| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | | | With help from Shawn Ness
| 
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is in hot water after Republicans started slamming him for being too soft on the migrants who attacked NYPD officers outside a migrant shelter in Times Square. | Eduardo Munoz/Reuters | NEW YORK MINUTE: President Joe Biden is coming to New York City this afternoon for three campaign fundraisers in Manhattan. Despite his special election next week, fellow Democrat Tom Suozzi is not a part of Biden’s visit, his campaign told Playbook. Suozzi basically told the president to stay away from the district in an interview with CNN that aired Monday. “I don’t think it would be helpful, just as I don’t think Donald Trump would be helpful to my opponent,” he said “This race is really very local. It’s Suozzi versus Mazi.” — Jeff Coltin BRAGG’S BRAWL: The case of migrants kicking cops on the ground in Times Square had all the elements to catalyze a conservative firestorm. And it has. In the middle of it, again, is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose progressive policies have made him persistent political prey. Bragg indicted one of the accused men, Yohenry Brito, on Tuesday. The charges remain under seal, but the DA is expected to announce additional charges as soon as today. Brito has been held in jail on bail, but he’s the only one of the approximately 10 men involved in the brawl to be locked up. Some were released after arraignment, while others involved still haven’t been identified, Bragg said. That isn’t good enough for Republicans in the state Senate, who are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to exercise her power and remove Bragg from office. “We need a district attorney that will enforce the law and do what is necessary to not only get the criminals off the streets, but also send the message that lawlessness will not be tolerated,” the lawmakers wrote in an open letter. Hochul won’t boot him, of course. But that doesn’t mean she’s been fully supportive of her fellow Democrat. “You can hold these people while you’re still investigating,” she said in an MSNBC interview on Tuesday. “You don’t let them out.” Her words were condemned by the progressive anti-carceral organization Center for Community Alternatives, which said if Hochul believes in “judicial discretion” as she claims, she shouldn’t be calling for blanket bail setting. Bragg’s team too is pushing back, ever so slightly, sharing with reporters statements of support from Democratic leaders including Mayor Eric Adams and City Councilmember Yusef Salaam, all saying they’re confident justice will be served. Murders and shootings have significantly decreased in Manhattan both years Bragg’s been in office, a spokesperson pointed out, and overall major crimes are down slightly from this point last year too. The lack of harsh charges in the Times Square case also isn’t entirely on Bragg, a statement from the office subtly noted. The NYPD still hasn’t found everyone and made positive identifications. The first Black Manhattan DA’s decisions have been hung around other Democrats before — just ask Hochul — and Republicans plan to keep that up ahead of next week’s special election in the 3rd Congressional district. — Jeff Coltin and Nick Reisman IT’S WEDNESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Instagram: Parents should be able to decide which apps are right for their teens.
Apps can teach teens skills or ignite their creativity. But with access to so many apps, parents should have a say in which ones their teens download.
That’s why Instagram wants to work with Congress to require parental approval wherever teens under 16 download apps.
Learn more. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Convening a pro-housing roundtable at the state Capitol. WHERE’S ERIC? Calling in for a live interview with 94.7’s “Jonesy in the Morning,” reading to students to celebrate World Read Aloud Day, hosting a roundtable discussion with members from the Jewish Sephardic Community and appearing on News 12’s evening newscast. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “He appeared to be on point, and on top of things. Now I want to talk to @govkathyhochul.” — 50 Cent, accepting Adams’ explanation of the city’s migrant debit card program but turning his attention to the governor.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to make Republican's opposition to the Senate's border security deal an election-season issue. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | HOCHUL’S HOUSE HOPES: Hochul hopes elections will have consequences for House Republicans who rejected the Senate border security package. The governor, a Democrat who once represented a conservative-leaning House seat in western New York a decade ago, signaled in an interview Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that she plans to make the GOP opposition to the bill an election-season issue. That begins with the upcoming special election to replace George Santos in a bellwether Queens and Long Island House district, Hochul said. “Those Republicans in our state, including in the 3rd District running, they’ve signed a suicide pact together,” she said in the interview. “They’re going to be hung with this.” Hochul has become an increasingly vocal supporter of the all-but-dead Senate border bill as a means to help alleviate the influx of thousands of migrants into New York City. That has translated to stepping up her rhetoric against House Republicans, including those from swing seats in New York whose races this November could determine power in the chamber. “I have six battleground districts,” she said in the interview. “The Republicans running in those Biden districts are going to wear this. I’m already putting them on notice.” Hochul’s budget would spend $2.4 billion to address migrant needs, a $500 million increase from the prior year that her top budget advisor has called unsustainable and Adams has said doesn’t fully meet New York City’s needs. Adams told state lawmakers during a budget hearing on Tuesday that the city has between 2,500 and 4,000 migrants arriving each week. For their part, House Republicans have called the border bill negotiated in the Senate too weak and want their own version of a immigration overhaul. “It's hysterical that Kathy Hochul all of a sudden cares about the border now that it's an election year,” NRCC spokesperson Savannah Viar said in a statement to Playbook. “If she truly cared, she would not have partnered with extreme House Democrats to allow New York to become overrun with migrants — hurting our schools, hurting our cops and hurting our state budget." — Nick Reisman
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
