| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by AT&T | Andrew Yang is looking more and more like a potential mayoral candidate. The former presidential hopeful has been calling elected officials to gauge support for a possible run, our Sally Goldenberg reports. He's also talking with consulting firm Tusk Strategies about working on his campaign. One person who talked to Yang put it simply: "It sounds like Andrew Yang is running for mayor." If he runs, it's now likely to be in the Democratic primary, despite a poll previously conducted by his team testing support for a third-party campaign. And another poll of Democratic voters, reported by the New York Post, found Yang ahead of other primary contenders. Yang, whose pet issue is a universal basic income for all Americans, will shake up the race if he gets in. And that race is getting more crowded by the day: Shaun Donovan, the former housing chief for President Barack Obama and Mayor Mike Bloomberg, officially launched his campaign on Tuesday. In his speech from a rooftop in the Bronx, Donovan sketched out the beginnings of a physical vision for the city — something observers have found lacking in Mayor Bill de Blasio's worldview. He wants a city of "15 minute neighborhoods," where everyone can walk to a good school, rapid transit, a place to buy fresh food, and a park. He proposed a bus rapid transit network, supplemented by legal e-bikes and scooters, and promised to take the subway every day if elected. The former HUD secretary's proposals borrow liberally from urban leaders like Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo , and Donovan says he's just fine with that, but laments that New York has not in recent years been the one leading the way on such urbanist innovations. And in that, he sounds a bit like Bloomberg , whose name he did not invoke in his kick-off, while he made several mentions of Obama. (When reporters asked, he praised the former mayor.) The Bloomberg connection may be a tricky one to navigate among Democratic primary voters, as the former mayor's legacy remains controversial. But if you believe that Slingshot Strategies poll reported by the Post, voters would look more favorably on an endorsement from Bloomberg than from the sitting mayor, the former boss to many other contenders in the Democratic field. IT'S WEDNESDAY. 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? Holding a briefing via Zoom. WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability and speaking at the Brooklyn Bridge Plaza groundbreaking. | | | | 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 | | NEW YORK CITY and its teachers union think the nation's largest school district should be the gold standard for how to get kids back in class in the middle of a pandemic. Other districts are turning to the city for answers, the mayor said, but have yet to open their doors. "I'm on a thread with about 20 mayors — major cities around the country — we often are comparing notes on different issues," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview. "Most of them have been honest with me that they can't figure out how to get out of remote, that they didn't have the pieces ready and they don't know how to put together in real time all the pieces they need. "It's not lack of will but they just find it a huge challenge." New York City began reopening for some students with the powerful local teachers union on board in September, then briefly shut down in late November. Some schools are already open again for in-person classes. Officials are touting the city's use of data, a "situation room" for agencies to coordinate and rapidly respond to school cases, and collaboration with the union on safeguards for teachers and students. The American Federation of Teachers is promoting the plan as part of a blueprint for safely reopening schools. De Blasio said his message to local leaders is, "just do it. We have proven you can keep school safe if you are willing to adopt enough rigorous measures." Around the country, however, some districts big and small show no signs of reopening or lack plans for how to get kids back into school buildings. POLITICO's Nicole Gaudiano and Madina Touré — "The mayor has found himself presiding over a starkly unequal school system in which many white families have flocked back to classrooms while most families of color have chosen to learn from home indefinitely. That gulf is illustrated in a startling statistic: There are nearly 12,000 more white children returning to public school buildings than Black students — even though there are many more Black students than white children in the system overall. Latino students are returning at a rate roughly proportional to their overall representation in the school system." New York Times' Eliza Shapiro — Teachers and students are getting chilly as they rely on open windows for ventilation in classrooms as winter approaches. FORMER CITY HALL officials have united in opposition to Mayor Bill de Blasio's handling of a contentious plan to quarantine some 200 homeless men in a hotel during the pandemic. Twenty ex-staffers, including two deputy mayors, have signed a letter admonishing the mayor's decision to move the men out of the Lucerne hotel in response to an outcry from nearby residents on Manhattan's Upper West Side. "It doesn't in any way help them, and it's detrimental to us as a society if a vocal and well-connected minority can forcibly evict their neighbors for no good or just reasons," reads the