| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Presented by CVS Health | Last week, we lamented the increasingly large piles of garbage we have all been living among as New York City gets further and further from its pledge of eliminating waste sent to landfills by 2030. Now the City Council is taking one more shot at hitting the mark after all. Legislation introduced Thursday would require the city to collect compost from buildings in every neighborhood by next year — picking up food scraps and yard waste that make up a third of New Yorkers' trash. The Council has proposed citywide composting before, but then the pandemic happened. The city's existing, limited compost program was slashed, and it has been restored in only seven neighborhoods. Despite a campaign pledge, Mayor Eric Adams cut funds for a planned expansion from his budget. (He did put some extra cash in his executive budget this week, adding money for food scrap collections at public schools.) If Council backers — who have the support of Speaker Adrienne Adams — get their way, the program will be revved up dramatically over the next year. "Composting cannot wait," said Council Member Shahana Hanif, who will sponsor the bill. Other bills in the package would require organics drop-off sites in every neighborhood and the collection of electronics. In its opening months, the new City Council has not shown much propensity to take on Adams by forcing through legislation he opposes. But it's early in the term yet. And sanitation cuts, touching a nerve for lefty climate activists and urbanist wonks alike, have proved fertile grounds for advocates to rally . So maybe a good old fashioned trash fight will be coming to City Hall. IT'S FRIDAY. 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? Opening the new Albany Skyway. WHERE'S ERIC? Attending the funeral of firefighter Timothy Klein, meeting with Ambassador Mohamed Al-Hassan of Oman and meeting with Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski of Warsaw, Poland. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "There's a lot to be resolved." — Gov. Kathy Hochul, addressing her LG vacancy, lack of working district lines for 2022, final month of legislative session, or perhaps all three
| | A message from CVS Health: New Yorkers want the lowest prescription drug costs possible and CVS Health's pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) team is delivering for them. With big drug companies continually increasing the price of prescription drugs, we negotiate lower prescription drug costs for employers, consumers and working families across the state. That saves New Yorkers and employers tens of millions of dollars each year so they can continue to provide affordable coverage that keeps their employees healthy. Learn more. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "NYC's pay transparency law to take effect in November, after Council votes to delay implementation," by WNYC's Gwynne Hogan: "The New York City Council voted Thursday to push back implementation of the city's new pay transparency law that had been slated to take effect in May. The new law — designed to curb longstanding gender- and race-based pay disparities — will now take effect on November 1, 2022. Most New York City employers will be required to begin listing salary minimums and maximums whenever posting hiring notices for most positions after that date. In addition to pushing back the start date, the Council tweaked the bill to clarify that employers get a warning and 30 days to fix any violations before facing city fines. The law also now clarifies that you can't sue an employer for not listing salary ranges under the law unless you work at the company and specifies the city's Commission on Human Rights as the main enforcement agency." Washington, D.C. official named New York City taxi and limousine commissioner, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: Mayor Eric Adams named David Do on Thursday as the new commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, calling him the best pick to oversee the city's efforts to help taxi drivers recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and tackle the medallion debt crisis. Do is currently the director of Washington, D.C.'s Department of For-Hire Vehicles. He takes over after the previous TLC boss, a holdover from former Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, resigned after an expletive-laden tirade to employees. ... The appointment must be approved by the City Council. "'Donald Trump in Brooklyn': Democratic Politician Charges County Chair With Manipulating Election," by The City's Yoav Gonen and George Joseph: "A Democratic Brooklyn Assembly member is accusing his own county party's chairwoman of improper interference in judicial elections — invoking former president Donald Trump's war on the democratic process. 'Seems like we have our own Donald Trump in Brooklyn,' tweeted Assemblymember Robert Carroll about fellow Assemblymember and Kings County Democratic Party chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn. The broadside came after the city Board of Elections on Wednesday rejected a challenge to a slate of judicial delegate candidates backed by the county party. The challenge asserted that the majority of signatures collected on petitions for the candidates were invalid, citing suspicious handwriting, signatures from residents who lived outside the district and other deficiencies. The board rejected that challenge on a technicality, which leaves the candidates on the primary ballot intact." "Shelter in Chinatown Is Canceled After Community Protests," by The New York Times' Andy Newman: "New York City has canceled one of three homeless shelters it planned to open in Chinatown, amid fierce resistance from Chinatown residents who fear that more homeless shelters will mean a further increase in anti-Asian hate crimes, many of which have been linked to homeless people. The city will no longer open a shelter at 47 Madison Street, which would have housed 49 men. The cancellation comes two days after a community board in a different part of Chinatown passed a resolution asking the city not to open a shelter on Grand Street. That shelter is planned for a site around the corner from where a 35-year-old Chinese American woman was murdered in February." "NYC Council leaders push back on Mayor Adams' budget plans for housing, public safety: 'Unacceptable,'" by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael Gartland: "Mayor Adams' latest budget proposal received a lukewarm response from the City Council on Thursday, with two top members of the chamber suggesting it would put forward too much money on law enforcement and too little on housing. Speaker Adrienne Adams (D-Queens), the Council's lead budget negotiator, told reporters at City Hall that she was encouraged by some items in the $99.7 billion executive budget unveiled by the mayor earlier this week, including increased funding for homeless services."
