| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Presented by Equinor | New York's new redistricting maps are in, and they're looking very good for Democrats. In fact, by our Bill Mahoney's math, New York could add as many as three Democratic members of Congress under the new set of proposed district lines. If that happens, the state would send 22 House Democrats to Washington. Democrats, who have supermajorities in both houses of the state Legislature, are poised to control the outcome of the mapmaking process in New York for the first time in generations. Yes, a much-ballyhooed reform created an independent commission that would do away with all this gerrymandering business. But that failed pretty spectacularly, with the bipartisan panel unable to come up with a proposal, leaving the Legislature to take control of the process last week and draw its own maps. New York is set to lose one of its current 27 House seats under the most recent census. To account for that, the Legislature's maps effectively eliminate the district held by Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney, who lives in the Utica area. Oh, but there's more: Several remaining seats would become much more difficult for the GOP to hold. The Staten Island district represented by Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis — a constant battleground in recent years, where the incumbent faces a challenge from ex-Rep. Max Rose, who was defeated by Malliotakis in 2020 — would add liberal parts of Brooklyn including Park Slope. Long Island's two current GOP districts — which have been competitive but regularly elected Republicans over the last decade — would be replaced with one district that favors Democrats (Republican gubernatorial hopeful Lee Zeldin's current district) and another that leans GOP. The district held by retiring moderate Republican Rep. John Katko — already a tough one for the GOP to keep — would add more Democratic territory. State GOP chair Nick Langworthy called the maps "the most brazen and outrageous attempt at rigging the election" and "textbook filthy, partisan gerrymandering that is clearly in violation of the New York State Constitution." He said Republicans are reviewing legal options, but barring any intervention, state legislators are planning to vote on approving the new maps before they wrap up their weekly session on Wednesday. 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? Attending a National Governors Association meeting at the White House with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Cabinet officials. WHERE'S ERIC? Attending a correction officer graduation, making a climate announcement, attending the 30th anniversary celebration of Hello Deli, and speaking at a Jewish Community Relations Council board of directors meeting.
| | | | 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 developmentsin the US and quickly becoming a leader in this growing industry. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | NYC sees rapid decline in Covid-19 cases. Here are the latest figures, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: New York City is seeing a "rapid decline" in Covid-19 cases as it begins to emerge from the surge driven by the Omicron variant, Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday. But the latest wave has had a grim toll: More than 2,300 New Yorkers have died of the coronavirus in the month of January alone. The city reported a seven-day average of 5,054 new virus cases in the latest stats, down from a high of over 43,000 in early January. And the city's positivity rate Saturday was 4.83 percent, the lowest of any region in the state. "All indicators are saying we're heading in the right direction: a rapid decline in cases. They remain high, but they clearly are declining," Adams said at a briefing at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx. " New York's Recovery Took 2 Steps Forward. Omicron Sent It One Step Back ," by The New York Times' Nicole Hong, Matthew Haag and Patrick McGeehan: "As the pandemic stretches into a third year, the Omicron variant has added another speed bump in New York City's road back to normalcy, injecting fresh uncertainty into the economic outlook and threatening to worsen the city's already lopsided recovery. Office workers were sent home again, reversing steady increases in subway ridership and hurting small businesses in central business districts. A survey of major companies by the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group, found that 75 percent of employers have delayed their return-to-office plans. The last two months were supposed to be uplifting, with the arrival of overseas travelers offering a glimmer of hope for the hundreds of thousands of workers whose jobs rely on tourists. Instead, hotel occupancy rates plummeted." — " NYC's Chinatown hoping to roar back in Year of the Tiger after omicron," by New York Daily News' Ginnie Teo Adams appoints top housing officials, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: Mayor Eric Adams named his top housing aides Sunday, appointing Jessica Katz as the city's chief housing officer and Adolfo Carrión Jr. as commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The announcements come amid a rocky transition that has delayed some of Adams' personnel moves, and controversy over his decision not to name a deputy mayor for housing. Adams brushed off those concerns at a City Hall press conference Sunday — but also acknowledged that the dominance of crime concerns in his first weeks in office has drowned out some other issues. " Adams Blames Bail Law After Release of Teen Charged in Officer Shooting ," by The New York Times' Jonah E. Bromwich and Emma G. Fitzsimmons: "Mayor Eric Adams escalated his battle against New York's bail law on Friday, blaming it for the release from custody of a teenager accused in the shooting of a police officer in the Bronx this month. Shortly after speaking at the funeral of a slain police officer, Mr. Adams, a former police captain, released a statement saying he was 'outraged' that the teenager, Camrin Williams, had been released on bond — his most forceful comments yet calling for changes to the law." — Adams says he may hire more NYPD cops, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin " New York gives final salute to slain NYPD officer ," by The Associated Press' Bobby Caina Calvin and Jennifer Peltz: "Praised as a hero who wanted to help the New York Police Department evolve, slain Officer Jason Rivera drew tributes and vows that the force will 'never give up' at a funeral Friday for the rookie who was gunned down with his partner last week. Police filled the pews at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and a sea of blue uniforms stretched for blocks as snow drifted outside the city's iconic church." — "The mourning widow of slain NYPD cop Jason Rivera called out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Friday over what critics have cast as his lax approach to prosecuting crime. …'The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service,' Luzuriaga told a crowd of thousands gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown for Rivera's funeral service. 'I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA.'" — Gov. Kathy Hochul met with Bragg and said she "reiterated my belief that safety and justice must go hand in hand."
