| | | | |  | | By Sally Goldenberg, Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | | Presented by |  | | | |  Mayor Eric Adams still has a core base in the Black community, which could help his reelection chances. | Mayoral Photography Office | Eric Adams still has a chance at reelection. But it’s a narrow path, as he battles bribery charges, a multimillion-dollar campaign hit, angry voters and the departure of scandal-scarred top aides. The mayor sat down with POLITICO at Gracie Mansion after New Year’s Day and made his case in Sally Goldenberg’s must-read scene-setter for the election year. Adams is going on the offensive in the coming weeks: he plans to demand changes to the state’s controversial bail reform laws and pointedly remind voters that his most well-known possible challenger — former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — signed those reforms into law. “People who are running — they're going to have to take claim for the stuff that they did when they were holding office. Who was there for the original bail reform? Who signed some of these procedures? You’re going to have to answer these questions,” Adams said when asked how he would run against Cuomo in particular. Adams hasn’t talked much about his reelection plan. In fact, he still doesn’t have a campaign website. But in a way, today marks the beginning of his campaign, as he plans to announce a drop in crime, bolstered by a reduction in shootings, murders and incidents on subways in 2024. Felony assaults during that period were up, police statistics show. Adams also plans to emphasize the parts of his record he feels go unnoticed: reduced unemployment for Black New Yorkers, expansion of broadband for public housing residents and retiring medical debt. And he’ll jab at his challengers as unserious. “I have to articulate to New Yorkers how these ideas that are being thrown out – that no one should go to jail, Rikers should be closed, that no one should have to pay their rent, no one should pay for the subway system – these are not real philosophies and they’re not real policies,” he said. “Many people don’t know how to govern a city this complex.” While Cuomo entering could shake up the race, Adams remains in good standing with moderates including business and real estate executives, the New York Post and labor unions. “He still has a core base in the Black community,” too, despite polls showing an erosion of Black and Latino backing, Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader and MSNBC host said. But Sharpton warned that could disappear if Adams seeks a pardon from President-elect Donald Trump – a favor the mayor has not ruled out accepting. “If I was between a rock and a hard place and the only one that could deliver me is Donald Trump,” Sharpton said, “I would be preparing for my bye-bye.” — Sally Goldenberg & Jeff Coltin HAPPY MONDAY, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from RHOAR NYC: Help Make NYC Homeownership Affordable. Pass Bill 1107 to restore short-term rental rights to small, neighborhood homeowners. NYC neighborhoods thrive through the stability of owner-occupied homes. Bill 1107 will restore short-term rental rights to one- and two-family homeowners who live in their homes and relied on short-term rental income to maintain and stay in their homes. Learn more at www.rhoar.org. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Unveiling a State of the State affordability proposal at a YMCA in East Midtown, Manhattan. WHERE’S ERIC? Making a public safety announcement at NYPD headquarters. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Whatever amount of snow we get, one thing's for certain: it's going to be incredibly cold.” — Adams on X with a winter storm set to batter the metro area today
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Vehicles are now getting charged, but congestion pricing still faces political challenges. | Mary Altaffer/AP | FULLY OPERATIONAL: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority flipped the switch on the nation’s first congestion toll program Sunday morning, the culmination of years of political wrangling and debate. The new start will likely be the beginning of a deeper fight that will stretch from Democratic-led Albany to Republican-controlled Washington. POLITICO reported Sunday that the toll program, which will charge drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street $9 during peak hours, is under fire from a variety of political forces. The United Federation of Teachers, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and a class-action suit by city residents are all separately challenging the program in court, though multiple, 11th-hour efforts to squelch the tolls before they went into effect failed. And then there’s President-elect Donald Trump, who vowed over the summer to end the program once he takes office. New York House Republicans, who are part of a narrow majority, are pressing for legislation to end the tolls as well. Congestion pricing supporters have insisted New Yorkers will come around to the controversial plan once the promised benefits of reduced traffic and cleaner air become apparent. Toll revenue is expected to be leveraged for $15 billion in municipal bonds that will be used to pay for infrastructure improvements on the region’s decrepit mass transit system. The prospect of capital improvements has excited left-leaning mass transit advocates and the city’s business community — both of whom felt slighted when Gov. Kathy Hochul initially paused the toll program in June amid concerns Democratic House candidates would be punished by voters. “Decades of debate are over,” said Carlo Scissura, the president of the New York Building Congress, a trade group. “And with that first sensor scanning that first license plate early this morning, New York took its rightful place as the steward of our nation's transportation future.” The tolls, though, have