Columbia protesters occupy academic building

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Apr 30, 2024 View in browser   By Irie Sentner, Madina Touré and Nick Reisman With help from Shawn Ness The encampment at Columbia University spread overnight to a nearby building that protesters occupied. | Caelan Bailey Pro-Palestinian student protesters at Columbia University early this morning occupied Hamilton Hall, the same campus building that students advocating for racial justice occupied in the 1960s, in a significant escalation at the elite institution that launched dozens of campus demonstrations across the world, POLITICO reported. The breach began around 12:30 a.m., the day after the university suspended students who had refused to leave the Gaza Solidarity Encampment for nearly two weeks. Hundreds of students gathered at the center of campus, marched around the encampment, and formed a human chain outside the academic building. Inside, students barricaded the building’s doors with chairs. At least one window was broken. About a dozen university public safety personnel surveyed the scene, and the New York Police Department — which must have permission from senior administrators to enter campus — were not on-site at the time. An NYPD spokesperson said officers were outside the campus overnight, but declined to comment on how many and whether or not they’d been authorized by the university to enter the grounds. “We will not leave until Columbia meets every one of our demands,” one of the students yelled from a balcony window. The demands include university divestment from Israel, disclosure of Columbia investments and protections for protesters. The protesters unfurled a banner from a balcony window that read “Hind’s Hall,” in honor of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old who was killed in Gaza City following an Israeli bombardment. “Today we take this building in honor of Hind and every Palestinian martyr,” one of the demonstrators yelled from the balcony. A sign with the word “intifada,” Arabic for uprising, hung from a higher section of the building facade. About a dozen students and two janitors were in the building, according to a student inside who was granted anonymity to avoid retaliation from the university. The janitors and a handful of students — including student journalists — left the building shortly after the protesters entered. “They swarmed the building,” said one university staffer, who was inside Hamilton Hall at the time. “I got into a scuffle with a couple of them. They finally let us out,” the staffer said, gesturing to a small, surface-level cut on the hand. The Columbia employee was granted anonymity over concerns for their personal safety. At 4:33 a.m., a universitywide email went out announcing the occupation and advising that “members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus today … should do so.” At 6:33 a.m. today, the university limited campus access to students living in residential buildings within the school’s gates and essential staff, barring many students and nearly all faculty from dining halls, labs and libraries on the first day of “reading week,” the dedicated finals study period. On Monday, the university began suspending students who refuse to leave an ongoing pro-Palestinian encampment on campus following an impasse in negotiations. Officials distributed notices to students Monday morning informing them that they would not face suspension and would complete the semester in good academic standing if they exited the encampment by 2 p.m. The administration made some concessions to meet student requests but did not agree to protesters’ main demand that the university divest from Israel. — Irie Sentner HAPPY TUESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany and New York City making an artificial intelligence budget announcement. WHERE’S ERIC? Participating in a fireside chat with JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, holding an in-person media availability and hosting a reception to celebrate non-profit and faith-based organizations. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was a bunch of unidentified white guys.” — Former PSC Commissioner John Howard on the task of reorganizing the Hall of Governors into a museum-worthy exhibit. ABOVE THE FOLD Assemblymember Donna Lupardo is sponsoring a long-sought bill to allow distilleries and cider makers to directly send their products to customers. | Hans Pennink/AP TIPPLERS’ DELIGHT: It’s been a boom time for booze consumers in New York. The state budget this year included an extension of allowing restaurants to sell drinks as part of to-go meal orders, the continuation of a pandemic-era treat that provided a lifeline for eateries that had otherwise been closed for in-person dining. And in the post-budget legislative session, lawmakers may try to go further to change New York’s alcohol and beverage control laws. A long-sought bill to allow distilleries and cider makers to directly send their products to customers is once again being pressed for as many of the businesses are facing economic struggles. Lawmakers supportive of the effort point to the decades-long effort to expand small-time distillers and cideries in the state. At the same time, the measure is also meant to put the distillers and cider makers on the same footing as winemakers, which are allowed to make direct-to-consumer shipments. “We didn’t spend all this time building up this industry of small businesses to let it fail because this one mechanism used during COVID isn’t allowed,” Assemblymember Donna Lupardo, a sponsor of the bill, told Playbook. But efforts to change New York’s alcohol and beverage control laws have been an uphill climb. Allowing wine sold in grocery stores, for example, has long struggled to gain traction in the Legislature amid opposition from independent liquor store owners. And liquor stores are opposed to direct shipments as well. They have raised concerns over minors being able to access booze as well as the effect the measure could have on their own businesses. “That's not for the greater good,” Michael Correra, the executive director of the liquor store trade group Metropolitan Package Store Association, said of the proposal. “We should all work together to figure out how to grow your business, but not at the demise of the community.” Correra said in an interview he plans to push back against the proposal “every day.” “We play defense,” he said. “We talk all day to legislators.” — Nick Reisman  CITY HALL: THE LATEST Mayor Eric Adams Adams led a rally Monday morning in support of the plan, which is estimated to produce up to 58,000 to 109,000 homes over 15 years through a suite of reforms. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office CITY OF YES: The City Planning Commission advanced a central tenet of Mayor Eric Adams’ housing agenda Monday — a plan to overhaul zoning rules to boost residential development across the five boroughs. The commission kicked off the public approval process for the plan, which is the most consequential housing proposal Adams has pushed in his two-plus years as mayor. It is also the heaviest political lift. Community boards and borough presidents will offer advisory recommendations on the zoning amendment in the coming months, before a final vote of the City Council that is expected by the end of the year. Adams led a rally Monday morning in support of the plan, which is estimated to produce up to 58,000 to 109,000 homes over 15 years through a suite of reforms. Chief among them is a plan to allow developers to construct buildings about 20 percent larger than otherwise permitted if they use that additional space for income-restricted housing. — Janaki Chadha More from the city: — Adams has assembled an aggressive legal team as he and his aides face investigations. (New York Times) — New York City is handing out fliers to deter migrant children from selling candy. (Gothamist) — Cops raided an illegal cannabis business after its owner dared the NYPD. (New York Post) NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY There’s still plenty of unfinished business for legislators to take up in the final five weeks of the legislative session. | Hans Pennink/AP THANK YOU NEXT: The state budget is in the books. But what comes next for Hochul and state lawmakers? Even with an extension of mayoral control of New York City schools off the table, there’s still plenty of unfinished business for legislators to take up in the final five weeks of the legislative session. That includes the NY HEAT Act, A bill to align the state’s climate goals with the state’s public service law. Supporters believe it can help lower utility bills. But opponents are skeptical, and the provision has stalled for the last several years at the Capitol. Lawmakers are also weighing an additional package of limousine safety measures and further reforms to the state’s election laws, a person familiar with the conversations told Playbook. At the moment, it seems a rare, post-budget “big ugly” omnibus bill would come together by June 6, the final day of the legislative session. Keep in mind: Many lawmakers will face party primaries in the coming weeks. That could spur them to act to boost their standing with their base – or give impetus for getting out of town and onto the hustings. — Nick Reisman INSURANCE COSTS: New Yorkers are living with some of the highest insurance premiums in the country, according to an industry report released Monday. And tort reform advocacy groups are pressing state officials to grant some relief. "The findings of this report should be a call to action for policymakers at every level of government," Tom Stebbins, the executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York. "While some factors require further study, there are numerous opportunities for lawmakers to address the root causes of out-of-control insurance costs and the swift deterioration of the insurance market.” The report found insurance costs are impacting nearly every area for consumers, including health, auto and even ridesharing. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — A new state law could alleviate a lifeguard shortage in New York. (Spectrum News) — Attorney General Tish James wants answers from Meta after its AI spat out false stories about elected officials. (City & State) — The SUNY faculty union wants a boost in state funding to cover deficits at public college campuses. (Times Union)   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S ENERGY SUMMIT: The future of energy faces a crossroads in 2024 as policymakers and industry leaders shape new rules, investments and technologies. Join POLITICO’s Energy Summit on June 5 as we convene top voices to examine the shifting global policy environment in a year of major elections in the U.S. and around the world. POLITICO will examine how governments are writing and rewriting new rules for the energy future and America’s own role as a major exporter. REGISTER HERE.     NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — John Avlon is running for a House seat on increasingly Republican Long Island by trumpeting a Clinton-style centrism. (NY Mag) — After refusing to pull over and responding angrily to the officer who confronted her, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley is facing calls to resign. (New York Times) — After spending $100 million in legal fees, a diocese in Long Island may become the first in the nation to have its bankruptcy case dismissed. (Newsday) SOCIAL DATA Edited by Daniel Lippman HAPPY BIRTHDAY: U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres … Time’s Brian Bennett … Vanity Fair’s Joe Hagan … Barry Blitt … NBC’s Liz Bader … CBS’ Caitlin Yilek ... Perrin “Tyler” Bulakul … WSJ’s Rachel Wolfe … James Johnson of JL Partners WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Bill Cortese, senior adviser to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) at the House Republican Conference, and Elena Cortese, a broker and realtor at Intracoastal Realty, welcomed Billie Rose Cortese on April 21. Pic YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY 16 cents The wage gap between white men and women of color who work for New York City, according to a new report.   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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