| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by Uber Driver Stories | Gov. Andrew Cuomo's approval ratings have hit their lowest point ever in a new poll out this morning, as he faces multiple investigations into sexual harassment allegations and accusations his administration concealed Covid-19 nursing home deaths. In the new Siena College Research Institute poll, 52 percent of voters view the governor unfavorably — the first time that measure has ever cracked the 50-percent mark for him. (And there have been plenty of chances — by our Bill Mahoney's count, this is the 94th survey from Siena on Cuomo since he took office a decade ago, and this one is worse than the other 93.) The barrage of claims against Cuomo have clearly gotten through to voters: only 40 percent now view him favorably. While his ratings are down modestly since March, when the scandals were already raging, he's experienced a complete reversal of fortune since a year ago at the height of the pandemic. At that point, his favorable numbers were 77-21. Cuomo's recent loss of support has been most dramatic among Democrats, mainly because Republicans already hated him. In one upside for the governor, a slight majority of voters, 51 percent, say he should not resign, compared to 37 percent who say he should. Those numbers haven't changed much since last month. But even assuming Cuomo sticks it out in office, the underwater approval ratings will only encourage those interested in gunning for his office next year. Among other potential contenders, Attorney General Tish James, whose office is leading an investigation into Cuomo, is viewed favorably by a 39-17 margin. Less well-known are Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who polls at 18-13, and Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican congressman who announced his run for governor this month, who comes in at 18-17. 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 yet. WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability and appearing on NY1's Inside City Hall. | | A message from Uber Driver Stories: Meet Fallon. Delivering with Uber Eats helps her pay for college while allowing her the flexibility to fit her schedule around studies. Fallon chooses Uber because, unlike most other gigs, she can control her hours and spend more time focusing on her future. Watch her story in her own words below. | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | MAYORAL CANDIDATE Andrew Yang said Sunday he "would never endorse any mistreatment of women," after coming under criticism from one of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's accusers for his reaction in a video when asked if he "choke(s) b----es." Charlotte Bennett, a former gubernatorial aide who has accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, wrote in an op-ed in the Daily News that Yang showed "cowardice" when he laughed off the vulgar question from a man who approached him. "New York City should not be led by a person who laughs at jokes that degrade and threaten women, or a man who puts his own momentary comfort and that of a man he's talking to above the safety and respect of half of his constituents," Bennett wrote..."I'm sorry she feels that way," Yang said at a campaign event in Brooklyn on Sunday when asked about Bennett's criticism, adding he had not read the op-ed. "Certainly, I would never endorse any mistreatment of women in any context." POLITICO's Erin Durkin "NEW YORK CITY mayoral candidate Andrew Yang is the top choice among a crucial group of voters — registered Democrats age 50 and older, according to a poll released Sunday. The poll, by Siena College Research Institute and senior-citizens' group AARP, showed that 24% of Democrats in the age group say the former presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur is their first choice in the June 22 Democratic primary. This year's mayoral primary is the first with ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank as many as five candidates. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who are also running for mayor in the Democratic primary, were each the first choice for 13% of Democrats age 50 and up, according to the poll." Wall Street Journal's Katie Honan — Yang also leads in a Spectrum News NY1/Ispos poll and captured the support of 22 percent of likely Democratic voters while Eric Adams and Scott Stringer trailed him by nine and 11 percent. "AS CO-CHAIR of the mayor's School Diversity Advisory Group, Maya Wiley advocated to end the city's Gifted and Talented program, the specialized high-school exam and all admission 'screens' — calling them racially discriminatory. 