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Presented by Equinor: Your afternoon must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Eleonora Francica | | | | 
James McDonald, the New York health commissioner, spoke at a news conference at the state Capitol on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in support of banning flavored cigarettes. | Eleonora Francica/POLITICO | Banning flavored tobacco in New York, particularly menthol cigarettes, is facing stiff opposition from many Democrats in the Senate and the Assembly, and it appears unlikely to make it in the final budget deal — whenever that is. But on Thursday, the group Tobacco Kills New York and other anti-smoking lawmakers joined acting health director James McDonald, recently nominated as the permanent agency head, to say their effort to ban flavored tobacco products is not over. They rallied on the Million Dollar Staircase in a last-ditch effort to pass the proposal, which was part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget plan. “Eighty percent of youth start smoking with a flavored product,” McDonald said. “Getting rid of flavored tobacco, it's important to reversing all this.” The supporters of the ban noted the racial and health disparity caused by flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, which would hit Black communities the most. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified them as leading consumers of menthol cigarettes. Opponents said the ban would unfairly target minority smokers and would only lead to the purchases on the illegal market. A Siena College poll Monday showed 58 percent of New Yorkers were in support of the menthol ban, while 34 percent opposed. Black and Latino residents surveyed were in favor of the proposal by a 2-1 margin. Hochul's budget also proposed an increase of the cigarette tax of $1, raising the tax from $4.35 to $5.35 per pack. The Senate and Assembly one-house budgets accepted the tax increase, but rejected the ban — which McDonald said would be a missed opportunity. “If we aren't going to stop and protect our children, what does it say about us as a people?” he said during an interview with POLITICO.
| | | | A message from Equinor: Can a wind turbine generate more than electricity? Yes, it can. At Equinor, our work to power 2,000,000 New York homes with homegrown, renewable energy is only part of the story. The Empire Wind and Beacon Wind projects are also boosting the economy, generating jobs, and launching tomorrow’s clean energy infrastructure today. Equinor is a broad energy company, committed to become net-zero by 2050. We’re proud to be a leader in this growing industry. | | | |  | From the Capitol | | | 
Gov. Kathy Hochul conceded Thursday that a state budget will not be agreed to by Friday's deadline. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images | A LATE BUDGET CALLED: It is official — the budget will be late, Hochul told New York Public Radio on Thursday. “It's becoming clear that the budget will not be meeting the April 1 deadline,” Hochul said. “But as I've said all along, it's not a race to a deadline. It's about a race to getting the right results. And we are working on getting the right results and delivering for New Yorkers.” Hochul was essentially stating the obvious: Legislative leaders and Hochul appear nowhere close to a budget deal for the fiscal year that starts Saturday, as POLITICO's Anna Gronewold reports. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters that a key sticking point remains Hochul’s proposal to remove a “least restrictive” measure so judges would have more discretion to set bail in cases of violent crime. The other hurdle is Hochul’s housing plan that would mandate cities and suburbs build new homes to increase supply. “Those two issues have taken up most of the oxygen in the room, and I'd say a few days ago it was probably taking up all of the oxygen in the room,” Heastie told reporters. What happens next? Heastie said he plans to keep members in town through the weekend in hopes of having a deal. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said it’s unclear when a deal will be reached. “They're just a lot of big policy issues that the governor had put in her budget that require discussions,” she told reporters. — Joseph Spector
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Firefighters rallied at the state Capitol in Albany on March 30, 2023, to get restoration of pension benefits afforded to former EMTs. | Eleonora Francica/POLITICO | FIREFIGHTERS IN ALBANY: FDNY officials were at the Capitol on Thursday to lobby for the reinstatement of retirement pay. They said they want the right to be able to buy back pension time they earned as EMS workers. While EMS workers are part of the department, they have a different pension system than firefighters. But previously, those who passed a promotion exam to become a firefighter were able to buy back the time they had previously earned. But the program changed more than a decade ago, and lawmakers are trying to restore it in a bill that was included in the Senate’s one-house budget. “We’re not asking for a new benefit. We are asking to fix a mistake and restore something that never should have been lost in the first place,” Andrew Ansbro, president of the FDNY-Uniformed Firefighters Association, said in a statement. — Joseph Spector
| | | | A message from Equinor:   | | | | | From City Hall | | | 
