| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by Opportunities for NY | Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation on Thursday designed to prevent individuals convicted of felony public corruption from holding city office again. If that sounds like the kind of implausible scenario that wouldn't take a law to prevent, you haven't met Hiram Monserrate. The former state senator from Queens was expelled from the Legislature after a domestic violence conviction where he was accused of slashing his girlfriend's face with a broken glass. Then, he did time in federal prison for an entirely separate crime — illegally steering public funds to his campaign when he served on the City Council. None of that stymied Monserrate's ambition. He filed paperwork last month to run for City Council this year. Nor is this his first comeback attempt, or his second. He ran last year for state Assembly, prompting de Blasio to brand him "a vampire who keeps coming back," and before that ran for City Council against Francisco Moya, the incumbent who Monserrate has filed to challenge this year. All of those campaigns were unsuccessful, but he did manage to win a district leader seat in the Queens Democratic Party. Enter the City Council. The body passed a bill barring people convicted of public corruption, bribery, theft of public funds and the like from being elected to city office. "This is one of the things we do to restore trust," de Blasio said as he signed it into law. Still, the measure may not entirely put the matter to rest since Monserrate has said he is mulling legal action to challenge the prohibition. 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 The Brian Lehrer Show. ABOVE THE FOLD: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo started the year as one of the nation's most powerful governors, a household name who was racing toward a potential fourth term in office. Now, two months later, he's embroiled in two major scandals and facing a daily onslaught of questions about deaths in nursing homes, accusations of sexual impropriety and growing speculation that his political career may be in jeopardy. "It appears he's earned himself a primary," said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a frequent critic of the governor and one of the names tossed around as a possible 2022 challenger. New allegations arrived this week from a former aide, Lindsey Boylan, who says Cuomo kissed her without her consent, suggested a game of strip poker while on a business trip and made other inappropriate comments. As the governor scrambled to deal with the fallout from that scandal, one of his top cabinet members was in a standoff Thursday with state lawmakers over the other: The revelation that his administration for months failed to report the deaths of thousands of nursing home patients who had been hospitalized with Covid-19. POLITICO's Anna Gronewold and Erin Durkin — Meanwhile, Cuomo introduced President Joe Biden, "a dear friend," during the National Governors Association's virtual winter meeting Thursday. | | | | A message from Opportunities for NY: New York faces a $15 billion budget deficit and high unemployment. Let's bring RELIEF to our State by awarding THREE downstate gaming licenses through an OPEN and TRANSPARENT competition. All three voter-approved licenses will bring THOUSANDS OF UNION JOBS and billions in revenue to New York State. Learn more at: opportunitiesforny.com | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "NEW YORK CITY'S hospitals were woefully unprepared for last year's nightmare surge in COVID-19 patients due to a lack of planning from the city, the state and the facilities themselves — especially when it came to deciding who lived and who died, according to a new report . When precious resources like ventilators and oxygen cylinders had to be rationed, medical staff sometimes decided on the spot who they could save and who they could not — and there was no uniform plan from the government or administrators on how to proceed, says the report prepared by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. 'Hospitals were overwhelmed' at the height of the COVID-19 surge from April through June of 2020, and their normal standard of care could not be maintained, notes the report, which was based on discussions with 15 city ICU directors and their emergency doctors." New York Post's Carl Campanile and Laura Italiano "ACCUSATIONS THAT Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed a former staffer should get 'a full and independent investigation,' Mayor de Blasio said Thursday — a day after the shocking allegations came to light. 'These allegations are really disturbing. Let's be clear about that — they're really disturbing,' de Blasio said. 'We've gotta take this seriously. When a woman comes forward with this kind of very specific allegation, they have to be taken seriously. We need a full and independent investigation. I want to emphasize the word independent.' De Blasio added that whoever does probe the allegations against Cuomo shouldn't be 'compromised' or 'dominated' by the governor's office. 'This is just unacceptable. This kind of behavior, if it's true, is unacceptable in any public servant, in anybody,' de Blasio said. 'We gotta get the truth about this.'" New York Daily News' Michael Gartland BROOKLYN'S ERIC Adams stared into the camera on a recent weeknight and declared, borough pride be damned, that he is in fact the "Queens candidate" in the upcoming mayor's race. 'We have heard reported over and over again that there is not a Queens candidate running for mayor. That is not true. I am the Queens candidate,' the Brooklyn borough president, who grew up in Queens, told its Democratic county organization at a virtual candidate forum earlier this month. 