| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Mayor Bill de Blasio, elected on a pledge to fundamentally reform the NYPD, is now a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by Attorney General Tish James, charging that he bears responsibility for a pattern of indiscriminate, excessive force and false arrests against protesters last year. James brought the lawsuit Thursday , asking for a court-appointed monitor to be installed to oversee the NYPD because of its mishandling of the demonstrations that swept the city after the death of George Floyd. While her investigation is at least the third to conclude that the NYPD botched its protest response, it may be the most damning: It documents 155 separate incidents of unwarranted and excessive force by police, including striking protesters with batons, dousing them with pepper sprays, and punching and beating them on the ground. And James lays the blame on de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea by name, saying they were aware of the brutality but allowed it to continue. A little history here: The NYPD has been slapped with a court-appointed monitor before. A federal judge ruled in 2013 that its use of stop and frisk was unconstitutional in response to a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups. That time, the mayor was Mike Bloomberg, who fought the case tooth and nail in his last year in office while a mayoral candidate named de Blasio seized on the issue. Fast forward eight years, and de Blasio in his last year in office will be defending against another major constitutional rights case, this time brought by the state attorney general. The mayor has promised changes to protest policing but is resisting the idea of a monitor, saying it will bring too much bureaucracy. IT'S FRIDAY. 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 WNYC's Brian Lehrer show. PROGRAMMING NOTE: New York Playbook will not publish on Monday, Jan. 18. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Please continue to follow POLITICO New York. | | | | A NEW YEAR, A NEW CONGRESS, A NEW HUDDLE: It was an ugly and heartbreaking week inside the Capitol, particularly for all of those who work on the Hill. How are lawmakers planning to move forward? How will security change? How will a new Senate majority impact the legislative agenda? With so much at stake, our new Huddle author Olivia Beavers brings you the most important news and critical insight from Capitol Hill with help from POLITICO's deeply sourced Congress team. Subscribe to Huddle, the essential guide to understanding Congress. It has never been more important. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | BILLIONAIRE JOHN Catsimatidis — who Republicans have viewed as their best hope in the 2021 mayoral race — now says he's considering switching parties and jumping into the Democratic race instead. Catsimatidis, a supermarket mogul and supporter of President Donald Trump, told POLITICO he expects to make a decision in the next few weeks. "I may want to run as a Democrat with this ranked choice thing," he said, referring to a new system of ranked choice voting that will allow voters to choose several candidates in order of preference in the June primary. "This is a Democratic city, and I was a Bill Clinton Democrat. I was a Democrat for a long time," Catsimatidis said. "I'm a middle-of-the-road guy. I can be a conservative Democrat, or I can be a liberal Republican." Few Republicans have entered the race for mayor, even as a large field of Democrats compete for their party's nomination. Republican party leaders had hoped that Catsimatidis, who lost the Republican primary in 2013 and could self-finance a campaign, would enter the fray and become an instant favorite for their nomination. POLITICO's Erin Durkin MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO outlined a $92.3 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year Thursday — a bleak financial document dragged down by a historic drop in property tax revenue and by the administration's own fiscal sleight of hand. The initial budget plan, which will morph several times before taking effect July 1, is $3 billion lower than last year's preliminary budget and could drop billions of dollars more, depending on what happens in Albany. Yet during a presentation Thursday, the mayor sounded a relatively upbeat tone. Just hours earlier, the administration learned the city would be receiving an estimated $1 billion in additional reimbursement for Covid-19 expenses as part of a deal between soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the incoming Biden administration. The mayor and the City Council also cleared up a disagreement over the tax lien sale and the city plans to relax its obligation to the pension systems, which could free up additional cash. The threat of layoffs, which loomed over last year's process, was barely mentioned this time around. POLITICO's Joe Anuta — "President-elect Joe Biden's transition team has committed to a policy change that will give New York about $2 billion to reimburse state and city governments for COVID-19 expenses, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Thursday. Schumer (D-NY) will soon be the Senate's powerful majority leader and had pushed for the boost in funds as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio cite budget woes caused by the coronavirus. Schumer directly lobbied Biden and his incoming team, his office said. Schumer said in a statement that 'President-elect Biden is laser-focused on America's economic recovery, and this recovery begins with tackling the costs states and local governments have incurred in managing the pandemic.'" New York Post's Steven Nelson and Ebony Bowden ON THE YANG TRAIN: On his first day as a New York City mayoral candidate, Andrew Yang promised to spend $1 billion a year delivering cash payments to 500,000 residents in financial distress, fight for city control of the subway system and keep the controversial entrance exam for specialized high schools while expanding the criteria for admissions. Yang unveiled