| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | New York City's first full week of school is in the books, but in a year like this, those first-day jitters could persist well into the fall. Hundreds of classrooms and at least one entire school have already been shuttered due to Covid-19 cases. The city's vaccine mandate for teachers and school staff, scheduled to take effect Sept. 27, is now mired in a legal battle. The next fight may be over virus testing in schools: The United Federation of Teachers called Sunday for Mayor Bill de Blasio to ramp up the frequency of random testing. They want a portion of students under 12, who are too young to be vaccinated, to be tested every week rather than the current policy of every two weeks. "The first week of school, including photos of students packed into crowded hallways and cafeterias, only strengthens the argument for more testing," UFT President Michael Mulgrew wrote in a letter to the mayor. Parents and students, meanwhile, are expressing a combination of relief and continuing anxiety as they head into their second week, as our Madina Touré and Jesse Naranjo report. School attendance was about 83 percent on Friday, up slightly from 82 percent on Monday — both down compared to around 90 percent on the first day in years past. There's a big asterisk with those numbers though: the city has refused to release raw numbers, so it's anyone's guess how many kids are actually showing up for school. Viktoriya Li, whose 10-year-old is starting the 5th grade in Brooklyn, found out Wednesday that someone in her son's school had tested positive for the coronavirus. She still prefers in-person classes to remote learning and said her son is excited to be back but after a year and a half of constant turmoil, isn't counting on anything. "If they close it in a few weeks I won't be surprised at all," she said. IT'S MONDAY. 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 at Climate Week NYC Opening Ceremony, meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin of Ireland, greeting President Joe Biden for arriving to the United Nations General Assembly and observing the Fourth Anniversary of Hurricane Maria. WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability. ABOVE THE FOLD — " Gov. Hochul orders release of 191 Rikers Island inmates amid 'hell on earth' conditions at jail," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt, Michael Gartland, and Graham Rayman: "Gov. Hochul ordered the immediate release of 191 Rikers Island inmates on Friday and signed a bill that paves the way for even more prisoners to be set free as conditions at the overcrowded city jail continue to deteriorate. The newly freed inmates landed behind bars for technical parole violations, like missing a curfew, consuming alcohol or being late for an appointment with a probation officer, and Hochul said they shouldn't have been at Rikers to begin with. 'It doesn't make us any safer,' she said during a press conference at her Midtown Manhattan office." | | | | 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 | | "Eric Adams' Townhouse Trouble: Tax Filing 'Mistake' and Blown-Off Buildings Inspector," by The City's Greg B. Smith and Yoav Gonen: "Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for mayor, is also a landlord who owns a four-unit red-brick Brooklyn townhouse where he says he rents out three apartments and, since 2017, has lived on the ground floor. But tax and city records show potentially serious irregularities tied to his management of the Bedford-Stuyvesant property. The city Department of Buildings is investigating a complaint alleging an illegal conversion of an apartment in the Lafayette Avenue building — and hasn't heard from Adams since an inspector plastered a notice on his door more than a month ago, demanding a response. Meanwhile, amended personal income tax documents Adams released following his June 22 primary victory clash with his claim that he uses the building's ground floor as his residence — reporting zero days living at the property." — "NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams distances himself from an ally, calls for 'reset' from de Blasio," by New York Daily News' Michael Gartland De Blasio's press secretary to step down next month, by POLITICO's David Giambusso "Immigrants permitted to work in U.S. could move one step closer to NYC voting rights," by New York Daily News' Michael Gartland: With battles over voting rights being waged across the country, the New York City Council is poised to enter the fray in a potentially big way. On Monday, the Council is set to review a measure that would give the vote to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who currently don't have it — noncitizen immigrants. The bill, which is being sponsored by Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, would allow noncitizens who have green cards or other documentation to vote in local elections. 'We have the votes to pass it. We have the opportunity to make the city a role model for the nation, and this is a moment we should not lose,' Rodriguez, a Democrat who represents immigrant-rich Washington Heights, told the Daily News." ... De Blasio said he does not believe the proposal is legal. "Zero vision: Traffic deaths soar as de Blasio's NYPD cuts enforcement, report shows," by New York Post's Nolan Hicks: "The streets are as mean as ever — likely because the enforcement has never been less — despite Mayor Bill de Blasio claiming traffic safety as one of his top priorities over two terms. Deaths on city streets soared last year as 275 people — including 123 pedestrians — were killed in crashes, all while the NYPD's enforcement of traffic laws meant to protect lives plummeted, City Hall revealed in a report published late Friday. It's a 30-percent jump from the 211 traffic-related fatalities reported during the same 12-month period in 