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Presented by Vacancy NYC: Your afternoon must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Danielle Muoio Dunn | Presented by Vacancy NYC | | 
Gov. Kathy Hochul |
The war of words between New York and New Jersey officials over congestion pricing continued on Thursday, even as the proposal sits in limbo at the federal level.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) continues to vocally oppose the plan that would raise tolls on motorists entering central Manhattan at peak rush hours. Gottheimer said Thursday that the new congestion pricing fee could cost the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey $125 million annually from other lost tolls by drivers who are deterred by the fee. The financial hit could endanger New Jersey capital projects, Gottheimer warned, such as planned renovations to the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan. Congestion pricing is expected to generate $15 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s nearly $55 billion capital plan. “The MTA is literally robbing Peter to pay Paul to boost revenue for the MTA,” he said in a statement. “I’m calling on the MTA to back down now, find another solution to its financial woes that doesn’t squeeze more blood out of the Jersey stone.” It’s not the first time the Port Authority has been used as a cudgel against the implementation of congestion pricing. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has warned about the hit to the agency before and has threatened to hold up business at the Port Authority unless New York officials back down from the plan. Janno Lieber, chair and CEO of the MTA, criticized Gottheimer for objecting to a plan designed to reduce traffic with a dig about New Jersey’s infamous “Bridgegate” scandal. “I just find it slightly amazing that the self-styled leader of the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress is against solving small problems like climate change, congestion,” Lieber said Thursday at the MTA’s monthly board meeting. “It mystifies me that he would choose to follow the constant motto of the prior administration in New Jersey — time for more traffic problems in Fort Lee.” The MTA is still waiting for the Federal Highway Administration to approve its environmental assessment of congestion pricing, which was initially slated to start in 2021, but faced numerous delays. Transportation leaders said there’s still time to realize the new revenue source for its 2020-2024 capital plan. “We have some more time, but it’s not endless,” Lieber said. | | | | A message from Vacancy NYC: Thousands of affordable rent-stabilized apartments are sitting vacant across NYC. But they are in need of critical renovations and repairs before they can be rented again. Red tape, inflation, and supply chain issues are the problem. Albany can be the solution. Join our efforts to solve the housing crisis and help New Yorkers access the affordable homes they deserve. | | | |  | From the Capitol | | | 
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves a House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 25, 2023. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo |
‘UNFORGIVABLE INSULT’: New York Democrats don’t need another reason to criticize GOP Rep. George Santos, but they got one when he signed his name on to a bill from Alabama Republican Rep. Barry Moore that would declare an AR-15 style rifle as “the National Gun of the United States." Other Republican sponsors include Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, in a statement, called the legislation “outrageous and appalling” and cited the weapon’s use in massacres from a supermarket in her hometown of Buffalo to Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. “This bill, which attempts to glorify the weapons that have been part of such horrific tragedies, adds unforgivable insult to injury for those families. It should never become law, and Congressman Santos should immediately remove his name from it, if he has any respect for New Yorkers,” she said. — Anna Gronewold DINAPOLI’S GOT QUESTIONS: On the MTA’s February Financial Plan. Basically, what is it? “There is still a lack of clarity on how the MTA will close its $600 million deficit this year,” he said in a statement. “The agency is depending on the state for new revenue to offset ridership loss and balance its budget through 2026, but this funding is not yet assured, and savings have not been identified. The MTA must hold up its end of the bargain and identify how it’s going to save $100 million this year, and more than $400 million annually to stay afloat and avoid impacts to services in the future.” IT’S BACK: The New York Farm Bureau Taste of NY Reception, voted “Best Day of Session” by the majority of POLITICO’s Albany bureau for several years running, is set for Monday evening in the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. | | From City Hall | | | 
Gracie Mansion. | AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File |
At the Gracie Mansion Black History Month Reception Wednesday night Mayor Eric Adams, who was honoring South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, said he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries “both stood on the shoulders” of Clyburn “to get where we are now.” But Clyburn, who was the first African American to serve multiple terms as Majority Whip, had another trailblazer to thank for his own ascent – one with familial ties to the Adams administration.
