| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | As most of New York turned its attention to the siege of the U.S. Capitol, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio did not take the opportunity to resolve their differences over how to get Covid-19 vaccines deployed faster. Instead, their dispute ratcheted up on Thursday, complete with Twitter sniping between aides, an 800-word statement from the state going after the city's competence, and a point-by-point refutation by the city. New York City says it has thousands of Covid-19 vaccination slots going unused because the state prohibits the vaccines from being given to the elderly and frontline workers. But Cuomo is doubling down on his insistence that health care workers must get the shots before he'll let anyone else get in line. De Blasio said he's exploring legal options, though he demurred on a question about whether he would simply administer the shots and dare the governor to stop him. "I'll certainly speak to the Law Department further, because I think what's happening here makes no sense," he said Thursday. "We could be reaching folks right this minute who are really vulnerable." Every eligible employee of the city's public hospital system has now been offered a shot, said president Mitch Katz. "I still have thousands of slots available. I want to put that vaccine in the arms of people who need it," he said. The city wants to open eligibility to people over 75, NYPD officers — who they rolled out a plan to vaccinate only to be ordered to stop — and other frontline workers. Cuomo, who throughout the pandemic has centralized power in his office , has not budged. In a lengthy statement, communications director Peter Ajemian said there are 917,000 health care workers in the city but only 144,000 vaccines have been administered. "We urge New York City and other local governments to get needles in the arms of the healthcare workers to avoid our frontline heroes from getting sick and our hospitals from collapsing due to increasing staff shortages," he said, adding that otherwise, they cannot be trusted to "competently administer" the next phase. Today, Cuomo says he will roll out a plan for how unused vaccine doses will be reallocated from "low-performing" hospitals. Across the state, the story of Cuomo's vaccine communication with local officials has been similar — 30 doses were flushed down the toilet in Albany when they went unused at a nursing home, the Times Union reports — but the governor's office is now promising county officials will have a larger say in the process. 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? Holding a media availability and appearing on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show. | | | | GET THE BIG PRE-INAUGURATION SCOOPS IN TRANSITION PLAYBOOK: Inauguration Day is quickly approaching. Is the Biden administration ready? Transition Playbook brings you inside the transition and newly forming administration, tracking the latest from Biden world and the transition of power. Written for political insiders, this scoop-filled newsletter breaks big news 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 | | SHAUN DONOVAN is the latest mayoral candidate to call for permanently eliminating middle school admissions screens but said he wants to change the Specialized High School Admissions Test instead of scrapping it. Admissions screens, which include high-stakes tests among other metrics, can have an outsize impact on a student's academic career. But they are increasingly seen as among the worst culprits in perpetuating notorious segregation in New York City schools. While less prevalent than middle school screens, the SHSAT has become a symbol of the type of test that has historically helped bar Black and Latino students from the city's eight elite high schools. The de Blasio administration is removing admissions screens at all middle schools for a year and plans to administer the Specialized High School Admissions Test at the end of this month. Donovan said, as mayor, he would end the middle school screens permanently. POLITICO's Madina Touré — Parents are awaiting answers on how admissions to gifted and talented elementary school programs will work. "A MONTH INTO the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, the de Blasio and Cuomo administrations have yet to fully spell out which 'frontline essential workers' are next in line after health care staff and nursing homes get the shots. That's increased anxiety for many New Yorkers hailed as heroes of the pandemic — from doormen and for-hire vehicle drivers to food delivery people and pharmacy clerks — who've risked their lives while others work from home. 'In order for society to continue to function, these essential workers must be kept safe,' said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the 45,000-member Retail, Wholesale & Department Store union that represents, among others, workers at some grocery and pharmacy chains." The City's Claudia Irizarry Aponte, Reuven Blau, Jose Martinez and Greg B. Smith "A CITY COMPTROLLER candidate is pulling a tidy salary from a company led by a Wall Street executive who came under fire for his role in the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, the Daily News has learned. N.Y. State Sen. Brian Benjamin, who's vying to become New York City's top fiscal watchdog in this year's election, joined NextPoint Acquisition Corp's board of directors in July. NextPoint's CEO is Andrew Neuberger, a former Morgan Stanley executive who oversaw loans to subprime mortgage lenders while working at the storied Wall Street firm...According to public records, Benjamin is earning up to $50,000 a year as a NextPoint board member and acquired up to $250,000 in company stock. In addition to those earnings and assets, Benjamin makes $120,000 a year as a state senator." New York Daily News' Michael Gartland "LIKE COLLEAGUES