| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman | | Presented by |  | | | With Timmy Facciola
| | 
“The mayor is trying to trick New Yorkers into giving him a treat,” No Power Grab NYC spokesperson Mark Winston Griffith said in a statement on Halloween. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO | Opponents of ballot proposals 2 through 6 in New York City have been clear: Vote yes if you support Mayor Eric Adams. (Unpopular. Untrustworthy.) Vote no if you stand with the City Council. (Democratic. Righteous.) “Two through 6 is literally trying to say that the first Black speaker who runs the first woman-led City Council should have less power, that should go to him,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said at a City Hall rally Wednesday. “So I ask New Yorkers, do you trust Mayor Adams, from what you've seen?” A crowd with the No Power Grab NYC coalition responded with boos. No Power Grab NYC’s message is all in the name. Need more? The associated PAC is called New Yorkers Defending Democracy. Their argument is that the mayor rushed a Charter Revision Commission to block the council from expanding its power to vote down mayoral appointments AND to amend the charter to muck up the lawmaking process to benefit the mayor. There’s little focus on the actual impact of the five proposals. In short:
- #2 would enshrine the Department of Sanitation’s practice of cleaning highways and streets outside parks
- #3 would let the mayor’s budget office assess the cost of bills introduced in the council
- #4 would require the council to give a 30-day notice ahead of hearings on public safety bills
- #5 would adjust the process for the city’s 10-year plan for infrastructure spending
- #6 would shift film permitting to a different agency
But Speaker Adrienne Adams would tell you it’s about the process, not the content. “No one person should have this much power,” she said at the rally, referring to the mayor. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a king, I want a democracy!” The mayor’s response? Silence, pretty much. He praised the proposals when they were finalized in July, saying in a statement they’ll address “cleaner streets, fiscal responsibility, public safety, capital planning, and minority- and women-owned business enterprises.” Since then, supporters have been coasting, not spending any money to promote a yes vote, and expecting they will pass by inertia. “They’re spending about as much in favor as the Equal Rights people are spending,” a supporter joked, referring to POLITICO’s report on how little of the money raised for the statewide Prop 1 has gone to advertising. “The mayor is trying to trick New Yorkers into giving him a treat,” No Power Grab NYC spokesperson Mark Winston Griffith said in a statement on Halloween. “New Yorkers tend to assume that what is placed on the ballot is in our best interest.” Opponents have reported spending $123,000 on leaflets and videos — a paltry amount for a citywide campaign — with the majority of that funding coming from the Working Families Party. The money is accompanied by grassroots organizing on social media, and the council has sent out mailers citywide criticizing the proposals, earning complaints about illegal electioneering — but it’s hard to say it has broken through in a busy election year. Still, Adams’ indictment and sub-30 percent approval rating, have given vote no-ers a glimmer of hope. “The community that is working to defeat the questions is portraying this as the mayor's questions,” said Ben Weinberg of government reform group Citizens Union. “I think it increases the chances of them to be defeated.” — Jeff Coltin HAPPY FRIDAY. There’s four 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 a public safety announcement in Syracuse. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at the Milan Cultural Association’s Diwali Celebration. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The nature of my job is to work with whomever occupies the White House.” — Gov. Kathy Hochul on whether she would be able to work with former President Donald Trump if he returns to the presidency.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito was a Town of Hempstead council member and part of the Republican majority when Laura Gillen was at its helm. | Emily Ngo/POLITICO | LONG AT ODDS: Rep. Anthony D’Esposito and Laura Gillen have a history of hostility stretching back six years to their time together in local government. D’Esposito was a Town of Hempstead council member and part of the Republican majority when Gillen was at its helm — the first Democrat elected to the supervisor post in a century. The venom is still there in a heated Long Island rematch that could help determine control of the House. “I campaigned for town supervisor to fight cronyism and nepotism and to bring transparency and sunlight to the Town of Hempstead,” Gillen told reporters at a recent campaign rally, alleging that D’Esposito did the opposite on the town council and also in Congress. D’Esposito, meanwhile, invokes her 2019 budget proposal hiking taxes — with an offset — and subsequent vote against a counterproposal she had scant time to read. It’s also the central attack of a Congressional Leadership Fund ad. “First of all, nobody should be commenting on taxes, especially when she had an opportunity to vote for a bipartisan tax cut, and she proudly voted no,” he said at their News 12 debate. The blood between them in Hempstead was so bad that D’Esposito skulked out of the room when Gillen was being farewelled at her last meeting in 2019. Gillen was often outvoted six to one in Hempstead, including by the other Democrat there, Dorothy Goosby, now the deputy supervisor. Goosby recently endorsed Gillen’s bid for Congress, but she commended both her former colleagues in a brief interview with Playbook. Gillen did have a fragile alliance with some Republicans including Bruce Blakeman, who is now Nassau County executive and an ally of D’Esposito’s. “Congressman D’Esposito had sharp differences with Laura Gillen, but he was able to act in a very professional manner and articulate his feelings,” Blakeman told Playbook. — Emily Ngo