2020 and most deaths on city streets since 2014 when 285 people died." "Vaccinate Teens Without Parental Consent, City Child Welfare Agency Says," by The City's Ibrahim Naber and Eileen Grench: "The city's child welfare agency has given the green light to administer COVID-19 vaccines to more than 600 minors living in certain juvenile detention and foster homes, including when their parents say no. The Administration for Children's Services told partner nonprofit groups earlier this month that they are free to get 16- and 17-year-olds inoculated with the vaccine — 'even if a parent cannot be located or affirmatively objects.' ACS is lumping the Pfizer shot under 'routine medical care' that many parents have already given blanket consent to, and clearing care providers to proceed with the shots even in the absence of overall consent." — More than 80 percent of New York City adults have now received at least one vaccine dose. — A group of small entertainment venues brought another lawsuit challenging the city's vaccination mandate. — A NYCHA staffer was suspended for using her work email to disseminate anti-vaccine messages invoking the 9/11 attacks. | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | Obscure 1894 math crucial to New York politics is endangered, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: The general trend in American state legislatures has been toward downsizing, with the number of members increasing in only one of the country's 99 chambers since the early 1980s. Yet that outlier has increased its membership with some regularity: The New York State Senate went from 57 to 60 members in 1972, up to 61 in 1982, 62 in 2002, and 63 in 2012. It's become a decennial tradition in Albany for Senate Republicans to announce in the final weeks of the redistricting process that they've discovered they can adjust the size of the Senate, and then they squeeze in a new district that coincidentally happens to benefit their political interests. But after being burned by this practice in recent decades, Senate Democrats — who have the upper hand in the mapmaking process for the first time in generations — are pledging that they won't follow suit. HOCHUL'S SUNDAY: "Hochul announces plan to address school bus driver shortage," by Newsday's Vera Chinese: "Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday announced new efforts to recruit school bus drivers in New York to address a statewide staffing shortage. The plan includes shortening the commercial driver's license application process and reaching out to the more than 550,000 people in New York who already hold CDLs to recruit them to become bus drivers, according to a news release. For new applicants, the state Department of Motor Vehicles will remove a 14-day waiting period between permit test and road test to expedite the CDL process. It will also offer additional written and road test opportunities." — "Hochul recounts pickets, protest and pizza in SU commencement speech," by Times Union's Michelle Del Rey: "Hochul admitted she didn't spend a lot of time in class because she was either picketing or protesting something on campus. At her 10 year reunion, Chancellor Melvin A. Eggers told her, 'We couldn't wait for you to graduate,' Hochul said, explaining that she's still unsure about whether the comment was a joke." SHOT: "State inspector general resigns amid controversy," by Times Union's Chris Bragg: "State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro, a longtime aide to former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, has resigned from her post as the executive branch's top internal-affairs watchdog, according to her office. Her resignation was effective Friday, according to spokesman Lee Park. The inspector general's office is empowered to investigate wrongdoing by state employees across the vast network of state agencies under the governor's control. The acting inspector general, until Hochul can make her own appointment, will be Chief Deputy Inspector General Robyn Adair." CHASER: "The state inspector general's oversight waned under Cuomo," by Times Union's Chris Bragg: "After [Shawn] Broton brought the evidence to the New York inspector general's office — the state's internal affairs unit — its investigators never interviewed the alleged victim or anyone else, according to records obtained by the Times Union. While the inspector general's office issued two reports on related matters in the following months, including one examining the relationship between [William] Fitzpatrick's office and the same crime lab, neither mentioned the most damning accusations. … Fitzpatrick strenuously disputed there was any connection, telling the Times Union: 'If your story says solely that the Inspector General dropped the ball on this because I'm friends with the governor, that is not only false, that is recklessly false.'" "Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro files to run for Congress," by USA Today Network's Jon Campbell FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Democratic Governors Association is officially endorsing Gov. Kathy Hochul for a full term as governor. She's up for election next year after taking office when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned and is likely to face a contested primary. "Gov. Hochul took office in the middle of a public health crisis and immediately hit the ground running, taking swift action to fight COVID and guide New York's economic recovery. Her bold leadership has already delivered results for New Yorkers, from nearly doubling the money going out the door in emergency rental assistance, to taking swift action to respond to natural disasters," said DGA Chair and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. #UpstateAmerica: Mosquitoes are surging in Central New York — and, worse yet, the "vicious biter" has returned. | | | | 