| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Presented by Equinor | New York City will scrap its exclusive gifted and talented education program, getting rid of a test given to 4-year-olds to determine who gets into the special classes, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday . The current group of kids in gifted and talented classes — mostly white and Asian, in a mostly Black and Latino school system — will be the last. After that, students will be screened for accelerated instruction in particular subjects but stay in regular classrooms. At least, that's the plan. But expect this one to be a big fight because de Blasio will be out of office in less than three months. The Democratic mayoral nominee, Eric Adams, has advocated keeping gifted classes, while expanding the program to more low-income neighborhoods. His campaign said this weekend his position has not changed, and says he "reserves his right to implement policies based on the needs of students and parents, should he become mayor." Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa went further, holding a campaign event over the weekend to blast plans to get rid of G&T. He called the decision "pathetic and wrong." Parents are sharply divided on the changes, and critics say getting rid of the separate program could lead middle-class parents to leave the public school system altogether. But de Blasio argues that on the contrary, it's "a reason to stay," since more children will have a chance at some accelerated learning. The fate of gifted and talented is part of a broader battle over efforts to desegregate city schools, particularly the highest-performing ones. The next mayor will also inherit a debate over the city's specialized high schools like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science — where de Blasio tried and failed to get rid of an admissions process determined by a single test, while Adams wants to keep the test but create more seats. 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? In New York City delivering remarks at the 89th Annual Citizens Budget Commission Awards Gala. WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability. QUOTE OF THE DAY, '22 EDITION: "It's an honor and a privilege to be urged to run for the office of governor, but at this point in time, one as a woman of faith, I'm still praying on it; two, I'm still considering the options; and three, I'm considering where best I can make transformational change in the state of New York." — Attorney General Tish James at the New Yorker Festival on Sunday | | | | A message from Equinor: Can a wind turbine generate more than electricity? We believe it can. At Equinor, we're planning to power 2,000,000 New York homes with homegrown, renewable energy that will also boost the economy and generate jobs. And we will do more. Equinor is a broad energy company with an ambitious net-zero target for 2050. We're pursuing the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind developments in the US and quickly becoming a leader in this growing industry. | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | "Inside Rikers: Dysfunction, Lawlessness and Detainees in Control," by The New York Times' Jan Ransom, Jonah E. Bromwich and Rebecca Davis O'Brien: "When a detainee decided to hijack a bus inside the Rikers Island jail complex, little was in place to stop him. All he had to do was rise from where he sat with a half dozen other handcuffed men and walk to the front of the unguarded vehicle: A gate that should have confined him was left unsecured. The keys were in the ignition. Putting the bus into gear, he rammed a jail building and then backed up and rammed it again, this time with enough force to shake the walls and scatter bricks." — A Rikers correction officer was criminally charged with smuggling a razor blade to a detainee. De Blasio balks at repaying presidential security costs, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: Mayor Bill de Blasio balked Friday at repaying nearly $320,000 taxpayers spent on his security detail's travel during his presidential campaign, despite two official watchdog agencies concluding he owes the money. "It's a democracy, and so we exercised the right to appeal," de Blasio said on Brian Lehrer's show when asked if his campaign would reimburse the money, which the city Conflicts of Interest Board has determined it must under ethics rules. The city Department of Investigation released a scathing report Thursday finding de Blasio misused his NYPD detail — including by racking up a $319,794 tab for it to travel the country during his 2019 presidential bid and failing to reimburse the money. — AT THE PARADE: De Blasio was viciously heckled from 44th Street all the way to 57th Street as he marched in New York City's Columbus Day Parade. Despite not being invited to last year's virtual event, the proud Italian American waved the Italian flag towards the crowd. De Blasio was bombarded with insults — "F--- you, de Blasio!" "Worst mayor ever, congratulations!" "You're a disgrace!" One member of the crowd yelled, "F--- you, mayor! Scumbag!" with both middle fingers up. De Blasio's team and those surrounding him would loudly clap and cheer to block the harsh jeers towards him. The unwelcome response comes at an inopportune time for de Blasio, who is seriously considering a run for governor next year. In fact one parade-goer yelled, "You'll never be governor!" — Deanna Garcia "Who Is Curtis Sliwa? A Look at the GOP Mayoral Candidate's Wild Ride in New York," by The City's Rachel Holliday Smith: "In 2021, with cursory understanding of the name Curtis Sliwa, you'd be forgiven if you thought of the Republican nominee for mayor of New York City as just that wacky red-beret-wearing, cat-loving Guardian Angels leader with hardly a prayer of winning. ... But those who know Sliwa well say it would be folly to count him out completely." — Sliwa called for a Christopher Columbus statue to be installed on Staten Island. "'I'm Just Not Trained For This': Dept. Of Education Office Workers Sent To Understaffed NYC Schools," by Gothamist's Sophia Chang: "When Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all Department of Education employees, he repeatedly reassured families the city had plenty of resources to