News: POLITICO New York Playbook: Hochul says deal, but there's still no budget

Friday, April 8, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: Hochul says deal, but there's still no budget

Apr 08, 2022

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia

More than a week after the constitutional deadline, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a "conceptual" deal with legislative leaders on the state budget yesterday. Hochul held a press conference without those leaders on Thursday to go over the $220 billion-dollar plan, a $4 billion increase over what she had proposed in January.

She was joined by budget director Robert Mujica; Secretary to the Governor Karen Persichilli Keogh, who is recovering from Covid-19; and Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who faced questions about recently revealed federal subpoenas that appear to involve discretionary funding he distributed during his time as a state senator.

Hochul said the budget would "put more money in people's pockets," and highlighted what among her priorities made it in, such as reauthorizing cocktails to-go, a suspension of the state's gas tax until Dec. 31, $7 billion over four years to expand access to child care, and changes to the state's bail laws. The new agreement on the latter — which sucked up most of the oxygen this year — expands the instances in which judges would be able to set bail, including for some repeat offenders, in more gun cases, or for violation of a protection order.

Definitely not included (sorry Eric Adams): Renewals of mayoral control of New York City schools and the 421-a real estate program that gives tax breaks to developers who include affordable housing. Hochul said those might be addressed outside of the budget before legislative session ends in June.

The governor said the rather murky process over the past several weeks has been an intro to her kind of governing: a negotiating style that was collaborative with legislative leaders, but remained mostly hidden from both press and public until she decided to announce a deal.

Some in the Legislature say she still jumped the gun on the "deal" part. When the Senate began debate later in the day, Finance Chair Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) said that negotiations with the governor were almost, "but not fully complete." "I was quite surprised to learn there was a press conference," she said.

Some of the actual budget bills went to print last night, and legislators are expected to debate at least through today. It's unclear what kind of schedule might take them to the budget passage finish line in the coming days, but it's caucus weekend in Albany, so no one will be working too hard regardless.

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? In Albany with no public events scheduled.

WHERE'S ERIC? Doing a bunch of radio and TV interviews marking his first 100 days in office and going to Opening Day and Yankee Stadium.

ABOVE THE FOLD — NY attorney general seeks contempt citation for Trump in document fight , by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein: New York's attorney general is asking a court to hold former President Donald Trump in civil contempt for failing to turn over documents subpoenaed in an investigation into potential fraud at the Trump Organization. Lawyers with Attorney General Letitia James' office filed the contempt motion on Thursday, asking that he be fined $10,000 daily for failing to obey a court order to "comply in full" with the records demand by a March 31 deadline. "Mr. Trump did not comply at all," James' attorneys argued in the motion — noting that at the deadline, Trump's lawyers said that all the relevant records were in the custody of the Trump Organization.

— "Manhattan DA: Trump criminal investigation is continuing," by The Associated Press' Michael R. Sisak

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I can't help but to believe that if Matthew, Mark, Luke and John was here today, he would be on the streets with me helping people get out of encampments." — New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaking Wednesday to a gathering of clergy, saying the disciples of Christ would support his policy of clearing the makeshift shelters of homeless New Yorkers

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

"As Yet Another Wave of Covid Looms, New Yorkers Ask: Should I Worry?" by The New York Times' Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Otterman: "Driven by an Omicron subvariant, Covid-19 cases have been ticking up steadily across Manhattan, Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, threatening New York City with a fifth wave of coronavirus cases just weeks after the city lifted many mask and vaccine requirements. The city is registering about 1,500 new cases a day and a positivity rate of nearly 3 percent, both figures more than double what they were a month ago. In Manhattan, where the last wave also first emerged, the positivity rate is above 6 percent in some neighborhoods. In another potentially worrisome indicator, the prevalence of fevers across the city — which can offer a forewarning of Covid trends — has reached levels last seen at some of the worst points of the pandemic, according to data from internet-connected thermometers."

Jessica Tisch to be tapped as sanitation commissioner, by POLITICO's Julia Marsh and Danielle Muoio Dunn: Jessica Tisch, the city's former chief information officer, will become the new commissioner of the Sanitation Department, according to officials familiar with the matter. Tisch, who also worked for the NYPD under former Mayors Bill de Blasio and Mike Bloomberg, will helm the agency that collects more than 10,500 tons of garbage everyday and is responsible for keeping 6,300 miles of street clean of litter and snow.

