| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | If you missed Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address on Monday, don't fret: it's not even halfway done. Monday's speech — one of four set for this week — was streamed from the Capitol's War Room, where the governor spoke to a live audience of his aides, daughters and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. The event offered his much larger virtual audience, especially those who have been tuning nearly every day for the past 10 months, few surprises. He emphasized the hit New York has taken since the beginning of the pandemic and pointed to a lack of leadership from the outgoing Trump administration to make the case for more federal aid as a friendlier Biden administration prepares to take office. Here's the rub: What the state needs is not entirely clear — fiscal experts question the math behind the $15 billion Cuomo has continued to say the state lacks — but Cuomo said New York "expects" Washington to deliver. It was, as Empire Center's EJ McMahon points out, an interesting contrast to Cuomo's 2011 address, when he promised to "hold the line on taxes for now and reduce taxes in the future" to rebuild the state's economy. One decade later, he made no such vow, though he did criticize measures the Legislature is considering to raise taxes on the state's wealthiest as too small and slow to make a difference. But wait: There are some longer-term and smaller-amount revenue raisers Cuomo does say he likes, such as legalizing online sports betting and recreational marijuana. More details about Cuomo's financial proposals will likely be revealed in a budget address later in the month. In the meantime, the themes we're hearing for the next three speeches this week are also familiar: a green economy, infrastructure spending and "building back better." They'll be at Cuomo o'clock and you know where to watch. 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? Giving the second installment of his State of the State address. WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We live in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. And so, like, can you imagine trying to have two kids on virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment, and then trying to do work yourself?" — Andrew Yang justifying his decision to decamp to his second home in New Paltz during the pandemic | | | | 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 | | "NEW YORK on Monday began administering Covid-19 vaccinations to people age 75 and older , educators, police officers and transit workers, broadening the pool of eligible recipients as it races to curb a second wave of the virus. 'I'm going to feel great when she gets it,' Emma Medina said of her 86-year-old mother on Monday as the two waited in line with a few dozen people outside a vaccination center at Hillcrest High School in Queens.'She said her mother, Maria Medina, has spent most of the pandemic alone in her apartment in Jamaica, Queens.' 'She's a very social person and she hasn't been able to see her friends and family,' the daughter said." Wall Street Journal's Katie Honan — "New York City's online sign-up process for the COVID-19 vaccine is a confusing mess that must immediately be fixed, according to City Comptroller Scott Stringer... Those seeking to make an appointment to get vaccinated have to navigate one of three separate systems — one controlled by the city's NYC Health + Hospitals and two by the city's Health Department — none of which appear to work in coordination." New York Post's Nolan Hicks and Natalie Musumeci — The city wants to prioritize teachers working in person ahead of those teaching remotely, but there is no system in place to check which group teachers fall into. "TWICE CONVICTED ex-lawmaker Hiram Monserrate is preparing yet another run for public office in Queens. The former state senator and councilmember, convicted of misdemeanor assault after dragging his girlfriend through a parking lot and later sentenced to prison for steering public money into his campaign operation, has filed to run for City Council in District 21 . The seat is held by incumbent Councilmember Francisco Moya, who beat Monserrate with about 56 percent of the vote in 2017. Monserrate has remained active in local politics since completing his prison term. He won Democratic district leader races in 2018 and 2020 but lost the June 2020 primary election to veteran lawmaker Jeff Aubry in Assembly District 35." Queens Eagle's David Brand "THE DAY IN July 2017 the doctor called Sherron Paige to tell her that her son, Kyan, had registered an alarming level of lead in his blood, the child was just 4 years old. At the time, Paige had no way of knowing her son had become a very young victim of alleged deception by a city official . The New York City Housing Authority previously certified that the Brooklyn apartment where Kyan had lived since birth had been cleaned of lead paint. A licensed NYCHA supervisor signed off on the job, THE CITY has learned. That supervisor, however, had never been to the apartment in Red Hook Houses and never reviewed the inspection reports, according to the city Department of Investigation and sources familiar with the matter. He'd simply signed paperwork certifying that an apartment he'd never seen was lead-free — exempting NYCHA from having to inspect the unit going forward as required by local law and federal regulations, according to the records and the sources." The City's Greg B. Smith "AFTER TWO MONTHS of investigation, police officials have concluded that a high-ranking officer responsible for combating workplace harassment in the New York Police Department wrote dozens of virulently racist posts about Black, Jewish and Hispanic people under a pseudonym on an online chat board favored by police officers. The officer, Deputy Inspector James F. Kobel, filed his retirement papers late last week as the departmental inquiry was winding down. But the officials said on Monday that they still planned to bring administrative charges against him as soon as this month for falsely denying that he had written the offensive messages. 