| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by Harry's | It won't be doomsday for subway riders quite yet, after the MTA approved a $17 billion budget holding off on the drastic service cuts it has threatened because of its pandemic-induced financial crisis. Instead, the transit agency's budget assumes — fingers crossed — that it will get a $4.5 billion cash infusion from the federal government. That's roughly the amount Sen. Chuck Schumer has been trying to secure for the transit system in recent stimulus bill negotiations. So gone, for now, are the 40 percent reduction in subway service the MTA had proposed. If the money comes through, it would be enough to close the MTA's deficit for 2021 but still leave an $8 billion deficit in the following years. If it doesn't come through, the service cuts and large scale layoffs could be resurrected in the new year. In kicking the can down the road, the MTA joins New York City and New York state, which have both threatened dire cuts only to put off acting on them, opting instead to wait on Washington. While the MTA hopes for some good news from the stimulus deal now being ironed out in Congress, state and city governments are apparently being left out in the cold. Now the state will advance a combined $1.5 billion to entities with cash flow "uncertainty" until a Biden administration can save the day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. That's not until February at the earliest, when Schumer says Democrats plan to push for a larger deal with the new administration. "You want to bankrupt New York now, in the middle of this pandemic, when the numbers are spiking, when we're just about to start this ambitious vaccination program?" Cuomo said Wednesday. "It is madness. Madness. Hyper-political, parochialism madness." IT'S THURSDAY. 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. ABOVE THE FOLD: America's governors seethed on Wednesday over news that a much-anticipated federal stimulus package will not include a bailout for local governments — and accused Washington of abandoning states and cities. Leaders across the country pleaded with Congress for months to reach a deal that would deliver hundreds of billions of dollars to plug budget holes and shore up everything from schools to emergency services. But the $900 billion emerging deal, expected to include direct checks to Americans and a weekly unemployment boost of $300 through March, will not provide the state and local aid that was requested. The stimulus agreement comes just as CARES Act funding is drying up, and as states are taking on two logistical nightmares: weathering a winter surge of Covid-19 cases, and distributing Covid-19 vaccines. POLITICO's Stephanie Murray and Kellie Mejdrich | | | | A message from Harry's: Introducing Harry's new, sharper blades: From past experience with other brands, we've grown used to razor innovations often leading to higher price tags. Not this time around. Men's grooming startup Harry's just came out with their sharpest blades ever—without raising prices, breaking the traditional pattern of upcharging used by many razor companies. Learn more about Harry's new, sharper blades and how you can give them a try, 100% risk-free. | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "A MANHATTAN State Supreme Court judge on Wednesday refused to halt the rollout of ranked-choice voting in New York City, a major victory for advocates of the new system of voting that is set to be part of city elections next year. With military and overseas ballots set to go out on Friday for a Feb. 2 City Council special election, Justice Carol Edmead declined to issue a temporary restraining order or to set an expedited hearing schedule in the case which was brought by six City Council members and several organizations. "This Court is disinclined to take any action that may result in the disenfranchisement of even one voter or take any action that may result in even one voter's ballot being nullified," Edmead wrote in her decision. The Council members argued that the city's Board of Elections and Campaign Finance Board aren't ready to administer the new system or educate voters about it." NY1's Emily Ngo A GROUP THAT supports residential development is making its entree into local politics in an effort to shift the direction of the upcoming City Council. The "Yes In My Backyard" group Open New York, which advocates for increasing housing density in affluent neighborhoods, is endorsing eight Council candidates, including two who are challenging incumbent Democrats, the organization told POLITICO. Two-thirds of the 51-member legislative body will leave office after next year due to term limits. "We believe that having Council members who know there's a need for a citywide perspective on housing and a need for more housing in high opportunity neighborhoods, having those voices in the Council is going to be very valuable," said Casey Berkovitz, a board member of the group. "A district-by-district fiefdom approach to development is not working and we need a smarter citywide approach." Among the candidates receiving endorsements are Legal Aid Society employee Juan Ardila, who is running against Robert Holden in Queens, and community board chair Marjorie Velázquez, who is pursuing a second challenge against Mark Gjonaj in the Bronx. POLITICO's Janaki Chadha "NEW YORK CITY school buildings will be closed for in-person learning on Thursday due to a storm that's expected to