| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Presented by Equinor | Time has run out for New York City government workers who refused to show proof they were protected against Covid-19: The city fired 1,430 of its employees after they missed a final warning to comply with a vaccination mandate. It's a tiny percentage of the city's 380,000-ish strong workforce, but still a huge mass firing — perhaps the biggest in the nation over a vaccine requirement. Mayor Eric Adams was somewhat cagey in the closing days of the mayoral campaign about what he would do with unvaccinated city workers, who were at the time being placed on unpaid leave amid controversy. But in the end, he followed through with little fanfare and handed out pink slips. "Our goal was always to vaccinate, not terminate, and city workers stepped up and met the goal placed before them," Adams said in a statement. Another 1,000 workers got a last-minute shot ahead of Friday's termination deadline to save their jobs. Almost all the fired workers had not been allowed to work since the fall, minimizing the chance of a big disruption to city services. Still, there have been protests in response to the looming deadline. The biggest group of terminated workers come from the Department of Education, where 914 teachers and other staff were let go, followed by NYCHA with 101, and the Department of Correction with 75. The first big firing may not be the last: There are still thousands of unvaccinated workers who remain on the job as they seek medical or religious exemptions, whose fate still has to be decided. 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? Holding a Cabinet meeting. WHERE'S ERIC? Attending a Lunar New Year breakfast, making an announcement about summer youth jobs, meeting with Greek leaders, honoring retiring FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, and attending a fashion show.
| | | | A message from Equinor: Can a wind turbine generate more than electricity? We believe it can. At Equinor, we're working to power 2,000,000 New York homes with homegrown, renewable energy while boosting the economy, generating jobs, and launching tomorrow's clean energy infrastructure. Equinor is a broad energy company, committed to become net-zero by 2050. We're advancing the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind projects and quickly becoming a leader in this growing industry. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "Mayor Adams tells Albany that NYC safety his 'obligation' as progressives balk at his anti-bail reform agenda," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt: "Mayor Adams pitched lawmakers in Albany on his sprawling public safety plan Monday — but the effort did not appear successful as Democratic legislative leaders signaled afterward that they're not looking to act on a couple of his key demands. Marking his first visit to Albany since being sworn in on Jan. 1, Adams spent the morning in meetings at the State Capitol with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and members of their respective conferences." — Adams has yet to name a leader for the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice. "Correction Department scrubs stats from website showing thousands of NYC inmates still missing medical appointments," by New York Daily News' Graham Rayman: "The Correction Department has scrubbed from its website monthly reports showing that city inmates continue to miss medical appointments by the thousands, the Daily News has learned. More than 6,700 medical appointments in January, according to data obtained by the Legal Aid Society through an ongoing lawsuit against the beleaguered agency. In December, inmates missed 7,070 appointments. The Correction Department had routinely posted 'medical non-production' statistics on its website since June 2020. An archived version of the webpage shows the agency last posted a report on missed appointments for Dec. 2021. In place of the stats, there is now a single sentence on the webpage directing the public to contact the city Law Department for information. City law requires the Correction Department to publish the figures monthly." How a floating trash fire in New York exposes a threat to national recycling efforts, by POLITICO's Danielle Muoio Dunn: Sanitation worker Brian Dawson was a few hours into his December night shift when he saw black smoke billowing from the city's massive trash barge, undeterred by his colleagues' attempts to smother it with fire extinguishers and hoses. Dawson, acting on the instinct of his prior fire training, descended into the smoke and furiously unbolted the ship from the dock so that it could drift out into the East River before bursting into flames. … The incident was the latest fire to occur at a New York City recycling facility because of lithium-ion batteries, which can easily ignite when they're damaged and are difficult to put out. Mayor, Council agree on $75M for Fair Fares, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams struck a deal to spend $75 million on discount subway fares for low-income New Yorkers in the upcoming budget. Under the agreement announced Monday, the city will provide guaranteed annual funding for the Fair Fares program, which offers half-priced MetroCards for riders living under the poverty line. The speaker and other Council members asked Sunday for $106 million for the fare subsidies to be included in Eric Adams' budget for the next fiscal year. It was originally funded at that level in the 2020, but has been cut in half for the last two years as subway ridership plunged during the Covid-19 pandemic. "The path to an equitable recovery runs through our public transit system," the mayor said. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Industry City CEO Andrew Kimball is likely to be Mayor Eric Adams' pick to lead the city's Economic Development Corporation, multiple sources told POLITICO. Kimball has been CEO of the Sunset Park waterfront complex since 2013, where he's directed the redevelopment of the sprawling facility and led a yearslong effort to rezone the complex, which was ultimately stymied by political opposition. Prior to Industry City, Kimball was president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. Adams had been expected to name Carlo Scissura of the New York Building Congress to lead the economic development agency, but the appointment was reconsidered after a report in THE CITY about undisclosed lobbying by Scissura on behalf of real estate developers. Scissura said last week he would remain in his private sector role. Kimball did not respond to a request for comment and an Adams spokesperson declined to comment. — Janaki Chadha