" Adams Administration Set $190K Salary for Husband of Brooklyn Democratic Boss," by The City's George Joseph and Yoav Gonen: "Mayor Eric Adams' administration set a $190,000 salary at the city's public assistance agency for the spouse of Brooklyn's Democratic Party boss, personnel records obtained by THE CITY show. Edu Hermelyn turned in his resignation papers on March 11 — just weeks after his Feb. 14 appointment as senior advisor for strategic initiatives, reporting directly to Department of Social Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins. The resignation came just hours after THE CITY asked the mayor's office about city government rules that bar most managerial employees from simultaneously holding top positions in political parties."

"NYC created a massive after-school program to help all students with disabilities catch up after COVID disruptions. Most never showed up," by Chalkbeat's Amy Zimmerman and The City's Yoav Gonen: "Bronx mom Damaris Rodriguez jumped at the chance to sign her son up for the city's ambitious after-school program designed to help students with disabilities catch up after two years of disrupted learning. Maliek, an 11-year-old on the autism spectrum, had missed speech and occupational therapy sessions, which sometimes overlapped with other remote instruction. So when he started attending this year's after-school recovery program, his mom was surprised to hear he was mostly receiving math tutoring rather than the therapies he had missed. 'I was never told exactly what services he's going to get,' Rodriguez said."

"NYPD deploys business improvement team to clean up Midtown streets," by New York Post's Larry Celona and Patrick Reilly: "The NYPD has deployed a business improvement team in Manhattan to tackle surging homelessness and crime in response to complaints from Midtown merchants. The new unit of over 30 cops has been out on the streets addressing quality of life issues since March 1 to make the areas 'clean, safe and accessible for shoppers, tourists and people going to work,' a police source said. It was formed after officials from Madison Square Garden, 34th Street, Soho and Times Square businesses complained about the deteriorating conditions in the area."

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

Five Democrats — but not Cuomo — have filed to run for New York governor, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: At least five Democrats on Thursday submitted the paperwork needed to appear on New York's gubernatorial primary ballot this June. One name who didn't have a filing with the state Board of Elections? Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose potential interest in a comeback campaign a year after he resigned in disgrace has provided grist for the rumor mill for months. The filings on Thursday were not an absolute guarantee that Cuomo does not run. If his supporters covertly knocked on tens of thousands of doors in recent weeks and every one of the people they interacted with kept it a secret, then he could still appear on the primary ballot if he put the signatures in a mailbox on Thursday and they arrived at the board by Monday — which is the final deadline. But most observers have thought that the scenario is unlikely.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: New York Attorney General Tish James' reelection campaign is doing a brand overhaul, starting with a new campaign video out today . It's primarily soundbites from James' speech at the state Democratic Convention in Manhattan this February, where she declared "none of us could have predicted how the last four years would test the soul of this nation" and vowed "I will not bow, I will not break, and I will not be bullied by him [Andrew Cuomo] or Donald Trump." James is currently running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

" Albany Looks to Gas Tax Holiday to Placate Drivers in What Could Be a Blow to Mass Transit," by The City's Jose Martinez: "The proposed state budget calls for motorists hit by high fuel prices to catch a break through a gas-tax suspension that has been panned as a 'terrible idea' for mass transit and the environment. Under the plan being pushed by the governor and Albany leadership, certain taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel would be suspended from June 1 through the end of the year. New Yorkers pay 46.19 cents per gallon of gas, with the Highway and Bridge Trust Fund getting 63%, and the rest dedicated to mass transit. The idea is that this 'holiday' would provide some relief to New York drivers who are paying an average $4.27 per gallon in the state — and higher in all boroughs but Brooklyn and Staten Island, according to the American Automobile Association."

"N.Y. Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin admits not telling Hochul directly of probe into failed comptroller campaign," by New York Daily News' Denis Slattery: "Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin admitted Thursday he did not tell Gov. Hochul his failed comptroller campaign had been subpoenaed prior to his appointment to his current post. Benjamin, breaking his silence for the first time since the Daily News first reported that federal investigators have been probing grants he doled out as a state senator, maintained his innocence and said he's cooperating with authorities. 'I'm fully supportive of their efforts,' Benjamin said, reading from a prepared statement during a brief interview in a hallway at the State Capitol."

"'Flawed from outset': Judge blasts NY Democrats for 'Hochul-mander' mess," by New York Post's Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan: "A state appellate judge ripped New York's legislature Thursday for creating a redistricting panel that lawmakers knew was 'flawed from the outset' — resulting in a messy, partisan 'stalemate' over disputed congressional district maps that have ended up in court. The 10-member 'independent redistricting commission' formed in 2014 to redraw congressional and state Senate and Assembly maps following the decennial census was not independent at all, Appellate Judge Stephen Lindley said during a virtual hearing Thursday. The appointments to the panel were equally split between Democrats and Republicans, resulting in bipartisan gridlock."

"Firm that built Mario M. Cuomo bridge ordered to pay $1.69M to whistleblower's attorneys," by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "A judge this week ordered the firm that built the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo bridge to pay $1.69 million in attorneys fees and expenses to the legal team that represented a whistleblower who accused the construction company of covering up defects in the high-strength bolts used to build the twin span. The ruling by state Supreme Court Justice Joan B. Lefkowitz came a little more than a year after Tappan Zee Constructors, a consortium made up of American Bridge Co., Fluor Corp., Traylor Bros. Inc., and Granite Construction, agreed to pay $2 million to settle the whistleblower's case with the state."

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FROM THE DELEGATION

"D.C.-based 'dark money' nonprofit funds campaign against Malliotakis," by Gothamist's Elizabeth Kim and Brigid Bergen: "A Washington, D.C.-based organization is financing a $1 million campaign for a coalition of New York City Democrats set to mobilize volunteers and run attack ads to unseat U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the Staten Island Republican representing the 11th Congressional District who is considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the upcoming midterm elections. The group known as Unrig Our Economy NYC will officially announce their launch on Friday and hold a protest event later this month, according to Drisana Hughes, one of the organizers and a campaign strategist at Stu Loeser and Co."

#UpstateAmerica: "YouTuber gets 90 days in jail related to dirt bike ride through Price Chopper" according to the Times Union. The judge "noted that except for his dirt bike-related problems, some of which he attributed in part to Knight's desire to get 'views on YouTube,' Knight 'led a law-abiding life.'"

AROUND NEW YORK

— Despite the city dismantling an encampment, homeless people are still living in the area around the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

— A city lawyer fired after speaking out against mask mandates for kids will not challenge the termination in court.

— A Citi Field waitress who spoke out against double standards after being fired for refusing to get vaccinated while athletes were allowed to play can return to work with a religious exemption.

— The Manhattan and Brooklyn borough presidents asked the city to raise the cap of 20 percent e-bikes in the Citi Bike fleet.

— The outdoor dining structure at Barney Greengrass was set ablaze in a case of suspected arson, one of five small fires on the Upper West Side.

— Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz delivered his State of the County address at the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse.

— For $4.5 million you can own Eleanor Roosevelt's childhood summer home in Clermont.

— A new Empire Center analysis suggests that pandemic-era deaths in New York's nursing homes "show no correlation with staffing levels."

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC's Chuck Todd is 5-0 … Seymour Hersh … Robin Sproul of Javelin … Mike Leiter of Skadden Arps … NYT's Dave Shaw … WaPo's Zach Goldfarb … NBCUniversal's Lauren Skowronski … Jeffrey Kramer … MarketWatch's Lukas Alpert

MAKING MOVES — Sean Byrne has left Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer 's office, where he has worked over the past decade, for K Street. Byrne, who served as a senior adviser to Schumer on agriculture, environment, energy and natural resources, public land management, and NASA issues, has joined ACG Advocacy as a partner. (h/t POLITICO Influence)

Real Estate

"Hotel owners lose bid to defeat severance law," by The Real Deal: "The forlorn hotel industry has suffered another blow as a judge upheld a city law requiring severance payments for laid-off workers. The Hotel Association of New York's challenge to the hotel severance bill was struck down in federal court, Crain's reported. The industry trade group doesn't have any plans to appeal the decision. The owners group brought the case in October, arguing that the law illegally forced city hotels to create an employee benefit plan requiring administrative services."

" NY says no 'public dollars' going to Penn Station skyscrapers — but tax breaks likely," by New York Post's Bernadette Hogan and David Meyer: "No taxpayer money is going to the private developers slated to helm proposed skyscrapers around Penn Station, state officials claimed in a letter obtained by The Post — even as they prepare to negotiate secretive tax breaks with Vornado Realty Trust and other property owners. 'There will be no public dollars provided to Vornado or any private developer as part of the proposed project,' the head of the state's economic development agency wrote in a March 29 letter to state senators."

" NYC renters wage bidding wars for basic apartments with sky-high asks," by New York Post's Zachary Kussin: "New York is back, baby — and so are its notoriously high costs of living. As offices reopen and locals return from their pandemic hideouts, a number of bidding wars for rental units have begun driving record-high rents even higher. In March, an Upper East Side studio at 414 E. 88th St. listed by Triplemint's Joan Kagan and Rachel Zack for $1,950 per month — specifically, a fifth-floor walk-up whose kitchen doesn't have an oven — ultimately leased for $2,100 following a bidding war between three interested tenants."

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