News : POLITICO New York Playbook: The vaccine mandate reckoning

Monday, November 1, 2021

POLITICO New York Playbook: The vaccine mandate reckoning

Nov 01, 2021

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia

New York City is facing a moment of truth today, when city employees not vaccinated against Covid-19 will be barred from work and placed on unpaid leave. Vaccination rates jumped significantly over the weekend, but thousands of first responders are still expected to be off the job: Firefighters were at a 75 percent vaccination rate as of Sunday night, Sanitation workers at 82 percent, NYPD at 84 percent, and EMS at 87 percent. The total city workforce has reached a rate of 90 percent.

Coinciding as it has with the last weekend of the mayor's race *and* the first weekend of the 2022 gubernatorial primary, it's no surprise this issue has gotten political fast. Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa in particular spent the weekend barnstorming against the vaccine mandate, visiting NYPD precincts, firehouses and a raucous rally on Staten Island. Should he pull off an upset and become mayor, he says he'll reverse the mandate immediately and give unvaccinated city workers back pay and a ticker tape parade to boot. "This madness must stop," he said.

Democratic frontrunner Eric Adams is less eager to discuss the issue, though he has expressed support for the mandate. When pressed repeatedly for details on how he would enforce the requirement, he said he's not mayor yet and doesn't want to Monday morning quarterback.

On the ground, effects of the mandate are already being felt. The FDNY took a number of fire companies out of service on Saturday as firefighters called in sick in apparent protest. "Irresponsible bogus sick leave by some of our members is creating a danger for New Yorkers and their fellow firefighters," FDNY commissioner Daniel Nigro said. Meanwhile, a group of on duty firefighters were suspended for threatening a state senator with an FDNY fire truck in tow. Garbage has been piling up around the city as it goes uncollected by disgruntled sanitation workers.

The full scope of the impact will become clear over the course of today and in the coming days, even as New Yorkers elect a new mayor.

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 about paid family leave and speaking at a National Action Network celebration.

WHERE'S BILL? Holding a media availability and appearing on NY1's Inside City Hall.

WHERE'S ERIC? Speaking with voters at a Queens subway stop, appearing on WSKQ-FM radio, attending GOTV event with labor unions in Manhattan and hosting GOTV events in Manhattan, including in Harlem.

WHERE'S CURTIS? No public schedule by press time.

QUOTE OF THE DAY "Don't worry, everyone. The taxi is okay." — Sliwa, who got hit by a cab and suffered a broken arm but stayed on the campaign trail.

ABOVE THE FOLD — She took on Cuomo, Trump and the NRA — now Tish James wants to be governor, by POLITICO's Anna Gronewold: New York Attorney General Tish James announced Friday she will run for governor in 2022, putting an end to months of speculation about her political ambitions and opening the floodgates for what could be the most contested Democratic primary for governor in a decade. James, whose sweeping investigation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo led to his resignation in August, declared her long-awaited candidacy in a video that emphasized her Brooklyn roots, her record standing up to powerful companies and her 76 challenges to the Donald Trump administration. "But who's counting?" she quipped with a shrug. ... James has widely been regarded as one of the strongest potential challengers to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the former lieutenant governor who took over for Cuomo after he was toppled by a mushrooming scandal linked to a dozen accusations of sexual misconduct. While Hochul made history as the first woman to lead the state, James would be the first Black woman elected governor in the nation.

— James' official entrance made way for some early downstate endorsements.

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WHAT CITY HALL'S READING

De Blasio makes moves toward his political future as spotlight focuses on others, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: Mayor Bill de Blasio was in his element, just as New York's political lens was focusing on others. Hours before a throng of candidates gathered for a pre-Election Day rally in Manhattan last Sunday, the outgoing mayor visited a Brooklyn church to tout his accomplishments to a receptive audience while hinting at plans to stay in the public eye when his term ends … By the end of the week — with politicos taking bets on when Attorney General Tish James would announce her bid for governor — de Blasio had quietly mailed paperwork to launch a committee of his own for the state's highest elected office. On Wednesday he finalized forms to establish a candidate committee with the state Board of Elections. He is calling it "New Yorkers for a Fair Future" and has appointed Queens resident Daniel Point as its treasurer, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.

"With 1.9% enrollment drop, NYC schools have lost 64,000 students since pandemic started," by Chalkbeat's Alex Zimmerman: "Enrollment in the nation's largest school system has dropped roughly 1.9% this school year, according to preliminary figures released Friday by the education department. Roughly 938,000 students are enrolled in New York City's public schools, down from about 955,000 last school year, when the system saw a significant decline related to the coronavirus pandemic."

