News: POLITICO New York Playbook: Perry’s plates and the Maserati mystery

Friday, October 14, 2022

POLITICO New York Playbook: Perry’s plates and the Maserati mystery

Oct 14, 2022

By Anna Gronewold, Erin Durkin and Julian Shen-Berro

Here's a fun one for Friday. You don't have to be in the Assembly to drive around with license plates that say you're in the Assembly. You might even be a U.S. ambassador or a member of his family!

THE HUNT: The fine folks at Hell Gate published a detailed inquiry last month regarding a $80,000 Maserati with "NY Assembly" plates parked illegally on Sept. 14 outside Eric Adams' haunt, Zero Bond. Sometime later, a friend of POLITICO suggested the driver in question might not actually be a state legislator.

So we put in a request, and the state DMV confirmed that the two sets of plates for former Assemblymember Nick Perry — who left the Legislature when he became U.S. ambassador to Jamaica in May — were only surrendered quite recently: Sept. 21, a week after Hell Gate snapped the photo. That included the plate in question: 18 with a small "A," indicating a second set of plates lawmakers can give to a top staff or family member.

To be clear, no one broke any rules, DMV spokesman Tim O'Brien said. "The DMV encourages members to contact us to surrender their plates if they leave the Legislature, however, they may also do so at the time of their registration renewal."

BUT WHY: Driving around with plates that identify a politician past the time they hold the specific title isn't inherently beneficial (it could really go either way when it comes to constituents wanting to egg your vehicle and such). And the plates don't offer any specific privileges, O'Brien said.

We don't know who in Perry's entourage was driving the Maserati and parking it in the wrong places, but Perry does have family involved in the entertainment industry, so a daytime dash to Zero Bond might fit.

A request for comment to the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica on the vehicle, its driver, and the continued use of Perry's plates past his time in the Assembly was returned by a U.S. Department of State spokesperson who wrote, "Off the record: We have no comment at this time." We had not agreed to be off the record.

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED SO FAR: New York politicians! They're just like us! Avoiding anything that has to do with vehicle updates, maintenance or the Department of Motor Vehicles until the absolute last minute or risk of reprimand.

IT'S FRIDAY. 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 Onondaga County and New York City with no announced public schedule.

WHERE'S ERIC? Hosting a "City Howl" event with the Animal Care Centers of NYC and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

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.

What City Hall's reading

"NYC officials rally outside City Hall, call on mayor to ditch migrant tent plan," by WNYC's Chau Lam and Jon Campbell: Dozens of elected officials, immigration and housing advocates and tenants rallied outside of City Hall on Thursday, calling on Mayor Eric Adams to abandon his plan to house some asylum seekers in tent shelters. Instead, they argue, City Hall should utilize shuttered hotels and other spaces to temporarily house the thousands of asylum seekers coming to the city in recent months, many of whom are residing in homeless shelters and straining an already beleaguered system. 'We must use hotels. We must use whatever we can to get people into housing that can actually shelter them,' said state Sen. Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn, who was joined by members of the City Council, State Assembly and state Senate."

— "'It's scary for me': Struggle of migrant kids in NYC schools with few Spanish speakers"

— "'Powder keg' for 'disaster': As migrant surge sweeps NYC, here's where they're being housed," by New York Post's Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile, Steven Vago, Nolan Hicks and Bruce Golding: "Queens was housing 4,782 migrants, or 32% of the total 14,777 placed in emergency shelters as of Wednesday, according to data compiled by the Department of Homeless Services and obtained by The Post on Thursday. That share is more than one-sixth greater than the 27.3% that Queens residents contribute to the city's total population, according to 2020 census data. 'It's a powder keg in Queens at this point,' said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. He said the migrants were being sent even though 'there's not enough resources being pumped into the communities.'"

"Citing Violence, City Jails Commissioner Asks Board to Expand Solitary Confinement Hours," by THE CITY's Reuven Blau: "The city's jails commissioner has asked to lock some detainees down for 17 hours a day, up from the current 10 hours, as punishment, citing a spike in slashings at one facility on Rikers Island — just two weeks after a heated City Council hearing on a bill that would ban solitary confinement entirely. Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina on Tuesday submitted the so-called variance request for people inside the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) on Rikers to the Board of Correction, which oversees the department.

"The facility houses detainees 'most prone to violence' and 'has accounted for nearly half of all slashing and stabbing incidents on Rikers,' since June 1, according to Molina's letter to the board published online Thursday. There have been 76 slashings there over that period, the request said, noting that all other facilities combined had just 80 similar attacks. Only 15% of the entire jail population is housed at GRVC, which has a capacity of approximately 1,300 detainees, according to the Department of Correction."

"NYC schools chancellor defends yeshivas," by City & State's Annie McDonough: "When City & State asked Banks about the ruling Thursday the schools chancellor stood by an earlier investigation by the city Department of Education that found the yeshiva in question had in fact met the standard of a substantially equivalent education. That was the case, he said, at a number of yeshivas that the city has investigated. 'Our team at New York City public schools has been investigating the yeshivas for quite some time, and we have found a number of these schools actually to meet the threshold of what is called a 'substantially equivalent education,'' Banks said."

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

"Marist poll: Hochul leads Zeldin by 10 points in governor's race," by Newsday's Yancey Roy: "Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul leads Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin by 10 percentage points in the race for New York governor, according to a new poll by Marist College. Hochul garnered support from 51% of registered voters surveyed, compared with 41% for Zeldin. Marist said when the field is narrowed to those who said they are "definitely voting" in November, Hochul's lead shrinks 2 points, giving her a 52-44 advantage. Only a small number of those surveyed told Marist they might change their minds and vote differently: 4% of Hochul supporters, 3% of Zeldin's. Marist pollster Lee Miringoff said that's a low percentage compared to October surveys of previous gubernatorial elections in New York."

