| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Georgia Rosenberg | It's hard to know what, if any, the Covid-19 rules are these days, but New York City officials would prefer you go back to wearing a mask indoors. The recommendation — "that all New Yorkers should wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor settings and around crowds outside" — came as every borough has been upgraded to CDC high risk levels. The BA.5 version, which appears to be more adept at overriding antibodies from vaccines and previous infections, is driving up cases across the nation and officials say the numbers are probably drastic undercounts since most folks are probably using at-home tests. Understanding or caring about what that means for New Yorkers in July 2022 is complicated, as officials loath to take dramatic steps they and their predecessors promised during previous surges. They perhaps would like to ignore a lot of things as they continue to push businesses, workers and tourists to reemerge. The Eric Adams administration has been closing large-scale testing facilities, with some conflicting messages about the reasoning. Last week, Adams said the city's color-coded Covid-19 risk-alert system — now offline — no longer applied well to the speed and strength of the new variants. On the state level, the data being reported is, at this point, a confusing grid of numbers accompanied by caveats that reporting metrics are consistently in flux and, therefore, not chronologically cohesive. So it's nice to get some clear guidance on what might be helpful for the community, even if it's from Twitter. You've probably talked to at least one person over the weekend who has Covid-19. There are now more than 1,000 people in New York City hospitalized for the virus, the highest that number's been since the tail end of the winter spike in February. Or ask Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who announced Sunday he tested positive. He's vaccinated, boosted and experiencing mild symptoms, but plans to quarantine through the week. "Anyone who knows Leader Schumer knows that even if he's not physically in the Capitol, through virtual meetings and his trademark flip phone he will continue with his robust schedule and remain in near constant contact with his colleagues," spokesperson Justin Goodman said in a statement. 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? Commissioning a new transmission project with NextEra Energy Transmission in Akron. WHERE'S ERIC? Meeting with members of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives New York field division, delivering remarks at the Hospital for Special Surgery's IronStrength community fitness kickoff event and holding a "Community Conversation on Public Safety."
| | | | The Women Rule series brings together rising stars, accomplished professionals, and women at the pinnacle of their careers to inform, empower and connect women across diverse sectors and career levels. Attendance to our quarterly in-person POLITICO Women Rule meetings, is by invitation-only. Join our interest list and learn more here. | | | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "After violent weekend in NYC, Mayor Adams wants 'expeditious' release of police body camera footage," by WNYC's Jon Campbell: "New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he wants to 'expeditiously' release body camera footage from police incidents, including a pair of outer-borough shootings that left two men dead at the hands of police Saturday evening, so people 'can see what these cops are up against.' In both cases, the mayor said, officers were responding to a serious threat that could have harmed innocent people. 'These tapes, I think if the public starts to see the footage — you would be shocked what these ladies and gentlemen are doing every day,' said Adams, himself a former NYPD officer. He added, 'Whatever the rules are, I'm going to look over the rules and see what we can do to get [body camera footage] in the hands of people in a more expeditious fashion.'" 5G FINALLY — New York City unveiled the first in a new line of 5G kiosks in the Bronx on Sunday, a step toward improving free wifi and phone services in so-called digital deserts. Mayor Adams joined city officials, partners and Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia at the site of the kiosk outside of a supermarket and bodega in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. Through its partnership with LinkNYC, the city will install roughly 2,000 new kiosks across the five boroughs by 2026, bringing the total number to about 4,000 citywide. The new additions will be centered in areas Adams said were "affected by the digital divide," with 90 percent heading to the outerboroughs and north of 96th Street in Manhattan. During the announcement, Adams touted his status as a "five borough mayor," claiming to have "spent more time in the Bronx in six months than probably other administrations have done throughout their entire administration. "And I can say the same for Queens and parts of Brooklyn," he added. "I am all over the boroughs." — Julian Shen-Berro "De Blasio didn't trust NYPD security to keep secrets, ex-aide Lis Smith claims," by New York Post's Carl Campanile: "Former Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't trust his NYPD security detail to keep secrets, former campaign aide Lis Smith claims in her tell-all book. The political consultant unloaded a heap of criticism on de Blasio, who declined to hire her as his City Hall press secretary after a media frenzy exploded over her affair with former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in 2013. 'He seemed obsessively paranoid; one morning as I sat in the seat behind him in the car with our NYPD detail, I received an email from him. 'Watch what you say. This is not a secure space,' Smith wrote of the ex-mayor in her memoir." "Embattled Brooklyn Democratic Boss Won't Say If She Will Seek New Term," by THE CITY's George Joseph And Yoav Gonen: "In a phone call on Friday, Brooklyn Democratic Party spokesperson Bob Liff declined to give a definitive answer on whether Bichotte Hermelyn would mount a re-election campaign at the party's executive committee meeting in two months. 'We will see what happens in September,' Liff said. Bichotte Hermelyn, who told the news outlet City and State on Friday that 'I'm not stepping down' before that meeting, didn't respond to a voice message seeking comment. If she declines to campaign for re-election, Bichotte Hermelyn's tenure would have lasted less than three years — the shortest term for a Brooklyn party boss in several decades."