'This is a borough that is dear to my heart.' Two weeks later Rep. Greg Meeks, who runs the Queens Democratic party, announced the organization's district leaders had not reached consensus around a single candidate and would skip endorsing in the race to replace outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio. His counterparts in Brooklyn and the Bronx are charting a similar path — all three so far declining to get behind any of the contenders four months before the June 22 primary. POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg and Joe Anuta "SINCE THE PEAK of the holiday surge in early January, New York City has seen a steep decline in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus each day, as have the state and the nation. But the drop has not been as dramatic as it has been nationally, and community transmission in the city remains high , with about 3,200 probable and confirmed new cases reported daily. As more contagious variants spread, the city's positive test rate has only dropped slowly, to over 7.1 percent this week from 8 percent two weeks ago, according to city data. 'Everything seems so tenuous and fragile in many ways,' said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, an epidemiologist at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health." New York Times' Sharon Otterman FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia on Friday will unveil her mayoral plan for restarting the city's local economy at a forum hosted by the Association for a Better New York. Called "Reopen to Stay Open," Garcia will put forward a vision aimed at stripping the bureaucracy that she says makes it difficult for small businesses to thrive. The plan includes allowing businesses with fewer than 100 employees to fill out just one permit to get up and running, instead of going through several different agencies — with a guarantee of getting a response within 30 days. It will also include a vision for expanding public spaces for local businesses beyond the current Open Streets program. — Danielle Muoio — Manhattan DA candidate Alvin Bragg will release a plan to combat gun violence, which includes moving to take firearms away from people involved in non-gun criminal cases if they are deemed to pose a risk to themselves or others. It also includes using technology developed by the attorney general's office to identify and prosecute gun traffickers from out of state and their co-conspirators. — Assemblymember Latoya Joyner in the Bronx will endorse attorney Maya Wiley for mayor today. Joyner said she believes Wiley will "provide pathways to economic advancement and fight for NYCHA residents." ON THE TRAIL — Andrew Yang got his fortune read at a Flushing bubble tea shop on Thursday as he continued his tour of small businesses that included a window and door systems manufacturer and a parking garage. "Don't be alone. Find your friends to deal with tough times ahead," read the slip of paper. "That's kind of poignant given that I'm running for mayor of New York City," Yang said. After meeting with the manufacturing company, Yang proposed an initiative that would offer industry-specific incentives for businesses that purchase products from city-based suppliers. He also suggested the city buy heat lamps, air filtration systems and dividers to aid small businesses. | | | | NEW - "THE RECAST" NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are changing. "Influence" is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Don't miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo's health commissioner came under a five-hour virtual grilling on Thursday as lawmakers, including some of Cuomo's fellow Democrats, sought more details about the governor's nursing home policies during the earliest weeks of the coronavirus pandemic last spring. During the often contentious hearing, Health Commissioner Howard Zucker stood by the Cuomo administration's longstanding assertion that asymptomatic spread among nursing home workers — and not the admission of Covid patients in those facilities — led to viral outbreaks and deaths. He accused critics of attempting to "politicize" the issue. Senate Health Committee Chair Gustavo Rivera, a Bronx Democrat and vocal critic of Cuomo, accused the administration of "bobbing and weaving" on questions related to the state's nursing home policies. "Just breathe and say you don't get everything right," he said. POLITICO's Shannon Young "THE STAR-STUDDED TIME'S UP Foundation on Thursday joined the growing chorus that's demanding an official probe into sexual-harassment claims against Gov. Andrew Cuomo — marking an about-face by two of its most famous board members. 'Allegations of inappropriate behavior in any workplace are deeply troubling and should be addressed,' foundation president and CEO Tina Tchen said. 'We call on the Cuomo administration to conduct a full and independent investigation into these claims immediately.'" New York Post's Gabrielle Fonrouge and Bruce Golding — Those familiar with the Cuomo administration's history of internal probes are not OK with that wording. "An administration investigating itself is not an independent investigation," Sexual Harassment Working Group co-founder Erica Vladimer tweeted. "Do better, @TIMESUPNOW." — Some of the state's top women Democratic lawmakers have been careful to weigh in, if at all. — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who led a charge in 2017 calling for Sen. Al Franken to resign following multiple sexual misconduct allegations, told reporters Thursday that she had not read Lindsey Boylan's Medium post, but that all parties have a right to tell their story: "Well, obviously these allegations are serious and deeply concerning and anyone has a right to come forward to be heard and to have allegations be investigated. Governor Cuomo also has a right to be heard and he has come forward and has denied these allegations. But ultimately the decision will be up to the state Legislature." — Anna "NEW JERSEY this week became the latest northeast state to legalize marijuana for adult use, joining Massachusetts at the New York border. Advocates hope this will New York to follow suit after the measure has stalled for years in the state Legislature....But there could be major differences between the two states' laws, skewing what would be competing markets as cross-border sales are inevitable. 