| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | On his 100th day in office, Mayor Eric Adams tested positive for Covid-19. It's not the way Adams wanted to mark 100 days, but he woke up Sunday with a raspy voice, canceled his in-person events for the day and got a positive result on a PCR test. "At this time, the mayor has no other symptoms, but he is already isolating and will be canceling all public events for the remainder of the week," said his press secretary Fabien Levy. "He will continue to serve New Yorkers by working remotely." The mayor, who is 61 and has been diagnosed with diabetes, will also be taking anti-viral medication. It's not clear where Adams got infected, but he attended the Gridiron dinner in Washington on April 2 which has become an apparent superspreader event with dozens of attendees testing positive. In the last couple days, Adams hobnobbed at a series of events at the Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislators' caucus weekend in Albany, where the vibe was generally crowded and maskless, after going to Yankee Stadium for Opening Day and keeping up an otherwise packed schedule. Adams has steadily rolled back Covid-19 restrictions, removing the vaccination requirement for indoor dining and entertainment and the mask mandate at schools, and carving out a special exception to an employer mandate to allow unvaccinated athletes to play in New York. His general posture has been one of moving beyond the pandemic, as he commented early in his tenure that New Yorkers should resist the urge to "wallow in Covid" and embrace the "swagger" of their new nightlife-loving mayor. Yet virus cases are rising in the city, after barely a respite since the end of the winter's Omicron wave. Cases are now averaging nearly 1,600 a day, more than double where they were a month ago. Now the city's new wave has claimed its most prominent victim, delivering another reminder that "winning" against the pandemic isn't as simple as declaring victory and moving on. 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? Holding campaign rallies in Manhattan and Brooklyn. WHERE'S ERIC? Working from home. ABOVE THE FOLD — "NY $220B budget becomes law, boosted by federal aid, surplus," by Associated Press' Marina Villeneuve: "New York is set to rely on an influx of federal funds and higher-than-expected tax revenues to balance a $220 billion, one-year state budget, which went into law Saturday. The sale of to-go cocktails became legal once Gov. Kathy Hochul signed budget legislation Saturday. Disagreements over policy issues held up passage of the spending plan over a week past an April 1 deadline. The budget has often served over the decades as a vehicle for passing major policy legislation, and elected officials are using this year's to tackle issues expected to resonate with voters during an election year. The budget boosts pay for health care and home care workers, shaves 16 cents off the cost of a gallon of gas through December and helps New Yorkers with unpaid rent and utility bills."
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | 'This isn't Podunk': A Cuomo-era plan to dramatically alter Manhattan meets resistance , by POLITICO's Danielle Muoio Dunn: Steve Roth, the chair of Vornado, the largest commercial landlord in New York City, had a piece of advice in 2010 for aspiring city planners: a blighted community is your friend. In a wide-ranging speech to Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture, Roth recounted how he deliberately let the Alexander's department store on Manhattan's Upper East Side sit vacant for more than three years before redeveloping it, even as his own mother complained of "bums sleeping in the sidewalks of this now closed, decrepit building." "And what did I do? Nothing," Roth said at the time. "Why did I do nothing? Because I was thinking in my own awkward way, that the more the building was a blight, the more the governments would want this to be redeveloped; the more help they would give us when the time came." 'This is only halftime,' Adams says, vowing to keep lobbying Albany on bail reform and mayoral control, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg and Erin Durkin: Nearly 100 days into his mayoralty, Eric Adams vowed a renewed push for change in Albany before the state Legislature recesses for the summer — saying a deal to make tweaks to the state's bail reform laws did not go far enough. "This is only halftime," Adams said on WNBC during a blitz of TV and radio interviews Friday morning. "We have an entire session left, and I'm going to continue to push towards some of those important initiatives." In a $220 billion budget deal announced Thursday evening, lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to allow judges to set bail in some cases where it was previously prohibited, something Adams pushed as part of his criminal justice agenda. But they omitted other key priorities for Adams, including extending mayoral control over city schools. — At least $500M license fee, community board support needed for NYC-area casinos, by POLITICO's Joseph Spector "Yankee Stadium waitress files lawsuit against Adams' athlete vax exemption," by New York Post's Priscilla DeGregory: "A veteran waitress at Yankee Stadium has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Mayor Eric Adams' 'despicable' vaccine exemption for pro athletes on Friday — as the Bronx Bombers gear up to play their opener against the Red Sox. Virginia Alleyne's Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit claims Hizzoner's exemption for athletes and performers is 'arbitrary and capricious' and an 'abuse of discretion.' 'For him to allow millionaires to work and to punish the workers who are the lifeblood of this city is just horrendous,' Alleyne told The Post." " NYC traffic deaths up 35 percent so far this year," by New York Post's Conor Skelding: "Traffic fatalities in New York City have surged a shocking 35 percent so far this year, according to police data. NYPD records show 58 people — including pedestrians — died in car crashes through April 3, a sharp increase over the 43 killed in the same period in 2021. The tragic numbers are sure to disappoint City Hall — where Mayor Adams has promised to build on predecessor Bill de Blasio's "Vision Zero," which aimed to eliminate traffic deaths." " How's Mayor Eric Adams doing? New Yorkers critique hizzoner's first 100 days in office," by Gothamist's Elizabeth Kim, Brigid Bergin, Gwynne Hogan, David Cruz, Scott Heins and Daniel Shapiro: "As Mayor Eric Adams approaches his 100 days in office confronting multiple crises since being sworn in, Gothamist reporters fanned out across all five boroughs to learn how city residents view the new mayor and his job performance. Overall, many seemed uncertain about the trajectory of the city and whether Adams can fulfill his pledge of improving public safety. Some said they were unhappy with how the mayor has handled the steady increase in shootings, though some expressed satisfaction over his controversial handling of the homeless encampments."
