| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold with Jonathan Custodio | Presented by Uber Driver Stories | Today's the day: All New Yorkers age 16 and older can now get a Covid-19 vaccine. Embracing eligibility for all marks a major step in New York's fight against the pandemic, even as coronavirus infections remain high. To date, one in three New Yorkers statewide have received at least one dose of a vaccine, for a total of 10,480,155 million jabs. The state lags, however, compared to other states on the share of senior citizens who have been inoculated. In New York City, 4,462,022 million shots have been administered, and 36 percent of adults have at least their first dose. The city aims to fully vaccinate 5 million New Yorkers by June, which looks well within reach. As much as many would like to get on a glide path to a summer of revelry and then post-pandemic life, it won't be that simple. First, the newly eligible hordes will need to be able to get vaccine appointments, often a tough task in the first hours and days after a big new group joins the queue. Then there's the matter of convincing many New Yorkers who have so far opted against the vaccine to come around. So far, the substantial progress on vaccines has not put much of a dent in New York's infection numbers, which are among the highest in the nation. The spread of more infectious variants has essentially canceled out improvements driven by vaccination, leaving plenty of people still at risk. On Monday, the statewide infection rate and the number of people hospitalized both ticked up. The city's positive test rate stands at 6.55 percent, a level that has stagnated for weeks. And there's a new spike happening in Western New York. Still, reopenings continue to ramp up: Last night, an 11 p.m. curfew lifted for casinos, movie theaters, bowling alleys, billiard halls and gyms, following the reopening of theaters and music and comedy venues on Friday. (An 11 p.m. curfew for bars and restaurants remains in place.) Coney Island will get its turn on Friday, with a grand reopening after a year and a half of shuttered rides. IT'S TUESDAY. 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. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Stop worrying about the Assembly and worry about your own house." — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to Sen. Gustavo Rivera on Twitter, as budget talks drag on ABOVE THE FOLD: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's once iron grip on Albany is slipping as he tries to fight off calls for his resignation and contend with multiple investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct. The state budget is five days late and counting — an Albany tradition of tardiness that Cuomo, a three-term Democrat, had long boasted of ending. And as details of the roughly $200 billion spending plan begin to emerge this week, the expanded influence of legislative leaders and rank-and-file progressives is hard to miss... Nearly a month after he vowed to not let his then-burgeoning sexual harassment scandal deter him from doing his job, Cuomo is now spending his days trying to reframe the now-tarnished narrative of his tenure as he faces the single greatest threat to his decades-long political career. He appears to be putting political survival ahead of his own policy priorities. POLITICO's Anna Gronewold | | A message from Uber Driver Stories: Meet Olivia. Because of her multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia, Olivia has trouble standing for long periods of time. A traditional 9-to-5 job just won't work for her. Driving with Uber gives Olivia the flexibility to decide when to work, when to spend time with her family, and when to focus on rest. Watch her story in her own words below . | | |
|  | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "A FINAL SET of spending and tax bills failed to get approved Monday at the state Capitol, as talks continued over a plan to legalize mobile sports gambling and an effort to drive more than $2 billion to migrants in the country illegally and former prisoners who did not qualify for Covid-19 relief programs over the past year. The final pieces of the budget, which was due by March 31, are still under negotiation, but officials are banking on legalization of mobile sports betting to be in it to help finance massive spending hike desires. Lawmakers in the Democratic-run houses huddled for another day and night in private party conferences. Meanwhile, their fiscal staffs negotiated with Cuomo administration budget advisers in search of final deals that would open the backlog of budget bills to go before the Senate and Assembly for final votes. The budget was due March 31 and thousands of state workers are likely to see late paychecks this week. In a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared a 'conceptual agreement' had been reached with legislative leaders. However, a number of fiscal and policy areas are still open and no one could predict when the Legislature — originally due to be on vacation this week — will adopt a budget that Cuomo will sign into law." Buffalo News Tom Precious — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly seeking broad — and critics warn possibly unchecked — authority to spend more than an estimated $1.6 billion in federal Covid-19 relief funding, as he and state lawmakers negotiate a final Fiscal Year 2022 budget package. Budget language, which sources said was being requested by the governor's office, would allow the state health commissioner — in consultation with legislative leaders and subject to the budget director's approval — to spend American Rescue Plan Act funds earmarked for home- and community-based services "notwithstanding the State Administrative Procedures Act or any inconsistent provision of law to the contrary." Critics argued that the proposal would essentially exempt the federal spending, which must occur by March 31, 2022, from all state laws — including those governing ethics and public disclosure requirements — and that its "consultation" requirement falls short of legislative approval. Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) said he has "major concerns" about the language and its implications." POLITICO's Shannon Young — The budget is set to include more staffing requirements for nursing homes. Expanded funding for pre-K programs is also set to be included. — "Monitors could be installed by the state in localities that have yet to approve a state-mandated plan to improve relations between members of law enforcement and the communities they serve, as required by an order last year from Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The plan, which is included in this year's state budget, would allow the state to appoint those monitors, but require localities to foot the bill for their work. 'Such monitor shall be appointed by the attorney general, in consultation with the governor, at the expense of the police agency or responsible government,' the legislation says. At the same time, the state would have the option to withhold funding from those local governments until they've approved a police reform plan. Up to half of a locality's funding from the state could be withheld, according to the deal." New York Now's Dan Clark "THE STATE Health Department doctor who reportedly administered and helped fast-track coronavirus tests to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's CNN anchor brother, Chris, at his Hamptons home, as well as to other relatives of the embattled New York leader, is employed by a nonprofit run by the governor's health commissioner , The Post has learned. Dr. Eleanor Adams administered COVID-19 tests to Cuomo's relatives — including younger brother Chris — and also co-authored a study that Cuomo aides later altered to cover up the total number of nursing home deaths from the disease, according to recent reports. Adams' online resume says she's worked for the Department of Health since 2010 as a public health physician and special adviser to Commissioner Howard Zucker — who is also under fire, and who is paid more than $73,000 a year for just two hours of work each week at the nonprofit — but she's never been on the state's payroll, records show. Instead, the DOH said her unspecified salary is paid by Health Research Inc., which received nearly $760 million in federal and state funding during the fiscal year that ended in March 2019, according to its most recent IRS filing." New York Post's Bernadette Hogan and Bruce Golding FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Legal Aid Society is threatening litigation if the state does not allow inmates accused of parole violations to use video conferencing for their hearings. In a letter to the state Parole Board and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, they say that their clients locked up at local jails have had parole violation hearings by telephone conference only, with no video. "A hearing with no video component, during a crucial stage of the parole violation process, presents a serious, ongoing and long-term abridgment of our clients' due process rights," wrote attorneys David Loftis and Lorraine McEvilley, saying the accused are unable to see witnesses or evidence against them. "Due process demands that parolees receive a fair hearing at every stage of the parole revocation process." #UpstateAmerica: Buffalo had a short Dyngus Day afterall. | | | | JOIN AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are shifting in Washington and across the country, and 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 twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear from important new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | |
| | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO will change a rule that has, for months, created a paradox in New York City's school reopening plan: Classrooms that had been reopened to students often closed again because school buildings had to shut temporarily whenever two unrelated virus cases were detected. The mayor announced Monday that he would alter the rule, but he did not explain how. He said the new rules will be outlined in the coming days, but did not commit to making changes this week. The closure rule has been extremely frustrating for many parents, who have said that every day brings uncertainty about whether their children will be able to attend school the following morning. Many schools have closed multiple times and sometimes have been open for just a few days before the next closure." The New York Times' Eliza Shapiro MAYORAL CANDIDATE Ray McGuire will take a break from the campaign trail Tuesday to attend the trial of Derek Chauvin , the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing George Floyd. McGuire will join Rev. Al Sharpton, former governor and current lobbyist David Paterson and Gwen Carr — the mother of Eric Garner, who was killed in a police chokehold in 2014 — to support Floyd's family and underscore his own commitment to police reform. "I am going to Minneapolis on behalf of all New Yorkers to express our support for George and his family, and to experience the American judicial system and how the system deals with incontrovertible evidence of murder," McGuire, a political neophyte and former Citigroup executive, said in a statement. "This was nine minutes and 29 seconds of cold-blooded murder." The one-day trip comes on the heels of McGuire joining more than 70 Black business leaders across the city in signing an open letter to pressure executives at major corporations to denounce restrictive voting legislation in Georgia. POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg TWO LEADING mayoral contenders, Andrew Yang and Eric Adams, failed to properly disclose income on recent tax returns and have said they will amend their filings to reflect the additional earnings. Andrew Yang never reported nearly $14,500 he paid himself in 2019 from his presidential campaign account and, over the course of three years, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams left off any money he received from renting out part of the house he occupies, POLITICO found through reviewing the candidates' returns. The revelations come as the two compete in an eight-way Democratic primary to succeed Mayor Bill de Blasio next year. The winner will have to manage the city's finances, balancing a projected $92 billion budget as residents and businesses pull themselves out of a fiscal slump. When asked to explain the omissions, both candidates promised to update their tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service. POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg and Joe Anuta "IN A MOVE that clearly framed him as New York City's leading Asian-American politician, mayoral contender Andrew Yang joined more than a dozen other Asian candidates Monday to once again speak out against the recent bias attacks that have shocked the city. Yang and 13 Asian-American City Council candidates decried anti-Asian violence at the Canal St. subway station and rode the N train together to Times Square to urge New Yorkers to step up if they see someone being harassed or attacked. 'We all need to take care of each other,' Yang said. 