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "Elections commissioners question costs of early voting," by Times Union's Michelle Del Rey and Emilie Munson: "Low early voter turnout for the June primary has some elections commissioners questioning whether the cost of keeping polls open for nine days is worth the money. Edward G. McDonough, the Democratic elections commissioner for Rensselaer County, where 1,424 people voted early, said staffing multiple polling sites for a primary election, with 'extended hours, times and the cost ... it isn't worth it' … McDonough, who said that early voting plays a greater role in general elections, expects the turnout for early voting in August will be lower than last month." " Legislators say they've been shut out of talks over community benefits in Bills stadium negotiations," by Buffalo News' Sandra Tan: "Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said in April that a negotiating team that included three county legislators would soon begin crafting a community benefits agreement as part of a $1.4 billion Buffalo Bills stadium deal that includes $850 million in public funding. A lawyer negotiating the stadium deal on behalf of the county later told the County Legislature that groundwork was being laid to discuss a community benefits agreement, and he expected inclusive meetings and negotiations to begin in June. Legislators are still waiting. Now, fed up county legislators say they've had enough of being shut out. Legislature Chairwoman April Baskin said Poloncarz hasn't spoken with her for months, despite her repeated requests to meet and solicit input from community leaders who have recommendations on everything from stadium transportation and hiring diversity to youth athletics and apprenticeship programs." "LI applications spike for concealed carry gun permits after Supreme Court ruling," by Newsday's Robert Brodsky: "Matt Seifer's phone began ringing after last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring New York State's concealed carry gun permit rules unconstitutional. And the calls haven't stopped since. Seifer, the founder of Guardian Security Investigation & Training in Deer Park, is a firearms dealer who trains Long Islanders in gun safety and helps them apply for pistol permits. Since the court's June 23 ruling, Seifer said, his firm went from assisting three Long Islanders per week with their applications to 10 per day. 'The extreme uptick that we've seen are mostly new applicants looking to obtain a permit,' said Seifer, who said business has increased dramatically since the ruling." — Concerns about the rate of suicides among teenagers is one of the factors driving New York's changes to gun laws, the governor said. "Bill passed by N.Y. legislature would prohibit building new schools within 500 feet of highways ," by Daily News' Michael Elsen-Rooney: "A bill passed last month by the New York state legislature would prohibit districts from building new schools within 500 feet from freeways to cut down on exhaust fumes seeping into classrooms. The legislation, which is now awaiting a signature from Gov. Hochul, is an effort to address long-standing environmental injustices that have left students of color and low-income kids disproportionately exposed to pollutants that can affect their health and academic success, supporters say." "Hochul's Vow to Fix Albany's Culture Finds an Unexpected Foe: Herself," by the New York Times' Jay Root: "In the last days of the 2022 legislative session, as the State Capitol was abuzz with frenzied pushes to strengthen gun control, abortion rights and environmental regulations, New York lawmakers received a jolting email. Gov. Kathy Hochul was asking them to fast-track legislation authorizing billions of dollars in corporate subsidies to lure semiconductor plants to New York, according to the message from Democratic leaders in the State Senate. … No public hearing, where criticism might be aired and taxpayer safeguards contemplated, was ever given to the matter. … Ms. Hochul's approach to the subsidy package seemed to fit a pattern familiar to long-term observers of Albany, where the flow of billions of taxpayer dollars can be directed, redirected or shut off in negotiations far from public view." #UpstateAmerica: Bath, where many of New York's new district lines were drawn, is getting a KFC.