News : POLITICO New York Playbook: Campaign promises left out of Adams' budget

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: Campaign promises left out of Adams' budget

Feb 22, 2022

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia

Presented by Healthcare Education Project

The cliche goes that you campaign in poetry and govern in prose. But when you're in charge of a $100 billion-ish city budget, you do a lot of governing through adds and trims to obscure agency budget lines. And so far, new Mayor Eric Adams is not necessarily putting his money where his mouth is.

To wit: Candidate Adams vowed to nearly double funding for city parks, making a pledge to dedicate at least 1 percent of the city's overall budget to the Parks and Recreation Department. Mayor Adams' budget doesn't do that, our Joe Anuta reports — instead giving parks around $500 million, or 0.5 percent of the total city budget.

Candidate Adams promised to create a citywide organic waste collection program. Mayor Adams' budget instead slashed an already planned expansion of the composting program, which Adams said he doesn't want to pump more cash into because it's "broken."

Candidate Adams also told a group of affordable housing advocates he would double the city's annual capital budget to $4 billion to boost affordable housing. That's not in the budget either. Neither is public funding for Citi Bike, which he backed during the campaign, as Transportation Alternatives pointed out.

Of course, candidate Adams also promised municipal belt-tightening , and it would have been pretty difficult to fulfill that promise and all the others he made on the trail. He now says the end of federal stimulus funds requires budget cuts at nearly every agency, but that he still intends to boost parks spending to 1 percent — just not yet. Adam Ganser, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks, which put forth the candidate challenge, said that's no excuse. "Mayor Adams used that as a way to get elected, and we expect for him to come up with a plan to get to the pledge he made," he told Joe.

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 virtual remarks at the New York State Association of Towns 2022 Annual Meeting and Training, making a cybersecurity announcement with Adams, and delivering remarks at the China General Chamber of Commerce 2022 Lunar New Year of the Tiger Reception.

WHERE'S ERIC? Making a cybersecurity announcement with Hochul.

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What City Hall's reading

"Mayor Adams hires ex-NYC Councilman Fernando Cabrera as faith adviser after he apologizes for anti-gay views," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt: "Mayor Adams tapped ex-City Councilman Fernando Cabrera late Monday to serve as a faith adviser in his administration after the controversial Bronx politician apologized for his history of anti-gay views and remarks. Cabrera, a Christian pastor who was initially under consideration to become the city's top mental health official, will act as a senior adviser in the newly-formed Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, Adams said in a statement. 'I hope New Yorkers will give Fernando the opportunity to show his commitment to bringing together all New Yorkers, regardless of who they love or how they identify,' Adams said."

— "Another Adams Pick With Anti-LGBTQ+ Views Shows 'Trend,'" by The City's Katie Honan and Claudia Irizarry Aponte: "A 2013 mayoral candidate who was against marriage equality has been appointed to Mayor Eric Adams' immigration office, sparking outrage from staffers and advocates who see a pattern within the new administration. Erick Salgado was picked this week to be assistant commissioner of outreach at the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs."

— LGBTQ rights activist Allen Roskoff did not invite Adams to his birthday bash at the mayor's favorite club, Zero Bond, because of his controversial appointees.

"Mayor Eric Adams' subway safety plan off to a slow start after violent weekend," by New York Post's Steven Vago, Nolan Hicks, Reuven Fenton and Gabrielle Fonrouge: "Mayor Eric Adams' comprehensive subway safety plan kicked off to a slow start Monday following a spate of violent underground incidents over the long holiday weekend. The plan, which seeks to crack down on subway crime and help the chronically homeless into shelters, promised to send about 30 specialized teams made up of cops, homeless outreach workers and behavioral clinicians into high-priority subway stations. City Hall was unable to confirm how many of those teams were dispatched Monday, saying only that 'some came online today' and the full 30 would be deployed in the coming days and weeks."

— There were at least eight violent attacks in the subway system the weekend after the plan was announced.