letter, which was signed by former deputy mayors Alicia Glen and Richard Buery. When Covid-19 hit the city, the de Blasio administration began shifting people who were sleeping in cramped shelters into hotels where they could isolate to slow the spread of the virus...But a group of Upper West Side residents were troubled by what they described as a degradation of their quality of life, and joined forces to try to persuade de Blasio to move the men to another location. POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg "AS THE MTA faces down massive layoffs and devastating cuts to subway and bus service, state lawmakers are reviving a proposal to raise money for the transit agency by charging a $3 fee for every package delivered in the five boroughs. State Assemblyman Robert Carroll, who represents parts of Park Slope and Windsor Terrace, initially proposed the surcharge in 2019 as a complement to congestion pricing, which was supposed to go into effect next month but now looks to be delayed at least a year. 'Now we're in an existential crisis,' Carroll told Gothamist. 'This bill raises real revenue for the MTA, it'll make our streets safer because there will be fewer trucks on the streets, it'll make the air cleaner because it will reduce carbon emissions, and it will help our small businesses.' The bill would impose a flat $3 fee on all online purchases delivered to New York City, except food and 'essential medical supplies,' to be paid by the customer." Gothamist's Christopher Robbins "THE FIRST BATCH of the coronavirus vaccine will reach New York City next week, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday." New York Daily News' Shant Shahrigian — The percentage of hospital beds available in both New York City and Long Island is under 20 percent, according to data released Tuesday. — De Blasio threatened to shut down a Brooklyn synagogue that hosted a massive funeral in violation of pandemic rules, if another illicit gathering takes place there. "NEARLY SIX MONTHS after Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to end solitary confinement as a means of punishment in New York City's jail system, the city council this week is set to begin fast-tracking the process by reviewing new legislation to halt the controversial practice. Councilman Daniel Dromm, a Queens Democrat, is introducing a bill at Thursday's council meeting that would prohibit inmates from being locked in an isolated cell for violent offenses—except for up to four hours whenever it is necessary to 'de-escalate immediate conflict,' according to a review of the legislation. Under current city law, solitary confinement, also known as punitive segregation, allows inmates to be locked in cells up to 20 hours a day for serious offenses." Wall Street Journal's Rich Calder — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A new poll by a liberal group finds that a majority of voters statewide support ending long-term solitary confinement. According to the poll by Data for Progress, 64 percent support ending the practice while 21 percent do not. The poll emphasized the harshness of solitary confinement in the wording of its question to voters: "People placed in solitary confinement in New York state spend 22 to 24 hours a day locked in a small cell for an average of five months." The Legislature is considering a bill known as the HALT Act, which would restrict the use of solitary confinement. — The plan to close Rikers Island faces additional delays, with the latest capital budget cutting more than $500 million from construction of four new jails. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Manhattan district attorney candidate Alvin Bragg will release a plan today to overhaul the office's sex crimes unit. Incumbent DA Cy Vance has been criticized for his handling of those issues. Bragg, a former federal prosecutor, is pressing on several fronts: an audit of sex crime prosecutions, decreasing reliance on conviction rates in evaluating prosecutors, pursuing cases against institutions that allowed sexual misconduct rather than just individual abusers, and state legislation to give adult survivors of sexual assault the opportunity to sue even if the statute of limitations has expired. | | | | TRACK THE TRANSITION & NEW ADMINISTRATION HEADING INTO 2021: President-elect Biden is pushing full steam ahead on putting together his Cabinet and White House staff. These appointments and staffing decisions send clear-cut signals about Biden's priorities. What do these signals foretell? 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 | | "GOV. ANDREW CUOMO plans to cancel all in-person press briefings going forward, citing revised CDC guidance and rising COVID-19 cases in the Empire State, The Post has learned. The move comes nearly 10 months into the pandemic, after Cuomo conducted mainly in-person press conferences between March and June from the state Capitol Building in Albany. Recently he has held a mix of physical appearances as well as phone conference calls with reporters, providing updates on the state's progress. 