| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by New Yorkers for Responsible Gaming | Hey, sports fans — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has decided that it's time to open up arenas and stadiums to spectators, starting with Brooklyn's Barclays Center later this month. The news comes as 136 more New Yorkers died from Covid-19, and 7,100 new cases were reported around the state. Under the plan, venues that normally hold 10,000 people or more will be able to open at 10 percent capacity, if the state Health Department approves — after nearly a year of being shuttered by the pandemic. Barclays has already received the OK to host a Nets game against the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 23, and Madison Square Garden plans to reopen with about 2,000 fans at a Knicks game on the same day. All attendees will have to show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours of the event. Cuomo said he's confident indoor venues can open safely after the Buffalo Bills were allowed to have fans at playoff games, but public health experts speaking to The Associated Press aren't so sure. As some stadiums prepared to welcome back fans, another one — Citi Field — opened its doors as what was supposed to be a mass vaccination site. But with only 200 doses available a day, many eligible appointment seekers were turned away . "I've been waiting here for over two hours in the cold. I have been trying to get an appointment for four weeks, but can't and nobody here is helping us," Maria Fernandez, 77, told the New York Post. The state, which teamed up with the city to open a mass vaccination site at Yankee Stadium and funneled ample doses there, will focus its attention on a different mass vaccination site in Queens. It plans to open two new large sites , one at York College in Jamaica and one at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, as part of a federal push to tackle disparities in the vaccine rollout. Opening the week after next, they should each be able to give out 3,000 shots a day. IT'S THURSDAY and Tin Cup day, when all your favorite mayors will ask the Legislature for more money than the governor proposed in his budget. Jangle, jangle. 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 with no public events scheduled. WHERE'S BILL? Testifying at a state budget hearing. PROGRAMMING NOTE: New York Playbook will not publish on Monday, Feb. 15. After the brief hiatus, we'll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, Feb 16. Please continue to follow POLITICO New York. ABOVE THE FOLD: Andrew Yang kicked off his New York City mayoral campaign with a series of stumbles, gaffes and rough headlines. So far, it seems to be working out great for him. Yang has consistently led the crowded Democratic field in polls and has outpaced his competitors in energy: As they cautiously hosted virtual campaign events, he was barnstorming the city until a Covid-19 diagnosis forced him into quarantine on Feb. 2. Another public poll released Wednesday confirmed his frontrunner status, even before he airs any advertisements. With 28 percent of voters saying they would back him, Yang is well ahead of his nearest rivals, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams at 17 percent and City Comptroller Scott Stringer at 13 percent. And his name recognition — 84 percent among Democratic voters polled — puts him nearly 20 points higher than his nearest competitor. POLITICO's Erin Durkin and Sally Goldenberg | | 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 | | "GOV. CUOMO should lose his emergency powers, Mayor de Blasio said Wednesday, joining growing calls in Albany . 'It's time to go back to the normal way of governing things,' he told the Daily News while on a subway ride to Citi Field. 'We've learned over a year how to address the pandemic. Cities, towns, counties know what they're doing: let us do our job,' he added. A growing number of progressive state lawmakers is pushing to take back the emergency powers they granted Cuomo in March. He used that authority to issue 65 executive orders and suspend more than 250 laws in the first six months, according to state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx)." New York Daily News' Shant Shahrigian "THE MTA's top honcho on Wednesday said he couldn't figure out how to clean the city's subway system without leaving it closed to passengers from 1 to 5 a.m. each night. The overnight closures have been in place since May 6, and City Council members griped during an oversight hearing that it's high time for the system to reopen for early morning riders. But Metropolitan Transportation Authority chairman Pat Foye defended the shutdown, which was ordered by Gov. Cuomo as a way to disinfect trains and remove homeless riders during the pandemic. Foye cited federal health guidelines that recommend transit agencies regularly disinfect surfaces within mass transit to stave the spread of COVID-19. 'The only way to accomplish that is during the 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. closure,' he said." New York Daily News' Clayton Guse — Desolate subway stations may be putting transit workers dangerous situations during the overnight shutdown hours. — Subway stations have high levels of air pollution, a study found. "AT LAST, Raymond J. McGuire was among friends. 