| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | | | Grief and horror following a mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket Saturday night continues to ripple across a state that already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. The attack, which killed 10 and injured three more, is being investigated as a hate crime and has earned condemnation across the nation with revelations the 18-year-old shooter was fueled by a racist and anti-immigrant agenda detailed in a manifesto that emerged online. In New York, it brings into sharp focus the dual devastations of violent crime and racist poisoning at a time when the state desperately needs to heal. Both Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Tish James rushed to Buffalo, along with a slate of other state and local authorities, as the community mourned the deadliest mass shooting of the 198 that have already occurred in 2022. Hochul, who is from Buffalo, told a local Baptist church Sunday "this is personal to the Hochul family" and promised to battle gun violence and online hate in response. "Yes, people will talk about Buffalo, but I want them to talk about Buffalo as the last place this ever happened," Hochul said at the service. "We will let this end right here because we are going to rise up, and all of our white brothers and sisters need to be standing up, as well, in churches all across the state, all across this nation." She told several national news outlets that CEOs of social media platforms must take responsibility for allowing the proliferation of conspiracy and hate that appeared to motivate the shooter, as well as the easy ability with which he was able to livestream the attack. Hochul said the AR-15 rifle used on Saturday was purchased legally in New York, but the high-capacity magazine used to attack more than a dozen people was not. Police said the shooter fired 50 rounds during the attack and had several more loaded magazines at the ready. While New York's gun laws are some of the strictest in the nation, officials say that an easy flow of high-capacity magazines and other outlawed equipment across state lines remains. Hochul said she will be announcing actions to close some of those loopholes on Tuesday. President Joe Biden will also be traveling to Buffalo Tuesday to meet with victims and their families. IT'S MONDAY. 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? Appearing on KISS 98.5 FM, NY1, and Pix 11. WHERE'S ERIC? Appearing on Univision's "¡Despierta América!," speaking at the Security Token Summit 2022, giving a commencement address at Pace University, visiting Netflix Studios in Brooklyn, and making an economic development and education announcement. He's also meeting with officials from Yad Vashem, appearing on Noticias Telemundo, speaking at an Israeli American Council event, and holding a vigil for the victims of the mass shooting in Buffalo. ABOVE THE FOLD — Eric Adams is playing hard to get, by POLITICO's Anna Gronewold, Sally Goldenberg and Madina Touré: In the rough-and-rugged world of New York politics, Mayor Eric Adams' intimate April dinner with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a haute Manhattan eatery drew outsized intrigue. Adams embraced Cuomo when he arrived at celebrity chef Daniel Boulud's French restaurant Le Pavillon, the New York Post's Page Six reported, and the two linked arms before heading to a private dining space. The dinner date may have had no greater meaning. But it might as well have served as a message to Cuomo's replacement, Gov. Kathy Hochul: Adams has options. With the state legislative session set to end June 2, the first-year mayor still needs some big items from Albany. And with the Democratic gubernatorial primary just a month and a half away, Hochul needs to win an Adams endorsement. What they do next could help define their relationship in the years to come.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Did you know more than half of every dollar spent on medicines goes to someone who doesn't make them? There's a long line of middlemen, like PBMs and insurers, collecting a significant portion of what you pay for medicine. The share of total spending for brand medicines received by the supply chain and other stakeholders increased from 33% in 2013 to 50.5% in 2020. Learn more. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "Eric Adams: NYC to nix dozens of fines on businesses in effort to cut red tape," by New York Post's Sam Raskin: "New York City will completely eliminate 30 fines on businesses and reduce about 90 others as part of ongoing efforts to cut red tape, Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday. City officials said the changes — which include reducing fines for breaking 49 local regulations and instituting a grace period for 39 of them — will save the Big Apple's more than 200,000 small businesses a projected $8.9 million a year in penalties." " Thousands march across Brooklyn Bridge in angry opposition to reported Roe V. Wade decision," by New York Daily News' Matthew Euzarraga and Larry McShane: "Thousand of fired-up abortion rights protesters, with some raising coat hangers above their heads, marched across the Brooklyn Bridge in a massive Saturday rebuke of the Supreme Court's reported plans to overturn Roe v. Wade. The crowd of all genders, ages and ethnicities assembled in Brooklyn's courthouse plaza before heading across the Brooklyn Bridge into Lower Manhattan, waving signs and chanting along the way in support of a woman's constitutional right to abortion." " De Blasio urges Mayor Adams to keep his COVID policies on standby: 'You may need them real soon,'" by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt " Adams Makes Progress in Pledge to Expand Earned Income Tax Credit for Low-Income New Yorkers," by Gotham Gazette's Samar Khurshid: "The Earned Income Tax Credit is a boon for low-income New Yorkers, putting hundreds, even thousands of dollars back in their pockets each year. Though it is a federal credit, it is matched by New York City and State, and Mayor Eric Adams made expansion a top priority for his administration as part of his agenda to lift up struggling New Yorkers. This year, at the new mayor's urging, the state enhanced its EITC and the mayor increased the city's investment in the credit. … Up till this year, the city was only allowed to match 5% of the credit, which was increased to up to 30% in the state budget, the first increase in nearly 20 years."
| | | | 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 | | New York experiment with government-approved drug use could become a national model, by POLITICO's Shannon Young: Weeks was one of the first drug users in the nation to visit the East Harlem overdose prevention center — one of two facilities to open in New York City in late 2021 as part of an experiment in allowing open illegal drug use under the supervision of workers trained to prevent overdose deaths. The 45-year-old homeless New Yorker, who's experienced addiction for a decade since taking painkillers after a violent mugging, said in an interview that he's overdosed 18 times. But not since coming to the Harlem center. … At least 10 states have tried to establish similar operations. All have run into federal legal barriers. That could change as early as next month, when the Department of Justice is expected to drop its opposition to a Trump-era case challenging an overdose prevention center, also known as a safe consumption site, in Philadelphia. "Surge in Virus Cases Puts Most of New York State on High Alert," by The New York Times' Lola Fadulu: "New coronavirus cases surged in most counties in New York State this week, putting them on 'high' alert under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and triggering recommendations for indoor masking, including inside schools. The state refrained from imposing an indoor mask mandate, but health officials on Friday afternoon did urge residents living in counties that have been placed on 'medium' or 'high' alert to wear masks in indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status." " NYC Mayor Adams heading to Albany next week for last ditch legislative push," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael Gartland: "With the legislative session drawing to a close, Mayor Adams and at least one of his top deputies will visit Albany on Tuesday to lobby lawmakers on a slate of his stalled policy priorities — including his hope to keep control of the city's public school system. Adams and his team will sit down with State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and other key lawmakers to make a case for why the Legislature should greenlight the mayor's Albany agenda before the session ends June 2, according to two sources familiar with the matter." — Hochul told The Post that she has not been in communication "lately" with Adams regarding a possible extension of the 421a tax break for affordable housing developments. Equal Rights Amendment would add new protected categories to state constitution , by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Lawmakers and advocates are hopeful that a state-level Equal Rights Amendment will pass as part of an abortion package expected in the nine remaining days of this year's session. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK : A 56 percent majority of likely voters in New York state support raising the minimum wage for prison laborers to $3 an hour, according to a new poll by Data for Progress, Next100, and #FixThe13thNY. People serving time in state prisons make an average of about 62 cents an hour and legislation has been proposed to set a minimum wage and establish other labor rights. According to the poll of 622 likely voters, 35 percent oppose the proposal. The poll also found that 66 percent support establishing a board to oversee prison working conditions and enforce wage standards, while 76 percent support expanding vocational and career training opportunities for the incarcerated. #UpstateAmerica: The charity softball game went on at Buffalo's Sahlen Field on Sunday with a portion of the proceeds — and all the silent auction money — going to families of the victims of the shooting.
| | | | A message from PhRMA:   | | | | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | Trump attorney faces sharp questions in suit targeting New York AG's probe, by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein: A federal judge pointedly questioned a lawyer for former President Donald Trump Friday as Trump presses his bid to shut down New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation into possible fraud in his business empire. The suit Trump filed last December is considered a longshot because federal judges almost never step in to halt state court proceedings or investigations conducted by state or local officials.
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "NYC lawmakers target helicopter noise as complaints soar," by New York Daily News' Shant Shahrigian: "The feds should cut chopper noise in the Big Apple and beyond, say members of New York's congressional delegation. The Federal Aviation Administration and local agencies would have to come up with a plan "to substantially reduce the number of nonessential" helicopters under a new bill from Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazquez, all Democrats. They cited city stats showing noise complaints about choppers rose 130% during the 12 months ending in October 2020." " Stefanik echoed racist theory allegedly espoused by Buffalo suspect," by Washington Post's Marianna Sotomayor: "Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the No. 3 House Republican, and other GOP lawmakers came under scrutiny Sunday for previously echoing the racist 'great replacement' theory that apparently inspired an 18-year-old who allegedly killed 10 people while targeting Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo. The baseless conspiracy theory claims that politicians are attempting to wipe out White Americans and their influence by replacing them with non-White immigrants. The theory was cited repeatedly by 18-year-old shooting suspect Payton Gendron in an online document that appeared to have outlined his intention to carry out his planned attack in Buffalo because of its significant population of Black people."