"Top cop in Mayor de Blasio's NYPD detail shared hotel room with City Hall staffer: court papers ," by New York Daily News' Graham Rayman, Michael Gartland and Stephen Rex Brown: "The commanding officer of Mayor de Blasio's security detail 'went ballistic' when a detective managing the unit's expenses spotted receipts showing the prominent cop shared a hotel room with a City Hall staffer, according to a deposition obtained by the Daily News. Inspector Howard Redmond oversaw a dysfunctional detail rife with major lapses in judgment, Detective Karl Rugg said in the explosive testimony."

Adams winds down campaign with unions that boosted him throughout, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: Ahead of an election he is likely to win in a landslide, Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams will rally Monday with a trio of unions that supported his bid in the contentious primary. Adams will join the city's largest public-sector union, District Council 37, along with the Hotel Trades Council and 32BJ — the organization representing building service workers — for a rally in City Hall Park, just a stone's throw from the building he hopes to occupy on Jan. 1.

" Sexual Assaults Are Worsening a Crisis at Rikers, Jail Officers Say," by The New York Times' Karen Zraick: "One female correction officer was attacked and choked by a man who had been convicted of sexual assault. Another, a veteran officer who had worked at the Rikers Island jail complex for more than 15 years, was groped as she escorted detainees through a crowded vestibule. A male officer said a detainee had grabbed his genitals as he tried to cajole the man into a cell. New York City's jails are facing a critical shortage of staff that is contributing to violence and lawlessness at the facilities, and officers say sexual harassment and assault by detainees are compounding the crisis. Female officers, who account for almost half of the city's active correction officers, are at particularly high risk. Male officers are affected as well, but may be less inclined to speak out because of shame and stigma."

— The NYCLU sued the Department of Correction for withholding disciplinary records.

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

"Hochul likens 'scary' Penn Station to haunted house during tour of new LIRR terminal at Grand Central," by New York Post's Kevin Sheehan and David Meyer: "Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday pledged to take action to fix 'scary' Penn Station during a tour of Grand Central's long-delayed and severely overbudget 'East Side Access' terminal. ... 'It feels like a real trick when you've got to go into that Penn Station!' the governor explained. 'You have to make your way through dark areas. Ah, it's like a setting of Halloween. Scary! And a place that you do not want to be any longer than possible.' Hochul said she would not wait until the completion of a new tunnel underneath the Hudson River to renovate Penn."

WHO WAS CARL FOR HALLOWEEN? Prince, of course.

WELCOME BABY LG: Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin announced on Twitter that his wife, Cathleen, on Friday gave birth to their second daughter, Olivia Addison.

Albany sheriff promises 'overwhelming amount of evidence' against Cuomo, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple says he was "sandbagged" by the release of the criminal complaint against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but said that doesn't hurt the chances of what he characterized as a "solid case." "We have an overwhelming amount of evidence. We have a victim who has been cooperating fully every day, every step of the way," Apple said at a news briefing Friday. "As far as a conviction … it's really going to come down to a jury, a judge, and the district attorney's office." A misdemeanor complaint on charges of forcible touching against Cuomo was released Thursday. It involves allegations the former governor groped former staffer Brittany Commisso at the Executive Mansion in Albany last year.

— "Andrew Cuomo's lawyer asks Albany sheriff to save investigation records," by WABC's Derick Waller

— WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD WEIGHS IN: " The Curious Andrew Cuomo Complaint": "That timing, which redounds to Ms. James' political benefit, could be a coincidence — but it raises questions about political motivations in the justice system that can't be ignored."

THE HOCHUL ADMINISTRATION released the mid-year update to the state's financial plan, showing the state with better-than-expected economic growth and revenues projected to be an additional $4 billion higher than prior projections.

— Spectrum News' Nick Reisman: "How the last 48 hours in New York politics fore shadow the coming months"

" Supreme Court to hear case on New York's gun permit law," by The Associated Press' Jessica Gresko: "The Supreme Court is preparing to hear a gun rights case that could lead to more guns on the streets of New York and Los Angeles and threaten restrictions on guns in subways, airports, bars, churches, schools and other places where people gather. ... The case centers on New York's restrictive gun permit law and whether challengers to the law have a right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense."

#UpstateAmerica: Former Buffalo Bills running back and continued hall-of-famer O.J. Simpson attended his first game at Orchard Park in quite some time.

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TRUMP'S NEW YORK

"The Places in New York City Where Republicans Still Stand a Chance," by The New York Times' Katie Glueck: "For most Democratic candidates running in New York City, criticizing former President Donald J. Trump hardly requires making a studied campaign strategy decision — it's already a given. But in one of the few competitive races in New York City this year, the Democratic candidate for City Council will not even say how he voted for president, insisting that at the local level, voters in his Brooklyn district still care more about municipal matters. That candidate, Steven Saperstein, is running in one of the few Trump-friendly districts in the city, and as he campaigned down a breezy stretch of boardwalk in Brighton Beach last Sunday, not far from the Trump Village housing complex where he grew up, he couldn't seem to escape partisan politics."