'Broadly speaking at a very high level, they'll be quite similar,' said Jennifer Cabrera, an attorney with Vicente Sederberg, a firm that has helped shape marijuana legalization laws and regulations. 'When you look at the details, not all that similar.' New Jersey's law has taken an even more serpentine path than the debate across the river. Voters last year approved of the move through a constitutional referendum, and a series of measures were approved in the Legislature, culminating with a 'clean up' bill approved this week by Gov. Phil Murphy." Spectrum's Nick Reisman #UpstateAmerica: "They keep telling me I'm a cat. I've got 9 lives": A Spencerport man who suffered a heart attack, died and came back to life all after previously surviving lung cancer. | | | |   | | |
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "FORMER PRESIDENT Donald Trump's tax returns and related records have been turned over to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as part of a criminal probe — after he lost a protracted battle to keep them under wraps. 'Our office obtained the records on Monday,' said Danny Frost, a spokesman for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. The documents were received just hours after the Supreme Court denied an emergency request to block the grand jury subpoena for the records, capping off an 18-month fight by Trump's legal team to keep his tax returns secret." New York Post's Rebecca Rosenberg | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Children with disabilities have been turned away from the city's pandemic day care program. — Scott Stringer's rebranding from traditional liberal to progressive favorite is causing him some headaches in the Jewish community. — The city will double staff at the Citi Field vaccination site after hourslong waits. — Andrew Yang reportedly told a group of business leaders he opposes raising taxes on the rich. — Retiring NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan will become a senior adviser to de Blasio. — Mayoral candidate Shaun Donovan proposed broadband internet for all in a plan he rolled out Thursday. — The wreckage of T.W.A. Flight 800 will be destroyed. — An Asian American man was stabbed in Chinatown and is the latest attack on a member of the Asian community. | | | | TUNE IN TO 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 and start listening today. | | | | |
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Ronald Lauder … Alana Newhouse … Peter Scheer ... Arden Farhi … Jonathan Sporn ... Reuters' Nicholas Brown ... Adam Baer MAKING MOVES — Robert Messenger is joining Simon & Schuster's adult trade publishing imprint as a senior editor. He most recently was the executive editor of the Weekly Standard and is also a Wall Street Journal alum. | | | | A message from Opportunities for NY: As New York looks to recover from COVID-19 and the resulting economic crisis, we must deploy a bold solution: expand downstate gaming for all THREE downstate casino licenses. An open and transparent competition for the three licenses will: - Generate 200,000 new jobs, including 70,000 local union jobs
- Bring $1.5 billion in immediate state revenue
- Achieve $900 million in reoccurring revenue for our State.
Voters already approved the THREE licenses in 2013, and the time to act is NOW! Our State needs equitable and sustainable growth for our communities. Awarding the remaining THREE downstate casino licenses will put New York on a pathway forward. We cannot take the easy way out - our State needs fair competition TODAY. To learn more, visit opportunitiesforny.com | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "PUBLIC ADVOCATE Jumaane Williams has withdrawn his nomination of a left-wing activist and tenant advocate to the City Planning Commission. Last month, Williams formally recommended Cea Weaver for the appointment to the agency — but in a Feb. 19 letter to Council Speaker Corey Johnson, he wrote, 'I hereby ask the City Council to withdraw her name for consideration at this time.' A spokesman for Williams told The Post Thursday that it was Weaver's request to have her name withdrawn from the nomination." New York Post's Nolan Hicks and Natalie Musumeci "AS CITY comptroller, Scott Stringer frequently delivered harsh condemnations of Mayor Bill de Blasio's housing policies. He has accused de Blasio of deepening the affordable housing crisis by failing to create sufficient units for very low-income New Yorkers, labeled his rezonings as developer giveaways, and blamed him for mismanaging the public housing system. Now, as one of the top mayoral candidates, Stringer has laid out a detailed 27-point compendium of progressive housing goals that amount to a rebuttal of the former administration's approach." Gothamist's Elizabeth Kim "AN ICON for Big Apple shoppers is making a comeback. Century 21, which filed for bankruptcy and shuttered its 13 stores in September, announced Wednesday that it would be resuming brick and mortar sales in the coming months. Marc Benitez, the store's president, appeared Wednesday at Mayor de Blasio's virtual press briefing to break the news of the bastion of bargains' return. 'This isn't your average comeback story,' he said. 'As we embark on this new chapter, we'll be closely evaluating every aspect of the business — from the locations to the experience known to many as the thrill of the hunt.' Benitez said the plans would include opening stores outside the U.S. for the first time and opening stores in New York." New York Daily News' Michael Gartland
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