Tuesday, October 11, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: 28 days out from Hochul v. Zeldin

Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers
Oct 11, 2022 View in browser
 
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By Anna Gronewold, Erin Durkin and Julian Shen-Berro

For the second time since he won the Republican primary in June, Rep. Lee Zeldin said a violent incident has affected him personally during his campaign for governor.

But Zeldin and family were back on the campaign trail for the Columbus Day parade yesterday after two 17-year-old boys were shot outside his Long Island home over the weekend. (The New York Post got some more details from neighbors,)

Similar to his statement after a man charged at him during a campaign rally in July, Zeldin is characterizing the incident as proof of his primary campaign message: Democrats have created a public safety crisis.

"Like so many New Yorkers, crime has literally made its way to our front door," Zeldin said. He and his wife and daughters made a public appearance later that same evening with police tape still outside their home. Yesterday, the state GOP's fundraising email declared: "No one is safe in Crimewave Kathy's New York — not even our candidate for governor Lee Zeldin."

In a somewhat sleepy gubernatorial race, it has been these incidents that have brought Zeldin — and his emphasis on the need for a crackdown on crime — into the news cycle during his underdog challenge to Gov. Kathy Hochul in November. It's a spotlight any Republican running for statewide office in New York could use.

Zeldin has more of a fundraising edge than previous Republican attempts to dethrone Democratic governors. His campaign reported raising $6.4 million from mid-July to early October and has roughly $4.5 million in cash.

But Hochul has continued to outpace him, and most historical precedent, in fundraising. She has been launching ads left and right, on streaming services to smartphones, and, according to new numbers from her campaign, raised an additional $11.1 million in the last quarter, totaling $45.8 million. She's still got $10.9 million on hand and a 17-point lead.

Today marks just four weeks out from Election Day, and the two candidates have not yet publicly agreed on the details of a debate.

IT'S TUESDAY. 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? Speaking at a Diwali celebration at Queens College.

WHERE'S ERIC? Signing a pair of bills designating Times Square a gun-free zone, making an economic development-related announcement, meeting with AMCHAM Korea Chairman and CEO James Kim and Korean Air Chairman and CEO Walter Cho, welcoming the Ukrainian national baseball team to the city and hosting an Italian Heritage Month celebration.

 

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What City Hall's reading

"NYPD's failure to submit crime data to feds could cost NYC millions," by New York Post's Craig McCarthy and Bernadette Hogan: "The NYPD could lose out on millions of dollars in federal grants for failing to report last year's city crime to the FBI, The Post has learned. The federal agency had asked departments for a more detailed reporting system starting in January 2022 — after having spent the past six years warning the NYPD and other police agencies of the move. Since 2017, the feds even paid New York City a total of nearly $24 million in grants that the police agency was allowed to use to get its reporting system in line. But the NYPD has yet to comply with the voluntary system after years of warning — and now has a hard deadline of June to make the grade."

"Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso fires deputy Diana Richardson over toxic work environment," by New York Daily News' Janon Fisher: "Diana Richardson, a former Crown Heights assemblywoman, has effectively been terminated from her job as Brooklyn's deputy borough president following a string of staff and constituent complaints about her behavior, the Brooklyn Borough President confirmed. 'After a series of conversations, Ms. Diana Richardson will no longer serve at Brooklyn Borough Hall as of Oct. 17, 2022. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors as she continues to help communities grow and thrive,' borough president spokeswoman Stephanie Guzman said in an exclusive statement to the Daily News."

Attorney general urged to probe $28M in yeshiva funding, by POLITICO's Madina Touré: "A group of New York City yeshivas has reaped $28 million in state funding it was not entitled to, alleges a complaint filed with state Attorney General Tish James. The complaint by Young Advocates for Fair Education, or Yaffed, comes as Jewish religious schools face renewed scrutiny following a report that scores of yeshivas statewide are failing their students when it comes to secular education. … "At a minimum, these funds should be withdrawn and have to be returned to the state," said Naftuli Moster, founder of Yaffed. "But it should also serve as an impetus for a broader investigation by the attorney general, not only of those schools in question but also of how taxpayer funds are being allowed to be dispersed to schools that have yet to show that they are meeting minimum requirements.

