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Presented by Community Offshore Wind: Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Sally Goldenberg, Anna Gronewold and Zachary Schermele | Presented by Community Offshore Wind | Mayor Eric Adams laid out a big vision for New York in Thursday’s State of the City speech: A safer metropolis that attends to the needs of the working class, the dreams of the entrepreneurs and the desires of the 1 percent. He plans to dedicate a public school to students with dyslexia, provide health care to people staying in city-run homeless shelters — a plan that needs federal subsidy and approval — and assist aspiring nurses with mentorships. He wants to “retire those Covid cabins and replace them with something better” — details TBD. And he intends to pour $375 million into parks, wider sidewalks and expanded bike lanes. Midtown Manhattan would undergo a rezoning to convert office space into residential units — attending to a goal of both the real estate lobby and the local City Council members. And a “rat czar” will soon be hired to tackle the mayor’s bête noire. The speech sent a clear signal that after a rocky first year in office focused on crime and crises, the mayor is going on the offensive. With an eclectic agenda divorced from partisan politics, he presented an entirely different view of the mayoralty than his highly partisan predecessor, Bill de Blasio. But Adams cannot achieve some of his most ambitious plans, like aggressively penalizing dangerous drivers and cracking down on repeated violent offenders, without support from Albany. And while he showered Gov. Kathy Hochul with adoration over and over during his remarks at the Queens Theater, Adams has a pretty frosty relationship with the two legislative leaders who hold his fate in their hands. Neither Assembly Speaker Carl Heasie nor state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins attended the speech — he was recovering from a minor procedure and she was busy, per their reps. Hochul, by comparison, was seated in the front row and praised Adams as “my friend and partner.” Adams and the legislative leaders had a tense exchange last month, and Heastie has been particularly reluctant to embrace the mayor’s calls for changes to the state’s 2019 bail laws. “Frankly, he’s got to bring his A game to Albany,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan) said in an interview. “He’s got to do better [than last year] because the stakes are even higher.” IT’S FRIDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: agronewold@politico.com and sgoldenberg@politico.com or on Twitter: @annagronewold and @sallygold WHERE’S KATHY? Making a subway safety announcement with Eric Adams in Manhattan. WHERE’S ERIC? Conducting a series of interviews on his State of the City address in the morning on CBS New York’s “CBS2 News This Morning,” FOX5’s “Good Day New York,” WNYC’s “Morning Edition,” PIX11’s “PIX11 Morning News” and 1010 WINS’ “Morning Drive.” Then the mayor will make a subway safety announcement with Hochul. In the evening, he will appear on NY1’s “Inside City Hall.”
| | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind: Community Offshore Wind is helping New York meet its ambitious emissions reduction targets. But we’re doing more than reducing emissions. We are lifting up communities and bringing widespread benefits across the state, introducing good-paying union jobs, creating inclusive workforce development programs, and empowering disadvantaged communities to ensure no one is left behind. We have strong roots in New York and we are deeply committed to ensuring that all New York communities thrive. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | “MSG CEO James Dolan has 'meltdown' about facial recognition criticism, vows to keep scanning opponents,” by WNYC’s Jake Offenhartz: “Madison Square Garden boss James Dolan vowed to continue using facial recognition technology to blacklist his corporate adversaries, dismissing the efforts of state lawmakers to stop the practice as an unconstitutional waste of time. In a rambling and defiant interview on Fox 5 on Thursday, Dolan lashed out at his myriad critics, railed against bail reform, and threatened to withhold booze at a future sporting event if state regulators don’t drop their opposition to his surveillance practice.” “NYC failing to move Rikers Island detainees out of squalid temporary holding cells within 24 hours, lawyers tell judge,” by Daily News’ Graham Rayman: “New York City has failed to comply with a federal judge’s order to make sure Rikers Island detainees are moved out of often fetid temporary holding cells into regular jail beds within 24 hours, according to a legal motion filed Wednesday night. The Legal Aid Society’s motion asks Judge Laura Taylor Swain to hold the city in contempt for failing to develop a system that reliably tracks the movement of detainees out of the so-called ‘intake’ calls in less than a day.” DEEP DIVE: “The Pandemic Robbed Thousands of NYC Children of Parents. Many Aren’t Getting the Help They Need,” by Liz Donovan and Fazil Khan in collaboration with THE CITY, Columbia Journalism Investigations, Type Investigations and City Limits: “Yarely is one of more than 8,700 children in New York City who have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020, nearly double the national rate. … [D]ecades of underfunding mental health care left schools unprepared to handle the spike in needs during the pandemic. Amid that crisis, grieving students were largely overlooked and often didn’t get the help they needed.” “Report: NY can boost voter turnout with this single change” by Gothamist’s Brigid Bergin: “Could New York City’s notoriously low voter turnout just be a scheduling snafu? That’s the argument in a new report from Citizens Union to be released on Friday. The nonpartisan good government group examined how holding local elections in the same year as state or federal races boosted participation rates in other U.S. cities by as much as 460%.”
