News: POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams warms to the left — Businesses sue over vaccine mandate

Thursday, August 19, 2021

POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams warms to the left — Businesses sue over vaccine mandate — Hochul vows new approach to City Hall

Aug 19, 2021

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Téa Kvetenadze

Eric Adams took some shots at the left during his post-primary victory lap, but now he's starting to make nice.

In the last few weeks, our Sally Goldenberg reports, Adams has dined with progressive standard bearer Jumaane Williams and joined forces with comptroller nominee Brad Lander on the Gowanus rezoning. The three men are planning a unity event ahead of the November general election, where all three are heavily favored as Democratic nominees for citywide office. Meanwhile, Adams has been softening his public criticisms of the organized left.

Progressives are still wary, but here's the best case scenario for them: "How you campaign is not necessarily how you govern," Williams tells POLITICO. "My hope is that the Eric Adams I worked with truly on gun violence issues, on dealing with the abuses of 'stop question and frisk' and dealing with how badly our city and state at that time was handling Covid is the Eric that shows up — not necessarily the candidate who was in a very heated race."

On the other side of the city's political spectrum, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg is embracing Adams. Bloomberg — no fan of Adams when he was mayor and Adams was a police captain at odds with department brass — will host a breakfast fundraiser for the Democratic nominee on Sept. 15, Sally reports. The alliance could be mutually beneficial — raising cash for Adams, and giving Bloomberg a path back from local political exile after eight years of hostility with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

IT'S THURSDAY. 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 Q&A with the press and later attending the "It's Time for Hip Hop in NYC" concert in Brooklyn.

WHERE'S KATHY? No public schedule yet.

COUNTDOWN TO KATHY: 5 DAYS

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WHAT CITY HALL'S READING

"Staten Island businesses file lawsuit over NYC's vaccine mandate for indoor dining, fitness and entertainment," by Staten Island Advance's Joseph Ostapiuk: "A group of Staten Island businesses filed a lawsuit in state Supreme Court late Tuesday against New York City's executive order signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio that requires vaccination for indoor entertainment, recreation, dining and fitness. The suit, brought in part by a set of proprietors mostly located in Staten Island and Brooklyn dubbed the Independent Restaurant Owners Association Rescue (IROAR), calls the latest mandate 'arbitrary, irrational, unscientific, and unlawful.' The litigation argues the mandate 'would severely impact Plaintiff-Petitioner's business, life savings, and livelihood' and seeks a permanent injunction against the order."

— "COVID Vaccines Less Effective at Stopping Delta Infection, Still Prevent Severe Illness: Study," by NBC New York: "Vaccination against COVID-19 continues to offer significant protection against severe illness, even though the vaccines are becoming less effective at stopping infection with the delta variant of the virus, the New York State Department of Health said Wednesday … The New York department released a study in conjunction with the CDC looking at infections and hospitalizations in New York between the weeks of May 3 and July 19. Over that timeframe, the DOH said, the vaccines lost about 12 points of effectiveness at preventing infection, down to just under 80 percent. But against illness severe enough to require hospitalization, the vaccines were undaunted — 95.3 percent effective in the first week of the study, and the exact same in the last week."

— More than 75 percent of adults in the city have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, but the rate among city workers is still lagging.

Hochul pledges new approach to City Hall after 'sane' meeting with de Blasio, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin and Madina Touré: Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged a new era of relations between Albany and City Hall after sitting down with Mayor Bill de Blasio in a meeting the mayor dubbed "sane" — a departure from his dealings with the current governor. Hochul, who will become governor when Gov. Andrew Cuomo's resignation takes effect on Tuesday, said her method of dealing with the mayor will be starkly different than Cuomo's. "I have a different approach to governing. Everyone has their own style," Hochul told reporters after touring an elementary school in Corona, Queens… Hochul and de Blasio met for more than an hour on Tuesday, discussing efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, economic recovery, rent relief and congestion pricing. "It was just a good, healthy, sane — emphasize the word 'sane' — conversation, which I truly appreciate," de Blasio told reporters Wednesday. Hochul took that as high praise. "I'm just really honored that the mayor called me sane," she said.

— Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said he's not interested in being named Hochul's lieutenant governor.

"NYC was vastly unprepared for pandemic at outset of COVID: Comptroller Stringer," by New York Daily News' Shant Shahrigian: "The de Blasio administration was woefully unprepared for a pandemic when COVID broke out last year and its response lagged as the risks became clear, according to a scathing new report from city Comptroller Scott Stringer's office. The city was caught so off guard that officials didn't even know its supply of surgical-grade N95 masks had expired years earlier until it began looking for them in February 2020, stated the report released Wednesday. 'Our investigation shows weaknesses in planning and preparation and failures to promptly make decisions when time was of the essence and every minute counted,' Stringer said in a statement."

