| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman and Jeff Coltin | | Presented by |  | | | With Timmy Facciola
|  “I don’t need an acting mayor because I’m an actual mayor and I’m going to continue to lead the city,” Mayor Eric Adams said. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Eric Adams is determined to prove he’s up to the task of serving 8.3 million New Yorkers while fighting criminal corruption charges and despite his administration’s depleted upper echelon. His multitasking will be put to the test today when he has both a federal court appearance and an NYPD news conference on Rosh Hashanah security. Ensuring the safety of the city — especially one with a former cop at its helm — is arguably Adams’ biggest responsibility. He seeks to reassure residents as Jewish New Yorkers mark the High Holidays, conflict intensifies between Iran and Israel and the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks approaches. City officials have cited no credible threats but are signaling they’re ready for anything. Adams made it known that he met Tuesday with Gov. Kathy Hochul and NYPD intelligence officials to discuss the possible repercussions of Iran’s missile strikes on Israel. He told reporters earlier at City Hall, “New Yorkers will notice a high visibility, enhanced deployment of NYPD personnel in their communities because we wanted to make sure New Yorkers are safe.” At the news conference, the mayor’s usual swagger was replaced by stoicism. He insisted on his innocence while seeking to convey that the city is still running relatively smoothly. Yes, even if the police commissioner is an interim leader who was raided by the feds after the previous police commissioner resigned after being raided by the feds. Yes, even if several members of the NYPD are under federal investigation. Yes, even if a handful of high-ranking aides, including the schools chancellor, are on their way out. His administration is far more than just those people, Adams has said. “I don’t need an acting mayor because I’m an actual mayor and I’m going to continue to lead the city,” he said. “That’s what I was elected to do, and I think the numbers are clear that I have the ability to do so. And I have a great team of deputy mayors who are clearly focused on moving the city forward.” Those deputy mayors typically flank Adams at his weekly news conference, but the mayor stood alone because he wanted to spare them from a flood of questions about allegations he took bribes from Turkish officials in exchange for approving a Turkish consulate, an adviser told Playbook. “Now, you have the first front row seat of my resiliency during one of these moments that is challenging,” the mayor told reporters, insisting, “You’re seeing firsthand my ability to stay focused.” — Emily Ngo IT’S WEDNESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Uber: New York City Uber riders pay $700 Million in taxes and fees annually* That’s more than the entire budget for New York City Parks Department. *Based on trips originating from NYC in 2023. Learn more. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Making a public safety announcement at her Midtown office. WHERE’S ERIC? Speaking at a security briefing about security and preparedness around the High Holidays and the one year anniversary of the October 7th terrorist attacks, and later hosting an older adult town hall. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Unfortunately, the leaks have persisted, and it has become even more apparent that the source is the prosecution team.” — Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro in a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s office saying he’s asked the court for a public hearing on leaks to the press.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | |  Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo remains a defendant in a lawsuit filed by former aide Charlotte Bennett. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP | FULL COURT PRESS: While former Gov. Andrew Cuomo considers his next political move, he and his former aides remain mired in a thicket of lawsuits that mushroomed after his 2021 resignation. And the most recent legal maneuver is coming from a member of Team Cuomo. On Tuesday, longtime Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi sued the State Police trooper who is among the women who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment. Azzopardi also named the trooper’s law firm, Wigdor LLP, in the lawsuit. He alleges the trooper, who has not been publicly identified, and the law firm, engaged in “malicious prosecution” when he was named as a co-defendant after issuing a heated statement defending Cuomo. Azzopardi’s suit alleges the law firm, in particular, “wanted to harm and punish” him and his new PR business as a result of his public statements. Azzopardi was eventually removed from the federal lawsuit filed by Trooper 1. Wigdor attorney Valdi Licul called the suit “the latest attempt to silence one of Andrew Cuomo’s victims.” “As set forth in Trooper 1’s recently filed complaint, Mr. Cuomo — often through his spokesperson Richard Azzopardi — has lobbed threats at anyone who has sought to hold him to account