at other nonprofit legal defense groups in New York City and around the country, employees of Queens Defenders are looking to join a union. But not if management can help it. During a two-hours-plus video conference Monday, Queens Defenders co-founder and executive director Lori Zeno attempted to dissuade employees from unionizing , a recording obtained by New York Focus shows. Zeno accused the union of being a 'mob-like group' that uses 'threats,' 'coercion' and 'manipulation' in its organizing efforts. Last month, Queens Defenders employees announced their plan to organize under the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA), an affiliate of the United Auto Workers that represents workers at legal nonprofits." New York Focus' Sam Mellins ICYMI: TIM DOLAN was about to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his business, which runs Broadway-related walking tours, when Covid-19 hit New York City last spring. The company, which offered a roster of tours for theater-goers and maintained a small gift shop in the heart of Times Square, felt like it was on an upswing during the first two months of 2020. Then, over just a few days in March as the public health risks of the coronavirus became apparent, all of it came to a screeching halt: Broadway closed its doors, cancellation requests for tour reservations came pouring in and the area surrounding Dolan's shop became a ghost town overnight. "Nothing in my life had ever prepared me for the feeling of, suddenly every single source of income that you have worked for a decade to build has in a matter of hours dried up, with no end in sight," said Dolan, who built the business from scratch...As the crisis drags on, countless business owners like him, in some of the city's most-important industries, are struggling to survive. POLITICO's Janaki Chadha | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "GOV. CUOMO described the chaos that engulfed Washington on Wednesday as an 'explosion of hate' that was the direct result of the rhetoric and actions of President Trump. The governor said the riotous actions of the president's supporters and the four deaths that resulted from the storming of the Capitol Building will define Trump's legacy." Daily News' Denis Slattery — "Workers on Thursday installed concrete barriers on State Street, one of two narrow avenues adjoining the state Capitol building, sealing it off from vehicle traffic. The barriers are the latest effort to tighten security at the state Capitol building in Albany, a day after a violent protest and rioting at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump. State Street between South Swan Street and Eagle Street are now closed. 'Given recent events in Washington and across the country, State Police has, out of an abundance of caution, taken steps to harden security in and around the State Capitol,' said State Police spokesman Beau Duffy. 'These restrictions are in place until further notice.'" Spectrum's Nick Reisman — A Trump supporter attending a rally outside the Albany Capitol was stabbed multiple times and underwent emergency surgery. "NEW YORK's highest court heard arguments Thursday in a case over whether Michael Bloomberg could be subject to liability in a lawsuit that accuses a former supervisor at his company of raping another employee. The case involved a lawsuit brought by a former Bloomberg L.P. employee who has accused Nicholas Ferris, a former supervisor at the company, of harassment and rape. Ferris could not be reached for a comment Thursday, but he has denied the allegations. Judges on the state's Court of Appeals did not appear in person for the Thursday proceeding, but instead met remotely via video. The lawsuit was filed in the Bronx and listed Bloomberg as a defendant, along with Bloomberg L.P. and Ferris. In 2019, Bloomberg won an appeal to remove himself from the litigation. Under the human rights law for New York City, the billionaire could not be held liable for misconduct, the Appellate Division, First Department said." New York Law Journal's Ryan Tarinelli "SKIERS across the Northeast were shocked this week to learn that the Hunter Mountain resort was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with its owners pointing to COVID-19 among ski patrollers as the reason. But the closure also comes amid what insiders said was an unprecedented spate of retirements and resignations by Hunter's large, longtime corps of volunteer ski patrollers who have grown disillusioned by the resort's new owner, the Colorado-based Vail Resorts, which has cut back on the benefits given to patrollers such as free passes for their families." Times Union's Rick Karlin #UpstateAmerica: Syracuse zookeepers are raising an orphaned patas monkey at home. | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, the soon-to-be Senate majority leader from New York, joined the call to immediately remove President Donald Trump from office after a violent mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Schumer, a Democrat, issued a statement Thursday saying Trump should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment, urging Vice President Mike Pence and Trump's Cabinet members to invoke their never-before-used power to force the president out. Absent that, Schumer said Congress should reconvene to impeach the president before his term runs out Jan. 20. Schumer is part of a growing number of Democratic lawmakers in New York and across the nation pushing for the removal of Trump, who has repeatedly made unfounded claims about the 2020 election being 'stolen' from him." USA Today Network's Jon Campbell — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand shares her firsthand account of the chaos at the Capitol and, in a New York Times op-ed, calls for the rioters and the president to be held responsible. | 
