Where to find Adams on Wednesdays

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Aug 02, 2023 View in browser   By Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Hajah Bah Mayor Eric Adams distributes food to New Yorkers in need at an event hosted by People Connecting New York and The Ellen Maguire Foundation in Manhattan on July 26. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office Almost every Wednesday night for the past eight months Mayor Eric Adams has been on 34th Street near Penn Station serving food to homeless and hungry New Yorkers. The mayor is proud of his time standing over a folding table, scooping rice into clamshell containers and talking to folks as they come down the line. “We should encourage others to come out and do this,” he told Playbook last week. About 100 people came, though not everyone got served since the meals ran out. But the mayor’s visits cause some headaches for the organizer. “I’m not a big fan of when he comes late. It holds up the feeding,” said Noel Maguire, a Park Avenue doorman who started the homelessness charity the Ellen Maguire Foundation. “We’re here for them, we’re not here for him.” Sometimes Adams gets outside protesters. And some of those being served do their own quiet protest of the mayor, who has drawn criticism for clearing homeless encampments. “There actually are at least one or two who refuse to eat when he comes,” one volunteer said. Guests the mayor brings on purpose can be more annoying. “He’s had a few people come down here and do like, Instagram photos. Go behind my tables, scoop food for all of like 12 minutes,” Maguire said, mentioning a luxury realtor pal of Adams. “They don’t interact with the homeless. Holy shit.” And while the mayor brings an entourage, he hasn’t brought funding: “I’ve been asking a woman from his office to help me out financially,” Maguire said. "I haven’t seen or heard anything.” But it’s not all bad. City Hall has sent a sanitation truck to clean up and there’s two cops present, which Maguire appreciates. It’s quite the scene. Sometimes a DJ spins music right on 34th Street. Josh Aryeh, the leader of the nonprofit Smiles Through Cars, may drive up in a bright pink Maybach and pose for photos dressed up as Batman. Maguire’s SUV is plastered with old school rock ‘n’ roll photos: The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones. If the DJ isn’t playing, he’ll blast classic rock. Serving food is personal for the mayor, who recalled getting meals himself from The Salvation Army as a child. His weekly appearances — he’s come at least 23 times so far — are symbolic too. “I want to be out here on the street with everyday people. Let them know I’m just an everyday guy,” Adams said. “He’s the only mayor that tried to do things for the homeless people,” said Kevin Williams. He appreciates Adams visits, but said he doesn’t feel safe in the city shelter. To Eli, a formerly homeless New Yorker, the mayor’s visits are just “celebrity status and publicity.” IT’S WEDNESDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? Speaking about child care in Liverpool, N.Y. WHERE’S ERIC? Making an asylum seeker-related announcement at City Hall. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Biden is asleep at the wheel, has been and continues to be — obviously — not engaged and not trying to solve any of New York’s problems,” said New York City Councilman Bob Holden regarding the migrant crisis.   A NEW PODCAST FROM POLITICO: Our new POLITICO Tech podcast is your daily download on the disruption that technology is bringing to politics and policy around the world. From AI and the metaverse to disinformation and cybersecurity, POLITICO Tech explores how today’s technology is shaping our world — and driving the policy decisions, innovations and industries that will matter tomorrow. SUBSCRIBE AND START LISTENING TODAY.     ABOVE THE FOLD Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said it’s unlikely a special session on housing will happen anytime soon. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo NO HOUSING SPECIAL SESSION: Six weeks after lawmakers left Albany for the year, the state’s top officials are continuing to posture over stalled talks on a housing plan. But don’t expect the Assembly back anytime soon to deal with it. Gov. Kathy Hochul was north of Albany in Amsterdam on Tuesday, where she touted her recent executive actions on the subject. “I’m willing to go back to the Legislature if they want to get serious this time and roll up their sleeves and work with me, we can accomplish a lot more,” she said. Seventy miles away, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie joined member Didi Barrett in the village of Philmont. The two toured a Habitat for Humanity project and a nearby public housing authority to highlight