New York City Council's staff union is nearing a deal with Speaker Adrienne Adams. Members of the group gathered outside City Hall Tuesday to make noise about the final push. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO | LABOR PAINS: The New York City Council staff union says it’s close to reaching its first-ever contract with the speaker’s office. The Association of Legislative Employees has a bargaining session scheduled for this afternoon, so dozens of members filled the City Hall steps Tuesday to rally for the final push. “I think there is a deal on the table that we’re on the cusp of that could really make national labor history for legislative workers really showing that a contract is possible,” ALE President Daniel Kroop told Playbook. Legislative staffers have traditionally not been unionized, but there’s a growing effort across the country, including in the state legislature. “The council will continue to negotiate with the ALE in good faith at the bargaining table, not through the media,” a spokesperson for the speaker said. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — State lawmakers appeared receptive to Adams’ proposal to crack down on illegal cannabis shops — but were cool on more state migrant funding. (POLITICO Pro) — Traffic fatalities have fallen 16 percent since the city’s major push to make streets safer, but majority Black and Latino neighborhoods actually saw increased deaths. (Gothamist) — The city’s chosen trash collector was accused of extensive violations before winning its contract. (Crain’s)
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Reinvent Albany, a group advocating for government reform, testified in Albany Tuesday to urge state lawmakers to adopt a $114.5 million allocation for public financing programs. | Hans Pennink/AP | PUBLIC FINANCING: Government reform advocates want to block any changes to New York’s nascent public financing program for campaigns. The group Reinvent Albany in testimony to state lawmakers on Tuesday urged them to adopt a budget that includes Hochul’s proposed $114.5 million allocation for the public financing program. And they want the program left otherwise untouched. “We urge state leaders to fund the program without any changes. More and more candidates are signing up for the program every day — as of this writing, more than 200 have already registered,” the group said in its testimony. Hochul last year vetoed changes to the public financing program that would have made it harder for candidates to qualify for matching funds. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Donald Trump will stay on the Republican primary ballot in New York, after a vote by the Board of Elections — but a group of Democrats immediately filed an objection. (POLITICO) — New York’s concealed carry law is once again facing a lawsuit from gun rights advocates. (Times Union) — Hochul wants to end paid sick leave requirements for Covid-19. (HellGate)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | |  Former Rep. Tom Suozzi believes that there should be no conditions on U.S. aid to Israel. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images | SUOZZI AND ISRAEL: Suozzi has been consistent in arguing there should be no conditions on American aid to Israel. And the Democrat has also boasted about his willingness to break with his party from time to time — a merit in the Long Island swing district he seeks to once again represent. Suozzi said he would have been behind the Republican-led effort to pass a standalone bill to send $17.6 billion to Israel, which failed Tuesday evening. “I support this bill and disagree with the president and members of the Democratic Party who do not support it,” he said earlier in the day in a statement. Suozzi had added that his preference, however, is a wide-ranging bipartisan measure that addresses foreign aid as well as border security. Support for Israel, especially in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, is crucial in the Nassau County and Queens district which features a sizable Jewish population. Suozzi’s GOP-backed rival, Mazi Pilip, has rallied Jewish backers as an Orthodox Jew who fled Ethiopia for Israel, where she served in the Israel Defense Forces. — Emily Ngo JOHNSON TO NY: House Speaker Mike Johnson is making another fundraising trip to New York this month. Johnson will appear at a fundraiser for Hudson Valley Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro on Feb. 22 in Binghamton where tickets range from $100 to $3,300, according to an invitation obtained by Playbook. Johnson also that day will make an appearance at the state Republican Committee’s statewide nominating convention, also in Binghamton. DCCC spokesperson Ellie Dougherty blasted the fundraiser as a “selling out to Johnson’s dangerous agenda” on abortion and Social Security. Johnson, who became speaker late last year following a prolonged leadership battle, has quickly become a common sight on the fundraising circuit for battleground New York. Most recently, Johnson headlined an event for Mazi Pilip, the Republican-backed candidate in the special election to replace George Santos. Johnson also held a series of December fundraisers in the New York City area for lawmakers in pivotal races in November. — Nick Reisman More from Congress: — Early voting in NY-03 is leaning toward Democrats. (POLITICO) — Biden is getting help from blue-state governors, including Hochul, as a border deal falters. (POLITICO)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — The principal law clerk that Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked, Allison Greenfield, is now likely to be elected as a judge in her own right. (Business Insider) — Can NJ Transit handle the World Cup? Don’t ask riders. (Gothamist) — Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are planning to attend a March 28 fundraiser in New York City to support Biden's reelection campaign. (Axios)
| | | | A message from Instagram: Parents should be able to decide which apps are right for their teens.
Giving parents a say in which apps are right for their teens helps them support their teens in having a positive experience online.
That’s why Instagram wants to work with Congress to require parental approval wherever teens under 16 download apps.
Learn more. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Amid plans to make $100 million in grants this year to strengthen democracy, The JPB Foundation announced six new hires: Deepak Bhargava as president, Make the Road New York’s Daniel Altschuler as chief of staff; Deborah Axt as senior vice president of community and worker power; Jason Garrett as senior vice president of faith, bridging, and belonging; Alicia Garza as senior vice president of movement infrastructure and explorations; Arianna Jiménez as senior vice president of democracy, gender, and racial justice; and Deepak Pateriya as senior vice president of program strategy and management. … Jihoon Kim has been named CEO of the InUnity Alliance. He was previously Hochul’s deputy secretary for human services and mental hygiene. … Rochelle Rodney, director of advocacy for the NY Birth Control Access Project, has been promoted to co-executive director. IN MEMORIAM: Cecilia Gentili, director of policy at the GMHC and founder of Trans Equity Consulting, died Tuesday. (them) HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Gay Talese (92) … Dave Levinthal … IMF’s Jeff Kearns … former Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) … Cameron Page Langford … Cappi Williamson … (WAS TUESDAY): Neri Oxman ... Daniel Yergin
| | YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY | | | | 70 The number of NYCHA supervisors indicted on corruption charges Tuesday, in what U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said was the largest single-day bribery takedown in the history of the Justice Department. | | | | | | 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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