| | | | |  | | By Madina Touré, Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman | Presented by New Yorkers for Local Businesses | With help from Irie Sentner
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City Council education chair Rita Joseph will present legislation at an Education Committee hearing to require the city to report actual class sizes. | New York City Council/Flickr | NEW YORK MINUTE: Mayor Eric Adams will celebrate the opening of a Black woman-owned legal cannabis dispensary in Brooklyn this morning — it officially opens at 4:20 p.m., natch — and renew his call for Albany lawmakers to grant the city the power to close illegal shops undermining legitimate ones. Gov. Kathy Hochul is on the same page. She said at her own event Wednesday in Manhattan with cannabis business owners of color, “Let’s give … localities ways that they can padlock the doors, No. 1, and shut down these flagrant violators.” — Emily Ngo CLASS SIZE IN SESSION: New York City education officials will be in the hot seat this afternoon as city lawmakers look for answers on the Adams administration’s progress in reducing class sizes. City Council education chair Rita Joseph will present legislation at an Education Committee hearing to require the city to report actual class sizes and expand reports on the number of students in special programs like students with disabilities and English language learners. The law — a priority of the influential teachers union — requires the city to lower class sizes over by 2028; Adams’ compliance is being linked to his request for a four-year extension of mayoral control in Albany this year. “Students and parents have been waiting for this law,” Joseph told Playbook. “It’s here, it’s not going anywhere, so we must implement [it].” Earlier in the day, Joseph will host a rally with parents, educators, advocates and elected officials including state Sen. Robert Jackson, co-sponsor of the class size bill; Johanna Garcia, his chief of staff and co-chair of a working group the Department of Education formed to shape the city’s plan; and Leonie Haimson, executive director of Class Size Matters and member of the working group. Democrat John Liu, chair of the state Senate’s New York City Education Committee and sponsor of the class size bill, told Playbook he will be on hand to answer questions. It would best serve the administration — and even more so, the school children of New York City — if City Hall and DOE came up with a coherent plan to reduce class sizes,” Liu said. The mayor and the chancellor want lawmakers to pony up more money to comply with their projected cost of $1.4 billion to $1.9 billion — the price to hire 10,000 to 12,000 educators. Officials set to testify include Emma Vadehra, the DOE’s chief operating officer and deputy chancellor for operations and finance, and First Deputy Chancellor Dan Weisberg. Vadehra plans to highlight the city’s work so far, including the convening of a working group and — as recommended by that group — a survey of principals on spacing and staff needs. She’ll also signal the challenges ahead, including teacher recruitment, school-based budgeting and staffing policies and capital planning. The DOE estimates roughly 500 schools will need more classrooms than they currently have, and anticipates obstacles. A working group proposal to limit enrollment at some overcrowded schools has parents afraid of enrollment being restricted at high-performing schools, for example. “The task before us is substantial, and the considerations and tradeoffs ahead are many, but we are committed to continuing to comply with this law in the coming years,” Vadehra states in a copy of her testimony shared with Playbook. Legislators say the state sent $1.6 billion more in foundation aid — the primary source of state funding for schools — but officials maintain the money is already in schools’ budgets. “Our goal for this hearing is to get the City Council to help us push the DOE to expand the conversation that they’ve been having so far about how to implement this class size law,” Mike Sill, the United Federation of Teachers’ assistant secretary and director of personnel, payroll and special projects, said. — Madina Touré IT’S THURSDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from New Yorkers for Local Businesses: Costs have risen and I’m trying to do right by my employees. I’ve been a small business owner for 30 years, and I don’t think Albany realizes how much harder it’s gotten to keep a small business afloat in New York. I just hope they’ll consider how much local businesses mean to their communities, particularly in small towns like mine, before passing legislation that could wipe us out. - Renee Reardon, Restaurant Owner in the Capital Region. Learn more about how New Yorkers for Local Businesses is fighting back at NYforLocalBusinesses.com. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City appearing as a guest on CNN and delivering remarks at the Citizen Budget Commission’s annual gala. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at the Building Trades Employers’ Association policy breakfast, then the grand opening of Matawana Dispensary, then the Business Outreach Center Network’s fourth annual Power Forward virtual conference, then the New York City Department of Small Business Services’ virtual “Cities United for Small Business & Economic Development” national convening, then appearing on Telemundo’s “Noticiero 47,” then hosting a reception celebrating Black History Month, then speaking at the annual Citizens Budget Commission gala. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Co-op is back baby!” — Rep. Jamaal Bowman, on X, after Hochul signed the new congressional maps into law, which drew Co-op City in the Bronx into his district and should help in his primary.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | 