'I see my crew from Citi!' he called out to his Zoom gathering, midway through a virtual fund-raiser for his mayoral campaign, its grid of video feeds looking like a chapter meeting of the 1 percent: grand libraries and fire-warmed living rooms, Steve Martin in a smart white button-down, a Tisch, a Seinfeld, a Knick. 'I see my crew from Citi!' Mr. McGuire sounded almost giddy to be in such company. It had been an uneven couple of weeks for his candidacy , driven by an audacious if unproven idea: that the times demand a trailblazing Black businessman with nearly 40 years of experience on Wall Street and none in government, pledging to deploy his prolific contact list in service of his city. While Mr. McGuire, 64, had raised more than $5 million in the three months since announcing his run, propelling him to the race's upper tier, he also often looked the part of a first-time campaigner." New York Times' Matt Flegenheimer "IF ELECTED MAYOR, Scott Stringer promises to build more bike lanes, pedestrianize more of the city, completely reform parking rules, massively reduce the issuance of parking placards to city employees, boost transit (especially buses!) and reduce the ability of community boards to block or delay crucial street safety projects. It's all part of Stringer's three part, 17-point, 26-page plan, 'Our Streets, Our Recovery: Let's Get All New Yorkers Moving,' that the comptroller's campaign released on Wednesday." Streetsblog's Gersh Kuntzman — Mayoral hopeful Shaun Donovan released a criminal justice plan. "NEW YORK ELECTION law is clear: Feb. 14 — Valentine's Day — of each year is the final day for voters to change their party registration before a primary election. But there's no love lost between the city and state boards of election , which are each telling a different story this year. The city board is opening its doors at 32 Broadway this Sunday, Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to accept last-minute party-switching registrations — information it then passes on to the state. The state board, though, advertises the deadline on its website this way: 'An application to change one's party enrollment for any primary election in 2021 must be received by the board of elections no later than February 12, 2021.' Meanwhile, one election lawyer says the de facto deadline for city voters registering online is Feb. 10." The City's Clifford Michel | | | | THE INDISPENSABLE GUIDE TO CONGRESS: Looking for the latest on the Schumer/McConnell dynamic or the increasing tensions in the House? What are the latest whispers coming out of the Speaker's Lobby? Just leave it to Beavers... New author Olivia Beavers delivers the scoop in Huddle, the morning Capitol Hill must-read with assists from POLITICO's deeply sourced Congress team. Subscribe to Huddle today. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "AFTER getting sidelined by the pandemic in 2020, marijuana legalization is once again a high priority in Albany this year. Since New Jersey approved a ballot measure legalizing cannabis for adult use in November, advocates say it makes sense that New York would follow on its heels. But tension between the governor and lawmakers over what legalization should look like could still prove to be a sticking point. Over the past couple of years, sponsors of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act have built up support for the bill in the state legislature, while Governor Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly introduced his own proposal for marijuana legalization in the state budget. This year, advocates and lawmakers who support the MRTA are calling out Cuomo's latest proposal for not going far enough to remove criminal penalties for marijuana-related offenses and address the harms prohibition has caused communities of color." Gothamist's Caroline Lewis "MEMBERS of a New York State Assembly panel voted Wednesday to advance a bill that if passed and signed into law would rename Donald J. Trump State Park in Upstate New York. The state legislature's tourism committee voted 14-7 to advance the bill. Democrats in the state legislature have long pushed to rename the 436-acre park in Putnam County, which has been largely unused since 2015. 'Our parklands should be reflective of New Yorkers that we can be proud of, New Yorkers that have expressed our values,' said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D), who sponsored the bill, Politico reported. 'There are a lot of other New Yorkers who are worthy of the honor of having a park named after themselves.' The state obtained the land in 2006 when Trump donated it after intending to build a golf course on the property but never doing so. When Trump donated the property, he did so on the condition his name be 'prominently displayed at least at each entrance to each property.'" The Hill's Dominick Mastrangelo IT'S PROBABLY FAIR to say that attempting to throw out hundreds of legitimate ballots, blocking thousands of people who registered to vote from actually voting, and holding up the results of a congressional race until February might be cause for an election official's dismissal. And that's what multiple officials are calling for in the aftermath of the messy race between former Rep. Anthony Brindisi and Rep.