| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo now faces criminal charges for one of the most egregious instances of alleged sexual misconduct behavior that preceded his resignation. Late yesterday, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said a probe had found that there was cause to bring charges in the case of a former aide who said Cuomo groped her under her shirt at the governor's mansion last year. A criminal complaint has been filed, and Cuomo has been summoned to appear in court in Albany on Nov. 17. The forcible touching charge is a class A misdemeanor and has a penalty of up to one year in jail, if convicted. Prosecutors would need to prove that Cuomo intentionally and forcibly groped the victim against her will with the intention of either his own gratification or to degrade the victim. One takeaway from the news — which rolled out in a confusing few hours of accidental releases and erroneous reports that turned out to be accurate — is that it didn't appear extremely collaborative. Albany County District Attorney David Soares said that he was not a part of Thursday's action and he was "surprised" to learn of the criminal complaint "like the rest of the public." Cuomo's team said that means Apple's move is part of a political pile-on, the same argument they've used to object to the results of Attorney General Tish James' original investigation that corroborated at least 11 reports of harassment against Cuomo. His personal attorney Rita Glavin said in a statement that Cuomo has "never assaulted anyone" and called the sheriff's move "patently improper." Longtime spokesman Rich Azzopardi said because Soares didn't sign off on the charge — which was brought to Apple's office in August — "this process reeks of Albany politics and perhaps worse" and, then, curiously, "the truth about what happened with this cowboy sheriff will come out." James, who may or may not announce a run for governor in the coming hours, said in a statement the charges "further validate the findings in our report," which Cuomo has regularly sought to invalidate since its release in August. "From the moment my office received the referral to investigate allegations that former Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, we proceeded without fear or favor," she said. IT'S FRIDAY. 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? Speaking at an annual pre-election breakfast, making a noise pollution announcement in Brooklyn, appearing at an Eric Adams get-out-the-vote rally, speaking at the Corning Innovation Support Center, and visiting the Finger Lakes Beer Festival. WHERE'S BILL? Speaking at the pre-election breakfast and at an NYPD Medal Day ceremony. WHERE'S ERIC? Attending the same breakfast, holding a get-out-the-vote rally with supporters in Midtown, and appearing on Bloomberg Radio's "Balance of Power." WHERE'S CURTIS? No public schedule by press time. ABOVE THE FOLD — ' A manufactured crisis' — NYC braces for worker shortage as vaccine deadline looms, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin and Amanda Eisenberg: New York City is bracing for potential shortages in its police, sanitation and fire departments as a Friday deadline looms for all city workers to get the Covid-19 shot — with more than a quarter of workers at some key agencies still unvaccinated. The FDNY is warning that up to 20 percent of fire companies and ambulances could be out of commission on Monday, and garbage is already piling up in corners of the city in an apparent protest by sanitation workers. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he's confident the city can get through any disruptions — and the vaccine mandate is the right thing to do. "My job is to keep people safe — my employees, and 8.8 million people. And until we defeat Covid, people are not safe. If we don't stop Covid, New Yorkers will die," he told reporters. "We must, must stop Covid, and that must, must include our public employees. In fact, they need to lead the way." As the mayor spoke, more than a thousand city workers and vaccine opponents were protesting outside his home at Gracie Mansion. "On Nov. 1, there's going to be a crisis in this city," said Uniformed Firefighters Association president Andrew Ansbro. "This is a crisis that is orchestrated by the mayor. People's lives are at stake." QUOTE OF THE DAY — "It's historically inaccurate, but I'm still going to wear it because now we bought it." — De Blasio, upon being informed that his Halloween costume , which was supposed to be Captain Kirk, was the wrong color (His security team is probably happy it wasn't red.) | | | | JOIN TUESDAY FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE AIR TRAVEL: As delegates descend on Glasgow for the COP26 global climate summit, reducing carbon emissions in the aviation sector will play a critical role in the progress of fighting climate change. Join POLITICO for a deep-dive conversation that will explore the increased use of sustainable aviation fuel, better performance aircraft, and other breakthroughs in to cut greenhouse gas emissions and meet broader sustainability goals. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "Eric Garner's family again asks judge to call Mayor de Blasio and NYPD commissioners to testify at inquest," by New York Daily News' Molly Crane-Newman: "The family of Eric Garner urged a Manhattan judge Thursday to reconsider calling the mayor and current and past NYPD commissioners to testify at a judicial inquiry scrutinizing the circumstances of the Staten Island father's death. In a motion filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, lawyers for Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, asked Judge Erika Edwards to require the high-ranking officials to testify based on new evidence from Joseph Reznick, head of the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau." " Only 1 in 5 NYC students took last year's state tests, making results almost moot," by Chalkbeat's Reema Amin and Amy Zimmer: "About a fifth of New York City's third through eighth graders took the state's English and math exams last school year, when a majority of students learned remotely and the tests were deemed optional, according to data released Thursday by the state education department. With only about 20% of students in the five boroughs sitting for the exams and 40% of students statewide, the results will be hard to interpret because testing conditions and participation rates were vastly different than normal, experts have said. In 2019, when the test was last given pre-pandemic, 96% of students took them in New York City." "Faster than a pizza delivery: Cops clearing illegal bike lane parking complaints with curiously fast speed," by New York Post's Nolan Hicks, Khristina Narizhnaya and David Meyer: "They're too fast. Cops patrolling three community board districts with rampant complaints about illegal parking in bike lanes closed one-third of those cases in under 15 minutes, an 'implausibly fast' rate that city lawmakers say likely means there's no enforcement. The precincts that patrol the districts — Manhattan 5, which covers Midtown; Manhattan 10, which covers Central Harlem; and Brooklyn 6, which covers Cobble Hill to Gowanus — also accounted for two-thirds of all of the complaints closed in five minutes or less, the data showed." " Report of NYC Latinxs Analyzes Impact of COVID-19, Finds Income and Other Disparities," by NBC New York: "New York is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. and according to a new analysis of its population, there's just as much diversity among residents of Latin American heritage.The Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs on Thursday released data it has collected in order to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and systemic racism impact the Latinx community. The analysis, in which the city uses the gender-neutral term Latinx in place of Latino or Latina to describe people of Latin American descent as well as people of Hispanic and Spanish origin regardless of race, found that COVID-19 killed Latinx New Yorkers at 2.1 times the rate of white New Yorkers." | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "Hochul Acts to Open Up a Government Long Defined by Back-Room Deals," by The New York Times' Grace Ashford and Luis Ferré-Sadurní: "Gov. Kathy Hochul, under pressure from government watchdog groups, on Thursday released details of a plan to recuse herself from all matters involving Delaware North, the casino and concessions company where her husband is a top executive. The move came as part of a broader initiative by Ms. Hochul that includes plans to improve accountability across state agencies and to reduce a backlog of public records requests. It is the most tangible step yet in her pledge to improve transparency in a state government that has long been marred by back-room deals, cronyism and corruption. The plan announced on Thursday also included recusal arrangements for Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin and Karen Persichilli Keogh, Ms. Hochul's top aide." "Hochul taps LI, Queens execs to direct state's economic development efforts," by Newsday's James T. Madore: "Business leaders from Long Island and Queens, Kevin Law and Hope Knight, will be nominated to lead the state's primary business-aid agency, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday. Law, a former CEO of the Long Island Association business group, is being tapped to serve as board chairman of Empire State Development. Knight, CEO of the Greater Jamaica Development Corp., will be ESD CEO. The nominations are subject to confirmation by the State Senate, though Knight will serve in an acting capacity for now, according to an ESD official. ESD consists of two agencies: the Urban Development Corp. and Department of Economic Development." The lonely and forgotten Ballot Proposal 5, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: As Election Day approaches, few issues statewide have received as much attention as the five proposed constitutional amendments on the back of the ballot. Green groups have spent years building up support for Ballot Proposal 2, which would enshrine the right to a healthful environment. There's been a steady rollout of major endorsements for Ballot Proposals 1, 3 and 4 (which deal with redistricting, voter registration and absentee voting), and the opposition has been just as fierce — it's