| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Jeff Coltin and Nick Reisman | | Presented by |  | | | With Timmy Facciola
| | 
“We want a representative who cares about all the different faith communities, ethnic communities,” Laura Gillen told Playbook on Tuesday. | Emily Ngo/POLITICO | Democratic House candidate Laura Gillen has hosted some of her party’s heaviest-hitting New Yorkers in her final sprint to Election Day. In recent days on western Long Island, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Tom Suozzi rallied carpenters’ union members, Attorney General Letitia James canvassed Black churchgoers, Rep. Ritchie Torres stumped in heavily Jewish Five Towns and Rep. Nydia Velázquez toured Latino businesses. This evening, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is getting a boost of his own from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) at a Franklin Square rally with hundreds of expected attendees. Johnson’s tour through New York will also benefit Reps. Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro and challenger Alison Esposito. Gillen’s recent events have highlighted the diversity of the district while D’Esposito’s have flexed the strength of the local Republican Party and doubled down on the border, crime and other issues the GOP has seen propel voters to the polls. “We want a representative who cares about all the different faith communities, ethnic communities,” Gillen told Playbook on Tuesday. Their rematch is a fight to the finish, especially because D’Esposito won by fewer than 10,000 votes in 2022. Gillen’s campaign says it has knocked more than 220,000 doors, and D’Esposito’s team says it has recently been knocking 60,000 per week. As Gillen argues that D’Esposito has made a career of corruption, he says she and her party are weak on protecting the Southern border, as Playbook reported. “We are here to remind everyone they are the ones who broke the border,” D’Esposito said Tuesday. Gillen has pledged to work across the aisle to secure the border, which she says D’Esposito failed to do during his time in Congress. Meanwhile, the disparaging remarks about Puerto Rico made at Donald Trump’s Sunday rally may impact the NY-04 race more than others around the state. There are about 21,000 Puerto Rican residents in the district. “It was a bad joke that landed even worse,” said D’Esposito, who is of Puerto Rican descent, before charging that reporters don’t cover Democrats calling Republicans “Nazis” as vigilantly. Velázquez, a longtime champion of Puerto Rico who was with Gillen in Freeport on Tuesday, predicted Republicans would lose votes over the pro-Trump comedian’s set. “This is not just a matter of defending democracy and protecting democracy,” she told Playbook. “It’s also for my Puerto Rican brothers and sisters; Puerto Rico is on the ballot.” — Emily Ngo HAPPY WEDNESDAY. There are six days until Election Day. 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 an infrastructure announcement in Poughkeepsie. WHERE’S ERIC? Attending a stop of his Five Borough Multifaith tour event in Harlem, hosting a roundtable with Guyanese community leaders, and making an education announcement at UFT headquarters with Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. QUOTE OF THE DAY: ”Why are you surprised? When does he speak negative about anyone? He is a mature adult who respects all views from all our fellow Americans.” — Adams adviser Frank Carone, on why the mayor does not criticize former President Donald Trump, in POLITICO’s analysis of Adams’ playing nice with the Republican nominee.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | |  “At the end of the day, this administration abandoned the southern border and the northern border using your legal argument,” Rep. Marc Molinaro said earlier this month. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | A CLOSER LOOK: The heart of Rep. Marc Molinaro’s case against his Democratic challenger has been Josh Riley’s “32 lawsuits to dismantle our border security,” allegedly so incriminating that the GOP freshman demanded a fact check after the upstate rivals’ sole debate. But the long list of legal actions proffered by Molinaro’s campaign is duplicative, including two entries that are repeated verbatim, some with the same case number, some with the same title and date and several with identical language. It includes court filings that were later consolidated and appears to boil down to two lawsuits: one challenging Trump’s ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries and the other arguing border resources should be focused on the most dangerous crossers, effectively a defense of the work authorization and deportation relief program known as DACA. Riley helped file amicus briefs as an attorney for legal giant Boies Schiller Flexner. Molinaro hasn’t let him forget it, saying that his “prosecutorial discretion” argument has helped the Biden administration. “At the end of the day, this administration abandoned the southern border and the northern border using your legal argument,” the vulnerable House Republican sniped earlier this month. Riley and the DCCC have in turn used their own long list against Molinaro — this one on votes against reproductive rights. “He voted 13 times in the last two years to restrict women’s access to abortion services,” the Democrat said at the debate. The list offered as backup is also misleading, though not nearly as much as the one wielded against Riley. The anti-Molinaro list includes procedural votes and descriptions that don't provide full pictures. For example, the bill “that could throw doctors in jail for providing abortion services,” according to the DCCC, was meant to address the very rare instances where newborns survive a botched abortion and should be provided care. — Emily Ngo
