| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by AT&T | It's beginning to feel a lot like... March. New York hospitals have begun to fill up with Covid-19 patients again — topping 3,500, a level not seen since the spring — prompting a new round of emergency actions from the state. "The hospitalization rate is increasing dramatically," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday as the statewide positive test rate hit 4.57 percent, and the number of daily deaths increased to 54. "We are now worried about overwhelming the hospital system," he said. "We're not going to live through the nightmare of overwhelmed hospitals again." Hospitals are being told to increase their available beds by 50 percent, and to identify retired doctors and nurses who can be called in to help with shortages. In another throwback to the spring, elective surgeries will be halted in Erie County, which has been slammed with a second wave. The state is also directing health systems to make plans for emergency field hospitals, like the one that popped up in Central Park in the spring. Where the first wave was focused in and around New York City, now hospitalizations are increasing across the state. If hospitals do become overly stressed, a broad shutdown — like the New York PAUSE order imposed starting in March — is on the table. But the state is finding that 65 percent of new cases stem from smaller private gatherings, not places of business. The worsening numbers so far do not account for what is expected to be a significant uptick driven by Thanksgiving gatherings. And in case anyone missed the message ahead of the coming Christmas season, Cuomo brought a special guest to his briefing: The most wonderful time of the year will be rebranded the "season of viral transmission," and "Covid is the Grinch." IT'S TUESDAY. 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. | | | | 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 | | FORMER PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Andrew Yang, who advocated for a "universal basic income" during the Democratic primary, is now the subject of a poll that tests New York City voters' appetites for a third-party candidate in the upcoming mayoral race. Yang was also among 11 people listed in a question assessing responders' top picks in the Democratic primary to succeed Mayor Bill de Blasio next June, according to an online survey targeting Manhattan residents through a Facebook ad and shared with POLITICO by someone who took it. The poll did not indicate it was being conducted on Yang's behalf, the person said, but several questions focused on his potential candidacy — something his team said he was weighing as recently as last month. Others asked respondents to gauge a nameless candidate, whose description closely matched Yang's profile. POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg "MIDDLE AND HIGH school buildings across New York City will not reopen for in-person learning until 2021, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to specify how long they will remain closed. "From now until the Christmas break, the focus will be on the younger kids," de Blasio said during a Monday appearance on CNN, citing the need to ramp up a random testing program that will be administered in every school weekly instead of the previous monthly testing protocol. "When we come back, my hope is we can then move quickly to middle school and high school." As many as 190,000 students in grades pre-K-5, as well as those with complex disabilities attending District 75 schools, will be allowed to return to their classrooms next week — as long as they previously signed up for in-person learning and have signed COVID-19 testing consent forms. That leaves up to 145,000 middle and high school students, who previously opted into person learning, forced to learn remotely for now." Chalkbeat's Alex Zimmerman "NEW YORK CITY's COVID-19 infection rate on a seven-day average has ticked above 4 percent for the first time in several months, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. The latest city data shows that the Big Apple has a 4.03 percent infection rate average over the last seven days, while the daily citywide positivity rate is at 4.69 percent. It marks the first time the city has hit more than a 4 percent infection rate on a seven-day rolling average since June 1." New York Post's Nolan Hicks and Natalie Musumeci — Criminal courts in Brooklyn and in Queens shut down most in-person operations due to rising Covid-19 infections. Multiple people who work in both courts have tested positive for the virus, including Manhattan's chief judge for criminal cases. Federal courts in the Southern District of New York are suspending nearly all in-person operations for 45 days. — The city will begin posting wait times online for Covid-19 testing sites run by its public hospital system. AS THE MANHATTAN district attorney's race heats up, criminal justice reform and left-leaning groups are spelling out what they want in a new top prosecutor — asking candidates to significantly curtail the reach and budget of the office they are trying to win. In a new policy platform, about 20 organizations are pushing for a Manhattan district attorney who will slash the DA's budget in half, decline to prosecute many cases, and seek shorter prison sentences and a chance for release for people already locked up. New York City's ascendant left has pushed to vastly diminish the role of law enforcement and incarceration — views that propelled the candidacy of Tiffany Cabán to nearly defeating Melinda Katz in the Queens DA primary last year, and which have only grown more pronounced since this summer's protests over the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. POLITICO's Erin Durkin "POLICE BODY CAMERAS can help reduce the kind of bogus stops that have fueled accusations of racial bias and harassment against police officers in New York City, according to a long-awaited report released Monday. Officers who wore the devices reported almost 40 percent more stops than officers who did not, the report found, suggesting that body cameras could compel officers to provide a more accurate accounting of their pedestrian stops under the department policy known as stop-and-frisk. Peter Zimroth, the federal monitor who prepared the report and is guiding changes to the stop-and-frisk policy, attributed the increase in documented stops to officers being