| | | | 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 | | TODAY: Three years and a day after New York enacted its Child Victims Act, survivors and anti-abuse advocates say the state is closer than ever to passing its sister law, the Adult Survivors Act. The legislation, which was passed by the state Senate but left to die in the Assembly last year, would provide a one-year look-back window for anyone who was sexually abused as an adult to sue their abuser in civil court, even if the statute of limitations has expired. A combination of education and advocacy has given the bill better reception in the Assembly this year, said Michael Williams of Safe Horizon, one of the victims services groups pushing for the bill's passage during a rally in the Capitol concourse today. And while Gov. Kathy Hochul isn't commenting on pending legislation, she said on Monday at an unrelated event that she supports the Adult Survivors Act "conceptually" and looks forward to working with the Legislature to support its objectives. — Anna — "New York Assembly is (finally) moving to require more accountability for public officials who sexually harass employees," by City & State's Zach Williams: "Elected officials in all three branches of government might get clarification soon on who exactly they work for. A key step this week involves the Assembly Codes Committee, which is expected to pass legislation Tuesday that would close a legal loophole that exempts local and state government from being responsible for sexual harassment committed by public officials. Past court rulings have held that they did not technically work for this or that city, county, town, village or state Legislature. The bill is a top priority for the Sexual Harassment Working Group of former state Senate and Assembly staffers as part of a package of six bills aimed at addressing misconduct by public officials." "Sources: Savino will decline to seek re-election for North Shore Senate seat," by Staten Island Advance's Paul Liotta: "Sources said Monday that State Sen. Diane Savino will not seek re-election, and for the first time in over a decade, Staten Island's North Shore will have a new person in that seat. Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) hasn't confirmed the Advance/SILive.com's reporting, but multiple party insiders said her announcement would come soon, opening the door for what will be one of the Island's most competitive primary races this year. One local Democrat floated a host of possible candidates, including former Savino staffers and other elected officials around the Island. No one has yet to formally announce their candidacy. The petitioning process to get on the ballot begins March 1. Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) has held her seat since 2005, and the last time she faced a Republican challenger in 2018, she won with almost 69% of the vote." — Former New York City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley has registered a state Senate committee with the Board of Elections. Crowley, who finished a close second in the Democratic primary for Queens borough president last year, did not return a call for comment on Monday. But a source said she was considering a run for one of the two new Senate seats that were added to New York City under maps that were approved earlier this month. — Bill Mahoney " Who doesn't want cocktails to go in NY? Liquor stores," by WNYC's Jon Campbell: "Restaurants and bars across New York have spent much of the last eight months pleading with lawmakers and state officials to reinstate to-go drink options, which provided a much-needed financial boost to the industry during the darkest days of the pandemic. But they've run into opposition from a small but powerful force: Liquor stores, the mostly mom-and-pop shops across the state that have banded together in Albany to protect their interests. The battle between liquor stores and restaurants is among the more contentious fights brewing this legislative session. Liquor store owners joined forces about a decade ago to block the sale of wine in grocery stores, warding off a vigorous push by major grocers." CHECK IN ON YOUR FRIENDS and bring treats like state Sen. Sean Ryan did when he brought Buffalo pastries to state Sen. Samra Brouk in Rochester. #UpstateAmerica: Buffalo is the metro area most friendly to singles, according to LendingTree. *shrug emoji*
| | | | A message from Equinor:   | | | | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "Trump Organization's accounting firm says it can no longer vouch for financial statements from the company," by NBC News' Tom Winter: "The accounting firm Mazars USA said a decade's worth of financial statements from the Trump Organization can no longer be viewed as reliable, according to a letter made public Monday by New York Attorney General Letitia James as part of her civil probe into the former president's company. Mazars also said it will no longer work with the Trump Organization, meaning the company may have to get new financial statements that could complicate its ability to secure loans. In a letter from Mazars Group General Counsel William J. Kelly to Trump Organization Chief Legal Officer Alan Garten, the auditing firm said its work from 2011 to 2020 'should not be relied upon.'"