"With Vaccine Exemptions Under Review, Thousands of City Workers Could Still Lose Jobs," by The City's Reuven Blau: "Up to 4,800 city workers who have filed for religious and medical vaccine exemptions could be out of a job soon if their applications are denied in the coming weeks. Human resource staffers at individual agencies are methodically going through each of the applications to determine if they are legitimate, according to city officials."

"Bail reform not the reason why Christina Yuna Lee's accused killer was walking free ," by New York Daily News' Molly Crane-Newman, Ellen Moynihan and Larry McShane: "The finger-pointing started instantly after a homeless stalker with eight prior arrests attacked a Manhattan woman, stabbing the helpless stranger more than 40 times inside her apartment. Christina Yuna Lee's outraged neighbors, elected officials and even Mayor Adams demanded to know why accused murderer Assamad Nash was left on the streets despite three pending Manhattan court cases. The critics blamed broken legal and mental health systems with facilitating the heinous slaying of Lee inside her Chinatown home last Sunday. But a Daily News review of Nash's record shows neither bail reform laws nor Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's progressive prosecution policies factored into his freedom at the time of the nightmarish stabbing."

JOIN THURSDAY TO HEAR FROM MAYORS ACROSS AMERICA: The Fifty: America's Mayors will convene mayors from across the country to discuss their policy agendas, including the enforcement of Covid measures such as vaccine and mask mandates. We'll also discuss how mayors are dealing with the fallout of the pandemic on their local economies and workforce, affordable housing and homelessness, and criminal justice reforms. REGISTER HERE.

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

Siena poll: Hochul retains primary lead, while voters back bail overhaul, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Gov. Kathy Hochul maintained her early lead over the candidates planning primary campaigns against her in June but a sizable share of Democrats remain undecided, according to a Siena College Research Institute poll released Tuesday. A total of 46 percent of registered Democrats said they would vote for Hochul if the primary was held today. That's exactly the same as when Siena asked the question in January. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was backed by 17 percent of respondents (up from 11 percent a month ago) while Rep. Tom Suozzi was backed by 9 percent (up from 6 percent).

"Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin tests positive for COVID after N.Y. Democratic Convention," by New York Daily News' Dave Goldiner: "New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin says he has tested positive for COVID-19 just days after attending the state Democratic convention. The former Harlem state senator, who was appointed by Gov. Hochul after she replaced Gov. Andrew Cuomo, says he is fully vaccinated and boosted and is experiencing only mild symptoms. 'Cat and our girls' tests came back negative—praise God!' Benjamin said in a Sunday night tweet. 'I'll be isolating at home as they monitor for symptoms and get tested again in a few days.'"

" NY won't enforce booster mandate for health care workers," by The Associated Press' Marina Villeneuve

— "New York's COVID-19 cases hit pre-Omicron level," by New York Post's Melissa Klein

"Cuomo spokesman added to trooper's grope lawsuit after Twitter tirade," by New York Post's Emily Crane: "The New York state trooper suing Andrew Cuomo for allegedly groping her added the disgraced former governor's spokesman to her lawsuit on Friday after he took to Twitter to accuse the law firm representing her of 'extortion.' The woman, only identified as 'Trooper 1,' alleged in the initial lawsuit filed Thursday that Cuomo 'violated' her rights when he groped her in 2019 — and that his longtime aide Melissa DeRosa helped cover it up. The amended complaint — filed in the Eastern District of New York by the trooper's legal team, Wigdor LLP — now also includes Cuomo's spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, after he retaliated on social media."

"NYS voters say Cuomo is a sexual harasser, reject claims of vindication," by New York Post's Carl Campanile: "A majority of voters believe disgraced governor Andrew Cuomo is a serial sexual harasser and reject his claim of vindication after prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges, a new poll released Tuesday found. A total of 58 percent of voters think Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women during his tenure in Albany, compared to just 21 percent of respondents who believed he was innocent."

LONGREAD:" How New York bankrolls horse racing with billions," by Times Union's Emilie Munson

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The state NAACP passed a resolution in support of a bill to raise required wages for home care workers and will announce its support for the legislation today. The resolution, adopted by the membership at the NAACP's quarterly meeting, says the state should "include sufficient provisions and resources to fully fund this important wage increase as a matter of public health and social and gender justice." The bill would increase the minimum wage for home health care workers to $22.50 an hour.