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Jesse Hamilton was absent from a City Council hearing about the deal on Tuesday. | Mike Groll/AP | DOING MORE WITH LEASE: Former state Sen. Jesse Hamilton, a high-ranking city official, disregarded a formal scoring system for a bidding process he oversaw through his job controlling Adams administration real estate deals. Hamilton, a close friend of the mayor, overruled the process altogether and steered a lucrative contract away from the initial winner and to a major mayoral donor, as POLITICO first reported. Hamilton’s role in the deal was the subject of a City Council hearing Tuesday, as lawmakers grilled his boss about that and other suspected corruption at the powerful but obscure Department of Citywide Administrative Services. “Two years ago, Mr. Hamilton's appointment raised red flags. Today, those flags have turned into criminal investigations,” Council Member Lincoln Restler, who chaired the hearing, said in his opening remarks. “We have spoken with many people inside and outside of the administration who have been deeply concerned by Mr. Hamilton's judgment and lack of an ethical compass.” Read more on the hearing from POLITICO’s Joe Anuta. WHERE ISN’T ERIC? Turkish New Yorkers gathered at Bowling Green Tuesday for a ceremonial flag raising for Turkey’s Republic Day. Adams attended the past two years but skipped this one. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — A state law allowing the city to padlock hundreds of suspected illegal cannabis shops is unconstitutional, a Queens judge said in a bombshell ruling. (New York Post) — Adams skipped the first candidate forum of the 2025 mayoral race last weekend because he was too busy with work and couldn’t find time for “frivolous stuff,” he said. (Daily News) — Millicent Redick, a defendant in the Manhattan DA’s straw donor case involving Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign pleaded guilty to a non-criminal violation. (Daily News)
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Patrick Orecki, an analyst with the fiscally conservative Citizens Budget Commission, said the report underscored the solid nature of the state’s economy even as gaps persist. | Daniel Barry/Getty Images | BUDGET BOON: The state budget gap for next year is shrinking, thanks in large part to higher-than-expected tax revenue. The budget hole, initially projected in May to be about $5 billion, now stands at $1 billion, a mid-year financial plan update released by Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration found. The drop provides good news for the governor ahead of the start of the budget season and legislative session in January. A $1 billion difference in spending and revenue is easy enough to close in a state budget that will likely clock in at more than $240 billion. The budget is expected to pass by April 1. But future years might be complicated by Medicaid spending, which is expected to widen gaps to $6.2 billion in 2026 and $7.1 billion the next year. Patrick Orecki, an analyst with the fiscally conservative Citizens Budget Commission, said the report underscored the solid nature of the state’s economy even as gaps persist. “Modest spending restraint over the coming years will help fix that imbalance and put New York State on a stronger fiscal footing,” he said. — Nick Reisman FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A pro-charter school PAC is spending big on two Democratic Assembly candidates trying to flip seats in southern Brooklyn. Moving New York Families Forward has spent nearly $60,000 boosting Joey Saban, who’s challenging Republican Assemblymember Michael Novakhov, according to campaign finance reports. The PAC for charter school advocacy group Democrats for Education Reform has also spent $43,000 on Chris McCreight, who’s taking on GOP Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny. McCreight has also seen $25,000 spent on a mailer from New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany, another charter school PAC. Moving New York Families Forward has dropped about $260,000 so far across six races, a representative told Playbook. The PAC is also backing state Sen. Iwen Chu and Assemblymember Gina Sillitti, as well as Democratic challengers Rebecca Kassay in Suffolk County and Chloe Pierce in the Capital Region. — Jeff Coltin More from Albany: — Former state budget chief Robert Mujica is consulting for the Greater New York Hospital Association. (NYS Focus) — Early voting is eclipsing the 2020 pace as New Yorkers wait in long lines to cast ballots. (Times Union) — New York elections officials have concerns about a backlog of voter registrations in Onondaga County. (CNY Central)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | — Incumbent Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) lead in their crucial Hudson Valley races. (PIX11) — Democrats confront a tougher down-ballot road in New York amid the Harris-Trump race. ( NBC News) — A Democrat-aligned group is sending spammy mailers designed to look like official election literature to voters in NY-19. (New York Post) — Republican House candidate Alison Esposito failed to disclose her stock holdings as required under federal law, records show. (POLITICO)
| | | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | | — Studios are seeking cheaper shooting locations as film and TV production employment plummets. (THE CITY) — Five counties in the state have been chosen for a new health care payment model. (POLITICO Pro) — New York’s highest court is weighing the case of a Buffalo priest who says their case was ignored by state officials after being discriminated against by church leaders. (Buffalo News)
| | | | A message from Uber: Ever thought about what it’s like to drive for Uber in New York?
Uber Drivers earn $32 per hour.* And that’s before incentives and tips
They also get benefits including dental insurance, vision coverage, mental health support, and workers’ compensation through the Black Car Fund and Driver Benefits Fund.
*Average earnings per online hour from January - July 2024 based on trips originating from NYC
Learn more. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES — Amanda Melillo has been promoted to be first deputy executive director of the NYC Campaign Finance Board. She most recently was deputy director of public affairs for the board. MEDIAWATCH — Erin Banco will be a national security correspondent at Reuters. She currently is a national security reporter at POLITICO. ENGAGED -- Kyle Orrock, a managing director at Northwestern Mutual, proposed to Rachel Janc, a strategic communications consultant and Conde Nast alum. The couple originally met as kids growing up in the Minneapolis area, but lost touch over the years. Their paths crossed again years later when they were both home for the holidays in 2021. Pic ... The ring HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Maggie Haberman … Ivanka Trump … NBC’s Andrea Mitchell … POLITICO’s Bill Mahoney … Treasury’s Paul Rosen … Robert Caro … Lizette Alvarez (6-0) … Ian Whitson of FTI Consulting … Laurence Leamer … Sandy Flint … (WAS TUESDAY): David Siegel ... Jeffrey E. Garten Missed Tuesday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here . | | | | 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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