News: POLITICO New York Playbook: The subway mask mandate is over

Thursday, September 8, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: The subway mask mandate is over

Sep 08, 2022

By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Julian Shen-Berro

Masks are no longer required on subways, buses and commuter trains, after Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the mask mandate that has been in place since April 2020. It's one of the last places in New York where masks were still required, and the transit system was one of the few in the nation with a mandate in place.

Of course, anyone who's taken the subway recently can tell you riders have been treating the mask mandate more like a suggestion for quite some time. Compliance has fallen precipitously since the MTA stopped keeping track in April, when it stood at 64 percent, and enforcement has been nonexistent. Still, rules are rules, and more faces may be bared now that going maskless is officially sanctioned. Even those little yellow mask faces on MTA public service announcements are officially taking an anything-goes stance. (Some politicians aren't amused.)

For New Yorkers who are eager to shed pandemic precautions, this represents another big step back towards "normal." For those who are still trying to avoid Covid-19, life gets a little harder once again.

Hochul pegged her decision to the launch of a new Omicron-specific booster shot, which she received on Wednesday. Mask mandates will also be lifted at homeless shelters and jails. They'll remain in place for health care facilities.

And it's the first day of school in New York City, another area where the pandemic restrictions in place last year have largely disappeared. Mayor Eric Adams once expressed support for a vaccine mandate for public school students, but ultimately went in the opposite direction, ending routine coronavirus testing in schools. Vaccination rates for city kids are strikingly low: Just 2 percent of kids under 5 are fully vaccinated, while 8 percent of kids age 5-12 and 28 percent among those aged 12-17 are up to date with a booster shot.

A passenger looks out onto the platform while riding a train.

A passenger looks out onto the platform while riding a northbound train in 36th Street subway station, April 13, 2022, where a shooting attack occurred the previous day during the morning commute, in New York. | John Minchillo/AP Photo

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? Delivering remarks and making an announcement at the 2022 Advanced Energy Conference Plenary Session and making another announcement at JFK Airport.

WHERE'S ERIC? Welcoming students to their first day of class and delivering remarks and announcing the upcoming Ferragosto Festival in the Bronx's Belmont Business Improvement District.

A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION ON LEADING FROM THE GROUND UP: Join POLITICO's Women Rule on Sept. 15 for conversations focused on creating and leading sustainable, healthy and inclusive communities. The program will feature a Member Exchange panel followed by a keynote discussion exploring the most pressing issues facing women in their communities and women in leadership roles who are best positioned to solve these problems. REGISTER HERE.

What City Hall's reading

How a budget battle sowed chaos on the cusp of a new school year, by POLITICO's Madina Touré: When music teacher Paul Trust returned to in-person teaching at P.S. 39 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, last year for the first time since the pandemic, he felt like he finally had the resources to dig in. Trust was buying new equipment to start a "Drums Around the World" program. And the school revived its in-person winter and spring concerts — and a graduation ceremony. "It was great to have all these things return, and I really felt like things were going in a very positive direction with regards to what I was hoping to accomplish," Trust said in an interview. "I was hoping to take things to the next level." Then the New York City Council voted in June to slash education funding by $469 million for the upcoming school year. The cut, initially thought to be half that amount, has left school leaders scrambling to make do with less — a task further complicated by a lawsuit from parents and teachers, including Trust, who lost his position at P.S. 39.

— "NYC Education Dept. adding 850 new school safety agents for new school year ," by New York Daily News' Michael Elsen-Rooney: "New York City's public schools will bring roughly 850 new school safety agents this year as part of a larger plan to keep kids safe as they return to class Thursday. The influx of new agents will come alongside expanded active shooter trainings for city principals, a new messaging system to alert families about emergencies faster, and using 'violence interrupters' to mediate conflicts, Schools Chancellor David Banks said. … The new safety agents — uniformed NYPD members who don't carry guns and are stationed full-time in schools — will come in shifts, with 200 new agents starting Thursday, followed by 150 beginning their four-month training in September, and two more classes of 250 each starting training in January and May 2023. The number of safety agents shrank from more than 5,000 before the pandemic to its current estimated 3,100."

