News: POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams names nightclub owner to Met board

Thursday, May 5, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: Adams names nightclub owner to Met board

May 05, 2022

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia

Presented by Compassion & Choices

You might have heard that New York City Mayor Eric Adams really, really likes hanging out at Zero Bond. Just how big a fan is he of the members-only Noho club? He recently named the owner of his favorite nightspot as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, our Julia Marsh reports.

Adams has leaned into the moniker of "nightlife mayor," lamenting how "boring" we've all become and proudly hitting the clubs during the late-night hours he rarely spends sleeping. And he eagerly attended the Met Gala this week, wearing an "End Gun Violence" tux to an event his predecessor Bill de Blasio famously shunned (though he did attend in his final year in office).

Now the downtown club scene and the uptown art scene are coming together. Adams quietly named Scott Sartiano, the 47-year-old founder of Zero Bond, a private club where memberships cost as much as $4,000 per year, as his representative to the Met board in February.

Most Met board members are major art collectors and donors, and to join the prestigious board reportedly requires writing a check for as much as $10 million — or having the ear of the mayor. "It's obviously an incredible honor, but it's also something that has serious bragging rights," art dealer Eli Klein said. Added an anonymous former board member: "The Met board is the ultimate status symbol in old New York."

Adams' pick does not fit the mold of past appointees, the person said. "But, I don't know," they added, "everything Eric does is a little different."

Adams' jacket reads 'End gun violence'

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

IT'S THURSDAY. 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 New York City with no public events scheduled.

WHERE'S ERIC? Delivering remarks at NOAA's Hurricane Awareness Tour, Rochdale Community National Day of Prayer Clergy Breakfast, Cinco de Mayo celebration, and the New York City Ballet's 2022 Spring Gala, making announcement at NYC Greenways Summit, leading a rally in support of mayoral accountability, and holding media availability.

A message from Compassion & Choices:

Lawmakers have the power to give New Yorkers autonomy at the end of life and stop needless suffering by passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act. 1 in 5 Americans now has access to the compassionate option of medical aid in dying, including our neighbors in NJ and VT. Stacey Gibson, whose husband died an agonizing death, is raising her voice so no one else's loved one has to suffer at the end of life.

What City Hall's reading

New York City scraps hotel room program for Covid-19 patients, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: City officials have quietly ended a program that gave people with Covid-19 free hotel rooms to avoid infecting people they reside with. Since the spring of 2020, the city has offered hotel rooms for isolation, seeking to stop the spread of the virus among families and roommates living in often-crowded city apartments. But under Mayor Eric Adams, the program was terminated at the end of March, according to information posted on the city's website. The step comes as the city has also ended contact tracing in most cases — removing more protective measures as infections are once again on the rise. The city this week entered a higher risk alert level for Covid, going from low to medium risk because it is averaging more than 200 daily cases per 100,000 people. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine criticized the decision to scrap the hotel stays.

Adams' approval rating weakens as concerns over crime and homelessness persist, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg: Voters are cooling a bit to their new mayor, Eric Adams, as concerns deepen over persistent crime and homelessness, according to a new public opinion poll. Adams received a 43 percent approval rating, with 37 percent of those surveyed giving him a thumbs down and 20 percent declining to opine on his 4-month-old tenure, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. By comparison, Adams clocked a 46-27 approval rating, with 27 percent remaining neutral, in a Quinnipiac poll released Feb. 9. … More than half of those surveyed — 54 percent — said they do not approve of his record on crime, compared to 37 percent who do.

"At Least 20 People Were Listed As Brooklyn Democratic Primary Candidates Without Their Knowledge," by The City's Yoav Gonen and George Joseph: "Over the past year, 92-year-old Holocaust survivor Savely Kaplinskiy has been in and out of the hospital. The Brooklyn resident escaped Belarus' Minsk Ghetto in his youth, suffered two strokes, underwent brain surgery and saw his limited English repertoire depleted to about 100 words, according to his son. But while Kaplinskiy was struggling with his health, his name — without his knowledge — was listed on petitions submitted to the city Board of Elections last month to run as a candidate for a Brooklyn Democratic Party position. And he wasn't alone."

"'Anarchy Row' Becomes Ground Zero in Fight Against Homeless Sweeps," by The New York Times' Andy Newman and Sean Piccoli: "On Wednesday morning at the miniature tent city across the street from Tompkins Square Park, the protesters were ready. The official notice from the city had gone up four days before: A cleanup crew would remove any belongings the campers did not remove themselves. It was the seventh sweep in six weeks at the site in Manhattan's East Village that has become ground zero for the small but vocal resistance to Mayor Eric Adams's campaign to clear New York City's streets of homeless encampments."

" After years of gang list controversy, the NYPD has a new secret database. It's focused on guns," by Trace's Chip Brownlee and Gothamist's Ann GIvens: "For nearly a decade, the New York Police Department's gang database spurred controversy. Police said it was a vital tool to curb gang violence, but advocates contended that it used flimsy evidence to target people of color. So in 2018, the city's Department of Investigation initiated a four-year probe into the strategy. Now, The Trace and Gothamist have learned, the NYPD has created another list, this one focused on gun violence. Neither the NYPD nor the Adams administration have announced the list's creation, nor has the news media reported on it. But two law enforcement supervisors with direct knowledge of the list confirmed that the list exists."