-elect Claudia Tenney in New York's 22nd Congressional District, which was settled in Tenney's favor several days ago. The officials are asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to remove the commissioners of the Board of Elections in upstate Oneida County. The last time something of that magnitude happened in New York, Franklin Roosevelt was governor.... At a state Board of Elections meeting on Wednesday, it emerged that the future of the Oneida officials came up during an executive session on Monday, when state commissioners decided to give their county counterparts "one week to make a decision regarding their status." If nothing changes by next Monday, Democratic board chair Doug Kellner said the state board will consider asking the governor "to formally remove the commissioners." "The evidence is overwhelming on why the commissioners should be removed," Kellner said. POLITICO's Bill Mahoney "MICHAEL ROZEN, chairman of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, resigned from the position Wednesday and is being replaced as leader of the panel by a former staffer in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office. Cuomo's office confirmed the departure and said that Camille Joseph Varlack had been named by the governor as a new commissioner and chairwoman of the beleaguered ethics panel. 'We thank Mr. Rozen for his service and, as of this afternoon, we have appointed Camille Joseph Varlack, a former assistant district attorney and a lawyer with a long record of public service to take his place as chair,' said Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo's senior advisor. Varlack is a partner and the chief operating officer of the law firm Bradford Edwards & Varlack. She previously worked for more than three years in Cuomo's office as deputy director of state operations, chief risk officer, and also as deputy director for ethics, risk and compliance." Times Union's Chris Bragg "NEW YORK'S top health official provided answers late Wednesday about the state's handling of COVID in nursing homes — six months after lawmakers sought the information. Senate Democrats released a 16-page letter State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker provided in response to a list of questions legislators sent to the Cuomo administration official last summer. "While we appreciate that our letter from August 2020 has finally been answered and, two weeks ago, nursing home data was released, it is unacceptable that it took so long," a trio of top Senate Democrats said in a statement after meeting with health officials. The letter, which includes updated data showing 15,049 residents of elder care facilities died due to the virus, comes in the wake of a report from Attorney General Letitia James that found the state under-counted COVID nursing home deaths by as much as 50%." New York Daily News' Denis Slattery #UpstateAmerica: Not to be outdone by pickle bouquets in Buffalo, a Niagara Falls restaurant is selling sprays of chicken wings for the holiday weekend. | | | |   | | |
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "THE NUMBERS are enormous. Buffalo would get nearly five times as much federal aid as it is budgeted. Erie County would get more than twice as much money as its initial projected budget gap for the year. And New York State would get nearly $13 billion in direct aid – not to mention billions more in other parts of President Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus bill — to fill what Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo says is a $15 billion budget gap. But those federal aid figures might not last very long. Released Wednesday as part of the House effort to fill in the many blanks in Biden's plan, the proposal that would bring Buffalo $324 million and Erie County $180 million is still just that: a proposal. Sources on both sides of Capitol Hill said those state and local aid numbers are likely to shrink once the stimulus plan makes its way to the closely divided U.S. Senate. The bottom line? Buffalo, other municipalities and the state are likely to get generous assists from Washington when the Democratic Congress finishes work on the stimulus effort in the next few weeks, but it is too soon to know exactly how generous." Buffalo News' Jerry Zremski — COUNTERPOINT: The actual bottom line, to repeat: while pandemic revenue losses were real and severe by historical standards, the state doesn't actually need $15 billion to balance its next budget. For example, assuming total federal aid of $6 billion over the next two years, the Citizens Budget Commission today issued an updated version of its proposals for balancing the budget without tax hikes by 'reasonably shifting more capital financing to long-term debt and reducing unproductive economic development and low priority capital spending.'" Empire Center's E.J. McMahon | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "FOR NEARLY five years, since Donald Trump announced his presidential candidacy, the sidewalks and streets around Trump Tower have been blanketed in a maze of NYPD barricades and security theater. On Wednesday, the police department removed the last of the barricades around 56th and 5th Avenue, and New Yorkers are now free to walk past the former president's fortress unimpeded. 'In partnership with the United States Secret Service the decision was made to remove the barriers around Trump Tower,' NYPD Sergeant Edward Riley wrote in an email to Gothamist. 