his campaign at Morningside Park, near the first apartment he lived in when he moved to the city in 1996. He was joined by Rep. Ritchie Torres, who will co-chair his bid. From there, Yang crisscrossed the city, elbow-bumping supporters along the way. He delivered meals to residents in the Bronx, dined with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards in Flushing, and toured Brownsville with Assemblymember Latrice Walker. Yang — who said he ended talks with the incoming Biden administration about a potential job when he decided to run for mayor — also batted away questions about his spotty voting history and his decision to leave his Manhattan apartment for a residence in New Paltz during the pandemic. "Anyone who thinks that somehow my New Yorkness is in question should just come and say it to my face and they'll see how ridiculous it is. If your plan during a crisis is to try to segment and divide New Yorkers against each other, you're probably the wrong person to lead the city," he said. Some of his opponents had sharp words for the newcomer. Comptroller Scott Stringer's spokesman Tyrone Stevens quipped, "We welcome Andrew Yang to the mayor's race — and to New York City." — POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg — "Universal basic income was Andrew Yang's signature issue in his 2020 presidential run, and it will be a centerpiece of his New York City mayoral campaign, which he officially began Wednesday night with a launch video. But during the months Mr. Yang spent contemplating a run for mayor, his competitors preemptively made his issue their own." New York Times' Dana Rubinstein "LAURA ENGLE, 78, lives alone in an apartment in Midtown Manhattan. She uses a walker and has a chronic lung disease. She is exactly the kind of person who most needs a coronavirus vaccine. And yet, she has found it impossible to make an appointment and has become lost in the confusing system set up by the city and the state. … In the city, over a million older New Yorkers started the week with optimism that they would finally gain access to the vaccine after months of fearing they would fall victim to the coronavirus. But the reality of actually getting the shots has proved to be far more maddening . Buggy websites, multiple sign-up systems that act in parallel but do not link together and a lack of outreach are causing exasperation and exhaustion among older New Yorkers and others trying to set up vaccination appointments." New York Times' Sharon Otterman — At least one hospital was forced to cancel appointments for coronavirus vaccinations because there aren't enough doses to go around. — Hundreds of people flocked to the Brooklyn Army Terminal after rumors spread that extra vaccines were available. "NEW YORK GOV. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday unveiled a vision of new rail and bus complexes that would replace the Port Authority Bus Terminal and expand New York's Penn Station to improve commuter access to a commercial and residential hub rising on Manhattan's west side. Transit ridership in the New York metropolitan region has plummeted during the Covid-19 pandemic and isn't expected to recover to 2019 levels for several years. Many of the stations Mr. Cuomo wants to expand or replace have struggled to cope with rising passenger numbers since long before the pandemic. The Democratic governor, in the fourth and final part of this week's State of the State presentation, argued that now is the time to build because interest rates are low and many people are looking for work because of a pandemic-induced recession." Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | NEW YORK GOV. Andrew Cuomo is allowing restaurants in most of the state to resume indoor dining , following a court decision that allowed some restaurants in the Buffalo area to reopen. Restaurants in areas which the state has designated as "orange zones" face restrictive rules that include a ban on eating inside. Nearly 100 Erie County establishments challenged this designation in court. A state judge sided with them on Wednesday, finding that the state has offered no "rational basis" for continuing the harsher restrictions while not imposing them on other parts of the state with higher hospitalization rates. The judges' action allowed these restaurants to operate temporarily under the less-restrictive "yellow zone" designation that allows for 50 percent capacity." POLITICO's Bill Mahoney DURING a week when the country's partisan divide seemed more unbridgeable than ever, a conservative Republican state senator from the second-most Trump-friendly district in New York traveled to the deep-blue confines of Corona, Queens , to promote legislation he's sponsoring with the area's progressive Assembly member, a onetime undocumented immigrant. Sen. George Borrello (R-Chautauqua) and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz (D-Queens) have joined forces to support a state program that seeks to purchase excess products from struggling farmers and then distribute them to food banks. Farmers have faced serious distribution problems since the pandemic began, thanks to problems like a dramatic reduction in orders for the half-pint milk containers served in schools. Meanwhile, lingering economic problems have increased demand at under-staffed food pantries. POLITICO's Bill Mahoney "THE HUSBAND of the chief of staff to New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking charges Thursday and faces the possibility of a lengthy prison term and nearly $1 million in fines. Orlando Dennis, 32, who is married to Heastie aide Jevonni Brooks-Dennis, admitted Friday to taking part in a botched conspiracy to import more than 500 grams of cocaine from Jamaica in December 2019. He also admitted to tax evasion for the unreported income he took in from the drugs. 