also gone into effect against the backdrop of high-profile violence on mass transit, just as officials are urging more people to take trains and buses. Hochul and MTA Chair Janno Lieber have made a point of insisting mass transit has become safer since the pandemic-era spike in crime. Hochul added 250 members of the National Guard to train stations at the end of last year, a move that was meant, in large part, to improve the perception of safety for riders. The governor also plans to press for an expansion of the state’s involuntary commitment law in a bid to remove people who are considered a danger to themselves or others from mass transit. Still, Republican critics aren’t convinced — and fret that the combination of crime concerns and the tolls will hurt the city’s economy. “I fear this could be the final nail in the coffin for Lower Manhattan, a once booming economic center that the Democrats have turned into a dangerous, crime-ridden hellscape,” Staten Island Assemblymember Mike Reilly said. — Nick Reisman
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Jumaane Williams is co-hosting Brad Lander’s mayoral campaign fundraiser this Wednesday. | William Alatriste/NYC Media Unit | LANDER’S ONES AND TWOS: Jumaane Williams is co-hosting Brad Lander’s mayoral campaign fundraiser this Wednesday, publicizing the public advocate’s support for Lander — and solidifying Williams’ lack of interest in running for mayor in the June Democratic primary. But it’s not a typical endorsement, at least not yet. In a nod to ranked-choice voting, Lander asked co-hosts of his fundraiser to commit to ranking him either first or second. Other co-hosts who’ll rank Lander one or two include Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, state Sens. Liz Krueger and Andrew Gounardes, Assemblymembers Robert Carroll and Phara Souffrant Forrest and City Council Member Tiffany Cabán. The fundraiser is at the Williamsburg venue Brooklyn Bowl and includes a performance by Will Butler, who used to be in the band Arcade Fire. Fellow mayoral challenger Zohran Mamdani is hosting a fundraising concert the same night a mile away at Baby’s All Right. That’s especially relevant for fellow Democratic Socialists of America Souffrant Forrest and Cabán, who are going out on a limb by publicly supporting Lander. Williams is a longtime ally of Lander, so his support isn’t a surprise, but it’s notable coming from a popular citywide elected official. The public advocate may still run for mayor, but only if he’s already serving as acting mayor in the event Adams is pushed out of office before the end of 2025 — an increasingly unlikely scenario. — Jeff Coltin FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES: Two months before Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ longtime confidant and former chief adviser, was indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges, she was slated for a prime speaking gig. Lewis-Martin was scheduled to address paying attendees of the G100 Global Mental Health Conference in Manhattan on Oct. 23. The night before, ticket holders would be welcomed at an invite-only cocktail reception at Gracie Mansion with a special appearance by Adams himself, the website touted. The host was a well-connected nonprofit called Hearts of Change. Its founder, integrative medicine practitioner Bindu Babu, helped fundraise for Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign and was on stage with him on election night. Babu is also an employee of the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, thanks in large part to Lewis-Martin. The mayor’s former top adviser pressured the Health Department to find a job for Babu, who was eventually hired as a senior clinical adviser, POLITICO Pro reports today. The reception, mysteriously, never happened. Nonetheless, Babu’s hiring adds to a pattern of behavior by Lewis-Martin and other current and former Adams administration officials of rewarding friends and allies. City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said she did not know the reason for the cancellation, but noted that Babu’s organization had previously gone through the proper channels to book an event at the mayor’s official residence. Babu did not respond to requests for comment. The Health Department, meanwhile, defended her hiring. — Maya Kaufman WELCOME BACK: Wanted to make sure you didn’t miss any news out of City Hall in the holiday haze. In the last two weeks: — A top cop resigned in a sex-for-OT scandal. (New York Post) — The feds then raided ex-Chief Jeff Maddrey’s home. (POLITICO) — Camera-hungry NYPD honcho John Chell got a promotion. (New York Times) — A Turkish builder pleaded guilty to giving Adams straw donations. (POLITICO) — The city’s biggest taxi cab insurer is a mess. (Bloomberg) — A guy broke into Gracie Mansion past 4 a.m., but the mayor wasn’t home. (Daily News) — The city’s 400th-anniversary celebration raised questions. (New York Groove) More from the city: — Adams should fill preschool seats, consider expanding remote work for municipal employees and speed up payments to nonprofit city contractors, according to an internal review by his top aides. (POLITICO Pro) — Adams aide Winnie Greco, ensnared in a federal probe, met often with Chinese government operatives. (Daily News) — The union representing city EMTs and paramedics urged its workers to transfer out of stations in Manhattan’s congestion pricing zone to avoid the toll. (New York Post)
