| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by Opportunities for NY | New York City, where the number of new cases of Covid-19 has remained high despite steep reductions in other parts of the country, has been in a race against time. The city is scrambling to vaccinate its citizens before more contagious variants of the virus have a chance to spark another surge. With 1.5 million shots administered so far, the city's top public health adviser Dr. Jay Varma said this week, "We have an opportunity to outrun this." Newly released data sheds some light on the stakes in that race: The more contagious U.K. variant of the coronavirus accounted for 6.2 percent of cases analyzed by the city's pandemic response lab in the second week of February, compared to 2.7 percent between Jan. 11 to 31. As of last week, 59 city residents have been confirmed to have the U.K. strain of the disease, which appears to spread more easily and may cause more severe symptoms. "This confirms what we suspected. This raises the stakes on everything," said City Council Health Committee Chair Mark Levine. The first case of the South African Covid-19 variant was reported in New York state on Sunday, and a second was found Tuesday, both in Nassau County. The city hasn't encountered that strain yet, but officials say they're watching for it and it may just be a matter of time before it arrives. This all comes as both the vaccination drive and New York's reopening are proceeding apace, with Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center both welcoming back fans for games Tuesday night for the first time in almost a year. 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? In Albany and touring a mass vaccination site at York College in Queens. WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability. ABOVE THE FOLD: "THE POLICE OFFICERS who placed a mesh hood on a Black man last year and pressed his head down until he lost consciousness will not be charged in his death , officials said Tuesday, after a grand jury convened to investigate the case declined to bring an indictment. The killing of the man, Daniel Prude, in Rochester, N.Y., touched off intense protests in that city and others during a national reckoning around racism and brutality in policing. Mr. Prude's death was one of many instances in which Black men died in police custody in recent years. Public records showed that the Rochester Police Department sought to conceal the circumstances — captured in graphic police body camera footage — of Mr. Prude's death. The case led to the dismissal of the city's police chief. 'We sought a different outcome than the one the grand jury handed us today,' said New York's attorney general, Letitia James, who convened the panel to investigate Mr. Prude's death." New York Times' Sarah Maslin Nir | | | | 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 | | LAST YEAR, officials vowed an overhaul to expunge many New Yorkers from the city's DNA database, but the number of genetic profiles held by the city has only grown since . During a City Council hearing last February, the NYPD said the city's database contained DNA from 32,000 people who were suspected of a crime. As of the beginning of this month, the total stands at 33,807, according to data from the city Medical Examiner's office. The NYPD announced plans last February to remove most DNA samples that are more than two years old, if the person the DNA comes from hasn't been convicted of a crime and isn't a suspect in an ongoing investigation. In the year since, 1,042 DNA profiles have been fully removed from the database, but another 2,849 profiles were added, according to an analysis of city data by the Legal Aid Society, resulting in an overall expansion. "They're doing it at a snail's pace on the removal, and they're adding people more quickly. It really neutralizes any sense of reform," said Terri Rosenblatt, supervising attorney of the DNA Unit at Legal Aid. POLITICO's Erin Durkin "A NEW YORK JUDGE dismissed a lawsuit filed against Gov. Cuomo by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and dozens of City Council candidates calling for the elimination of campaign petitioning requirements. State Supreme Court Justice Frank Nervo ruled Tuesday that the filers failed to show that state law requiring in-person signatures to get on the ballot is unconstitutional, even if they have legitimate fears about the spread of COVID... State lawmakers already lowered the number of signatures needed by about 70% in January, meaning mayoral candidates now must gather a minimum of 2,500 and City Council candidates have to collect 270 signatures from registered voters to gain a spot on the ballot. Volunteers and candidates often go door-to-door in order to gather signatures from voters, a process some fear could be particularly risky during the pandemic." New York Daily News' Denis Slattery "A SPECIAL City Council election in Queens could soon trigger the city's first ranked-choice voting count , after none of the nine candidates vying for the seat secured more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday night. The nine candidates for the special election for the 31st City Council District in Queens. According to unofficial Board of Election results, Selvena Brooks-Powers was leading the field with 2,613 votes and 38% of the vote as of 11:26 p.m. Coming in second place was Pesach Osina, who got 2,406 votes and 35% of the vote. Manny Silva came in third place, with 694 votes and 10% of the vote. Brooks-Powers' lead won't be enough to get her campaign across the finish line. In the new system of ranked-choice voting, candidates must secure at least 50% of the vote in order to be declared the winner in a race. If no one gets a majority of those first-choice ballots, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. That process continues until someone gets more than 50% of the vote." NY1's Gloria Pazmino "COVID-19 deaths are on the rise again at the MTA, which reported Tuesday that 17 employees have succumbed to the virus since Jan. 1. The 17 deaths bring the agency's pandemic death toll to at least 148 — and represent a sharp increase from the final six months of 2020, when just six MTA workers died of the virus. Another 125 were killed by the disease during a horrifying two-month stretch between late March and early June. 