"East Village public housing residents want answers after arsenic found in water," by WNYC's Gwynne Hogan: "Tenants at an East Village public housing complex lined up for cases of drinking water in the rain Tuesday afternoon, four days after the city confirmed tests had detected unsafe levels of arsenic in the tap water. Other tenants filled up water jugs from a nearby fire hydrant while a group of tenant volunteers distributed donated meals of pasta and sandwiches to people unable to cook at home. Since the Labor Day weekend revelation, city officials have set up water faucets and a water distribution site in a parking lot, but offered tenants few other details on the evolving situation. 'We'll have our answers,' said Daphne Williams, president of the tenant association, as she sat under a tent on Tuesday afternoon distributing meals to residents. 'This won't just go away.'"

"Brooklyn Prosecutors Seek to Throw Out Scores of Convictions," by The New York Times' Rebecca Davis-O'Brien: "Brooklyn prosecutors are seeking to throw out 378 criminal convictions — mostly low-level drug and traffic offenses, dating to 1999 — that relied on the work of 13 former New York Police Department officers who were later convicted of crimes related to their work. On Wednesday, Eric Gonzalez, the district attorney in Brooklyn, asked a state judge to vacate the first 15 convictions, all of which involved felonies and several of which resulted in prison time, according to the prosecutor's office and the Legal Aid Society. Mr. Gonzalez's office will seek to dismiss the remaining cases over the next few weeks."

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The New York State Democratic Party is launching a statewide tour today under the banner "New Yorkers Against Extreme Lee." Local leaders in major cities across the state will highlight Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin's anti-abortion rights, pro-Trump and pro-gun positions in a series of several stops that will be announced in the coming days. The first event is this morning in Buffalo with Assemblymember Monica Wallace, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and Erie County Democratic Committee Chairman Jeremy Zellner. — Anna Gronewold

"'Punishment on top of punishment': How NY's new package policy is affecting incarcerated individuals," by Times Union's Nada Shalash: "'Frustration, defeat, disappointment.' That is how Render Stetson-Shanahan, who is incarcerated at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, described feeling when he found out his mother can no longer bring him care packages during a visit or through the mail. … It is unclear, so far, whether safety has improved in prisons where the new policy is in effect, or how DOCCS will measure the policy's success or failure. DOCCS said in its statement that it is reviewing and updating the list of approved vendors to ensure families and friends have more vendor options to choose from when sending packages. The approved vendor list includes clothing stores, wholesale food distributors and music and art supply stores. And while DOCCS' list of allowable items includes fresh vegetables, availability and logistical challenges posed by the new directive leave many worried about incarcerated individuals' access to fresh foods."

"Rushdie Case Prosecutors Ask for Delay to Pore Over Mountain of Evidence ," by The New York Times' Dan Higgins: "Because of the large amount of evidence, Jason Schmidt, the Chautauqua County district attorney, told a judge at a hearing that his office needed more time — at least an additional 30 days — to process all the investigative files. … 'It's an enormous undertaking,' he said. 'I mean, we're not an office that has that kind of manpower or resources. But we're making do with what we can do.' Because of a gag order in the case, Mr. Schmidt could not describe in detail the evidence his office had received. But he said it included documents, police reports, photographic and video evidence and witness statements. He added that the police were trying to determine if an attacker acted alone, or if there was any other information that might lead to more charges."

#UpstateAmerica: The longest-tenured employee in the 142-year history of Albany's storied Fort Orange Club is retiring after 50 years.

FROM THE DELEGATION

"Knicks' Dolan Dynasty Goes All-In For NYC's Only Republican Rep, Nicole Malliotakis," by The City's George Joseph: "The Dolan dynasty is again bankrolling pro-Trump GOP U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis' campaign in her rematch this year against Democrat Max Rose, who she unseated in 2020. According to federal campaign finance records, Knicks owner James Dolan has given $8,700 so far this year to the campaign of the right-wing Staten Island and South Brooklyn congresswoman, who has sponsored anti-Black Lives Matter legislation and who joined 146 fellow Republicans in voting against certifying President Joe Biden's election on Jan. 6, 2021, hours after a mob invaded the U.S. Capitol."