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

COMING WEDNESDAY: "Union activists, supporters rally and urge 'Yes' vote on Amazon union," by Times Union's Rick Karlin: "Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and the founder of a fledgling Amazon employee union visited the company's massive warehouse here on Monday, urging workers to vote 'yes' on an upcoming unionization vote. 'Without a union you're just a person,' Gillibrand, a Democrat, told several hundred employees as well as members of other unions and labor activists who attended the rally. 'If they could pay you less. If they could give you less benefits, they would,' Gillibrand added. 'We have one message and it's a message of support for the workers,' said Heather Goodall, the Amazon employee who has spearheaded the union drive at the Schodack facility. Employees at the million-square-foot ALB1 fulfillment center, or large warehouse, will vote between Wednesday, Oct. 12 and Monday, Oct. 17 on whether to join the new Amazon Labor Union."

"New York AG warns public safety at risk with suspended concealed carry law," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman: "New York state Attorney General Letitia James urged a federal judge Monday to keep the state's concealed carry law in full effect, warning that it would be a danger to the public to suspend the enforcement of its provisions. The legal motion came as a federal judge last week suspended multiple provisions of the law approved this summer in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a century-old concealed carry measure."

" NY COVID case count down but hospitalizations up 24% over past month" by Democrat and Chronicle's David Robinson: "New York's tally of COVID-19 cases has declined recently but the number of likely COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals has increased about 24% over the past month, suggesting underreporting of infections is masking the virus' true spread."

" New York's State Comptroller Says Corruption Can be Curbed," by New York Now's Dan Clark: "New York's top money-manager has a few ideas for curbing corruption in New York, including a proposed black-out period for campaign donations from companies who do business with the state. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who's up for re-election next month, says he'd also welcome ways to give the auditing powers of his office more teeth. 'It would be nice if we could tighten up the response to the audits that we put out there,' DiNapoli said."

IT'S OGS AUCTION TIME and today's includes 70 years of New York Times newspapers cataloged in 2,400 rolls of microfilm.

#UpstateAmerica: The border's back open and Niagara County shops are thrilled: "Canadians love to shop."

 

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FROM THE DELEGATION

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has a new campaign ad going live this week called "Results." It's one whole minute touting last week's announcement that Micron Technology Inc. will spend up to $100 billion on a chip facility complex near Syracuse and Chuck's yearslong efforts to get this kind of thing done. Four weeks from Election Day; that Micron timing worked out well.

"Retired NYPD and GOP congressional hopeful Anthony D'Esposito is in the hot seat again for losing his gun ," New York Daily News' Michael Gartland: "A retired New York City police detective running for Congress on Long Island was disciplined by the NYPD for leaving his gun unattended in a car in 2015 and working as a DJ without police department permission, the Daily News has learned. Anthony D'Esposito, a Republican, is vying to fill the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Kathleen Rice, who announced earlier this year she would not seek reelection. "

" Secret $1 million boost from GOP establishment aided Langworthy, records show," by Buffalo News' Jerry Zremski: "Nicholas A. Langworthy's campaign for Congress got a mysterious million dollars in outside aid to fund a wave of ads that helped him defeat Buffalo developer Carl P. Paladino in a Republican primary in August. Federal records show that the American Liberty Action PAC, which was created this summer, dumped $1.04 million into the GOP primary in New York's recently redrawn 23rd District, which covers parts of suburban Buffalo and most of the Southern Tier. Those records show that most of that money went to television and digital ads and text messages attacking Paladino, long a fiery and controversial figure in GOP circles, rather than boosting Langworthy."

