| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Julian Shen-Berro | Opposition is growing to Mayor Eric Adams' plan to use a tent city to house hundreds of asylum seekers arriving in New York City. The mayor came up with the idea — along with a yet to be realized proposal to put migrants on a massive cruise ship — to ease the crunch on the city's homeless shelters as thousands of people who have crossed the southern border enter the system. But the concept doesn't sit well with some in the longtime sanctuary city, and criticism is only growing louder since the city's decision to relocate the camp earlier this week. Now the City Council, led by Speaker Adrienne Adams, is condemning the plan. Adams and other Council members say that while an emergency intake center may be necessary, it should at least be indoors and not in a series of giant tents as the weather grows colder and wetter. "There are better options that New York City should explore to provide healthier and safer conditions for people who have already experienced so much trauma," Adrienne Adams said. The camp was originally slated for a parking lot at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, but relocated to Randall's Island after the original site flooded. The Council members say the new spot, also prone to flooding as well as high winds off the East River, is no better. It probably doesn't help the politics that the encampment is being built by the same contractor that worked on former President Donald Trump's border wall. The mayor says the city has little choice with shelters full or bursting, but the Council says it has some better ideas. They identified ten large, shuttered hotels in Manhattan that could be converted into an intake center. They're also calling on the city to scrap rules that require people to live in a homeless shelter for 90 days before qualifying for housing vouchers, to allow residents to move out more quickly and free up space. In an appearance on Inside City Hall last night — his first as mayor — Eric Adams said he's all ears and is willing to discuss the alternate proposals, but for now will move forward with the encampment. 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? Greeting President Joe Biden at Stewart airport and joining him on a visit to an IBM facility in Poughkeepsie and speaking at a Brooklyn Bridge Park gala. WHERE'S ERIC? Making an education announcement, speaking at the NYC Excellence in Customer Service Award and hosting an African heritage month reception.
| | | | JOIN NEXT WEDNESDAY FOR A TALK ON U.S.-CHINA AND XI JINPING'S NEW ERA: President Xi Jinping will consolidate control of the ruling Chinese Communist Party later this month by engineering a third term as China's paramount leader, solidifying his rule until at least 2027. Join POLITICO Live for a virtual conversation hosted by Phelim Kine, author of POLITICO's China Watcher newsletter, to unpack what it means for U.S.-China relations. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | "New York Announces Thousands of Additional Monkeypox Vaccine Doses," by The New York Times' Lola Fadulu and Sharon Otterman: "New York City announced a new stage in the fight against the spread of monkeypox on Wednesday: Expanded eligibility and the adoption of a pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, prevention model. The new guidelines will open up vaccine appointments to a broader group people, including anyone who has had multiple or anonymous sex partners, or who otherwise believes they may be at risk of contracting the virus through sex or intimate contact; people who know or believe they may have been exposed to the virus; and anyone whose sex partners are eligible for the vaccine under the guidelines." "State court keeps possibility of permanent outdoor dining program alive for NYC," by Gothamist's Elizabeth Schwe : "A lawsuit that challenged making the outdoor dining program launched by New York City at the start of the pandemic permanent has been temporarily halted by a state court. The Supreme Court of the State of New York's Appellate Division unanimously agreed that the lawsuit was premature because an effort to make the program permanent is still in the middle of a legislative process. 'Given the remaining legislative and administrative steps that must be taken by the city before the permanent outdoor dining program is finalized and implemented in place of the presently operating temporary program, the city's issuance of the SEQRA negative declaration was not an act that itself inflicts actual, concrete injury,' the court ruling states. The petition 'should have been dismissed as not ripe for judicial review,' it continued." Districting commission faces tough vote amid ongoing opposition by Mayor's Office, by POLITICO's Joe Anuta : The Adams administration has again worked behind the scenes to oppose preliminary City Council maps drawn up by the New York City Districting Commission, setting up a showdown Thursday as the body attempts to advance its proposal. Earlier this week, Deputy Chief of Staff Menashe Shapiro, a top aide to Mayor Eric Adams, reached out to commission members appointed by the administration to indicate City Hall would like more changes to planned maps, which are up for commission vote later today, according to four people familiar with the overtures. Several of the mayor's appointees to the board helped nix a prior iteration of the maps in a surprise rejection several weeks ago. Some received calls and texts from Shapiro the day before the vote, urging them to vote down the proposed lines. … It remains unclear what City Hall hopes to get out of any revisions, but the GOP has specific qualms with the latest lines that could further complicate Thursday's vote. "CCRB Police Misconduct Investigations Now Take, on Average, More than 19 Months to Close, New Data Show ," by The City's Yoav Gonen: "The Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) has been taking longer and longer to investigate police misconduct — in part because of delays by the police department in sharing evidence — and lacks the systems in place to move lagging probes along, according to a new audit. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office reviewed investigations closed by the CCRB between January 2018 and June 2021 and found that the average length of fully-investigated cases more than doubled over that period — from just under seven months to more than 14 months. And according to the latest Mayor's Management Report, CCRB probes took even longer in the year following the period under review by the state comptroller — hitting an average of 591 days to closure through June 2022."