This week Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi floated the possibility that New York City could have to house detainees in other counties or state prisons if the council doesn’t change the plan to close Rikers Island. | Seth Wenig/AP | NO INMATES TO THE SUBURBS: A top City Hall leader raised a possibility this week: New York City would have to house detainees in other counties, or state prisons if the City Council doesn’t change the plan to close the detention complex on Rikers Island and build new jails. The city formally increased the number of beds at all four new planned jails to 1,040 each, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said at a wide-ranging press conference Tuesday, confirming a report in Gothamist. But space for 4,160 detainees is way below the current city jail population of 6,167 people — so Joshi suggested the plan needs to change. “If we don’t have adequate housing for people, we’re actually going to do the opposite of the intention of the borough-based jail plan,” with jails more humane than those on Rikers, Joshi said. “And have some people that are in inadequate places, substitute jail orders or other not-so-good and temporary accommodations.” Would that mean tents? “Absolutely not,” she said, “but whenever the jail capacity goes over what we have, we have to trade space with other neighboring counties or state facilities.” The idea of housing detainees outside city jails surprised Council members. “I’ve never heard that before, and I’ve been doing Rikers stuff for 20 years,” Manhattan’s Gale Brewer said. A City Hall spokesperson said Joshi was speaking hypothetically — and conversations with other offices confirmed it. Spokespeople for the Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman both said there had been “no conversations” about such a plan. Advocates for closing Rikers were unmoved by Joshi’s threat. “To me it signals a remarkable passiveness about what the city can or will do,” said Liz Glazer, who directed the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. “It isn’t a situation of just wait for (the population) to get bigger and bigger and institute some emergency actions.” Meanwhile, Adams’ management of Rikers may be improving, if only slightly. A federal judge lifted the contempt of court order against the Department of Correction that was put in place for the city’s refusal to work with the federal monitor overseeing the jails. But the Times reported the judge wrote that the move “does not change the fact that Rikers remains a blight on our city.” — Jeff Coltin
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
City Council Member Alexa Avilés was among the speakers at a "Cease-fire Now" rally outside City Hall on Wednesday. | Emily Ngo/POLITICO | CEASE-FIRE CALL: A coalition of left-leaning City Council members and racial justice groups is wrapping up a 24-hour vigil this morning outside City Hall, where they read the names of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. They’re demanding a cease-fire resolution like the one passed in Chicago last month, noting New York City’s influence internationally. But Council Speaker Adrienne Adams indicated such a measure isn’t imminent. “The work is ongoing,” Adams told reporters. “My hope is for us to come together in recognizing our shared humanity and interest to promote peace.” Council members condemning the Israeli government and mourning the deaths of 30,000 Palestinians will keep the pressure on. “This is an abomination,” Council Member Alexa Avilés said at the rally. “I ask everyone to find your humanity, to look at those children and say, ‘Not on our dime.’” Council Member Shahana Hanif urged a boycott of Mayor Eric Adams’ iftar event during Ramadan and called on elected officials who don’t support a cease-fire to be barred from visiting mosques. “A permanent cease-fire is what brings home all hostages,” she said. Some 35 New York elected officials have called for at least a temporary cease-fire, City & State reports. Hanif also referenced the protest vote against President Joe Biden in Tuesday’s Michigan primary by Democrats critical of his defense of Israel. “We've been told that every vote counts,” she said. “We know what that means.” — Emily Ngo REVENUE REVIEW: Had the city updated its tax revenue projections last fall when Adams announced a series of unpopular spending reductions, officials would have likely found more money to throw around, the city’s Independent Budget Office said in a briefing yesterday. In theory, that might have allowed the mayor to avoid some of the cuts — along with the ensuing political fallout. In September, the city’s budget director mandated agency heads trim spending by 5 percent ahead of the annual November budget update, citing dire economic conditions on the horizon. Commissioners were then instructed to prepare for two subsequent rounds of cuts, called programs to eliminate the gap or PEGs. However, the city’s budget office did not update revenue projections in the November plan, meaning the cuts were being justified by outdated estimates. “It was … an interesting choice not to do that update while simultaneously calling for what was then three rounds of PEGs,” Sarah Parker, a senior research and strategy officer at IBO, said in a press briefing about the $109.4 billion preliminary budget unveiled by Adams in January. While the city does not typically update revenue projections in November, Parker noted there have been past instances where officials have indeed refreshed the figures. Doing so might have brought the city’s estimates closer in line with IBO and other organizations who had predicted more tax revenue — a rosier economic picture that was later reflected in January. — Joe Anuta More from the city: — Tim Pearson, a close aide to Adams, tried to steer a migrant security contract to mayoral friend Bo Dietl. (POLITICO) — The head of a new mayoral nonprofit office left quietly after a year — as those groups say a dysfunctional new invoicing system has left them unable to collect millions of dollars owed (THE CITY) — After more lithium-ion battery fires, the council passed several bills aimed at cracking down on businesses selling e-bikes and e-scooters powered by them. (City & State)
| | | | A message from New Yorkers for Local Businesses:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Over 20 organizations, including the New York Abortion Access Fund, are pressing Gov. Kathy Hochul to back a measure that would create grants for abortion providers. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | ABORTION FUNDING: Advocates want more help for abortion providers in the state budget. A letter from 21 organizations, including the New York Abortion Access Fund, is pressing Hochul to back a measure that would create grants to providers. A version of the provision has been supported legislatively by state Sen. Cordell Cleare and Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas. The funding mechanism would come from the state Department of Health and also go toward abortion funds and organizations that support the procedure. “The moment has come for New York to take the forefront in the nation amidst escalating challenges to reproductive healthcare and gender equity,” the groups wrote in the letter. The push for the measure is playing out against an election season in which abortion is expected to be a key issue for Democrats. Hochul has pledged to make the state a bulwark for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022. — Nick Reisman POTENCY TAX ON THE BLOCK: New York’s struggling cannabis industry has gotten behind Hochul’s support to repeal the state’s potency tax. Hochul has backed a budget that would replace the tax with a 9 percent wholesale excise tax. The Cannabis Association of New York in a letter to top state lawmakers urged them to include the measure in their own budget proposals, which are expected next week. The group in the letter wrote the repeal of the potency tax would “simplify tax collection and alleviate burdens on small marijuana businesses.” “The current tax structure, which charges based on THC potency, has long been a point of contention within our industry due to its complexity and adverse impact on businesses, particularly small-scale cultivators and retailers,” the group wrote. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — SUNY’s path forward for Downstate Medical Center is drawing concerns from state lawmakers. (POLITICO Pro) —- Former state budget chief Paul Francis says eliminating managed long-term plans could save money. (State of Politics) — Lawsuits loom ahead of congestion pricing’s June launch. (Newsday)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Rep. Tom Suozzi was sworn in Thursday night, refilling the seat previously held by himself and now-expelled Republican George Santos. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE SUOZ SWORN-IN: Rep. Tom Suozzi is back on Capitol Hill — and he’s already calling out both Democrats and Republicans. The Long Island Democrat was sworn in Thursday night, refilling the seat previously held by himself and now-expelled Republican George Santos. “I never thought I’d be back here, but the Lord works in mysterious ways,” Suozzi said to his colleagues, many of whom he worked with during his three terms. “And God made a way when there was no way.” Suozzi’s attendance brings the number of Democrats in the House up and makes the Republican majority even slimmer — just two seats. Now, the New York delegation is made up of 16 Democrats and 10 Republicans. But within minutes of being back in the House, Suozzi was already calling on the chamber to start working across the aisle, especially in a particularly unproductive Congress. “On the night of my election victory, I promised the people of Long Island, Queens I would deliver a simple message to this chamber,” Suozzi said. “Wake up! The people are sick and tired of the finger pointing and the petty partisan bickering. They want us to work together.” Suozzi also addressed comments from Speaker Mike Johnson, who claimed the Long Island swing district rep “ran like a Republican.” “I know you meant that as a compliment,” Suozzi said to the speaker. He added, “Let me be clear Mr. Speaker, I'm a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. But more important — like you, Mr. Speaker, and the men and women in this chamber — I’m a true blue, dyed-in-the-wool American.” So what’s up next for Suozzi in his return to Washington? He’s scheduled to speak with Third Way, a center-left think tank, this morning — and talk about how Democrats can use GOP talking points like immigration and crime in their campaigns. — Mia McCarthy SMALLER IS