| | | | A message from RHOAR NYC:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Lawmakers are introducing a bill meant to cut down on the administrative burden of discovery in criminal cases. | Wesley Tingey/Unsplash | DISCOVERY REFORM ‘IMPROVEMENT’: Two Democratic lawmakers are introducing a bill that would tweak the law on discovery reform in a way they say will address prosecutors’ concerns without undermining the goals of the changes. The 2019 law required evidence to be quickly shared with people accused of crimes, ensuring they had time to prepare a defense and understand the charges against them. But prosecutors have said it’s unworkable and responsible for a spike in the number of cases that are dropped for technical reasons. Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Micah Lasher now want district attorney offices to have direct access to police departments’ computer records, reducing the work needed to transfer documents. “We know under the old system that coercive pleas and the lack of due process, the withholding of exculpatory evidence, was doing a grave injustice to too many New Yorkers,” Myrie said. “What we have also seen is that the administrative burdens on prosecutors have led to some unintended dismissals of really important cases. And this bill is an attempt to correct some of that administrative burden.” — Bill Mahoney REFORMING THE REFORMS: Former Albany County District Attorney David Soares left office discouraged by his own Democratic Party. Soares, who has railed against left-leaning criminal justice changes, was defeated in a June primary by Lee Kindlon. In an exit interview with Playbook, Soares blasted measures that limited cash bail, overhauled the juvenile justice system and changed how evidentiary discovery works in criminal cases. All of those measures, he has repeatedly argued, tilted in favor of people who break the law. “I’m a Democrat through and through,” Soares said. “I consider myself even a progressive Democrat. What you’re seeing now is not a matter of being progressive or conservative, it’s just insanity.” Soares’ tenure in office stretched back 20 years. He was first elected as a liberal reformer who decried mandatory minimum sentencing and backed changes to the stiff penalties under the so-called Rockefeller drug laws. But in the years since his first election, Soares watched as his fellow Democrats sought to rewrite criminal justice laws that he believes became a detriment to communities of color. And he dismissed efforts to nudge those policies back to the political center. “My fear is that whenever that pendulum is swinging in one direction or another, it’s always going to hurt the people the legislation claims it’s going to protect,” he said. — Nick Reisman CAPITOL NOTES: The year is starting off with welcome news for state workers (and a sizable chunk of the Legislative Correspondents Association) who park their cars in P2 North. The Office of General Services announced the months-long construction project rehabilitating the underground lot’s entrance is nearly complete and will re-open today. The renovation has meant a lengthy detour for drivers during much of the last year. OGS said some work is still being done at the entrance, so drivers should still proceed with caution when entering the lot. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Attorney General Letitia James’ office wants to be removed as defense from cases in which current or former inmates of Marcy Correctional Facility have alleged abuse. (Times Union) — So-called prison “emergency response teams” are under scrutiny after the fatal beating at Marcy. (Gothamist) — Expect affordability to be the key watchword for Democrats when the Legislature reconvenes Wednesday. (Newsday)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is ready to make a deal. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | READY FOR DACA DEAL: Trump said last month that his party is “very open” to a bipartisan plan on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which protects undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from being deported. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer seeks to hold the president-elect to his word, telling NBC News in an interview Sunday, “We’d love to do that. Our party has been strongly fighting for the Dreamers for a decade.” The potential for agreement over DACA comes as Trump has vowed the mass deportation of people living in the country illegally but still must sort out the logistics. Schumer, like other Democratic leaders in Washington, said the minority party will pick and choose where and when they fight Republicans who will control the White House, Senate and House. “We will be bipartisan when we can,” he told “Meet the Press.” “But also when they are trying to do things, our Republican colleagues, that are so bad for working people, we’ll oppose them.” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who wants his party to approach Trump 2.0 differently, has also staked out immigration as an area for compromise. “If you want to actually do something effectively — and not just do it for political purposes, but actually get something done — which is to secure the border, which is to fix the broken asylum system, which to modernize the legal immigration system, you should really be doing it on a bipartisan basis,” Suozzi of Long Island told Playbook recently. “The president’s come out and said, I want to make a deal on Dreamers. Well, that’s a very important piece of trying to do something bipartisan.” — Emily Ngo MARK IT DOWN: Former Rep. Marc Molinaro is not ruling out running for elected office again, he told Playbook in an exit interview. Molinaro, who lost a costly and close race to Democratic Rep. Josh Riley for a battleground House seat in the Hudson Valley, kept his cards close to the vest when asked about his plans. “Returning to elected office remains of interest to me — mostly to give voice to people I think are overlooked,” he said. “You’re going to see me engage aggressively nationally and at the state level.” Molinaro added that public service “is in my DNA.” That’s something of an understatement. Molinaro has spent his working life in elected office, having first become mayor of his hometown at age 19, later serving in the state Assembly and as the Dutchess County executive. Molinaro blamed his loss on the avalanche of Democratic-backed