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.

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

Judge mocks New York Democrats' redistricting 'Hail Mary' case, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: A federal judge Wednesday denied Democrats a request for an emergency injunction to have New York use Democratic-drawn district lines for congressional elections. Then the judge proceeded to relentlessly mock every aspect of their request. The case stems from the surprise court decision last week to throw out the Democratic-drawn lines for House seats in New York that had left the party poised to pick up at least three seats in November. "In the 102 years since my father, then a Ukrainian refugee, came into this country, if there were two things that he drilled into my head, they were … free, open, rational elections [and] respect for the courts," said Southern District of New York Judge Lewis Kaplan, a Democrat. "The relief that I'm being asked to give today impinges, to some degree, on the public perception of both. And I'm not going to do that."

— Assembly Republicans sit out fight over Democrats' Assembly maps, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: In the wake of the Court of Appeals' decision last week to strike down New York's new lines for Congress and the state Senate, a couple of lawsuits have been filed seeking to doom the new Assembly lines to the same fate. But there's one major difference between the Assembly challenges and those against the other maps that were similarly drawn by the Democratic-dominated Legislature: Most Republicans don't want them to succeed.

" New York AG Letitia James seeks NRA babysitter," by City & State's Sara Dorn: "State Attorney General Letitia James is seeking an independent monitor to oversee the finances of the National Rifle Association, according to an amended complaint filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court this week. James' request comes after New York County Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen in March rejected James' attempt to dismantle the organization, but said the overarching lawsuit alleging misuse of funds by NRA leaders could continue."

"5th Wave? New York COVID Hospitalizations Top 2,000, Nearly Tripling in a Month," by NBC New York's Jennifer Millman: "New York COVID-19 hospitalizations topped 2,000 for the first time since late February on Tuesday, rising nearly three-fold in just a month as highly contagious subvariants of omicron trigger pleas for renewed caution from officials locally and nationally. The upward trend continued Wednesday. As of Gov. Kathy Hochul's latest update, 2,119 New Yorkers were hospitalized with COVID across the state's 10 regions, a 153% increase since April 3 alone though still well below the nearly 13,000 admitted during the variant's January surge peak."

" With the Supreme Court Set to Overturn Roe, New York Prepares to Become an Abortion Safe Haven," by Fuller Project's Jessica Washington: "New York has long served as a sanctuary for abortion seekers. In 1970, three years before Roe was decided, the state legalized abortion, drawing hundreds of thousands of women from across the country seeking safe and legal abortions. With Roe now seemingly on the chopping block, abortion advocates and providers are readying themselves for a similar situation. Ahuja's suggestions include doubling down on existing laws at the city and state level, including increasing the Council's existing spending on abortion access."

— Hochul's reelection campaign released a new digital ad focused on abortion access.

"Cuomo could play spoiler if he mounts NY governor bid as independent: poll ," by The Hill's Max Greenwood: "Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) could wind up as a spoiler candidate if he were to mount an independent bid for his old office, according to a new poll from The Hill and Emerson College. The poll found that with Cuomo on the ballot as an independent, 33 percent of voters would back the Democratic candidate, 33 percent would support the Republican candidate and another 16 percent would vote for Cuomo. Another 18 percent said they are undecided."

#UpstateAmerica: David Ortiz toured the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown as he prepares for his induction later this year. (You may recall that he played for Bill de Blasio's favorite team.)

A message from Compassion & Choices:

FROM THE DELEGATION

"Democrats Ryan, Hinchey flirt with runs to replace Delgado," by Times Union's Roger Hannigan Gilson: "Two Hudson Valley elected officials suggested they are considering running for Congress after U.S. Rep Antonio Delgado announced he would be stepping down to serve as lieutenant governor. Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan and first-term state Senator Michelle Hinchey both say they are evaluating campaigns for the seat Delgado won twice. Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro is the Republican candidate for the seat."

" Congressman's congestion pricing solution: Just stay in New Jersey," by WNYC's Stephen Nessen: "U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey has a new plan to help his state's drivers avoid costly New York City tolls and bridge fees, as well as save them the hours spent commuting. Simply, don't do it. 'Today is the day we take our stand,' Gottheimer said, standing on the side of a Paramus highway Wednesday, in front of a podium with a sign that read, 'Stay in Jersey.' He continued, 'Rather than pay the absurd congestion price, rather than pay the expensive tolls, deal with traffic, why not make life easier? Why not stay in New Jersey?'"

" Malliotakis dodges Roe v. Wade discussion: 'This is a decision for the courts not politicians,'" by Staten Island Advance's Giavanni Alves: "As elected officials and candidates alike are speaking out against a possible overturning of Roe v. Wade or proclaiming their support for it, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) has chosen to deflect the topic. A Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the 1973 landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide would be overturned was leaked this week. … When asked where she stands on the matter of overturning Roe v. Wade, Malliotakis deflected, referring to it as being a judicial matter. 'This is a decision for the Courts not politicians,' she told the Advance/SILive.com."

