News : POLITICO New York Playbook: State launches pandemic review

Thursday, July 21, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: State launches pandemic review

Jul 21, 2022

By Erin Durkin , Anna Gronewold and Julian Shen-Berro

Presented by Rise Light & Power

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks to reporters.

Gov. Kathy Hochul offered details Wednesday about a long-awaited review of the state's Covid-19 response. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo

As New York muddles through its sixth (sixth!) Covid-19 wave, the state is kicking off a long-awaited review of its pandemic response looking back to the earliest days of the virus. Gov. Kathy Hochul offered some details Wednesday about the forthcoming retrospective on the state's policies, an analysis she's been pressed to provide since taking office nearly one year ago.

The administration will put out an RFP for a one-year contract, with a six-month initial report, for an outside entity to analyze what went well during the pandemic, what didn't and why. It's not likely to reflect kindly upon Hochul's predecessor, whose initial stardom from fighting Covid-19 has now been overshadowed by reports his administration undercounted deaths in nursing homes and ignored state experts in his pandemic response. But its goal is to create best practices for future crises, Hochul said.

"We want to make sure we're intentional about this, that we have a broad scope to what we're doing, but also to have a real blueprint that's useful to us — that doesn't sit on a shelf but is something we can employ day after day as we deal with the day-to-day crises but also moving forward," she said.

The six-month timeline means the findings won't be out before the November general election, prompting some blowback from Hochul's Republican opponent, Lee Zeldin. "Why is Kathy Hochul so afraid of any more facts being released prior to the November 8th election? Because Hochul was complicit in many COVID related scandals and she knows it," he said.

Meanwhile, the state is not changing much in response to the current wave, but it is looking ahead to a new school year that's just around the corner (don't tell the kids).

As cases and hospitalizations from the Omicron subvariant known as BA.5 increase, Hochul said during one of her first Covid-focused briefings in months that there are no plans to revive a mask mandate in schools — at least not yet. But it's not out of the question. "God forbid there's a variant that affects kids more severely," she said. "We've seen a lot through this crisis. We've seen everything, but maybe we haven't. That's what we're preparing for."

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? Holding a media availability with Adams on the city's bid to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

WHERE'S ERIC? Holding a media availability with Hochul on the DNC bid, visiting a cooling center, and speaking to Department of Probation employees.

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What City Hall's reading

" City nears deal to restore $250M in school funding, sources say ," by NY1's Jillian Jorgensen: "The city is in discussions to move $250 million in funding to schools that are facing steep cuts due to lower enrollment, sources told NY1 on Wednesday. 'Adrienne and I have been taking since before the budget was passed. We have been talking. We have not stopped talking about this issue and some other issues around this. She's a great partner. There is no agreement thus far,' Mayor Eric Adams said at an unrelated press conference Wednesday, referencing negotiations with City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. But sources said a deal between the City Council and the Adams administration for the funding is close — but not yet finalized. It comes after weeks of protest from public school staff and parents."

" Who Are The Families Entering NYC Shelters From the Southern Border? " by City Limits' David Brand: "With the Chihuahuan desert on the horizon and her two daughters by her side, Glenis imagined the New York City skyline as they trudged through the stifling heat. It was at that moment, she said, that she decided the city would be her family's final destination. Their journey had begun in Venezuela in mid-May, with the family slowly moving up through Colombia, Panamá, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and México, before finally reaching the U.S. border in Texas in the last week of June. 'New York City was not in our minds' originally, said Glenis, who spoke to a reporter in Spanish and asked not to disclose her last name. 'Three hours before crossing the border, we didn't know where specifically we wanted to go.'"

" Mayor Adams takes aim at five top U.S. weapon-makers during NYC anti-gun summit: 'Profit over our public safety ,'" by New York Daily News' Michael Gartland and Chris Sommerfeldt: "Mayor Adams and several of his counterparts from other cities vowed Wednesday to hold five top U.S. weapon manufacturers accountable for their role in the country's gun violence epidemic — and hinted that legal action against the firearm slingers could be forthcoming. The manufacturers — Glock, Taurus, Smith & Wesson, Ruger and Polymer80 — produced more than half of the guns used for crimes in New York and 11 other major U.S. cities last year, according to fresh data that Adams and a half-dozen fellow mayors unveiled during an afternoon press conference at Gracie Mansion."

" Horse carriage backers, opponents sling manure at each other over ban ," by New York Post's Carl Campanile: "Supporters and opponents of horse carriage rides slung manure at each other Wednesday as tensions mount over legislation in the City Council to outlaw the industry. The horse play started when a lawyer for New Yorkers for Clean Livable and Safe Streets sent a threatening 'cease and desist' letter to the heads of the Transport Workers Union, who represent horse carriage drivers, claiming they are making 'false and defamatory' statements about NYCLASS' founders and threatening litigation if they don't stop."

