| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Presented by National Grid | New York City Mayor Eric Adams has shown a certain affinity for people who, as he puts it, "have stumbled and fell" — and for some of the most controversial figures in New York politics. Take Hiram Monserrate. The ex-pol was ousted from the state Senate in 2010 over a domestic assault conviction and spent time in prison for misusing taxpayer money while serving on the City Council. He's an old ally of Adams, but the mayor, when he was campaigning for office, finally disavowed Monserrate's attempts at a political comeback. Quietly, however, Team Adams made a move that could have aided Monserrate , our Joe Anuta and Sally Goldenberg report. Shortly after Adams took office, two emissaries working with his transition team approached Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry about a job overseeing the city's Department of Probation, according to five people familiar with the situation. Monserrate is challenging Aubry for his Assembly seat in Queens, so a vacancy would have been a boost to the disgraced former pol. For the record, City Hall adamantly denies that this ever happened. Aubry dismissed the overture and nothing ever came of it, and Monserrate faces an uphill race for the seat, his latest in a string of comeback bids. But Monserrate says he still sees Adams as a pal. "I consider him a personal friend, and if I can ever do anything to be helpful as a friend, I will," he said of the mayor, who, as a state senator, was one of the few who voted against expelling Monserrate. "I support his public safety agenda, and I'm saddened that Albany is not doing more to assist him." He argued that Democrats who support a chance at redemption for other New Yorkers with criminal records should extend him the same courtesy. "You can't say all that in one breath and then say: but not for this one specific guy." Not so much, said NOW New York president Sonia Ossorio. "Viciously slashing your girlfriend's face, roughly pulling the dazed and injured woman out of your building, and then delaying her urgent care to avoid taking her to a hospital in your district is not the mark of a public servant," she said. IT'S WEDNESDAY. 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 Covid-19 briefing and speaking at the Long Island Federation of Labor dinner. WHERE'S ERIC? Attending a viewing service for 12-year-old shooting victim Kade Lewin, making a sanitation announcement, meeting virtually with Rwandan UN Ambassador Claver Gatete, making a parks announcement, honoring police officers and civilians who helped catch the Brooklyn subway shooter, and hosting a Ramadan celebration.
| | A message from National Grid: There Is A Better Way. National Grid is announcing our path to a fossil-free energy future. By using renewable natural gas, and green hydrogen produced from water using wind energy, we can achieve a fossil-free energy future by 2050 or earlier. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | Adams says he'll release unspecified 'tax information,' by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: Mayor Eric Adams pledged Tuesday to release unspecified "tax information," but refused to say what that information would consist of and did not commit to releasing his tax returns themselves. Adams, the mayor of the nation's largest city, on Friday would not pledge to making his tax returns public — breaking with decades of custom by past mayors, as well as the governor and president. When asked Tuesday why he was hesitating, Adams said he does plan to release information about his tax filings. "No hesitation. We're going to release tax information. No hesitation," he told reporters at an unrelated press conference on Staten Island. Pressed repeatedly on what that information would be and whether it would include copies of his tax returns, Adams would not say. "Confusion, conflicting info for commuters after federal mask mandate ruling," by WNYC's Gwynne Hogan: "Confusion and conflicting information coursed through the morning commute for travelers at Penn Station Tuesday after a federal judge on Monday tossed the national mask mandate for mass transit. New Jersey Transit and Amtrak lifted their mask requirements ahead of the morning commute. New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority — which governs the city subways and buses as well as state commuter rails like Metro North and LIRR — did not. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — which runs the PATH train and oversees the Port Authority bus terminal and regional airports — said its masking requirements were still in effect." "Feds threaten to take leadership of NYC jails away from Mayor Adams to fix troubled Rikers Island," by New York Daily News' Graham Rayman: The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office threatened Tuesday to wrest control of the city jails system from Mayor Adams and install new leadership unless Correction Commissioner Louis Molina presents a clear plan to fix ongoing staffing problems, improve security and other issues at Rikers Island. The letter, filed in a class action lawsuit that resulted in the appointment of a federal monitor overseeing Rikers, detailed the feds' frustration with the Department of Correction. Prosecutors Jeffrey Powell and Lara Eshkenazi wrote that the agency has stonewalled their demands for clear answers on how to address well-documented problems." Democratic Party weighs banning its consultants from anti-union activity, by POLITICO's Eleanor Mueller: The Democratic Party is considering banning its army of consultants from engaging in anti-union activity following a report that one of its pollsters had helped Amazon combat organizing efforts, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. A union-drafted addendum to any contract between a Democratic Party political committee and a consultant would forbid the consultant — or any of its parents, subsidiaries or affiliates — from participating in an array of activities involving unions. That includes union-busting, aiding an employer in a labor dispute or lobbying against union-backed legislation. … The move comes less than a month after a report that Global Strategy Group, a prominent Democratic pollster based in New York, had aided Amazon's campaign to fend off organizing efforts at several of its Staten Island facilities, including by producing videos and distributing flyers that featured company executives extolling the benefits of remaining non-unionized. "Pedestrian deaths soar in early 2022, gruesome city stats show ," by New York Post's Nolan Hicks: "The number of New Yorkers killed on city streets in traffic-related incidents skyrocketed during the first three months of 2022 to an alarming level not seen in years, according to a new study set to be released by a transportation advocacy group. In the first quarter of this year, 59 people, many of them pedestrians, were struck and killed in the Big Apple — a whopping 44 percent increase from the last three month period that closed out 2021."