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "Solitary by Another Name: How State Prisons Are Using 'Therapeutic' Units to Evade Reforms," by New York Focus' Chris Gelardi: "According to [Leroy] Burton and other incarcerated people, prison staff have been attributing many of the HALT-violating practices, including the shackling of RRU residents, to orders from 'Albany,' where DOCCS is headquartered. 'How are you going to listen to 'Albany' before you listen to the law?' wondered Burton. When it comes to RRUs — as with other aspects of HALT — DOCCS has spun a tangled web of contradictory policies and procedures: It has neglected to add HALT-compliant language to its departmental regulations, published directives and manuals that do mostly adhere to the law, and privately circulated an internal policy that seemingly violates HALT and contradicts the department's own public directives. The result is apparent widespread violations of HALT, as well as confusion among incarcerated people about how they're supposed to be treated in RRUs." "COVID deaths higher this summer than past two," by Newsday's David Olson: "Far more Long Islanders died from COVID-19 this past summer than during the summers of 2020 and 2021, data shows, and doctors said those dying are mostly unvaccinated and vaccinated, but unboosted, people with weakened immune systems. The increasing abandonment of mask-wearing and other precautions, and highly infectious omicron variants, are pushing COVID-19 positivity rates higher, contributing to the larger death toll, experts said. … Statewide death numbers also are up. The numbers are significant because summer — when people tend to spend more time in lower-risk outdoor settings — is when COVID-19 positivity rates and deaths typically are lowest, but this year they were lower in the late winter and early spring." "Churches challenge New York's bar on guns in sensitive locations," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman: "The lawsuit is the latest effort to challenge New York's law approved in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that found a century-old concealed carry law was unconstitutional. State lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to a measure that limited where guns can be carried as well as created new requirements for a concealed carry license. The churches and the group, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, pointed to the rise in threats against houses of worship, arguing that such a ban violates their Second Amendment rights as well as a natural right to self-defense while attending a religious service." — "New York's assault weapon registry is flawed, but experts say state's gun laws reduce violence," by Buffalo News' Jay Tokasz: "Nearly a decade after starting a registry to track assault weapons, New York officials are no closer to knowing how many of those guns are circulating in the state… By 2015, 23,847 people applied to register 44,485 assault weapons — believed to be a small fraction of the total number of assault weapons in the state. Many gun owners scoffed at the law, and some county sheriffs, including in Erie County, said they would not enforce it. Compliance appears to have gotten worse. While the Safe Act also required assault weapon owners to re-register their guns every five years, just 14,056 residents have submitted applications for recertification, according to a state police spokesman." #UpstateAmerica: The Adirondacks and Catskills are nearing peak foliage. Get it while it's hot!