#UpstateAmerica: Assemblymember Bill Conrad (D-Tonawanda) says negotiations for a new Buffalo Bills stadium should include Fans-First pricing on concessions for #BillsMafia.

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

FROM THE DELEGATION

"How Chuck Schumer fended off a Democratic primary in New York," by WNYC's Jon Campbell: "Chuck Schumer stood on stage at the state Democratic convention inside a Manhattan hotel late Thursday morning, gazing out at an assemblage of party leaders and hangers-on still filtering in after a night of booze-tinged welcoming receptions. 'How many of you have been at a graduation where I spoke?' he asked. Hands quickly shot up across the Sheraton Times Square ballroom. 'Look at that,' the senator said. 'There you go. So you know I didn't get the girl.' The born and bred Brooklynite and U.S. Senate majority leader was referencing his go-to speech at college commencement ceremonies across the state, his oft-repeated tale of turning down a chance to travel the world to stay at home with a girlfriend who promptly dumped him."

"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggestion to rename Queens post office angers LGBTQ leaders," by New York Daily News' Shant Shahrigian: "A proposal by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to consider renaming a Queens post office that honors LGBTQ rights pioneers is sparking outrage among local activists. Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens, Bronx) is soliciting suggestions for the Jeanne and Jules Manford Post Office Building in Jackson Heights, a representative for the congresswoman's office told Community Board 3 in Queens last week. Jeanne Manford is considered to have been the first parent to march with their child in an LGBTQ parade a half century ago."

" Park Slope and Staten Island: An Unlikely Political Marriage," by The New York Times' Katie Glueck: "At The Original Goodfella's, a well-known Staten Island pizzeria where photographs of Republican politicians are prominently displayed, the news sank in painfully: This borough, a rare conservative outpost of New York City, was being tossed into a congressional district with the liberal residents of Park Slope, Brooklyn. 'Park Slope is more of a younger crowd with yuppies, hipsters,' said Carlo D'Angelo, 28, a Trump supporter who, when asked about who won the 2020 presidential election, said, 'Only the man in the sky, only God, knows.' Staten Island was more 'family-oriented and traditional,' he added, speaking near a framed display of a fork that ex-mayor Bill de Blasio, a Park Slope resident, scandalously used to eat pizza."

Sliwa eyeing run for Suozzi's congressional seat, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa is considering launching a campaign for a congressional district that loops around the Long Island Sound, he said Friday. Sliwa said the seat that is being vacated by Rep. Tom Suozzi as Suozzi seeks the Democratic nod for governor came up in an unrelated meeting with Nassau County GOP Chair Joseph Cairo. And Sliwa, the Republican candidate in last year's New York City mayoral election, agreed to consider a campaign.

TRUMP'S NEW YORK

"Now Trump Says His Accounting Firm Was 'Broken' By 'Radical Leftist' Racists," by Huffington Post's Mary Papenfuss: "Donald Trump is still trying to blame anyone but himself for his longtime accounting firm's decision last week to sever ties with the Trump Organization. He insisted Sunday that the firm Mazars USA was 'broken' by 'Radical leftist racist prosecutors.' Trump offers no evidence for his accusations that the prosecutors are racist. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and state Attorney General Letitia James — who are both investigating Trump Organization business practices — are Black."

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.

AROUND NEW YORK

— Hochul said the state is assessing cybersecurity vulnerabilities amid a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.

— Hundreds of taxi medallions have been repossessed despite a deal meant to ease drivers' debt burdens.

— LGBTQ groups have again been barred from marching under their banners in the Staten Island St. Patrick's Day parade.

— A Sheepshead Bay memorial dedicated to a local teenager who was hit and killed by a school bus was vandalized with a swastika.

— Adams made a surprise visit to the 34th Avenue open street in Queens, but his precise plans for the future of the roadway remain unclear.

— The MTA's OMNY cards are not being sold at many of the stores where they are advertised as being available.

— Adams is eyeing the appointment of former schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott to help oversee City Council redistricting.