dump up to a foot of snow across the five boroughs. But students will still be expected to log on for remote learning. The closure of school buildings will affect a relatively small number of students because middle and high school buildings were already closed indefinitely, many elementary school students are learning remotely full time, and the vast majority of elementary schools are still only allowing students to attend a few days each week. Learning Bridges, the city's childcare program for children of essential workers, will also be cancelled, as will Young Adult Borough Centers, after-school programs, and adult learning centers, education department officials said. The city's meal distribution program at schools will also be suspended. Mayors often receive criticism no matter what decision they make about snow days — and this storm is no exception. Given the stress of the pandemic, and broader frustration with remote learning, some students said they were upset to learn that the city will not be offering any official snow days this year." Chalkbeat's Alex Zimmerman — The state Assembly postponed a hearing on mayoral control of schools, which was already scheduled to be remote, blaming the weather. "STAFFERS AT New York City's public hospitals started receiving the Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday , and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state would designate major hospital chains in 10 regions of New York to serve as hubs for broader vaccine administration. The hospitals would then develop plans to distribute the vaccine to members of the general public, starting with people who have underlying health conditions and hold jobs as essential workers, he said. New York state officials said Wednesday that they had received 87,000 vaccine doses from Pfizer Inc. and administered roughly 4,000 shots. An additional shipment of the vaccine developed by Pfiizer and BioNTech SE, totaling around 80,000 doses, is expected in the next several days and will be distributed to nursing home residents and staff, Mr. Cuomo said... Two employees of Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, one of the hardest-hit facilities when the virus spread rapidly around the city in the spring, were the first from the public-hospital system to be vaccinated on Wednesday." Wall Street Journal's Katie Honan and Jimmy Vielkind — New York's Department of Financial Services issued an emergency rule requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of the vaccine. "FACING MOUNTING criticism over the working conditions of couriers, app-based food delivery company DoorDash says it will offer some concessions to delivery workers in New York City . In a blog post Wednesday, the San Francisco-based tech company said it will work on increasing the workers' bathroom access in restaurants, roll out new safety measures and supply some free and discounted bike gear in the new year. The company said it consulted couriers on the changes — but none from New York and some from as far away as Alaska. DoorDash — which debuted for public trading on the New York Stock Exchange at roughly $190 a share last week — did not say whether it would boost the workers' wages or classify them as company employees. As independent contractors, the couriers are shut out of benefits employees are legally entitled to, including overtime pay, paid sick leave and a minimum wage." The City's Josefa Velasquez and Claudia Irizarry Aponte FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — City Council staffers who have been trying to unionize scored a big win earlier this month. Their organization, the Association of Legislative Employees, secured recognition from Speaker Corey Johnson to unionize two staff titles within the Council's finance division, according to a Thursday morning announcement. The 23 staffers who have these titles will be represented by the association, which hopes to expand its organizing to include employees at individual member offices, a majority of which have also requested recognition. The bargaining unit is expected to become formal next month, which will mark the first unionization within a legislative body in New York state. — Joe Anuta | | | | HAPPENING TODAY - ENERGY POLICY IN THE BIDEN ERA : President-elect Joe Biden has made energy and climate a priority for the incoming administration, but his agenda is bound to run into some challenges in a divided Congress. What will be the most viable energy policies during the Biden era? Join POLITICO for an engaging conversation on Biden's energy agenda, including fossil fuel production, renewable and clean energy, and climate policies. The virtual program will feature an executive conversation between POLITICO CEO Patrick Steel and API CEO Mike Sommers. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "AS LAWMAKERS weigh a special end-of-year session to hike taxes on the ultrarich, the governor cautioned against such revenue-raising measures, saying the state should wait until February or March, when Joe Biden is president and Congress could deliver another stimulus package with direct aid for state and local governments... 'I think it's smarter to do it in February when we have the federal money, so we don't have to cut schools, hospitals, etcetera," he said during a remote briefing. 'We can't lose essential workers in essential organizations, especially with what they're doing now.'