'The evidence is strong,' said one senior police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter. 'We have no doubt that it's him.'" New York Times' William K. Rashbaum and Alan Feuer | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION put it all on governors to decide how shots would be administered and who would get them first. Now, instead of moving rapidly through all the available doses, some states have been trapped by their own policies as pandemic deaths and hospitalization continue to hit new records. Urgency around the problems was growing on Monday as it compounded the nation's already slow immunization campaign with another manufactured crisis. "The more rules we create, the more penalties we put in place, the fewer vaccines that are going to be delivered," former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Monday on CNBC. "That's the bottom line." In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo spent weeks insisting that only health care workers can get the shots, even as many refused, and only began to ease restrictions in recent days...The feds have sent 1.2 million doses to New York, but fewer than half a million people have received a shot, according to the CDC's vaccine tracker. POLITICO's Susannah Luthi, Shannon Young and Victoria Colliver — New York will launch a new Public Health Corps to help accelerate delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine to the state's 20 million residents, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday. The governor unveiled the effort — which will rely on 1,000 people to facilitate a statewide coordinated vaccination operation over a year — as part of the health care priorities included in his 2021 State of the State address. Arguing that vaccinations represent the "most pressing" issue facing New York, the governor said the state is preparing to handle an expected increase in doses under the incoming Biden administration. POLITICO's Shannon Young "AFTER MONTHS of furor from mourning families, the administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued a report in July absolving itself of blame for thousands of COVID-19-related deaths at nursing homes in New York. Although Cuomo portrayed the findings as definitive proof, six months later, his administration is refusing to back up the findings by providing copies of the records that were the basis of the report's conclusions. In response to a written request from the Times Union, the administration last week cited exemptions in the state Freedom of Information Law which the Department of Health contends allows the agency to keep the records secret." Times Union's Chris Bragg GOV. ANDREW CUOMO plans to address the cost of high-speed internet services for New York residents struggling to get connected as the pandemic has made virtual access essential for school, work, civic engagement and health care. Cuomo announced he would address the affordability of broadband during his State of the State speech on Monday. He offered no details on how this would be accomplished — the state has limited regulatory authority over broadband companies. Cuomo also acknowledged that not all residents have access to broadband yet, despite his promise of full coverage by the end of 2018. POLITICO's Marie J. French and Michelle Bocanegra "ANOTHER 6,772 fans will be allowed to attend the Buffalo Bills playoff game this Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday evening. The state Department of Health signed off on the plan to allow for the limited number of fans to attend the upcoming game at Bills Stadium, mirroring the same plan that was in place last Saturday when the Bills defeated the Indianapolis Colts to advance to the NFL's Divisional Round. Tickets to the game for the Ravens sold out earlier Monday. They were contingent on the state's approval, which came around 5:30 p.m. Now, ticketholders — each of whom paid $63 for a COVID-19 test through BioReference Laboratories — will have to travel to Bills Stadium in Orchard Park in the days leading up to the game to submit to a COVID-19 test." USA Today Network's Jon Campbell #UpstateAmerica: A hidden boulder marks the spot where Farmington, Macedon, Perinton and Victor counties meet. It is buried near a manhole along Cline Road. | | | | 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. | | | | |
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | THE NEW YORK STATE Bar Association is launching an inquiry into expelling Rudy Giuliani from its membership over his role in inciting the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last week. The Bar Association said Monday it has received hundreds of complaints about Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney and the former mayor of New York City. Its president, Scott Karson, "has launched an inquiry pursuant to the Association's bylaws to determine whether Mr. Giuliani should be removed from the membership rolls of the Association," the group said in a statement. The Bar Association cites Giuliani's speech to a group of thousands of Trump supporters outside the White House before they headed for the Capitol, where he repeated baseless claims that election fraud is to blame for Trump's loss. POLITICO's Erin Durkin "POLICE COMMISSIONER Dermot Shea told NY1 the NYPD is investigating at least one member who may have participated in last week's riots at the Capitol Building. 