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AROUND NEW YORK

— New York City is seeking a new operator for its ferry service.

— New Siena polling found a majority of New York residents support President Joe Biden's plan to provide student debt relief.

— "Heatflation" — rising costs due to drought conditions — is hitting farmers markets.

— A former college student and "trusted lieutenant" in Larry Ray's Sarah Lawrence sex cult pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder money.

— Shootings and homicides citywide dropped last month, even as other major crimes continued to spike.

— Residents in Brooklyn's Little Pakistan neighborhood are gathering aid for flood victims in that country.

— United Airlines threatened to stop flying out of JFK if the federal government doesn't approve more flights.

— Criminal justice advocates rallied in support of legislation to force the NYPD to end its gang database.

— Muslim groups objected to CNN's hiring of former NYPD counterterror chief John Miller.

— The mother of Eric Garner pressed in court arguments for records related to her son's death to be released.

— A Department of Homeless Services police officer was suspended after video circulated of him striking a shelter resident in the face.

— Some New York counties will see new air filtration systems rolled out in classrooms this school year.

— Student MetroCard hours could expand if newly proposed legislation were passed.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: BerlinRosen's Jonathan Rosen … former NEC Director Al Hubbard … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Bob Bierman … J.D. Durkin … Andrei Berman … Harry Liberman … Carey Hickox

MAKING MOVES — David Ansel has joined Save the Sound as regional director of water protection. He was formerly a partner at the law firm Loeb & Loeb… Ken Zimmerman is joining Fountain House as its new CEO. He was previously head of U.S. programs for the Open Society Foundations.

WEDDINGS — Raina Weinstein, staff reporter at the New York Sun, on Sunday married Max Raskin, chief counsel and partner at QVIDTVM Inc. and an adjunct professor of law at NYU Law. The couple met last fall at a Shabbat dinner. Pics

SPOTTED: Ken Weinstein and Amy Kauffman, Israeli Amb. to the U.S. Michael Herzog, Christopher Landau, Boris Ruge, Sander Gerber, Geoffrey Chatas, Judge Steven Menashi, Doug McGann, Norm Eisen, Steve Rabinowitz, Jon Lerner, Karen Kornbluh, Stuart Levey and Peter Beinart.

— Dr. Nathan Dial, a major in the U.S. Air Force and an Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leader, on Aug. 27 married Monica Ross, a physical therapist. The couple met on Tinder. Pic ... Another pic

Real Estate

"Hundreds of Families Forced from Domestic Violence Shelters into Strained DHS System Each Year," by City Limits' David Brand: "In late January, after years of abuse and harassment, L. decided to leave her ex behind and make a new start far from The Bronx neighborhood where they both lived. L., who asked to go by her first initial to protect her identity, checked into a domestic violence shelter run by the organization Safe Horizon and, a little less than three months later, received a housing voucher through the state FHEPS program, a rental subsidy for families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. But so far, her housing search has hit nothing but dead ends."

" Mayor Adams rallies for Bronx housing project opposed by NYC Council member," by New York Daily News' Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael Gartland : "Mayor Adams joined union workers Wednesday to rally support for a proposed affordable housing development in the Bronx that has attracted stiff opposition from local residents — including the area's Council member, who holds major sway over whether the project will come to fruition. The development on Bruckner Boulevard in Throgs Neck, which would involve erecting four new buildings, can only see the light of day if the Council agrees to rezone the area to allow for taller construction."

" Lee Zeldin joins locals fighting flood project on Battery Park City waterfront," by New York Post's Zach Williams: "Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin is backing lower Manhattan residents blasting a proposed resiliency project approved by the Battery Park City Authority — which is controlled by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. 'Residents have pointed out that Wagner Park didn't experience severe flooding during Superstorm Sandy. Others have raised concerns about the exorbitant cost,' Zeldin said Wednesday. 'Until these concerns and much more are addressed, the project should not move forward,' he said. Construction is expected to begin in upcoming weeks, according to the Battery Park City Authority."

— A group of residents rallied against the plan Wednesday.

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