'Since the beginning, we've talked about the important role the media has played in educating the public about this pandemic and hand in hand we worked with the Legislative Correspondents Association to decrease room density, put protections in place and ensure that ever-evolving health and safety protocols were being followed,' Cuomo senior adviser Rich Azzopardi told The Post." New York Post's Bernadette Hogan HOWEVER: "New York's electoral college members, which include some of the most prominent people in state politics, will meet in the state Capitol building next week and cannot do so virtually, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said in an interview on WAMC. The vote, set for Monday, is a pro forma event for New York to cast its votes in the presidential election. By constitutional law, the electors must meet in the Capitol building, Cuomo said. "'There's nothing in the constitution that says, "Unless there is a pandemic,"'Cuomo said. Officials had been reviewing the logistics of holding the event virtually, but concluded it could face legal scrutiny as President Donald Trump's campaign continues to file legal challenges to the election, which was won by President-elect Joe Biden. Electors in New York include Cuomo himself as well as Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Letitia James and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli." Spectrum's Nick Reisman MARK YOUR … COMPUTERS?: The Legislature has released its session calendar for 2021. It's a classic 60-day session, running Jan. 6 through June 10, but at least for now, looks to be primarily virtual. Even if some lawmakers make the trek to Albany, it's looking like the Capitol will remain closed to lobbyists and the general public for the foreseeable future. INDEPENDENT NON-PROFIT Tax Foundation evaluated New York's options to solve a rather heinous budget gap. From Vice President of State Projects Jared Walczak : "It is no easy task, and there are no pat answers. In this publication, we examine the scope of the losses New York confronts and the prospects for — and potential extent of — federal relief in helping alleviate the state's fiscal crisis. Then, situated in the context of New York's past efforts to improve its tax competitiveness, and the importance of maintaining the Empire State's attraction in an increasingly mobile economy, we review many of the proposals for raising additional revenue. Some hold promise, others present economic perils, and a few are legal quagmires." #UpstateAmerica: Add this to your upstate adventure bingo card: A book-lover's mecca snuggled in a Catskills "ghost village." "The origin story... resembles the plot of a novel, filled with interesting characters and twists of fate." | | | |   | | |
| | ... 2020 VISION ... | | A NEW YORK state judge has ordered eight counties in the state's 22nd Congressional District to fix a host of ballot-tracking errors in order to tabulate precise vote counts in one of the nation's last undecided House races. Following a public hearing on Monday, state Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte, who has been overseeing the counts, said on Tuesday that more than 1,500 uncounted ballots will be included in the final count. That will help determine whether or not Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a one-term Democrat, has survived a strong challenge from Republican Claudia Tenney, who held the seat for a term before Brindisi defeated her in 2018. Tenney leads by a dozen votes out of more than 315,000 cast. POLITICO's Anna Gronewold "SUFFOLK COUNTY was the most populous county in the U.S. that President Trump won in 2020, winning the New York City suburb by just 232 votes , according to election results certified in recent days. Mr. Trump beat President-elect Joe Biden in the Long Island county by 0.03% of the more than 775,000 votes cast. He bested Hillary Clinton in the county by nearly 7 percentage points in 2016. Republicans say Mr. Trump won Suffolk last month because of law-and-order messaging, which was amplified by law-enforcement unions. They targeted Democratic incumbents in the New York state Senate over recent changes to state laws on policing, but the campaign had limited success in down-ballot elections. The razor-thin margin, though, gave hope to Democrats that an electoral coalition based in urban areas is putting down deeper roots in New York's suburbs, which have traditionally tipped the scales in statewide political contests." Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "WHEN DONALD J. Trump's childhood home in Queens was on the market four years ago, Mr. Trump, then a candidate for president, publicly mused about buying it himself. Now, he might not have to: The home's latest owner is launching a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of giving the five-bedroom Tudor in Jamaica Estates to the president as a gift — once the $3 million price tag is met. The unusual real estate maneuver seeks to capitalize on the devotion of some of Mr. Trump's supporters, in the hopes that the same commitment that has driven them to attend his large rallies in the middle of a pandemic will also induce them to open their wallets. The sellers hope donations might also be fueled by an impulse to mollify Mr. Trump with a personalized parting gift as his presidential term nears its end. The fund-raiser could also solve another problem that has plagued the home's owner in recent years: an inability to find a buyer." New York Times' Sarah Maslin Nir | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | A PAIR of high-profile New Yorkers are jockeying for a prized slot on the House Energy and Commerce Committee , a competition that could have long-lasting reverberations in the Democratic Caucus and for influential states. Both Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Kathleen Rice are privately angling for one of the few open seats on one of the House's most powerful