| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | A push to allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in New York City local elections is gaining steam, going before the City Council for a hearing yesterday. The bill — which would let legal permanent residents and immigrants authorized to work cast ballots for mayor and other city offices — could expand the city's eligible electorate by nearly a million people. The legislation has the support of 34 Council members, a clear majority, and could be put up for a vote in the coming weeks. The biggest obstacle is Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has legal and philosophical problems with the bill. "I don't believe it is legal," he said Friday on WNYC, arguing that state law governs who is eligible to vote. He also says he has "mixed feelings" on the issue personally since he wants to encourage immigrants to pursue full citizenship. De Blasio has not vetoed a single bill in his two terms as mayor, but with 100-odd days left in office, there's still time for firsts. Whatever happens in the next three months, the proposal may fare better if Democratic nominee Eric Adams becomes mayor in the new year. Adams is throwing his full support behind the measure, saying in testimony submitted to the Council: "Expanding the right to vote to people who live here, work here, raise families here, and collectively pay billions of dollars in taxes here should not be controversial." 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 KATHY? Making an announcement about vaccinations for school kids and joining the EPA administrator to discuss climate issues. WHERE'S BILL? Visiting a first grade class in Queens, holding a media availability, and speaking at the 2026 FIFA World Cup host city site. | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "Unvaccinated and masked students no longer have to quarantine as COVID testing becomes weekly in NYC schools," by Chalkbeat's Amy Zimmer, Christina Veiga, and Alex Zimmerman: "After just one week of school, New York City will make a significant change to its COVID quarantine and testing policies. Unvaccinated students who are masked and follow the social distancing guidelines of three feet will no longer have to quarantine if they are a close contact of a positive student, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday. The new rule will start on Sept. 27, which is when the vaccine mandate for teachers takes effect. COVID testing will ramp up to weekly, from bi-weekly, at all elementary, middle and high schools. Still, only 10% of unvaccinated students whose families consent to testing will get swabbed." "Keith Wright allegedly fled scene after opening door into cyclist," by New York Post's Rebecca Rosenberg: "The boss of the Manhattan Democratic Party was busted for opening his car door into the path of an oncoming cyclist — sending the man flying — before allegedly fleeing the scene, The Post has learned. Keith Wright, 66, chair of the New York County Democratic Committee, was on Fifth Avenue near West 139th Street when he flung open his driver-side door of his black BMW at 9:19 p.m. Aug. 26, causing the rider to smash into the door, according to a criminal complaint. The bicyclist tumbled to the ground and sustained 'bruising to his ankle and substantial pain,' the court document states. After a brief exchange with the victim, Wright allegedly sped off without providing his name — but the bicyclist was able to take down his license plate number. ... Wright was arraigned Friday in Manhattan Criminal Court on two counts of leaving the scene of an incident and released without bail." "N.Y.C. Sues Jail Officers, Saying Illegal Strike Worsened Rikers Crisis," by The New York Times' Jonah E. Bromwich: "New York City on Monday sued a union representing its jail officers, saying that the staff absenteeism that has led to an ongoing crisis on Rikers Island amounted to an illegal strike that had endangered staff and detainees there alike. The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, said that the union, the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, and its leadership had condoned a coordinated campaign of absenteeism over the course of this year, which led to a sharp degradation in the quality of life at the notorious jail complex. The suit was filed just a day after a Bronx man's death on the island brought the total number of people who have died in the custody of the city's Department of Correction this year to 11." Adams responds to latest questions about his home, taxes, by POLITICO's Joe Anuta and Sally Goldenberg: A hectic schedule, a curious case of missing mail and a down-on-his-luck accountant all contributed to the continued confusion over Eric Adams' Brooklyn home, the Democratic nominee explained Monday. Adams, the odds-on-favorite to become New York City's next Democratic mayor, appeared outside a Brooklyn hotel to unveil his new housing plan Monday and was asked to explain the latest news article raising questions about his own abode. On Sunday, THE CITY reported Adams filed federal income taxes indicating that between 2017 and 2019 he spent no time in the Brooklyn brownstone he owns, rents out and lists as his primary address. The report also found that the Democratic nominee has not responded to inspectors from the city's Department of Buildings, who have paid multiple visits to the property over complaints of an illegal conversion. "Glitch Reveals Ballot Choices of N.Y.C. Voters, Including Mayor's Son," by The New York Times' Dana Rubinstein: "When a well-known 20-something New Yorker cast his Democratic primary ballot in June, he had every reason to assume that no one would know his choice for mayor — a point of interest for many, since his father was the current mayor. As it turns out, Dante de Blasio, the son of Mayor Bill de Blasio, was not afforded that privacy. In a report released Monday by the Princeton University's Electoral Innovation Lab, researchers said that missteps by the New York City Board of Elections had inadvertently allowed the lab to determine the votes of 378 New Yorkers in the mayoral primary. Those voters include the mayor's son and a former New York City deputy mayor, Robert K. Steel … Dante de Blasio ranked Maya Wiley as his first choice for mayor in the June Democratic primary, followed by Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Raymond McGuire and Shaun Donovan, according to the researchers." | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "State agencies given one month to devise new transparency standards," by Buffalo News's Tom Precious: "State agencies are accustomed to edicts coming from the governor's office, but Monday's requirement was unusual by Albany standards: show, with specifics, how government offices are going to become more transparent in how they conduct business. Two top aides to Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday gave all state agency heads until Oct. 20 to detail specific changes that they will authorize for their departments 'to increase the transparency of your work.' The letter, not proactively released by the Hochul administration, was obtained Monday morning by The Buffalo News... "The memo from Karen Persichilli Keogh, the secretary to the governor, and Elizabeth Fine, the governor's counsel, suggested that agency plans could include a number of possibilities. They include making more information available on department websites; making agency officials more involved in public meetings and events; and improving response time to requests made under the Freedom of Information Law, a statute whose intent over the years hasn't been a priority for many gubernatorial administrations. — "Hochul 'rethinking' Inspector General appointment process," Times Union's Chris Bragg: "Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she's 'rethinking' how future New York inspector generals will be appointed. Following an event in New York City, Hochul made the remarks in response to a question about the recent resignation of Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro, and whether the office had been misused under her predecessor, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. 'The whole premise behind who appoints the members of the Joint Commission on Public Ethics 'who appoints an inspector general, all those are questions on the table as I'm really rethinking how we conduct ethics investigations and internal investigations in our state government,' Hochul said. 'And I believe there needs to be more independence than there has been historically.'" — "Hundreds of bills await Hochul's signature. Here are 10 that will help define her leadership early on." by City & State's Zach Williams: "Lawmakers have passed a total of 460 bills, according to the Legislative Retrieval System, that have yet to reach the governor. An analysis by City & State found that 10 bills were particularly representative of the choices Hochul faces in meeting goals like restoring faith in government, fighting the pandemic, dismantling systemic racism, reducing gun violence and doing something about a warming planet. These bills might not generate the most headlines whatever Hochul does with them, but they will say a lot about what type of governor she is becoming early on in her tenure." "Nick Langworthy re-elected New York GOP chairman," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman: "More than a decade ago, Nick Langworthy was something of a renegade within Republican politics statewide. At the time, he was the Erie County chairman for the party, backing a little-known businessman named Carl Paladino for governor. But Langworthy for the last two years has taken the helm of the statewide party, replacing longtime chairman Ed Cox with a vow of reinvigorating a party that has not won a statewide election since 2002, and is out of power in Albany. But Republicans from around the state are betting on him." — Rep. and Republican presumptive nominee for governor Lee Zeldin said he received well wishes in the last several days from Republicans and Democrats alike, including Eric Adams, after revealing over the weekend he was diagnosed with leukemia but it is now in remission. #UpstateAmerica: This year's finalists for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester include Battleship, Cabbage Patch Kids and "sand, perhaps the oldest toy in the world." You can vote for your favorites. | | | | JOIN THURSDAY FOR A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION ON ENDING SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE MILITARY: Sexual assault in the military has been an issue for years, and political leaders are taking steps to address it. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) proposed bipartisan legislation to overhaul military sexual assault policies, but still face opposition. Join Women Rule for a virtual interview featuring Sens. Ernst and Gillibrand, who will discuss their legislative push and what it will take to end sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
| | Biden and the Boroughs | | Study: Expansion of federal rental assistance would bring significant drop in poverty, homelessness, by POLITICO's Janaki Chadha: Expanding federal rental vouchers to all who are eligible for them would bring 300,000 New York City residents out of poverty, lower eviction rates and reduce chronic homelessness, according to a new study previewed by POLITICO. The report, compiled by the New York Housing Conference with HR&A Advisors, studied the economic and fiscal impacts on New York of a sweeping expansion of federal housing choice vouchers, also known as Section 8 — and projects such an increase would bring about a sea change in a city where it's exceedingly difficult for low-income families to find affordable places to live. "Groups sue FAA to halt NYC's LaGuardia AirTrain," by New York Post's David Meyer: "The Biden administration approved disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $2.1 billion pet project 'AirTrain' between LaGuardia Airport and eastern Queens in July based on a 'cherry-picked' environmental review that willfully overlooked possible alternatives, preservation groups and a local block association charged in in court on Monday." | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "Trump CFO's lawyer says he suspects more indictments on way," by The Associated Press' Michael R. Sisak: "A lawyer for Donald Trump's indicted corporate finance chief told a judge Monday he has "strong reason to believe" more indictments are coming in an ongoing New York investigation into the former president's real estate empire. Lawyer Bryan Scarlatos made the remark during Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg's first court appearance since his July 1 arraignment on tax fraud charges. Scarlatos did not say what led him to believe more people would be charged in the closely watched case. In recent weeks, a pair of Trump Organization executives have testified before a grand jury, which is continuing to meet behind closed doors to hear testimony and review evidence in the case." | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "Maloney, Nadler ask NYC mayors what they knew about health hazards at Ground Zero," by New York Daily News' Michael McCauliff: "What did then-New York City Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg really know about the toxic threats posed by the ruins for the World Trade Center, and when did they know it? More than two decades after the catastrophic attacks, and almost 20 years since the city switched from a rescue to recovery operation at Ground Zero on Sept. 29, 2001, that's the question two members of Congress are formally asking the city in a letter expected to be sent Monday to current Mayor Bill de Blasio." | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A driver was charged with manslaughter in the crash that killed a three-month-old baby. — Barry, the Central Park barn owl who died last month, had a potentially lethal level of rat poison in her system before being struck by a maintenance vehicle. — Longer commute times and crowded apartments were linked to higher Covid-19 rates in a new study. — De Blasio told unvaccinated Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro not to bother coming to town, but didn't say whether the city will be doing any enforcement of its vaccine mandate in conjunction with the U.N. General Assembly. — Eric Adams told an advocacy group he would halt a de Blasio administration plan to transfer school safety duties from the NYPD to the Department of Education. — Prosecutors rested their case in the sex trafficking trial against R. Kelly after 20 days of testimony. — A Rochester radio station is helping people with dementia reclaim their memories through music. — DON'T MESS WITH WEGMANS LOYALISTS. The stores are trying to help distressed shoppers understand the reorganization. — Nearly one in five nursing home workers statewide still haven't gotten the Covid-19 vaccine despite a mandate to get it by Sept. 27. — After 18 days, a Long Island cat who escaped a cargo carrier at John F. Kennedy Airport was found. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT's Dean Baquet … USAID Administrator Samantha Power … CNN's Brianna Keilar … Kiki Burger … POLITICO's Karey Van Hall … Reuters' Alexandra Alper … Cass Sunstein … NBC News PR's Dom Cuce … Dan Turrentine ... John Celock … Justin Reilly … Mark Watson … Tess Mahoney … Jonathan Robinson MAKING MOVES — Kimberly Gardner is now COO at Holland & Knight. She most recently was principal consultant at Synergy Consulting Services and is an alum of Shearman & Sterling … Ryan Naples has joined wage app DailyPay as senior Manager for public policy. He previously was deputy director at Tech:NYC. MEDIAWATCH — Craig Gordon has been named national news editor at Bloomberg News. He currently is the Washington bureau chief. … Daily News editor-in-chief Robert York is out, and is being replaced on an interim and "as-needed" basis by Andrew Julien, the editor and publisher of its corporate sibling the Hartford Courant, who will keep the Hartford job. — Michelle Price is now a political reporter for the AP in New York. She most recently was an AP political reporter in Las Vegas. ENGAGED — Kendall Breitman, a writer at Wix and an alum of NBC News, Bloomberg and POLITICO, got engaged to Dana Adelson, a doctor. The couple met when Breitman was on a birthright trip to Israel four years ago. Adelson proposed in Philadelphia, Breitman's hometown, in Washington Square Park. Pic ... Another pic | | REAL ESTATE | | "NYC mayoral contender Eric Adams outlines blueprint to turn city hotels into supportive housing," by New York Daily News' Tim Balk: "It could be the city's last resort. Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams on Monday fleshed out his plan to attack New York's housing crisis, outlining a blueprint that would convert distressed outer-borough hotels into some 25,000 rooms of supportive housing. Adams said the proposal — a central plank in his platform — would take advantage of the city's hollowed-out hospitality industry." "Nine NYCHA Contractors Busted for Bribing Supers for Repair Work ," by Brooklyn Paper's Ben Brachfeld: "Nine contractors have been indicted of bribing NYCHA superintendents in exchange for small repair contracts, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Monday, noting that the problem is likely far more widespread. Over a two-year period, city investigators went undercover as supers in two Brooklyn complexes, Red Hook Houses in Red Hook and Lafayette Gardens in Clinton Hill, aiming to snag deviant contractors attempting to provide kickbacks in exchange for securing an inflated contract to conduct small fixes such as window repairs, chain-link fence installation, and tile work."
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