— The Manhattan private school Collegiate changed its mascot depicting Peter Stuyvesant amid a controversy over race.

— Medina Spirit was stripped of the victory in last year's Kentucky Derby in a Monday ruling.

— A Massena man has been charged with second-degree murder after a SUNY Potsdam cellist was found shot just behind the college's music school on Friday.

— There's an effort to draft George Pataki to run for governor again.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Viet Dinh … MSNBC's Dan Holway … Alyssa Mastromonaco … CNN's Laurie Ure … AP's Michael Biesecker … Ryan Eaton … NBC's Keir Simmons is 5-0 … Danielle Bella Ellison … Sarah Clark ... Randy Levine … David Axelrod … Jon Markman … Dorothy Abernathy … Meghan Barstow … Kaveh Chini … Kimberly Marteau Emerson … (was Monday): Yale President Peter Salovey … Jonathan Safran Foer … Mark Smith … Jeremy Gaines … Holland & Knight's Beth Viola … Reuters' Ross Colvin … Bob Sherman … Tricia Nixon Cox … David Geffen …

… (was Sunday): Doug Mills … Mark Knoller … Vox's Dylan Matthews … Trevor Noah … David Corn … Amy Spitalnick … POLITICO's Elana Zak … Rebecca Samuels … Michael Clemente … The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum … (was Saturday): Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) … Andrew Ross Sorkin … Tamara Hinton … Howard Stringer … Samantha Zalaznick … Julie Terrell Radford … Ginny Neel … The New Yorker's Sarah Stillman … John Stanton … Tucker Warren … Molly Weaver … Paxton Butler … Laurie M. Tisch ... Barry L. Zubrow ... Jonathan Lethem

SPOTTED — Rudy Giuliani and Michael Cohen avoiding each other at Fresco by Scotto.

MAKING MOVES — Elise Flick is now global communications director for Vice World News. She most recently was senior strategist for Minassian Media. … Edward Meagher has been promoted to be director of weekend programming at CNN.

ENGAGED — Peter Hamby, host of Snapchat's "Good Luck America" and founding partner of Puck News, on Friday proposed to Katie Warshaw, a former Marty Walsh aide who's now an MBA candidate at UCLA Anderson School of Management. They got engaged in her hometown of Manhattan Beach at sunset.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Charlie Harding, the EP and host of Vox Media's podcast "Switched on Pop," and Bess Kalb, a television writer/producer and author, on Feb. 7 welcomed their second son.

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

Whether it's increasing out-of-pocket expenses, denying claims, or excluding hospitals and caregivers from their networks, greedy, for-profit insurance companies have been profiting off of hardworking New Yorkers for too long. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, heroic frontline healthcare workers stepped up, saved lives, and kept families healthy. But the pandemic devastated our entire healthcare system and pushed it to the brink. Even as New Yorkers struggled to find care and healthcare workers made gut-wrenching sacrifices to fight the pandemic, insurers put profits ahead of patients - muscling the doctors and hospitals that saved lives during COVID-19. Last year the top 10 health insurers pocketed more than $40 billion. Join our movement to demand NYS lawmakers put patients before profits. Learn more.

Real Estate

Hochul drops transit development in 30-day amendments, expands health worker bonuses, by POLITICO's Marie J. French: Gov. Kathy Hochul's final budget drops a key priority to reduce miles traveled in cars to support the state's climate goals. Along with dropping a provision to allow additional housing in areas with single-family zoning, Hochul also backed down on a program to permit densely populated apartment buildings within a half-mile of bus or rail stations — regardless of local zoning limitations.

"The Bronx Hall of Justice Is Falling Apart and No One Knows How to Stop It ," by The City's Greg B. Smith: "When it opened in 2008, the loftily named Bronx Hall of Justice was billed as the crown jewel of New York's court system — the biggest courthouse in the state, sheathed in glass and housing enough courtrooms to handle dozens of criminal and civil cases each day. All these years later, the verdict is that it's more like a broken-down jalopy. Plagued by cost overruns and in constant need of repair, the building is a testament to architectural overreach followed by a never ending whack-a-mole campaign to tackle endlessly needed repairs."

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