen middle or high schools. And in the lower grades, many students will remain at home because their families have opted for all-remote classes. So the majority of the 1.1 million students in the nation's largest school system will still not be seeing the inside of a classroom. But students at some schools with enough space and staffing will now be able to attend five days a week, instead of having to split their time between school and home to allow social distancing. It is not immediately clear how many will offer the full-time option. Now, a portion of students at each school will be tested for the virus every week — up from once a month — and children won't be allowed to return to class unless their families fill out a consent form for testing. The United Federation of Teachers, which has held significant sway in negotiations over closing and opening schools, signed off on the reopening plan. A group of parents who have protested the closures praised the decision but said they "will not rest" until middle and high schools are open as well. 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? No public schedule available by press time. WHERE'S BILL? Appearing on CNN, holding a media availability, and appearing on NY1's Inside City Hall. ABOVE THE FOLD: "AS THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic has deepened and darkened in recent months, the nation's governors have taken increasingly aggressive steps to curb the current surge of infections, with renewed and expanded restrictions reaching into people's homes, businesses, schools and places of worship. Many of these rules, often enacted by Democratic officials and enforced through curfews, closures and capacity limits, have been resisted by some members of the public, but largely upheld by the courts. Late Wednesday night, though, the U.S. Supreme Court forcefully entered the arena, signaling that it was willing to impose new constraints on executive and emergency orders during the pandemic, at least where constitutional rights are affected. In a 5-4 decision, the court struck down an order by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that had restricted the size of religious gatherings in certain areas of New York where infection rates were climbing. The governor had imposed 10- and 25-person capacity limits on churches and other houses of worship in those areas." New York Times' Jesse McKinley and Liam Stack | | | | A message from AT&T: AT&T's and WarnerMedia's New York family is here for your family: supporting reentry pathways for formerly incarcerated New Yorkers, helping sustain culture in New York, funding arts and technology education for students in need, and providing childcare for kids to safely learn and play. Learn more about some of the local organizations we're working with at https://northeastregion.att.com/states/newyork/. | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "BEFORE COVID-19 hit New York City, Brooklynite Juana Garcia was employed as a house cleaner, and her husband and 18-year-old son both had restaurant jobs. Then, the family Garcia worked for moved to the country, one of the restaurants closed, and the other laid people off because business was slow. Now, all three members of the Garcia household are unemployed. Garcia, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico five years ago, says she and her family are looking for work. But in the meantime, she's making weekly trips to the St. John's Bread & Life food pantry near where she lives in Bed-Stuy. 'Thank God we have this support,' she said...With the economic impact of COVID-19 ratcheting up food insecurity, the city's food pantries and soup kitchens have seen 65% more people this year than they did last year, according to a new report from the group Hunger Free America." Gothamist's Caroline Lewis "THE CITY'S painfully slow economic recovery has left The Bronx with the highest unemployment rate of any county in the state and more than 60% of residents on Medicaid amid a growing resurgence of COVID-19. The state Labor Department reported last week that the unemployment rate in The Bronx had declined to 17.5% in October from 18.6% in September. By comparison, the unemployment rate in Brooklyn and Queens is just over 13% while Manhattan and Staten Island have fallen below 11%. The highest rate for a non-city county in the state is Westchester with 7% 'The COVID-19 epidemic has held up a mirror to the deepest inequalities in America and to systemic racism,' said City Councilmember Ritchie Torres (D-The Bronx), whom voters recently elected to represent the South Bronx in Congress. 'And The Bronx is ground zero for both.'" The City's Greg David "CITY FIREFIGHTERS, emergency medical technicians and paramedics will be among the first to receive the emergency COVID-19 vaccine once the feds approve it, FDNY officials said Saturday. 'Vaccination will potentially begin in mid-to late-December of this year,' Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro Nigro wrote in a memo acquired by the Daily News. On Nov. 20, drug maker Pfizer and BioNTech, its German partner, submitted an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, asking regulators for emergency clearance so they can begin distributing the drug to healthcare workers and first responders. The drug company Moderna submitted a similar application. The FDA plans to review both applications starting on Dec. 8. If approved, the two companies could be doling out their medicines as early as next month." New York Daily News' Tom Tracy "MAYOR DAVID DINKINS was a 'fighter for what was right,' who basked in the love of adoring citizens and helped usher in New York's next generation of leaders, local dignitaries recalled during a celebration of the late mayor's life in Harlem. 'There is a whole generation in this city that got our start because of David Dinkins,' Mayor de Blasio said from Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters in Upper Manhattan, at an event attended by former US Rep. Charles Rangel and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, among others." New York Post's Sara Dorn and Georgett Roberts "NEW YORK CITY health officials are ramping up Covid-19 testing to prepare for an expected surge in coronavirus cases as New Yorkers return from traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend and the holiday season begins. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it predicts approximately 504,000 travelers will pass through its three major airports in the New York metropolitan area between Wednesday and Sunday, which is down nearly 71% compared with the same time last year. Officials say that number is still significant and have warned that travel and large family gatherings would likely increase the spread Covid-19." Wall Street Journal's Katie Honan | | | | TRACK THE TRANSITION: President-elect Biden has started to form a Cabinet and announce his senior White House staff. The appointments and staffing decisions made in the coming days send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, it tracks the appointments, people, and the emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "OVER THE PAST MONTH, the number of coronavirus cases has increased tenfold in the upstate city of Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs. Hospitalizations already have surpassed the levels seen in the spring. And the Covid-19 hotline for Erie County, where Buffalo is situated, is getting 'annihilated,' the health commissioner said, with 1,500 calls in one 24-hour period this week. ' The second wave is here, and it is here with a vengeance,' Mark Poloncarz, the county executive, said at a news conference, urging residents to take the surge seriously. Western New York, a bustling five-county region of some 1.4 million people along the Canadian border and the Great Lakes, has emerged as the biggest trouble spot of the state's second coronavirus wave. If New York City was the hot spot of the spring, then this area seems to presently have that distinction." New York Times' Daniel E. Higgins and Sharon Otterman — Sunday saw the highest statewide infection rate since May: 4.27 percent of 157,000 tests conducted. — "Agreements struck between the State University of New York chancellor and the school system's unions mean that all staff and faculty will receive free and routine coronavirus tests through June 2021." "AS NEW YORK'S BUDGET deficit ballooned this spring, state budget director Robert Mujica sought to dramatically slow spending by imposing a 'strict' freeze on all hiring by state agencies. In his April directive, Mujica laid out clear rules for agencies wishing to break the freeze: They needed to receive approval from the Division of Budget (DOB) by showing why the position could not be filled internally and explaining how the new employee was 'essential to protect health and safety' amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet by August, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office had hired four veterans of Democratic presidential campaigns at a combined taxpayer cost of $567,000 in annual salaries. In doing so, the Executive Chamber largely ignored the formal process that Mujica had laid out, according to records obtained by the Times Union through a Freedom of Information Law request. In the case of two well-paid speechwriters hired by Cuomo's office, the formal written approval from the DOB didn't come until more than three weeks after they had come on board. A key promotion was made in Cuomo's office without any waiver approval at all, despite another Mujica mandate." Times Union's Chris Bragg "DEMOCRATS who dominate the New York state Assembly will convene virtually this week to discuss their strategy for the coming months and start to work out how their conference will absorb a group of progressive insurgents who are succeeding some of the chamber's most senior members. The insurgents are among the 19 new Democratic members who won seats in November, a larger class of new lawmakers than most years. The insurgents say they plan to continue their campaigns for increasing taxes on the wealthy, expanding tenants' rights and changing criminal-justice laws from inside the Capitol. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie reached out to each of the insurgents after their victories in Democratic primaries this June. "This month he has been texting each member of the 107-person Democratic conference asking for their support in another term as speaker in a vote that is scheduled to take place Monday afternoon. No one else is campaigning for the position, members said, and Mr. Heastie is expected to win easily. But the insurgents could create headaches for the speaker from the Bronx, who for nearly six years has controlled the operations of the chamber and determined which bills come to the floor for votes." Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind "A FORMER East Greenbush police officer kept his law enforcement certification after allegations surfaced three years ago that he had pursued women he encountered in the course of his official duties — including a woman in her 20s who had sex with the officer in his patrol car hours after he arrested her for shoplifting, according to internal police records. The case exposes the loopholes that remain four years after the state amended its police certification regulations to prevent officers who are under investigation for misconduct, including potential criminal charges, from resigning or retiring from a department — and avoiding a disciplinary investigation — so they can seek employment at another law enforcement agency." Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons — Cuomo on Sunday said he's looking at proposals to address the loopholes. WE MAY NEVER KNOW: 'Stupid Hoax or Did Cuomo Really Go to Buffalo on Thanksgiving to Celebrate with Girlfriend?' #UpstateAmerica: A couple found several dozen bottles of Prohibition-era bootleg whiskey hidden in their home in Ames. | | | |   | | |
