| | | | | |  | | By Anna Gronewold and Zachary Schermele | | | | 
Gov. Kathy Hochul visited converted housing units and highlighted her New York Housing Compact proposal in Albany on March 1, 2023. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | Three weeks of overtime couldn’t resolve differences in Albany over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s housing plans, eight people in on the conversations told POLITICO’s Janaki Chadha and Joseph Spector. Assembly Democrats were informed Thursday that Hochul’s swath of ideas aimed at boosting housing development across the state — including her controversial growth target mandates — wouldn't make the budget. It signals momentum to get this budget deal wrapped up, but it’s a blow to Hochul, who made the policy measure a topline issue of her vision for the state. What happened? Lawmakers, particularly in the Assembly, balked at having the complex policy issue into the budget. Democrats in both chambers wanted incentives, rather than Hochul’s direct requirements, to drive new housing. And if a massive housing plan was going to happen, left-leaning members wanted it tied to new tenant protections, particularly a “good cause” eviction measure that would effectively limit rent increases on market-rate apartments. Hochul hasn’t been supportive of that. What’s next? A broad housing plan could very likely be part of discussions after the budget. And some other housing adjustments still could make it into a final deal, officials say. For instance, there is still talk about housing vouchers to help renters stay in their homes and perhaps a bailout to help the New York City Housing Authority. What does this mean for a budget timeline? The housing plan and changes to bail laws — the two items leaders have said had been blocking progress — now both appear to be headed toward agreed-upon conclusions. This could speed up the rest of negotiations. But other sticky issues, such as how to fund the MTA, raise the minimum wage, and whether to allow more charter schools to open in New York City, may still be still need to be resolved. Regardless, the Legislature will need to return on Monday to pass Extender No. 5 to keep those state worker paychecks flowing. IT’S FRIDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: agronewold@politico.com or on Twitter: @annagronewold WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no announced public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? In Washington, D.C., where he’ll kick off a flurry of closed-door meetings with high-level federal officials with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the morning. Then he will deliver a speech at the African American Mayors Association’s annual conference. After that he will meet with the DEA administrator, followed by a meeting with White House officials (who are unnamed in his public schedule). Next he will sit down with the Treasury secretary and the FEMA administrator. In the evening, he will return to New York City.
| | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind: Community Offshore Wind is helping New York meet its ambitious emission reductions targets. We’re lifting up communities and bringing widespread benefits across the state, introducing good-paying union jobs, providing access to childcare for those training and working in the offshore wind industry, creating inclusive workforce development programs, and empowering disadvantaged communities to ensure no one is left behind. We have strong roots in New York and are deeply committed to ensuring that New York communities thrive. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | Adams lawyers urge City Hall staff to watch their words, by POLITICO’s Joe Anuta: Top lawyers for New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently held a private briefing coaching City Hall staffers on how to avoid unwanted public scrutiny of government information. The key? Be careful what you write down. Or pick up the phone instead. In a recording of the meeting obtained by POLITICO, members of the mayor’s legal team outlined the basics of the state’s Freedom of Information Law, which requires government agencies to turn over all manner of documentation to the public. The lawyers also warned of the potential pitfalls of creating a paper trail paved with emails, texts or chats that could later be obtained by news organizations or sucked up as part of law enforcement investigations. “Bronx Judge About To Be Removed From Criminal Cases After Bail Blowback, Sources Say,” THE CITY’s George Joseph: “Court administrators have quietly decided to take away criminal cases from a recently elected Bronx Supreme Court judge who has faced a barrage of criticism from the New York Post, NYPD officers, and Bronx prosecutors, according to two courthouse sources with knowledge of the matter. Justice Naita Semaj-Williams will be moving from the criminal to the civil term of Bronx Supreme Court, according to the sources. Her last day is slated to be tomorrow, at least for now.” “Bill de Blasio's committees fined $53K in failed 2020 presidential bid,” by WNYC’s Brigid Bergin: “The Federal Election Commission slapped three committees associated with former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's failed 2020 presidential bid with a $53,100 fine on Thursday, closing out a complaint filed in 2019. In the closing letter from the FEC, they found de Blasio’s official campaign committee admitted it accepted $52,851.89 from his state NY Fairness PAC for travel and digital services, and $123,000 from his federal Fairness PAC for polling related to ‘testing the waters,’ a reference to the period before the official campaign launch. The FEC ordered the committees to pay a $53,100 fine and file amended reports to the FEC within 30 days.” “Will the Police Commissioner Punish a Top Officer Defended by Adams?” by The New York Times’ Maria Cramer and Chelsia Rose Marcius: “Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell must decide what — if any — punishment will be imposed on Chief Maddrey, who is now the department’s third-highest-ranking police official, a promotion that she awarded him. For Commissioner Sewell, it is a fraught decision: Chief Maddrey has denied wrongdoing, and Mayor Eric Adams, who appointed Commissioner Sewell, has publicly defended him.” “Jumaane Williams: Asylum-seeker crisis goes beyond the news cycle,” by City and State’s Sahalie Donaldson: “New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams went to Washington, D.C., this week, hoping to further underscore the resounding chorus of voices who’ve for months urged the federal government to help the city provide for the tens of thousands of asylum-seekers who’ve arrived since last year.”