'I can tell you that there is one investigation that is active on one member. There is no name yet released because we don't know yet if it's true or not, but I can tell you that anyone committing crimes certainly would have a very short shelf life with the NYPD,' said Shea. Mayor Bill de Blasio shared similar sentiments at his briefing Monday. 'Any New York City employee, any part of the city government who participated in an attack on our democratic institutions, who participated in an insurrection at the Capitol, they will be terminated. Period,' the mayor said." NY1 "THE CITY OF New York said Monday that it was 'reviewing whether legal grounds exist' to terminate its business relationships with President Trump , whose company has contracts to run a carousel, two ice rinks and a golf course in city parks. In a statement, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said that review was spurred by Trump's actions on Wednesday — when, after encouragement from the president, a pro-Trump mob stormed and ransacked the U.S. Capitol. 'The attacks on our Capitol killed a police officer, left four rioters dead, exposed lawmakers to COVID-19 and threatened the constitutional transfer of power. They were a national abomination,' said spokeswoman Laura Feyer. 'We're reviewing whether legal grounds exist in light of these new circumstances to terminate concessions with the Trump Organization,' Feyer said." Washington Post's David A. Fahrenthold and Jonathan O'Connell — REP. TOM REED in NYT opinion: I Want Trump to Face Justice. But the House Shouldn't Impeach Him. | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | THE LEGAL COUNSEL for Rep. Anthony Brindisi's reelection campaign says he anticipates a complete count for the yet-to-be decided congressional race in upstate New York before the end of the month . But elections attorney Marc Elias also told reporters during a call on Monday that there are "at least dozens, if not hundreds" of ballots contested by either Brindisi or his GOP challenger Claudia Tenney still in play, and the campaign prioritizes accuracy over speed. The court is very near finished with its review of the district's eight counties' new counts — ordered after several errors were discovered in the initial vote reporting process. But they remain locked in opposition about whether certain ballots cast with technical errors should be included in the final count. The candidates are, for instance, both set to submit legal briefs by Thursday about a tranche of contested ballots in Oneida County that stemmed from the Department of Motor Vehicle's failure to process more than 2,000 voter registrations by Election Day. Oral arguments are scheduled for Friday. POLITICO's Anna Gronewold | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — The state Board of Regents elected its first African American chancellor. — Some people are still riding tourist sightseeing buses. — A candidate for Staten Island borough president apologized for using the phrase "Heil Hitler" while blasting pandemic closures. — Five female probation officers brought a federal discrimination suit against the city. — Rochester restaurants in the Orange Zone are struggling to survive. — The Rockland County health department ran out of the Covid-19 vaccine. — An MTA report found that alcohol tests for bus employees involved in an accident took too long to be administered. — NYPD officers accused in hefty lawsuits against the city often avoided any discipline after they were settled. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Christiane Amanpour … Danny O'Brien, Fox Corp. EVP and head of government relations … Howard Stern is 67 … Chris Laible, CBS News Asia bureau chief based in Beijing … Taylor Foran … Eliza Hanson … author John Aloysius Farrell is 68 … Doug Thornell, partner at SKDKnickerbocker … Sam Hananel MAKING MOVES — Former Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. and former First Deputy District Attorney Paul J. Noto have joined the law firm Dorf & Nelson LLP in Rye as partners... Marissa Coscia is the new communications director for state Sen. Brian Benjamin's campaign for city comptroller. She was on the press team for Mike Bloomberg's presidential campaign, and worked at Mercury Public Affairs. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | "OWNERS of largely empty hotels and office buildings in Manhattan's central business district amid the coronavirus pandemic could convert their properties into apartments under a proposal announced Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. During his 11th State of the State address, Cuomo said the COVID-19 outbreak has created opportunities for innovation — particularly when it comes to creating more housing at a time when hotel rooms and office buildings are largely vacant due to a halt in tourism and employees working from home to prevent the spread of the killer bug. "The housing problem in our cities has gotten worse. But the crisis of growing vacancies in our commercial property provides an opportunity. We should convert vacant commercial space to supportive and affordable housing and we should do it now," Cuomo said. The legislation would create a five-year period during which owners of office buildings and hotels in midtown Manhattan could convert them for residential use — an idea backed by both the Real Estate Board of New York and the NYC Hotel Association." New York Post's Carl Campanile, Bernadette Hogan and Lois Weiss
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