Win McNamee/Getty Images | "NEW YORK DEMOCRATIC Party Chairman Jay Jacobs is calling for the resignation of four Republican NY congress members who backed a bid to block the certification of Joe Biden's electoral win. A day after four people died during an attempt siege on the Capitol in Washington, Jacobs slammed a quartet of New York representatives for perpetuating President Trump's baseless allegations of voter fraud and objecting to electors during an overnight joint congressional session. Jacobs said that Reps. Lee Zeldin, Nicole Malliotakis, Elise Stefanik and Chris Jacobs 'have not only violated their oath of office, they have disgraced the districts and state that they represent.'" New York Daily News' Denis Slattery — "Rep. Elise Stefanik's justifications for her challenges to certain state electors was rife with claims that have been rejected by courts as well as at least one claim concerning the vote in Georgia that even her office is unable or unwilling to back up." — "The Trump rally that led to a storming of the Capitol by rioters had a highly unlikely participant from New York — a recently retired staffer from the Brooklyn DA's Office who until recently served as locally elected Brooklyn Democratic Committee member. Katherine Khatari attended Trump's rally in Washington D.C. that incited the mob and posted multiple Facebook videos while there. None of her videos suggest she was at the Capitol building or participated in any illegal behavior." New York Daily News' Noah Goldberg — "The politically-connected son of a Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge was among the band of Trump-supporting marauders who ransacked the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday. Dressed in fur pelts and a bullet proof vest, Aaron Mostofsky joined an early wave of rioters who swarmed the halls of Congress, forcing lawmakers to evacuate before certifying Joe Biden's election victory." Gothamist's Jake Offenhartz | | | | A NEW YEAR MEANS A NEW HUDDLE IS HERE: Huddle, our daily congressional must-read, has a new author! Olivia Beavers took the reins this week, and she has the latest news and whispers from the Speakers' Lobby. Don't miss out, subscribe to our Huddle newsletter, the essential guide to all things Capitol Hill. Subscribe today. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Authorities in California arrested a woman who tackled a Black teenager after falsely accusing him of stealing her cell phone at a Manhattan hotel. — Homicides and shootings rose dramatically in 2020. — A water main break flooded the Cross Bronx Expressway. — A Brooklyn man has dedicated himself to picking plastic bags out of trees. — A far-right activist who allegedly staged a bomb hoax at the Queens Place Mall was charged with making terroristic threats and other felonies. — The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office reported 262 suspected and confirmed opioid-related deaths in 2020, surpassing totals seen in recent years. — Saratoga County has replaced Administrator Spencer Hellwig with Steven Bulger , the former chairman of the Saratoga County Republican Committee. — Quebec has announced a lockdown and curfew until Feb. 8, and northern New York officials are examining what impact it will have on cross-border commerce. — Albany firm Brown & Weinraub brought on four new hires for its lobbying practice. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Anita Dunn, managing director at SKDKnickerbocker … John Podesta … Heather Podesta … Ross Schneiderman … journalist Elizabeth Holmes … Ted Leonsis is 64 … Casey Stegall, Fox News correspondent in Dallas … David Chavern, president and CEO of the News Media Alliance MAKING MOVES: Alexis Salcedo is the new campaign manager for City Council candidate Sandy Nurse in Brooklyn. She was previously a regional organizing director for the Arizona Democratic Coordinated Campaign and a field organizer for Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign... Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has named Rhonda Binda as deputy borough president, Franck Joseph as chief of staff, and Breeana Mulligan as communications director. Brent Weitzberg has been promoted to deputy chief of staff and Queens Covid czar … The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce has named Brooklyn-bred government and private sector veteran Vladimir Sterlin as its new senior director of policy and government affairs. | | REAL ESTATE | | "CITING 'NEW EVIDENCE' city officials have withdrawn their bid to deny an owner of the legendary Chelsea Hotel clearance to complete renovations — allowing the transformation of the weathered landmark into an upscale hotel and condominium. A few tenants who've lived for years amid construction are questioning whether the evidence is to be trusted while others just want to see the work get done. 'I'm waiting for it to get back to normal,' said resident Mickie Esemplare. 'We've been sitting too long like this.' On Tuesday, an attorney for the city's housing agency wrote a letter to a city administrative judge to pull the case against Ira Drukier, owner of the famed Manhattan hotel on West 23rd Street where iconic artists, writers and musicians once resided." The City's Gabriel Sandoval "NEW YORK restaurants, once bustling spaces that shaped the city's character, are in trouble. One by one, hundreds have shut for good, unable to weather indoor dining bans, an exodus of patrons and now, a frigid winter. And hundreds more may not be able to survive the next few months. The state government wants to curb that trend . On Wednesday, the Empire State Development Corporation announced a new fund designed to support struggling restaurants over the winter period with grants of up to $5,000 per business. The 'Raising The Bar Recovery Fund' will distribute a collective $3 million to eligible businesses across New York State." The Real Deal's Sylvia Varnham O'Regan
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