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WHAT ALBANY'S READING

Delgado slams former colleague Zeldin over Jan. 6 insurrection , by POLITICO's Anna Gronewold: As Democrats warn of far-right extremism in advance of November elections, New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is assuming the attack role against Gov. Kathy Hochul's Republican challenger — his former colleague. Delgado, in an interview with POLITICO, excoriated Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin for his behavior on the day of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last year, which included Zeldin's objecting to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results following a day of jarring violence. "To have somebody who you served with take such an extreme position is very hurtful. And it's alarming," said Delgado, a former Hudson Valley congressman who is running for election after assuming his current position in May when Hochul's first pick resigned. The comments from Delgado indicate that Team Hochul will be seizing on the Capitol riots and Zeldin's conservative positions that include support for former President Donald Trump as they seek a full term in a heavily blue state. Zeldin is poised to run a race focused on the economy, crime and state corruption.

" New York's gun violence state of emergency, a year later ," by Times Union's Joshua Solomon: "The administration billed the announcement as a first-in-the-nation endeavor that was intended to not only study the problem but also provide money to fund jobs for at-risk youth as a means to steer them down a different path. Those goals were to be achieved by investing at least $139 million to fight the "epidemic of gun violence," and suspending typical contract bidding processes to put those funds to use quickly to slow the rise in gun violence. 'This is normally not a state role,' Cuomo said in a news conference last year in Brooklyn. 'But these are not normal times.' Twelve months later, under the administration of Gov. Kathy Hochul, nearly all of the promised money has been spent. But the levels of shootings and gun deaths have not substantially changed, and thousands of the promised jobs — both long- and short-term — have failed to materialize."

— Hochul was endorsed by Brady PAC, a campaign arm of the gun control group Brady.

— "Mayor Eric Adams vowed Wednesday to 'think outside the toolbox' with other local elected officials with the aim of reducing gun violence, amid a spate of Big Apple shootings, including one on Tuesday that killed a 14-year-old."

" Former state Senate aide files lawsuit accusing supervisor of raping her ," by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "A former state legislative aide who was fired in 2018 after she went public with searing sexual harassment allegations against a supervisor filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Senate, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the man she accused of subjecting her to years of abuse, including drugging and raping her multiple times. Julia Grace Lilkendey, a communications specialist for the Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services, is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in the lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court. The complaint accuses state officials of violating human rights law and failing to investigate the allegations Lilkendey had reported to a top Senate official in 2010, and again in 2018 to the former Joint Commission on Public Ethics."

" As Buffalo Supermarket Reopens, Memories of Massacre Haunt Workers ," by The New York Times' Troy Closson: "As the sun rose over Jefferson Avenue, early light fell gently upon a handful of people standing at a sidewalk memorial outside a neighborhood grocery. Dressed in identical black shirts emblazoned 'All One,' they watched as the chain-link fence that had surrounded their workplace for two months was stripped away. An hour later, more and more workers gathered, and then scores of hands stretched toward Tops Friendly Market, blessing it minutes before its public reopening on Friday. When 10 people were slain in a racist massacre at Tops on May 14, Buffalo's Masten Park joined the ever-growing list of neighborhoods that have had to grapple with the consequences of a mass shooting. Among the hardest questions is what becomes sacred ground after blood sullies familiar soil."

" New York's latest union push is coming from inside the Capitol ," by Gothamist's Jon Campbell: "A brand-new push to unionize New York State Senate employees has the potential to shake up how Albany operates, with organizers hoping it could provide more protections to legislative workers who can find themselves working long hours with little notice. Since January, some of the state Senate's more than 1,000 staff members have been organizing to become the latest in a string of legislative bodies across the country whose workers have unionized or are working toward that goal – a list that includes the New York City Council staff. … For years, the Senate's Democratic majority has embraced pro-union positions, and organizers are hoping the Senate leadership embraces – or at very least, doesn't derail – the organizing effort."

TODAY: Pro-choice political operation Eleanor's Legacy and Assembly Member Karines Reyes are both endorsing Assembly Member Nathalia Fernandez in her bid for the state Senate seat being vacated by Alessandra Biaggi, who is running for Congress. — Anna Gronewold

#UpstateAmerica: Timber rattlers are making a comeback, but if you're lucky — like this Delaware County man — your dog will spot a 3.5-foot serpent in your living room before it spots you.

FROM THE DELEGATION

Then-New York City mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a news conference.