more inclined to record their actions on official paperwork knowing that they were recorded and could be reviewed. Underreporting has hindered court-ordered reform efforts for years, but the report suggests that the cameras are key to understanding the scope of the problem and fixing it. While body cameras are not a cure-all for policing problems, Mr. Zimroth said in the report, their ability to illuminate police encounters can be 'a powerful tool for increasing transparency and accountability for officers, the public and for police officials.'" New York Times' Ashley Southall FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Julie Menin will launch her campaign today for City Council representing Manhattan's Upper East Side. She'll kick off her run with several endorsements from unions and politicians: the United Federation of Teachers, Teamsters Local 237, Theatrical Stage Employees Local One, former Gov. David Paterson, former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, City Council Member Diana Ayala, Assemblymember Robert Rodriguez, and former Public Advocate Mark Green. Menin headed up the city's 2020 Census drive and stepped down earlier this month in advance of a possible run. "I'm more ready than ever to roll up my sleeves and get to work for our recovery because our district deserves nothing less," Menin said. She previously headed the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, chaired Community Board 1 during Lower Manhattan's post-9/11 recovery, and ran unsuccessfully for Manhattan borough president in 2013. | | | | 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 | | "THE PASSAGE of New York's Child Victims Act was front page news, and countless individual lawsuits have made headlines across the state as thousands of cases accuse churches, schools, Boy Scout troops and other institutions of abetting the sexual abuse of children in decades past. What has been covered less is the nitty-gritty of the process — what it's like for someone to bring a claim forward, what the process of securing a lawyer is like and what the legal timeline is for the deluge of cases. The process is exhausting for people who must seek out a lawyer and relay their worst memories in detail over and over. And it is promised to take many months, if not more than a year. The law was signed in 2019, but a lawyer whose firm handles hundreds of cases said the first wave of settlements likely won't hit until at least four more months from now. Abigail Barker, 27, filed a CVA case in August saying that a Sunday school teacher from her former Troy church abused her while babysitting when she was five years old… 'I think I was running on maybe like 10 hours of sleep a whole week this entire summer,' she said. 'Everything seemed a little bit more concrete and real when you put it on paper. … When you put it on paper and you read it back and it's staring at you in very plain black-and-white, it's hard. It's very hard.'" Times Union's Edward McKinley "GOV. ANDREW CUOMO on Monday crowed to reporters that his push for mask-wearing helped curb New York's COVID-19 cases — while his tone-deaf panel of aides sat in the closed room without ever putting theirs on . 'What worked in the spring, and the reason you're wearing a mask today, is because we told the truth, and New Yorkers responded,' the governor said at the more-than-hourlong Manhattan press conference. Cuomo wasn't wearing a mask at the time, nor were his five top aides on the dais, including state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker and SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras. But the governor's spokespeople, photographer and state trooper detail had masks on, as did all of the reporters in the room, which held about two dozen people in total." New York Post's Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile and Kate Sheehy "STATE ASSEMBLY Democrats on Monday unanimously nominated Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie for another two-year term as speaker of the house. Heastie thanked his fellow Assembly members for the vote of confidence in a news release Monday afternoon announcing his nomination. 'I am thankful for their unwavering commitment to putting New York families first and their continued faith in my leadership,' Heastie said. 'It has undoubtedly been a challenging year for our state and the nation, but New Yorkers are no stranger to adversity and we always rise to the challenge.'" Times Union's Amanda Fries — Brooklyn Democrat Charles Barron was not on board with the process. NURSES AT Albany Medical Center are expected to walk off the job Tuesday for a one-day strike that could have lasting repercussions — not just for the contract at stake, but for the future and strength of the state's largest nurses union. A contract deal for the facility's 2,000 nurses would be the first at the hospital and a major win for the New York State Nurses Association, which has been embroiled in an internal political fight for months. Current union leadership, which took over in December 2019, has yet to notch a contract victory. Negotiations in recent weeks have stalled over pay increases, health benefits and whether the hospital can be an open shop, meaning union membership is voluntary. And on Nov. 20, the union's members authorized the walkout as a "last-ditch effort to get a reasonable contract," said NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez. POLITICO's Amanda Eisenberg #UpstateAmerica: Canadians seeking warmer temperatures have been sneaking past the border closure by taking helicopters to Buffalo. | | | |   | | |
| | ... 2020 VISION ... | | "DEMOCRAT JOHN MANNION made history today, winning a state Senate seat that's been in Republican control for more than half a century. Mannion, of Geddes, had declared victory at about 3 p.m. today as the absentee ballot count overwhelmingly favored him even with nearly 20,000 ballots left to be counted. As of 5 p.m., he was up by about 2,300 votes, according to unofficial election results. At about 5 p.m. today, Republican Angi Renna, of Manlius, conceded...Mannion will be the 43rd Senate Democrat, further solidifying a veto-proof supermajority in that chamber." Syracuse.com's Teri Weaver "CLAUDIA TENNEY leads Rep. Anthony Brindisi by 12 votes in the 22nd Congressional District election, according to the first official tallies that all eight counties in the district submitted to a judge today. State Supreme Court Justice Scott J. DelConte ordered the counties to provide final counts by 4 p.m. of votes cast on Election Day, during early voting at polling sites, and by absentee, military and affidavit ballots. Until now, the results of the House race have been shrouded in secrecy. For some counties, it was their first public disclosure of final vote totals in the 22nd District race since the Nov. 3 election, almost a month ago. Oneida and Herkimer counties were among those that had declined to publicly release final totals until election officials finished hand-counting some ballots that were too damaged to be scanned by a machine. More than 300,000 people voted in the election. Tenney now leads Brindisi, 155,492-155,480 after all eight counties submitted their final vote count to the judge." Syracuse.com's Mark Weiner — The seat is one of two in the House that could be left vacant by the time the 117th Congress meets in January. | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "IT MAY BE another two years before New York City can toll downtown Manhattan car trips, according to the MTA. Originally scheduled to start in January, the MTA's congestion pricing program 'could be delayed until 2023,' officials wrote in the agency's Nov. 24 quarterly disclosure to bondholders. The document pinned the two-year delay on the continued absence of a clear answer from the Federal Highway Administration on what type of environmental review is required to institute the new fees. In February, Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggested that the FHA's obstinance showed President Trump was holding the program 'hostage.' Transit advocates expressed concern at the MTA's apparent pessimism about the program's prospects under the incoming Biden administration." New York Post's David Meyer "NEW YORK STATE Solicitor General Barbara Underwood presented arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could affect the number of House of Representatives seats immigrant-rich states like New York will be afforded after the census count. Trump v. New York was brought by states, local governments, and groups including the United States Conference of Mayors and the American Civil Liberties Union after President Donald Trump issued a memo directing Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to exclude undocumented immigrants from determining the number of congressional seats each state is entitled to. States like New York and California have millions of immigrants, both documented and not, who contribute to the economy and rely on the states' social services, schools, and healthcare systems. On a conference call with Attorney General Letitia James and reporters, Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, argued that the President's attempt was breaking with 230 years of history." Spectrum's Susan Arbetter | | | | 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 | | — There will be a five-minute limit and a bunch of other rules for those who want to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. — The New Year's Day Coney Island Polar Bear plunge has been canceled. — All charges were dropped against a homeless man seen on video being punched by an NYPD officer this summer. — The CEO of New York Road Runners will step down after allegations of racism and bullying. — The State Liquor Authority and upstate's own Pint Sized made an appearance in the Washington Examiner's opinion pages. — The Tri-City ValleyCats still don't know for sure if they'll lose their Major League Baseball affiliation. — Cuomo vetoed a bill that would've let a 76-year-old retired teacher avoid repaying $63K that the pension fund accidentally overpayed her. — An attorney who was terminated from her position at the state Division of Criminal Justice Services for testimony in a sexual harassment investigation is now accusing the agency of human rights violations. — The state's child welfare agency has proposed a ban on restraining kids face-down on the floor in foster care settings. — Blind New Yorkers are finding it more dangerous to navigate the city's quieter streets. — Eviction filings are down significantly from last year. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki … Natalie Ravitz … Yochi Dreazen … Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, is 59 … Berry Kurland MAKING MOVES — Eddie Evans is now director of global comms at Jenner & Block in New York. He was previously director of communications at Boies Schiller Flexner. | | | | 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 | | "BARBARA T. doesn't sell many school uniforms these days. Before the spring, the Staten Islander made a living selling outfits to Manhattan private school students through her uniform store, in business since 1972. Typically, she would order the bulk of her inventory in January for sale in the spring. But this year her usually busiest months corresponded with the worst of the pandemic: March, April and May. 'I had to be closed down,' she said as her voice broke over the phone. 'I get emotional.'...As she contends with a dried-up market, she faces another financial challenge: Her previous landlord recently sued her company for unpaid rent, alleging the business owes more than $25,000, court papers show...She is not alone. In the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of city business owners — and, sometimes, their commercial landlords who are sued proactively by struggling tenants — face lawsuits over rent owed by proprietors whose income has all but vanished." The City's Greg David "THE MUST-HAVE accessory for many businesses this winter is basic, but lately it has been hard to find: the humble space heater. As coronavirus cases surge, and as people shun or are even barred from gathering in indoor spaces, restaurants, hotels and office buildings are installing outdoor heaters on sidewalks and terraces in a bid to retain customers and tenants. The effort can seem like an existential quest. A rise in demand has left some products back-ordered for months, possibly jeopardizing the prospect of some businesses getting through the pandemic intact. 'Surviving this pandemic has become like jungle warfare,' said Mark Barak, the chief executive of La Pecora Bianca, a restaurant that has decked out the outside areas of its three New York locations with about 70 heaters." New York Times' C. J. Hughes
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