| | | | |  | | By Anna Gronewold, Joe Anuta and Eleonora Francica | Presented by CVS Health | | 
Martin Babinec | The state GOP is gathering in Albany today to elect a new party chair. Former chair, Ed Cox, 76, appears to have it on lock, despite rumblings about how bringing back a leader who already held the role for a decade will hardly move the beleaguered party forward. On the Democrat's side of things, embattled state party Chair Jay Jacobs — who has been facing calls for resignation for months — gave a defensive interview on "The Brian Lehrer Show" about last November’s losses. He also continued to blast the progressive wing of the party as inferior in both political productivity and campaign knowledge. The leadership squabbles are just one reason neither state party is in particularly strong shape to unify members at the moment. To that end, before the 2024 cycle is underway, some New Yorkers say the state needs to take a hard look at whether its party system is serving anyone well. Today, Unite NY — a political group founded by upstate businessman Martin Babinec aimed at opening up independent choices and representation — is announcing a shift in its operations. The group will not endorse candidates anymore and will focus instead on advocating for specific legislative changes. Private polling showed voters were losing interest in individual politicians and responded better to ideas anyway, according to the group. Unite NY will push for term limits, a referendum process, expanded use of ranked choice voting, opening up party primaries, and making it easier for candidates to get on the ballot. The group is also committed to its Voter Empowerment Index. It was frustrating to watch New Yorkers have just two choices for governor last year, and millions stay home, Babinec said. “If we are to ever going to fix an utterly broken political system in this state, we need to find common sense solutions that work across party lines and engage a broader electorate, including those so discouraged they are not even turning out to vote,” Babinec said. “When seven million New Yorkers decide to stay home on election day, we have a problem.” IT’S MONDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: agronewold@politico.com or on Twitter: @annagronewold WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City briefing New Yorkers on Signature Bank and in Latham holding a storm briefing. WHERE’S ERIC? Calling in to WABC’s “Sid and Friends” before speaking at a gun violence forum and touring an office building that was converted into housing. Later in the day, he’ll hold a roundtable with members of the Muslim community.
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Eric Adams support for Cardi B performance puts him at odds with his police commissioner, by POLITICO’s Joe Anuta: Mayor Eric Adams put some distance between himself and his police commissioner Friday after voicing support for a recent Cardi B performance at the police academy.
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis drags New York for letting ‘criminals run wild,’” by New York Post’s Rich Calder: “In a Las Vegas speech, DeSantis claimed Florida enjoyed “better roads, better services higher performing K-12 schools and no income tax” and lower crime in spite of allocating a budget twice as small as New York’s.” “Busy stretch of Broadway to get pedestrian plazas, fewer cars, says NYC Mayor Adams,” by Daily News’ Shant Shahrigian: “New York City is taking steps to make a busy stretch of Broadway more pedestrian friendly, Mayor Adams announced Sunday. Construction on two ‘pedestrian plazas’ and other changes to Broadway from Madison Square to Herald Square begins Monday, he said. It’s the latest stage in the mayor’s $375 million plan to make city streets safer.” BROADWAY DEBUT: New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday officially kicked off construction on the next phase of the Broadway Vision plan to remake 12 blocks along the notoriously congested corridor. The city started work under then Mayor Bill de Blasio, who in 2021 celebrated the addition of new plazas and bike lanes on six blocks of Broadway. Adams said the new phase of work will deliver two new plazas, shared streets and a two-way bike lane on Broadway from West 25th Street to West 32nd Street. In January, Adams pledged $375 million for new parks and plazas, including the continuation of the Broadway Vision plan. It's expected to be complete this summer. — Danielle Muoio Dunn FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The New York, Brooklyn and Queens public library systems are pushing back against proposed city budget cuts with a new website that allows patrons to automatically bombard elected officials with letters. The libraries, which are collectively facing $36.2 million in spending cuts in the mayor’s budget, are also planning a rally at City Hall slated for March 20. “This is a serious threat to the ability of the city’s public libraries to serve New Yorkers at a time when we should be investing in these essential public institutions, not cutting them,” the Queens, Brooklyn and New York public libraries said in a joint statement. “The good news is that New Yorkers love their libraries and are ready to tell the administration and the City Council how important libraries are to every community." — Joe Anuta