"In Fight for Congress, a Surprising Battleground Emerges: New York," by The New York Times' Nicholas Fandos: "Just a month before November's critical midterm elections, New York has emerged from a haywire redistricting cycle as perhaps the most consequential congressional battleground in the country, and Democrats are mired in an increasingly costly fight just to hold their ground. All told, nine of New York's 26 seats — from the tip of Long Island to the banks of the Hudson River here in Poughkeepsie — are in play, more than any state but California. For Democrats, the uncertainty is particularly jarring: Just 10 months ago, party leaders, who controlled the once-in-a-decade redistricting process in the state, optimistically predicted that new district lines could safeguard Democrats and imperil as many as five Republican seats, allowing them to add key blocks to their national firewall. That, to put it gently, is not how things seem to be turning out."

AROUND NEW YORK

— Ulster County has illegal legislative districts, but this one looks to be the result of poor mathematics.

— Your peeling license plates don't really impact cashless tolling much, according to the Thruway Authority.

— Bail law politics are showing up in the case of a Buffalo-area man suspected of murdering his estranged wife after he had been released after allegedly beating and imprisoning her.

— A woman was arrested for a stabbing in the first homicide on a New York City bus in about eight years.

— "New York City asks voters to take a stand on racial justice — at the ballot box."

— Petitioners want Hochul to sign a bill establishing a task force to help in the state's efforts to support students with learning disorders like dyslexia and dysgraphia.

— The Statue of Liberty's crown will reopen for the first time since the pandemic began.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Jamie Weinstein of JMW Productions … WSJ's Tarini PartiDavid Callaway Rob Speyer of Tishman Speyer … ProPublica's Talia Buford (was Monday): NYT's Adam NagourneyMatti Friedman … Fox Corp.'s Raj Shah and Brian NickBruce Karsh Avi Davidoff Shrikant Krishan(was Sunday): ABC's Justin Fishel … Peterson Institute for International Economics' Chad Brown turned 5-0 … Clare Krupin … McKinsey & Company's David BiboDavid JacobsonKim Gamel Todd Richman ... Kayla Levinson Segal ... Apple's Julia Schechter ... Jason Kaplan (h/ts Jewish Insider) …

… (was Saturday): Rev. Jesse Jackson Steve Coll of the Columbia Journalism School and The New Yorker … Dan Gallo of MSNBC … Blain Rethmeier of the Chamber of Digital Commerce … Molly ErmanLillie Belle Viebranz

MAKING MOVES — Gwen Rocco is joining Risa Heller Communications as a managing director. She's a WeWork, Hillary and Obama alum and served as deputy campaign manager for Terry McAuliffe last year.

ENGAGED — Greg Hughes, a producer for CNN's "State of the Union," proposed to Molly Nagle, a White House producer/reporter for ABC News, on Saturday at St. Dunstan-in-the-East while on vacation in London to visit friends. The two met at ABC when they both started working there in 2015. PicAnother pic

WEDDING — Cari Lutkins, senior manager for business development at Clinique and a Trump NSC and OPIC alum, on Oct. 1 married Elliot Kuck, a special agent in the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. The couple met while both in NYC working for then-U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft when he was on her security detail and she was Craft's deputy chief of staff. Pic ... Another pic

Real Estate

"Brooklyn office rents rise and tenants dump space on market," by The Real Deal's Pat Ralph: " Coming off a busy second quarter, Brooklyn's office landlords asked for higher rents in the third. In response, tenants signed far fewer leases and pushed up the borough's availability rate. The borough's office leasing activity dropped by more than 30 percent from the second quarter, according to a report by Colliers. About 265,100 square feet was leased in the third quarter, down from more than 380,500 the previous period, but up 84 percent from a year ago."

" Demand for housing is high in the Adirondacks. So is the number of vacant homes," by North Country Public Radio's Emily Russell: " According to the Saranac Lake Housing Task Force, about 19% of units in the village are vacant, which is nearly twice the national average. Melinda Little chairs the task force and says she's watched as the lack of housing has led people not to take jobs and move to the area. 'We have a number of people who have tried to take jobs here and haven't been able to find any [housing] and have decided to go elsewhere. That's very frustrating to think about that talent being lost.' The housing crisis in Saranac Lake and throughout the Adirondacks is complex. Vacant homes are just part of the problem, but Allan Mallach, a national housing expert at the Center for Community Progress, says it's a delicate one that can start with just one abandoned home in a neighborhood."

 

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