News : POLITICO New York Playbook: Impeachment to proceed with ‘due haste’ — Cuomo fallout rocks liberal networks

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

POLITICO New York Playbook: Impeachment to proceed with ‘due haste’ — Cuomo fallout rocks liberal networks — Homeless families face shelter hurdles

Aug 10, 2021

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Téa Kvetenadze

The word of the moment is "malversation," (mæl vərˈseɪ ʃən): n. improper or corrupt behavior esp. in public office.

That's per the Assembly's Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine, who assured reporters yesterday that the allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo so far, if deemed valid by the committee, could certainly qualify as grounds for impeachment under somewhat archaic language in state law.

If we had any doubt the Assembly was serious about kicking Cuomo out, Lavine and Speaker Carl Heastie sought to lay those fears to rest in a press conference outlining the path forward after a meeting in Albany on Monday.

Lavine set a tentative schedule, which includes top-secret rooms where committee members will be able to review thousands of pages of evidence, input from experts on sexual assault, and hearings where arguments for and against Cuomo will be aired publicly.

Members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee will hold two private meetings over the next two weeks to review the evidence that has been gathered by their own investigators as well as state Attorney General Tish James' office for her devastating report released last week. They'll then convene later in August to hear from experts on sexual harassment and impeachment.

The timing means it's unlikely that articles of impeachment could be approved by the full Assembly until the waning days of August or some point in September. Since Cuomo has the statutory right to have at least 30 days to prepare for a trial in the state Senate, such a proceeding likely couldn't conclude until October.

But both Lavine and Heastie pushed back on critiques from "armchair lawyers" (as Lavine put it) who have complained that there are ways the Assembly could bypass several such steps and take a vote on impeachment as soon as they like.

"You want to make sure that this is a process that no one can say they were treated unfairly," Heastie said after multiple reporters asked about the urgency of the probe. "I've clearly stated the Assembly majority has no confidence in the governor's ability to continue in office, so this idea that the Assembly going through its process is somehow going to allow the governor to figure something out on this, I would disagree with that assessment altogether."

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 yet.

WHERE'S BILL? In Massachusetts with no public events scheduled.

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WHAT ALBANY'S READING

'What he did to me was a crime': Cuomo accuser goes public with groping allegations, by POLITICO's Quint Forgey: Brittany Commisso — one of the previously unnamed 11 women who New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed, according to a report from state Attorney General Tish James — has spoken publicly for the first time, detailing various allegations of misconduct that she described as outright criminal. "What he did to me was a crime. He broke the law," Commisso, 32, told The Times Union newspaper and CBS News in an interview that aired on Monday. Commisso — who began work as an executive assistant in the governor's office in 2017 — recounted a pattern of inappropriate hugs by Cuomo that she said were not the type of embraces "that he would give his mother or his brother." "These were hugs with the intention of getting some personal sexual satisfaction out of," she said.

— Two more women approached the state Attorney General's Office with allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Attorney General Letitia James released her sexual harassment report against him last week, but they were told the AG's investigation was officially over and were referred to local law enforcement authorities.

"State Police investigators seek to limit Cuomo's control of protective detail," by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "The union representing State Police investigators is demanding that supervision of the governor's protective detail be returned to the agency's headquarters after an attorney general's investigation found Cuomo sexually harassed a female trooper after he had directed that rules be changed so she could be placed on the highly coveted unit. The statement from the New York State Police Investigators Association also demanded that Cuomo resign immediately. 'Having to continue to protect the governor under the current circumstances puts our members in an extremely difficult position,' the statement reads."

Fallout from Cuomo sexual harassment report ripples across liberal networks, by POLITICO's Anna Gronewold: The fallout from New York Attorney General's Tish James' report on sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reverberating across national liberal groups whose members have ties to the three-term Democrat's administration. Roberta Kaplan, the chair of Time's Up and co-founder of its legal defense fund, resigned on Monday from her position after the James report revealed she had consulted with members of Cuomo's administration who were looking to build a campaign against one of the governor's accusers. And the Human Rights Campaign, which described itself as the country's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, announced Monday it would investigate the involvement of its president, Alphonso David, in Cuomo's scandals. David previously served as Cuomo's counsel. Those moves follow the resignation of Cuomo's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, Sunday evening.

— Cuomo quietly hired another Sullivan & Cromwell to represent him in the attorney general's probe. The lead lawyer is a close friend to Times Up's Roberta Kaplan, Law Journal's Ryan Tarinelli reports.