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | Hochul extends New York's 'mask or vax' policy amid court challenge, by POLITICO's Shannon Young and Michelle Bocanegra: Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that she's extending a contentious state policy that requires New Yorkers to wear face coverings in all public indoor settings — or show proof of Covid-19 vaccination — through Feb. 10. The extension comes as a legal fight brews over the state's mandate. The governor, who instituted the "mask or vax" requirement as the Omicron variant began to drive a resurgence in Covid cases and hospitalizations across the state, had been undecided publicly about whether she would continue the policy, which was set to expire on Feb. 1. — "The number of new COVID-19 cases in New York has fallen by more than half in a week, the latest state numbers show. There were 12,332 positive test results reported statewide Friday, down from 27,643 a week earlier, according to stats released Saturday by Gov. Kathy Hochul." Cryptocurrency industry fights proposed NY moratorium. Here is what's at stake, by POLITICO's Marie J. French: New York is a burgeoning industry for Bitcoin due to its cheap energy and shuttered coal plants. But environmentalists and key state lawmakers are not bullish on its future. In fact, they want to ban it. Lawmakers in New York who head powerful energy committees are pushing for a three-year moratorium on permits for power plants that burn fossil fuels to mine Bitcoin, a measure that would be the first of its kind in the nation and may be a precursor to regulatory actions by Congress. " State Senate Elections Chair Pushes Back On GOP Commissioners Raising Specter Of Election Fraud," by WNYC's Brigid Bergin: "The chair of New York State Senate's Elections Committee is demanding state Board of Elections officials turn over any evidence of alleged irregularities after two Republican commissioners made a series of comments criticizing new laws related to absentee ballots signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The commissioners issued a lengthy statement earlier this month criticizing Hochul for signing one law that would allow people to continue applying for absentee ballots online and another that allows absentee ballots to be processed ahead of an election." " Facing a Ban, a School District Fights to Keep 'Indian' Nickname ," by The New York Times' Corey Kilgannon: "Cory and Sarah McMillan of Cambridge, N.Y., recoiled when their 6-year-old daughter came home from her first-grade class one day and mentioned that she and her friend were playing 'like animals' in a game they called 'Savages.' 'Like that,' she said, pointing to the Indian head mascot on her school newsletter. 'We said, "This isn't good,"' recalled Mr. McMillan, 42, who grew up in the rural town of 2,000 people a few hours north of New York City. The couple joined a local campaign to retire the Cambridge 'Indians,' which for more than a half-century has stood as a familiar symbol of school and hometown pride." " To-Go Drinks Had Plenty of Fans in New York. Just Not the Right Ones ," by The New York Times' Luis Ferré-Sadurní: "It set off a contentious clash between liquor stores and the restaurant industry over who should be allowed to put alcohol in New Yorkers' hands outside of their premises. In a flurry of activity, their lobbyists took aim at the State Capitol, trade groups started public relations campaigns, and even the union representing state police waded into the debate. But the time-tested lobbying efforts of the liquor store industry, which appeared to mobilize more swiftly to quell momentum of the legislation, caught the restaurant industry flat-footed. Behind the scenes, the liquor store industry directed tens of thousands of dollars in political donations to state lawmakers, while individual store owners mounted a campaign to pressure their elected officials. Their primary concern, of course, was money."
| | | | A message from Equinor:   | | | | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | " Avenatti Cross-Examines Stormy Daniels, Focusing on the Paranormal ," by The New York Times' Colin Moynihan: "Early in Michael Avenatti's cross-examination of his former client Stormy Daniels on Friday, he asked whether, a few years earlier, a 'dark entity' had entered her home through a 'portal.' 'That's what I was told by a medium,' Ms. Daniels replied. The unusual exchange came during a second day of testimony by Ms. Daniels at Mr. Avenatti's trial in federal court in Manhattan on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Mr. Avenatti, who is representing himself, is accused of stealing about $300,000 in payments meant for Ms. Daniels by using a fake letter to dupe her literary agent."
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Mayor Eric Adams toured the five boroughs and shoveled snow outside his Brooklyn brownstone as a winter storm hit the city with close to a foot of snow. — The city shuttered the outdoor dining program Saturday in response to the storm. — Two Long Island nurses were charged with making and selling fake vaccine cards. — " Sweet Smell of Success: Tales From the Garbage Heap Lost and Found" — Three in four applications by families seeking homeless shelter got rejected last year. — The city's plan for a Brooklyn artwork to celebrate the abolitionist movement moved forward despite some criticism of its design. — Rapid grocery delivery startups in the city are losing money. — Many New Yorkers are supporting relatives in the Mexican state of Puebla. — A SUNY Oneonta student was found frozen to death outside of a garbage truck Thursday morning, when the temperature dropped below -10 degrees.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: BuzzFeed's Katherine Miller … Heather Riley … CNN's Christine Romans and Clarissa Ward … Michael Kempner of MWW … Fox News' Martha MacCallum … Tim Naftali … NBC's Sarah Blackwill … Eli Nachmany … Orit Gadesh … Tricia McLaughlin … David Plotz … Dylan Byers … Edelman's Brooke Buchanan … Jarrett Murphy … … (was Sunday): Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) … CFPB Director Rohit Chopra turned 4-0 … CBS News Radio's Steven Portnoy … Alexis Serfaty … NBC's Natasha Korecki … MSNBC's Chris Jansing … Nels Olson of Korn Ferry … BuzzFeed's Sarah Mimms … CNN's Maeve Reston … Khaite's Jack Pretto … Len Bickwit of Miller & Chevalier … Lizzie Grubman … Josh Kram of the U.S. Chamber … Peter Lauria … Marcela Sanchez of the World Bank … Adweek's Chris Ariens … Max Taves … Joshua M. Kram ... … (was Saturday): Bloomberg's Lauren Dezenski and Eric Roston … Henry Ross … Edelman's Aaron Guiterman … Tom Collamore of the George and Barbara Bush Foundation … Sean Walsh ... Kai Ramos … Grace Ferguson … Aaron Krasney … Karen Showalter … Elliot Forchheimer ... Denielle Sachs WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Andrew Kaczynski and Rachel Ensign welcomed a baby girl , Talia Davida, the Hebrew name of her big sister, Francesca (aka "Beans"), who tragically died of complications from cancer. SPOTTED: Mayor Eric Adams dined with Nas at Cote Korean Steakhouse. The rapper wasn't always a supporter: He joined fellow hip hop legends Jay-Z and Diddy in endorsing Ray McGuire in the Democratic mayoral primary. MEDIAWATCH — Olivia Nuzzi played herself in a cameo on Sunday night's episode of "Billions." MAKING MOVES — Richard Weiss is retiring after 25 years as communications director at the Mason Tenders District Council/Laborers, and 42 years working in the labor movement. … Jason Laidley is joining Moonshot Strategies, the New York-City based political consulting and government relations firm as senior vice president for government affairs. He has been chief of staff to state Sen. Jamaal Bailey. He will continue to serve as Bailey's campaign manager and has also launched his own strategy and consulting firm called London House. … … Aaron Zelinger is now chief of staff and public policy lead at New York-based Arena-AI. He most recently co-led government deployments at Palantir Technologies and served as a visiting research associate with the office of Condoleezza Rice. … Michael Greenwald is joining Amazon Web Services in a senior executive role. He most recently was director of digital assets at Tiedemann Advisors and is a Treasury alum. HOT READ: " Andrew Cuomo's Former Press Secretary on Surviving Decades of Working for Powerful Men: 'A Bee's Nest,'" by People's Sam Gillette
| | | | 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 | | " New York OKs least new housing of any city in Northeast ," by New York Post's Conor Skelding: " No wonder the rent is too damn high. New York City approved less new housing per resident than any other Northeast city in 2020. Just 2.4 new units were permitted per 1,000 New Yorkers in 2020, the last full year on record. That's fewer than Baltimore (2.8), Philadelphia (3.6), Boston (5.1) Newark (5.3), New Haven (5.6), or Washington, D.C. (10.3). 'New York City is failing to produce enough rental housing, particularly at below-market rents, to keep up with population growth — and it's making the housing crisis even worse,' James Whalen, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said." " In the Bronx, a Push to Save Cass Gilbert's Train Stations ," by The New York Times' John Freeman Gill: "The majestically moldering Bronx stations of the old New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad are, in the words of one architectural historian, like a broken string of pearls. Some have been lost, while 'others are being slowly crushed by the boot of time.' Only three of the stations, built in 1908 to designs by Cass Gilbert and shuttered in 1937, survive with their roofs intact; a fourth lies in picturesque ruins in the woods surrounded by Pelham Bay Park. But after decades of malign neglect, two beguiling stations in the South Bronx are now the subjects of an ambitious effort to bring them back to life in new ways." | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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