| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Julian Shen-Berro | Here in New York, our libraries are among our least controversial public institutions, subject to the occasional funding battle but universally beloved by politicians for photo ops. But the Brooklyn Public Library is ruffling some political feathers — not here, but in the red states that have banned books from school libraries. As our Madina Touré reports, New York libraries have waded into America's culture wars by directly lending 25,000 books to non-residents since spring, including thousands of students living under the bans. The Brooklyn library has been particularly proactive with its "Books Unbanned" program, giving access to its eBook collection to young people between 13 and 21 anywhere in the country in response to the book-banning trend. In Oklahoma , a QR code linking to the library site has become "a symbol of resistance" against the state's ban on materials in schools that might cause anyone to feel guilt or discomfort tied to their race or gender. An Oklahoma high school teacher resigned after suffering backlash for introducing students to the program, and faces the possibility of losing her teaching license. In protest, other teachers and students are wearing shirts and making lawn signs promoting the program with the barcode. Oklahoma's ban is one of the most far-reaching, but similar legislation has led to hundreds of books being yanked from the shelves at nearly 3,000 schools across 26 states. In response, the library opened up its catalogue to teens across the country. The library was deluged with more than 5,100 inquiries from teens nationwide. It has also proved popular in Texas, which has nixed more texts this year than any other state. "This is what libraries do. We provide access to these materials," said Brooklyn Public Library president Linda Johnson. "Literature is such a powerful thing and it's something which allows you to get to know yourself better, your world, it allows you to see new things and we don't think anyone should be shut out of that regardless of where they live." 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? In Erie County and New York City. WHERE'S ERIC? Meeting with senators from the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo, visiting La Romana to distribute medical supplies and other materials and traveling back to New York.
| | | | HAPPENING 9/29 - POLITICO'S AI & TECH SUMMIT : Technology is constantly evolving and so are the politics and policies shaping and regulating it. Join POLITICO for the 2022 AI & Tech summit to get an insider look at the pressing policy and political issues shaping tech, and how Washington interacts with the tech sector. The summit will bring together lawmakers, federal regulators, tech executives, tech policy experts and consumer advocates to dig into the intersection of tech, politics, regulation and innovation, and identify opportunities, risks and challenges ahead. REGISTER FOR THE SUMMIT HERE. | | | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "Judge strikes down New York City's vaccination mandate for NYPD officers," by Newsday's Nicole Fuller and Anthony M. DeStefano: "A Manhattan judge Friday struck down New York City's vaccination mandate for NYPD officers and ordered the city to reinstate officers who were fired or suspended for refusing the coronavirus vaccine in a decision that will be immediately appealed. The decision from Supreme Court Justice Lyle E. Frank said the city cannot unilaterally impose a new employment condition, such as a vaccine mandate, without negotiating with the labor union representing police officers. The ruling represented a major victory for the NYPD's largest labor union. The New York City Police Benevolent Association, with some 24,000 members, filed suit against the city in 2021 after then-Mayor Bill de Blasio mandated officers get vaccinated against COVID-19. The city has fired more than 1,400 city employees, including 36 police officers and about two dozen firefighters, as of earlier this year for refusing to get vaccinated." — The city quickly filed an appeal of the ruling. City Hall made an 11th-hour push to torpedo planned Council lines, by POLITICO's Joe Anuta: On Wednesday, a top City Hall aide contacted several appointees of the local redistricting commission with a message: New York City Mayor Eric Adams opposed a revised draft map of new City Council boundaries set for a vote the following morning. The commissioners, appointed by the Democratic politician, were therefore urged to give the plan a thumbs down. The outreach was conducted by Adams' deputy chief of staff, Menashe Shapiro, via phone and text message, according to six people familiar with the overtures, including one who said the call came after hours Wednesday evening. And the following afternoon, the New York City Districting Commission narrowly voted to reject the set of proposed lines in a surprise decision led by mayoral appointees and those from the Republican Party, who together constitute a majority in the body. "NYPD security detail racks up speed camera tickets," by New York Post's Rich Calder: "Mayor Eric Adams vowed to make city streets safer, but that hasn't stopped him from getting chauffeured around the Big Apple by lead-footed cops. Two of the city-issued SUVs used by Adams' NYPD security detail have been nabbed on camera three times in the past five months speeding in school safety zones at least 11 mph above legal limits — racking up $225.30 in fines and late fees yet to be paid, a review of city records shows." " Ex-NYC election lawyer accused of sexually harassing subordinates is paid Brooklyn Democratic Party consultant," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt : "An attorney who recently pleaded guilty to abusing his office by sexually harassing two subordinates serves as a paid election consultant for the Brooklyn Democratic Party — and even spoke on behalf of party leaders during their botched organizational meeting this week, the Daily News has learned. Steve Richman, who resigned