Migrant crisis blame game

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Aug 25, 2023 View in browser   By Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Hajah Bah PROGRAMMING NOTE: New York Playbook is taking its annual end-of-summer hiatus beginning Monday, Aug. 28. We’ll be back on Tuesday, Sept. 5. Gov. Hochul reiterated her belief that the legal responsibility to shelter those in need stops at the city’s borders. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo Gov. Kathy Hochul is stepping into a more prominent role in the pressure campaign on President Joe Biden to help New York City shoulder the burden of supporting tens of thousands of migrants. It’s a call that she had resisted leading. It’s, after all, a drum that Mayor Eric Adams has beat so loudly it caused his rift with Biden. “This crisis originated with the federal government, and it must be resolved through the federal government,” Hochul said Thursday in a formal address. But a couple hours after she spoke, Adams responded with a statement that appeared to urge introspection and highlighted the growing tensions between city and state. “We are asking the governor to use her powers to prevent counties from issuing exclusionary emergency orders and give us the resources needed to get people out of shelter, so that they can move on to the next steps in their journeys,” the mayor said. In her speech, Hochul reiterated her belief that the legal responsibility to shelter those in need stops at the city’s borders. “This is an agreement that does not apply to the state’s other 57 counties, which is one of the reasons we cannot and will not force other parts of our state to shelter migrants,” Hochul said, “nor are we going to be asking these migrants to move to other parts of the state against their will.” The city and housing advocates are fighting the state on that argument in court. The bulk of Hochul’s address — live-streamed from the state Capitol and accompanied by a letter to the president — urged “expedited work authorization” and more federal funding. She amplified demands that have come from Democrats, Republicans, labor unions, business groups and immigrant advocates. The roadblocks to the requests are both political and practical. It’s improbable that a GOP-led House would prioritize revamping immigration laws to reduce the 180-day wait between applying for asylum and receiving a work permit. And it’s unlikely that it would fast-track financial assistance for caring for migrants. “This is a crisis of choice. This is a crisis of their policies — sanctuary cities — that have come home to roost,” Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy told Playbook. “Expedited work permits would normalize this behavior.” Underscoring the divide, Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres told Playbook: “The Republicans would rather demagogue the issue of immigration than solve the problem.” The White House, in response to Hochul on Thursday, again blamed the limits of executive power in explaining its limited aid. “Only Congress can provide additional funding for these efforts, which this administration has already requested, and only Congress can fix the broken immigration system,” Biden spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said. HAPPY FRIDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany and Saratoga counties with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? No public events scheduled after his return from Israel. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Look at the greatest mayor of all time: Eric Adams. I’m also proud to say I was the first elected official in Queens to endorse Eric Adams for mayor. And why? Because he’s the best” — Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Queens) on her unwavering support of the mayor.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the 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. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     ABOVE THE FOLD CALLING ALL INDEPENDENTS: The group Unite NY is recalibrating its approach to changing New York’s politics in a bid to advance the influence of the growing number of voters who have not registered in a party. Founded by upstate businessman and former congressional candidate Martin Babinec, the group over the last year has shifted from trying to gain ballot access to becoming a full-fledged advocacy and membership organization for measures like term limits, open primaries and making it easier for candidates to run. Unite NY has also hired a lobbying team to push for the changes while also holding special events. Its email list alone includes about 4,000 people. “Independent voters in New York tend to be really frustrated; they feel like their voices are not being heard,” said Tim Dunn, the group’s executive director. And Unite NY has also been aggressively polling voters. A new survey set to be released by the organization found voters who are not registered as either Democrats or Republicans are discontent with New York. That includes 80 percent of independent voters who believe the state is on the wrong track, according to a survey paid for by the group. “We’re consistently seeing about 40 percent of New Yorkers want to leave the state, and that’s troubling,” Dunn said. — Nick Reisman Trump arrest coverage: — What to know about Trump’s mug shot (POLITICO) — A new poll has some bad news for Trump (POLITICO) WHAT CITY HALL IS READING “The mayor is an excellent person,” Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said. | Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office THE MAYOR AND THE GURU — He’s a world famous guru, once ranked the fifth–most powerful person in India — and he likes what Mayor Adams is doing. Playbook met Sri Sri Ravi Shankar after he marched in the India Day Parade Sunday alongside the energy-stone-bracelet-wearing, Buddha-statue-collecting mayor. “The mayor is an excellent person,” Shankar said, who credited Adams for talking about mental health as a cause of gun violence. Shankar also praised the mayor’s introduction of mindful breathing exercises to public schools. “I'm very pleased about it, because breath is connection to the state of mind. This I've been saying for the last 42 years,” the yoga guru said. “People used to say, ‘what's he talking about?’ They never thought that this is all a mainstream dialogue. They thought ‘meditation is people out THERE.’ But today, I'm glad people are recognizing it, realizing that there is evidence-based research on this. It's not just some talk up in the sky. It's something very practical. And it has helped people.” Should politicians embrace religion, as Adams has? “It's a personal choice. But they have to be ethical and moral. And for that, faith is a very big anchor,” Shankar said. “But (for) public work, it's the people who are most important.” Shankar is hosting a massive cultural festival next month in Washington, and he hoped Adams would come. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is already scheduled to appear. — Jeff Coltin DIRECT OUTREACH: The numbers on Adams’ efforts to reach New Yorkers without the filter of the press aren’t … great. His “Get Stuff Done-Cast,” the podcast he hosts twice a month, has had about 4,000 total listeners since its January launch, according to data shared with Playbook. His “Hear from Eric” email newsletter had about 588,000 subscribers as of early this month, the data showed. In addition to the podcast and newsletter, Adams also makes a semi-regular radio appearance on WBLS and hosts “community conversations,” or town halls, throughout the city. Aides insisted it’s more about diversifying how he reaches the public and less about sidestepping reporters whose coverage he has condemned as too negative. — Emily Ngo More from the city: — Mayor Adams’ administration is “aggressively” pursuing a new legal strategy for rolling back the city’s right-to-shelter mandate – and asked lawmakers to publicly pressure Gov. Hochul to do more, too  (NY Daily News) — NYC public school officials are still deciding on what to do with the thousands of migrant children coming into the city.  (NYPost) — New York City’s marijuana market could eventually be huge (New York Post) — Private attorneys in NYC assigned to represent New Yorkers who can’t afford a lawyer (Gothamist) WHAT ALBANY'S READING OIL MONEY: Environmental advocates pointed Thursday to the combined $138 billion in profits from oil companies in the first half of the year as they continue to push for a measure that would make energy firms pay for the effects of climate change in New York. "It’s bad enough that New Yorkers are suffering from dangerous air, intense storms and rising sea levels, they are also on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars to deal with the costs from a worsening climate,” said NYPIRG’s legislative director Blair Horner. “At the same time, Big Oil is reporting staggering profits on top of record earnings last year.” The so-called “Climate Change Superfund” bill would require the oil companies to help shoulder the cost of climate change mitigation measures, which are expected to be costly in the coming years and a hit to ratepayers’ wallets. Business organizations, however, have rejected the proposal as costly and unrealistic, and while it passed the Senate in June, it didn’t move in the Assembly. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to push back on the sexual harassment allegations leveled against him two years after he resigned. (Gothamist) — Hochul will not force local governments in New York that have blocked migrants from motels to accept them. (Newsday) FROM THE DELEGATION Ritchie Torres announced he’ll introduce the Right to Medicare Act in the House. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo MEDICARE FOR SOME: Rep. Ritchie Torres nationalized the battle by New York City municipal retirees to hold onto their traditional Medicare plan in the face of city and union cost-saving measures by announcing he’ll introduce the Right to Medicare Act in the House. “The privatization of Medicare would have Lyndon Johnson rolling in his grave,” Torres said of his bill that would bar employers from forcing seniors onto Medicare Advantage plans — privately managed health insurance meant to provide benefits equivalent to the government-run Medicare system. “Increasingly large employers like New York City are depriving seniors their right to choose,” Torres said, framing it as a national problem. The bill won’t be passing in a GOP-held House, but one Democratic City councilmember said this helps the retirees’ cause by furthering the idea that the union bosses are getting out-played by a bunch of senior citizens in Florida. “UFT and DC37 are in denial,” the member said. “I know the city wants to save money but this plan is not politically palatable.” A judge blocked the city from moving the retirees to the new plan earlier this month, but the Adams administration immediately filed an appeal. — Jeff Coltin AROUND NEW YORK — Biden blasted House Speaker McCarthy’s trip to Syracuse this week. (Post-Standard) — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz denied he grabbed and restrained a woman as alleged in a domestic incident report. (Buffalo News) — Bear Mountain is starting to reopen after damage from a July storm, but some trails remain closed. (LoHud)   Enter the “room where it happens”, where global power players shape policy and politics, with Power Play. POLITICO’s brand-new podcast will host conversations with the leaders and power players shaping the biggest ideas and driving the global conversations, moderated by award-winning journalist Anne McElvoy. Sign up today to be notified of the first episodes in September – click here.     SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Michael Cohen … Semafor’s Neal Rothschild … former Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.) … Daniel Barash of SKDK … NBC’s Monica Alba … Jane Wasserman … Komal Shah … (was Saturday): David Rothenberg, founder of The Fortune Society (h/t Joanna Gallai) MAKING MOVES — Sean Walsh has been named the managing director of external relations at Bilt Rewards. He most recently was global chief brand officer and managing director of U.S. operations at dmg media. … Winifred Zubin has retired from her position as mayor of Fleischmanns, N.Y., in the Catskills. Real Estate — NYC loses 100,000 homes due to apartment-to-house conversions. (The City)   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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