fill any sudden vacancies left by unvaccinated employees in the system's 1,800 public schools. Part of that plan was to deploy Central staffers — the DOE employees who work in the administrative offices — to schools alongside thousands of substitute teachers. ... Still, some Central staffers without educational experience have found themselves in classrooms." " De Blasio's 'Open Streets' Stalled at Fraction of Promised Hunded Miles," by The City's Gabriel Sandoval: "Fewer than half of the Open Streets touted by Mayor Bill de Blasio and his Department of Transportation are off limits to motor vehicles as advertised, a new survey finds. The review from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives also revealed extreme disparities between boroughs when it comes to the 24 miles of current Open Streets, with just half a mile in The Bronx versus eight miles in Manhattan. De Blasio had pledged 100 miles of Open Streets early in the pandemic to help with social distancing and safe recreation close to home, after Transportation Alternatives and the City Council both pressed the idea." | | | | THE MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE 2021 IS HERE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from one of the largest and most influential gatherings of experts reinventing finance, health, technology, philanthropy, industry and media. Don't miss a thing from the 24th annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, from Oct. 17 to 20. Can't make it? We've got you covered. Planning to attend? Enhance your #MIGlobal experience and subscribe today. | | | | |
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "Competing rallies offer stark contrast in philosophies of Byron Brown, India Walton," by Buffalo News' Robert J. McCarthy: "Competing rallies for Buffalo's mayoral candidates Saturday may have best illustrated the state, these days, of New York's Democratic Party. In his downtown headquarters, incumbent Byron Brown launched a key 'write-in education' component of his unprecedented effort after losing the June Democratic Party. And after starting a major effort to familiarize voters with the specifics of casting a write-in vote, Brown presented Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi of Nassau County to emphasize another major theme — the democratic socialism of Brown's opponent, India Walton. '... But across town at Martin Luther King Park, a similar-sized gathering of Walton supporters was making no apologies for the candidate's politics of democratic socialism. " — In Walton's corner, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who pushed for campaign donations on Twitter and compared her race to his '81 election to mayor of Burlington. " Subpoenaed records support timeline of mansion visit by Cuomo's alleged groping victim," by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "The timeline of the account by a female aide who accused Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of groping her during a brief encounter at the Executive Mansion last year has been supported by electronic records, including text messages, that were gathered by investigators for the state Assembly's Judiciary Committee, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. But the records indicate the aide's visit to the mansion on a workday afternoon in late 2020 took place in early December, rather than in November — a timeframe which had been erroneously proffered in a report by investigators with the state attorney general's office. Subpoenas issued by the Assembly's investigators — and by law enforcement officials who are conducting a parallel criminal investigation — confirm that Brittany Commisso had visited the Executive Mansion in early December, on a day she said the governor groped her in a sexually aggressive manner after she had assisted him with a minor issue involving his mobile phone." "Andrew Cuomo lawyer: No way ex-gov sexually harassed more than five women," by New York Post's Bernadette Hogan and Samuel Chamberlain: "Sure, he may have been found to have sexually harassed three or four women — but not 11. That's the unusual argument put forward by disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's lawyer in a brash Friday filing that attacked both his many accusers and state Attorney General Letitia James, whose office led an investigation that found Cuomo broke state and federal harassment laws. In a 10-page missive to state Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) and committee lawyers, Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin sought to prevent the panel from adopting James' findings in their own soon-to-be-released impeachment probe report." — Cuomo's campaign is still marked "active" by the state elections board and is still accepting contributions. "State accuses unvaccinated nurses of incompetence, misconduct," by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "The State University of New York has issued incendiary termination letters to nurses and other medical professionals charging them with misconduct, insubordination, dereliction of duties and incompetence after they declined to get vaccinated by the state's mandatory Sept. 27 deadline." "New York at center of legal battles over using ivermectin to treat COVID," by USA Today Network's David Robinson: "New York state is on the frontline of a national legal battle over the use of an anti-parasitic drug, ivermectin, to treat COVID-19 patients, despite it lacking federal approval for treating the respiratory disease. At least 14 lawsuits have sought to force New York hospitals to administer the drug to severely ill COVID-19 patients, including hospitals in the cities of Rochester and Poughkeepsie, court records show." "New York ends new applications for excluded workers fund ," by Spectrum News' Nick Reisman: "A fund meant to provide support for undocumented immigrations living in New York will no longer accept new applications and will have exhausted its more than $2 billion pot of money by the end of the month, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced. ... On Friday, Hochul announced the state had already approved $1.2 billion with nearly 120,000 applications, with the rest of the fund's money exhausted by the end of October." #UpstateAmerica: In what was probably a shock to families bound for an afternoon of apple picking, a parasailer was trapped in the powerlines high above nearby Indian Ladder Farms. | | | |   | | |
