| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Téa Kvetenadze | Presented by Planned Parenthood Federation of America | The Trump Organization has been hit with criminal charges in what prosecutors call a 15-year tax fraud scheme. In court on Thursday, the Manhattan district attorney's office presented a 15-count felony indictment against the company and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with charges including grand larceny, tax fraud, and falsifying business records. "This was a sweeping and audacious illegal payment scheme," said Carey Dunne, general counsel to Manhattan DA Cy Vance. What the alleged scheme boils down to is that Weisselberg and other executives got perks, like a rent-free apartment, private school tuition and a Mercedes Benz, and the benefits that were kept off the books so they wouldn't have to pay taxes on them. The lawyers for Team Trump argue that this is all a technicality, never charged as a crime — except when the business in question is owned by a controversial former president. The charges are the culmination of a two-year probe by the Manhattan DA's office, joined more recently by Attorney General Tish James. And they're not done yet. Could Trump himself still be in the crosshairs? Maybe. Legal observers view the charges against Weisselberg as a way to pressure him to cooperate with the broader investigation, which he hasn't so far. Demonstrating the high stakes of the case, James and Vance showed up together to watch Thursday's arraignment in person. James made clear there's more to come: "This investigation will continue, and we will follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead." IT'S FRIDAY. Enjoy the long weekend, if you can. 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? Appearing on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show and speaking at a Cure Violence event. PROGRAMMING NOTE: New York Playbook will not publish on Monday, July 5. We'll be back on our normal schedule on Tuesday, July 6. Please continue to follow POLITICO New York. | | A message from Planned Parenthood Federation of America: It's more urgent than ever to reclaim what's rightfully ours: access to quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for all. Learn more about how you can take action today. | | | |  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "As Primary Comes Down to Absentee Ballots, Here's Where They're Coming From," by The City's Ann Choi, Josefa Velasquez, and Samantha Maldonado : "Showing up late has never been more fashionable. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams held a tenuous lead of about 15,000 votes over former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia after preliminary ranked-choice tabulations of in-person ballots by the city Board of Election Wednesday. And Garcia bested third-place finisher Maya Wiley by only 347 votes — meaning the fate of the Democratic primary for New York City mayor may rest on 125,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted. The latest BOE results, analyzed by THE CITY, suggest that Garcia and Wiley, another former de Blasio administration official, stand to benefit greatly from the mountain of mail-in ballots. Meanwhile, in an equally competitive city comptroller race, current second-place finisher Corey Johnson could also get a significant boost from the late arrivals." — "With Preliminary Tally Showing Her A Close Third, Maya Wiley Weighs Her Legal Options," by Gothamist's Elizabeth Kim: "Standing in third place by a razor-edge margin after the latest preliminary ranked-choice counting of votes, Maya Wiley on Thursday reiterated that she believed she still in contention to win the Democratic primary, but she added that her campaign had not yet decided whether to file a court petition that would preserve her right to challenge the final election results. Speaking to reporters at City Hall Park, Wiley spoke of her candidacy as outperforming expectations. She called the race an 'awe-inspiring, joyous, sad, challenging process.'" — Or they could settle it through a hotdog eating contest. "NYC Schools Left Thousands Of Lead-Contaminated Water Spouts Unfixed For Months, Sometimes Years ," by Gothamist's Caroline Lewis, Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky, and WNYC's Christopher Werth : "Thousands of water fountains, faucets and water bottle refilling stations in New York City schools sat out of commission for months while they awaited additional safety testing or repairs to remove lead. That's according to a new report from the city Comptroller's Office. The audit found more than 5,700 water fixtures had lead levels that violated environmental regulations in 2018 and 2019. Of those, only 537 — less than 10% — were fixed and ready for follow-up testing within a month of being flagged. Once they were fixed, close to 30% of the water sources didn't receive an additional test until after the two-week deadline laid out by the Department of Education (DOE), according to the report." "A Covid Epicenter Hustles Back to Life: 'What You See, It's Survival,'" by The New York Times' Annie Correal: "Every day along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, people stream off the elevated subway into a swarm of activity. Vendors ring bells and shout in Spanish — 'Masks! Water! Shaved ice!'