| | | | |  | | By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo | | | With help from Jason Beeferman
|  After the Adult Survivors Act expired last month, state lawmakers are undertaking a new effort that aims to eliminate the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. | Julia Nikhinson/AP | State lawmakers and advocates will make a push next year to completely remove the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases in a drive that supporters hope will have national implications. The measure is part of a four-bill package set to be unveiled today that’s meant to address New York’s laws for rape, sexual assault and human trafficking. The proposals are also intended to build on laws in recent years aimed at making it easier for sexual assault victims and survivors to file civil cases. “It’s to protect and improve society – whether it’s a skating rink, a church, Wall Street, or a prison,” Bridie Farrell, a former speed skater-turned-advocate, told Playbook in an interview. “It’s to improve society and make it safer.” Farrell’s organization, America Loves Kids, is leading the campaign to pass the measures. Farrell is survivor of sexual abuse herself and has pressed for laws across the country. The Child Victims Act, first approved in 2019, opened a “look-back” window for abuse survivors to file civil claims, regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred. The deadline to file cases was extended amid the Covid pandemic. Lawmakers and Hochul in 2022 also agreed to the Adult Survivors Act, a measure that applied to people aged 18 and older. The deadline to file cases expired Nov. 23. Prominent people have been sued under the measure, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams and state Sen. Kevin Parker. All have denied any wrongdoing. But now lawmakers and advocates hope to go farther during the 2024 legislative session while also aiding survivors not covered by the initial laws. That includes ending the statute of limitations for most childhood sexual abuse claims – a sweeping move that could result in more cases being filed. “The most important thing that everyone has learned is that trauma takes time,” Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, the sponsor of the legislation with state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, told Playbook in an interview. “There are so many reasons why survivors don’t tell people. They’ve been threatened. They feel shame. They feel the stigma and they bury it deep within themselves because it’s so traumatic.” Lawmakers also want to expand the state’s rape shield law to include civil cases that would narrow the scope of what is considered admissible, like how a victim dresses. A one-year look-back window suspending the statute of limitations for sex trafficking victims to file claims is being pushed. And legislators propose creating a “tolling” provision to make it easier for formerly incarcerated people to bring sexual abuse claims once they are released. “The intent is to provide victims with a chance at justice,” bill sponsor Assemblymember Catalina Cruz said. “A person being in prison, a person being detained, doesn’t make them any less worthy of justice, let alone dignity.” Advocates have said they also want institutions that have covered up incidents of abuse and assault held accountable by the push to expand civil sexual assault laws. A flood of legal claims filed under the Child Victims Act have led to multiple Catholic dioceses in New York declaring bankruptcy. The New York State Catholic Conference had dropped its initial opposition to the Child Victims Act. Dennis Poust, the conference’s executive director, called for government entities that may have covered up abuse to be held accountable. “We believe that any legislation dealing with child sexual abuse or adult sexual abuse needs to be equally applied to public institutions as well as private institutions,” he said. — Nick Reisman IT’S TUESDAY. Got news? Send it 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? Signing racial justice bill in Manhattan. (Yesterday’s scoop) WHERE’S ERIC? Holding an in-person media availability session, speaking with Reverend Terry Lee of Byways and Hedges Youth for Christ Ministry and meeting with the Coalition of Concerned Members of Clergy to discuss the migrant crisis. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This is a place where every day you wake up you could experience everything from a plane crashing into our Trade Center to a person who’s celebrating a new business that’s open. This is a very, very complicated city, and that’s why it’s the greatest city on the globe.” — Mayor Eric Adams, after he was asked to describe 2023 in one word.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams held a town hall in Corona, Queens on Monday, the same day state Sen. Jessica Ramos originally was originally planning to host a town hall of her own. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office | THE KING OF CORONA? State Sen. Jessica Ramos was planning to host a town hall with city agencies in her Corona, Queens district on Monday night — until she found out Adams had scheduled his own town hall, for the exact same time, in Corona. So Ramos stood down and told constituents she’d be postponing hers, instead encouraging them to go to the mayor’s in an email last week. Adams spokesperson Fabien Levy pushed back on any implication they were bigfooting Ramos — who is no friend of the mayor. He told Playbook that the time and place had been set internally since Nov. 8 in coordination with Councilmember Francisco Moya. City Hall officials invited the public on Dec. 4. Ramos herself first tweeted about her town hall the same day — so City Hall may not have given her a heads up. This could just be a typical scheduling snafu if it weren’t for the fact that Ramos is pitching herself as a challenger to Adams’ reelection effort. Her political team drafted a memo noting that “Mayor Adams is severely weakened by investigations and accusations against him and his appointees.” Polling shows his standing is weak with Latinos, women and young people, “all demographics where Senator Ramos has excelled and has demographic advantages,” reads the unsigned memo. Ramos also had the highest net approval rating among mayoral contenders polled by Slingshot Strategies earlier this month. At +16, she beat out Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and 2021 runner up Kathryn Garcia, who now works for Gov. Kathy Hochul. — Jeff Coltin FROM THE TOWN HALL: It’s not just Brad Lander. At the town hall Monday night, the mayor asked an attendee who voiced concern about the city budget if she had gone to the nation’s capital to protest a lack of federal funding for the migrant crisis — comments that echoed a recurring retort whenever Lander criticized the administration. (Side note: The migrant crisis accounts for only a portion of the looming $7 billion budget gap. And Lander did, eventually, go to D.C.) The mayor was suggesting his questioner needed to fulfill this prerequisite before asking how City Hall planned to deliver all of the services he delineated at the nearly two-hour meeting while also mandating cuts to the city’s $110 billion current spending plan. “Have you done any protests in Washington D.C. about what they are doing to us?” the mayor asked. “That’s what I need … I need for people to hold me responsible. But we have to hold each other responsible.” He went on to say, “Everyone that steps up and says, ‘Eric, you should not be cutting the budget,’ they should be showing me their bus ticket or plane ticket that they went to Washington, D.C., and said you should not be doing this to New York City.” In a recent Quinnipiac University Poll, 83 percent of registered voters surveyed said they were concerned budget cuts would impact their daily lives. If the mayor expects them all to head to the Capitol before registering their complaints, he could be waiting a while. — Joe Anuta
| | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | 
Faith and community leaders are calling on City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to expel Council member Inna Vernikov for appearing at a pro-Palestinian protest with an inoperable firearm tucked in her waistband. | Emi Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Some three dozen faith and community leaders are appealing to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to investigate and potentially expel Inna Vernikov after the Republican council member brought a gun to a rally in October, according to a letter shared with Playbook. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office had dropped the gun possession charge against Vernikov in November because there was no proof the gun could fire. “Even if we accept that the firearm was inoperable at the time of the protest, her actions still represent a flagrant and shocking attempt to intimidate Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students exercising their constitutional right to protest,” the letter reads. “If in fact, the gun was inoperable, the only purpose for Council Member Vernikov to have brought it to the protest is pure intimidation.” The coalition wrote that the lack of disciplinary action sends a “chilling signal to our communities.” Vernikov was seen with a gun at her hip as supporters of Palestinians rallied outside Brooklyn College. She has cited her fight against antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel in statements about carrying the gun. — Emily Ngo More from the city: — The city has held up emergency food stamps for thousands of residents, prompting a contempt of court demand. (New York Daily News) — The era of the right to shelter mandate is effectively over as more migrants await beds. (The City) — Gov. Kathy Hochul must stop the Adams administration’s plans to rebuild and possibly expand the BQE, community groups demanded. (StreetsBlog)
| | | | A message from Tax Equity Now New York:   | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | 
Former Democratic City Councilmember and Assemblymember Rory Lancman wants to make a political comeback and represent the North Shore of Nassau County in the state senate. | William Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit | RORIN’ BACK: Rory Lancman, the former City Council member and Assembly member from eastern Queens, now wants to be a state senator for his new home on Long Island. Lancman has met with Nassau County Democratic Party leader Jay Jacobs about getting party support for a run against Republican state Sen. Jack Martins for the North Shore seat. Lancman resigned from the Council in 2020 to work on energy policy for then-Gov. Cuomo, and he moved to Great Neck to be near his wife’s Persian Jewish family. He won a hard fought race last year to be president of the local library board, opposing conservative efforts to ban books with LGBTQ themes and more. But Republicans keep winning in Nassau, and “it’s very frustrating for me to be represented by people who don’t share my values,” Lancman told Playbook. Zak Malamed, the Democratic fundraiser who was running for the George Santos congressional seat before he dropped out to support Tom Suozzi, is also being floated for the race. Democrat Anna Kaplan lost her reelection bid to Martins in 2022. Lancman said he’d only run