| | | | 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 ALBANY'S READING | | New York casino contracts are ‘absolute petri dish for corruption,’ by POLITICO’s Janaki Chadha and Sally Goldenberg: A seemingly endless line of lobbyists have approached state Sen. Liz Krueger over the last several months, pushing slick PowerPoint presentations and sparkly new plans on behalf of clients hoping to build the world’s next great casino in the middle of Manhattan. “‘Million-Dollar Staircase’ Adds a New Face: Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” by The New York Times’ Grace Ashford: “After 125 years, the state will make the first addition to the roster of honorees, and it will again be a woman: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the trailblazing Supreme Court justice, feminist icon and Brooklyn native.” “The $9 Million Question: What’s Andrew Cuomo’s Next Move?” by Daily Beast’s Jake Lahut: “As she meets with donors ahead of her 2024 reelection campaign, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has been sounding a surprising warning, according to sources who have heard it. Andrew Cuomo, she tells them, is preparing to run against her.” “New ‘Moderate Party’ line in the works in scheme to aid NY Democrats,” by New York Post’s Carl Campanile: “Efforts are underway to create a 'Moderate Party' in New York state and elsewhere in a scheme to aid Democrats punished at the polls in last year’s midterm elections over what critics claim are left-field, soft on crime policies, The Post has learned. One of the organizers of the campaign to establish the new party is Dan Cantor, a founder and former director of the Working Families Party that has been accused of pulling Democrats too far to the left and is currently fighting more moderate Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s agenda.” #UpstateAmerica: Residents in an historic Washington County village are fighting with power provider National Grid and the village itself over LED lights.
| | | | A message from CVS Health:   | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A former NYPD officer of 18 years is suing Commissioner Keechant Sewell, saying she unfairly reversed a decision to not fire him after he tested positive for cocaine in order to protect a drug company’s reputation. — A reduction in subway crime has happened because of additional NYPD deployments to the platforms, NYPD Chief of Transit Dan Mannarino said in a PIX11 interview. — Bipartisanship exists. GOP state Sen. Jake Ashby and Democratic Assemblymember Catalina Cruz are working together to speed up the naturalization process for veterans and their families. — Schenectady could ban cannabis and vaping in city parks.
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon … former Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) … WSJ’s Ryan Tracy … MSNBC’s Yelda Altalef … CNN’s Katelyn Polantz … Sarah Mulcahy … Trevor Faden … Diamond Naga Siu … (was Sunday): Jake Tapper … Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) … WSJ’s Emily Stephenson … Tara (Jeffries) Payne … Fox News’ Eric Shawn … FT’s Peter Spiegel … Stephen Mandel ... Steve Levy ... Ilan Goldfajn … Reed DesRosiers … Rob Cherun … … (was Saturday): Rupert Murdoch (92) … Ben Becker of Precision Strategies … NBC’s Miguel Almaguer … MSNBC’s Christina Arvanites and Erin Clifford … CNN’s Emily Riley … Clio Calvo-Platero, senior comms adviser at the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board … Qorvis’ Brad Klapper … Charles McElwee … Sam Donaldson … Perri Peltz … Michal Grayevsky … Mark Rachesky … Visa’s Abby Rogers … Daniel Kochavi … (was Friday): Danny Hakim … Alan Trefler ENGAGED — Noah Chaimberg, founder and CEO of Heatonist, on Feb. 28 proposed to Allison Zuckerman, a contemporary pop artist, at home on his birthday in Williamsburg in Brooklyn. She said yes. After a toast with friends and family at Deux Chats, the couple jetted off to Aruba to celebrate. The two met by chance in the elevator of their apartment building after having first matched online. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Matthew Gorton, EVP of public affairs and communications at Empire State Development and an alum of the Bloomberg administration and Hiltzik Strategies, and Carmel Geoghegan on Feb. 24 welcomed Clare McCabe Gorton. She is named after the county in Ireland where her maternal grandfather was born. Pic
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Learn more. | | | | | Real Estate | | “Here’s How to Solve a 25-Story Rubik’s Cube,” by The New York Times’ Emily Badger and Larry Buchanan: "There’s an appealing simplicity to the idea of converting office buildings into housing. The premise suggests cities could solve two problems — an office glut and a housing shortage — at once. In the process, they could limit the waste of demolition, create new homes with minimal opposition, and renew neighborhoods without radically changing how they look from the sidewalk." “Capsule finalizes move to Harlem pharmacy location with $25M investment plans,” by Crain’s New York’s Jacqueline Neber: “Capsule has fully activated its 43,000-square-foot pharmacy in Harlem in which it will invest $25 million over eight years, the digital pharmacy company announced.”
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