'The NYPD does not discuss security measures.'" Gothamist's Christopher Robbins "IN THE FINAL months of the Trump administration, senior Justice Department officials repeatedly sought to block federal prosecutors in Manhattan from taking a crucial step in their investigation into Rudolph W. Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, delaying a search warrant for some of Mr. Giuliani's electronic records, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The actions by political appointees at the Justice Department in Washington effectively slowed the investigation as it was gaining momentum last year." New York Times' Ben Protess and William K. Rashbaum "THE SHOOTING OF a Mexican man in Gravesend by Immigration and Customs Enforcement sparked protests and political outrage last February. But one year later, as the family battles hefty medical bills, they feel their calls for action fell on deaf ears . 'In the name of my family, I'm here asking for justice for my son,' said Carmen Cruz at a protest held last Saturday, the anniversary of the shooting. 'My son is still recuperating and my partner is still not completely free.' Erick Diaz-Cruz, 26, was sleeping in his mother's home in Gravesend on Feb. 6, 2020 when federal immigration agents knocked on the door. Cruz — who was visiting his mother from Mexico on a valid tourist visa — rushed outside, where plainclothes agents claiming to be New York City police officers were trying to arrest his mother's long-term partner, Gaspar Avendaño-Hernandez." Brooklyn Paper's Rose Adams | | | | TRACK THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION: President Biden's cabinet is getting confirmed, bringing change to agencies and departments across the Executive Branch. From the West Wing to Foggy Bottom, track the first 100 days of the Biden administration with Transition Playbook, our scoop-filled newsletter that chronicles the policies, people, and emerging power centers of the new administration. Subscribe today. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — The number of people held in city jails on technical parole violations is increasing. — A bill being debated in the City Council would ban politicians convicted of public corruption from running for office again. — A long overdue report on child care is coming "very, very soon," the Cuomo administration says. — BUFFALO NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD: 'The adults show up as two judges counter challenges to pandemic curfew' — Nearly a quarter of city students with disabilities have not received the services they're supposed to get this school year. — Eric Garner's mother Gwen Carr is endorsing Ray McGuire for mayor. — A parent rights advocate got her job back after ACS pressured her nonprofit to fire her because she criticized the agency. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: ProPublica EIC Stephen Engelberg … Rick Tyler … Dan Barry … Blackstone's Ilana Ozernoy … Elizabeth Patton … Evan Siegfried … Rob Hendin … Alicia Mundy … Steven V. Roberts … Ashley Morton MORE NY PLAYBOOK: Look for the new New York Playbook PM in your inbox starting Feb. 22. Just like you read our morning Playbook, Playbook PM by Anna Gronewold in Albany and our top-notch political team in the city will bring you the news you need to know from the Capitol and New York City Hall. It will publish at the height of the legislative session and the New York City mayoral race, telling you the latest political news from around the Empire State. | | 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 | | THE HEAD OF Mayor Bill de Blasio's economic development arm, which has morphed into a pandemic response agency over the past year, is stepping down next month. James Patchett will resign his post in early March , following seven years in the upper ranks of the administration working on housing and development deals intended to diversify the city's economy. Before becoming president of the city's Economic Development Corporation in 2017, Patchett worked as chief of staff to Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen, who oversaw the mayor's housing and economic development portfolio during his first term. In an interview, Patchett said he is pursuing private-sector work but would not specify his next move. POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg "REAL ESTATE AND business executives have donated more than $1.47 million to an independent expenditure committee looking to influence some of the dozens of races for seats on the New York City Council this year. The organization, Common Sense NYC, spent more than $221,000 on advertisements and voter outreach in last week's special election for a council seat in Queens, mostly in support of candidate James Gennaro...Common Sense NYC treasurer Jeffrey Leb, a political consultant who has lobbied the council on behalf of nonprofits, health-care companies and charter schools, said he launched the committee because he is concerned about the direction of the city as it tries to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Hudson Yards developer Stephen Ross donated $1 million to the committee, according to city Campaign Finance Board records... While the coming mayoral race has gotten most of the attention in this election cycle, Mr. Leb said he is putting the committee's money only in council races." Wall Street Journal's Katie Honan
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