News : POLITICO New York Playbook: Pandemic restrictions lift

Monday, March 7, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: Pandemic restrictions lift

Mar 07, 2022

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia

Presented by Healthcare Education Project

New York City's indoor vaccine mandate is gone, as of today. Restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and gyms will no longer be required to check for proof of Covid-19 vaccination from customers. Nor will kids be required to wear masks to school, after Mayor Eric Adams moved to lift most of the city's remaining pandemic restrictions.

Adams announced the decision with the trademark attitude he likes to call swagger. "We are winning," he said. And: "I'm a yeasayer. I'm not a naysayer." And: "It's time to open our city." Technically speaking, businesses have been open at full capacity for quite some time. But Adams is clearly eager to celebrate a milestone moment on his watch. "New York is back," he said. "This is clearly an Arnold Schwarzenegger moment. We'll be back."

Businesses will be relieved of the burden of checking vaccine cards, and will be able to welcome back unvaccinated customers — a small percentage of New Yorkers, but perhaps a more significant share among tourists. On the other hand, they may lose some business from New Yorkers who have said they'll be more reluctant to dine indoors and do other activities without a vaccine mandate in place.

Addressing the concerns of the latter group, Adams acknowledged he'll never make everyone happy. "Those few that are going to take a while, I understand it, you know. But the overwhelming number of New Yorkers are ready," he said. He also defended a move that has annoyed people on the other side, keeping the mask mandate in place for children under 5 who are too young to be vaccinated.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio's chief pandemic adviser, Jay Varma, is among those arguing that lifting the vaccine mandate is a bad idea. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and city Comptroller Brad Lander are calling for a vaccine mandate for public school students — something Adams said is under discussion — as well as an option for all-masked classrooms. Williams called it "unnecessary and unwise to suddenly remove" vaccine requirements, which he said "are helping New Yorkers both be safe and feel safe as they patronize local businesses."

A new color-coded system will determine whether the restrictions lifting effective today will ever come back. Synced up with the CDC's new metrics, officials will consider reimposing them if the city's risk rises to the medium level.

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? Announcing FY 2023 executive budget investments in the Finger Lakes.

WHERE'S ERIC? Appearing on 1010 WINS, Fox 5 and NY1, speaking with small businesses in the East Village about suspension of the vaccine mandate, participating in a Goldman Sachs town hall, speaking at the New York State Restaurant Association's International Restaurant and Foodservice Show, and visiting the Blue Note Jazz Club.

ABOVE THE FOLD: 'God isn't finished with me yet': Cuomo gives first public remarks since resignation, by POLITICO's Anna Gronewold: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned from office just over six months ago amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment, made his first public appearance at a close ally's church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, on Sunday. Preceded by a service at God's Battalion of Prayer that included golden flags, white-robed dancers, song and prayer, Cuomo took the pulpit with the traditional call and response line, "God is good." For about 20 minutes, Cuomo laid out the same defense of his behavior he's held over the past several months, but assured the audience he's been leaning on scripture in a difficult time because "God isn't finished with me yet." The crowd, which appeared from the livestream to be several dozen people, offered occasional — if uncertain — applause as Cuomo delivered a speech with critiques of government corruption, the Democratic Party and "cancel culture," sprinkled with praise of his father, the late former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

A message from Healthcare Education Project:

When COVID-19 hit New York, frontline healthcare workers answered the call. But as the system was stretched to the limit and New Yorkers struggled to find care, greedy health insurers pocketed billions. Despite these record profits, insurers are back squeezing hospitals for more. Doctors and caregivers can no longer survive on razor thin margins. Join us and help stop for-profit insurers from getting between doctors and their patients. Learn more.

What City Hall's reading

Eric Adams is after your child's chocolate milk, by POLITICO's Michelle Bocanegra and Madina Touré: Eric Adams has a problem with chocolate milk. New York's first self-professed vegan mayor was at the forefront of a movement to ban chocolate milk from public schools before his time in City Hall. Now, equipped with the power to set policies for the nation's largest school system, the evangelist for healthy living has again turned his attention to the lunch-room staple — and registered concern with the state's powerful dairy industry.

Sanitation commissioner says city should 'absolutely' mandate organic waste recycling, by POLITICO's Danielle Muoio Dunn: Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson said it's time for the city to get serious about its food waste problem. Grayson on Friday called for the city to implement a mandatory recycling program to collect and repurpose organic waste like vegetable peels and eggshells. The support of the department's highest-ranking official is likely welcome news for environmental advocates, who are pushing Mayor Eric Adams to allocate funding for such a program. "Do I think that this department and, me personally, do I think we need a mandatory organics recycling law? Absolutely," Grayson said at a City Council hearing on the department's preliminary budget.