committees. But other members of the New York delegation are so far refusing to publicly wade into the battle, meaning the state could get shut out of the slot being vacated by outgoing Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) altogether. As the Democratic panel that assigns committee slots prepares to make a decision sometime this month, some Democrats have suggested the New York delegation needs to coalesce behind a single candidate. That person could then be put forward in a slate of candidates endorsed by Democratic leaders — virtually guaranteeing that they hold onto a seat for New York. POLITICO's Heather Caygle, Sarah Ferris and Susannah Luthi | | | | HAPPENING THURSDAY - CLOSING THE ORAL HEALTH CARE GAP : Oral health care remains out of reach or limited for millions of people living in the United States, particularly for those with low income, those living in rural communities, and in communities of color. What will it take to improve access and quality of oral care for Americans, especially for the most vulnerable? Join POLITICO for a virtual conversation exploring the challenges in oral care disparities and the policies and strategies that can help solve them. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Shootings in the city are on pace to hit a 14-year high. — President Donald Trump appointed interim State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa to an advisory post overseeing the finances of Puerto Rico. — Staten Island Democrats Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblymember Mike Cusick announced on Tuesday a bill that would provide relief to the hospitality sector. — Some upstate landlords are growing tired of waiting for the court system to handle evictions and are taking matters into their own hands with allegedly illegal tactics. — City correction officers were charged with using fake disability parking placards. — Six New York City Council members filed a lawsuit in hopes of stopping the debut of ranked-choice voting in a February special election. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is 54 … Neal Wolin, CEO of Brunswick Group, is 59 … Terry Moran, senior national correspondent for ABC News, is 61 … Jonathan Wald, SVP of programming and development at MSNBC … Fernando Lujan … former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker … Eric Wachter, director at Finsbury, is 42 (h/t wife Miriam Fischer Wachter) … Ryan Whalen of Bloomberg Philanthropies … Alexandra DeSanctis, National Review staff writer … Brian McGuire, policy director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck … Alexander Fleiss … Kevin Xu | | | | 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 | | A GROUP OF Flushing developers and the City Council hashed out a pair of union deals Tuesday, removing the main obstacle from a major rezoning plan along the Queens waterfront. The developers — F&T Group, Young Nian Group and United Construction and Development Group — have agreed to hire workers from 32BJ SEIU and the Hotel Trades Council to work at the proposed project, a complex of roughly 1,700 new apartments, retail, hotels and waterfront open space, according to three sources with knowledge of the accord. A representative of the unions said that the organizations are pleased to have reached tentative agreements with the developers and praised the work of the Council. Johnson's office and the developers declined to comment. POLITICO's Joe Anuta and Janaki Chadha "A PENTHOUSE apartment at 111 West 57th Street, an under-construction ultra-skinny tower on New York's Billionaires' Row, has gone into contract for over $50 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction. The deal, signed in early November, is one of the priciest publicly disclosed contracts to have been signed in New York since the onset of the pandemic. The development's offering plan lists the unit's asking price at $57 million. JDS Development's Michael Stern, one of the building's developers, confirmed the deal but declined to comment on the exact sale price or the identity of the buyer. In the spring, Mr. Stern said that contracts for two other units asking roughly $30 million had been signed at the condominium tower between March and June. 'We continue to be pleased with the sales performance,' Mr. Stern said in a statement. 'Covid has demonstrated the flight to quality real estate and the enduring strength of New York City.'" Wall Street Journal's Katherine Clarke "BILL MEEHAN moved into Stonewall House, an affordable, L.G.B.T.Q.-friendly senior housing development in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, early this year, when it was not exactly an ideal time to get to know one's neighbors. Between social distancing, mask wearing and the fact that the building had just opened but all the communal spaces remained closed because of Covid-19, interactions between residents were extremely limited. But Mr. Meehan, 77, a former priest, is not one to be deterred from making connections. Not even by a pandemic. 'There wasn't a lot of stuff in place to meet people, but we're humans. You run into people, the first day you say, "hello."The second day you say, "hello" plus. If you say hello often enough, you get hello back,' said Mr. Meehan, who started chatting with neighbors in the corridors and outside the building as soon as he moved in. When the coronavirus arrived a few weeks later, he just added a mask." New York Times' Kim Velsey
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