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — NYPD officers shot and killed a Queens man who was threatening to kill the governor and other top officials. — Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman says the waters are fine for swimmers after a pair of recent shark attacks in the area. — A shirtless, cigar-smoking Chris Cuomo teased a comeback. — " Some Surprising Good News: Bookstores Are Booming and Becoming More Diverse" — CBS6 Albany's Heather Kovar blamed exhaustion for a strange Saturday evening newscast. — Corning Inc. is making a $139 million upgrade at its Monroe County optics plant. — Saratoga businesses are optimistic the local economy will boom this track season. — There's a fight in Fairport over a bill awaiting action from Hochul that would let the village develop parkland. — A 15-year-old boy was charged with the murder of a 14-year-old boy in a Harlem subway station. — A Staten Island car crash left three teens dead and several others injured.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Garrett Graff … Chris Maloney of Black Rock Group … Joe Wall of Goldman Sachs … Andrew Kirell … (was Sunday): CBS' Shawna Thomas … MSNBC's Kyle Griffin … Stephonn Alcorn … POLITICO's Sam Stein … Rena Shapiro … White & Case's Keir Whitson … Insider's Catherine Boudreau … Morgan Ortagus … Megan Ortagus … Owen Karrel … Kayla Maree Sanders … WSJ's Heather Haddon … … (was Saturday): ABC's Luke Barr … Patrick Steel … ACLU's Anthony Romero … HuffPost's Amanda Terkel … AP's Tom Beaumont … Matt Samuels … Floyd Abrams … Jerry Russo turned 45 (h/t wife Cara Roche) … Donna Imperato of BCW … NYT's Amy Fiscus … Brooklyn Museum's KP Trueblood
| | Real Estate | | "In N.Y.C. Apartments, the Ants Go Marching Up," by The New York Times' Dodai Stewart: "Over the last decade, the teeny Lasius emarginatus — which has a reddish-brown thorax and a dark brown head and abdomen — has been absolutely thriving in New York, and has been nicknamed ManhattAnt. 'My research focuses on understanding how this ant, who is now one of the most common ants in New York City, has been able to be so successful, surviving in highly urban habitats,' said Ms. Kennett. She found Lasius emarginatus in the trees all up and down Broadway, as well as in midtown. 'We found them in Times Square,' Kennett said. 'They are everywhere.' Including, apparently, the upper floors of apartment buildings. Like many ambitious New Yorkers, the ManhattAnt is upwardly mobile. 'It forages in trees,' Ms. Kennett said. 'It climbs a lot. They found it in second story buildings in Europe.' Now, as it expands its habitat, it appears to be scaling the structures of New York City." "Why some NYC landlords keep the apartments you can actually afford off the market ," by Business Insider's Alcynna Lloyd: "It all boils down to the elusive New York real estate dream: the rent-regulated apartment. New York's Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 was created to strengthen rent control, regulate what happens to an apartment's price when a renter vacates, and ensure tenants can stay in their units for longer. The law repealed a former rule that allowed landlords of rent-regulated units to automatically raise rents up to 20% when they became unoccupied, limiting the renovation costs landlords could recoup by increasing rents. Today, this means that when a rent-stabilized unit becomes vacant, a landlord is less incentivized to replace the tenant."
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