First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright’s great grandfather’s brother Wilmont Frazier was the superintendent of “colored schools” during segregation in Charleston, South Carolina. Frazier gave Clyburn his first job as a teacher. “That's what this is all about. Wilmont Frazier did it for me so I could pass it on. That's what this is about,” Clyburn said. — Julia Marsh SPOTTED: Actor Michael Gandolfini was seen walking into the mayoral side of City Hall Thursday morning. Upon leaving he told two reporters he was doing research for a new role that involved picking the brain of Adams Communications Director Maxwell Young. “It was fun spending 30 or so minutes with Mr. Gandolfini talking about what makes this job and city great, and I am looking forward to my friends and family watching his show and finally understanding what it is I do for a living,” Young said in a statement. — Joe Anuta (h/t Katie Honan) | | | | A message from Vacancy NYC:   | | | | | |
HOSPITAL PRICING: A City Council bill to establish an Office of Healthcare Accountability is sponsored by a 44-member supermajority, but a hearing on the bill Thursday made odd bedfellows of the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations and municipal retiree organizations — all of whom took issue with aspects of the proposed legislation.
The association said the bill is “inappropriate and unnecessary” because the federal government already monitors hospitals’ price transparency and the city comptroller already audits health care spending. The Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations opposed establishing a new entity to audit city health care spending, arguing it already does that work. And Sue Ellen Dodell, a member of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, criticized the Council for proposing another layer of bureaucracy and said the real focus should be on getting the state to go back to regulating hospital prices, a system that former Gov. George Pataki nixed in 1996. — Maya Kaufman CON ED RATE HIKE BACKLASH: There is simmering opposition and concern about a proposed Con Ed electric and gas rate increase that has the backing of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration and state staff. The “joint proposal” would increase rates 12.5 percent on bills over three years for electricity customers and 20 percent for gas customers. More groups have signed on to support the electric rate hikes, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and a geothermal trade organization. Environmental groups are objecting in particular to the proposed gas spending plan, which includes continued investments in replacing “leak prone pipes” that regulators say pose safety risks and also release methane, a climate warming gas. The gas rate proposal “includes unnecessary, exorbitant new investments to fortify and replace hundreds of miles of functioning gas distribution pipes, despite the Climate Action Council’s clear call for a well-planned and strategic downsizing of the utility gas system to meet the state’s climate targets,” said NRDC’s Chris Casey in a statement. Opposing both the electric and gas rate hikes are groups including the Public Utility Law Project, Alliance for a Green Economy, Sane Energy Project, WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Earthjustice. They noted Con Ed would get a higher return on equity — 9.25 percent — than under its current rate plan which allows the company to earn 8.8 percent on its capital investments. AARP New York is also opposing the rate increases. “What’s particularly frustrating in this rate case is that there’s still no commitment from Con Ed to seek available federal dollars for storm hardening, grid upgrades needed as we move toward electrification, and climate resiliency projects. Instead, those costs will fall on ratepayers’ shoulders,” the groups director Beth Finkel said in a statement. Public comment on the proposed rate settlement, which is subject to final review by the Public Service Commission, is requested by April 7. The Department of Public Service has estimated that the rates may go into effect in June, which means the PSC may aim to take action by their regular May session. — Marie J. French | | FROM THE DELEGATION | |
VOTER LEGISLATION: U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman stopped by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Thursday to unveil legislation aimed at expanding voting rights across the country. The bill would require localities to establish 14 days of early voting for federal elections. “Voting rights across the nation are under attack from anti-democratic extremists and those who prefer that elections are decided by politicians, not voters,” Goldman said. The legislation stands little chance of passing in the Republican-controlled House, but serves as a reminder that Goldman and others in the Democratic Party voting rights as a winning issue in liberal bastions like New York City. — Joe Anuta
| | AROUND NEW YORK | |
— New data shows that 90 percent of drivers stopped or searched in 2022 by the NYPD were Black or Latino. (Gothamist)
— Buffalonians will march in D.C. tomorrow in memory of the one-year anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine. (Buffalo News) — New York advocates called for more transparency in public records and meetings from the government. (Spectrum News) | | | | A message from Vacancy NYC: NYC is facing a severe housing shortage. While new housing desperately needs to be built, Albany lawmakers can also make progress by creating a path for tens of thousands of vacant rent-stabilized apartments to come back online. Before that can happen, these homes need critical repairs and renovations. But problems like regulatory changes, supply chain issues, and inflation have made these costs skyrocket. 75% of rent-stabilized property owners say that they have been forced to delay maintenance and important upgrades due to financial hardship. Learn more about the problem and the solution at VacancyNYC.org. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