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | |  The Campaign Finance Board's audit of Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign is still ongoing. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images | NO MONEY, MO PROBLEMS: Progressive organizations opposed to Mayor Adams’ reelection are calling on the Campaign Finance Board to withhold public funds from his current campaign and claw back money from the last one. The Working Families Party, Democratic Socialists of America, the People’s Plan and 26 other groups signed onto a letter saying the board should open an investigation into the alleged exploitation of public funds, and take action if they find wrongdoing. The CFB’s audit of Adams’ 2021 campaign is still ongoing, and the federal trial won’t get underway for months, so the signees are asking for quicker action. The CFB didn’t respond to a request for comment but released a statement after Adams’ indictment saying the board would review his eligibility for public funds ahead of the first scheduled payment in December. “You mean this same WFP?” Adams’ campaign attorney Vito Pitta responded to the letter, sharing a link to a news story about criminal charges alleging WFP operatives gave discounted campaign work to former City Council Member Debi Rose in 2009. The case cast a shadow over the party but was dropped eight years later, regarded as an instance of overzealous prosecution. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — CityFHEPS, one of the city’s biggest and most important rental aid programs, has been “plagued with problems” that make it harder for people to leave the city’s overburdened homeless shelters, per a state audit. (New York Times) — Adams said aerial drones have saved 114 subway surfers’ lives this year, despite a tragic six fatalities. ( New York Post) — Women who say they were sexually abused by staff at the Rikers Island jail complex urged officials to take their allegations seriously at a City Council oversight hearing. (Gothamist)
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Attorney General Letitia James is popular with New York Democrats and some party leaders have quietly assessed her as a potential candidate for governor of mayor. | Frank Franklin II/ AP | LETITIA ON THE TRAIL: Attorney General Letitia James has become an in-demand surrogate for House candidates. That will continue on Saturday when she is set to appear with Gillen in the battleground Long Island race Democrats are confident they will be able to flip next week. She is also expected to appear alongside Democratic Assembly candidate Kwani O’Pharrow. She has previously appeared with Rep. Pat Ryan, whose Hudson Valley district is being targeted by Republicans. At the Saturday event with Gillen, James will push for the passage of the so-called equality amendment to the state constitution, which is meant to bolster LGBTQ+ and abortion rights. The ballot question has come under criticism from the right over what critics have alleged are unintended consequences, such as trans people participating in women’s sports. James is popular with New York Democrats and some party leaders have quietly assessed her as a potential candidate for governor of mayor. James has insisted she wants to remain attorney general, a post she’s held since 2019. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — New York’s top court rejected a Republican appeal that challenged a 2021 absentee ballot counting law. (Spectrum News) — A Democratic state Senate candidate billed her campaign for thousands of dollars in meals and fundraising events. (Buffalo News) — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is staring down a criminal referral after being accused of lying to Congress. (POLITICO)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | More from Congress: — A politically powerful Hasidic voting bloc is set to endorse Rep. Mike Lawler. (Jewish Insider) — Fat Joe asks House Minority Leader House Hakeem Jeffries why politicians can’t seem to pass the torch. (Huff Post) — GOP claims “election interference” after 200 stamped mailers for Republican Alison Esposito were found strewn near a creek ( New York Post)
| | | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | | — Getting rid of the cap on state and local tax deductions may be easier said than done. (Newsday) — Lawyers are allowed into Rudy Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment after he misses a deadline for turning over his assets. (AP) — Wearing political merch in the voting booth? Some of it might not pass muster. (LoHud)
| | | | 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: Dr. Ashwin Vasan is now a James McCune Smith Distinguished Fellow for the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College. He most recently served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, managing the city’s Covid-19 response … Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York has promoted Paola Martinez to director of strategic program development and special initiatives, and Tom Dobbins Jr. as interim director of public and community engagement. — Suzanne Nossel will be president and CEO of Freedom House. She most recently has been the longtime CEO of PEN America. — Peter George, the CEO of Evolv, firm behind NYC’s controversial subway gun scanners, fired amid investigations (New York Daily News) WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Catherine Vaughan, co-founder of New York political non-profit Abundance New York and a Swing Left alum, and Rich Le Page, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, recently welcomed Chloe Le Page-Vaughan, who joins big sister Julia. Pic ... Another pic — Lucien Zeigler, managing partner at RedSalt Advisory Co. and CEO of RedSalt Arabia, and Sophie Pyle Zeigler, who does operations for RedSalt Advisory Co., on Tuesday welcomed George Lucien Zeigler, who came in at 8lb 1.4oz and 20 inches. Pic SPOTTED on Wednesday night at a party at the Beach Cafe in Manhattan for Bianca de la Garza’s new book “Incoming: On the Front Lines of the Left’s War on Truth” ($17.43): Elliot Jacobson, Valeria Riccioli, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), Betsy McCaughey, Kelly Jane Torrance, Jon Levine, Rita Cosby, Greg Kelly, Bob Brooks, Tom DelBeccaro, Deneen and Tom Borelli, Rebecca Karabus, Anthony Ziccardi, Mike Davis, Evan Warner, Marc Lotter, Vish Burra, Doug Dechert and Dave Goodside. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Via’s Jeremy Tillunger … Yvette Buckner … NYT’s Carlos Lozada … Apple’s Tim Cook … Business Roundtable’s Liz Dougherty … CNN’s Marshall Cohen … Alex Byers … John Oxtoby of Ariel Investments … Ram Sivalingam … (WAS THURSDAY): Steven Allen Rosenberg ... Richard G. Leibovitch Missed Thursday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
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