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | 'It must be really sad to be him': Women who spoke out again Cuomo rebuild as he attempts revival, by POLITICO's Anna Gronewold: Andrew Cuomo is on a comeback tour, making appearances at Black churches in New York City, decrying "cancel culture" and pretending the past year didn't happen. Meanwhile, two of the women who publicly accused him of sexual harassment are in the process of rebuilding their lives and careers — and watching the Cuomo revival with a mixture of disbelief and exhausted indifference. This is not what they — or anyone in New York — expected last year, when it seemed as though their accusations and those of nine other women would permanently extinguish the career of one of the most famous Democratic governors in America. Fewer than eight months after he resigned in disgrace and set off a series of secondary scandals that ruined the careers of top aides and his own brother, the former New York governor is seeking a reemergence in politics, running some $2 million in TV ads and stoking rumors of a run for his old seat. "I've thought to myself, what would I ever say if I ever ran into him in person? Or if I ever had an opportunity to say something," said Brittany Commisso, a former aide who privately reported that Cuomo groped her at the state's Executive Mansion in late 2020 and later revealed her identity in a national TV interview. "And honestly, I just have pity. It must be really sad to be him." "Hochul Emerges From Budget Talks Unbowed, but Not Unscathed," by The New York Times' Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Grace Ashford: "Ms. Hochul had set out to establish more cordial ties with the Legislature than her predecessor, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who was famously combative. The negotiations, lawmakers generally agreed, were more genial than those with Mr. Cuomo, but they nonetheless strained their relationship with the governor: The Democratic legislative leaders were conspicuously absent from the governor's announcement of a deal on Thursday. … Many spoke out forcefully not only against the bail changes and the N.F.L. subsidy, but the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from certain state programs and what they saw as too-modest wage increases for home care workers." — The state budget contains language extending the authority of government officials in New York to remotely participate in meetings until 2024. — " Many more New Yorkers will have access to childcare subsidies through new budget" — Interstate 81 in Syracuse is finally going down and will be replaced with a street-level boulevard. — Liquor stores can be open on Christmas Day. — What's a "substantial food" (to comply with the new to-go alcohol allowance)? The State Liquor Authority wants to hear from YOU. " Emails reveal how major Hochul campaign donors seek sway," by Times Union's Chris Bragg: "As Gov. Kathy Hochul smashed campaign fundraising records last year, she held dozens of intimate, high-dollar events that gave affluent donors one-on-one time to speak with her. Like many other attendees, Wayne Chaplin had business interests before state government. … According to emails Chaplin later wrote, the chief executive officer of Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits told Hochul about a contentious bill being pushed by his company, which is the largest wine and spirits distribution company in the United States." #UpstateAmerica: A Jesuit priest in Buffalo gave up listening to the Beatles for Lent.
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | Judge finds city had no legal right to yank license for Trump's Bronx golf course, by POLITICO's Julia Marsh: A Manhattan judge ruled Friday there was no "legal foundation" for former Mayor Bill de Blasio's decision to cancel the city's contract with Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx following the Jan. 6 insurrection. De Blasio administration officials notified the Trump Organization on Jan. 15, 2021, that the city was pulling the group's operating license for the 18-hole course in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx. They referenced the "actions of Donald J. Trump and Donald Trump Jr." that "incited" the attack on the Capitol as well as the Professional Golfers' Association's termination of the 2022 PGA Championship at the Trump Bedminster golf course in New Jersey as reasons for revoking the Ferry Point license. "New York AG seeks to compel real estate firm to comply with Trump probe subpoenas," by Reuters' Karen Freifeld and Luc Cohen: "New York state's attorney general is seeking to compel real estate company Cushman & Wakefield (CWK.N) to comply with subpoenas in connection with its civil probe into the Trump Organization, according to court filings on Friday. Attorney General Letitia James has been investigating former U.S. President Donald Trump's business practices for three-and-a-half years, with a focus on whether his company misstated the values of its real estate properties to obtain favorable loans and tax deductions."