Federal election rules limit how Bill de Blasio can pay down his debt with leftover congressional campaign cash. | Jeenah Moon/AP Photo

What can de Blasio do with his leftover campaign cash? It's complicated , by POLITICO's Joe Anuta: Former Mayor Bill de Blasio ended his congressional bid, and his political career, Tuesday with $450,000 left in campaign coffers and a pile of unrelated debt — now he may be able to use the leftovers to fulfill some of his outstanding obligations. The Park Slope resident has lingering debt with other campaign accounts and owes six figures to a white-shoe law firm. The city's Department of Investigation has also hit him with the tab for a city-funded security detail during his 2019 run for president. Rules from the Federal Election Commission, however, limit what de Blasio can do with the cash. He cannot, for instance, appropriate the money for personal use.

Denim dynasty cash among NY-10 contributions flowing from outside the district , by POLITICO's Joe Anuta: When Dan Goldman mounted a short-lived run for state attorney general last year, he quickly raised more than $600,000 from a network of family members, many of whom are connected to the fortunes of Levi Strauss & Co., a titan of the blue jean industry to which he is an heir. Now, the lead counsel to House Democrats in the first impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is running in a crowded Democratic primary for an open congressional seat spanning Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. And while Goldman has said he hasn't tapped into any personal wealth, many of the same immediate and extended kin with Levi Strauss & Co. ties are again lining his pockets.

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TRUMP'S NEW YORK

" Giuliani ordered to testify in Georgia 2020 election probe ," by the Associated Press's Kate Brumback: "A judge in New York has ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear next month before a special grand jury in Atlanta that's investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to interfere in the 2020 general election in Georgia. New York Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber on July 13 issued an order directing Giuliani, a Trump lawyer and former New York City mayor, to appear before the special grand jury on Aug. 9 and on any other dates ordered by the court in Atlanta, according to documents filed Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court."

AROUND NEW YORK

— The chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is accused in a lawsuit of using his political influence to block his sister's promotion within a local police department.

— A 14-year-old boy was shot to death in Harlem.

— Critics of New York's new gun control laws fear they will drive mass incarceration .

— The state Department of Financial Services is staffing up to manage the increased demand for crypto firm licensing.

— The family of a three-month old baby killed by a reckless driver in Clinton Hill is suing the city .

— The chief counsel has abruptly left the Office of Cannabis Management.

— Humpback whales are hanging out longer in NYC waters.

— A dead great white shark washed ashore at a Suffolk County beach.

— City officials are suggesting New Yorkers head to cooling centers , like libraries and senior centers, as an escape from the sweltering summer heat.

— A Syracuse man and his 18-month-old daughter were killed near Glacier National Park in Montana after a man struck a family with his vehicle and then fired at them with a shotgun.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Fox News' Peter Doocy … Mick Mulvaney … former Rep. Ed Towns (D-N.Y.) … CNN's Mark Preston … Doug Mellgren … Edelman's Athena Johnson … Katherine Schneider … Christopher Ewell

MAKING MOVES — Ben Branham , a Bloomberg City Hall alum who most recently worked as chief communications officer of the Port Authority, is joining consulting firm Pythia Public as chief operating officer and managing director. He also works as an adjunct lecturer for the executive MPA program at Baruch College's Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. … Nathan Greenhut is now general manager of financial services and insurance at Domino Data. He most recently was head of data analytics and AI at Cognizant and is an alum of IBM, Ernst & Young and NASA.

MEDIAWATCH: " Tired of Waiting for Their Dream Workplace, These Writers Made Their Own ," by The New York Times' Ashley Wong: "After years of being put through the wringer of New York City media, five journalists created Hell Gate, the blog-style news site run on their terms."

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Real Estate

" Brooklyn Supreme Court tosses lawsuit against Gowanus rezoning ," by Brooklyn Paper's Kirstyn Brendlen: "The Kings County Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to overturn the Gowanus Rezoning, citing a technical error with the suit and holes in the petitioners' arguments. Community groups Voice of Gowanus and Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus, along with a number of private citizens of the neighborhood, filed the Article 78 petition against New York City and several city agencies involved in the rezoning in February, alleging that the city's environmental review of the massive upzoning was inadequate and that the respondents had violated state environmental law."

" Over a year after fire, Jackson Heights tenants continue to fight for a return to their homes ," by Queens Eagle's Jacob Kaye: "Elizabeth Rivas' mother, Patricia, first moved to Jackson Heights in the 1970s, securing a rent-stabilized apartment inside a 133-unit building in the heart of the Western Queens neighborhood. Throughout the ensuing years, the building located on 34th Avenue and 89th Street would grow to house a large Spanish–speaking population, creating a community of immigrants in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the most diverse county in the United States. And though residents say that the communal bond began to waver over the past decade, for the past 15 months, a group of tenants at 89-07 34th Ave., have found a new reason to come together."

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