| | | | 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 redistricting commission approves new Assembly maps,” by Times Union’s Joshua Solomon: “The odds that New York's congressional boundaries will be redrawn — yes, again — improved on Thursday following a first-time compromise from the state's often-ridiculed Independent Redistricting Commission. The bipartisan commission agreed on a single set of state Assembly maps, something that it was unable to do last year. That impasse and others eventually led to a court battle that contributed to a more favorable political field for congressional Republicans in various districts across the state.” “NY Senate celebrates 4/20 with panel to hash out legal weed issues,” by New York Post’s Zach Williams: “Chronic delays in opening dispensaries have led to criticism that New York is killing the buzz around pot two years after legalization began, an issue newly-anointed Cannabis Subcommittee Chair Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester) said he wants to hit. ‘It’s no secret there have been frustrating setbacks in launching the adult-use recreational cannabis market in New York,’ Cooney told The Post Thursday. ‘My goal with this new subcommittee is to serve as a convener between cannabis regulators, entrepreneurs, advocates, law enforcement agencies and industry.’” “Next steps unclear for New York Harbor’s Waterfront Commission after US Supreme Court backs NJ plan to withdraw,” by Daily News’ Evan Simko-Bednarski and Denis Slattery: “New Jersey’s successful torpedoing of the bi-state, mob-battling Waterfront Commission didn’t come with a solid plan for continuing its probes of organized crime. The future of some 50 active investigations and enforcement activities up in the air, a spokesperson for Gov. Hochul told the Daily News.” #UpstateAmerica: New York’s largest gun show is hitting the state fairgrounds outside Syracuse this weekend.
| | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | WHERE ARE THEY NOW? “Former Rep. Crowley registers as TikTok lobbyist,” by The Hill’s Karl Evers-Hillstrom: “Former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), who was the No. 4 House Democrat before losing a primary challenge to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in 2018, registered as a lobbyist for TikTok as lawmakers weigh banning the social media platform. Crowley, a senior policy director at multinational law firm Dentons, lobbied on TikTok’s behalf in the first quarter of 2023, according to a disclosure filed Thursday.” “Dems target GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito on Medicare, Social Security,” by City and State’s Jeff Coltin: “The Long Island member says he’ll fight for the programs, but an internal poll suggests the critical messaging may be working.” | | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | | Appeals court presses pause on House GOP subpoena to former Trump prosecutor, by POLITICO’s Erica Orden: An appeals court temporarily halted a planned Thursday deposition of former Trump prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, delaying an effort by House Republicans to investigate the office of the Manhattan district attorney. The brief pause gives the court time to consider arguments from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg that a subpoena for Pomerantz’s testimony is unconstitutional. | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — “They Called for Help With Bills. He Menaced Them Instead, Officials Say.” — The New York City Council is considering a bill that would require the city Parks Department to find sites where new pools could be built, with a focus on low-income or minority communities. — The operator of the limo company at heart of the 2018 Schoharie crash is headed to trial next month after a state appellate court rejected his effort to regain a plea deal. — The New York Public Service Commission approved an $810 million Con Edison facility in Brooklyn. — Weed delivery has made it to the Capital Region. — The teardown of a Midtown Manhattan jail has already begun, despite uncertainty about New York City meeting its legally required Rikers Island closure timeline.
| | | | GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT’s Jodi Kantor … Matt Rivera … Felix Salmon of Axios … WSJ’s Katherine Finnerty … Mercury’s Jon Reinish … MSNBC’s Amanda Hayes … Steven Chlapecka … WashPost’s Lauren Weber MEDIA WATCH: “The Buffalo News was the crown jewel of Warren Buffett’s news empire. Now it’s just another Lee paper,” by Poynter’s Angela Fu: “Lee cut budgets, pushed out veterans and outsourced design and print production at a paper that had been spared the worst of the industry’s decline.” MAKING MOVES — “Margot Edelman Appointed To Lead [Edelman’s] New York Operation,” by PRovoke Media’s Maja Pawinska Sims ... Glenn Hall is now partner and executive editor at Brunswick Group. He most recently was head of professional news at The Wall Street Journal. ENGAGED — Bryan Coxwell, a software engineer for G3 Technologies, on Thursday proposed to Natasha Bertrand, a national security reporter at CNN and a POLITICO alum. The couple met at a mutual friend’s birthday party at Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York City in June 2017. He proposed with their dog Wally in Bellport, N.Y., where she spent summers growing up. Pic … Another pic FIRST IN NY PLAYBOOK — Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) doesn’t want the Sun Group to be involved in helping buy Forbes because of the Indian company’s ties to the Kremlin. The California Democrat “opposes any efforts by entities linked to the Chinese or Russian government attempting to acquire U.S. media companies,” Swalwell spokesperson Jessica Gail told Daniel Lippman and Matt Berg. “The Congressman is seeking to learn more before making any formal requests.” He joins a chorus of lawmakers, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) who have been outspoken about the potential purchase. Forbes declined to comment on Swalwell’s statement, and Sun Group did not respond to a request. Sun Group was recently dropped as lead investor in the bid to buy Forbes due to its deep political, economic and family connections to the Kremlin but is remaining as part of the investor group bidding on the publication, Axios’ Sara Fischer first reported earlier this month.
| | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind: The clean energy transition is about more than just energy. At Community Offshore Wind, our commitment to communities is at the heart of everything we do. With strong roots in New York, we will deliver widespread benefits across the state and infuse $15 billion into the state economy. This includes creating job training programs to support union labor, investing in our youth to build the workforce of tomorrow, offering childcare for employees and trainees, and building an inclusive clean energy future that empowers disadvantaged communities. Community Offshore Wind is committed to localizing the offshore wind supply chain proposing the first-ever made-in-New-York offshore wind turbines. We have a goal of uplifting communities with the power of clean energy for all. | | | | | Real Estate | |
“NYC Rents Could Rise 16% Under Proposal Before Powerful Board,” by Patch’s Matt Troutman: “A powerful board is considering up to 16 percent rent increases for the one million rent-stabilized apartments in New York City. The proposed drastic hike for two-year leases was at the top end of a slew of potential rent increases discussed during a Rent Guidelines Board meeting Thursday. But even the fact that the board would consider such a hike drew swift condemnation from advocates, who argued it would make the city ‘unlivable for ordinary people.’”
“SL Green says decline in office occupancy is accelerating,” by Crain’s New York Business’ Aaron Elstein: “SL Green Realty, New York’s largest commercial landlord, has reported the largest quarterly drop in occupancy rates since Covid-19 hit the city three years ago.” “Under 184 pseudonyms, Columbia is the largest private landowner in New York City,” by Columbia Daily Spectator’s Amira McKee: “A Spectator analysis of publicly available Accounting and Reporting at Columbia documents found that under 184 pseudonyms, Columbia has property claims on at least 383 distinct addresses.”
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