"Governor's Ouster Could Spur Quick MTA Board Shake-Up, Thanks to Law He Backed," by THE CITY's Jose Martinez: "As Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces potential expulsion from office, there is an open question over what becomes of the handpicked lieutenants who have helped impose his will on the MTA. A state law that Cuomo pushed to change in 2019 says that the term of any board member will expire alongside that of the city or state elected official who recommended them for the post. But it's unclear what happens if an official is abruptly removed from office. Cuomo's term officially ends Dec. 31, 2022, barring a now-unlikely reelection in the wake of sexual harassment allegations."

— "We are waiting for a non-functioning government to get it back together," state Sen. Brad Hoylman, of Manhattan, told The Post on Monday. "The second floor has imploded. We need new leadership yesterday."

"Donors encourage Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to run for NY governor as sex harassment scandal engulfs Cuomo ," by CNBC's Brian Schwartz: "A group of New York's most influential political donors in the business world are encouraging Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to run for governor as Andrew Cuomo contends with various investigations following an official report that found he sexually harassed multiple women. Hochul's conversations with financiers in recent weeks have focused in part on her political future, including a potential run for governor and potentially taking over the governor's office if Cuomo resigned or was forced out, people familiar with the matter said."

#UpstateAmerica: A farm in Newfane wants to pay you to spend some time with its rescue animals. What are you waiting for?

WHAT CITY HALL'S READING

Report finds 'broken,' traumatic process for homeless families applying for shelter, by POLITICO's Janaki Chadha: Homeless families are forced to navigate an onerous and traumatic process when seeking to enter the city's sprawling shelter system — often having to jump through the same bureaucratic hoops multiple times before securing a placement, according to a new report from the shelter provider Win…The first step for homeless families with children seeking shelter is going to the Prevention Assistance and Temporary Housing assessment center in the Bronx, or PATH — the only application and intake center available to them. (Families without minor children are considered a separate category by the Department of Homeless Services.) Families then go through an often day-long application process that involves repeatedly explaining their situation to PATH workers and providing forms and documentation that help prove they have no other housing option and their need for shelter is, in fact, legitimate.

"The Pandemic Gave New York City 'Open Streets.' Will They Survive?" by The New York Times' Winnie Hu: "The metal barriers go up every day at 8 a.m. to keep the cars at bay. Then 34th Avenue turns into a 1.3-mile-long block party. It serves as a connector not for vehicles but for people in a space-starved, melting pot neighborhood in Queens. People come out for coffee breaks and stay for free classes in yoga, zumba, salsa and Mexican folk dance. Earlier this summer, a pop-up circus brought clowns, jugglers and acrobats to delight children. Dogs in rainbow-hued outfits and their owners marched together in a pride parade. One couple even got married on the avenue with a state senator officiating... There is a growing revolution on the streets of New York, one of the world's most congested cities. It is transforming public spaces that have long been the domain of cars and may turn out to be one of the most important legacies of the coronavirus pandemic."

— "Outdoor Dining Is Spreading In NYC, But Not Everywhere," by WNYC's Beth Fertig: "The city says more than 11,000 restaurants have participated in its Open Restaurants program since the spring of 2020 by putting tables outside, either on sidewalks or roadways. It claimed this helped save 100,000 jobs by allowing restaurants to serve more customers when indoor dining was heavily restricted or banned. But [Jamaica, Queens business owner Dawn] Kelly's experience reflects how the explosion in outdoor dining is playing out very differently depending on where you dine out...Kelly's community district in Jamaica has only 61 of the new outdoor cafés allowed under Open Restaurants. By contrast, five districts in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn and one in Astoria, Queens have more than 400 each."

"Perkins Concedes Harlem Council Race To Jordan, Cementing Upset," by Patch's Nick Garber: "Bill Perkins conceded the tight City Council race in Central Harlem to challenger Kristin Richardson Jordan on Monday, marking a new era in the neighborhood and ending a two-decade political career. Perkins, 72, has represented District 9 for nearly 13 years combined. He conceded after a required recount showed that he failed to make up any ground against Jordan, a 34-year-old activist, writer and self-described democratic socialist. An unofficial tally showed Jordan with 9,034 votes to Perkins's 8,920, according to results shared with Patch. That 114-vote margin widened the initial 104-vote lead that Jordan held before the recount."

"COVID keeps rising in NYC, as does the intensity of opposition to the vaccine mandate," by PIX 11's James Ford : "COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise in New York, according to official statistics, and the increases are fueled by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. But as COVID metrics rise, however, so does the intensity of voices of opposition against vaccination requirements. On Monday, outside of City Hall, a group of protesters expressed their opposition to the city's vaccination requirement, which is set to go into effect in a week, on Monday, August 16. With chants like 'Just Say No,' and a variety of handmade signs with slogans rejecting the vaccination mandate, the group, whose organizers counted at about 500 in attendance, visibly and vocally showed their opposition…The protest — and the vaccination requirement it opposes — come as every COVID indicator is rising in New York City."