— Hochul has been eschewing the retail politics she embraced as lieutenant governor for grander gubernatorial campaign strategy, NYT writes.

" If elected governor, Zeldin says he would suspend recent criminal justice law changes," by Spectrum News' Nick Reisman: "Republican candidate for governor Lee Zeldin on Thursday vowed to suspend the recently approved criminal justice law changes in New York that have been a flashpoint in a broader debate over public safety in the state. Zeldin, speaking in New York City, said he would, through executive order, declare a crime emergency and suspend laws that ended cash bail for many criminal charges, measures that limit solitary confinement in prisons and a measure that raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York to 18."

— Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says he couldn't actually do this and Zeldin is "campaigning by soundbite."

"Former Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy urges Hochul to call special session on rising violence, bail reform ," by Democrat and Chronicle's Sean Lahman and Eduardo Cuevas: "Former Lt. Governor Bob Duffy has called on Gov. Kathy Hochul and leaders in the state legislature to convene a special session to reassess bail reform policies amid rising violence in the City of Rochester. In a letter to Hochul and Democratic leaders in the legislature, Duffy outlined recent acts of violence in Rochester and concluded: 'I have never seen the issues of crime and public safety be as bad as they are today,' framing the comment through his four decades in public life. Duffy outlined his concerns in a two-page letter to Hochul that was dated July 25 and released to the media this week."

#UpstateAmerica: Is this Stillwater mullet — "The Lord's Drapes" — the best in America?

TRUMP'S NEW YORK

Trump Organization assets should be frozen, New York attorney general asks court, by POLITICO's Max Jaeger: Attorney General Tish James asked a state court Thursday to freeze the Trump Organization's New York assets and install an independent monitor in her civil suit targeting the former president and his real estate business. James alleged last month a years-long scheme to fraudulently overvalue the Trump Organization's portfolio by billions of dollars. And on Thursday, she warned the state Supreme Court that Trump might be shifting his holdings outside of New York — and the reach of its courts. "Since we filed this sweeping lawsuit last month, Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have continued those same fraudulent practices and taken measures to evade responsibility," she said in a statement. "Today, we are seeking an immediate stop to these actions because Mr. Trump should not get to play by different rules."

AROUND NEW YORK

— The Children's Museum of Manhattan will appoint Dava Schub as its next chief executive and director.

— "More Rat Sightings in NYC Than Ever Before, Data Shows, To Surprise of No One"

— New York City schools' glitchy grades, attendance and messaging applications are not going well.

— A federal judge denied bail to the grandson of former Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro.

— Servers, bartenders and kitchen staff at the queer Brooklyn bar Oddly Enough are seeking to form a union.

— Cuba Gooding Jr. had his criminal record wiped clean after completing the terms of his no-jail plea deal in his Manhattan sex abuse case.

— Home care aides got a pay bump this month, with increases scheduled at the end of this year and next.

— U.S. News and World Report ranked Albany as the best place to live in New York, both upstate and down.

— The Adirondack Diversity Initiative executive director is stepping down.

— A Franklin town justice has been censured "for violating fundamental rules for jurists — including providing legal advice to one side of a case and calling a civil defendant 'a real dirtbag.'"

— More than 900 people are competing for New York's first 150 recreational cannabis dispensary licenses.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CBS News' Bob Costa … Mike Feldman … Jack Fitzpatrick of Bloomberg Government … Tucker Foote of Mastercard … Carlyle Group's Leigh Farris … CNN's Annie Grayer … Stephen Ohlemacher … Nick Stanley … Emily Atkin

MAKING MOVES — Gregory Totino is now district press secretary for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.). He most recently was confidential secretary to the town supervisor of Fishkill, N.Y. Rose Hill is now the director of district operations for Maloney. She most recently was the operations manager in the district office. Allie Kopel is now the deputy chief of staff and operations director for Maloney. She most recently was his scheduler.

FOR YOUR RADAR — Ray McGuire, the finance executive who ran for New York City mayor last year, has been awarded the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard's Hutchins Center for African and African American Research.

Real Estate

SCOOP: City Council Member Julie Won is trying to get her colleagues to join her in opposing a sweeping real estate proposal in Astoria as the plan faces Council review shortly after the body was prepared to override another member on a rezoning in the Bronx. The $2 billion proposal from Silverstein Properties, BedRock Real Estate Partners and Kaufman Astoria Studios, known as Innovation QNS, would yield 2,800 apartments, 40 percent of them set aside for low- and middle-income households. The builders recently upped their affordable housing commitment from 25 percent, winning them the support of Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, but Won, in an email to colleagues and staff obtained by POLITICO, argued the changes were insufficient.

"Approving this rezoning with minimal affordability would result in displacement, rising rents, and amplify infrastructure challenges," Won wrote on Thursday. "It would also send a message to our communities that the Council will work around them and their representatives for the profit of large real estate interests." Won objected to a portion of the affordable homes relying on HPD subsidy, though city subsidy is often involved in projects that go beyond the city's mandatory inclusionary housing requirements. She additionally argued community engagement around the plan has been inadequate. Won asked her colleagues to join a briefing she's holding on the rezoning on October 21, per the email. — Janaki Chadha

Follow us on Twitter