Wall Street bonuses are down, which is not great news for city and state finances that rely on the revenue for their budgets. | Mary Altaffer/AP Photo | WALL STREET BONUSES: Wall Street’s second year of shrinking returns is hitting state and city coffers. Wall Street securities employees last year took home an average bonus of $176,700, a 26 percent decline from the previous year, according to a new report by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. The state expects to see $457 million less in state income tax revenue and $208 million less for the city compared to the previous year. “While lower bonuses affect income tax revenues for the state and city, our economic recovery does not depend solely on Wall Street,” he said in a Thursday statement. The news adds to the economic uncertainty that supports Mayor Eric Adams’ savings plan progressives have said are unnecessary austerity measures. Council leaders have argued the cuts aren't necessary, believing city tax revenue will remain high while the Adams administration has taken a more cautious approach. Adams has faced criticism for spending cuts that impact libraries, social services and early childhood education. — Danielle Muoio Dunn GRAND THEFT AUTO: Adams railed against social media companies for allowing the unfettered spread of viral challenges during a press conference Thursday on TikTok-inspired car thefts, although he stopped short of calling for a ban on any of the platforms. “We don’t need social media to contribute to social disorder,” Adams said. Adams joined Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell to highlight a rise in stolen Kia and Hyundai cars since July 2022, particularly in the Bronx. They tied the uptick to a viral TikTok challenge that demonstrated how to break the ignition and use a USB cable to start the vehicle. There were initially about 10 to 12 such thefts each month, which spiked to about 100 by December, Sewell said. The NYPD has made 109 related arrests so far this year, according to departmental data. Adams said the trend is confounding the administration’s efforts to drive down crime rates as well as “stealing the future of our young people,” who get a felony on their record if they are arrested and charged with grand larceny of a vehicle. — Maya Kaufman BUDGET TALKS: First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright weighed in on everything from budget negotiations with the state to the city’s management strategies during a discussion with the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission at the Harvard Club in Manhattan Thursday morning. Some highlights:
- With respect to addressing vacancies, Wright said recruitment and retention strategies are going to look different and that they are hoping to make changes by the end of this calendar year, citing recruitment as one of the big issues.
- As to how the city is handling the budget, Wright referred to the city’s Program to Eliminate the Gap — the city’s savings plan — as well as the rainy day fund and reserves, and said they have to drive financial growth for the city, referring to plans to help small businesses. And she pointed to costs such as asylum seekers.
- Wright also said city officials are conversing with Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers regarding a variety of issues, including asylum seekers and housing. — Madina Touré
TRUMP TALK: The mayor called into Sid Rosenberg’s WABC Radio show early Thursday and got an earful about how Rosenberg thinks Adams is similar to former President Donald Trump. Rosenberg recounted: “I said, ‘You know what's funny about Eric?’ I said, ‘He is Trump. He is almost exactly... He's not going to want to hear this because again, he compares himself to Biden, blah, blah, blah. But he is so much like Donald Trump. He doesn't realize it, but I do.’” “The truth is, in a lot of ways, you do have a lot of Trump in you,” Rosenberg told Adams. “Anybody ever tell you that?” “Nah, I'm a blue collar guy, brother,” Adams responded. — Maya Kaufman
| | | | A message from Equinor: The energy transition is the defining opportunity of our time. Our world needs affordable, reliable, and accessible renewable energy. We all have a role to play, and Equinor is doing our part to accelerate the energy transition. We’re growing our renewable energy portfolio and lowering our emissions from energy production. We’re already on the way to powering 2,000,000 New York homes with energy from the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind offshore wind projects. We’re partnering with local communities, creating jobs, building tomorrow’s infrastructure, and sparking new economic activity. But that’s only the beginning. By the time the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050, we aim to have net-zero emissions. Discover more about Equinor at www.equinor.com/USA. | | | | | | EDUCATION: The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable along with educators, students, Council Member Keith Powers and actor Seth Gilliam urged Adams and the City Council on Thursday to boost access to arts education. They requested that they ensure that all schools have a certified arts teacher to tackle learning loss stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as mental health issues, and to boost student performance. “Arts education is transformative for students,” Kimberly Olsen, executive director of the New York City Arts in Education Roundtable, said in a statement. “It not only helps them explore their creativity, it leads to better academic outcomes, mental health and graduation rates. That’s why the city must invest in our students’ futures and guarantee that every young person — no matter where they go to school or where they live — has access to the arts.” — Madina Touré HOUSING: The net operating income of landlords with rent-stabilized apartments fell 9.1 percent in 2021, according to a new report from the Rent Guidelines Board — the largest decline in the three decades the board has tracked the figure. Landlord groups said the drop underscores the need for higher rents this year and shows how the recent increases approved by the board have been grossly insufficient. Tenant advocates, meanwhile, counter that the drop is a feature of pandemic-related trends that have since reversed — specifically, the departure of New Yorkers from wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods during the height of Covid. They argued the data shouldn’t be used to justify steeper rent hikes. — Janaki Chadha
| | | — A TikTok trend is the cause behind a sky-rocket increase in car theft cases in the city. (WNYC) — Onondaga County's population decreased by 0.8 percent between July 2021 and July 2022. (Upstate New York) — From today on, New Yorkers will no longer see station clerks closed in their booths. (The New York Times) — Looking for a good meal in the Hudson Valley? Here’s the best one, according to the Times Union. (Times Union) | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