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Rep. Ritchie Torres is asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to shut down so-called peaker power plants in New York City sooner than an anticipated date in 2030. The plants go into action only at times when demand for power strains available supply, like the hottest days of summer, but emit twice as much carbon dioxide per unit of electricity and nearly twenty times as much nitrogen oxide as regular power plants. "A few short hours of operation of peaker plants can greatly compromise the quality of the air we breathe and endanger our city's residents for a lifetime," Torres (D-Bronx) wrote in a letter to Hochul, saying four peaker plants in the South Bronx endanger the health of his constituents.
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A man residing at the Bowery Mission homeless shelter was charged with murder in the stabbing death of a woman he followed into her Chinatown apartment. He had been out on supervised release after being arrested three times in four months for an array of crimes, according to court records. According to prosecutors, the victim was stabbed over 40 times. — New York nursing home workers have the fourth highest Covid-19 vaccination rate in the country, but 34th on the share of workers who have gotten booster shots. — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul for a full term, as did the Brooklyn Democratic Party. — Data shows that speed cameras are evenly distributed across the city, and are not disproportionately concentrated in low-income communities of color. — State courts are reducing social distancing requirements to three feet rather than six for criminal cases. — Retired city workers denounced the Adams administration for backing a de Blasio-era plan to move them to a different health insurance. — New York state is looking to reinstate all of the roughly 400 beds in the state's inpatient psychiatric system that were converted to medical beds at the start of the pandemic two years ago. — The number of people found dead on subway trains and in stations has increased. — Hundreds of people were stuck on an Amtrak train stalled in Queens for hours. — How city public school students feel about the possibility of ending mask mandates. — Hochul pledged to have state agencies designate up to 1,200 jobs to be filled by qualified individuals with disabilities. — Pregnant women in New York continue to be hesitant about receiving Covid-19 vaccine.
| | | | 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: Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) … Art Spiegelman ... Treasury's Sourav Bhowmick … TPM's Josh Marshall … Fox Business' David Asman … Jonathan Salant … CARE's Beth Solomon and Paige Moody Erickson … Grace Lloyd … WeWork's Amanda Lilly … Arthur A. Goren ... David Bashevkin (h/ts Jewish Insider) MEDIAWATCH — Gloria Pazmino is joining CNN as a correspondent in New York. She has been a political reporter at NY1 and is a POLITICO alum. … Bernadette Hogan will be the New York Post's new City Hall bureau chief. She has been covering Albany for the paper. — Judge throws out Palin libel case against New York Times, by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein MAKING MOVES — Former City Council Member Robert Cornegy of Brooklyn will be executive vice president of external affairs at the Doe Fund. … Joel Eisdorfer has been appointed a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and lobbyist India Sneed welcomed a baby girl, after speaking out about their fertility struggle and racism in the maternal health system.
| | | | 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. We're creating jobs, building tomorrow's infrastructure, and sparking new economic activity. 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 | | "They Survived Apartment Fires. But They Can't Escape The Aftermath," by BuzzFeed's Julia Reinstein: "It was early morning on New Year's Eve when the fire began. Tenants fled the five-story Chinatown apartment building in New York City as firefighters worked to extinguish flames that had broken out in a top-floor unit. Two months earlier, in October 2018, Yao Pan Ma and his wife, Baozhen Chen, had moved into a small unit in the building after immigrating from China. Though the firefighters managed to put out the fire before it could spread to their apartment, it suffered such severe smoke and water damage that it was no longer inhabitable." " What is Midtown's post-pandemic recovery playbook?," by City & State's Annie McDonough: "The much-hyped return to in-person work office in New York City has not gone as planned. Despite high COVID-19 vaccination rates among adults in New York City and cases currently decreasing, the emergence of the delta and omicron variants postponed some companies' timelines for returning to the office. Plus, some workers and companies aren't sure if they're ready to go back – or if they ever will be. The New York City comptroller's office found in a recent report as of late January that time spent in workplaces was down 29% from pre-pandemic levels, according to Google mobility data. In midtown Manhattan, an area overwhelmingly reliant on commercial and tourist activity, it's not just office buildings that have emptied out." | | | | 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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