| | Biden and the Boroughs | | "4 Who Helped Catch Subway Attack Suspect Now Need Help Themselves," by The New York Times' Ashley Southall: "After New York's worst subway attack in decades, a Mexican woman who had been on the ill-fated train gave police her cellphone to retrieve videos of the chaos. She was undocumented. The next day, the suspect, Frank James, walked by three men upgrading surveillance cameras at a hardware store in the East Village in Manhattan. … They were an undocumented Mexican immigrant, a Lebanese student and an American-born Syrian who had fled civil war and left his parents behind. The authorities have credited all four with helping to capture Mr. James, who is charged with opening fire inside an N train on April 12 in Brooklyn, leaving dozens of people hurt. Now, the helpers are seeking protection from the nation's immigration system." — James pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges.
| | | | DON'T MISS 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. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination have agreed to a televised debate on June 13. — Parents in Queens are protesting the ouster of a popular schools superintendent. — The Bronx district attorney asked Visa and Mastercard to refuse to process ghost gun purchases. — The former head of the NYPD hate crime task force filed a notice of claim to sue the city charging she was defamed and wrongfully ousted. — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey doesn't think you should be charged $27 for a beer at the airports it runs. — The American Museum of Natural History opened a renovated Northwest Coast Hall meant to better reflect Indigenous perspectives. — A state Senate committee passed legislation to legalize the composting of human bodies. — Adams defended shifting funding away from repairs to the BQE. — Russia has blocked city and state pension funds from selling off its stocks. — A pair of football fans brought a federal lawsuit seeking to force the Jets and Giants to drop the "New York" from their names because they play in New Jersey. — According to FDNY, e-bike battery fires are on a rise.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | BIRTHDAYS: Tucker Carlson … FTI Consulting's Jeff Bechdel … CBS' Rob Legare … Michael Wear … Christine Delargy … Colleen McCain Nelson … Charles Kushner … CNN's Jose Lesh … (was Sunday): NYT's Elisabeth Bumiller and Nick Confessore … Joshua Muss … (was Saturday): ABC's Karen Travers and Alexandra Svokos … CNN's David Gelles … Sam Newton … Bloomberg's Josh Eidelson … Robert Levinson … Jill Stein … Howard Wolfson … Lenwood Brooks … Erwin Chemerinsky … Blackstone's Alex Katz MAKING MOVES — Rachel Janc has been promoted to be director of communications at Condé Nast, where she has responsibility for Vanity Fair, GQ, Wired, Pitchfork, and Ars Technica … Kristen Blush is now campaign photographer for Attorney General Letitia James MEDIAWATCH — Gregg Birnbaum is now an adjunct journalism instructor at Florida International University. He is an alum of NBC News, CNN, POLITICO and the New York Post.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Did you know that PBMs, insurers, hospitals, the government, and others received a larger share of total spending on medicines than biopharmaceutical companies? That's right, more than half of spending on brand medicines goes to someone who doesn't make them. Let's fix the system the right way and ensure more of the savings go to patients, not middlemen. Learn more. | | | | | Real Estate | | "'Yellow ooze' causing misery for NYCHA tenants at Bushwick Houses," by New York Post's Nolan Hicks and Paul Martinka: "Yellow ooze. Collapsing cabinets. Water spraying out of a pipe — visible thanks to a hole in the wall. Incessant mold. Tenants at the Bushwick Houses detailed the shocking conditions and complaints of staggering neglect by the city's scandal-scarred Housing Authority on Friday as elected officials rallied to demand urgent repairs at the complex. 'You get out of bed to use the bathroom … and you just step in it,' said Joshua Torres, 27, who lives in the Brooklyn public housing complex." " $6M parks bathroom spurs NYC pol to push projects reform bills," by New York Post's Rich Calder : "A Staten Island pol says the city has such a suspect history of unnecessarily flushing away money on capital projects — including a projected $6 million bathroom facility slated for a park in his district — that he's pushing new legislation requiring agencies to be more transparent about how they're spending taxpayer dough. Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli said he will be introducing a bill at Thursday's meeting that would require the city to post large signs at construction sites of its capital improvement projects." " While NYCHA Stalled on Fixing Rent Aid Glitch, Tenants Suffered, Say Lawyers," by The City's Greg B. Smith: "New York City Housing Authority management last week claimed that when they discovered a computer glitch had caused thousands of tenants to receive erroneous letters cutting off their rent subsidies, they "immediately" halted the termination program. 'No residents or voucher holders have been adversely impacted by this technical error,' they insisted. What they didn't say was that the Section 8 shutdown happened and tenants were informed about the problem only after the nonprofit New York Legal Assistance Group, representing hundreds of tenants who'd received these stress-inducing letters, threatened to sue if NYCHA didn't pull the plug right away." | | | | 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 | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment