| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman and Jeff Coltin | | | With help from Jason Beeferman
|  Migrants wait outside a migrant assistance center in the East Village. Local leaders said they want federally-run legal clinics, increased funding for the Shelter and Services Program and other measures of support from Washington. | Andres Kudacki/AP | The pleas from New York City to Washington for help to support the 67,000 migrants in the city’s care have been marked by mounting frustration. “We are a municipality doing the federal government’s job,” Ingrid Lewis-Martin, chief adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, said this week, challenging reporters to ask the federal government — not the city — what it’s doing to alleviate the crisis. “Every week we’ve been singing the same exact song, and it hasn’t changed.” But with comprehensive immigration reform beyond reach right now in a barely functional Congress, what exactly is it that the White House and Congress can do for the city in the short term? Playbook asked local leaders for specifics and compiled their wish list this holiday season: — Increased funding in the Shelter and Services Program, or SSP, the grant-making body supporting cities and non-governmental organizations that provide new arrivals with food, clothing, medical aid, legal aid and transportation after they’ve been processed by the Department of Homeland Security. — An emergency resettlement plan for asylum-seekers at the southern border modeled after Uniting for Ukraine (for those fleeing Russia’s invasion) and Operation Allies Welcome (for Afghan refugees). City Comptroller Brad Lander told Playbook such programs are “much more successful at helping people to transition.” — Designate and redesignate Temporary Protected Status for countries including El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Nigeria and Mauritania. (The Biden administration expanded TPS for Venezuela last fall.) “We all want these new neighbors to get to work. So we should help them do so!” Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, who sent a letter to the White House urging expanded TPS, told Playbook. — Open permanent, federally run legal clinics where migrants can submit asylum, TPS and work authorization applications and complete their biometrics appointments — all in one place, all on one day. Such sites are a collaboration between government and community partners. “It’s exactly the kind of cooperation that we have all been dreaming about,” Ann Cheng, City Hall’s deputy chief policy and delivery officer, told Playbook. — Pass the Registry Bill to update the cutoff date for eligibility to apply for permanent residency. Pass legislation to shorten or eliminate the wait for work authorization for asylum-seekers. Pass the Fairness to Freedom Act establishing the right to legal representation for people who can’t afford it and are facing deportation. Eyes are now on the supplemental funding request from President Joe Biden to Congress. New York Immigration Coalition executive director Murad Awawdeh criticized Biden for making “the most horrific changes” to border policy in exchange for foreign aid to allies. NYIC Action has launched a $50,000 ad buy urging the president and New York senators not to “gut asylum.” — Emily Ngo PROGRAMMING NOTE: There will be no New York Playbook next week. Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back in your inboxes Jan. 2. We hope you all have a lovely holiday! IT’S THURSDAY. Not Friday. Got it? Got news? Send it all our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Tax Equity Now New York: New York City's property tax system is broken. For decades, political leaders and independent analysts have agreed that the City’s property tax system disproportionately burdens lower-income and minority neighborhoods and imposes higher taxes on the lowest-valued properties and owners. Learn more about the problem and what we’re doing to ensure NYC has the best and fairest property tax structure in the state and country by visiting TaxEquityNow.nyc. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Speaking at the New York State Police Academy Graduation Ceremony. WHERE’S ERIC? Making an announcement about his administration’s efforts to support working-class New Yorkers and hosting an older adult town hall. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This is a painful one. But it’s the totality of what the policies that they stand for and when I look at the field now, Biden is the person that I would vote for.” — Mayor Eric Adams told Fox 5 New York.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Former President Donald Trump in civil court in Manhattan. New York Democrats are pushing to make Trump ineligible to appear on state ballots. | Seth Wenig/AP | TRUMP BALLOT DRAMA: Democratic state lawmakers are not ruling out a lawsuit to block former President Donald Trump from the April 2 primary. State Senate Judiciary Chair Brad Hoylman-Sigal told Playbook in an interview Wednesday he would continue to press Republican state elections officials to prevent the erstwhile New Yorker from appearing on the ballot. Hoylman-Sigal renewed that call after the Colorado Supreme Court moved to bar the former president in a decision his campaign is expected to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. “I think in this instance it’s pretty clear that an insurrectionist is disqualified from seeking the presidency because of section 3 of the 14th amendment,” Hoylman-Sigal said. He was also sanguine when asked if the mounting legal problems for Trump will only empower the former president with the Republican base. “It’s politics, but it’s politics on the part of the candidates,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “This is a serious constitutional issue that needs to get resolved before New York’s presidential primary.” Hochul, meanwhile, was sympathetic to the idea without outright endorsing it. "I'll be very intrigued to see whether similar to Colorado a group of citizens who are aggrieved want to point out the fact that their state has been successful,” she told reporters in Albany on Wednesday. New York Democratic legislators have in the past tried multiple avenues to address Trump’s foibles. In 2019, lawmakers approved legislation to pry open Trump’s state tax returns. Trump, naturally, has blasted the Colorado ruling as flawed. “We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” Trump’s campaign said in a statement. — Nick Reisman
| | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | 
The City Council, led by Speaker Adrienne Adams, passed two bills Wednesday that challenge Mayor Eric Adams on his policies toward policing and solitary confinement. | John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit | MAYOR-COUNCIL SHOWDOWN: Adams rode into office on a promise that his experience as an NYPD captain ideally suited him to drive down crime. Local lawmakers are now calling his bluff, POLITICO reports. The City Council challenged Adams Wednesday on his signature issue, voting to ban solitary confinement in city jails and mandate more reporting from the NYPD in a set of bills the mayor has indicated he would veto. The uncharacteristically aggressive action from a legislative body that is rarely so adversarial comes as Adams is at the nadir of his young mayoralty: Voters are registering anger over his budget cuts, the FBI is investigating his 2021 campaign and he is facing continued challenges of the migrant crisis. The bills — passed by 35-9 and 39-7 margins with several abstentions — are being driven by Speaker Adrienne Adams, who during her nearly two-year tenure has adopted a less confrontational posture toward the mayor than some of her predecessors. — Joe Anuta TRULY GROUNDBREAKING: Adams and local officials broke ground Wednesday on phase one of the massive Willets Point transformation project, which includes a $780 million soccer stadium, 2,500 homes for lower-income city residents and a 650-seat public school. The city will spend $237 million for the project’s first phase, which includes 1,100 affordable housing units as well as new streets, sewers and utilities. The first phase will be boosted by $124 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. “We are seeing right here the future of our city,” Adams said at a news conference announcing the plans. “The future where all New Yorkers can afford to live and grow. That is what New York City is all about, the tradition of breaking ground.” The groundbreaking at the Willets Point site, just steps away from Citi Field in Queens, is decades in the making. Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg first unveiled plans for the area in 2007, but progress was beset by a string of disputes and litigation. Adams also recognized former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s work to move the project forward. And now Mets owner and billionaire Steve Cohen is looking to build a casino in the area. — Jason Beeferman More from the city: — U.S. Attorney Damian Williams is one of the country’s gutsiest prosecutors — and a potential headache for Adams. (New York) — Don’t count on a 2024 jobs boom for New York City. (The City) — With antisemitism and protests spilling onto the streets of New York, the city’s Jewish population is trying to navigate the new contours of its hometown. (New York Times)
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | | 
Independent Democratic Conference members (from left) state Sen. David Carlucci, state Sen. David Valesky, state Sen. Diane Savino and state Sen. Jeff Klein. | Mike Groll/AP | ‘NO NEW IDC:’ State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton is a Democrat, but raised fellow Democrats’ eyebrows by attending the Brooklyn GOP’s annual gala and spending election night at Republican Councilmember Inna Vernikov’s reelection party. Scarcella-Spanton is dedicated to the Democrats, she told Playbook, and while her mentor and predecessor Diane Savino was part of the Republican-allied Independent Democratic Conference, there’s “no new IDC” in the works. “These are partners in government,” she said, “I think people are eager to see people working together.” Democratic Councilmember Kalman Yeger is a regular at conservative events too, but he typically runs and wins on the Republican line. Southern Brooklyn has seen former Democrats Ari Kagan of the Council and Alec Brook-Krasny in the Assembly reenroll and run as Republicans in recent years, responding to voting trends in their districts. But JSS won’t be following suit. “I’m not changing parties. These are just people I work with,” she said. “I don’t think you can be an effective elected official if you’re always fighting with one another.” — Jeff Coltin BOTTLENECK FOR JOB PLACEMENT: New York officials are trying to break a logjam of migrants awaiting work authorization, but have also expressed interest in finding a job. Hochul on Wednesday told reporters in Albany the state has been trying to match migrants with potential employers. She wants the federal government to shorten the window for work approval and get nearly 40,000 jobs in a Department of Labor portal for migrants filled. Matching jobs with migrants includes legal support and jobs fairs. “I want it to go faster. I’m impatient, but we’re making real progress,” Hochul said. But the governor also acknowledged not many migrants have received authorization to work just yet. She’s pressed the federal government to expedite the authorization. And that’s the key goal for Hochul, who has pegged job placement as critical to alleviating the pressure from the influx of thousands of migrants into New York over the last two years. Hochul’s top budget advisor has indicated the state will shift migrant spending next year to emphasize job placement and legal support. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Hochul insisted politics won’t impact her decision on redistricting. (City & State) — A bill to increase transparency surrounding LLC ownership is in the governor’s lap. (Buffalo News)
| | | | A message from Tax Equity Now New York:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | |  GOP candidate for NY-3 Mazi Melesa Pilip received an endorsement from the Republican Jewish Coalition, while the Jewish Democratic Council of America is supporting her opponent Tom Suozzi. | Adam Gray/Getty Images | NY-3 NODS: The Republican Jewish Coalition endorsed Mazi Melesa Pilip, and the Jewish Democratic Council of America is backing Tom Suozzi in their Feb. 13 face-off for the House seat vacated by George Santos. Both groups stress the importance of fighting antisemitism in the Nassau County and Queens district where support for Israel is paramount. The Jewish Democratic Council of America vowed to mobilize and target Jewish voters in support of Suozzi. And the group’s PAC plans a five-figure ad buy for the former representative. “Electing Tom Suozzi will lower Republicans’ House majority to just one seat, making it harder for Speaker Mike Johnson to advance extremist policies and legislation,” JDCA board chair Ron Klein said. The Republican Jewish Coalition, meanwhile, touted Pilip’s background. The Nassau County legislator is an Ethiopian-born Jew who was raised in Israel and served in the Israeli Defense Forces. “This battleground seat is critical to maintaining the GOP majority in the House of Representatives, and as antisemitism continues to spike across the country, electing candidates like Mazi Pilip is more important than ever,” RJC CEO Matt Brooks said. — Emily Ngo
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — New York saw the biggest school enrollment decline in the country. (Times Union) — A Long Island-based clown company is being sued by some of its independently contracted jesters who claim the company owes them years of back wages. (Newsday) — The principal of Queens’ Hillcrest High School, which drew scrutiny after a pro-Palestinian student protest turned into chaos, has been moved from his post by the city’s Department of Education. (New York Post)
| | | | A message from Tax Equity Now New York: New York City's property tax system is fundamentally flawed and over-taxes lower-income and minority residents. The current model unfairly shifts the tax burden onto those less able to bear it. This results in higher taxes for poorer and minority New Yorkers compared to wealthier condo, co-op, and homeowners in more affluent areas.
For over two decades, political leaders have talked about how NYC's property tax system is unfair and inequitable, but they’ve done nothing. Learn more about the problem and what we’re doing to ensure NYC has the best and fairest property tax structure in the state and country by visiting TaxEquityNow.nyc. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | SPOTTED last Wednesday night at the Hilton Midtown at the annual Yass Prize Celebration Gala which was MCd by Alyssa Farah Griffin: Janine and Jeff Yass, Meek Mill, Jeanne Allen, Mel Carter and Steve Forbes. IN MEMORIAM — “Rebecca Smith, Reporter Who Exposed Corruption at Enron, Dies at 68: Smith worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 20 years covering the electricity industry,” by WSJ’s Katherine Blunt MAKING MOVES — Paul S. Ryan has been named executive director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board. He most recently was deputy executive director of the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation. … Avika Dua is joining SKDK as a vice president. Dua most recently was associate VP at MissionWired and the former digital director for Hochul’s campaign and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Dr. Emily Cohen, advancement director at Allendale Columbia School, and Marc Cohen, chief of staff at the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, on Monday welcomed the early arrival of their son, Benjamin Oliver Cohen. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: WSJ’s Annie Linskey … CBS’ Vlad Duthiers … Dick Wolf … Fox News’ Caroline Whiteman … former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin … Elena Waskey of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth … Brian Goldsmith … Julia B. Mellon
| | Real Estate | | — At $5,615 a square foot, this apartment’s $3.88 million price tag made it the most expensive studio apartment sold in New York City this year. (New York Post) | | | | 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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