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "With New York District Lines On Hold, Judge Blesses Possible Backup Plan," by The New York Times' Nicholas Fandos: "A New York appeals court judge on Friday signed off on the appointment of a neutral expert to prepare new congressional district lines that could be used if the state's highest court upholds a lower-court ruling that struck down maps drawn by Democratic lawmakers. The judge, Justice Stephen K. Lindley of the Fourth Appellate Department, emphasized in his decision that the substitute maps would only be a backup measure meant to preserve a range of possible remedies as the courts consider a broader legal challenge to the maps brought by Republicans." 'MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE' PETITIONING: A handful of the state's top politicians appeared to have fended off serious primary challengers this year, including Attorney General Tish James and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. But last week, another Democrat did file a batch of designating petitions to run against Schumer, who has the party's nomination. Brooklyn resident Khaled Salem's campaign website says he is a proponent of free college education, stronger rights for Americans living or traveling abroad, and "legislative innovation that would permit an American citizen with Islamic religion to marry a second wife after approval from the first wife." Salem would need 15,000 valid signatures to move toward a primary. That will be for New York election officials to decide. A brief review of the submissions shows that some signers have listed personal addresses as "City Hall" or "Rockefeller Center" and a couple indicated they lived at "Headquarters." "Salem Vision Center" and "Tarantini Vascular" both show up as printed names, and one individual indicated they live in the Bronx, but listed their address as simply, and optimistically, as "Make Dreams Come True." — Anna
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A teenager was charged in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old girl near a Bronx high school, which also wounded two other teens. — The driver of an NYPD van struck and killed a homeless man in Brooklyn. — A NYCHA official was suspended after appearing naked with a woman on a virtual work meeting. — " Alvin Bragg Says He's Not a Politician. Is That the Root of His Trouble?" — A Brooklyn City Council member who suffers from a rare eye condition is pushing for free optometry services for low-income New Yorkers. — Employees at three Starbucks stories in Ithaca voted overwhelmingly to unionize. — Thirty-five years after the Thruway bridge collapse, there are still concerns about many spans in the Capital Region. — The city will block Wells Fargo from any new contracts for banking services, following claims the financial giant racially discriminates against Black homeowners. — Most of the arrests made for the NYPD's Neighborhood Safety Teams have been for non-violent crimes. — LatinoJustice, an advocacy group, revealed that close to 200 cops gave false statements to the Civilian Complaint Review Board from 2010 to 2020 — not one cop was fired.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves … Citi's Ed Skyler … Netflix's Erika Masonhall … SKDK's Mariel Sáez and Rae Robinson Trotman … Peacock's Raelyn Johnson … Google's Amanda Golden … Holly Geffs … Jon Berrier … CNN's Jonathan Auerbach … Henry Gass … Alex Douglas … (was Sunday): CNN's Antoine Sanfuentes … NBC's Gary Grumbach … Lisa Belkin … Jeffrey Frank ... Dani Shapiro ... Hanna Rosin ... Yishai Schwartz … Aries Dela Cruz … … (was Saturday): Joe Scarborough … MSNBC's Alex Witt and Jeff Kepnes … Jeff Zucker … Cynthia Nixon … Global Strategy Group's Jon Silvan … Miranda Green … Ross Wallenstein of Wall to Wall Communications WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Lena Gaviria, a J.P. Morgan alum who recently started consulting for a tech company, and Sebastian Sanint, who works in restaurants and real estate, recently welcomed Siena Sanint. Pic … Another pic MEDIAWATCH — The NYT is adding Ben Mullin and Jeremy Peters to its media desk. Mullin most recently has covered media for the WSJ. Peters most recently covered politics at the Times. Announcement
| | Real Estate | | Major housing policy items left to be debated post-budget, by POLITICO's Janaki Chadha: Several thorny policy issues around real estate and housing were left out of the state budget deal poised for approval Friday — leaving lawmakers to debate them during the remainder of this year's legislative session. They include the controversial 421-a tax break set to expire in June, a plan to help overhaul the city's public housing stock, a measure to prevent landlords from evicting tenants without "good cause" and a push to legalize accessory dwelling units. The state budget is expected to include $800 million for the state's cash-strapped emergency rental assistance program, which has been short on funds since last year as many renters across the state remain in need of help. "Eviction attorneys sued tenants who didn't owe rent: AG," by Real Deal's Suzannah Cavanaugh: "Attorney General Letitia James sued real estate law firm Balsamo Rosenblatt & Hall for allegedly filing unwarranted eviction suits against tenants. In some instances, tenants were removed from their homes. A complaint filed in Manhattan alleges that the firm and partners Robert Rosenblatt and Edward Hall copied and pasted landlords' assertions about unpaid rent into court filings without reviewing those cases or demanding documentation of rent owed." | | | | 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 | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment