News : POLITICO New York Playbook: The ex-Cuomo crew has thoughts

Friday, July 15, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: The ex-Cuomo crew has thoughts

Jul 15, 2022

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Julian Shen-Berro

Nearly a year after the implosion of the Andrew Cuomo administration, his closest circle is reemerging to reorient themselves in a political landscape without the disgraced former governor at the center.

Former adviser and bulldog spokesman Rich Azzopardi published his takeaways from the June 28 primary elections in the Times Union, and spent election night opining on returns for local news. "I have been in this business for 20 years; I do know an election trend when I see one," Azzopardi told us.

He's building his own firm, Bulldog Strategies. He says he has a handful of other clients — in addition to the 56th governor who "remains a client and a friend" — but did not disclose who they might be.

Cuomo's former top aide and right hand Melissa DeRosa has, since May, written a trio of op-eds for Daily Beast criticizing what she sees as incompetence in the establishment Democratic Party she'd spent years serving. She's stepped out in New York City with politically adjacent people at high-profile events and is reportedly working on a memoir.

Lis Smith, an adviser to Cuomo's 2018 campaign, Covid response, and later crisis management team, has a book out next week. An early excerpt details her vantage in the Cuomo circle last year, where she said she felt "betrayed and misled" by him.

Others have been writing, too. Former SUNY chancellor and longtime Cuomo aide Jim Malatras, who has the benefit of a hearty severance package, has been regularly sharing his policy musings on his Medium page. Former Health Commissioner Howard Zucker also wrote a sort of retrospective.

Some who were hit by the Cuomo ripple effects have more quietly rebounded. A few weeks ago Alphonso David, the former Cuomo counsel who was fired by the Human Rights Campaign over his role in Cuomo's image management, became president and CEO of Global Black Economic Forum. Former Time's Up president Tina Chen, who also resigned amid Cuomo controversy, just landed back at the Obama Foundation.

Still, dozens of other Cuomo alumni who were just outside of that circle are still trying to understand their significance in Cuomo's rise and fall.

The post-traumatic stress from all but selling their souls to a troubling workplace that then burst into flames is real, said one former Cuomo official who still works in state government. To that effect, good for anyone from the top levels of Team Cuomo who is rebranding, they said, but don't expect warm welcomes all around.

"I respect the fact that they want to move on and do their own thing," they said of the Cuomo inner ring's career moves, "but they can stay the hell away from all of us."

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 New York City with no announced public schedule.

WHERE'S ERIC? Meeting with Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe of Banjul, The Gambia, making an announcement on consumer protection, and honoring an FDNY firefighter.

SOME SEXISM via Bloomberg's Laura Nahmias: Newsmax's Greg Kelly, while interviewing Hochul's Republican opponent Rep. Lee Zeldin, suggested "Kathy Hochul has not really done much of anything, other than, I'm sorry, but, be somebody's wife," to which Zeldin replied that "she's in over her head" in leading the state.

Hochul, in response to the clip, quote tweeted "If you're looking for a label to give me, you can just call me "Governor.'"

Zeldin, in response to Hochul's response, issued a statement saying the clip didn't explain his full position, which differs slightly from Kelly's: "Kathy Hochul has been a County Clerk, Congresswoman, Lieutenant Governor, and Governor. The issue isn't that she has never held positions of power. The issue is that she has been a disaster. To save our state, Hochul's new title will soon be 'unemployed.'"

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "This is not rocket science. Rats don't go where they can't eat. Rats aren't where they don't thrive. So if we create the conditions where we are preventing them from having food and shelter, then they will leave." — Council Member Sandy Nurse, discussing the rat psyche in a push for a new Rat Action Plan

HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROE BEING OVERTURNED? JOIN WOMEN RULE ON 7/21: Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade , abortion policy is in the hands of the states and, ultimately, voters. Join POLITICO national political correspondent Elena Schneider for a Women Rule "ask me anything" conversation featuring a panel of reporters from our politics and health care teams who will answer your questions about how the court's decision could play out in different states, its impact on the midterms and what it means for reproductive rights in the U.S. going forward. SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS AND REGISTER HERE.

What City Hall's reading

"Buzzkill! NYPD will continue marijuana-testing protocols after a memo said random testing would cease," by New York Daily News' Graham Rayman, Thomas Tracy and Elizabeth Keogh: "The Law Department's memo Monday was titled 'NYPD no longer permitted to drug test for marijuana.' In a portion obtained by the Daily News, the memo advised the department it could no longer give cops random or scheduled marijuana tests. A negative marijuana test is also no longer required to join the force, the memo stated. For a brief period, the NYPD said it agreed with the legal finding by the city's own lawyers. … That went up in smoke in less than two hours."

" Man Exonerated in Malcolm X Murder Sues New York City After Talks Fail," by The New York Times' Ashley Southall: "New York's criminal justice system took 55 years to acknowledge that it had wrongly branded Muhammad A. Aziz as one of Malcolm X's killers. Now, he and the city are at loggerheads over how much it should pay for the two decades he spent imprisoned after his conviction for murder in March 1966, one year after assassins cut down a towering figure of the civil rights era. Lawyers for Mr. Aziz, 84, filed a civil rights lawsuit on Thursday seeking $40 million from the city for its role in a notorious verdict that was vacated last year after the Manhattan district attorney apologized in court for illegal conduct by the police and prosecutors who handled the case."

"NYC Ferry service to launch discounted fare program in September, Adams says," by WNYC's Elizabeth Shwe and Brigid Bergin

" Council Speaker Adrienne Adams admits she didn't focus on education cuts in city's $101B budget," by New York Post's Bernadette Hogan and Nolan Hicks: "New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams tried to defend her approval of the city's controversial education budget by claiming Thursday that she 'held up' negotiations on the deal to cut funding — even though the plan was passed in record time. Adams made the claim after signing a letter to Mayor Eric Adams in which she and a large group of other politicians who voted for the plan — and who now oppose what they voted for — tried to get the city's executive to help reverse their error by claiming they failed to understand what they were doing."

"The NYPD accidentally shot a fellow officer. A Queens man may spend life in prison for his death," by Gothamist's Jake Offenhartz: "Shortly before midnight on February 12th, 2019, Jagger Freeman sat in a Queens hotel room and typed a question into his cell phone's browser: 'Can a perp be charged with murder if a cop shoots a cop by accident?' He didn't know at the time, but the answer would determine the next several decades of his life. … Currently, New York is one of just 13 states that accept a proximate theory of felony murder – meaning that a person can be liable for a 'foreseeable' death, even if the victim was killed by an outside party, such as a police officer. It shares that distinction with states like Texas, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The legal framework has resulted in convictions widely seen as draconian. In 2004, a Florida teenager who lent his car to a group of friends who later murdered a woman was sentenced to life in prison. More recently, a pregnant woman in Alabama was charged in the death of her own fetus, after police said she started the fight that led to her being shot in the stomach."

REST IN PEACE: Ivana Trump, former president's first wife, dies at 73 , by POLITICO's Myah Ward: "She was a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing woman, who led a great and inspirational life," Donald Trump said in his post. "Her pride and joy were her three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric. She was so proud of them, as we were all so proud of her. Rest In Peace, Ivana!" Ivana Trump has been described as a "charismatic workaholic" and a "career woman" — working alongside her then-husband as they built the Trump empire. She took her business skills well beyond the Trump family organization, developing her own fashion and beauty lines. She also invested in real estate both in the U.S. and Europe, and authored multiple books."

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

NEW COS IN HOCHULWORLD: Hochul is filling her vacant chief of staff spot with Stacy Lynch , who has been an adviser with the chamber for about a year, according to an internal memo. Lynch was previously chief of staff for former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, who resigned this spring amid federal corruption charges. Prior to that she was deputy director of intergovernmental affairs for former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Lynch, who grew up in Harlem as the daughter of the late strategist Bill Lynch, brings ties from downstate politics, where she once ran for City Council in Upper Manhattan's 7th District. — Anna Gronewold

" BOE boots Zeldin off Independence Party line for invalid signatures," by Times Union's Josh Solomon: "U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for governor, is unlikely to run on the Independence Party line after the state Board of Elections invalidated nearly 13,000 signatures that were included in his petitions. Zeldin's campaign operation had submitted about 52,000 signatures, well above the 45,000 needed to get his name on the third party line, but the disqualified signatures left him well short following the board's ruling. The filing period ended May 31. Zeldin's petitions were challenged by officials with the New York Libertarian Party, who not only contested the signatures were invalid but also noted that about 11,000 of them were photocopied duplicates. 'Republicans talk a lot about election integrity, but the Zeldin campaign attempted to fly under the radar and submit over 11,000 fraudulent signatures in an attempt to get a third line on the ballot,' Andrew Kolstee, secretary of the Libertarian Party, said in a news release Thursday."