| | | | 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 ALBANY'S READING | | "Task of drawing NY political maps falls to judge and scholar," by The Associated Press' Marina Villeneuve: "The high court handed responsibility for creating a new set of maps to state Judge Patrick McAllister — the lower-court jurist who had initially declared the maps unconstitutional. Anticipating that higher courts would agree with him, McAllister had already chosen an independent expert to help him craft the maps, Jonathan Cervas, a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Mellon University's Institute for Politics and Strategy. Cervas previously played a key role as a consultant who helped create legislative district maps for Pennsylvania's Legislative Reapportionment Commission. He also served as an assistant in court-supervised redistricting programs in Utah, Virginia and Georgia. The western Pennsylvania native now faces a tight deadline to come up with his own set of maps, for McAllister to review and approve. Democrats, Republicans and 'other interested parties' had until April 22 to submit proposed Congressional maps to Cervas and the court. The court is accepting responses on those submissions until Friday, and plans to hold a hearing May 6." — "Officials are especially concerned by two C's: the cost and confusion of splitting New York's party primaries into two elections held weeks apart … And then there's the cost: a statewide election typically costs as much as $30 million to hold. Czarny, the Onondaga County elections official, estimates a second primary will cost at least $400,000 for his board alone. 'I think the major county boards and especially New York City and Long Island are going to see major astronomical costs that the counties are going to have to absorb,' he said." via Spectrum's Nick Reisman — "New York Senate GOP feeling 'a lot of joy' about redistricting decision," by Spectrum's Ryan Whalen: " State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said he always believed they were on the right side of the law, the only question was how a panel of nearly all Democrats on the New York Court of Appeals would interpret it. 'This was not a conservative court. It is probably the opposite, but it should reinforce the notion that judges can look at these things and make the right decision and I applaud them for doing so,' Ortt said." — ' Egg on our face': New York redistricting mess spooks House Dems, by POLITICO's Ally Mutnick, Sarah Ferris and Bill Mahoney: The redistricting mess dominated a discussion of the state's Democratic delegation during a Zoom meeting on Thursday, according to multiple people on the call. Members expressed concern over the uncertainty and confusion surrounding the process and discussed potential legal avenues for fighting the ruling. Two seemed to gain the most traction: The state attorney general could offer a legal opinion stipulating that New York's primary must be held as scheduled in June, ensuring the current maps would stand. Alternatively, the state legislature could ask the state's appeals court for a motion to reconsider its decision, perhaps in the hopes that it would at least restore the map-drawing power back to the legislature. SHOT: "Report: State agencies failed domestic violence victim slain by husband," by Times Union's Massarah Mikati: "An investigation by the state inspector general's office found that two state agencies failed to protect an employee from domestic violence before she was killed by her husband. The inspector general's office released a report Thursday morning detailing an investigation into the state Office of General Services (OGS) and the office of Information Technology Services (ITS), which employed a woman who police said was strangled by her husband before he killed himself in September 2020. 'What our investigation revealed at its core is ITS did not follow their own domestic violence policy in handling this,' Inspector General Lucy Lang said." CHASER: "Court reinstates job of state executive with 'history of ... sexually inappropriate acts,'" by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "An appellate court issued a decision Thursday overturning the termination of a former high-ranking state official who was fired from his job following the release of an inspector general's report that found he had 'a history of improper and sexually inappropriate acts' targeting female colleagues." "Can New York court and regulate the crypto industry at the same time? ," by City & State's Annie McDonough: "The proposed moratorium has produced an outcry from the crypto industry, and some sizable lobbying spending in Albany. Though the bill's sponsors and environmental advocates say that they're not against cryptocurrency trading or exploring new uses of blockchain — they're just against the energy-intensive proof-of-work authentication method — industry insiders have said that a moratorium would send a message that New York is unfriendly to crypto and blockchain companies. Such a message might make it difficult for Adams to continue his pitch for New York City as the crypto capital of the world, they said. 'It's a bad signal,' said John Olsen, New York state lead for the Blockchain Association, of the proposed moratorium." FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Assemblymembers Ron Kim and Yuh-Line Niou and City Council Member Shahana Hanif will endorse Jumaane Williams for governor today. Williams, New York City's public advocate, is mounting a primary challenge against Hochul. "I'm proud to endorse Jumaane Williams to be the next Governor of the state of New York. He's spent his entire career, first as a tenant organizer then as a Council Member and now Public Advocate, fighting for the progressive values that help improve the lives of working families," said Kim (D-Queens), who became a prominent antagonist of Hochul's predecessor Andrew Cuomo. "He's the leader we need in Albany to push our state forward so that New York works for the many, not the few." — Erin Durkin #UpstateAmerica: A Tom Hanks movie is filming in Niagara County next week, but officials are mum on whether Hanks himself will show.
