| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | By Sen. Chuck Schumer's math, New Yorkers will net about $54 billion from the stimulus bill passed by Congress late Monday night through unemployment aid, rent assistance, school and mass transit funding, business loans and a smorgasbord of other programs. What's not in it? Notably, the billions of dollars in direct aid to New York state and New York City that Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo say is needed to avoid layoffs and service cuts. Why not? "Two words: Mitch McConnell," Schumer tells POLITICO. "Obviously, we would have much preferred a larger infusion that went directly to the states and localities, but McConnell blocked that every step of the way. We're going to come back and fight for much more of that under a Biden administration," he said. "With a new president and pressure on a good number of Republican senators, I think we have a very good chance to get considerably more." Cuomo allowed that congressional Democrats were stuck in an "impossible situation," but de Blasio said the legislation as finalized doesn't deserve to be called a stimulus. "It's a short-term survival plan," he said. "This barely helps us to tread water." Now, almost all city agencies have been ordered to cut their budgets by 3 percent, our Sally Goldenberg reports this morning. The MTA will get $4 billion from the law, enough to stave off draconian service cuts to subways and buses and thousands of layoffs that had been threatened. That's a big deal for transit riders, who could have seen service slashed by 40 percent. But the MTA says it will still need another $8 billion to get out of the hole in the longer term, and it has taken on billions of dollars in additional debt. Some of New York's hardest hit industries will also see mixed results from the package. It includes a $15 billion aid component for music venues, Broadway theaters, comedy clubs and other performance spots forced to shut down by the pandemic, known as the Save Our Stages Act. Restaurants, though, will be largely left out: a relief fund they've been pushing for did not make it into the bill. 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? No public schedule available by press time. WHERE'S BILL? No public schedule available by press time. PROGRAMMING NOTE: New York Playbook will not publish from Thursday, Dec. 24 through Friday, Jan. 1. After the hiatus, we'll be back on our normal schedule on Monday, Jan. 4. Please continue to follow POLITICO New York. | | | | EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT TRANSITION PLAYBOOK, SUBSCRIBE TODAY: A new year is quickly approaching. Inauguration Day is right around the corner. President-elect Joe Biden's staffing decisions are sending clear-cut signals about his priorities. What do these signals foretell? Transition Playbook is the definitive guide to the new administration and one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history. Written for political insiders, this scoop-filled newsletter breaks big news daily and analyzes the appointments, people and emerging power centers of the new administration. Track the transition and the first 100 days of the incoming Biden administration. Subscribe today. | | | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | CITY AGENCIES are facing a fresh round of budget cuts as they head into the new year braided in anxiety about the pandemic's trajectory and uncertainty about state and federal aid. Mayor Bill de Blasio's budget officers informed all but two agencies they must cut their spending plans by more than 3 percent — a target that spans the remaining six months of this fiscal year and the following, which begins July 1, several department heads told POLITICO. Most agencies were instructed last week to find savings that total 1 percent of their entire budgets and can be reaped before this fiscal year ends on June 30, followed by another 2.5 percent next year. The NYPD and the Department of Correction were given slightly higher targets of 3 percent for next year, and the Department of Education has a 2.25 percent goal, a city official told POLITICO. The two entities that run 11 city-funded hospitals and some 175,000 public housing apartments were held harmless, given their dire straits. POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg "INFANTS IN New York City's homeless shelters are living in deplorable conditions that include exposed electrical outlets, mold, roaches and unsafe cribs, a scathing new audit released Monday by the city comptroller found. The review of city Department of Homeless Services shelters found health and safety risks in all 13 shelters that auditors visited and 92% of the 91 units they inspected. 'As a parent, I find the conditions we uncovered shameful, distressing and unacceptable. Our young children are the most vulnerable among us; they rely completely on us, as adults, to protect and care for them,' Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a written statement. 