| | | | 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 | | A placeholder or a candidate: Hochul weighs Lt. Gov. pick amid legal uncertainty, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney and Anna Gronewold: Last August, it took one day from the date that Kathy Hochul learned she would soon be elevated to the governorship for a consensus to begin to form around one of her first major decisions: then-state Sen. Brian Benjamin was the frontrunner to be picked as her lieutenant governor. It has now been a week since Benjamin was arrested and resigned, letting Hochul take a second swing at choosing a deputy. But while this pick doesn't overlap with a hectic transition, there is little indication that a choice is imminent and far from a consensus over who it might be. And there's a main reason for the indecision: It's unclear whether Hochul can remove Benjamin's name from the ballot in time for the June 28 primary — making the recruitment of candidates to succeed him seemingly that much more difficult. Some names have begun to surface, a few of which were on the short list of favorites alongside Benjamin in August. And the big picture calculus hasn't changed too much since then: Hochul, a white woman from Buffalo, almost certainly wants to ally with a person of color from downstate. "I'm going to go through a continuation of a process that is underway to select the best person to assume the responsibility," Hochul said Tuesday on Long Island when asked by reporters about the status of the search. The specifics of who might benefit her the most have changed a bit. "Suozzi says his comments on Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill were 'inartful,'" by WNYC's Jon Campbell: "Rep. Tom Suozzi wants to make clear: He doesn't support Florida's controversial new law restricting discussion of sexual identity in schools — despite saying some aspects of it were 'reasonable' and made 'common sense' just last week. Suozzi is a Long Island Democrat challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul from the right in this year's primary. He's leveled attacks against her on crime, the budget and what he calls a lack of experience. On Tuesday he held a virtual press conference to criticize the governor for the shoddy vetting process that led to her appointment of since-arrested, now-former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin. But during the question-and-answer period, Suozzi was asked about his recent comments on 77 WABC's Bernie & Sid in the Morning, in which he called Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill a 'very reasonable law not to try to get kids in kindergarten to be talking about sex.' Suozzi said his prior comments were 'very inartful in the way I spoke.'" — OPINION from a former Suozzi staffer: 'I'm gay, and my old boss Tom Suozzi let me down,' by Matt Albert for the Daily News "National Grid pushes back on all-electric NY. It has another idea for heating your home," by Syracuse.com's Tim Knauss: "National Grid called on New York leaders to reject the goal of converting nearly every building in the state to electric heat by 2050, arguing that natural gas infrastructure should not be abandoned in the quest to stop climate change. Instead, existing gas mains can one day supply customers with what National Grid calls 'fossil-free gas,' a mix of methane recovered from landfills or farms and hydrogen made with solar or wind power. That way, utility officials argue, not all customers would have to replace their gas furnaces with electric heat pumps. " "Good-government group calls for Benjamin's removal from primary ballot," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman #UpstateAmerica: That Canandaigua railroad bridge has claimed victim. This is not the first time.
| | | | A message from National Grid:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "Rep. Carolyn Maloney is the latest NYC politician to test positive for COVID," by New York Daily News' Dave Goldiner: "Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday that she has tested positive for COVID-19 and is suffering symptoms similar to a 'bad cold,' making her the latest New York leader to contract the virus. 'I am in good spirits, just feeling a bit like I have a bad cold,' Maloney said in a statement. Maloney took a home COVID test that came back positive and then confirmed the result with a PCR lab test." " Bronx's Fernando Ferrer gets starring role in 2 Suozzi ads," by Spectrum's Nick Resiman: "Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Tom Suozzi on Tuesday is set to roll out a pair of digital ads highlighting his support from former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer. The ads, called 'Trust' and 'Friend' feature Ferrer and Suozzi, who pledge to tackle gun violence and bail law changes if the Long Island congressman is elected to the governor's office. Ferrer, a Democratic candidate for mayor in 2005 and 2009, is one of Suozzi's most high-profile endorsers in the race and joined the campaign at its launch as its chair amid the challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul."