as the city Board of Elections' top lawyer last year while under investigation over the harassment accusations, can be seen in a photo obtained by The News at the party's bi-annual committee meeting in Coney Island on Wednesday night." "Mayor Adams' pledge to build bike and bus lanes falling short," by WNYC's Stephen Nessen: "Just nine months after being sworn in, Mayor Eric Adams' campaign pledge to be the 'bike mayor' who installs 300 miles of protected bike lanes and 150 miles of bus lanes in four years is already falling short. Adams' administration isn't close to hitting average yearly milestones for those targets, according to the Mayor's Management Report released last week, which provides an update on all city agencies' work. The report shows there were 32 protected miles installed in fiscal year 2022. But the Department of Transportation won't say how many of those miles were built during former Mayor Bill de Blasio's term, just that it's on track to complete 30 this year. That puts Adams far short of 75 miles of protected bike lanes this year, which is the pace needed to reach his campaign pledge by the end of his term." ADAMS IN PUERTO RICO: Mayor Eric Adams traveled to Puerto Rico over the weekend to help with recovery efforts following Hurricane Fiona. He met with local officials, including Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero, calling the island the "sixth borough of New York City." "Where I am standing right now, this was 10, 12 feet of water, it may seem like it dried out now but the results of it is that people have lost everything that they own," he said in a video taken while surveying the damage from the storm. "We're going to continue to move throughout the island and look at other areas and identify exactly what's needed," he said in a different video recorded with Romero and other New York officials who joined him on the trip. A team from the city's emergency management department came down to the island earlier to assist with recovery efforts, Adams said. — Janaki Chadha
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "More than 1,600 corporal punishment cases substantiated in New York public schools in recent years," by Times Union's Emilie Munson, Joshua Solomon and Matt Rocheleau: "In 2021, a substitute teacher grabbed a student by the throat and forced him against a wall at Watertown City Central School District near the Canadian border, according to records from the state Education Department. Two years prior, investigators determined a teaching assistant for Syracuse City Schools on multiple occasions had spanked a non-verbal student and slapped her on the hand. And in Brooklyn in 2018, a teacher at Achievement First Brownsville Charter School forced a student to hold books as a disciplinary consequence. In recent years, the state Education Department has documented nearly 18,000 complaints of corporal punishment in public and charter schools across New York, although corporal punishment is generally banned. Investigators and school officials substantiated more than 1,600 of those complaints from 2016 through 2021, according to a Times Union review of state Education Department records." "The School Shooting Is Fake. Can It Prepare an Officer for a Real One? " by The New York Times' Grace Ashford: "'Shots fired,' the instructor called, urging the officers toward what would in real life be gunfire. 'What do we gotta do?' Officers — many of whom have never fired their weapon at another person, let alone been fired upon — must answer that question correctly. Whether a dozen arrive, or just one, training dictates that they must engage, even if they risk death. The school shooting in May in Uvalde, Tex., where 19 children and two adults died as police officers hesitated, demonstrates the price of failure. The State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany, N.Y., where the terrors of the future are simulated, studied and, perhaps, prevented is part of a vast infrastructure for tragedy. Since 2017, tens of millions have been spent by the federal government on mass shooter training, and states have spent even more." "NY bill would guarantee legal help for locals enmeshed in immigration proceedings," by WNYC's Arya Sundaram: "Low-income immigrants in New York who face deportation or detention would be guaranteed legal help under legislation proposed by two state lawmakers. The Access to Representation Act (S81B/A1961) would make New York the first state to establish a right to counsel for those enmeshed in immigration proceedings, and comes with a price tag of $300 million, according to a fiscal note attached to the measure. The bill's sponsors are state Sen. Brad Hoylman of Manhattan and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz of Queens, both Democrats. Immigration advocates have long pushed for a right to legal representation in these civil federal proceedings. The initiative comes as the governors of Texas and more recently Florida have sent thousands of asylum seekers to Northern cities." "NY's sweeping child privacy bill would force online security measures — but Big Tech battle brews," by New York Post's Gabrielle Fonrouge: "A bill aiming to protect kids online has been introduced in the New York state senate, and it could force social media companies to implement a host of safety features — including bans on advertising to youngsters and on mining their data. The legislation, introduced by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) on Friday, is modeled after a California bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law earlier this month despite searing opposition from Big Tech groups. The Golden State's Age-Appropriate Design Code Act — a first of its kind law in the US — requires that online platforms design their products with children in mind and put up guardrails to protect their privacy." #UpstateAmerica: "Where does upstate New York actually begin? Is it Yankee Stadium? Albany? Once you see a Stewart's? Or is upstate just a state of mind?" The Times Union's Alexandra Zissu investigates.
