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Presented by Community Offshore Wind: Your afternoon must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Danielle Muoio Dunn | | | |  Trump's motorcade leaves Manhattan Criminal Court after his arraignment on April 4. | Bryan Anselm for POLITICO | Former President Donald Trump’s renewed presence in New York City for various legal proceedings is causing headaches for Mayor Eric Adams — in more ways than one. “We thought that we were in a good place because he was in Florida and, you know, he didn’t tie up our city,” Adams said Wednesday at an unrelated press conference. “Now, he’s going to be back here often.” Adams made the remarks when asked how the city is preparing for the return of the Queens native, who is scheduled to give a deposition later this week in state Attorney General Tish James’ business fraud lawsuit against him and his real estate firm. Last week, the historic indictment of the former president by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought hundreds of protesters to the Manhattan criminal courthouse. House Republicans have gone on the offensive since the indictment, subpoenaing a former Manhattan prosecutor who criticized aspects of Bragg’s investigation. Bragg sued to block it, calling the move a “campaign of harassment.” Now the city government is in the cross-hairs, with the House Judiciary Committee pledging to “examine how Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pro-crime, anti-victim policies have led to an increase in violent crime and a dangerous community for New York City residents.” Adams slammed the GOP’s singular focus on New York City when “crime in congressional Republican areas per capita is through the roof.” He faulted southern states for a “proliferation of guns” flowing to major cities. He added the committee hasn’t communicated with city officials to prepare for the hearing that will be held in a lower Manhattan federal building. “This is just an extension of Donald Trump campaigning, and it really makes no sense,” he said.
| | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind: Community Offshore Wind is helping New York meet its ambitious emission reductions targets. We’re lifting up communities and bringing widespread benefits across the state, introducing good-paying union jobs, providing access to childcare for those training and working in the offshore wind industry, creating inclusive workforce development programs, and empowering disadvantaged communities to ensure no one is left behind. We have strong roots in New York and are deeply committed to ensuring that New York communities thrive. | | | |  | From the Capitol | | |  1199 SEIU, the state's largest healthcare workers union, rallied at the state Capitol in Albany on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in support of more funding for the system. | Provided by 1199 SEIU | JUDGE PICK CHANGE: Citizens Union and the New York County Lawyers Association came out in opposition of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ indication Tuesday that the Legislature would like to do away with the commission that provides a short list of candidates to governors for the state Court of Appeals. Stewart-Cousins said the Senate will seek a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the Commission on Judicial Nomination and instead allow a governor to nominate picks to the state’s highest court, who would then need to be confirmed by the Senate. The groups warned that the move would remove a layer of independence from the current system, which was implemented in 1977. “The public must have confidence that our judicial system is run by, and composed of, judges who can exercise independence and focus on the fair and impartial administration of justice,” Citizens Union executive director Betsy Gotbaum said in a statement. The lawyers association said that Hochul’s inability to get her first chief judge pick, Hector LaSalle, through the nomination process in February shouldn’t be a reason to scrap the current system. “A single arguably controversial nomination provides no reason to change a system that has worked so well for so long,” the association said. “Many qualified judges have been selected for one of the most important common law courts in the land through the existing merit selection process “ SEIU RALLY: The state’s largest healthcare workers union again rallied at the state Capitol to call for $2.5 billion in additional aid for the system, including the safety-net hospitals in New York City that provide care to the poor. Last month, it filled the MVP Arena with supporters. 1199 SEIU said while Hochul’s budget would increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate by 5 percent, it would offset by the elimination of savings from the 340b drug pricing program and a cut to the Indigent Care Pool program. “With stagnating Medicaid funding and a depleted and burnt-out workforce, an austere healthcare budget would be devastating to New Yorkers, especially seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income families,” the union said in a statement.
| | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind:   | | | | | From City Hall | | |  Mayor Eric Adams delivers remarks at the National Action Network’s ribbon cutting ceremony for the Annual National Convention in Manhattan on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | NAN CONVENTION: Democratic lawmakers flocked to the National Action Network’s annual convention in Manhattan on Wednesday to kick off the four-day gathering centered on energizing the civil rights movement and fighting efforts to threaten democracy. “Now we just all finished Easter Resurrection Sunday, and we know that out of great darkness can come great light,” Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer declared to the crowd of onlookers who cheered in agreement. “There is great darkness in Tennessee, in Texas, in Mississippi, in Kentucky and so many other places, including some right here in New York. What is the antidote that brings us light? Just what we are doing here today – being active, being strong, not letting them push us around.” Sharpton said Adams was one of the five individuals who co-signed the incorporation papers for NAN. Adams said his mayoralty cannot be separated from his relationship with NAN. Sharpton did not endorse any candidates in the mayoral race, but his daughter, civil rights activist Ashley Sharpton, endorsed Adams. “We have been here for 30 years, 30 years, very clear, moving towards City Hall,” the mayor said. “I did not march those 30 years to get there and not do what we fought for on the trail. We are consistent, consistent to do this.” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, the city’s first black Council speaker, said: “Thank you NAN family for birthing your leaders. Thank you for birthing a mayor, thank you for birthing a speaker. Thank you for birthing our public advocate… thank you for birthing a nation that is going forth in justice.” — Madina Touré PAT ON THE BACK: Adams praised Patrick Lynch in the wake of the longtime union leader’s announcement he would not seek reelection after 24 years as president of the Police Benevolent Association. Some of that time overlapped with Adams’ own tenure at the NYPD as a leader of fraternal organization 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. And the two did not always see eye to eye. “He fought on behalf of his membership, and I fought on behalf of the things that were important to me,” Adams said at an unrelated press conference. “I think he has been a good public servant for his members. And even in those areas we did not agree on, we both agreed we should support our law enforcement officers, that we should make sure our city is safe and someone should speak on behalf of innocent people who are victims of crimes. And that is what he has done.” The union, which represents more than 20,000 uniformed officers, recently reached a major settlement agreement with Adams that includes retroactive raises back to 2017, though it must still be ratified by members. — Joe Anuta | | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind: The clean energy transition is about more than just energy. At Community Offshore Wind, our commitment to communities is at the heart of everything we do. With strong roots in New York, we will deliver widespread benefits across the state and infuse $15 billion into the state economy. This includes creating job training programs to support union labor, investing in our youth to build the workforce of tomorrow, offering childcare for employees and trainees, and building an inclusive clean energy future that empowers disadvantaged communities. Community Offshore Wind is committed to localizing the offshore wind supply chain proposing the first-ever made-in-New-York offshore wind turbines. We have a goal of uplifting communities with the power of clean energy for all. | | | | | | | 
New York Mayor Eric Adams, left, introduces Kathleen Corradi, center, as the city's first-ever citywide director of rodent mitigation, also known as the "rat czar," in New York, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Bobby Caina Calvan) | Bobby Caina Calvan/AP Photo | EDUCATION: This is the first year SUNY is offering a paid internship program, and it expects the pilot program to grow in the future. The internships are offered in biology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, physics, astronomy, engineering, chemistry, computer science and clean energy. It will also be offered in nursing. The program will cover the costs associated with SUNY internships — including a student stipend or salary, tuition and fees, housing, meal plans, childcare and transportation. Internships will be offered at Binghamton University, University at Buffalo, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Stony Brook University and SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Upon becoming chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee earlier this year, Assemblymember Pat Fahy noted that creating opportunities for college students to participate in paid internship programs is a priority for her legislative agenda. On Wednesday she applauded SUNY’s commitment to those efforts. “Paid internships are more likely to translate into job offers, attract applicants from a wider swath of socioeconomic backgrounds, and connect employers with new generations of skilled workers,” Fahy said in a statement. — Katelyn Cordero RATS — Kathleen Corradi, a former sustainability official in the Department of Education, will become the city’s first-ever “rat czar.” Corradi will earn $155,000 annually with a mandate of reducing the number of rodents throughout the five boroughs. Formerly an elementary teacher, Corradi created a zero waste program in New York City schools and most recently served as the DOE’s Queens Director of Space Planning. The city will also invest $3.5 million to expand rat mitigation work in Harlem. — Danielle Muoio Dunn ABORTION: New York City co-led a coalition of local governments in filing an amicus brief Wednesday urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to stay a Texas judge’s ruling suspending the FDA’s 2000 approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. The coalition said in the brief that the order will harm already overburdened and underresourced public hospitals. “If the safe and effective two-drug regimen is suddenly removed, our public health care system will have to divert resources to provide alternate options and procedures, which will undoubtedly affect our public hospitals’ ability to provide care to patients seeking abortions and could impact their ability to provide care across the board,” Adams said in a statement. Santa Clara County, Calif., joined New York in co-leading the amicus brief. — Maya Kaufman
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Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration pulled the plug, for now, on adjusting how greenhouse gas emissions are measured. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images |
BUDGET WHIPLASH: Hochul’s botched attempt to rewrite the state’s landmark climate law during secretive budget negotiations outraged her sometimes allies in the environmental movement — and handed the cudgel of higher gas prices to opponents of New York’s efforts to slash emissions.
Hochul inserted a proposal in budget talks that would have weakened the actions needed to achieve the state’s emissions reduction limits enshrined in law. Her effort, first reported by POLITICO, received immediate blowback from environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers who have made tackling the climate crisis a top priority. At first, the governor deployed her top energy and environmental officials to defend the urgency of the proposed change. It was needed to avoid having implementation of the climate law prove too costly for consumers, they said. But that effort lasted less than three days before they met with the governor and then were sent to face reporters and announce that the change was no longer a top priority in budget negotiations. “The affordability issue is a legitimate issue for us to discuss, and we need to address it because it's a real thing. I don’t know that it was a wise move to try to inject it without any pre-sale into the budget negotiations,” said Sen. Pete Harckham (D-Westchester County), who chairs the Environmental Conservation Committee and opposed Hochul’s proposal. “It was kind of ill-timed the way it was done.” A rebate for consumers remains a priority for the Hochul administration in budget talks, and they’re not backing down from pushing the controversial change later this year. “Governor Hochul and her administration remain fully committed to addressing cost implications outside of the budget and combatting climate change, and the Governor continues to work with the legislature on a budget that includes the most impactful climate initiatives in recent history,” Hochul spokesperson Katy Zielinski said in a statement. — Marie J. French
| | — Via Times Union: “Juul pays $462M to six states and D.C. for creating 'youth vaping epidemic'.” — Students at SUNY are no longer required to present proof of Covid vaccine to be enrolled in classes. (New York Upstate) — BTS fans, this is for you. A pop-up dedicated to the K-pop boy band will arrive in Hudson Yards in late April. (TimeOut) — A new analysis shows that even if Amazon has decreased the injury rate for warehouse workers, numbers are still higher than the ones registered in 2020. (Spectrum News) | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