'As he stated in today's plea, Orlando takes full acceptance and sole responsibility for his actions,' Dennis' lawyer, Jason Goldman, told the Daily News." Daily News' Noah Goldberg "A KEY STATE lawmaker criticized New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to authorize mobile sports betting through a competitive bidding process, highlighting the obstacles ahead for legalizing online gambling in the state. State Sen. Joe Addabbo, a Queens Democrat who chairs his chamber's Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee, said in an interview that he was glad the Democratic governor had shifted away from his opposition to online betting but believed the state should enact a more expansive system. 'I am not a believer that one sportsbook provider, or operator, can handle the volume in New York,' Mr. Addabbo said. 'I don't think it's good for the consumer—I think you're pushing the consumer to New Jersey or to an illegal site.' Sports wagering in New York is currently allowed only in physical portions of its four existing commercial casinos and other facilities operated by Indian tribes. Mr. Cuomo last week proposed allowing online gambling as a way to raise revenue for school aid as the state faces an $8.7 billion deficit." Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind "A COALITION of more than 25 New York lawmakers and 250 of the state's criminal and social justice reform groups announced Thursday they are pressing two pieces of legislation this year that would reshape the parole process in New York. They held a virtual press conference to announce they are forming a project called the People's Campaign for Parole Justice. The campaign will work to pass Elder Parole, a bill that would require the parole board to hold hearings for incarcerated people over the age of 55 who have been behind bars more than 15 years, and the Fair and Timely Parole Act, which would shift the focus of commissioners during a parole hearing away from the original crime that someone committed. The campaign is also calling for the governor to fill the three vacant spots on the parole board." Times Union's Edward McKinley — Seven of the eight candidates for Manhattan district attorney support overhauling the parole system. #UpstateAmerica: A Tonawanda crematory is getting extra attention from the state this week after being allowed to reopen following its emission of thick, black smoke. | | | | KEEP UP WITH THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WITH TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: It was a dark week in American history, and a new administration will have to pick up the pieces. Transition Playbook brings you inside the last days of this crucial transfer of power, tracking the latest from President-elect Biden and his growing administration. Written for political insiders, this scoop-filled newsletter breaks big news and analyzes 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. | | | | |
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "MANHATTAN CONGRESSMAN Adriano Espaillat became the fourth member of Congress to test positive for the coronavirus this week , days after a mob laid siege to the U.S. Capitol and forced members into hiding, his office announced Thursday. 'I am following guidance from my physician and quarantining at home after having tested positive for Covid 19,' Espaillat, a Democrat, said in a statement. He said his positive test was performed Wednesday evening, and that he did not have any symptoms. Espaillat received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last week, according to his office. However, it takes two weeks to a month for the vaccine to give a person immunity. Three other Democratic members have tested positive in recent days, and have blamed their results on the refusal by some Republican members to wear face masks inside the secure location where representatives were moved during the Jan. 6 riot." Patch's Nick Garber ... ICYMI: Punchbowl News published a video of Republicans who refused to wear masks when offered them during the lockdown. — City Comptroller and mayor candidate Scott Stringer is now in quarantine because he was in contact with Espaillat. | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — The city's high school graduation rate increased slightly. — Amazon is proposing a warehouse and distribution center for the Rochester suburbs. — Federal prosecutors brought terrorism charges against alleged leaders of MS-13. — An unpublished link to schedule vaccination appointments at several state-run sites was circulated on social media without authorization. — Former House candidate Tedra Cobb has launched a political action committee for rural Democrats. — Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr. announced his campaign for Brooklyn BP will take in more than $947,000 with matching funds after his latest campaign filing. — AFL-CIO is hoping to capitalize on one-party rule in Albany. — Multiple donors are suspending contributions to the four New York representatives who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results. — At least eight people were injured after a BX-35 bus went off the road and dangled off an overpass. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CNN's Jeremy Diamond … Dan Scavino … Scott Stanzel, managing VP of corporate comms at Capital One … David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Inc., is 61 … Sarah Svoboda, producer at Vice News … Erin Lardy ... Chuck Babington … Sarah Kliff, NYT investigative reporter … New Yorker staff writer Jon Lee Anderson is 64 … Stuart Eizenstat, senior counsel at Covington and Burling, is 78 … Brooks George … Adam Levine | | REAL ESTATE | | "BIG APPLE rent-regulated tenants owe over $1.1 billion in unpaid rent, with nearly 20 percent of them more than two months behind on payments, according to a new survey . The findings from the Community Housing Improvement Program also show that about 50,000 tenants are more than $15,000 behind in rent, which is about a year of missed payments. The stunning revelations, derived from surveying 40,000 rent-regulated units, comes as New York state is set to receive $1.3 billion in rental assistance from the federal government as part of the latest COVID-19 relief package." New York Post's Kenneth Garger
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