'If you are on the street or on the subway and you see something amiss, take it upon yourself to act." But Yang was not in agreement with all of his fellow candidates during their train jaunt Monday. Yang noted that "the police are an important part of the solution,' but Julie Won, a candidate for the Queens Council seat now occupied by Jimmy Van Bramer, said the solution is 'not going to be more policing.'" New York Daily News' Tim Balk and Michael Gartland — "Mayoral candidate and City Comptroller Scott Stringer is proposing the city make day camps and other recreational activities free this summer through federal stimulus money that's expected to flow here in the coming weeks." — Stringer is also proposing giving packs of freebies — MetroCard vouchers, restaurant gift cards and free museum or theater admissions — to New Yorkers who get vaccinated for Covid-19. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Alvin Bragg's campaign for Manhattan district attorney won the endorsement of Peter Neufeld, co-founder of the Innocence Project, which works to overturn wrongful convictions. "I have spent 30 years fighting to exonerate the wrongly convicted and secure reforms to prevent future wrongful convictions. Although many factors contribute to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the innocent, none is more pernicious than unconscious racial bias and explicit racism," Neufeld said. "Alvin Bragg personally understands the narrative of wrongful conviction." | | | |   | | |
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "LEGISLATION penned by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, would create a medical monitoring database designed to aid those poisoned by toxic chemicals - from firefighters to residents of Hoosick Falls sickened by a contaminated water supply. Gillibrand held a roundtable discussion in Hoosick Falls on Monday to discuss the proposal. The lawmaker's proposed PFAS Accountability Act would provide legal pathways for courts to award medical monitoring for victims of "significant" exposure of chemicals that seep into drinking water supplies. Those eligible to join the registry include those with pending litigation related to PFAS exposure, communities near military bases and airports, firefighters, workers who handle the chemicals, and others. Hundreds of residents in the village of Hoosick Falls lived for years with dangerous levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from a contaminated municipal water supply, which was located near a manufacturing plant blamed for the pollution." Times Union's Pete DeMola | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Harvey Weinstein is asking for a new trial, blaming a "cavalier" judge for his rape conviction. — A lawsuit asserts sweeping change is necessary to reform what it describes as the racist, predatory, brutal culture and actions of the Rochester Police Department. — An all-female slate of candidates for positions in the town of Coeymans is looking to clean house and bring more transparency to local government. — State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is urging transportation officials to adopt new protocols recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board in a critical report on the causes of the 2018 limousine crash in Schoharie that killed 20 people. | | | | 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. | | | | |
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: MPAA's Charles Rivkin is 59 … HuffPost's Richard Kim … WSJ's Keach Hagey … NYT's Glenn Thrush … Scott Reed … Ron Brownstein is 63 … Joyce Meyer … CNN's Sunlen Serfaty … Business Roundtable's Rayna Farrell … Lucy Westcott MEDIAWATCH — Jim Dao will be the new Metro editor of the New York Times. — "Frank Bruni Stepping Down as Columnist; Named Endowed Chair at Duke University" — NYT: "He will no longer be a columnist but will continue to write his newsletter and will remain a contributing Opinion writer." — PER POLITICO PLAYBOOK: "CNN is adding Gabby Orr to cover Republican politics and Katie Bo Williams as an intelligence and national security reporter. Orr is currently a national political correspondent at POLITICO, and Williams most recently was senior national security correspondent at Defense One. Isabel Rosales is also joining CNN Newsource as a D.C. correspondent. She previously was at WFTS in Tampa." | | A message from Uber Driver Stories: When Olivia was diagnosed with MS in 2017, it became clear to her that having a regular job would no longer be possible.
"I drive with Uber because I love to drive," she says. "It just puts the MS far out of my head. There's no way I could work a regular 9-5."
With Uber, Olivia can choose when, where, and how long she wants to drive. This flexibility lets Olivia be there for her daughter and for her own health needs.
If she's not feeling well, or her daughter needs her, she doesn't have to worry about asking her boss or requesting time off—she can take the time she needs to focus on herself and her family.
To see more stories like Olivia's, click here.
*Driver earnings may vary depending on location, demand, hours, drivers, and other variables. | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "ALTHOUGH HOUSING and zoning have been big topics in New York's mayoral race, one little-known policy proposal from Mayor Bill de Blasio may create a challenging legacy for his replacement: the citywide hotel special permit. The creation of the special permit would effectively ban the construction of hotels across the five boroughs unless each proposal undergoes a lengthy public land use review. The policy is widely viewed as a political favor from de Blasio to the powerful New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council, a union that was one of the biggest donors to his mayoral and presidential campaigns...Many planners and real estate observers also believe that the proposal could slow the recovery of New York's hotel industry, which has seen room rates and occupancy levels crater with tourism at record lows during the pandemic." Commercial Observer's Rebecca Baird-Remba "NEW YORK STATE legislators are near finalizing a program to disburse more than $2 billion in federal rent relief funds with one year of protections against rent hikes and certain evictions as a condition for taking the money, according to legislators familiar with the negotiations. Likely called the Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, or CERAP, it will include $2.35 billion set aside in two federal stimulus bills, signed in December and March. State legislators are also considering including $100 million in state funds in the program for tenants and landlords who do not meet federal qualifications for relief." Law 360's Emma Whitford
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