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | “Seneca lawsuit over state land deal for Thruway may proceed, court finds,” by Buffalo News’ Chris Bragg: “New York State has sought to have the case dismissed on a series of legal grounds, including that the 11th Amendment of the U.S Constitution bars a state from being sued in federal court unless the state consents. But the defendants in this case are individual state government officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and state Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Dominguez. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found on Thursday that the Seneca Nation can sue individual state officers in their official capacities as long as certain conditions are met, including that the lawsuit claims an ongoing violation of federal law. “ “Most incarcerated New Yorkers now come from upstate, not NYC. What's behind the shift?” by USA Today Network’s Eduardo Cuevas and Kayla Canne: “People in New York prisons increasingly come from upstate, part of a decades-long reversal of incarcerated New Yorkers coming from the five boroughs of New York City, according to findings from a 2022 analysis of census data by Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit studying prison trends on a national scale. "Among the findings: Black, Latino and lower-income communities in cities compose much of the state’s prison population that, as of the 2020 census, hovered around 42,000 people, Prison Policy Initiative found in its report. However, while some New York City neighborhoods see higher rates of incarceration, the highest numbers of people going to prison come from communities such as Albany, Monticello, Newburgh and Rochester.” “The chilly relationship between Byron Brown and Mark Poloncarz gets frostier,” by Buffalo News’ Sandra Tan and Deidre Williams: “The Christmas weekend blizzard that paralyzed Western New York for days and took the lives of at least 47 people exposed a host of gaps in the region's ability to fight back, from a lack of vehicles that could navigate the storm to the reality that being without power in a Buffalo winter is a deadly proposition. But it also highlighted that two of region’s most well-known and high-profile elected leaders are not exactly best buddies. Far from it.” #UpstateAmerica: It’s too warm for Adirondack Park ice castle construction, so public access to the slushy scene is delayed.
| | | | A message from Community Offshore Wind:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | “Gillibrand campaign looks at Zeldin as potential Senate opponent,” by Times Union’s Joshua Solomon: “U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign team is anticipating a 'tough reelection fight' next year and suggesting the two-term incumbent Democrat could face a challenge from former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Long Island Republican who ran a competitive race for governor. ‘Zeldin very nearly won the New York governorship in the 2022 midterms, all while New York Republicans had their best election cycle in two decades — flipping enough House seats red to retake the majority,’ Gillibrand’s campaign team said in a fundraising email pitch to prospective supporters on Wednesday.” — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during a press conference yesterday that it’s the hope of New York Democrats to have a "serious, substantive conversation” with Hochul and the state’s party chair “sooner rather than later” to unpack their markedly tough midterm season. “Latest Santos chaos: 'Hiring' treasurer who turned down job” by The Associated Press’ Michael Sisak: “The man who declined the job, Thomas Datwyler, said through a lawyer that there appeared to be some sort of miscommunication. ‘On Monday we informed the Santos campaign that Mr. Datwyler would not be serving as treasurer,’ Datwyler’s lawyer, Derek Ross, said in a statement. ‘It appears there’s a disconnect between that conversation and the filings (Wednesday) which we did not authorize.’”
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — The Oneida Indian Nation, which operates the Turning Stone casino and other CNY gaming facilities, is trying to attract employees with a starting wage of $20 an hour for entry-level cooks and $18.50 for dishwashers. — A Long Island contractor allegedly used $2.5 million in Hurricane Sandy funds for personal purchases such as a Lamborghini, Porsche and Jaguar. — The man who killed eight people on a West Side Highway bike path in 2017 was convicted of terrorism and murder charges. — The Brooklyn Banks — skateboarding hotspot of yore — could get an official revival. — A Jamaican cleric who was an outspoken supporter of the Islamic State was convicted after facing trial under 9/11-era terror laws. — Sen. Joe Addabbo in Queens — the Senate’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee chair — is proposing a bill to allow new online sportsbooks to accept bets on horse races. ... Meanwhile, animal rights and other advocates launched a campaign to end horse racing subsidies. — Westchester county police acted inappropriately when they ordered Journal News/Lohud reporter David McKay Wilson to leave Rye Playland last fall, an investigation found. — Andrew was not invited to a Manhattan event celebrating Mario. — Weill Cornell Medicine, on the heels of similar decisions from Mount Sinai and Columbia, announced it would no longer participate in the U.S. News and World Report’s annual medical schools rankings. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Heather Nauert … Lisa Kaplan of Alethea … former Rep. Dick Ottinger (D-N.Y.) … Circle’s Jared Favole … CFR’s Kayla Ermanni … WaPo’s Holly Bailey … Nomiki Konst MAKING MOVES – FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Neill Coleman is stepping down as executive director of Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies to return to his consulting practice Mission Magnified. … Jason Holley is joining Impact Partners as a director to oversee several of the firm's PE, VC, venture debt and tech clients. He most recently led PR efforts at Jack Taylor PR and is a Cathy McMorris Rodgers alum.
| | | | A message from the Community Offshore Wind: At Community Offshore Wind, our commitment to our communities is at the heart of everything we do. We have strong roots in New York and are deeply committed to delivering widespread benefits across the state. These include creating job training programs that will generate and protect good-paying union jobs, investing in the workforce of tomorrow focusing on youth education and enrichment, and creating an inclusive clean energy future that empowers disadvantaged communities. We are also reestablishing New York as the energy manufacturing hub and shifting the offshore wind supply chain from global to local. The clean energy transition is about more than just energy. It’s about making sure that we are creating a future that allows everyone to thrive. | | | | | Real Estate | |
“Coxsackie latest to pass moratorium on short-term rentals,” by Times Union’s Roger Hannigan Gilson: “The moratorium establishes a 3-month pause on any new Airbnbs, Vrbos, or other short-term rentals websites, with the option of extending the moratorium twice for a total of nine months … Many communities in the Hudson Valley regulate STRs. In the city of Hudson, a four percent lodging tax is applied to all STRs, while in Woodstock, the number of STRs are capped through a permitting process, though the town of about 6,300 still has about 400 of them, according to AirDNA. Both communities placed moratoriums on new STRs while they worked out the regulations.”
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