BETTER: Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Westchester County Executive George Latimer were publicly sparring through the martial art of contemptuous quote tweets Wednesday. But while the candidates were busy online beefing, their campaigns have been waging a war over whose fundraising dollars are more pure. The pols are in a fraught battle for the NY-16 seat, composed of parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, with Bowman the incumbent. Bowman is keen to cast Latimer’s campaign as bankrolled by GOP-aligned super PACs and mega-wealthy donors. Latimer’s campaign says Bowman’s haul is made up of out-of-state interlopers hoping to spoil a local election. New fundraising numbers on Act Blue — “the main digital (fundraising) platform for Democratic campaigns,” according to Bowman’s spokesperson Bill Neidhardt — show that Bowman’s financial supporters are small-dollar donors, his camp contends. ActBlue numbers in January show Bowman raising $258,464, with donations averaging $72.54. Latimer hauled in $248,532, at $323.19 a pop, Bowman’s campaign said. “It looks like Latimer has not been able to follow up on his fundraising sprint out of the gate,” Neidhardt said. But Latimer’s folks say drawing conclusions about fundraising solely based on a candidate’s ActBlue is like trying to determine someone’s net worth by looking at their Venmo. In fact, FEC filings show Latimer raised nearly 75 percent of his contributions from Bronx and Westchester residents, “while only a paltry 9 percent of Bowman’s contributions came from local voters,” according to the calculations of Latimer spokesperson Doug Forand. “The fact that our opponent doesn't understand that at grassroots, in-district community events or house parties, donors often give checks and use credit cards — as opposed to using an online portal — just highlights his lack of community support,” Forand said. “This is a new level of desperation, deflection and deception from scandal-plagued Jamaal Bowman,” he added. — Jason Beeferman AVLON IS ON: First in Playbook, former CNN anchor John Avlon said he’s raised $400,000 in a week since launching his campaign for an eastern Long Island congressional seat. That’s within striking distance of the $611,000 that Democratic contender Nancy Goroff — who’s known as a good fundraiser — raised in three months last quarter. Another primary contender, former state Sen. James Gaughran, also dropped out and endorsed Avlon Wednesday — after telling Playbook last week he was “a big fan” of the journalist. “John Avlon is the only Democrat in this race who can build a winning coalition of Long Island families from the heart of Huntington to the tip of Montauk and bring responsible, common sense leadership to Washington,” Gaughran said. The Suffolk County district, now held by Republican Rep. Nick LaLota, is among the six swing House seats in New York this year. But it’s not all rosy for Avlon — redistricting just made the district a little safer for LaLota, changing it from one that Biden won to a Trump +2 seat. — Jeff Coltin and Nick Reisman More from the delegation: — After rumors he might step aside, Rep. Jerry Nadler, New York’s oldest member of Congress, says he could keep going past 80. (New York Magazine)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Former President Donald Trump may have to sell some properties after a more than $450 million fraud judgment. (New York Times) — State cannabis officials have received over 7,000 applications for adult-use licenses, and they say they want more approved. (State of Politics) — The MTA has installed new high-tech cameras designed to automatically track and toll cars driving below Manhattan’s 60th Street ahead of its congestion pricing rollout. (Gothamist)
| | | | A message from New Yorkers for Local Businesses: Rising costs, an unstable economy, and a hostile business environment have made it harder than ever to start, manage, or grow a small business in New York. New Yorkers for Local Businesses is fighting back against misguided bills that threaten New York’s economic recovery. Learn more here. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Tobi Jaiyesimi joined Kasirer as a vice president. She was previously an assistant vice president at Empire State Development. … Matt Fried will be Rep. Tom Suozzi’s (D-N.Y.) chief of staff. He was previously deputy chief of staff for Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). ... Marty Burger, the longtime CEO of Silverstein Properties whom the company abruptly replaced late last year, is starting his own firm. (Crain’s) CLICKER — CNBC released its 2024 list of “Changemakers,” a group of women making a major impact in business. Some of the names on this year's list include Jessica Berman, Yvette Ostolaza, Dina Powell McCormick, Kate Ryder, Cathy Engelbert, Angela Hwang, Priscilla Sims Brown, Keia Clarke and Thasunda Brown Duckett. IN MEMORIAM: Four Freedoms Democratic Club member Ronnie Weintraub, a college basketball blogger and Special Olympics booster, has died. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Greenbrier Partners’ Adrian Durbin … (WAS WEDNESDAY): Frank Gehry ... Anthony W. Marx ... Moti Kahana
| | YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY | | | | 3 The number of buses carrying migrants that gave New York City advance notice of their arrival, after Adams’ executive order cracking down on them, via Gothamist. | | | | | | 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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