for creating what federal and state authorities have repeatedly found to be a hostile work environment for women,” Licul said. “ We will not be deterred by this latest desperate tactic.” Azzopardi did not want to comment beyond the claims laid out in the 15-page legal complaint, which t highlights the legal morass from the scandals that ultimately drove Cuomo from office. The ex-governor also remains a defendant in a lawsuit filed by former aide Charlotte Bennett. Cuomo has tried to use discovery proceedings and subpoenas in that case to find evidence he hopes will undermine the sexual harassment allegations made against him. Attorneys for women who have accused Cuomo of harassment have said the former governor is revictimizing them through the courts. Taxpayers have been footing the bill for Cuomo’s lawyers and his former aides in four lawsuits and various investigations — costing the state some $25.4 million. Cuomo — whose team views the legal proceedings as a chance for vindication from the scandals — declared victory on Monday after a judge dismissed a wrongful death suit filed against him by a man whose father died in a nursing home. Legal wins aside, the myriad lawsuits also call attention to Cuomo’s significant political baggage that will undoubtedly be wielded by opponents if he enters the race for mayor. — Nick Reisman
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a prayer rally to support him after his indictment, on the steps of City Hall on Oct. 1, 2024. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO | ADAMS ALLIES: Adams got an energetic show of support from more than 100 supporters chanting “four more years” on the City Hall steps Tuesday night, ahead of a hearing in his federal bribery case scheduled this morning. “Your presence here today is stating: Eric, stay the course,” Adams said to the largely Black crowd. “I am hoping that those in this city that are going through hard times understand that there's a poised and dignified administration that is going to continue to move it forward for them.” Adams entered the rally by walking through the cheering crowd, which later raised hands to pray over him. “Father, as he goes into the courtroom, even on tomorrow, water the mouths of the lawyers. Water the mouths of those who will stand on his side,” prayed Bishop Chantel Wright. “For those who have set up traps, Father God, we pray that they slip and fall in one themselves.” The NYPD Guardians Association, a fraternal group for Black members, organized the rally which featured clergy and a few members of Adams’ administration, including Chief Adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who’s also under criminal investigation. It was a show of force from his political base, but lacked from labor unions or elected officials that are key to the mayor maintaining power. — Jeff Coltin BEAU ERIC: While resisting calls to resign, Adams still displays a photo in his office of Mayor Jimmy Walker, who resigned amid a corruption scandal in 1932, then fled to Europe. — Jeff Coltin ERIC’S BEAU: The mayor’s romantic partner Tracey Collins’ official calendar gives few answers about what exactly she does in her high-level Department of Education job, Chalkbeat reports. More from the city: — Adams’ “swagger” got him into office — but that trademark charisma is now looking to prosecutors like hubris. (POLITICO) — Adams and Cuomo both carry political baggage — giving an opening to lesser-known Democratic challengers. (POLITICO) — Adams indicated he saw nothing wrong with his now-ousted top adviser Tim Pearson’s repeated efforts to secure city contracts for an AI firm scrutinized for its work in China. (POLITICO) — The Sheriff’s Office exceeded its 2024 overtime budget by 542 percent, costing taxpayers almost $5,000,000 more than planned, Comptroller Brad Lander says. (POLITICO Pro) — One of the straw donor schemes in Adams’ indictment was in fact a bid by a pair of Turkish-American media operators to launch a social club. (City & State) — The Brooklyn bar owner alleging a shakedown by the ex-police commissioner’s brother says he is cooperating with feds and suing the NYPD over. (am New York)
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state Democratic Committee would steer $1 million to a paid media effort to promote the equality amendment. | Hans Pennink/AP | PRO PROP 1: Attorney General Letitia James and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins will be among the Democrats appearing in a virtual rally Wednesday for the proposed equality amendment being considered by voters this November. The rally is set to be headlined by Black Democratic women — including members of the City Council and state Assembly — in order to boost the amendment, which is meant to guarantee abortion rights as well as protections for LGBTQ+ people. Hochul, meanwhile, pressed for the amendment during NOW NYC’s award gala on Tuesday evening. She urged the 200 attendees to not take abortion rights in New York “for granted.” “Don’t get so overconfident,” she said in her most expansive remarks this election season on the amendment. “I don’t think there’s a single woman who ever dreamed that we would have our right to an abortion stripped away by the Supreme