— Statewide, Covid-19 hospitalizations have jumped more than 245 percent in the past month.

— " The Clock Is Ticking: What We Know About N.Y.C.'s School Reopening Plan," by The New York Times' Eliza Shapiro: "In just over a month, the nation's largest school system is poised to return to something like normal schooling, when full-time, in-person classes begin, without a remote option. But as the Delta variant and lagging vaccination rates have fueled a rise in coronavirus cases in New York City, some families and educators are wondering if a school reopening plan that seemed like a sure bet just a few weeks ago will be threatened. For now, at least, Mayor Bill de Blasio has insisted that there will be no major changes. Still, his administration must settle on key details on how often students and staffers should be tested for the virus, and how to approach quarantining when positive cases arise."

"NYPD flouts law requiring disclosure of surveillance technology: advocates," by New York Daily News' Rocco Parascandola: "The NYPD is not revealing enough information about how it's spending tax dollars on surveillance technology, two advocacy groups say. The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) and the Legal Aid Society obtained paperwork on five NYPD contracts for surveillance technology worth $15 million over the past eight years. The documents, which the groups received through a Freedom of Information Law request, is heavily redacted. That flouts the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act, which the City Council passed last year, the advocates say."

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FROM THE DELEGATION

"Lawmakers ask U.S. Justice Department to stop seeking death penalty," by Reuters' Jonathan Allen: "Four members of the U.S. Congress working to abolish capital punishment wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday to ask that he order Department of Justice attorneys to stop seeking the death penalty. Garland has already ordered a pause on scheduling execution dates for any of the 46 men on federal death row, saying in his July announcement a moratorium was necessary while his department reviewed whether the government's protocols for capital punishment were fair and humane. The four Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives say he and his department's attorneys should go further and 'halt all participation in the capital punishment system.' 'In conjunction with the moratorium on executions, Department of Justice prosecutors must stop seeking the death penalty,' Adriano Espaillat, Ayanna Pressley, Jerrold Nadler and Cori Bush wrote in their letter."

Biden and the Boroughs

"U.S. Signals It Will Release Some Still-Secret Files on Saudi Arabia and 9/11," by The New York Times' Katie Rogers, Heather Murphy and Charlie Savage: " The Biden administration, under pressure from families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, said on Monday that it intended to disclose some long-classified documents that the families think could detail connections between the government of Saudi Arabia and the hijackers who carried out the attacks. In a court filing in long-running litigation brought by the victims' families against Saudi Arabia, the Justice Department said that the F.B.I. 'recently' closed a portion of its investigation into the terrorist attacks and was beginning a review of documents that it had previously said must remain secret with an eye toward disclosing more of them. 'The F.B.I. has decided to review its prior privilege assertions to identify additional information appropriate for disclosure,' the department said in a letter to two federal judges in Manhattan overseeing the case. 'The F.B.I. will disclose such information on a rolling basis as expeditiously as possible.'"

AROUND NEW YORK

— Jon Stewart and Pete Davidson plan to host a Madison Square Garden comedy show to benefit 9/11 charities.

— The MTA has brought back shared rides for Access-a-Ride users, and many riders are objecting.

— "West Side Story" will not return to Broadway after its pandemic shutdown.

— Americans flocked to the Canadian border now that it's reopened to vaccinated travelers.

— Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Warren counties joined Saratoga in having "high" transmission rates of Covid-19.

— A man who has been in prison for 32 years for a murder in Queens had his conviction overturned.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CBS' Nancy Cordes … Andrew Sullivan … NYT's Laura Kim … BuzzFeed's Lissandra Villa … Sophie Vershbow of Penguin Random House …Jacob Cohen of CME Group … CNN's Alex Marquardt and Susie Xu … ACLU's Ally Harpootlian … Jan Cienski … Mike Linhorst … Leila Clifford … Mitch Schwartz of the mayor's press office

MAKING MOVES — Maria Papakonstantinou is now comms director for Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.). She most recently was an associate producer at Fox News.

REAL ESTATE

"Cuomo's demise and what it means for real estate," by The Real Deal's Erik Engquist: "But by and large, the real estate industry was silent in the face of overwhelming evidence that the governor was unfit to serve. Quite a few executives even wrote checks as Cuomo raised $2.5 million in six months for a 2022 re-election campaign that will never happen. The industry missed an opportunity to gain moral standing that it could surely use, given its poor reputation with many New Yorkers."

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