— as smoke rises from grilling meat and cumbia music competes with the rumble of the train. A vibrant energy seems to have returned to the cluster of neighborhoods in north central Queens that became the first epicenter of the coronavirus in the country. A year ago, thousands had fallen ill, and hundreds had died. But beneath the bustle lies desperation. The vendors, whose broad array of street food reflects the area's diversity, often have lost steady jobs and do not know how else to make money. Residents and many business owners have fallen far behind on rent, protected only by a state moratorium on evictions that is set to expire at the end of the summer. Food pantry lines remain long." "Finally" — "Manhattan Real Estate Finally Bounces Back to Normal," by The New York Times' C. J. Hughes: "As vaccination levels rise and businesses reopen, residential real estate has finally bounced back to where it was before Covid devastated New York. In Manhattan this spring, the number of apartments that sold was more than double what it was a year ago, when the city was locked down in the early days of the pandemic, according to a half dozen market reports released Thursday. Though in many ways the market had no where to go but up — apartment showings were restricted for most of last spring — the surge in closed deals is even strong by historical standards. Not since 2015, a time of a major boom, has there been a three-month period with comparable activity, the reports show. There was more of a mixed picture in terms of prices, with co-ops and condos trading for an average of $1.9 million and a median of $1.1 million, up slightly from last spring." | | | | JOIN TODAY FOR A PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH ANITA DUNN: Anita Dunn, a senior White House adviser to President Biden and one of the most influential women in Washington, will join Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza to discuss the administration's legislative priorities, including getting the massive infrastructure plan through Congress, the latest on efforts to get 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated against Covid, and preparations for the White House's first big public event on Independence Day. Don't miss this Playbook Live event, REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "New York inmates offered food, conjugal visits, more to get COVID vaccine," by New York Post's Bernadette Hogan and Bruce Golding: "It's Hot Vax Summer — for jailbirds. State prison officials are so desperate to get inmates vaccinated against COVID-19 that they're dangling care packages, barbecue parties and even conjugal visits, according to a memo issued this week to the nearly 34,000 jailbirds. A mere 45 percent of New York's incarcerated felons have been inoculated, compared to more than 70 percent of the law-abiding population, Acting Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Anthony Annucci wrote. Meanwhile, 'many other state prison populations have much higher vaccination rates,' Annucci lamented. 'To encourage you to do your part in this fight, the Department will implement an incentive program,' he wrote Wednesday. The plan includes randomly gifting five fully vaccinated inmates in each of the state's 50 prisons care packages filled with 'the most popular food items sold at our assigned facility's commissary, not to exceed a $75 value.'" "Want to overhaul the NYC Board of Elections? That could take years.," by NY1's Zack Fink: "While this week's vote counting snafu at the New York City Board of Elections has been attributed to unintentional human error, this may have been the last straw for the scandal-plagued agency. There has been talk of reforming the troubled board for years, but nothing has passed in Albany to actually change it, even though there is already a bill to do exactly that. 'The bill sets up qualification requirements for the executive directors of the city Board of elections,' Democratic Queens Assemblywoman Nily Rozic said. 'It also increases reporting and accountability measures.' The structure of the board is considered by many to be outdated. It consists of ten commissioners, two from each borough, appointed by Democratic and Republican Party bosses. Critics say it's long been considered a patronage pit, which party leaders control." "As the fall campaign begins, India Walton confronts questions over her past," by Buffalo News' Maki Becker: "The night before Quentin Suttles was sentenced to four years in prison on a gun possession charge, a party was held to send him off. Suttles' name was one of those evoked amid Black Lives Matter protests in Buffalo last year after video circulated on social media of him being punched by a Buffalo police officer during an arrest while he was out on the gun charge. But it wasn't Suttles who got all the attention at his party Sunday night. Some of it went to his cousin India Walton. Walton five days earlier had stunned Buffalo's political establishment and became a national figure when she defeated four-time incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic primary. "Walton said she stopped by the party to show her support for a family member facing a difficult situation. 