| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by New Yorkers for Responsible Gaming | New York has hit plenty of hurdles already in its Covid-19 vaccination push, including the nor'easter rolling in today that forced all appointments at state-run sites to be postponed. But newly released data shows one more daunting challenge officials will face: distributing the vaccine not just quickly, but equitably. There's a glaring racial gap in the shots that have been administered so far. In New York City, nearly half of vaccinated residents are white, even though they represent only 32 percent of the city's population. On the other side, Black and Latino residents make up only 11 percent and 15 percent of vaccine recipients, respectively, compared to being 24 and 29 percent of the population. Early statewide data of hospital workers — almost all of whom have been offered the vaccine by now — is also concerning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday. Even though 17 percent of hospital staff are Black, Black hospital workers accounted for just 10 percent of vaccine recipients, which the governor attributed to skepticism of the shot and the process. There are limits to the numbers, including the fact that in New York City many patients did not provide their race or ethnicity. (Also, the population eligible for the vaccine — people over 65, health care staff, certain frontline workers and nursing home residents — does not mirror the city population overall.) But any way you slice the numbers, it is clear that Black and Latino New Yorkers, who have died at the highest rates throughout the pandemic, are trailing their white counterparts in receiving the life-saving jab in the arm. "We know we have a problem," de Blasio said in releasing the long-promised stats on Sunday, declaring the "profound disparity" will be "addressed aggressively." While other cities and states have seen similar racial gaps, other politicians (including several who want his job) are quick to lay the blame at de Blasio's feet. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams called the situation "almost criminal." City Comptroller and mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer says the city should tackle the gaps by limiting vaccinations only to residents. At the moment, about a quarter of slots are going to people who live outside the five boroughs , who are even whiter than the city residents getting shots. "It's a national embarrassment," he said. IT'S MONDAY. 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 MSNBC's Morning Joe, holding a media availability and appearing on NY1's Inside City Hall. ABOVE THE FOLD: "INDOOR DINING will resume with limited capacity in New York City restaurants next month , Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Friday, more than a month after the governor had banned it to combat a second wave of the coronavirus. Starting on Feb. 14, the city's restaurants can seat customers indoors at 25 percent maximum capacity, officials said. The announcement was a source of hope for the restaurant industry, an important driver of the city's economic engine, which has been decimated by virus-induced restrictions that have forced many restaurants and bars to go out of business and caused thousands of workers to lose their jobs … The governor's decision comes at an incredibly precarious phase in the state's battle against the virus, which has killed more than 42,500 people in New York State, the one-time epicenter of the pandemic. While the state's hospitalization and positivity rates have begun to trend downward after a post-holidays spike, more than 150 people have died each day this week and more than 8,350 remain hospitalized, a level not seen since early May." New York Times' Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Jesse McKinley — "New York will allow wedding receptions with up to 150 people as long as all attendees get tested for Covid-19 beforehand, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said [Friday]. The events must be approved by local health departments." | | | | A message from New Yorkers for Responsible Gaming: Throughout this unprecedented health crisis, Resorts World New York City's commitment to their employees, community and New York State has not wavered. Expansion of existing facilities will allow them to continue to build on their track record of creating good-paying union jobs with full-service employer paid health care, while generating critical resources for education in New York State. Learn more about how Resorts World is supporting its employees and investing in New York's future. | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "THE NEW YORK CITY Council announced on Friday that it plans to introduce a comprehensive bill package that would 'reduce the NYPD's footprint in the city and improve police discipline and increase accountability.' Among the 11 proposals: stripping the police commissioner's final authority in disciplinary matters, ending qualified immunity for officers who commit misconduct, and giving the council the power to deny a mayor's choice for commissioner. 'Some of these issues, as I've been researching them, go back generations,' said one of the package's co-sponsors, Brooklyn Councilmember Stephen Levin. 