'There should be no discriminatory admissions policies, period,' Wiley, the mayor's former in-house counsel and a civil-rights activist, told The Post. But as a parent, Wiley took advantage of selective programs , The Post has learned. Now running for mayor, Wiley sent her oldest daughter to Mark Twain Intermediate School for the Gifted and Talented in Brooklyn, a coveted middle school that cherry-picks high-performing students. It's also one of the city's most racially disproportionate — with 51 percent white kids... Other mayoral candidates have put their own children in touted public programs or pricey private schools." New York Post's Susan Edelman "IN ANOTHER MAJOR push toward vaccinating all New Yorkers, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Saturday that city-run sites will now offer vaccines to anyone 50 years and older without an appointment. Starting Saturday, a handful of city-run vaccination centers in each of the five boroughs will inoculate anyone 50 and up. Previously, the city was only offering walk-ins for New Yorkers who were 75 and older." NBC New York — Independent pharmacies have struggled to get doses of the vaccine. "IN THE INTENSIFYING race for mayor of New York City, numerous endorsements have trickled out, but few with the star power of the one jointly given to Raymond J. McGuire last week: Jay-Z, Diddy and Nas. For Mr. McGuire, one of the highest-ranking and longest-serving Black executives on Wall Street, the endorsement from the three entrepreneurial giants of the hip-hop world was meant to reinforce a message : He was not merely a candidate who emerged from, and was favored by, big business; he could be a mayor to heal New York from its financial crisis and its racial inequities. … On Sunday, Representative Gregory W. Meeks, the chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, endorsed Mr. McGuire, in what some of his campaign aides are calling their 'Clyburn moment,' a reference to an endorsement given by Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina to Joseph R. Biden; the endorsement is widely considered to have helped save Mr. Biden's presidential campaign after his poor performances in two early primaries." The New York Times' Jeffrey C. Mays | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TO JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION : Power dynamics are changing in Washington and across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. Our twice-weekly newsletter "The Recast" breaks down how race and identity shape politics and policy in America, and we are recasting how we report on it. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "FLOOR DELIBERATIONS of the State Legislature have gone relatively smoothly, based on what the public can see via the internet or cable television. But the real legislative deliberations — those behind closed doors or, since Covid-19, behind videoconferencing security walls — have been ugly and divisive , most of it in the Assembly Democratic conference. Senate Democrats say their Zoom conferences, like their in-person ones over the decades, can get heated. But they haven't gotten too out of control, with an exception or two, partly because of the Democrats' smaller, 42-member size in the 63-member chamber, and also because Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins extinguishes most rhetorical fires before they turn worse. The same can't be said for the Assembly Democratic conference, a large and diverse contingent of 107 members dominated by New York City lawmakers. That group has seen divisive battles, sharp tempers, middle fingers raised, highly personal attacks, an unprecedented audio leak of one private meeting, bruised egos and red-hot resentment among some members." Buffalo News' Tom Precious "GOV. ANDREW M. CUOMO's office is refusing to make public its correspondence with the U.S. Justice Department related to the administration's handling of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities during the coronavirus pandemic. The correspondence sought by the Times Union was triggered, in part, by an Aug. 26 letter to Cuomo from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division that sought a trove of records from the administration regarding the relatively small number of public nursing homes in New York, including 'all state-issued guidance, directives, advisories, or executive orders regarding admission of persons to public nursing homes ... as well as the dates each such document was in effect.' The Justice Department had sought similar records at that time from Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, noting in a release that those states and New York had 'required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients to their vulnerable populations, often without adequate testing.'" Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons "THE DIRECTOR of New York's nationally recognized Wadsworth Laboratory retired last September amid the COVID pandemic. Now the deputy director is also set to leave after 28 years at the lab, another major loss to the beleaguered state Department of Health. The loss of Jill Taylor and the pending departure of Victoria Derbyshire, who recently signaled her intent to retire from the Albany-based lab, are among at least a dozen top health officials in New York who have either quit, retired or were reassigned in recent months, according to sources and public records... "The top doctors and executives have left amid what has been a bruising year for the agency at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to even longer hours and higher stress particularly among the department's higher ranks. Some have attributed their departure to general fatigue, family-related issues or reaching retirement age. Others have expressed frustration with being sidelined by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his inner circle at key points of the COVID-19 crisis. And for some, it's been a combination of the two." USA Today Network's Joseph Spector and Jon Campbell "NEW YORK CITY is a destination for all types of retailers, but when it comes to cannabis, we have the added cachet of being the metropolis that consumes the most weed on the planet . The state's cannabis market has been valued at $4.6 billion, between demand from residents and tourists over 21. That's projected to grow in the next few years now that marijuana is legal here — although analysts note that above-ground businesses will have to work hard to take over sales from the black market. All that green is enough to make those hoping to get rich (or richer) off marijuana salivate … Several well-funded national and international cannabis companies already have operations in New York state, and big names like the DIY-maven Martha Stewart, the Rockefeller family, and Constellation Brands (the liquor giant that owns Corona and Svedka) will likely have a stake." Gothamist's Caroline Lewis — A public defender explains how the records of those convicted of marijuana crimes will be expunged. — Cannabis industry figures in New York are heading to the Berkshires to see how it's done in Massachusetts. "THE STATE'S Labor Department says it accidentally overpaid some people seeking unemployment insurance a year ago — and now those people are being notified they have to pay it back. 'In April and May of 2020, a small portion of claimants received duplicate payments as NYS DOL worked to get New Yorkers their benefits as quickly as possible,' the department posted on social media late Friday. 'Under federal law, NYS DOL is required to recover any overpaid funds.'" Syracuse.com's Teri Weaver "OVER THE course of 45 hours, the grand jury convened in the case of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died after being detained by the police in Rochester, N.Y., last year, heard from more than 30 witnesses — including police officers, medical experts, a tow-truck driver and Mr. Prude's brother, according to minutes of the proceedings released on Friday . In the end, the records show, the jury voted overwhelmingly not to charge three officers with criminally negligent homicide in Mr. Prude's death. Fifteen jurors voted not to indict the officers; five disagreed. The transcripts provide a rare glimpse inside judicial proceedings that are usually kept secret, and they were made public as national attention is focused on two other cases where officers stand accused of killing Black men in their custody... The minutes unsealed Friday show that the attorney general's office asked the grand jury to consider charges against only three of the seven officers; the names of the officers and all other witnesses and jurors are redacted." The New York Times' Sarah Maslin Nir and Michael Gold #UpstateAmerica: The Adirondack Wine & Food Festival has been postponed for the second straight year. | | | |   | | |
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "SEN CHUCK SCHUMER pressed President Biden on Friday to use executive action to wipe out up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower, centering veterans and service members in his latest push. Flanked by a group of local veterans at Hunter College on the Upper East Side, the Senate majority leader said that too many college graduates — including combat veterans who risked their lives overseas — are shackled with crushing debt that plays an outsized role in their life decisions. 'That debt is just up to people's necks,' Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. 'So we are here to ask the president, with a flick of a pen, to eliminate $50,000 of student debt for every student who has it.'" New York Daily News' Tim Balk "REPUBLICAN LONG ISLAND Rep. Lee Zeldin reported Sunday that he has raised $2.5 million over ten days since announcing his bid for governor . Zeldin jumped into the 2022 gubernatorial race as three-term Democrat incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo grapples with coronavirus nursing home death and sexual harassment scandals. Cuomo intended to run for a fourth term before his popularity plummeted amid multiple state and federal investigations of his actions — including a probe in the state Assembly that could lead to impeachment." New York Post's Carl Campanile | | | | Did you know that POLITICO Pro has coverage and tools at the state level? All the state legislative and regulatory tracking, budget documents, state agency contact information, and everything else you need to stay ahead of state policy movement integrate into our smart and customizable platform. Learn more and become a Pro today. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — What comes next for New York's hospitals once the pandemic ends? Here are a few possibilities. — School districts are now planning proms and graduations under new state guidelines. — An Asian undercover NYPD officer was attacked in a subway station. — City Comptroller candidate David Weprin is asking his rivals to pledge not to run for mayor if they win the post. — The number of subway workers is down by more than 2,600 since 2019. — Preservation efforts in the Adirondacks didn't really move the needle one way or another, some advocates say. — A City Council member called for an investigation into former schools Chancellor Richard Carranza's new job at an education tech company. — Six people were injured when an SUV crashed into a bodega in Harlem. — The NYPD has told cops they can't take unscheduled days off starting Monday in preparation for protests after a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minnesota. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: . NBC's Sheinelle Jones is 43 … James Littlefair ... CNN's Emily Kuhn ... Bloomberg's Felix Gillette … Anya van Wagtendonk … Courtney Sieloff of Asana Creative Strategy … (was Sunday): Kayleigh McEnany turned 33 … Rick Kaplan … John Podhoretz … MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin … Robert Silvers of Paul Hastings … Princeton's Ben Chang … Mark Seidenfeld ... … (was Saturday): CNN's Jim Acosta turned 5-0 … NYT's Julie Hirschfeld Davis … Venable's Jim Tyrrell turned 4-0 … Ieva Augstums … Edelman's Gregory St. Claire … Bloomberg's Shelly Banjo … Manhattan GOP Chair Andrea Catsimatidis … Joshua Tucker … Comedy Central's Erika Soto Lamb … Alex Kellner … Matt Aks of Oliver Wyman … Richard Allen Epstein ... Steve Somers ... Angelo Roefaro (h/ts Jewish Insider) IN MEMORIAM — Vartan Gregorian, credited as the savior of the New York Public Library, died at age 87. MAKING MOVES — Michelle Moreno-Silva is now comms director for the Democratic Women's Caucus. She previously led Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's Hispanic media operation. BOOK CLUB — "Bill Barr, Amy Coney Barrett land book deals," by Daniel Lippman: "Barr … recently sold a book about his time at the Justice Department, according to three people familiar with the deal. This will be Barr's first book and he started writing it within the last two months, according to one of the people. ... "Geoffrey Berman, who tangled with Barr and whom Trump ousted as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, also has sold a book — for what one industry source described as 'a lot of money' — about his time in office. The person described the book as 'part Paul Giamatti and 'Billions,' and then sort of the Trump show in the Southern District.'" | | A message from Uber Driver Stories: As a woman of color, Fallon's number one priority is to better herself through her education. And that means finishing her bachelor's degree in business.
At first, Fallon tried to go down the traditional route of working part-time. But she says it didn't offer the flexible schedule that she needed.
"I like the flexibility of driving with Uber," she says. "I can drive when I want to."
With Uber, Fallon can choose when, where, and how long she wants to drive. If she has an exam that needs her attention, she doesn't have to worry about asking her boss or requesting time off—she can take the time she needs on her terms.
To see more stories like Fallon's, click here.
*Driver earnings may vary depending on location, demand, hours, drivers, and other variables. | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "THE CITY'S PLAN to rezone Gowanus — which has been tied up in a legal battle since January — could move forward as soon as Monday , city officials announced. The Department of City Planning said late Friday that Judge Katherine Levine, who has been overseeing a lawsuit against the plan, had indicated that she could allow it to move forward. A temporary restraining order put on the proposal in January was still in place as of Friday evening. 'Today, New York Supreme Court Justice Levine indicated she could allow the Gowanus Neighborhood Plan to move into public review as soon as Monday, and for that reason, it has been placed on the draft City Planning Commission agenda,' spokesperson Melissa Grace said.' The announcement was swiftly met with dissension from Voice of Gowanus, one of the groups spearheading the lawsuit." Patch's Anna Quinn "IN BROOKLYN, construction is underway for a 7-mile pipeline meant to reinforce the city's natural gas system. Environmental activists have waged countless protests against the project run by National Grid—gaining political allies, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, who announced opposition in December. Groups fighting the plan want to end all construction of fossil fuel infrastructure to reduce carbon and other emissions that lead to climate change and pollute the local air." Gothamist's Sydney Pereira
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