AROUND NEW YORK

— A judge denied a new request by Eric Garner's family to force Mayor Bill de Blasio and former police commissioners to testify at a judicial inquiry.

— The NYPD has already exceeded its overtime budget with eight months to go in the fiscal year.

— New York pediatricians are prepping for a rush of kids vaccination appointments.

— Ex-City Council Member Chaim Deutsch finally got the Covid-19 vaccine before beginning his prison sentence for tax fraud.

— The number of Uber and Lyft rides in the city has declined 15 percent in recent months.

— The New York Racing Association and its employees have been struggling to recover from the pandemic even with a $10 million PPP loan.

— Houghton College, a small Christian school in Western New York, has cut its tuition by half.

— Roger Rascoe, chairman of the Ulster County Republican Party, died of a heart attack on Friday at age 69.

— Democrat Todd Kaminsky and Republican candidate Anne Donnelly debated bail reform in the close race for Nassau County district attorney.

— Rapper Fetty Wap pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges after being arrested at Citi Field.

— A former NYPD officer was sentenced to four years in prison for a botched murder for hire plot to kill her estranged husband and his teenage daughter.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CNN's Marshall Cohen … John Seeley … Vanessa Morrone Ambrosini … John Oxtoby of Ariel Investments … Business Roundtable's Liz Dougherty … John Seeley … Francesco Guerrera … Erin Hearn, VP of alliance development at J Strategies (h/t Adam Morey) ...

… (was Sunday): Dan Rather turned 9-0 … Jane Pauley … Frank Bruni … Olivia Alair Dalton … POLITICO's Betsy Woodruff Swan and Michael Kruse … ProPublica's Marilyn Thompson … George Bogden … Cathy Cavender … Susan Orlean … Sam Tanenhaus … FTI Consulting's Joe Kon … Howard Friedman ... Spencer Herbst ... Piper Perabo …

... (was Saturday): Ivanka Trump turned 4-0 … NBC's Andrea Mitchell … Maggie Haberman … POLITICO's Bill Mahoney … Paul Rosen of Crowell & Moring … Robert Caro … Laurence Leamer turned 8-0 … David Krone

MAKING MOVES — Kate Lucadamo, formerly communications director for City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, has joined Marathon Strategies. … Moody's has promoted Christine Elliott to head of global corporate affairs, overseeing communications and brand management, corporate social responsibility (including Moody's Foundation), and government relations and regulatory affairs. She joined the firm last January as head of global communications and branding. … Morning Consult's Kyle Dropp, Facebook's Marne Levine and Accenture's Jill Kramer are among the new directors of the board of directors of the Ad Council.

MEDIAWATCH — Ethan Klapper is joining the aviation team of The Points Guy. He is coming from Yahoo News, where he has served as senior audience development editor.

HAPPENING TODAY — Vice President Kamala Harris and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will tour John F. Kennedy International Airport and deliver remarks on climate action at 1:30 p.m. And at 7:30 p.m., Harris will deliver remarks at National Action Network's 30th Anniversary Triumph Awards at Carnegie Hall.

SPOTTED: Kirsten Gillibrand dressed up as Cruella de Vil. Her dog Maple was a dragon.

REAL ESTATE

"NYCHA Workers Covered Up Signs of Mold to Skirt Cleanup, Probe Shows," by The City's Greg B. Smith: "For New York City's 400,000 public housing residents, moisture building up in bathrooms is an enemy that spawns toxic mold and must be vanquished. But NYCHA staff can't keep up with the demand for repairs. At the Washington Houses in East Harlem, a NYCHA superintendent in charge of mold inspections allegedly found a simple way to solve this dilemma: Pretend the moisture isn't there."

"In a Supertall Tower, How Much Affordable Housing Is Enough? " by The New York Times' Stefanos Chen: "More than 20 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, a 900-foot apartment tower could soon rise at the World Trade Center, making it the first and only residential project to be built on the 16-acre campus. The 80-story project at 130 Liberty Street, a publicly owned property known as Site 5, would include 1,200 apartments — of which 25 percent, or 300 units, would be permanently rented at below-market value — as well as office, retail and community space. ... But a group of local residents and elected officials, frustrated by the dearth of affordable housing citywide, is pushing for more — a tower that could become the world's tallest 100-percent-affordable housing project and a symbol of equity for the workers and families who rebuilt Lower Manhattan, even as they have been priced out of their homes. (The group hopes to include a tenant preference for 9/11 survivors and essential workers.)"

"De Blasio connected to firms working on controversial NYC Blood Center tower," by New York Post's Melissa Klein and Carl Campanile : "Mayor de Blasio has ties to two of the firms representing the New York Blood Center in its controversial tower plan, which has been fiercely opposed by its Upper East Side neighbors and other elected officials."

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