'We grieve and mourn the loss of every one of our colleagues, as well as all New Yorkers and Americans,' MTA chairman Patrick Foye said at a news conference." New York Daily News' Denis Slattery "THESE YOGIS say it's twisted logic. A group of Big Apple yoga studios and other gyms are suing the city and state to allow them to reopen group fitness classes — arguing that it's unfair that they are still shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic while the same types of classes are allowed in the rest of the state. While gyms in the Big Apple were allowed to reopen last summer at limited capacity, group fitness classes are still not allowed under a city executive order issued last August." New York Post's Priscilla DeGregory | | | | 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 | | "GOV. ANDREW CUOMO's administration got swindled trying to buy millions of dollars of Chinese medical gear amid the coronavirus crisis — and has been forced to hire a law firm in Hong Kong in a bid to recoup the taxpayer money it lost, The Post has learned. The state Department of Health signed a $125,000 contract with the overseas lawyers, Gall Solicitors late last year, according to records posted online by the state Comptroller's Office. The one-year pact was exempted from a 'pre-audit' by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli under pandemic-related emergency powers Cuomo granted himself on March 7 — and which some lawmakers now want to revoke due to the spiraling controversy over New York's nursing home deaths." New York Post's Ben Feuerherd, Bernadette Hogan and Bruce Golding — The hotel industry workers is urging Cuomo to designate its staffers as crucial front-line workers. "A FEDERAL court on Tuesday upheld the 2018 convictions of Dean Skelos, the Long Island state senator who once was New York's most powerful Republican, and his son, Adam, on corruption charges. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an array of claims by the Skeloses, including objections to the trial judge's instructions to the jury. 'We conclude that Dean and Adam Skelos's arguments are without merit,' Circuit Judge John Walker Jr. wrote for the court in a 3-0 decision." Newsday's Yancey Roy "NEW YORK high school students may not need Regents exams to earn a diploma this year, state education officials announced Tuesday . State officials plan to vote next month on a proposal to unlink New York's century-old high school exit exams from graduation requirements. Officials did not immediately say whether this change, if passed, would extend beyond this school year. The decision comes a day after the U.S. Department of Education announced that students must still take standardized tests this school year in order to gauge the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on student learning. However, schools won't be held accountable for test score results, and states will have broad flexibility in how to administer them." Chalkbeat's Reema Amin "NEW YORK'S TAX commissioner warned legislators during a Tuesday budget hearing that reinstating the state's stock-transfer tax could prompt migration of trading activity to other areas. Michael Schmidt, who was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019, said the coronavirus pandemic and federal limits on the deductibility of state and local taxes enacted in 2017 raised the risk that high-income taxpayers could leave New York with additional levies. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, has proposed raising $1.5 billion by increasing taxes on people reporting $5 million or more of income and an additional $394 million by delaying a scheduled decrease in rates for middle-class payers." Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind #UpstateAmerica: Another way to beat your winter blues: coyote hunting. 'This is the best time of year to be doing it.' | | | |   | | |
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "A REPUBLICAN district leader from Queens was arrested for storming the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. FBI agents arrested Philip Grillo, a former candidate in the special election for Queens Council District 24, at his girlfriend's home in Glen Oaks after identifying him by a Knights of Columbus jacket he was wearing inside the Capitol, prosecutors said. Grillo, 46, goes by 'The Republican Messiah' on Facebook and lives in Glen Oaks. He is a district leader in Assembly District 24, which he identifies as 'President Trumps Hometown District' on his Facebook page. He attempted to run as a placeholder candidate in the Feb. 2 special election for an open Central Queens council seat before getting kicked off the ballot." Queens Eagle's David Brand "A RETIRED New York police officer who once worked on the security detail at City Hall was arrested on Tuesday on federal charges that he assaulted a police officer with metal flagpole during the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The former officer, Thomas Webster, was part of a New York Police Department unit that provided security for the mayor, Gracie Mansion and City Hall, according to a law enforcement official. He retired from the force in 2011. Mr. Webster, 54, a former Marine, surrendered to the F.B.I. on Monday and was charged with six counts relating to the attack on the officer and his participation in the violent attempt to stop Congress from certifying the presidential election results." New York Times' Jonah E. Bromwich | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "A BIPARTISAN, community-based political action committee against Congressmember Nicole Malliotakis has quickly gained traction since it went public on Jan. 30, raising more than $20,000 , according to the political operative behind the movement. 'Our PAC is a grassroots PAC: there's no dark money, and it's not connected with any candidate,' said Jonathan Yedin, a political consultant and a former advisor for Bay Ridge Councilmember Justin Brannan. 'Its sole mission is to hold Nicole accountable and hopefully defeat Nicole in the next election.'" Brooklyn Paper's Rose Adams "REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) Tuesday called for congressional staffers to be paid more, saying that diverse 'working class' people can't make enough to make ends meet in Washington D.C. Pointing out that congressional staffers remain mostly white, AOC noted that young people of color and those from working-class families may [not] have the resources to take a relatively low-paying job as a lawmaker's aide. 'Congress doesn't pay enough to retain working-class talent,' she tweeted. 'Many can't afford to work here or need a 2nd job.'" New York Daily News' Dave Goldiner TODAY: At noon ET, Playbook co-authors Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels will host a conversation on POLITICO Live with Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman. | | | | HAPPENING TODAY - A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH REP. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY : Democrats clinched control of the House in November but did not achieve their expected gains, making it trickier to push forward with President Joe Biden's agenda. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair, joins Playbook co-authors Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels to discuss his plans for protecting Democrats' slim majority in 2022, lessons learned from the November campaign cycle, and the continued fallout from the Jan. 6 insurrection. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — City Comptroller Scott Stringer said he would disband ThriveNYC's mental health hotline, setting off a spat with City Hall. — Convicted former City Council Member Ruben Wills is eyeing a political comeback. — The plastic bag ban is still a mess. — A federal judge pledged to fast-track a group of lawsuits against New York City and the NYPD over last summer's police crackdown on Black Lives Matter protesters. — The city will start at-home vaccinations for some seniors when the one-dose Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine arrives. — Rapper Bobby Schmurda was released on parole from a New York prison after more than four years behind bars for a drug gang conviction. — City Comptroller Scott Stringer is looking to loosen strict rules that govern private-equity firms managing the city's pensions. — Transit workers are challenging subway service cuts on the C and F lines. — A lawsuit alleges that a Brooklyn judge cheated a home health worker out of wages who was hired to help her mother. — State Sen. Michael Gianaris is proposing legislation to end citizen's arrest. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Kelly Knight Craft … Paula Zahn is 65 … former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) … Jacqueline Alemany … DHS COS Karen Olick … Sabrina Tavernise … Liza Rebold … Edelman's Henry Krause … JPMorgan Chase's Allison Branca and Karen Persichilli Keogh … Bruce Andrews … Howard Safir ... Benjamin Safdie | | | | 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 | | !!! — "AN ALBANY LANDLORD has been charged with kidnapping after allegedly tying up two of his tenants with zip ties and tape, placing pillowcases over their heads and driving them to a rural cemetery in Columbia County where he dumped them in the snow on Sunday, according to law enforcement sources and police records. One of the victims, a female, was able to undo the ties that she had been bound with and walked to a nearby residence to get help. The landlord, Shawn Douglas, 48, had been frustrated because he had been unable to evict his tenants due to COVID-19 restrictions, law enforcement sources said. The tenants were both sleeping at the time he is accused of tying them up. The male tenant was allegedly punched and kicked by Douglas before being tied up." Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons "DEVELOPERS OF a pair of proposed Crown Heights towers that would overshadow part of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden have revealed two shorter alternatives — with less or even no affordable housing. A newly launched website outlines a 17-story residential development at 960 Franklin Ave. as a possible fallback from plans for a 34-story project currently going through the city land use review process. Mayor Bill de Blasio and local City Council Member Laurie Cumbo, each of whom has key votes on the project, have both voiced their opposition to the towers from Continuum Company, following public uproar and three years of pressure from garden leaders." The City's Gabriel Sandoval "QUEENS WON'T HOUSE an HQ2, but business leaders say the borough is still positioned to become a technology hub — and will seek help from Amazon to get there . Amazon is among the companies represented on a newly revealed Queens Tech Council. The e-commerce giant famously backed away from a deal two years ago to place a new headquarters in Long Island City. The technology council, organized by the borough Chamber of Commerce, is expected to include representatives from Facebook and Google as well." Crain's Ryan Deffenbaugh
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