| | ... 2020 VISION ... | | "THE NEW YORK City Board of Elections has missed the legal deadline to submit their final election results to the state, which was originally set for November 28th. Instead, city election officials plan to submit the results on December 1st. The city BOE announced the decision earlier this week following an unprecedented election where absentee ballots played an even greater role in the election. The city BOE received a record-breaking 700,000 absentee ballots, with more voters taking advantage of the option to cast their ballot without visiting their poll site during the ongoing pandemic. But they did not begin counting those votes until November 10th, the last day the city BOE could receive an absentee ballot by mail. In the weeks since the election, teams of bipartisan staff have been methodically canvassing them every day, including weekends, taking only Thanksgiving off." WNYC's Brigid Bergin | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | AN INCOMING congresswoman on Sunday promised a conservative answer to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "socialist squad" after a record number of Republican women were elected to serve in the House. Rep.-elect Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) floated the idea during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," saying "a natural alliance is occurring among members" of the new freshman class of Republicans. POLITICO's Evan Semones She's consistent, having told Erin the same thing in a recent interview. — WATCH: Malliotakis defended President Trump's inquiries into election results: "I don't believe that the president is undermining anything — I believe that he is within his legal right to be questioning any irregularities that may have surfaced." | | | | NEXT WEEK - DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT 2020: POLITICO will feature a special edition Future Pulse newsletter at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators determined to confront and conquer the most significant health challenges. Covid-19 has exposed weaknesses across our health systems, particularly in the treatment of our most vulnerable communities, driving the focus of the 2020 conference on the converging crises of public health, economic insecurity, and social justice. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage from December 7–9. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Employees at three Trader Joe's locations in the city say they are afraid for their safety because the stores aren't enforcing adequate coronavirus precautions, such as shutting down when someone tests positive. — A 400-person party was broken up in Midtown Manhattan, and city Sheriff Joseph Fucito said his office has been responding to such events about twice every weekend. — City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer is considering whether to mount a primary challenge against Donovan Richards for Queens borough president. — More than 3 million New Yorkers who declined to sign up with either major party quietly became the state's second largest group of voters. — A Staten Island bar in a coronavirus hotspot has refused to shut down despite having its liquor license pulled by the state and hit with a cease and desist order. — Delivery of hundreds of new subway cars has been delayed. — The city is many millions of N95 masks and pairs of gloves away from its pledge to create a 90-day PPE stockpile. — Rockland County schools are adjusting their calendars to account for an anticipated post-Thanksgiving spike in Covid-19. — SantaCon is canceled. — Spectators wanting to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will need tickets. — Watervliet has closed City Hall to the public to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he'll be among the first to take a Covid-19 vaccine to show that it's safe. — The border patrol will install "biometric facial composition technology" at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo. — Delivery drivers' working conditions have worsened as demand for food delivery apps have soared. — City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. has announced a bid for Bronx borough president. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CNN's Andrew Kaczynski, Erica Orden and Lauren Pratapas … Larry Summers is 66 … Michael Beschloss … Jodi Rudoren … Reuters' Jonathan Landay … Edelman's Ben Mahler … Travis Waldron, enterprise reporter for HuffPost … James Sonne … Mandy Patinkin … (was Sunday): Rahm Emanuel turned 61 … Alexandra Ulmer … Alissa de Carbonnel … Chris Frates, founder of Storyline and a SiriusXM host … CNN's Pamela Brown (h/t Sam Vinograd) … … (was Saturday): Incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan turned 44 … Jonathan Lemire, White House reporter for the AP and political analyst at MSNBC and NBC News, turned 41 (h/t Ben Chang) … Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) turned 34 … Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.) turned 54 … Jon Stewart turned 58 … former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.) turned 84 … former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, co-founder and executive chair of the Chertoff Group, turned 67 … CBS' Susan Spencer … CNN's Tim Skoczek … Jason Reed ... Andrew Mangino turned 34 … Dan Hurley ... … (was Friday): Caroline Kennedy turned 63 … Alex Wagner … Andrea Koppel-Pollack … Jasmin Aleman, legislative correspondent for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer … WSJ's Katie Honan … Libby Leist, EP of NBC's "Today" show … Dina Cappiello, editorial director and EVP at Edelman … (was Thursday): Chris Hughes, co-chair of the Economic Security Project and senior adviser at the Roosevelt Institute, turned 37 (h/t Shephathiah Townsend) … Gabe Brotman turned 31 … Lisa Vedernikova, COS for NYT publisher A.G. Sulzberger … Jenna Gibson, managing editorial producer for CBS News, turned 36 … Ethan Bronner … Katie Gommel of Sunshine Sachs … CNN's Alicia Jennings | | | | A message from AT&T: For years, AT&T's and WarnerMedia's New York family has been there for your family, supporting organizations that create opportunity for low-income communities and communities of color. Over the past decade, we've contributed over $10 million to programs that connect underserved populations to the arts and technology education and training they need to help them succeed in college and in their careers.