'My reputation in this community is one of helping and of care, OK? And I wanted to stop by to let his girlfriend know that she has support in the community and I wanted him to keep his head up and make the best use of the time that he has to sit, get some skills, stay out of trouble, and be prepared to come home and be great and take care of his family and his children,' Walton told The Buffalo News. Walton said she would have gone to the party regardless of what happened in the primary. 'These are people that I grew up with and my responsibility first is to my community, and that is where politics ends with me,' she said." "No final vote on NY bill that would allow adults to sue for long-ago sex abuse," Syracuse.com's Teri Weaver: "State lawmakers in the Assembly left Albany this month without voting on legislation that would have allowed adults a one-year window to sue over past sex abuse that happened years or decades ago. State senators unanimously passed the Adult Survivors Act in June. But the legislation never got out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, much less to the floor for a full vote. The bill's main Assembly sponsor, Linda Rosenthal, D-Syracuse, said she's unclear why the bill never gained more support from her colleagues this year. She said there was no push from powerful institutions against the proposal. 'It's still murky,' she said. 'No matter what the reason was, it just pushes me forward for the next time we all meet.'" #UpstateAmerica: Those used to regular border crossings are ready to get back into Canada for "summer homes, cold brews and family." | | | |   | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Nursing homes are confused about which pandemic health and safety protocols they should keep following and why the state Health Department is directing them to follow some expired guidance. — It's rough being a millennial house hunter during Covid-19. — Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson will headline the city's reopening concert in Central Park in August. — The famed Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights will resume in-person worship after a hiatus of more than a year. — A woman who tackled a Black teenager after falsely accusing him of stealing her phone in a SoHo hotel was charged with a hate crime. — The MTA unveiled new R211 subway cars. — Some people like the frog legs at Nathan's in Coney Island. — A Brooklyn college student was in a coma after a confrontation with a security guard trying to eject him from Coney Island's Luna Park. — A man was decapitated by an incoming 6 train at an elevated station in the Bronx. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) … Reuters' Michele Gershberg ... FT's Sebastian Payne … Katherine Lehr … Keith Morrison of NBC's "Dateline" … Courtney Geduldig of S&P Global … Jonathan Capehart … Scott McGee of Kelley Drye … Time's Jonathan Woods WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Luke Hornblower, an associate attorney at Veterinary Business Advisors, and Sarah Elizabeth Clark, a project manager in the pharmaceutical industry, on Tuesday welcomed Clark Roosevelt Hornblower, who came in at 9 lbs 10 oz. Pic IN MEMORIAM — Matthew Pecorino, the budget director to City Council Member Eric Ulrich, died at age 40. | | A message from Planned Parenthood Federation of America: After years of harmful policies blocking our sexual and reproductive rights, now we have the opportunity to reclaim what's Rightfully Ours: access to quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for all. Learn more about how you can take action today. | | | | | REAL ESTATE | | "Office Vacancies Soar in New York, a Dire Sign for the City's Recovery," by New York Times' Matthew Haag: "Even as New York City reopens and pursues a long road to economic recovery, the pandemic's lasting legacy of a changing workplace is emerging as a major obstacle to the revival of the vital commercial districts that help fuel the city's economy. While some companies are preparing to call back workers to their offices, the amount of office space available for lease in Manhattan has soared to the highest rate ever, according to reports released on Thursday, underscoring how the sudden shift to remote work during the coronavirus pandemic is upending the city's commercial real estate industry. Across Manhattan, home to the two largest business districts in the country, 18.7 percent of all office space is available for lease, a jump from more than 15 percent at the end of 2020 and more than double the rate from before the pandemic, according to Newmark, a real estate services company." | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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