AROUND NEW YORK

— Former City Council Member Peter Koo will join the Adams administration as a senior adviser to the deputy mayor for public safety.

— Nearly half the people arrested in connection to hate crime attacks this year had mental illness issues, according to the NYPD.

— Hochul signed a bill that will ban colleges from withholding a student's transcript due to unpaid debts.

— A bill introduced in the City Council would double fines for excessive noise from cars.

— Community boards are fed up with illegal parking by cops around precinct houses.

— New York plans to join the long list of states angling to host an early presidential primary.

— Students in New York schools can no longer be labeled "incorrigible" under legislation signed by Hochul.

— "NYPD Detectives Made a $2 Million Mess. Why Is the Queens DA Still Relying on Them for a High-Profile Murder Trial?"

— "'A Monster in Our Midst': How a Tattoo Industry #MeToo Case Collapsed"

— SUNY New Paltz is getting a new president.

— The Mount Vernon Board of Education named a new superintendent as concerns about safety in the city's schools mount.

— You'll love what the kids are calling your neighborhoods these days: "NYC's TikTok Zoomers Want You to Meet Them in West Village"

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: POLITICO's Ryan Heath … Mark McKinnon of Showtime's "The Circus" … Mike Dorning of Bloomberg News … ABC's Rachel Scott … MSNBC's Brian Williams … Morgan Pehme … Lulu Cheng Meservey … AP's David Sharp … Francesca Barber

MAKING MOVES — Edu Hermelyn has joined Mercury as a vice president in the New York office. He is a Brooklyn Democratic district leader and husband of borough Democratic Party chair Rodneyse Bichotte, who was briefly a senior adviser for strategic initiatives in the Adams administration. … Margot Edelman has been named deputy general manager of the New York office of Edelman. She most recently was general manager of the Bay Area hub of Edelman. … Carolyn Dee is now senior policy adviser for finance and technology at the New York State Executive Chamber. She most recently was chief of staff at Long-Term Stock Exchange, Inc. …

… Edgar Santana is now deputy secretary to the governor. He most recently was director of downstate regional affairs of the New York State Executive Chamber. … Alison Lonshein has joined Withers as a special counsel in its U.S. Charities and Philanthropy team. She most recently was general counsel and assistant secretary at The Frick Collection. … Damon Burrell is now chief marketing officer at GEICO. He most recently was CMO and SVP of marketing, North America, at The Estee Lauder Companies.

MEDIAWATCH — Malcom Thomas is now the lead booking producer for Symone Sanders' new show "SYMONE" on MSNBC. He most previously led the bookings for MSNBC's "Yasmin Vossoughian Reports" and is a former producer at CNN.

A message from Compassion & Choices:

A river, a mountain, a zip code -- these things prevent New Yorkers from access to compassionate care at the end of life. That's why Stacey Gibson is asking lawmakers to give New Yorkers the same access to comprehensive end-of-life care that our neighbors in New Jersey and Vermont (and 8 other states) already have. Stacey Gibson's beloved husband Sid was diagnosed with a rare degenerative motor neuron disease. When his treatment options ran out and he began to suffer, Sid decided to stop eating and drinking. It took twelve days for him to die. His slow, agonizing death was exactly what he feared and haunts Stacey to this day. Access to the compassionate option of medical aid in dying would ensure that no one's loved one is forced to suffer the way Sid did. It's time our lawmakers stop needless suffering and PASS the Medical Aid in Dying Act.

Real Estate

"Controversial Harlem One45 Towers Plan to Add More Affordable Housing in Fight to Survive," by The City's Katie Honan: "The developer of an embattled residential complex in Harlem told THE CITY he plans to add more affordable housing after pushback from local leaders — including the area's new Council member and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who backed out of a plan to anchor the building with a civil rights museum. One45, the name for a massive pair of 363-foot towers at the corner of West 145th Street and Lenox Avenue, has since it was proposed last year faced strong opposition from community members concerned about gentrification and the lack of affordable housing in the neighborhood."

"With Two Chinatown Homeless Shelters Canceled, Supporters of Another in SoHo Wonder If It's Next," by The City's Claudia Irizarry Aponte: "After the city's Department of Homeless Services announced it was abandoning two proposals for homeless shelters in Chinatown in as many weeks, supporters of another proposed site in nearby SoHo are concerned that that project could be nixed next. Adding to their fears is that the shelter proposed at 10 Wooster Street shares similarities with a now-defunct homeless shelter that was planned for Morris Park in The Bronx. The DHS abruptly canceled that project in March. Like that Bronx building, 10 Wooster Street is owned by a company associated with real estate investor David Levitan — whose building conditions and business practices have attracted scrutiny — and is to be operated by Westhab, a nonprofit homeless shelter and affordable housing provider."

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