News : POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams demands ‘discipline of message’

Monday, April 4, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams demands ‘discipline of message’

Apr 04, 2022

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is clamping down, hard, on the flow of public information from his administration. Every communication from a city agency — down to tree-planting announcements and notices about the cherry blossoms being in bloom — will have to be approved by City Hall, the mayor told officials in a recent Zoom meeting.

"I'm a big believer in discipline, discipline of message and discipline of action," Adams said on the call, audio of which was obtained by our Julia Marsh. He complained that press releases were going out without his knowledge, and warned, "That's just not how I operate."

Adams has already tangled with the press, and explained his new policy is happening because "we're dealing with a very aggressive press corps" looking for a "gotcha" moment. He has taken other steps away from transparency as well, reversing a policy of disclosing when top administration officials meet with lobbyists.

So now, there will be a "city agency press release tracker" where communication officials from dozens of departments must submit press releases, statements and press conference plans for approval. The mayor promised to approve submissions personally after his morning smoothies.

Or else what? "I do not accept people sabotaging this administration," Adams said. "If I ever find out that happens, someone intentionally does something that inappropriate, you will not work for me as the mayor."

IT'S MONDAY, April 4. The state budget was due April 1 and we still don't have most of the bills printed. No deal has been announced. Everything's fine.

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 Albany with no public events scheduled.

WHERE'S ERIC? Meeting and making a statement with the family of 12-year-old gun violence victim Kade Lewin and making an announcement related to the LGBTQ+ community.

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What City Hall's reading

"New York City Keeps Mask Mandate for Kids Under 5 as Cases Rise," by The New York Times' Emma G. Fitzsimmons: "Mayor Eric Adams announced on Friday that New York City will keep its school mask mandate in place for children under 5 in response to rising coronavirus cases in the city. Mr. Adams had planned to lift the mask mandate starting on Monday if coronavirus cases remained low. But he decided on Friday that preschoolers should continue to wear masks because they are too young to be vaccinated and cases are increasing again in the city, a rise fueled by an Omicron subvariant, BA.2, that is now dominant in the United States. 'New Yorkers, we want you to be prepared, not panicked,' Mr. Adams said at a news conference at City Hall. A judge on Staten Island had issued an order earlier in the day to strike down the mask mandate, but the city appealed that decision and announced on Friday night that an appellate judge had ruled in the city's favor. Mr. Adams said on Twitter that children under 5 should wear masks to school on Monday."

— Police union cites Kyrie Irving carveout in amended suit over vaccine mandate , by POLITICO's Joe Anuta: The Police Benevolent Association invoked the mayor's recent vaccine mandate carveout in its lawsuit challenging a separate municipal mandate — an argument legal experts believe will become more common as critics seek to undo the city's edicts for both the private and public sectors. The amended complaint, filed Thursday in New York County Supreme Court, argues the carveout allowing unvaccinated baseball and basketball players like the Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving to appear at home games undermines the rational basis for the municipal mandate that has resulted in the termination of 1,400 city workers who refused to get the shot.

— City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams tested positive for Covid-19.

"Amazon workers in NYC vote to unionize in historic labor win ," by The Associated Press' Haleluya Hadero, Anne D'Innocenzio and Bobby Caina Calvin: "Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant's history and handing an unexpected win to a nascent group that fueled the union drive. Warehouse workers cast 2,654 votes — or about 55% — in favor of a union, giving the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. According to the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process, 2,131 workers — or 45% — rejected the union bid."

— " A Cinderella Story: How Staten Island Amazon Workers Won Against the Multi-Billion-Dollar Company," by THE CITY's Josefa Velasquez: "Scrappy Staten Island workers succeeded in winning America's first Amazon union while organizers backed by a major union are likely to fall short on their second try in Alabama, despite celebrity endorsements and support from high profile political leaders."

— Three members of Congress asked Amazon to turn over documents about its labor practices.

Council releases budget response with $1B in additional spending, by POLITICO's Joe Anuta: The City Council released its response Friday to the preliminary executive budget and it fulfills several unmet spending promises by Mayor Eric Adams. The response, released annually after the mayor outlines priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, detailed more than $1 billion in additional spending, along with a major boost to the capital plan. …The biggest boost would go toward the city's housing capital budget, doubling spending on affordable housing and NYCHA to $4 billion — a pledge made by Adams during his campaign but not included in the preliminary budget. The Council also proposed restoring $18.2 million to expand a curbside organics programs, another Adams campaign pledge that was cut from the budget.

"What Other Cities Can Teach New York About Homelessness on Transit," by The New York Times' Michael Gold and Erin Woo: "Days before New York City's mayor unveiled a plan in February to address the issue of homeless people sheltering on the subway, three police officers in San Francisco were hustling a homeless woman up a staircase at the Civic Center transit station. … The interaction — in which officers de-escalated a situation and then deferred to trained outreach workers — offers a model for the future that New York officials say they envision as they try to address the large numbers of unsheltered people in the subway system in part by boosting the role of social workers and health professionals. But it also illustrates the challenges for transit agencies like New York's as they seek to address a seemingly intractable crisis that sits well outside the bounds of their missions."

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

"Paychecks for some state employees may be first casualty of late budget in Albany," Buffalo News' Aaron Besecker: "When the governor and state lawmakers fail to pass a budget by April 1 as expected, the first tangible effect is one that would hit many state employees in their wallets. If there's no approved state budget by 4 p.m. Monday, the State Comptroller's Office has warned that paychecks may be late, said John Kaehny, executive director of the watchdog group Reinvent Albany. But that's not for all state workers – workers at the State University of New York and the State Insurance Fund, which operate on a different fiscal year, wouldn't be affected, according to a March 18 memo issued by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office."

— ON SUNDAY: "Hochul, speaking virtually to the Federation of Italian American Organizations of Brooklyn, where she received the 'Woman of the Year' award, alluded to the budget stand off. 'We have been really working so hard for a budget that meets the needs of all New Yorkers, but I am putting a special emphasis on protecting New Yorkers,' Hochul said. 'And that is one of the reasons why we are a little bit overdue on the budget timetable.'" via New York State Public Radio's Karen DeWitt

— "Hochul vowed to bring 'new era of transparency.' But budget talks have remained secretive, groups say," by Buffalo News' Stephen T. Watson: "For example, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a fellow Democrat, said she didn't know any details about the proposed stadium deal until Hochul revealed it Monday. 'So those are big words,' John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, said of Hochul's vow. 'And the budget, unfortunately, shows that they're completely hollow pledges that the governor made.'"

GOODELL, HIS COUSIN, AND THE BILLS DEAL: Assemblymember Andy Goodell, who regularly leads his house's Republicans during floor debates, says he has not yet "reviewed the financial analysis" that will inform his position on the new stadium for the Buffalo Bills. But the Jamestown resident sounds open to the idea, saying "a new stadium makes great economic sense" if the estimated tax revenue exceeds the state's investment. "If that's the case, New York state taxpayers will actually come out ahead by investing in the stadium and keeping the Buffalo Bills in New York," he said.

Goodell is just one of 213 legislators who get to vote on the budget, but he has a rather unique tie to the stadium: his cousin Roger is the NFL commissioner, and has been very involved in negotiating the deal. Public schedules for the months of November and December released by Hochul on Friday show she had three calls with the commissioner. The Assembly's Goodell says he hasn't spoken with his cousin on the issue: "He doesn't discuss legislation and I don't discuss football with my cousin. My family believes in specialization." And, he joked, he "unfortunately … didn't get any finders' fee" for the $1.4 billion project. — Bill Mahoney

— It's unclear whether the Public Authorities Control Board will have to approve the stadium, an example of how the deal "has been one of the least transparent parts of a budget process that has been unusually non-transparent, even by the standards of a Capitol where budgetary transparency is far from the norm."

— Twenty Democratic lawmakers from New York City sent a letter to Hochul opposing the stadium deal.

"New York state expands call for wearing masks to 5 counties in Central NY," by Syracuse.com's Anne Hayes: "The New York State Department of Health is now urging residents of five Central New York counties to wear masks in all public indoor spaces regardless of their vaccination status. The counties are: Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego. This announcement comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday recommended masks in three CNY counties — Onondaga, Oswego and Cayuga — as a result of a recent surge in Covid cases. In all, the CDC called for the extra measures in only 17 counties nationwide."

" 'It's hard to argue with lives saved.' As overdoses soar, calls for prevention centers grow," by Times Union's Bethany Bump: "With more New Yorkers dying of drug overdoses in a 12-month span than car accidents, suicides and homicides combined, advocates say the time for drastic action is now. On Monday, VOCAL-NY will deliver a letter to state Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie calling for passage of the Safer Consumption Services Act — a bill that would authorize overdose prevention centers (OPCs) around the state where people could consume pre-obtained drugs while under medical supervision and be connected to services when they are ready to seek help."

"Cuomo Sues Ethics Panel to Block It From Seizing Book Profits," by The New York Times' Grace Ashford: "Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sued New York's ethics commission on Friday, contending that its efforts to force him to turn over the proceeds of a $5.1 million book deal were a violation of his constitutional rights. The dispute centers on the commission's approval of Mr. Cuomo's 2020 memoir — a decision it reversed last year over what it said were misrepresentations of, among other things, his use of state resources."

— As Cuomo weighs a comeback, some political strategists run the other way, by POLITICO's Joseph Spector and Julia Marsh: Half a dozen political consultants and polling firms said in interviews that Cuomo has become persona non grata in the consulting world — with some shying away from helping him rebuild his career.

#UpstateAmerica: Albany's Tulip Festival is back in full force, Tulip Queen and all. Here's the lineup.

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.

FEELIN' 22

"New York election officials say primary deadlines remain in place as redistricting case is appealed," by New York Daily News' Denis Slattery: "Election officials encouraged candidates in New York to carry on with campaigning Friday as the state appeals an upstate judge's decision striking down recently drawn congressional and legislative maps. The State Board of Elections said that election-related deadlines ahead of the June primary will remain in place pending the appeal. That includes the filing period for designating petitions next week, due between April 4 to April 7, and 'all other deadlines provided for by law are still in effect pending further court determinations.'"

— Republican state legislators offered to meet with their Democratic counterparts to hash out maps that might get the bipartisan support demanded by the judge.

AROUND NEW YORK

— Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin received a subpoena from the Manhattan DA in a fundraising investigation even before he was tapped as Hochul's No. 2.

— One of Adams' picks for the Rent Guidelines Board has expressed doubts about ... the premise of rent control.

— Adams made the case for a centrist approach to crime during a Sunday talk show appearance.

— The average price of a slice of pizza in the city is now above $3, upending a longstanding principle that it has always been the same price as a subway ride.

— The rate of chronic absenteeism in city schools has jumped to 40 percent.

— Public Advocate Jumaane Williams asked Adams to pause demolitions of homeless encampments.

— Iceland-based Play Airlines will begin service between Stewart International Airport in Newburgh and several European destinations beginning in June.

— Brigadier General Denise Donnell of Clifton Park has become the first woman to command the New York Air National Guard.

— Rensselaer Mayor Michael Stammel fired the city's comptroller for what he said were a number of things the two "just didn't agree on."

— Three years later, the state attorney generals' probe into child sexual abuse by New York's Catholic dioceses has shown little activity.

— Hundreds of New York City prosecutors are leaving their jobs.

— Former City Council Member Peter Koo is under serious consideration to lead the city Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Ali Rubin (h/t Adrienne Elrod) … Business Roundtable's Molly Edwards Connor … NYT's Jo Becker … Kitty Kelley is 8-0 … Daisy Melamed Sanders … Treasury's Warren Ryan … NBC's Joy Wang … Bloomberg Government's Heather Rothman … Tatia Rosenthal … (was Sunday): NYT's Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns … NBC News' Greg Martin … Max Frankel ... Joshua Safdie ... Chanse Jones … Ran Dank ... Harry Zieve Cohen … Zack Dareshori …

… (was Saturday): Edelman's Ryan Kuntz … NYT's Dana Rubinstein … Deloitte's Kelsey Kilgore … Commerce's Patrick Zimet … NBC's Liz Brown-Kaiser … former acting A.G. Jeff Rosen … NYT's Emily Steel … Meridith Webster … Isaac Roszler … Josefa Velásquez … History Channel's Jim O'Grady

SPOTTED: Mayor Eric Adams at the White House on Saturday. He later tweeted that he met with White House CoS Ron Klain.

MEDIAWATCH — After 10 years in the U.S. and eight as Guardian US weekend editor, Martin Pengelly is moving to edit and write breaking news Monday to Friday, with an accent on politics, of course. He'll still be writing about books and, when time allows, rugby, while in his my own time, he's writing a book about rugby too. … Jody Serrano is now online communities and internet reporter at Gizmodo. She most recently was nights and weekends editor at Gizmodo.

WEEKEND WEDDING — Miranda Jenkins, chief program officer of Scholars of Finance and a Goldman Sachs alum, recently married Nitin Metah, who works in health care. The couple met while doing their masters in finance at London business school. Pic

Real Estate

"Is This the Last Generation to Live on New York City's Wild Fringes?" by The New York Times' Richard Schiffman: "Don Riepe pointed to the line on the wall five and a half feet above his kitchen floor. That was where floodwaters reached during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. His home, a humble two-story wooden structure, is decorated with nautical maps, horseshoe crabs and assorted maritime paraphernalia. It sits right on Jamaica Bay, with a small dock at the water's edge, where he moors his 22-foot boat. He has a spectacular view of the east end of the bay with the spires of Manhattan in the distance. Mr. Riepe, a former manager of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, considers himself blessed to be surrounded by nature and still have all the perks of a big city a subway ride away. But he knows his neighbors' time there may be coming to an end."

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