"Asian Americans Grapple With Tide of Attacks: 'We Need Our Safety Back,'" by The New York Times' Jeffery C. Mays, Dana Rubinstein and Grace Ashford: "She was attacked as she swept up in front of her Queens home in November, beaten in the head with a rock so viciously that she was in a coma for weeks. As GuiYing Ma battled for her life, other attacks on Asian women followed. A mentally ill man pushed Michelle Alyssa Go to her death at Times Square subway station in January. The next month, Christina Yuna Lee was followed to her apartment in Chinatown and fatally stabbed more than 40 times. After each instance, Asian American groups and elected officials from across the political spectrum came out in force, demanding that more be done to address violence against members of their community. But when it comes to strategies for fighting crime against Asians, unity has been much harder to find."

— A man accused of attacking seven Asian women was held on $25,000 bail.

— Most hate crime charges are dropped before conviction.

— A makeshift memorial for slain Chinatown resident Christina Yuna Lee was vandalized a second time.

"Rents Are Roaring Back in New York City ," by The New York Times' Mihir Zaveri: "After the pandemic swept in two years ago, rents in New York and several other major American cities plunged, as fear of the virus and the lockdown of urban economies prompted waves of people to leave. But with the virus receding and a sense of normal life slowly returning, many big cities are regaining their appeal, helping fuel a nationwide surge in housing costs and pushing some residents out of homes they can no longer afford. In few places is that phenomenon more stark than in New York, a city where renters make up two-thirds of all households."

HAPPENING TUESDAY, INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION ON THE WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN: Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph for a panel discussion on the future for Afghan women. Guests include Hawa Haidari, a member of the Female Tactical Platoon; Cindy McCain, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture; Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the U.S.; and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Learn how female Afghan veterans are planning their futures, what the women still in Afghanistan face, and what the U.S. can do to help. REGISTER HERE.

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

"New York remains thoroughfare for horses trucked to Canadian slaughterhouse," by Times Union's Rebekah F. Ward: "Since 2007, there have been no legal slaughterhouses processing horses for human consumption in the U.S., following court decisions and a congressional move to defund U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections. Advocates seeking an outright ban through legislation such as the Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act have failed to overcome opposition from groups that include the American Farm Bureau and the American Quarter Horse Association. … Irby and others have also tried to attach anti-slaughter rules to other bills. Tens of thousands of equines ship annually from the United States to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico to be butchered for human consumption overseas."

"NY denied nearly 500 women-owned businesses entry in MWBE program over 3 years," by Buffalo News' Charlie Specht: "It has been whispered at construction sites across New York for decades. Want access to lucrative government contracts? Put your business in your wife's name. But lately, New York State has been booting from its programs companies it says are not authentic woman-owned business enterprises, or WBEs, because the husband, father or brother of the female owner controls the company. 'We need to do that to ensure the integrity of the program,' said Goldie Weixel, acting general counsel for Empire State Development. 'The purpose is to support woman-owned businesses. It's not the family-owned business program.'"

Board of Elections to begin crackdown on LLCs that aren't disclosing their owners, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: State Board of Elections Enforcement Counsel Michael Johnson said Friday he has reached out to thousands of limited liability companies that have not identified their owners. "We came up with a list of roughly 3,400" LLCs that have not filed their required paperwork, Johnson said at a meeting of the state Board of Elections. "They all just got letters saying you need to file a statement." The disclosure of the ownership information will let Johnson eventually begin to examine LLCs and their owners that have given more than the legally allowable amount, he said. LLCs that make contributions have been required to disclose their ownership since the enactment of a 2019 campaign finance reform law. But many of them have not done so, creating headaches for recipients of their political contributions such as Gov. Kathy Hochul.

"GOP looks to Pataki '94 in hopes of staging another governor upset," by Newsday's Michael Gormley: "To the blaring theme from 'Rocky,' former Gov. George Pataki entered the cheering state Republican convention on Monday like a 6-foot, 5-inch colossus. He embodies the pride of Republicans still take in his defeat of Democratic icon Mario Cuomo in 1994 as well as the hope that the GOP can again pull off a historic political upset. 'There is very much the same sense of enthusiasm and optimism and a belief that there's a tremendous chance to win,' Pataki said at the convention in Garden City. In 1994, he was a little-known, moderate Republican senator from Peekskill and reverence for him within the party is still so strong that on Monday, he had to dispel scuttlebutt at the convention that he would run again this year, at age 76."

"Andrew Cuomo boosters falsely claim unions back disgraced ex-gov in mailer," by New York Post's Nolan Hicks and Bernadette Hogan: "A group of self-described Andrew Cuomo boosters has angered several prominent New York unions by claiming they back the disgraced politician's efforts to rehabilitate himself in a new campaign-style flyer that's been mailed across the state. The double-sided mailer, which was obtained by The Post, urges union members to 'support' the ex-governor, who resigned after his political base collapsed amid allegations of sexual misconduct, profiting from use of state resources to write his pandemic memoir and misleading the public and federal regulators over COVID-linked nursing home deaths."

#UpstateAmerica: At Albany High, you can be both a Class AA girls basketball title winner and dizzying backflipper.