'So the police commissioner's final authority on discipline—that goes back 80 years.'" Gothamist's Christopher Robbins and WNYC's Yasmeen Khan "NEW YORK CITY public schools that lost students after families moved or pulled out because of the Covid-19 pandemic now must prepare to return to the city some funding due to enrollment drops. This academic year, the number of students enrolled in the country's largest school system from grades 3K to 12 is approximately 960,000, down about 43,000, or 4%, from the previous year, according to preliminary city enrollment data. Schools that lost students will have to return a portion of the funding received for each student who left. Jessica Flores remembers seeing the problems brewing in July that will end up costing her school a lot of funding. Within months of the start of the pandemic, droves of families started withdrawing their children from her son's elementary school — Public School 9 Sarah Smith Garnet — with many moving them to private or out-of-town schools, she said. PS9, which is in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, could be required to return at least $292,000 in funding, or $4,000 a student, for the schools' loss of 73 students." Wall Street Journal's Lee Hawkins — The city is preparing to possibly reopen its middle schools , which have been closed along with high schools since November. "AFTER YEARS of dealing with a mayor hostile to business, New York's corporate leaders had hoped that the city's next mayor would be different. Yet several of the leading Democratic candidates have backed positions unpopular to many in the business sector: raising taxes on the wealthy, cutting the police budget, a targeted guaranteed income program. So in January, some 100,000 employees at major corporations across New York City got a message from their bosses: If they wanted a say in who runs the city after Mayor Bill de Blasio leaves office, they had best hop to it. The emails used slightly different language, but the theme was the same: With term-limits law guaranteeing a new mayor next year, the business community should participate in helping New York City, the economic and cultural capital of the country, choose who leads its recovery efforts." New York Times' Dana Rubinstein "NEW YORK CITY mayoral candidate Andrew Yang is making volunteers for his campaign sign confidentiality contracts that threaten stiff legal repercussions for any violators — even though he put his name behind an effort to purge nondisclosure agreements from politics last year, the Daily News has learned. Before running for mayor, Yang was among a half dozen 2020 presidential candidates who made a commitment to 'Lift Our Voices,' an advocacy group that pushes for an end to NDAs in business and politics because they're often used to suppress allegations of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, Yang's mayoral campaign requires volunteers to sign a 'conduct and confidentiality affirmation' before they can get to work." New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael Gartland FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, is endorsing Alvin Bragg for Manhattan district attorney. Bragg, a former federal prosecutor and deputy state attorney general, has represented the Garner family in a suit seeking a judicial inquiry into the Staten Island man's 2014 death by police chokehold. "I know Alvin. I trust him," Carr said. "In my view, he is the most qualified person for the job." | | | | TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODE OF 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 for Season Two, available now. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "THE DEPUTY commissioner for public health at the New York State Health Department resigned in late summer. Soon after, the director of its bureau of communicable disease control also stepped down. So did the medical director for epidemiology. Last month, the state epidemiologist said she, too, would be leaving. The drumbeat of high-level departures in the middle of the pandemic came as morale plunged in the Health Department and senior health officials expressed alarm to one another over being sidelined and treated disrespectfully, according to five people with direct experience inside the department. Their concern had an almost singular focus: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Even as the pandemic continues to rage and New York struggles to vaccinate a large and anxious population, Mr. Cuomo has all but declared war on his own public health bureaucracy. The departures have underscored the extent to which pandemic policy has been set by the governor, who with his aides crafted a vaccination program beset by early delays." New York Times' J. David Goodman, Joseph Goldstein and Jesse McKinley "FACING A LIMITED SUPPLY of Covid-19 vaccine doses and what they say is a disjointed system for securing appointments, some New York residents are planning to travel hundreds of miles across the state to get a shot. Maura Laverty, a 66-year-old nurse from New Rochelle, a suburb of New York City, said she is preparing for a road trip after nabbing an appointment in a snow-covered college town near the Canadian border. She said she spent hours searching for a spot at locally run facilities near her in Westchester County but was unsuccessful. She then turned to a state-run web portal that lets any eligible New York state resident book appointments at 13 mass distribution hubs run by the state government." Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind "A BOMBSHELL REPORT released this week by New York Attorney General Letitia James drew attention for its finding that the state Department of Health had publicly undercounted nursing home COVID-19 deaths by as much as 50 percent. But those familiar with long-term care grew outraged at another conclusion in the report: that staffing levels at nursing homes directly correlated with COVID-19 deaths, and that the long-held industry practice of insufficient staffing had 'simply snapped' under the stress of the pandemic. "The report found that homes that entered the pandemic with low staffing ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the federal agency in charge of nursing home oversight — had more deaths per resident than homes with the highest CMS staffing rates. For-profit facilities were the worst offenders, with over half of all COVID-19 deaths as of Nov. 16 occurring in 280 of the state's 401 for-profit facilities… The report was unsurprising but still validating for those who have been shouting for years about inadequate staffing levels in the state's nursing homes and long-term care facilities. 'We've always known — and not just known intuitively, as residents and families do — but known because there's plenty of research showing that the higher the staffing levels, the better the care,' said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for better nursing home care. 'And conversely, when you have too-low staffing levels residents are at serious risk.'" Times Union's Bethany Bump — "Cuomo sought to deflect criticism Friday about his administration's underreporting of nursing home deaths from COVID-19, suggesting pandemic deaths were a tragedy no matter where they occurred or how they were tallied. The Democrat said the nursing home issue had become a 'political football,' created by the former Trump administration — even though criticism of the Cuomo administration has been harsh and bipartisan. 'I understand the instinct to blame, or to find some relief for the pain that you're feeling. But it is a tragedy,' the governor said, speaking for the first time in response to a report by state Attorney General Letitia James that said the Cuomo administration had underreported the number of deaths of nursing home patients because of the pandemic by as much as 50%. The administration, hours after the James' report was made public, released data showing thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state's official tallies had previously acknowledged." Newsday's Yancey Roy "TWO police body-cam videos were released Sunday morning showing a distraught 9-year-old girl being apprehended , handcuffed and put in the back of a Rochester Police Department patrol car and sprayed with a chemical 'irritant' by an officer after disobeying commands to put her feet in the car. Prior to the city's release of the footage, at a late morning press conference, an emotional Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren expressed her concern for the 'child that was harmed during this incident that happened on Friday.' She went on to say, 'I have a 10-year-old child, so she's a child, she's a baby. This video, as a mother, is not anything you want to see.'" Democrat & Chronicle's Marcia Greenwood, Will Cleveland and Brian Sharp #UpstateAmerica: Is SNL's Pete Davidson attempting to make amends with the city he called "trash"? | | | |   | | |
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "WHEN PRESIDENT Donald Trump was reported to be considering clemency for former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver this month, it touched off a political clash played out behind the scenes in Washington and in New York, according to interviews with Democrats and Republicans familiar with the case. On Jan. 19, the White House had contacted Silver's wife of more than 40 years, Rosa, at their Lower East Side apartment, according to former Democratic Assemb. Harvey Weisenberg of Long Beach and a current Assembly member who asked not to be identified, both of whom are close to Silver. The Trump administration advised Rosa to prepare to pick up her husband at the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in Orange County as soon as the next day, Weisenberg and the Assembly member said. The next morning, on Jan. 20, Silver's clemency bid was scuttled. It left the 76-year-old Democrat and former power broker now fighting prostate cancer with more than 3 years of his sentence yet to serve on convictions of accepting bribes and money laundering." Newsday's Michael Gormley "A NEW YORK judge on Friday increased pressure on former President Donald J. Trump's family business and several associates, ordering them to give state investigators documents in a civil inquiry into whether the company misstated assets to get bank loans and tax benefits. It was the second blow that the judge, Arthur F. Engoron of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, had dealt to Mr. Trump's company in recent weeks. In December, he ordered the company, the Trump Organization, to produce records that its lawyers had tried to shield, including some related to a Westchester County, N.Y., property that is among those being scrutinized by the New York State attorney general, Letitia James. On Friday, Justice Engoron went further, saying that even more documents, as well as communications with a law firm hired by the Trump Organization, had to be handed over to Ms. James's office. In doing so, he rejected the lawyers' claim that the documents at issue were covered by attorney-client privilege." New York Times' Ed Shanahan and William K. Rashbaum | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — In-person school is closed Monday as the city expects a major snow storm. Vaccine appointments are canceled. — Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang opposed ending gifted and talented programs in schools, saying it would cause families to leave the city. — The Staten Island borough president removed his appointee to the city Panel for Education Policy for voting to nix a contract with Pearson to conduct the gifted and talented test. — Old radiation may complicate New York City's plans to build