'Our investigation into infant safety in homeless shelters found that the city has utterly failed in its responsibility.' Even after being cited for poor performance, five of the 13 shelters that were audited were permitted to continue to operate with "no apparent consequences," Stringer concluded." New York Daily News' Michael Gartland MOUNT SINAI's anesthesiologists are among the last of their colleagues at systems across the city to get a Covid-19 vaccine, despite being tasked with inserting breathing tubes into seriously ill patients — and they are demanding hospital leadership address the problem . "We, the anesthesiologists of The Mount Sinai Hospital, have reached our breaking point," read a 3-page letter sent to leadership on Sunday. "We were exhausted and burnt out before this pandemic started. Despite this, we could not have worked harder this year. We lost count of how many of us and our residents were sickened by Covid-19 ... we fear how little we matter to the hospital." The letter, from 50 faculty members of the Mount Sinai Hospital and the Icahn School of Medicine's Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, alleges that the Mount Sinai system vaccinated workers "seemingly at random" instead of following state health department guidance, referencing a recent report by POLITICO. POLITICO's Amanda Eisenberg "A CONSERVATIVE Queens council candidate and members of her local Republican club ditched their masks when they hit the dance floor at an indoor holiday party Dec. 9, videos show. Council District 19 candidate Vickie Paladino and members of the Whitestone Republican Club held the party inside Il Bacco, a Little Neck restaurant whose owners sued Gov. Andrew Cuomo to restart indoor dining in September. A video shared on Twitter shows Paladino dancing in and around a 13-person conga line started by a man carrying a Trump 2020 flag. 'I'm not holding that,' Paladino appears to say when the man attempts to hand her the blue banner. Roughly 50 people can be seen dancing or watching from tables along the perimeter of the floor. One attendee can be seen wearing a mask in the video." Queens Eagle's David Brand "ALMOST 10 MONTHS into the pandemic, there's finally some hope for one of the city's most vulnerable populations. On Monday, nursing home patients and staff began receiving COVID-19 vaccines . Kelley Dixon, a 78-year-old resident at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, became one of the first seniors in the state to receive the life-saving shot. 'I feel blessed, I really do,' Dixon said. 'I put hints out there in the beginning and next thing I know they were calling me up, 'how would you like to be the first one?' I thought they were joking. I said 'of course' and they made it happen.' Dixon, who has been living in the Hebrew Home for 10 years, rolled up his sleeve on live television, marking a historic moment for the nursing home community. 'Today is the beginning of the end. We are finally, at 10 months, beginning to see light in the crack of darkness. Ironically, on the shortest day of the year, the sun will be shining at the Hebrew home,' said Daniel Reingold, president and CEO at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. The day couldn't come soon enough. Nursing homes across the state were hit particularly hard by the coronavirus. The Hebrew Home lost 54 of its residents." NY1's Elina Tarkazikis and Lindsay Tuchman — Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine began arriving in New York City on Monday. | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "BRITISH AIRWAYS, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic said on Monday they will allow only passengers who test negative for the coronavirus to fly to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The decisions follow a request from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that the airlines voluntarily agree to screen passengers on flights to Kennedy airport after the emergence of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain in Britain. Dozens of countries, though not the United States, closed their borders to Britain on Monday, causing travel chaos. Cuomo, who shares oversight of the airport through state agency the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has said the U.S. government should also stop flights from Britain, though he acknowledged that may come too late to prevent the spread of the new strain. 'I believe intuitively it's already here,' he said, 'because if it's been flying around the world, it's been here.' The White House coronavirus task force met on Monday to discuss the possibility of temporarily halting inbound passenger flights from the United Kingdom, but has not announced any decision." Reuters' Jonathan Allen, David Shepardson, Tracy Rucinski "THE ASSEMBLY held a rare December session on Monday , its first since 2011 despite near-annual chatter about Yuletide gatherings to deal with major outstanding business. The output of Monday's 17-minute session wasn't exactly historic — members dealt with nothing beyond some technical housekeeping. But Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said that another convening to deal with broader issues relating to evictions during the pandemic is still very much on the table before New Year's Day. In Monday's session, members approved a resolution that clarifies that they can use their current remote voting practices in 2021. They passed a rules change in March that lets them participate via videoconference or telephone. But that wasn't included in the list of rules that automatically carry over to a new two-year term, and a separate section of the rules specifically says they're supposed to physically gather in the chamber in their first meeting of the calendar year. POLITICO's Bill Mahoney "FORMER state Sen. Jeffrey D. Klein has filed a petition in state Supreme Court seeking to block the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics from holding a hearing on whether he violated Public Officers Law when he allegedly forcibly kissed a female staff member outside an Albany bar five years ago. The petition, filed by Klein on Monday in Albany, alleges JCOPE exceeded its authority and abused its discretion when it rejected a hearing officer's recommendation earlier this year that the case should be dismissed. "The court petition filed by Klein on Monday laid bare the details of the commission's secret handling of a case that had seemingly languished for years at JCOPE. Many observers had wondered if the commission had ruled against pursuing the case in a decision that was never made public. But the petition by Klein, who denied the allegation, confirms that the matter has been pending with JCOPE for nearly three years, and that the commission has sought to pursue an investigation of the former senator." Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons "IN AN EXCLUSIVE interview with Capital Tonight, Kathy Sheehan, the mayor of the city of Albany, announced she will be running for a third term . 'Well Susan, I have decided that I am going to run for reelection. I really had planned to only serve two terms, and then 2020 happened, and I realized that the experience, the relationships that I have been able to build at the county level, at the state level, are really important right now as we move through this pandemic and try to rebuild our economy in the city of Albany,' Sheehan explained. In 2017, while running for a second term, Sheehan said that she supported term limits during a debate hosted by the Albany Times Union." Spectrum's Susan Arbetter #UpstateAmerica: A Buffalo pharmacist says he's got a plan that would allow 15,000 fans in the stands for Bills playoff game. | | | | TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODE OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — More than 70 cadets training at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point have been accused of cheating on an online math exam… because pandemic. — Despite low infection rates among students, sickened staff and widespread quarantines have made it impossible for many schools in the Capital Region to keep their doors open. — The city will launch a mental health screening initiative next September at some public schools. — Companies that provide on-demand services through apps like Uber and DoorDash formed a coalition ahead of a likely debate in Albany over regulation of the sector. — Cuomo has formed a task force to ensure vaccines reach minority and low-income New Yorkers in equitable numbers. — An electric scooter company vying for a place in New York City's ride-hail pilot program has secured $60 million in funding from investors. — New Yorkers under 25-years-old have lost jobs at a higher rate than other age groups. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Diane Sawyer … Mary Baskerville … Matt Manda … CNN's Daniella Diaz … Hank Sheinkopf … Mary Kirtley Waters, director of the U.N. Information Centre … Adam Verdugo … Jamie Kirchick | | REAL ESTATE | | MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO's administration is forging ahead with a proposal to ban as-of-right hotel development — a policy dear to an influential union but a source of contention from within the mayor's own planning department. On Monday, the city scheduled the first public hearing for a proposal to route all new hotel construction through a public review process and the labor-friendly City Council. The timing of the hearing, slated for next month, would give the mayor enough runway to enact the proposal before leaving office at the end of next year. The Hotel Trades Council has long sought a citywide special permit and has succeeded in getting piecemeal implementation under both the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations. Last year, the labor organization began to make headway on a blanket curtailment once de Blasio began mulling his ill-fated presidential run, and HTC eventually endorsed the mayor's bid for the White House. POLITICO's Joe Anuta COUNCIL SPEAKER Corey Johnson abruptly pulled legislation authorizing the city's tax lien sale last week, setting off a spat with the mayor's office over revenue during a bleak fiscal year. Property owners who are behind on years' worth of city taxes or bills have their outstanding balance sold to a city-controlled trust for collection. If the annual sale — which was delayed this year to give residents a break during the peak of the pandemic — isn't restarted, the mayor's office said it could blow a nearly billion-dollar hole in the city's already tight budget. With the city's authority to hold a tax lien sale expiring at the end of the month, the de Blasio administration has been pushing hard for the Council to green-light a new authorization for the next four years. The sudden turnaround, caused in part by a last-minute intervention from state Attorney General Tish James, has angered the mayor's office, perplexed members who were on board with the plan and given opponents of the lien sale a tactical toehold. Johnson said Thursday, with the economy still in a tailspin, selling residents' debt to the trust would be too much of a hardship for lower-income homeowners. POLITICO's Joe Anuta "MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO is set to announce his opposition to the development of a controversial residential project in Crown Heights that had sparked fears of gentrification as well as the casting of plant-killing shadows over the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. For more than a year, housing activists as well as Botanic Garden supporters have protested the plan, known as 960 Franklin. Led by high-profile Manhattan developer Bruce Eichner, the project seeks to build two 39-story residential towers, both rising above 400 feet, near the perimeter of the Botanic Garden 'We need to ensure that new developments meet public needs and support our communities,' the mayor said in a statement set to be released on Tuesday. 'Today, I am voicing my opposition to the proposed 960 Franklin development in Crown Heights that would harm the research and educational work carried out by one of this city's prized cultural institutions, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and is grossly out of scale with the neighborhood.'" Gothamist's Elizabeth Kim
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