— The NYPD warned cops they will face discipline if they're not vaccinated and fail to wear a mask.

" After Outcry, NYC Opens Emergency Housing Vouchers to More Homeless New Yorkers," by City Limits' David Brand: "New York City officials have loosened eligibility restrictions for thousands of newly available federal housing vouchers, following complaints that the previous criteria locked out thousands of homeless residents based on their presumed mental health status. The city housing agencies administering the subsidies had initially blocked adults approved for supportive housing — permanent apartments with on-site staff, typically reserved for people with mental illness — from even applying for the roughly 8,000 new rental subsidies, City Limits reported last month. A few weeks later, officials reversed that decision after advocates criticized the policy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said they were looking into claims of discrimination."

"Why Some in This Neighborhood Oppose a Museum Dedicated to Their Culture," by The New York Times' Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura: "'They think that because they speak better English, that they graduated from Ivy League schools, that they are better than us.' The invectives were aimed at a museum that has struggled to survive since it was founded in 1980 to preserve and exhibit the history of Chinese Americans. It received a big boost when the city awarded the institution $35 million out of $50 million distributed to local community projects in Chinatown in return for the expansion of a jail there. But the generous award has placed the museum at the center of a greater dispute over gentrification and inequality, a kind of class warfare between those of Chinese descent who have established themselves economically and socially over generations and newer working-class immigrants like Ms. [Li Zhen] Tan."

#DownstateAmerica: The Farmingdale Public Library has apologized for accidentally giving out family gift bags for Free Comic Book Day that contained a pornographic comic book.

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

"New York State may enact mask mandate at schools, Hochul hints," by Daily News's Tim Balk and Shant Shahrigian: "Public schools in New York State may yet see a mask-wearing mandate for the start of the academic year, said Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul while visiting a school in Corona, Queens on Wednesday. Hochul, who's set to become the state's top executive following Gov. Cuomo's sudden resignation last week, said the state Health Department has the power to call for mandatory mask usage at public schools. That appeared to mark a shift from her previous comments emphasizing she supports such a measure, but doesn't have the power to implement it on her own. 'Mask mandates is something that the Department of Health has the authority to call for. They have that authority now, and I will assess whether or not we'll know whether that's been called for,' Hochul told reporters during a visit to an elementary school. 'But I believe that we'll need mask mandates for children to go back to schools, and that'll have to be universal and be statewide,' she added."

"Bill would preserve a governor's records," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman: "A bill that would require the retention of documents for the governor's office was introduced on Wednesday as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration is set to conclude on Tuesday. Republican state Sen. Daphne Jordan's proposal would require all executive branch departments, including agencies, offices and commissions as well as the executive chamber itself, retain all written and electronic records, including email correspondence. The documents must be retained for at least two years. If the documents are expected to be part of litigation, they must be retained for five years, or two years after the litiation is no longer anticipated."

Former Cuomo fan and Director of State Ops Howard Glaser is bashing Andrew to defend his dad in a Daily News op-ed: "It would be petty to take down the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge signs, erasing an honorable man's memory to punish a less than honorable son. But let's be clear: The naming of the gargantuan bridge was an act of vanity designed to celebrate not Cuomo pater, but Cuomo filius . Andrew couldn't name the Ozymandian monument for himself, and so instead his father's name adorns a bridge best known for a multi-billion dollar price tag, a 30% toll increase and an investigation over safety concerns."

"Casino operator claims licensing system was 'rigged,'" by Times Union's Chris Bragg: "Inside a luxury trackside restaurant off Saratoga Race Course, dozens of gambling magnates gathered this week for an annual conference. Two days of discussions were mostly staid, but that changed during a final panel of gaming leaders held late Tuesday, when an acerbic upstate casino mogul began making public accusations. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration, Jeffrey Gural told the audience in scathing remarks lasting several minutes, 'ran a criminal operation.' Gural, who owns the Tioga Downs casino in the Southern Tier, said in an interview that he believes in 2014 – after New York legalized full-scale casino gambling – Cuomo's administration had 'rigged' the process of bidding out the three initial licenses to casino operators. 'I think they had some scheme up their sleeve, as to who would be the winners and who would be the losers — with me being the loser,' Gural said."

#UpstateAmerica: After a 60-year effort, trout in Lake Erie are finally reproducing naturally.