a sea wall along Staten Island's east shore. — A Queens nursing home resident died of Covid-19 after being refused a vaccination because the home would give them only to permanent residents. — Albany County Executive Dan McCoy stands by his decision to continue a ban on high-risk scholastic sports. — The mayor and comptroller of Mount Vernon are at odds over the city's finances. — The Buffalo Marathon is going ahead as scheduled on Memorial Day. And in case you're wondering, no, this isn't a "virtual" event. — Two illegal parties packed with hundreds of attendees in the Bronx and Queens were busted by city sheriffs. | | | | JOIN TUESDAY - THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN ENERGY: President Joe Biden is pushing for an ambitious agenda to tackle the climate crisis amid a gridlocked Washington. Biden's signature plan "Build Back Better" includes a $400B investment in clean energy research, establishing a new agency to focus on climate, among other initiatives. Join POLITICO for a virtual conversation to explore policy proposals and practices to help communities with economies that rely on fossil fuels to navigate the energy transition. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Michael Kives … Jake Siewert, of Goldman Sachs … Fred Barnes … Ali Dukakis ... Jordyn Phelps … Michelle Jamrisko … Natalie Cucchiara … Jaime Berk … Ken Klippenstein … Alana Anyse … Catherine Kim … Matt Moon … Julie Samuels ... … (was Sunday): Katherine Miller … Martha MacCallum … David Plotz turned 51 … Michael Kempner turned 63 … Mike Rabinowitz … Tim Naftali … Brooke Buchanan … Sarah Blackwill … Tricia McLaughlin … Clarissa Ward … Christine Romans … … (was Saturday): Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) turned 41 … Federal Trade Commissioner and CFPB Director nominee Rohit Chopra (h/t Jen Howard) … Chris Jansing … Chris Ariens … Nels Olson ... Maeve Reston … Josh Kram … Marcela Sanchez … Max Taves … Todd Sloves … Sarah Mimms … Steven Portnoy ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Rachel Noerdlinger has been promoted to partner at Mercury, a global public strategy firm. The former de Blasio administration aide was feted Sunday evening by prominent members from politics, journalism and civil rights circles. "I have known Rachel almost a quarter of a century," said Rev. Al Sharpton, a longtime Noerdlinger client who hosted the event. "She has worked at molding and shaping not only National Action Network and me personally, but the civil rights movement in general for the last two decades." The NAACP's Hazel Dukes, nonprofit leader Jennifer Jones Austin, Mercury's Charlie King, rapper Fat Joe, and Gwen Carr, a police reform advocate and mother of Eric Garner, were among the participants on the virtual celebration. Noerdlinger is the first Black woman to be named partner at the organization. — Joe Anuta MAKING MOVES — Freddi Goldstein, Mayor de Blasio's former press secretary, is joining city workers union DC37 as communications director. | | | | A message from New Yorkers for Responsible Gaming: Since opening its doors in 2011, Resorts World New York City has created thousands of good paying union jobs for New Yorkers and generated more than $3 billion for education for New York schools. As the state's largest taxpayer, they're proud of the investments made to revitalize their community and provide meaningful careers to so many.
Last year, when the pandemic struck, their commitment to their employees and the community never wavered. They provided employees with full employer-paid healthcare, supported their neighbors most in need by contributing to different community based organizations, and opened up their facilities for COVID testing.
As the state continues to recover from the worst economic crisis in decades, expansion of existing facilities will allow Resorts World NYC to create thousands of union jobs for New Yorkers, while generating desperately needed revenue for schools and surrounding communities. Learn More. | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "AS NEW YORK CITY's real estate market floundered during the pandemic in 2020, home sales in the Hamptons boomed. It began with a rush for spring rentals. New Yorkers sought beach access and airy quarters months earlier than they had in previous years. Then, as the weather warmed, many of those renters, who were paying exorbitant monthly prices, began to buy. Others joined them, and the buying spree continued through the fall and winter, as the housing supply on the East End of Long Island dwindled and prices climbed. Sales in the Hamptons rose annually at the highest rate in a decade, according to a new report from Douglas Elliman. For the year 2020, the median sale price hit $1,202,500, a 40 percent increase from 2019 and the first time the year-end price broke the million-dollar threshold. The number of sales for the year rose by 37 percent, to 2,186, compared with 1,597 in 2019.'" New York Times' Sydney Franklin "HOUSING ADVOCATES and a top Senate Democrat have a $2.2 billion plan to help struggling tenants and small landlords. Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) and tenant groups are calling on Gov. Cuomo to set aside the hefty sum in the state budget to clear back rent that has built up during the COVID crisis. In a letter being sent to the governor's office, obtained by the Daily News on Sunday, Gianaris argues for the creation of a fund that would allow eligible landlords to be paid for rent arrears and clear the debt of roughly 1.3 million households unable to make months of missed payments." New York Daily News' Denis Slattery
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