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — There are fewer families with children living in New York City homeless shelters, but they are staying there a longer time on average. — The state Department of Health made nearly $1 billion in Medicaid errors over a four-year period, an audit found. — The man accused of fatally shoving a woman in front of a subway train was found unfit to stand trial and will be sent to a locked psychiatric facility indefinitely. — Three top City Council staffers got waivers to live outside the city. — "A Daring Dream and a Lifelong Love, Dashed in a Moment of Violence" — The mother of a 14-year-old Black autistic boy who was tackled in a Clifton Park Target by a sheriff's deputy says her son was a victim of racial profiling. — Adams opened a new rooftop farm on Staten Island funded by a city green infrastructure grant program. — Officials aren't concerned about Lake Ontario flooding even if it's a wet year. — Attorney General Tish James began giving out more than $5 million to the Capital Region in the first round of opioid settlement payments. — An NYPD cruiser hit a pedestrian in Brooklyn. — A bill introduced in the state Legislature would require e-commerce companies like Amazon to create air pollution reduction plans. — A study of 2,579 health care workers at New York City's Mount Sinai Health System during the beginning of the pandemic discovered that almost 40 percent of respondents experienced mental health trauma.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC's Carol Lee … Time's Molly Ball … Fox News' Jennifer Griffin … Colin Reed … Hamilton Place Strategies' Melissa Manson … Daniela Plattner … Jon Daugherty … Chukwudi Motanya ... Joanna Coles MEDIAWATCH — Joe Kahn will be the next executive editor of The New York Times. He will succeed Dean Baquet, whose tenure is set to conclude in June. … Mariya Abedi has been promoted to executive producer of NY1's political unit. She was previously senior producer. — Michael Bender is joining the NYT to cover Donald Trump and Trumpism. He previously covered the White House for the WSJ. Announcement MAKING MOVES — Stephanie Marrone is now director of marketing and communications at Phillips Nizer LLP. She most recently was director of business development and marketing at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin. ... Bryan Donohue is now COO of Bond Schoeneck & King in Buffalo. He most recently was COO of Freed Maxick CPAs. ... Elisabeth Bernard is now chief HR officer at Paul, Weiss. She most recently was chief HR officer at Proskauer Rose. OUT AND ABOUT — 'Michael's Is the Place Where the Deal Is Happening,' by Grubstreet's Aaron Short
| | A message from National Grid: National Grid is announcing our path to a fossil-free energy future for our customers and communities. Our fossil-free plan will help achieve the Northeast's aggressive climate goals and set a new standard for energy companies.
We will use renewable natural gas, green hydrogen generated from wind and solar power, battery storage, and greater energy efficiency to make our National Grid system fossil-free by 2050 or earlier. Climate scientists say renewable natural gas is a win-win for the environment.
There Is A Better Way to keep energy affordable, reliable, and clean. That's why we are creating a hybrid pathway that preserves customer choice while delivering the clean, affordable energy future our customers want and deserve. See How. | | | | | Real Estate | | "Strike Is Averted as Doormen's Union Reaches Contract Agreement," by The New York Times' Patrick McGeehan: "The union representing doormen and other workers in more than 3,000 apartment buildings in New York City reached a new contract agreement on Tuesday, averting a strike that could have left thousands of tenants standing guard in lobbies and hauling trash to the curb. The agreement between Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union and the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations was announced on Tuesday afternoon. It headed off what would have been the first strike by the city's unionized doormen in more than 30 years. The Realty Advisory Board, which represents companies that employ more than 30,000 doormen, porters and building superintendents across the city, had been seeking concessions on health care premiums and other benefits, including sick pay and vacation time. … Despite the tough initial stance the board took, the union said that it wound up with historically large wage increases, without giving up any benefits." "Zoning Laws Are Blocking the Conversion of Hotels into Affordable Housing ," by New York Focus' Sam Mellins: "Althea Matthews, an affordable housing activist who lives in the Bronx, has been homeless since losing her apartment in a fire in December 2019. Last year, she and other advocates fought for New York State to fund a program to convert vacant hotels and commercial properties—many teetering on the edge of financial ruin due to reduced demand during the pandemic — into single-room affordable housing units. Matthews aspires to have her own apartment one day, but said that moving to a converted hotel unit would be an improvement. … In June 2021, the legislature passed the Housing Our Neighbors With Dignity Act, or HONDA, which allotted $100 million for such conversions in New York City and required that the resulting housing be reserved for homeless and low-income New Yorkers." | | | | 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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