"New York says applications for first cannabis retail licenses could open up next month ," by WNYC's Caroline Lewis: "State officials voted Thursday to approve new regulations for the first batch of cannabis retail licenses, pushing New York one step closer to opening its first legal, non-medical dispensaries. After reviewing more than 600 comments from the public, the state's Cannabis Control Board voted to move forward with its original plan, announced in March, to reserve the first batch of retail licenses for people who have a past marijuana conviction or their family members. Applicants must also have experience running their own business. The new regulations take effect August 3rd. 'We will give at least a 14-day heads up before the application opens,' Aaron Ghitelman, a spokesperson for the state Office of Cannabis Management, told Gothamist."

#UpstateAmerica: The malodorous corpse flower has blessed SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with its stench after five years of waiting.

INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.

The Campaign Trail

"Sean Patrick Maloney pursues the mainstream lane in matchup against Biaggi," by Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel: "'I'm not going to ask for support from anybody who doesn't support Israel, and I'm not going to play footsie with people who would support BDS or undermine the security of Israel,' Maloney said in a recent interview with Jewish Insider, referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting the Jewish state. 'I never have. I never will.' The implication was that his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, has engaged in such maneuvering, owing in part to her connections with left-leaning Democrats in Albany who have backed BDS. More recently, she has drawn support from some federal elected officials who have spoken out against Israel, most notably Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who endorsed Biaggi's campaign last month.

For her part, Biaggi has sought to clarify that she disagrees with Ocasio-Cortez on Middle East policy, even if they are otherwise largely aligned on domestic issues … Still, with those reassurances yet to be tested at the congressional level, Maloney, who has held office since 2013, suggested that his progressive rival is building a coalition that could ultimately prove untenable if she is elected to the House."

— Former Rep. Nita Lowey, who represented the region for years, endorsed Maloney.

"In Battle to Beat Democratic Titans, a Lawyer in Sneakers Bets on Youth ," by The New York Times' Nick Fandos: "No doubt the Aug. 23 contest has been dominated by the bitter head-to-head confrontation between Ms. Maloney and Mr. Nadler, two septuagenarian fixtures of Manhattan's political power structure who have been drawn into a single seat after serving three decades side by side in Washington. But in a summer when Democrats of all ages are reeling from stark losses on guns, abortion rights and the environment, Mr. Patel, 38, believes that discontent over the party's aging leadership might just run deep enough for him to pull off a monumental upset. A frenetic Indian American lawyer who was just 9 when his opponents took office, Mr. Patel has adopted a less-than-meek approach."

AROUND NEW YORK

— Odor complaints in the city have reached record highs.

— FLASHBACK TO 2020? Bill De Blasio was outside City Hall calling for a new Covid-19 strategy.

— The city is switching from private vendors to its mass vaccination system to handle future monkeypox appointments.

— New York led the country in its increase of unemployment claims.

— The 988 hotline for mental health crisis goes live Saturday.

— Horse carriage rides are sparking debate at City Hall.

— A grand jury indictment revealed the three gun and a 21-item list of magazines, clips, ammunition and gun accessories in possession of the accused white supremacist shooter in Buffalo.

— Be prepared. Read the guide to Buffalo's Galbani Italian Heritage Festival before you go.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Arianna Huffington … David Miliband … Bloomberg's Liana B. Baker … JPMorgan Chase's Heather Higginbottom … Bloomberg's Jodi Schneider … Gareth Rhodes … Alex Lasry … POLITICO's Max Tani … Brunswick Group's Mark Palmer … David Lippman … Meghan Blasig of J Strategies

MAKING MOVES — Rebecca Kagan Sternhell is the new executive director of the Homeland Security Advisory Council at DHS. She previously was director of federal affairs for New York City. … Brian Whiting has joined Blue Star Families as chief transformation officer. He previously was CEO of the USO of Metropolitan New York.

Real Estate

"After Slow Start, NYC Issues Thousands of Federal Housing Vouchers," by City Limits' David Brand: "After a slow start, New York City has issued nearly its entire cache of coveted rental vouchers provided by the Biden Administration as part of last year's American Rescue Plan. Now comes the hard part: helping homeless recipients use the subsidies to actually lease an apartment. NYCHA and New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) have distributed 91 percent of the roughly 7,800 new emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) they received last May, city officials said—a dramatic increase since March, when they had issued less than a third of the total. Still, recipients have used just 11 percent of the vouchers to rent an apartment, federal data shows. The nationwide lease-up rate is roughly 37 percent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development."

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