... Cuomo also floated other alternatives to upping income taxes including long-stalled efforts to legalize recreational marijuana and mobile sports betting that could help fill the state's depleted coffers and avoid cuts to essential services." "Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), who indicated this week that legislators are seriously considering raising taxes on the rich before the year is out, said he was 'confused by the governor's logic.' 'We are hoping to give him more revenue to ease the fiscal strain and help maintain essential services until the federal government provides assistance, and he is threatening cuts,' he said. 'Any additional revenue still helps.' Daily News' Denis Slattery "CUOMO held three separate events last year to mark the progress of Exit 3, a new highway ramp and overpass that grants drivers easy access to Albany International Airport. He touted it as a metaphor for governmental and economic progress. Left unsaid was this : The project was built on land sacred to three Native American tribes whose ancestors inhabited the area centuries before. In 2016, the state Department of Transportation agreed to install large murals showcasing Native American history and tradition along the overpass. The murals — which displayed tribe members dancing in traditional dress — would have been seen by thousands of motorists each day and were part of a 2014 agreement with at least two tribes that allowed the project to proceed. More than a year after Exit 3 opened in 2019, the murals are paid for and printed but have never been installed. And the DOT is asking the tribes to reconsider the deal, instead suggesting the state build a park-like path that would feature the images in a nearby, less-trafficked area. "One of the tribes has grown increasingly frustrated by the delay, accusing the DOT of ignoring its inquiries in recent months about the status of the murals. 'It is a mystery to us why the murals are not installed,' said Shannon Holsey, president of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, a Wisconsin-based tribe that inhabited much of central New York in the 18th and 19th centuries. 'I understand the murals were even already produced, and just have not been installed,' she said. 'I would like an explanation as to what is going on.'" USA Today Network's Jon Campbell "GRAND JURY gatherings are being called 'simply reckless' by one New York district attorney. A grand jury elsewhere is sidelined for two weeks over a coronavirus infection. And a statewide prosecutors' association is warning that some grand juries, due to a lack of willing participants, are not able to meet quorum. Surging coronavirus cases are again upending parts of New York's criminal justice system and operational difficulties with grand juries are now a focus point as officials navigate a worsening coronavirus landscape. Court officials have shut down new jury trials and cut down on in-person staffing, but grand juries have still been allowed to move forward. Meanwhile, many have seen the state's court system as sending mixed messages on grand juries. Chief Judge Janet DiFiore weeks ago implied grand jury operations were not going forward. Those comments came the same day a state court spokesman said the system was aiming to continue grand jury proceedings." New York Law Journal's Ryan Tarinelli NEW YORK CITY public defenders will be pushing for a new slate of criminal justice reforms when state lawmakers meet in the new year. The Legal Aid Society, Bronx Defenders, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, New York County Defender Services, and Queens Defenders will release a legislative agenda Thursday that calls for legalizing marijuana, releasing aging prisoners on parole, and limiting solitary confinement. With Democrats claiming a veto-proof majority in the state Senate, the defense attorneys think the upcoming session offers the best shot yet to push through the set of ambitious and often contentious proposals. "Not only is there a supermajority, but there is a Legislature elected on a mandate for further and more ambitious criminal justice reform," said Legal Aid attorney Corey Stoughton. POLITICO's Erin Durkin "THE MINIMUM WAGE in much of New York will increase on Dec. 31 as planned , a move the state claims will bolster workers battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state Department of Labor announced Wednesday that it would allow the planned wage hike to proceed, despite business groups calling on the agency to block the increase because of the economic distress caused by the virus. The state agency made the decision based on a report prepared by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration, which found a wage increase wouldn't adversely affect the state's economic recovery. Starting Dec. 31, workers across most of the state will see the hourly minimum wage to increase from $11.80 to $12.50, a 70-cent hike." USA Today Network's Sarah Taddeo #UpstateAmerica: What shutdowns? Business is booming at The Inns of Aurora on Cayuga Lake. | | | |   | | |
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A slate of New York-based real estate and business executives are calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to provide $32 billion to transit agencies nationwide, stating that the New York MTA alone needs $12 billion to fill operating deficits caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter, the group states that "the transit system would atrophy to a point where it will cease its role as the engine that drives economic growth" without federal aid. Its co-signers include Home Depot co-Founder Kenneth Langone and Stephen Ross, the chair and founder of Related Companies. — Danielle Muoio | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Environmentalists want to revive the $3 billion bond act with a focus on jobs this time. — A bobcat was spotted near the Bronx River, in a sign of the waterway's environmental recovery. — There's a 'high volume of mistrust' in Rochester as the coronavirus vaccine rolls out. — The man killed by police after opening fire outside the Cathedral of St. John the Divine had a note in his pocket saying he planned to take hostages. — High school students at Rikers Island don't have the ability to use video conferencing with their teachers. — State officials are seeking refunds for a third of the 1.1 billion spent on coronavirus supplies this past spring. | | | | JOIN TODAY - CLOSING THE HEALTH CARE GAP: Another Covid-19 outbreak is taking a significant toll on the health of the Latino community. As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to assume office, how will his administration address the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on communities of color, particularly Latinos? Join POLITICO for a virtual conversation on the policy, economic and cultural barriers Latinos confront in accessing quality health care and how the pandemic can create an opportunity to identify solutions. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Noah Rothman, associate editor at Commentary and an MSNBC/NBC contributor, is 39 … Aryeh Bourkoff is 48 ... Chelsea Manning is 33 … Kelli Arena, chief of strategic comms at the NSA … Sarah Doolin Roy … Chris Matthews is 75 … Emily Jane Fox ... Richard Pleper ... Daniel Ensign is 3-0 MEDIAWATCH — Bill Hamilton, Washington editor, White House editor and No. 2 in the NYT's Washington bureau, is leaving the Times in March. He's spent a total of a decade at the bureau, and is a POLITICO and WaPo alum. Email from bureau chief Elisabeth Bumiller … Nicholas Dawes has been named the new executive director of local news site The City. He was deputy executive director at Human Rights Watch. MAKING MOVES — Alex Heil will be the new vice president for research at the Citizens Budget Commission. He has been the chief economist for the Port Authority and an economic and environmental consultant. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Jamie Weinstein, founding partner of JMW Strategies and host of the "Jamie Weinstein Show" podcast, and Michelle Fields, founding partner of JMW Strategies, on Sunday welcomed Theodore "Teddy" James Weinstein, who joins big brother Harry. Instapic REMEMBERING RITA HOUSTON — Per WFUV: "It is with great sadness that we at WFUV share news that we have lost Rita Houston , our much-loved program director and iconic DJ to generations of listeners — listeners who regarded her as their radio friend." | | | | A message from Harry's: Harry's just came out with its sharpest blades ever. But what do sharper blades mean for you? Well, guys who shave four times a week say that, with Harry's new blades, their eighth shave is as smooth as their first. And yet, Harry's didn't raise prices—not even a little. Harry's new, sharper blades are (still) just $2 each for an 8-pack. But you don't have to take our word for it. Snag a Trial Set and decide for yourself. (And remember: if you don't love your shave, just let them know and get a full refund. That's their 100% Quality Guarantee at harrys.com). | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "RED HOOK, a sleepy neighborhood on Brooklyn's waterfront, is gearing up for a trucking problem that it's not built to handle . The area has become a magnet for e-commerce distribution centers over the past few years, thanks to its cheaper real estate and easy highway access. Its cobblestone roads are already crumbling with all the added congestion, and it's only going to get worse for residents, with at least four new facilities opening as early as 2021, including several leased by Amazon.com Inc. 'It's almost an arms race in a number of ways to getting these facilities built,' said Jim Koman, chief executive officer of ElmTree Funds, a private equity firm that invests in commercial real estate. 'The only way these online e-commerce models work is you have to reach the broadest audience as you can, as quickly as you can.'" Bloomberg's Gerald Porter Jr. and Natalie Wong "CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER Corey Johnson on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would overhaul New York City's long-term planning processes , eliminating duplicative procedures, streamlining agency coordination, and establishing a more proactive, holistic approach to land use and budgeting that prioritizes racial and economic justice. For decades, the city's zoning, land use, and development have been subject to disparate sets of mandates and guidelines, some overlapping and redundant, in the City Charter, the city's foundational governing document. There are more than a dozen planning documents that determine how infrastructure is built and how communities and boroughs grow. Over the last two years, Johnson and his colleagues, particularly Council Members Brad Lander and Antonio Reynoso, have been attempting to reform those processes." Gotham Gazette's Samar Khurshid
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