Adams administration hires another Brooklyn district leader

From: POLITICO New York Playbook PM - Thursday Mar 17,2022 08:07 pm

Mar 17, 2022

Presented by CWA District 1

Another Brooklyn district leader has landed a spot in the upper echelons of the Adams administration, highlighting the close ties between City Hall and the Brooklyn Democratic Party. Sarana Purcell, district leader in the 43rd Assembly seat, was recently hired as a deputy commissioner in the mayor’s office, according to City Hall records. That makes her the third high-ranking staffer to also hold a party post.

In an effort to prevent corruption, city rules prohibit senior officials in the mayor’s office from also holding an elected position in a political party. That’s why Edu Hermelyn, the husband of Brooklyn Democratic Party leader Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, could not continue to hold both his Brooklyn district leader position and his new job as senior adviser for strategic initiatives at the Department of Social Services. In a strange twist, according to a report in THE CITY, Hermelyn chose to resign last week from his six-figure city job so he could keep his unpaid district leader post.

Another adviser to the mayor, Pinny Ringel, is also running for a Brooklyn district leader spot against an incumbent who has been on the opposite side of political fights with Bichotte Hermelyn and the Adams team. Multiple sources told POLITICO that the Adams administration is pressuring Ringel to run and is receiving support from City Hall. Deputy Chief of Staff Menashe Shapiro has made calls on Ringel’s behalf to members of the Borough Park and Midwood communities and pressed several City Council members to delete tweets in support of the incumbent, 28-year-old David Schwartz. Ringel is reportedly taking leave to run for the spot, but City Hall and the candidate declined to answer questions about the decision and how long he will be gone for.

Mayoral spokesperson Maxwell Young said Purcell is not, in fact, a deputy commissioner. A clerical error omitted her actual title of assistant to Chief Adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Young said. Because Purcell is not in a managerial or policy-making role, he said, she is therefore allowed to hold both positions. “She appears to have been given another office title in error,” Young said in a statement. “She doesn’t have policy authority and the administrative error has been corrected.”

His response is nearly identical to that of Adams when he was asked last week how Hermelyn could be both a district leader and a high-ranking administration adviser. “There was an error made in placing him in a managerial position,” Adams said. “Our HR personnel made that error.” Adams added that once it was clear that Hermelyn was in violation of the rules, he resigned.

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HAPPY THURSDAY: Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit! And it’s the start of March Madness. We’re back with your afternoon check-in on the day’s events in New York government and politics. Thanks for following along between bites of corned beef and NCAA buzzer beaters.

From the Capitol

CUTTING RUSSIAN TIES: New York state agencies and authorities will no longer contract with any entities still doing business in Russia — including companies based in the U.S. — under new executive action Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today.

Hochul, who already has ceased state investments in Russian entities and expedited procurement for blockchain surveillance amid the Ukraine crisis, said the new executive order takes New York’s sanctions “a step further.”

“That is the message that we’re delivering to our state agencies and authorities today: To cease business, to have no more future contracts with those entities,” she said during a morning event at the Afya Foundation’s Yonkers warehouse. “We’re continuing to put the pressure on.”

In addition to the executive order, Hochul announced that Afya, in conjunction with the Greater New York Hospital Association, is about to ship out 200 pallets of medical supplies to Ukraine.

GNYHA President Ken Raske, Afya founder and CEO Danielle Butin and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins joined Hochul at the event. — Shannon Young

MORE COVID TESTS AVAILABLE: As Covid-19 rates continue to drop, Hochul announced today that more than 20 million over-the-counter tests will be distributed across the state through the spring to help the state’s rapid response to any new outbreaks, which are being found in Asia and Europe.

New York and the nation were caught with limited testing when the Omicron varant hit late last year, leading to long lines for testing and long waits for results.

"As we've seen throughout the pandemic, test kits are a critical tool in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19 and prevent exposure to others," she said in a statement.

The tests are particularly important in nursing homes and adult care facilities, as well as schools. And Hochul said the state would partner with municipalities to ensure they are distributed to the public. The effort includes a million tests to schools outside of New York City every other week until the end of the school year. The city has its own distribution system — Joseph Spector

WAYNE’S WORLD: It’s Commander of the Assembly Wayne Jackson’s birthday. Happy birthday, Wayne.

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From City Hall

MASK NOT WHAT YOUR CITY CAN DO FOR YOU: Adams went to an Irish pub in midtown Manhattan to enjoy a pint of Guinness before the St. Patrick’s Day Parade today — and got an earful of complaints from parents upset that their toddlers still have to mask up in school.

“I’m a parent too,” said Adams, whose only child is a 26-year-old, according to a recording of the exchange. “Our children are still masked,” one mom responds as the mayor heads for a booth at the Pig ‘N Whistle. More anti-mask protestors waited for the mayor outside the pub. Adams recently said he planned to lift the mask mandate for kids under 5 if Covid-19 cases in schools remain low.

Despite the peeved parents, Adams was able to enjoy two glasses of Guinness before noon — after his morning smoothie of course — before marching up Fifth Avenue in the first full version of the parade since the pandemic hit the city two years ago. “Happy #StPatricksDay from the greatest city in the world!” Adams tweeted. “You could feel the luck of the Irish on Fifth avenue today.” — Julia Marsh

ON THE BEATS

HEALTH CARE: Assembly Republicans urged Hochul and Democratic leaders to order a state review of the Department of Health’s Covid-19 response in the wake of state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s latest audit of how nursing home deaths were covered up during the early stages of the pandemic.

“The Assembly Minority Conference has repeatedly called for measures to be put in place to address the gross failures of the past and ensure nothing like this happens again in the future,” reads the letter to the Democrats. “This week, the Comptroller’s report made clear the Department of Health was ill-prepared to handle a pandemic of this magnitude long before the first case of COVID-19 was reported.”

— MORE FROM THE COMPTROLLER: DiNapoli explained his audit in a Daily News op-ed today, if you want it in his words.

The Campaign Trail

CLERGY FOR HOCHUL : The governor’s reelection campaign announced a list of more than 400 faith leaders who endorsed her today. The campaign says it is the largest faith-based coalition to endorse a gubernatorial candidate in New York State history. “I’m humbled and honored to receive the overwhelming support from hundreds of distinguished faith leaders who’ve been with us since day one,” Hochul said in a statement. “As governor, my administration will continue to partner with faith leaders throughout our State to give every family a fair shot and eliminate barriers that still prevent too many of our communities from reaching their full potential.” See the full list here.

AROUND NEW YORK

— A new statewide ad blitz from 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East urges Hochul to include lawmakers’ proposed raise for home care workers — a measure known as “Fair Pay for Home Care” — in the final executive budget.

— Attorney General Tish James led a coalition of attorneys general in asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen protections against childhood lead poisoning.

— New York City’s St. Patrick Day Parade is back in full swing after two years. Take a look.

— The Legal Aid Society sued its Brooklyn landlord for years-old mold infestation and deemed the office uninhabitable.

— Canada drops Covid-19 testing regulation at its borders, Times Union reports.

— On tap for tomorrow: The Joint Commission on Public Ethics will hold an atypical Friday afternoon meeting in which members will again attempt to take action against Cuomo for his 2020 book deal. After previous plans failed to be approved by commissioners — and one of them was slowed James, who essentially argued that more due process would be needed — they’ll now attempt to directly issue an order for Cuomo to repay the $5.1 million he made from Penguin Random House.

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We're facing crisis level staffing in our healthcare centers. Albany must take action NOW to help our upstate hospitals hit hardest by the pandemic. Learn more.