with Jacobs’ backing, and “hopefully in the next month or so, we’ll forge a consensus around a candidate.” — Jeff Coltin DIRECT DEMOCRACY: The reform group Unite NY is launching a six-figure ad campaign on Wednesday meant to press for a variety of changes, including term limits, expand ballot initiatives and opening primaries to voters who are not enrolled in either party. The campaign is set to include digital advertising, direct mail and lobbying of state lawmakers. The group is making the push in order to expand how many people can directly participate in voting, executive director Tim Dunn said. “We know there are true leaders in our state Legislature who already support these reforms and our organization is excited to work with them to build a bipartisan coalition that will make these changes a reality,” Dunn said. — Nick Reisman WYNTER’S EXIT: The president of National Grid New York plans to retire in mid-2024, a spokesperson for the company told Playbook. Rudy Wynter has helmed the utility’s New York operations since early 2021 after a leadership restructuring by the U.K.-based company. National Grid serves 1.9 million gas customers in Brooklyn, Staten Island, part of Queens and on Long Island, plus 1.6 million upstate electric customers and 600,000 upstate gas users. Grid is currently seeking to raise rates for its downstate gas business, with pushback from ratepayer advocates, environmental groups and lawmakers. The utility has played a major role shaping the state’s energy policy, including pushing for caveats in a mandate to electrify new buildings and advocating for alternative fuels to play a larger role. Wynter has worked at National Grid and its predecessor companies for 36 years. He’s focused on promoting the utility’s electrification efforts and increased community service and engagement. — Marie J. French More from Albany: — “I would love to introduce the Andrew Cuomo of 2019 to the Andrew Cuomo of today,” an MTA executive quipped on the ex-governor's MTA’s flip-flopping on congestion pricing. (New York Post) — Thousands of housing units have been created or are planned as state and local officials seek to address a housing crisis. (Newsday)
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | | | 
A new video by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee emphasizes Mazi Pilip's reluctance to answer questions from the press. | Adam Gray/Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee video to be released today focuses on Republican-nominated candidate Mazi Melesa Pilip’s ducking of reporters at her campaign launch last week on Long Island. “George Santos didn’t tell the truth, Pilip won’t tell us anything,” text in the 30-second DCCC spot reads between TV reports, a print story and a social media post, according to a preview obtained by Playbook. Pilip’s platform for the Feb. 13 special election, including her stance on abortion access, has yet to be detailed to reporters. POLITICO has sought to interview both Pilip and her Democratic rival, Tom Suozzi. While Democrats stress that Pilip is unknown, the GOP is condemning votes Suozzi took during his time in Congress. The National Republican Campaign Committee linked Suozzi to “sanctuary city” policies. “The New York City migrant crisis has spilled into the surrounding suburbs and wrecked major havoc on Long Island families,” NRCC spokesperson Savannah Viar said in a statement. — Emily Ngo
| | | | 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. | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Monday’s extreme weather left at least one dead and thousands without power amid heavy flooding. (Times Union) — An investigation of toxic fumes in Gowanus, Brooklyn has expanded to include 273 properties in the area. (Gothamist) — Snakes, Spores and Sewage: A peek of what it’s like to live in Queens’ oft-forgotten neighborhood referred to as “The Hole.” (New York Times)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | MAKING MOVES — Abbey Hone has been promoted to be a partner at Haynes Boone. WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Rachel Glasberg, a producer for NBC News’ digital show “Stay Tuned,” on Saturday married Tyler Goldberg, director of political strategy at Assembly Global. They tied the knot at Whitby Castle in Rye, N.Y. The couple met in 2013 when Tyler was her tour guide at Emory University, and they have been together for almost a decade. Pic ... Another pic — Suraj Patel and Emily Bina, via NYT: He ran “for Congress in Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District race … Ms. Bina is a freelance media producer, mainly developing documentaries. … The two were married on Dec. 9 on [their East Village] rooftop … Multiday wedding events will also take place in Jaipur, India, at the end of December.” CLICKER — “American Jews Need to Stop Being Stupid About Politics: And start taking policy seriously,” by Julia Hahn in Tablet Magazine HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Ronan Farrow … Max McClellan … Amy Best Weiss of American Express … Treasury’s Nicole Lindler … Puck’s Teddy Schleifer … CNN’s Josh Freedom du Lac … Sarah Scott … CBS News’ Isabel Pellegrino … Michaela Balderston … Michael Feinberg (WAS MONDAY): Daniel Loeb ... Micah Lasher
| | Real Estate | | — The construction of the city’s first professional soccer stadium will begin Wednesday in Willets Point, Queens. (Gothamist) — The mayor doubled down on his wish for another city casino and spoke about “good cause” eviction protections as part of a wide-ranging Q&A. (Crain’s New York Business) | | | | 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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