TRUMP'S NEW YORK

"How the Manhattan D.A.'s Investigation Into Donald Trump Unraveled," by The New York Times' Ben Protess, William K. Rashbaum and Jonah E. Bromwich: "On a late January afternoon, two senior prosecutors stood before the new Manhattan district attorney, hoping to persuade him to criminally charge the former president of the United States. The prosecutors, Mark F. Pomerantz and Carey R. Dunne, detailed their strategy for proving that Donald J. Trump knew his annual financial statements were works of fiction. Time was running out: The grand jury hearing evidence against Mr. Trump was set to expire in the spring. They needed the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, to decide whether to seek charges. But Mr. Bragg and his senior aides, masked and gathered around a conference table on the eighth floor of the district attorney's office in Lower Manhattan, had serious doubts."

AROUND NEW YORK

— A Soviet-born billionaire with close ties to US-sanctioned Russian oligarchs is a top donor to Gov. Kathy Hochul and other pols.

— Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin defended getting reimbursed for the same expenses by taxpayers and a past campaign finance account.

— James Flateau, a journalist who later became a key aide to two New York governors on opposite sides of the political aisle, died at 72.

— The state Capitol's "Eastern Approach" has been in disrepair for several decades.

— There are no laws against fertility fraud in New York, but Rochester-area cases of specialists lying about the source of sperm used for artificial insemination are driving the push.

— Former Rep. Joe Crowley is producing a Broadway show with "notorious industry ex-convict" Garth Drabinsky.

— Public Advocate and gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams made at least eight appearances on Russian state television while a city council member.

— The Adams administration is appealing a court ruling barring it from financially penalizing retired municipal workers who do not want to enroll in a new health plan.

— An accused Sarah Lawrence cult leader is set to stand trial.

— The city is extending free meal delivery services for survivors of the Bronx fire that killed 17 people with help from a restaurant association.

— A new report shows that red-light violations hit over half a million last year, and advocates are renewing a push to give the city control over its traffic cameras.

— Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder of Nassau County was fined for not handing over documents.

— The state's Hurricane Ida relief fund for undocumented immigrants and others ineligible for federal aid has reopened.

DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: David Bohigian … James Gleeson … Michael Eisner is 8-0 … Bloomberg's Lydia Mulvany … Nicole Lapin … Savannah Behrmann … Carol Danko … Rachel Zuckerman … Adam Kaiser ... (was Sunday): former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan turned 96 … David Bradley … John Stossel … Reuters' Jim Bourg … SKDK's Jacqui Newman … Brooke Gladstone … NFL's Brendon Plack … NYT's Eileen Murphy … Blake Gottesman … Kara Carscaden … Chaim Haas ... Michelle Lebowits … Armen Keteyian …

… (was Saturday): Fox News' Chad Pergram … Ken Lerer … MJ Lee … Catherine Giuliani, partner at the RG Group (h/t Alan Rosenberg) … April Mellody … Danny Schwarz … Nathaniel Rich … Tavo True-Alcalá

MAKING MOVES — Steven C. Wu, who has been deputy state solicitor general, is heading to the Manhattan DA's office to be chief of appeals. … Jasmine Blake is joining the mayor's office as senior adviser to the chief housing officer. She most recently led BerlinRosen's affordable housing portfolio and was previously spokesperson for NYCHA. … Sam Fullam is now organizing director for Alessandra Biaggi's New York congressional campaign. She's a Brad Hoylman, Jon Ossoff and Eugene DePasquale campaign alum.

MEDIAWATCH — NYT Opinion is adding Eliza Barclay to lead climate coverage and Andrew Trunsky as editorial assistant to Maureen Dowd. Barclay previously was science, health and climate editor at Vox. Trunsky previously was a fellow at the Daily Caller News Foundation. Announcement

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

Adams declines to take stance on seizure of Russian oligarch real estate, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: Mayor Eric Adams declined to take a position on whether the United States should seize Manhattan real estate owned by Russian oligarchs, saying he would support whatever the federal government decides. "We are going to coordinate and collaborate with whatever our federal government tells us to do, and how we can help within the confines of the law," Adams said Sunday during a visit to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, to express support for the area's Ukrainian community.

" Lawsuit Seeks to Overturn Gowanus Rezoning, Alleging Violations of State and Federal Law," by Brooklyn Paper's Kirstyn Brendlen: "A new lawsuit filed against the city aims to overturn the hotly-contested Gowanus rezoning, alleging that land-use change violates state and federal law. The suit was filed by local activist groups Voice of Gowanus and Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus, as well as a collection of Gowanus residents, in Kings County Supreme Court late last month."

"NYC Council members pushing for tax rebates for small homeowners," by New York Post's Rich Calder: "A bipartisan group of City Council members is pushing to provide owners of small homes with their first property-tax rebates since annual $400 relief checks were phased out in 2009 during the heart of the Great Recession. Led by Councilmembers Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island), Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Queens) and Robert Holden (D-Queens), the 21 pols fired off a letter Friday to Mayor Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams requesting the rebate for owners of one- to three-family homes, condos and co-ops during the fiscal year beginning July 1."

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