| | | |   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "AOC defends lonely vote against seizing assets of pro-Putin Russian oligarchs," by New York Daily News' Dave Goldiner: "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was one of just eight House lawmakers to vote against seizing assets from Russian oligarchs. The progressive firebrand said seizing the yachts and plush apartments of billionaire cronies of Russian President Vladimir Putin could undermine Americans' Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure. 'Oligarchs should pay ... but this vote told POTUS to violate the 4th Amd & seize private property,' AOC wrote on Twitter. AOC and other progressives have long been concerned about civil forfeiture laws, which have sometimes been used as blunt weapons in the hands of overzealous prosecutors."
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — The city Department of Education's governing body rejected the formula that serves as the main source of funding for individual school budgets. — A bill introduced in the City Council would require the city to publish a report on feasible locations to install a public bathroom in every ZIP code. — In March, NYPD officers wrote just 1.77 failure-to-yield tickets per precinct per day, despite a touted enforcement push. — A Queens Chipotle worker filed a complaint charging she was fired for leading a unionization effort. — The Department of Transportation presented a permanent plan for the 34th Avenue open street in Queens. — Daniel Auster, the son of author Paul Auster who had been charged in the drug death of his infant daughter, died from an overdose. — A reward of up to $7,500 is being offered for information that solves a 2007 shooting death in Buffalo. — The state's limo safety task force has been given more time to fulfill its mandate after getting off to a slow start. — A man whose father died of Covid-19 in a Brooklyn nursing home has filed a class action wrongful death suit against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his then-aide Melissa DeRosa. — Retired city workers could be at risk of losing out on "medically necessary care" if they enroll in a controversial new health insurance plan, according to a federal study. — A bill was introduced in the City Council to ban discrimination based on a person's height or weight. — Attorney General Tish James joined other state AGs in suing the U.S. Postal Service for violating environmental laws with its fleet of gas-powered mail trucks. — Lyft is bringing 1,400 new electric Citi bikes to the city.
| | | | JOIN US TODAY FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC's Hallie Jackson … Jennifer Nycz-Conner … Kara Panzer … Meghan Pennington of Hamilton Place Strategies ... Finsbury Glover Hering's Ari Isaacman Bevacqua … Alison Corwin … Damien LaVera … Geoff Earle of the Daily Mail MEDIAWATCH — David Cruz has been named editor of the People & Power desk at WNYC and Gothamist. He has been doing the job on an acting basis for the past few months and before that was a news editor. Samantha Max is joining the station as a public safety reporter. She was previously a reporter at WPLN / Nashville Public Radio.
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Learn more. | | | | | Real Estate | | "High court rescues near-dead property tax challenge," by The Real Deal's Kathryn Brenzel: "An industry-backed quest to overhaul New York's property tax system has received new life. The state's highest court on Thursday granted Tax Equity Now New York permission to continue its legal challenge to the city's property tax system. In a lawsuit against the city and state, TENNY argues that the system undervalues homes in affluent neighborhoods and disproportunately burdens communities of color. A mid-level appeals court tossed TENNY's lawsuit in February 2020, citing the legislature's right to fix the system — or leave it. The court's consensus left the group without an automatic right to appeal to the state's highest court, which granted it that option Thursday. The Court of Appeals' approval is a major and unlikely win after a series of defeats for the group." "More NYC Apartment Renters Are Moving Out Instead of Paying Higher Rates," by Bloomberg's Jennifer Epstein: "More New York apartment renters are declining to renew leases as they're being presented with post-pandemic rate increases, landlord Equity Residential said. Deal-seekers are 'choosing to move out versus paying the higher current price,' Chief Executive Officer Mark Parrell said Wednesday on the real estate investment trust's first quarter earnings call. 'But not a concern since we are easily able to attract new residents at these higher rates.' The current renewal rate at the company's buildings in the New York area is around 60%, down five percentage points from the beginning of the year, Parrell said." | | | | 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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