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 | | "U.S. concerned about 'superspreader event' at U.N. as diplomats challenge New York City vaccine requirement," by CBS News' Pamela Falk: "The Biden administration worries that this year's U.N. General Assembly could become a COVID-19 'superspreader event' as world leaders descend on New York City without necessarily abiding by local vaccine requirements... Unlike last year, when COVID-19 pandemic forced the largest annual gathering of world leaders to go virtual, this year, a hybrid format means that heads of state can either send in a video or appear in person." — Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro vowed to defy the city's vaccine rules and travel to the General Assembly without having gotten the shot. | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "Rep. Lee Zeldin Confirms Leukemia Diagnosis," by The New York Times' Maggie Haberman: "Representative Lee Zeldin, a staunch conservative from Long Island and the leading Republican candidate in next year's race for governor in New York, revealed that he was diagnosed with leukemia last year and has been receiving treatment. Mr. Zeldin, 41, told attendees at an Ontario County Republican Party dinner on Friday night that he had been grappling with the diagnosis of early-stage chronic myeloid leukemia since November 2020." " Schumer embraces progressive policies, ahead of 2022 re-election," by NY1's Kevin Frey: "He helped to craft the 1990s crime bill and once voted against gay marriage. Sen. Charles Schumer has since shed such views, and is beating the progressive drum. Just this term, the Senate Majority Leader has introduced a bill to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. He has touted the need to go 'big' and 'bold' on President Joe Biden's domestic agenda. And, in tweet after tweet, he has urged Biden to cancel student debt. 'The American people are strongly behind us on this issue, overwhelmingly,' he said at a press event on student debt earlier this year. His embrace of these progressive policies — which has received praise from some on the left — mirrors a trend within the wider Democratic party, but it also comes as he faces a potential primary challenger from the left." | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A veteran NYPD officer has died of Covid-19. — The head of the state court officers union is retiring from his day job , but says he'll stay on as labor boss to spite New York's chief judge. — Revel mopeds have been banned from the Manhattan and Queensboro bridges. — Two lawmakers are appealing to Gov. Kathy Hochul for help in restoring pensions for staffers at St. Clare's Hospital, which closed more than a decade ago. — The carcass of a whale washed up on Staten Island. — Another Rikers Island inmate has died. — MTA announces the first woman to be in charge of subway car maintenance. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Ainsley Earhardt of "Fox & Friends" … CNN's Van Jones … Eric Adams campaign consultant Menashe Shapiro … Valerie Lapinski of Vox … Bloomberg's Drew Singer … MSNBC's Rachel Glasberg … Edelman's Tracy Sarria … Douglas Sellers … Brian Wanglin (h/t Justice Green) … Ali Bogdonoff … Max Root … ... (was Sunday): Monica Crowley … Smithsonian Magazine's Teddy Scheinman … Roger Angell turned 101 … Wade Lambert … Maggie Moran … Rebecca Blank … Joe Kristol … Mark Stevens … Erin Pelton … Barry Scheck … (was Saturday): Adam Keiper … Joan Walsh … Wolfgang Schäuble … Andrew Church … The Guardian's Chris Taylor … Chris Lucas … WaPo's Desmond Butler … Erin Madigan White … Isabelle Taylor Kenyon MAKING MOVES — Devan Cayea is now senior adviser/director of strategic planning for Gov. Kathy Hochul. He most recently was scheduling director for Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). … Amanda Fuchs Miller is now legislative director for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). She most recently was president of Seventh Street Strategies. WEDDING — Campbell Matthews, who leads U.S. and Canada public affairs communications for DoorDash, recently married Drew Millum, who leads trust and safety at Kasa Living. The couple met while working at Lyft. Pic ... Another pic | | REAL ESTATE | | "At Council Hearing, Divided Views On Whether Commercial Rent Regulation Will Bolster City's Economy," by WNYC's Beth Fertig: "A controversial proposal to cap the amount of rent landlords can charge on some commercial leases drew hundreds to testify at a virtual hearing before the New York City Council's Small Business Committee on Friday. Supporters of the measure — initially proposed by Councilmember Stephen Levin in 2019 as a way to attract small businesses to vacant storefronts — said it will help keep mom-and-pop shops from being priced out as the city recovers from the pandemic." " Sears Closing Brooklyn Store, Its Last Outpost in New York City," by The City's Gabriel Sandoval: "In Flatbush, a beloved Sears department store has remained in business since 1932, its Art Deco building a relic of a bygone era that's now a protected city landmark. But the end of line is near for the chain department store, known for its architecture and 100-foot tower at the corner of Beverley Road and Bedford Avenue. Among the signs: flashy sale posters plastered on the front door. 'EVERYTHING MUST GO!' reads one at the entrance. Another reads: 'FURNITURE, FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT FOR SALE.' Sears is advertising jobs for 'Store Closing-Brooklyn,' and a company specializing in retail store liquidations has the Beverley Road store on its Sears 'store closing list.' Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018. On Saturday, Transformco, a firm that acquired Sears assets, told THE CITY the store will be closing on Nov. 24 — opening a parcel the size of a city block for development."
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