| | | | DON'T MISS - MILKEN INSTITUTE ASIA SUMMIT : Go inside the 9th annual Milken Institute Asia Summit, taking place from September 28-30, with a special edition of POLITICO's Global Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive coverage and insights from this important gathering. Stay up to speed with daily updates from the summit, which brings together more than 1,200 of the world's most influential leaders from business, government, finance, technology, and academia. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | Trump's Tall Tales Have Finally Caught Up With Him, by POLITICO's Gwenda Blair: On Wednesday, September 21, New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a 220-page lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court accusing Donald Trump and three of his children of using wildly inaccurate evaluations of Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago and multiple other properties to defraud lenders and cheat on taxes. The result, she said, was a "staggering" and "astounding" scheme that yielded an estimated $250 million in ill-gotten gains. James termed these financial manipulations "the art of the steal," a play on the title of Trump's 1987 bestselling memoir The Art of the Deal. In that book, Trump (or, more likely, his co-author, journalist Tony Schwartz) called his aggressive salesmanship "truthful hyperbole"... His flair for tall tales would be his MO for more than four decades and arguably catapulted him to the presidency. But now, his main tactic has left him open to a civil suit that threatens to unravel his empire. — "How Trump's alleged fraud worked at Dutchess County club ," by Times Union's Phillip Pantuso — "Ms. James's lawsuit against the Trumps hinges on a muscular law that provides her office with an upper hand when investigating and punishing corporate wrongdoing."
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — About 28 percent of New York City women who have been infected with Covid-19 reported at least one long-term symptom related to the virus, compared to 21 percent of men. — Transit advocates rallied for subway and bus service that runs every six minutes. — Mayor Eric Adams said Republican governors are targeting Black mayors with their push to bus migrants around the country. — New York City owes early childhood education programs millions of dollars in reimbursements from last school year. — The number of reported rapes in the city has surged, but the NYPD is spending less time training officers on working with sexual assault victims. — Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin said he would consider using emergency powers to suspend the state's bail laws. — A group of union health funds sued consulting firm McKinsey & Co. for its role in the opioid crisis. — Adams created a new Mayor's Office for Urban Agriculture. — CUNY enrollment has declined as the school's infrastructure crumbles. — The battle over an open street in Jackson Heights has turned ugly. — The death of a man at Kingsboro Psychiatric Center is being investigated as a homicide. — A $250 million investment in preventing community violence by the Manhattan district attorney's office will soon run out. — More than 50 buses of asylum seekers came to New York from El Paso, Texas.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Tom Gannon of H&R Block …Charlie Aidinoff … Jordan Cohen of the NYT … Julia Barry … Wells Thorne … Erin Cunningham … (was Sunday): Barbara Walters … Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) … Chamber of Commerce's Jack Howard … NBC News' Ryan Reilly … Bloomberg's John Lauinger … New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie … Josh Tyrangiel … Lila Shapiro … Marco De León … Yehuda Lancry … Monica Wagner … Danny Yadron … Lauren Loftus … … (was Saturday): CNN's Nicky Robertson … WSJ's Katy Stech Ferek … FTI Consulting's Will Allison and Adam Rice … Mike Morey of SKDK … Alexandra Jaffe … Chanina Sperlin … Mike Kamber … Joe Householder … (was Friday): Maureen A. Coleman, president and CEO of Environmental Facilities Corporation SPOTTED: Former City Council Members Ken Fisher, Steve Levin, David Yassky and longtime Brooklyn Community Board 1 District Manager Gerry Esposito at Peter Luger's celebrating Esposito's retirement after 42 years in the job. MAKING MOVES — Danny Stephens will be the new executive director of Ramapo for Children. He most recently was the interim national director of the Wellness & Equity Alliance and is the former deputy commissioner for children and families at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
| | Real Estate | | "NYCHA Could Have Fast Tracked 24-Hour Water Tests. Instead, It Decided to Wait Weeks for Results," by The City's Greg B. Smith: "As the number of tenant complaints about cloudy water began to skyrocket at the Jacob Riis Houses this summer, a top NYCHA executive decided the tap water there needed to be tested. But instead of ordering up an expedited test, which would have yielded results within 24 hours, NYCHA Chief Operating Officer Eva Trimble decided there was no need to rush things. As a result, weeks went by from when the water was first sampled to when NYCHA says it was first told that arsenic had been detected in the water at Riis. And then, NYCHA delayed telling tenants and the public about the results for yet another week." — NYCHA chairman Greg Russ was a no-show for the hearing. | | | | 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 | | | | |
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