This year, when the pandemic struck, we were there for our neighbors; supporting the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a New York City institution, through COVID-related shutdowns; contributing $500,000 to the YMCA to set up free, in-person childcare for working families across the five boroughs, and; helping the Osborne Association to connect families with incarcerated loved ones. Learn more about these and some of the other organizations AT&T and WarnerMedia are supporting at https://northeastregion.att.com/states/newyork/ | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "EVEN AS A pandemic eviction moratorium shields many New Yorkers, the city's housing agency has ejected scores of tenants from basement apartments and other unauthorized dwellings, records show. Department of Housing Preservation and Development inspectors issued 95 vacate orders for illegal occupancy between March and October of this year. Advocates say that the tenants living in an estimated tens of thousands of basement apartments represent some of the city's most vulnerable residents. The tenants, many of them immigrants, often reside without a lease as they live in fear of being discovered by authorities. They're facing the same crisis as many during the pandemic, including lost income, health risks at work and precarious finances. But seeking help — for everything from dealing with hostile landlords to repairs — can lead to homelessness." The City's Christine Chung "NEW YORK CITY marshals have begun executing the very first legal residential evictions since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered courts across the state in March, city officials confirmed to Law360, with one Brooklyn family evicted this week. The New York City Department of Investigation, which includes the Bureau of City Marshals, confirmed Tuesday that it is currently aware of two residential evictions executed in the city since Nov. 20 after the state's court system toppled some of the final barriers to residential evictions last month. "Details of one of the cases were available on the Citywide Performance Reporting database, where marshals are required to submit executed warrants of eviction. The Nov. 24 eviction took place on Ninth Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn, court records show. Initially filed in November 2017, the so-called nuisance holdover case alleged that tenant Silvina Bravo had damaged the apartment, including the floors, and had run extension cords to an empty apartment for electricity. ... Yet the tenant did try to raise a pandemic-related defense, court records show. Bravo is represented by Daniel Rosenstock of RiseBoro Community Partnership, who declined to comment Wednesday… The court was not persuaded. Granting the eviction in an Oct. 16 order, Judge Jeannine Kuzniewski said that while 'the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an unspeakable toll on society,' there has been 'no valid defense offered' for payments of roughly $2,330 Bravo owed before the pandemic." Law 360's Emma Whitford "JOE DEVITO, like many other New Yorkers who wanted more space to weather the pandemic, headed north and bought a two-bedroom house in the Catskills in late July. He learned almost immediately that there's no such thing as turnkey when it comes to owning property. First, the outdoor wood-burning furnace didn't provide enough heat for the 1,700-square-foot house, then the dishwasher needed replacing, then diseased trees needed to be cut down, the land needed leveling and he had to build a proper driveway. It was a crash course in homeownership for Mr. DeVito, 46, a content and marketing executive for the New York Mets who still rents an apartment in Astoria but now spends most of his time in the Delaware County house he bought for $230,000. And now as the region settles into cooler weather, he and other recent first-time home buyers like him will have to learn how to grapple with unanticipated but seasonal home maintenance issues and costs." New York Times' Christina Poletto
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