what Heastie characterized as a need for a more locally-focused housing plan than what Hochul has pitched. “You could have one macro plan, but even macro plans sometimes have to have different micro parts to it,” he said. Heastie said it’s unlikely a special session on housing will happen in the near future. “No, I think, at this point,” he said. "We haven’t had any discussions about coming back. We can’t rush into something.” — Bill Mahoney WHAT CITY HALL IS READING Migrants sit in a queue outside of The Roosevelt Hotel that is being used by the city as temporary housing on July 31, 2023, in New York. | John Minchillo/AP Photo Adams warned Biden there was no room for migrants. Now they’re sleeping on the sidewalk, by POLITICO’s Emily Ngo: "No one wants anyone sleeping on the street or being used as a pawn in a political fight, but it’s just plain reality that there’s no more room,” a City Hall adviser told POLITICO. “And week after week, the pressure is going to keep mounting on Washington to do something now or wait for it to impact the 2024 elections.” NYC Dem official ID’d as ‘straw donor’ in alleged fundraising scheme involving Eric Adams’ campaign, by New York Post’s Carl Campanile: “William Smith, a Democratic district leader from East Harlem, was revealed as ‘straw donor 16’ who had conversations with defendant Shamsuddin Riza in the case." HOUSING VOTE DELAYED: There’s no deal yet on a modest affordable housing project in Queens that was slated for a key City Council committee vote Tuesday. A meeting by the Council’s land use committee was postponed to Thursday as negotiations continue in the hopes of winning over local Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers — a close ally of Speaker Adrienne Adams. Brooks-Powers is opposing the existing 106-unit proposal in her Far Rockaway district — which would yield rentals for low- and middle-income households. She wants it to offer homeownership units instead. The Council appears likely to defer to Brooks-Powers, so the plan could get shot down without her blessing. — Janaki Chadha TRUMP'S NEW YORK New York attorney general’s Trump lawsuit ‘ready for trial,’ her office says, by CBS News’ Graham Kates: “The case is scheduled to go to trial on Oct. 2, a date [that] the judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, previously described as ‘set in stone.’” WHAT ALBANY'S READING Hochul, in Amsterdam, touts housing initiatives, by Times Union: “[She] marked the completion of the 116-unit, 12-story New Amsterdam Apartments for seniors on 26 Wall St. The completed renovation marks the end of a two-phase, $47.4 million project to preserve nearly 200 units of public senior housing in the Montgomery County city.” Comptroller: New York Really, Really Needs To Hustle To Hit Climate Goals, by Hell Gate’s Max Rivlin-Nadler Legal Aid attorneys taking aim at Gov. Kathy Hochul as asylum seeker crisis continues, by CBS News' Marcia Kramer AROUND NEW YORK — Sheila Y. Oliver, New Jersey's lieutenant governor, dies at age 71. (The New York Times) — New York Mets owner Steve Cohen enlisted the former state budget director for help pushing a casino. (Times Union) — Inside the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s recent fundraiser. (New York Focus)   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.     SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT’s Matthew Rosenberg … Gigi Sohn … Fox News’ Rich Edson … The New Yorker’s Lawrence Wright … former Treasury Secretary John Snow … Caitlin Huey-Burns of CBS … (was Tuesday): Joseph Cayre ... Jed Rakoff ... Hadassah president Rhoda Smolow ... Yeruchim Silber ... Shachar Bar-On ... Ari Zoldan (h/ts Jewish Insider) SPOTTED: Democratic political strategist Lis Smith at her New York City baby shower in the basement dance floor of the East Village bar Von. PR masters and mavens including Matthew Hiltzik, Philip Walzak and Risa Heller hobnobbed with journalists like The New Yorker’s Clare Malone and New York Magazine’s Shawn McCreesh over mezcal negronis and mini pizzas. Co-hosted by Smith’s NYU Langone obstetrician sister Ashley Roman, the fete was backlit by a neon green “Welcome to the jungle” sign and sweetened by blue and white cookies honoring the imminent arrival of baby boy Smith. MAKING MOVES: Tony Sclafani is joining Mercury Public Affairs as a managing director. He most recently was SVP and chief communications officer at the Javits Center. Real Estate Now hiring: A new head of housing for New York City, by Gothamist’s David Brand:  “But the new position isn’t exactly a housing czar. It’s more like a functionary who will report to Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Maria Torres Springer.”   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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