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TRUMP'S NEW YORK

"Jared Kushner pal Ken Kurson, who was pardoned by Trump, slapped with state charges," by New York Daily News' Molly Crane-Newman: "A close friend of Jared Kushner was slapped with state harassment charges Wednesday — nearly eight months after he scored a last-minute pardon from President Donald Trump wiping away federal charges for the same alleged cyberstalking campaign. Ken Kurson, 52, the former editor-in-chief of the New York Observer, was charged last year in Brooklyn Federal Court with stalking and harassing three victims he blamed for his 2015 divorce. The felony eavesdropping and harassment charges filed by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance revolve around the same alleged conduct. Kurson arrived in Manhattan Supreme Court in handcuffs, sporting beige slacks and a blue gingham shirt. 'We will not accept presidential pardons as get-out-of-jail-free cards for the well-connected in New York,' Vance said in a release."

FROM THE DELEGATION

"Fate of Campaign to Save Kids Trapped in Hot Cars Now in Congress' Hands," by The City's Reuven Blau: "In April 2001, General Motors announced it would install 'pioneering new technology' within three years to prevent children from dying after being left in the backseat of parked cars that overheat. The car manufacturer never followed through. Now, more than two decades later, two versions of proposed legislation attached to the Biden administration's massive infrastructure plan may finally force the automotive industry to add some kind of lifesaving warning system. But activists and grieving parents — including a father whose twins died in a hot car in The Bronx two years ago — are concerned that the U.S. Senate version calling for a simple beep and message on the dashboard does little to solve the problem."

AROUND NEW YORK

— AG Tish James won a lawsuit against the former owner of Bumpy's Polar Freeze in Schenectady who reportedly harassed, threatened and pulled weapons on nine Black Lives Matter protesters.

— The Oneida Indian Nation is looking to enter New York's mobile sports betting market.

— Criminal justice advocates are hoping for more last minute action from Cuomo after a handful of clemencies this week.

— The number of young adults who are both out of school and unemployed surged during the pandemic, a new report found.

— Coney Island's Mermaid Parade has been canceled for another year.

— An electric scooter rental program debuted in the Bronx.

— Blood samples collected from white-tailed deer in New York have been found to have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

— The New York State Fair opens soon . Gannett offers a run-down of what you need to know for attending it in the era of Covid-19.

— De Blasio once again rebranded his troubled ThriveNYC mental health initiative.

— An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease has been reported in Harlem.

— A taxi driver got a nasty shock when he discovered an apparently drunk female passenger was in fact dead.

— A Yonkers man has been arrested in connection with a grisly hatchet attack at an ATM in Lower Manhattan last week.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former President Bill Clinton … Cambridge's Mohamed El-Erian … Edelman's Alison Armentrout … CNN's Paula Reid … NYT's Joe Kahn and Farhad Manjoo … Julius Genachowski of the Carlyle Group … Daily Mail's Emily Goodin … McKinsey's Neil Grace … Neil Patel of the Daily Caller and Bluebird Asset Management … WSJ's Brody Mullins … Molly Jong-Fast of The Daily Beast … Will Hurd … Dan Aloni ... Arthur Rock is 95 … Sasha Bloch ... Melinda R. Katz ... Marc J. Rowan (h/ts Jewish Insider)

MAKING MOVES — Luis Ferré-Sadurní (@luisferre): "NEW: Marissa Shorenstein started today as director of Executive Transition Team for soon-to-be governor Kathy Hochul, per officials. She is [the former] president at AT&T, Northern Region, per Linkedin. She worked in Cuomo's 2010 campaign and for David Paterson administration. … She'll help Hochul team with staffing and appointments through first 45 days of the administration." …

… Per POLITICO Influence: "Just in time for Senate Democrats to embark on their next reconciliation gambit, Robert Gardner, a former legislative staffer for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, has joined Baker Donelson's government relations and public policy group. Gardner, who left Schumer's office in 2019 to get his MBA at Dartmouth, will advise the firm's clients on tax, trade, appropriations, budget, infrastructure and sanctions issues."

MEDIAWATCH — Tracy Connor has been named the new editor in chief of the Daily Beast. She has been executive editor since 2018.

WEEKEND WEDDING — Eva Shapiro, manager of early childhood education at the New York Public Library, married Oscar Brett, director of video production at The Dwight Schools. The couple met when he was playing shows at a Lower East Side music venue about a decade ago. Pic

REAL ESTATE

"Advocates call on Cuomo to sign fair housing bills before vacating office," by Real Deal's Holden Walter-Warner: "The clock is ticking for outgoing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, set to resign on Aug. 24 in the wake of a damning report detailing sexual harassment allegations by nearly a dozen women. After that, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will assume the role as the state's first-ever female governor. In the meantime, fair housing activists are calling on Cuomo to sign seven bills awaiting his signature. Each of the bills 'represents a significant step in reducing widespread housing discrimination in New York,' wrote Elaine Gross, president of the Long Island-based civil rights group ERASE Racism, and Baaba Halm, VP of the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners, in a joint statement Wednesday."

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