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "New York lawmakers want more restrictions eased on Canadian travel," by Spectrum's Nick Reisman: "Democratic lawmakers in Congress are urging the Biden administration to further ease cross-border travel restrictions after Canada lifted travel regulations earlier this week. Border communities near Canada have struggled economically during the pandemic as travel was limited. Canada on Oct. 1 lifted COVID-19 related rules for testing and vaccinations. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins in a joint letter to the Biden administration called for the U.S. to make similar changes." " Pat Ryan had a big fundraising quarter, but outside spending is bigger in his race against Colin Schimitt," by City & State's Jeff Coltin: "Rep. Pat Ryan had a huge fundraising quarter, bringing in $2.25 million from July to September, his Congressional campaign exclusively told City & State. The Democrat spent some of that on his way to victory over Republican Marc Molinaro in the 19th Congressional District special election in August, though. He's expecting to report more than $600,000 on hand in the Oct. 15 filing. Ryan's Republican opponent in the new 18th Congressional District, Colin Schmitt didn't have to spend on a special. His campaign said it brought in more than $500,000 in three months, and raised an extra $100,000 in the last couple days thanks to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy coming to the Lower Hudson Valley district for a fundraiser."
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A judge ordered a Staten Island firefighter fired for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine to get his job back. — An EMS captain murdered in a random attack last week was carried to her funeral in an ambulance. — Politicians and residents demanded fixes to the faulty heating system at the Woodside Houses in Queens. — The city paid out $21 million last year to high-ranking officials who cashed out stockpiled sick and vacation time. — Dollar oysters are increasingly rare. — Some Coney Islanders are proposing all revenue collected from boardwalk businesses who received a lease deal from the city be directed back into the community. — Luring Micron to Syracuse took dinner in Armory Square, runs along the creek, lots of land and money. — Jurors in the trial for the decades-old Brighton ax murder said the atypical crime scene was one of the most important aspects in their deliberation. — A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sabotaging an NYPD van during 2020 police brutality protests. — A group of Staten Island bikers are working to protect at-risk children, and donning leather vests in the process. — New York's 911 dispatchers and operators want to leave their clerical union for one representing them as first responders, spurred by an internal union audit that found financial mismanagement.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | NY: Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) … WSJ's Eliza Collins … Jonathan Alter … U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Evan Williams and Patrick O'Connor … The Daily Beast's Will O'Connor … David Andelman (78) … KKR's Miles Radcliffe-Trenner … Douglas McPherson MEDIAWATCH — Scott Klein is joining The City as chief product officer. He was deputy managing editor at ProPublica. MAKING MOVES — Jin Sohn and Emmett Werbel have joined Tusk Strategies as senior associates. Werbel was campaign manager for Suraj Patel and a consultant at Millennial Strategies. Sohn was a graduate student.
| | Real Estate | | "NYC Issues Thousands of Federal Housing Vouchers, But Finding an Apartment Remains Tough," by City Limits' David Brand: "Seventeen months after New York City received a trove of much-needed Section 8 housing vouchers, homeless recipients are still finding it hard to actually use them as the city's sluggish lease-up rate trails far behind the national average. Just 19.4 percent of the 7,788 federal Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) issued to New York City by the Biden Administration in May 2021 have been used to secure an apartment, according to city data. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provided 5,738 of the new subsidies to NYCHA and another 2,050 to the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), accounting for about 11 percent of the 70,000 vouchers issued nationwide as part of the administration's American Rescue Plan stimulus package." "More Companies Put Their Offices in Storage — Or Ditch Them Altogether," by Commercial Observer's Rebecca Baird-Remba: "As New York City's office market continues to struggle with high vacancy rates and declining asking rents, many office tenants are downsizing or getting rid of their offices entirely, coming to terms with the reality of a hybrid or fully remote workforce. Two major New York moving companies told Commercial Observer in late September that they had moved a significant number of commercial offices into storage, and that there had been an increase this year in companies either disposing of office furniture or putting it up for auction." " 'At Any Moment Anybody Can Die': Immigrant Construction Workers Fight for Safety," by Documented's Amir Khafagy: "Porfirio Lopez began working at Best Super Cleaning as a demolition and construction cleaning worker in 2018. He had high hopes that the job would provide him with a decent living so he could support his family back home in Mexico. Almost immediately after he began working for the company, Lopez's hopes began to diminish. Workers were forced to do demolition work with their bare hands because the company refused to provide tools or even gloves, he said. When working sometimes 10 stories high, workers were not given harnesses or lifelines, as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and instead, Lopez said that workers would tie each other with rope and hold each other up with their bare hands." | | | | 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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