impossible to drive through some stretches upstate without hearing Conservative Party ads saying these amendments are a plot by corrupt Albany politicians to help "illegal immigrants" and themselves. And then there's Ballot Proposal 5. For some reason, the amendment to increase the New York City Civil Court's jurisdiction from claims up to $25,000 to those up to $50,000 hasn't exactly inspired the masses. It certainly has not been the subject of any high-profile campaigns. Well, that's not entirely accurate. It's technically been a part of the state GOP's campaign, as party officials are encouraging people to vote against all of the amendments. But their reason for opposing Ballot Proposal 5 isn't exactly due to any heartfelt opposition. "I don't care much about the civil courts in New York City, but I don't want to confuse things because the other questions are just so important," said state GOP Chair Nick Langworthy. "Jumaane Williams Runs for One Office With an Eye on Another, " by The New York Times's Jeffery C. Mays: " When New Yorkers show up to vote on Nov. 2, they will see a familiar name listed on the ballot for public advocate: Jumaane D. Williams, the Democratic incumbent. Because of a quirk in political and electoral timing, this is the third time that Mr. Williams has had to run for public advocate in less than three years. 'I'm so honored to be your public advocate,' Mr. Williams told a crowd at a get-out-the-vote rally on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Sunday. 'I'd be honored if you re-elect me one more time.' But Mr. Williams, 45, left another political goal unmentioned that day: He is also a potential candidate for governor." #UpstateAmerica: Whoops, Erie County was duped out of more than $100K in taxpayer money by someone using fake email addresses, inside information and an account in Texas. | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a package of bills to crack down on ghost guns. — Hope Knight, head of the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, has been named the new president and CEO of Empire State Development. — Relics worth $15 million allegedly looted by a city art dealer were returned to India. — The Albany police union is rallying against a measure on the ballot next week that would give citizens more oversight of "bad actors" in the force. — A Putnam County man was the first of the Hudson Valley suspects to plead guilty to entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. — Who are the people behind New York Metro Weather? — The skateboarder who was accused of vandalizing a George Floyd statue in Union Square Park was identified as a small-time actor, who appeared in "Parks and Recreation." — The MTA looks into turning single subway rides into unlimited passes. — A 71-year-old man was hit by a stray bullet in the leg on the Upper West Side. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge … White House's Kate Bedingfield and Seth Schuster … CNN's Laura Jarrett and David Siegel … WaPo's Dave Clarke … Bloomberg's Robert George … WSJ's Kate Bachelder Odell … Tony Sayegh … Aon's Andy Weitz … Rena Finkel … Samantha Zeldin … Leigh Helfenbein … Jeffrey E. Garten … Deloitte's Jon Pool MEDIAWATCH — Alana Abramson is now a D.C. producer for CNN Plus. She most recently was a White House reporter at TIME Magazine. MAKING MOVES — Errol Cockfield and Andrew Williams are joining the Brunswick Group as partners. Cockfield most recently was an SVP of comms at MSNBC. Williams most recently was managing director of corporate comms at Goldman Sachs. … Caroline Hutcheson is now global communications head of electric vehicle startup REE Automotive. She most recently was director of financial communications at Boeing. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Joe Lewis's Nexus Club in Manhattan for a dinner and discussion about Facebook ethics, misinformation and media trends hosted by Zachary Todd and Beyond Labels: Nicholas Thompson, Gillian Tett, Danny Kahneman, Ben Smith, Brendan Ripp, Mia Shaw, Bryan McCann, Adam Cheyer, Jane Metcalfe, Anousheh Ansari, Ron Suskind, Peter Norvig, Yan Lee Cun, Kay Koplovitz, Newsha Ghaeli, Tim Werby, Drew Houston, Gretchen Rubin, Jorge Castaneda, Carroll Bogert and Joe Marchese. — SPOTTED at a Zoom book party Thursday night for Tom Galvin, a former NY Daily News and NY Post DC reporter, for his new book "The Auction" ($14.95 on Amazon): Scott Mulhauser, Jim Hock, Tim Burger, Shane Tews, Scott Gerber and Amber Allman. | | REAL ESTATE | | "Brooklyn's first supertall skyscraper officially reaches its full height," by CNN's Jacqui Palumbo: "Manhattan is no stranger to supertall skyscrapers but Brooklyn's skyline has now radically changed as its first supertall reached its full, vertiginous height on Thursday. The 93-story, 1,066-foot-tall residential building, standing at 9 DeKalb Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, was designed by SHoP Architects. (Supertalls, by definition, are residential or office buildings reaching 300 meters — 984 feet — or higher.) Newly christened 'The Brooklyn Tower,' it has been under construction since 2018 and cost $750 million total to develop."
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