Court of the United States.” Hochul last month said the state Democratic Committee would steer $1 million to a paid media effort to promote the amendment. Critics of the amendment have asserted the provision would lead to a host of unintended consequences, including trans people participating in women’s sports or a loosening of statutory rape laws — claims supporters have insisted are not true. But the amendment’s fate has been closely watched in New York political circles as Democrats have pinned their turnout strategy, in part, on their base’s enthusiasm for support of abortion rights. — Nick Reisman KNOW WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM: Mobile sports betting firms in the coming weeks will be required to include warnings in their advertisements of the addictive effects of gambling under a law Hochul signed Monday. Sports gambling companies have been previously required to post a problem gambling hotline. The new law, which takes effect in two months, will require the firms to go further to include explicit warnings about addiction. “I want New Yorkers to be able to safely enjoy the activities they love, while proceeding with caution when necessary,” Hochul said. “I’m confident that with the signing of this new bill, New Yorkers will have easier access to the safety resources they need to better protect themselves from the grips of addiction.” Lobbying data compiled by state regulators did not show sports gambling firms sought to shape the bill. Mobile sports betting is big business in New York. The industry generated $862 million for the state in 2023, its second full year of operation in New York. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — A new group opposing the equality amendment can raise unlimited amounts of money. (POLITICO Pro) — Child care providers have lost workers as federal funding has dried up. (NYS Focus) — A new law will expand insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings. (Spectrum News)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | |  John Avlon faces Republican Rep. Nick LaLota on eastern Long Island. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images | LI CA$H RACE: Democratic House candidate John Avlon raised more than $2.5 million over the past quarter between his campaign and his PAC, his team told Playbook. Avlon faces Republican Rep. Nick LaLota on eastern Long Island. The former CNN host’s team did not immediately provide the amount raised solely by the campaign in the past three months. It also did not provide his spending and cash-on-hand totals. It is not required to disclose them until the Federal Election Commission reporting deadline on Oct. 15. Avlon is a new addition to the DCCC’s Red to Blue program, as Playbook reported, and he’s been raising funds after depleting them during a competitive primary. “John Avlon’s message that we need to rebuild the middle of our politics and the middle of our economy is resonating with Democrats, independents, and Republicans across Suffolk County,” said his campaign manager Bryan Sokolowski, adding that the Democrat “will defend reproductive freedom, lower costs, and bring back the State and Local Tax Deduction that Trump and the Republicans took away.” LaLota’s campaign did not respond with comment, but the Republican has been going after his Dem rival as an outsider. He recently launched an attack site called “real John Avlon” that disparages Avlon as a “Manhattan elitist” and “CNN partisan.” — Emily Ngo
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Buffalo Common Council President Christopher Scanlon is preparing to become the city’s acting mayor. (Buffalo News) — Consumers in New York could be impacted by striking dock workers. (Newsday)
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Learn more. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | SOCIAL DATA Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Adams appointed the chief of staff in his counsel’s office, Allison Stoddart, to be the new chief counsel after Lisa Zornberg’s abrupt resignation … Adams is also nominating Acting Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant, a three decade veteran of the Law Department, as corporation counsel (POLITICO Pro) … Neelima Paladugu is now global chief people officer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. She most recently was global chief people officer at Dentons. MEDIAWATCH: Jesse Coburn has joined ProPublica as a national reporter. He was previously an investigative reporter at Streetsblog NYC. WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Alana Abramson, an associate director at global advisory and communications firm Karv and a CNN and Time alum, and Matt Fowler on Friday welcomed Margo Penelope Fowler. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: New York GOP Chair Ed Cox … BOE’s Vincent Ignizio … Rod Townsend … David Aronov … Yahoo’s Ben Adler … Bloomberg’s David Gura … Annie Keating … NYT’s Lynsea Garrison … Mary Brooks … former Comptroller General Dave Walker … Michael Corbelle … Sejal Tyle Hathi … Marlena Abdinoor (Baldacci) … Tom Krisher Missed Tuesday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
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