money and still smarts for how he was painted as either an anti-abortion extremist or as a defund-the-police sympathizer. In total, $50 million was spent on the race, and the media tracking firm AdImpact reported it was the most expensive House contest in the country. Democratic money, meanwhile, eclipsed Republican spending. The negativity of the race discouraged voters, Molinaro said. A moderate with an energetic demeanor, Molinaro also decried the hardcore partisan politics in Washington. “The partisanship is far too invasive, the attention the media gives to those things is disingenuous at best and the good work that gets done often gets drowned out,” he said. “Those three things, collectively, are the challenge.” — Nick Reisman More from the delegation: — Democrat Hakeem Jeffries could be poised to wield more power than a minority leader typically enjoys in the U.S. House of Representatives. (Reuters) — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand gathered local elected officials and advocates Sunday to urge President Joe Biden to certify the Equal Rights Amendment before the end of his presidency. (CBS 6 Albany) — Democratic Assemblymember Billy Jones will not run for outgoing Rep. Elise Stefanik’s North Country House seat. (WAMC)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — New York City needs to hire more cops, former Commissioner Bill Bratton warned. (New York Post) — Hochul is facing a critical legislative session ahead of what could be a tough election. (Buffalo News) — A new group is launching a $7 million effort to mobilize Jewish voters in city elections. (New York Post)
| | | | A message from RHOAR NYC: When New York City passed and began enforcing its overly strict short-term rental law, many hard-working families who relied on income from sharing their homes were financially devastated. After a year of advocacy and thousands of letters into City Hall from homeowners across NYC’s five boroughs, the New York City Council recently introduced Bill 1107 to restore short-term rental rights to registered one- and two-family homeowners who live in their homes. Passing Bill 1107 will mean increasing the economic tools available to everyday New Yorkers to maintain and stay in their homes, creating stability for the city’s most vulnerable homeowners and the local communities and businesses that depend on them. Learn more at www.rhoar.org. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman IN MEMORIAM: Former Lt. Gov. Mary Anne Krupsak, who was the first woman to hold the role after getting elected in 1974, died on Dec. 28. (New York Times) MAKING MOVES: Kiesha Humphrey-James, who was a top aide to former City Hall Chief Adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, is now executive director of payroll and timekeeping for City Hall … Adams’ LGBTQ+ Adviser Patrick Kwan, a senior adviser in the Community Affairs Unit has left City Hall to join Hochul’s office as associate director of legislative affairs. … Michael Sedillo has been named executive director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services. He was previously a senior adviser in the first deputy mayor’s office. (amNewYork) — Vijah Ramjattan was named executive director of the Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. He was previously a senior clinical research program administrator for the New York State Psychiatric Institute … Erica Ware, former deputy director of the Victim Services Unit at the Staten Island District Attorney’s office, has been named deputy executive director of OPHC … and Jelissa Thomas, former master teacher for the Equity Project Charter School, is now senior program manager of OPHC. — Jason Kaplan has been promoted to VP at L’Oréal. He continues as head of reputational issues and crisis, and is an SKDK and Schumer alum … Dan Eisenberg was promoted to Of Counsel at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. He was previously deputy staff director and senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. MEDIAWATCH: Wall Street Journal political reporter Jimmy Vielkind, a New York Playbook alum, is joining WNYC/Gothamist as New York State Issues Reporter in the Capitol bureau, where he’ll also report for the New York Public News Network … Jeongyoon Han with WXXI is also joining the network’s Capitol bureau. She had been a field producer and researcher covering the presidential election for NPR … former New York Post reporter Nolan Hicks is joining Streetsblog as an investigative reporter. CONGRATULATIONS: Aaron Ghitelman, founder of Breakfast Table Strategies and an Office of Cannabis Management and Brad Hoylman alum, proposed to Anya Lehr over the holiday break. Anya is chief of staff and senior adviser to NYC Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez. (X Pics) HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Pythia Public Affairs’ Becky Stern … C&V’s Tony Constantinople … Christopher Mendoza, director of government affairs at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum … DCAS’s Brandon Clarke … American Council of Engineering Companies of New York’s John Evers … CentroPR’s Rosa Cruz Cordero … (WAS SUNDAY:) Former Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a Presidential Citizens Medal honoree … Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay … Mercury’s Jake Dilemani … Avōq’s Rachel Roseneck … former state Sen. Jim Gaughran … JFK Redevelopment Program’s Akshar Patel … … (WAS SATURDAY:) Tech:NYC’s Alexander Spyropoulos … NYCEM’s David Schmid … MultiState’s Denisse Giron. — And a belated happy birthday to many, many readers including state Sens. Simcha Felder and Julia Salazar … Assemblymembers Deborah Glick and Amanda Septimo… New York City Council Members Althea Stevens and Carlina Rivera … mayoral candidate Michael Blake … Manhattan Democratic Party leader Keith Wright … and Adams aide Tommy Torres.
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