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "Trump, Giuliani loom large over ex-pal Lev Parnas' NYC federal trial starting this week," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt: "Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani are not on trial, but their names will likely feature prominently in Manhattan Federal Court as their former associate Lev Parnas faces a jury of his peers beginning Tuesday. Parnas, a Soviet-born businessman and onetime Republican fundraiser, is charged with orchestrating two complex campaign finance schemes, one of which overlapped with Trump and Giuliani's 2019 quest to find political dirt on then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in Ukraine." | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A nurse died after being knocked down in Times Square by a man fleeing after stealing a cell phone. — The DMV issued a warning for New Yorkers of a text message phishing scheme asking for Covid-19 vaccination status. — A fight over $960 million in costs to build the Tappan Zee replacement bridge could have an impact on the span's tolls. — The number of Native Americans living in New York City has increased, according to census data. — A Bronx street vendor who had her produce destroyed by the city received $13,000 in donations. — The city accidentally overpaid EMTs and paramedics and now wants them to give the money back. — A man stabbed a security guard at a Manhattan Apple store after the guard asked him to put on a mask. — Restaurants are worried that a waiver allowing them to use propane heaters for outdoor dining has expired and hasn't been renewed. — Anti-horse carriage group NYCLASS blasted Charter Communications for refusing to air its ad starring Edie Falco. | | | | 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. | | | | |
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Fox News' Chris Wallace and Lauren Blanchard … Lara Trump … NYT's Michael Barbaro … BuzzFeed's Rosie Gray … former U.S. Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral, now of the Inter-American Development Bank … Chris Coffey of Tusk Strategies and Tusk Ventures … WSJ's Gary Rosen … N.Y. Post's Juliegrace Brufke … Bloomberg's Anna Edney ... (was Monday): Bruce Bartlett turned 7-0 … Ron Prosor … Jamie Weinstein, host of the "Jamie Weinstein Show" podcast, who celebrated at Cafe Milano … Rob Speyer of Tishman Speyer … … (was Sunday): POLITICO's Clea Benson … Treasury's Alexandra LaManna … Fox Corp.'s Brian Nick and Raj Shah … Josh Kuckens … Michael Borden of Sidley Austin … Guillermo Meneses … Stanley Kay … Stefan Sambol … Tanveer Kathawalla … NYT's Adam Nagourney … Zack Nacheman … (was Saturday): Jason Kaplan of SKDKnickerbocker … David Jacobson turned 7-0 … ABC's Justin Fishel … Ben Rush … Todd Richman ... David Meyerson ... Gabriel Snyder … Kayla Levinson Segal … Julia Schechter of Brunswick Group … Elizabeth Shappell Lattanner … Valerie Berg WEEKEND WEDDING — POLITICO New York City editor David Giambusso tied the knot Saturday with Forbes staff writer Katie Jennings. Congrats to the newlyweds! MAKING MOVES — Lyndsey Wajert is now an associate at Mandell Menkes. She most recently was a legal fellow at Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. … Vasishth Srivastava has been named a director at Evergreen Strategy Group. Srivastava, who was a researcher for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, most recently was chief of staff for Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, an Obama-Biden alum and Afghan vet. FIRST IN NY PLAYBOOK — Obama White House alums Kal Penn and Valerie Jarrett will be in conversation at Symphony Space on November 2 to launch Penn's memoir "You Can't Be Serious." Penn, whose break-out role was playing stoner Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar trilogy, was hired by Jarrett to serve as Obama's liaison to young Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and the arts community. Tickets NEWS YOU CAN USE — " Fast flights, long trains and seaplanes: What's the quickest way to get to Boston from New York?" by The Points Guy's Tanner Saunders | | | | A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining challenge opportunity of our time. Our world needs energy to keep moving forward — but it must be affordable, reliable, and accessible. How will we do it? By accelerating the energy transition . At Equinor, we're growing our renewable energy portfolio and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. We're already on the way to powering 2,000,000 New York homes with energy from the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind projects. But for us, that's only the beginning. By the time the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050, our goal is to have net-zero emissions. Discover more about Equinor at www.equinor.com/USA. | | |
| | REAL ESTATE | | "Hotel owners sue NYC over new law requiring severance for workers," by New York Daily News' Michael Gartland: "A group of New York City hotel owners is suing the city over a new law requiring them to pay workers severance benefits if they were fired under circumstances related to the pandemic. The lawsuit, which was filed Friday by the Hotel Association of New York City in Manhattan federal court, alleges that the law, which Mayor de Blasio signed off on Tuesday, attempts to supersede already existing federal law on employee benefit plans." " Staten Island Sewer Project Stuck in the Drain for 24 Years as Climate Change Ups Stakes," by The City's Reuven Blau: "When Rudy Giuliani was being elected to a second term as mayor, his administration announced it would install a storm sewer in a flood-prone section of Staten Island. Nearly 24 years later, the $10.7 million project planned under a three-block stretch of Willow Avenue in Rosebank is finally set to begin construction in early 2022. 'It's ridiculous,' said Barry Catherwood as he stood outside a sign manufacturing site a block away. He said he's seen cars abandoned by drivers who got stuck in flood waters."
| | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment