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POLITICO's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Joe Anuta, Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman and Jeff Coltin | With help from Jason Beeferman
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Mayor Eric Adams will now designate a single day of the week to answer off-topic questions from journalists. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | We’ve come a long way since the days of Ed Koch. The famously media-hungry mayor used to answer so many questions from reporters he was liable to make headlines at the most mundane event. Beginning today, though, Mayor Eric Adams will hold a press conference to field questions on breaking news just once a week. “There are things that [past mayors have] done that I wouldn't do, and there's things that I do that they wouldn't do,” Adams said when previewing the new policy Monday. “Right now, there's a mayor called Mayor Adams, and the rule that we put in place [is] so we don't mix messages.” Along with Koch, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg took questions from reporters multiple times a week on a variety of issues. Paring that down to once a week began under Adams’ predecessor, when Bill de Blasio distinguished between questions that were about the topic of a particular press briefing and those that were not. He then sought to limit his exposure to off-topic queries. Yet at the same time, de Blasio also sat for hard-hitting, weekly interviews on both NY1 and WNYC. And the frequency of his off-topic sessions waxed and waned over time: During the pandemic, journalists could pelt him with questions about any subject four times a week, according to Bill Neidhardt, the administration’s penultimate press secretary. While the sessions were limited and held virtually even after other officials resumed in-person briefings — to the chagrin of many reporters — Neidhardt said the frequency helped the administration shape the narrative of more stories. “It boils down to the fact that the most powerful tool a modern mayor has is their bully pulpit,” he told POLITICO. “The Adams administration is essentially tying an arm and a leg behind its back in the fight for resources and command of the biggest media market in the country.” The mayor’s office sees it differently. A spokesperson noted that, for months, the mayor has been taking off-topic questions — usually at the end of an unrelated press briefing — on a weekly basis. The only change is the new process will be more organized and provide better fodder for journalists, since top officials will also field queries. The mayor is also frequently interviewed on broadcast and radio programs reaching a wide variety of communities in the city, the spokesperson noted. And Adams has launched a broad effort to bypass the media altogether by connecting directly with New Yorkers via a podcast, radio show and newsletter. And he’s happy with the arrangement. “No mayor in the history of this city has been more accessible, more approachable, more on the ground than I have,” Adams said Monday. IT’S TUESDAY. Thanks for reading! Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Kicking off the New York City Department of Education’s “Chefs in the Schools” initiative, holding an in-person media availability session, launching the NYC Youth Leadership Council network, celebrating Banned Books Week and participating in a fireside chat at the Semafor Business Summit. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We cannot emphasize enough how appreciative we are for the support we received from Charlotte’s community, friends and family” — State Police after nine-year-old Charlotte Sena was found alive Monday evening and a suspect in her abduction was arrested after a massive search.
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Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 18,000 jobs for asylum seekers and migrants during a Monday press conference. | Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | HELP WANTED: Newly eligible migrants can begin applying on Tuesday for temporary protections against deportation as well as work permits. And many will have jobs across the state to apply for as well, Gov. Kathy Hochul stressed Monday. “We already have nearly 400 employers who stood up who said, ‘Yes. Yes, we will embrace them. We’ll hire them. We’ll give them that shot at the American dream,’” Hochul announced, later touting the initiative by the state Department of Labor to get companies signed up as a “matchmaking service.” So far, the effort has identified 18,000 jobs available to migrants who can get legal work authorization, with half the jobs in the city and half in other parts of the state, she said. Twenty-five percent of the jobs are in hospitality, 21 percent in health or social services, 10 percent in manufacturing, 5 percent in retail and 5 percent in construction, Hochul said. President Joe Biden’s redesignation of Venezuela for temporary protected status, or TPS, goes into effect Tuesday, impacting Venezuelan nationals who arrived in the United States on or before July 31, a group that, according to City Hall, numbers about 10,000 in the city. — Emily Ngo
| | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams at an Ecuadorian flag raising ceremony in August. The mayor will travel to Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia this week. | Violet Mendelsund/Mayoral Photography Office | VAYA CON DIOS: He’s raised the flags — now he’s going to see the real thing. The mayor is traveling to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia this week, in part to “learn more about the path asylum-seekers take to get to the United States,” City Hall said Monday. Adams visited the U.S.-Mexico border in January, but the crisis of providing shelter and care for migrants has only taken up more of his attention and resources since then. But he’s not alone there. Adams met on Monday with Luis Gilberto Murillo, the Colombia ambassador of the United States, and the conversation centered on how the South American country was indirectly helping New York. “Colombia’s effort to welcome Venezuelan migrants has helped to relieve the pressure on overwhelmed social systems in the U.S. and other countries in the hemisphere,” Murillo said in a readout provided by the Colombian Embassy. Adams loves to emphasize his on-the-ground actions — sleeping in a migrant shelter, or lobbying for help in D.C., for example. But his progressive critics were dismissive as expected. A Working Families Party spokesperson called his planned travel “a political stunt” to distract New Yorkers from his “failure to connect families seeking asylum with needed services.” The New York immigration Coalition called it “a pointless international trip” and said he should spend more time with organizations serving migrants in New York instead. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Drivers still don’t know how much they’ll pay to enter Manhattan as part of the MTA’s congestion pricing program, but the list of new exemptions has grown (POLITICO Pro) — Full access to jail video will be given to the city Board of Correction again after the oversight body reached a settlement with the DOC. (Gothamist) — The U.S. Supreme Court won’t consider a challenge to rent stabilization brought by major landlord groups. (POLITICO Pro)
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | | 
The American Cancer Society is putting pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a measure that would require insurance coverage for biomarker testing. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | INSURANCE BILL: Anti-cancer advocates are urging Hochul to sign a measure that would require insurance coverage for biomarker testing when the bill hits her desk. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network has launched a $1 million campaign to highlight support for the proposal and to get the governor’s approval. Biomarker testing uses genes or proteins in order to build data about cancer risk. “Governor Hochul has an incredible opportunity to reassert New York state as a leader in the fight against cancer, but also as an innovation in how we fight disease,” said Mike Davoli, the organization’s director of government relations. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — A state housing voucher program for homeless people is barely used. (Times Union) — The U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear a challenge to a state law governing ballot access for minor parties. (POLITICO Pro)
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | BLASTING THE JUDGE: During a midday lunch break Monday, Donald Trump derided Justice Arthur Engoron, the state court judge overseeing his $250 million civil trial, POLITICO reports. “This is a judge that should be disbarred. This is a judge that should be out of office. This is a judge that some people say could be charged criminally for what he’s doing. He’s interfering with an election, and it’s a disgrace,” the former president said. New York Attorney General Tish James alleges that Trump, his adult sons, his companies and some of his business associates, fraudulently inflated Trump’s net worth in order to obtain favorable terms from banks and insurance companies. — Emily Ngo
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Rep. Jamaal Bowman said his office sent out a memo Monday that included an "inappropriate use of the term Nazi." | Francis Chung/POLITICO | HOW ALARMING: Two days after apologizing for pulling a fire alarm during a vote in Congress, Rep. Jamaal Bowman is issuing another mea culpa after distributing a memo saying the Republican Party is made up of “Nazi members.” In a list of “suggested talking points” sent to all House Democratic offices, the congressman’s office provided guidance on how his Democratic colleagues can support him after Saturday’s fire alarm incident. One of the curated lines Bowman’s office encouraged his colleagues to say was, “I believe Congressman Bowman when he says this was an accident. Republicans need to instead focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else.” Bowman’s plea for his colleagues to defend his fire alarm flop comes as his GOP counterparts have ridiculed him and even introduced a resolution to expel the Yonkers Democrat from the House for his actions. The Capitol Police have also opened an investigation into the incident. After POLITICO reported the memo on Monday, Bowman tweeted two hours later saying the term “Nazi” was used without his approval. “I just became aware that in our messaging guidance, there was inappropriate use of the term Nazi without my consent. I condemn the use of the term Nazi out of its precise definition. It is important to specify the term Nazi to refer to members of the Nazi party & neo-Nazis,” he said. On Saturday, Bowman, an ex-middle school principal, said his pulling of the fire alarm was an accident and was “not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote.” — Jason Beeferman
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Where did the Museum of Natural History’s Teddy Roosevelt statue end up? (West Side Rag) — Manhattan’s first public beachfront opened on Monday near the meatpacking district. (ABC7) — NYC scuba divers find the darndest things when they perform undersea cleanups off the shores of Queens. (The Associated Press)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | MAKING MOVES: Julie Roginsky and Chris Bastardi have launched the public affairs and PR agency BARO Strategies. Roginsky was the owner of Comprehensive Communications Group and co-founder of Lift Our Voices, and Bastardi was head of strategy and crisis at Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis. Kate Silina, who did comms at Visa, is also joining as a partner. ENGAGED: Alex Katz, a managing director for government relations at Blackstone and a Chuck Schumer alum, on Friday proposed to Jessica Dean, a CNN congressional correspondent now covering the 2024 presidential election. The couple met in D.C. and got engaged on the rooftop of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Pic WEDDING: Megan Devlin, sustainability marketing manager for Deloitte and an alum of Meridian International Center and The Atlantic, on Sept. 23 married Ezra Rosenberg, general manager of a public food market. Instapic ... Another pic IN MEMORIAM: NYPIRG campaign director Ryan Carson was stabbed to death by a stranger while waiting for a Brooklyn bus early Monday on the way home from a wedding with his girlfriend (NYDN) HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rev. Al Sharpton … Rolling Stone’s Asawin Suebsaeng … AP’s Darlene Superville and Verena Dobnik … POLITICO’s Ursula Perano … Joshua Chaffee … Maury Nolen WAS MONDAY: Annie Leibovitz ... Donna Karan ... Gary Tuchman ... Bruce Blakeman
| | Real Estate | | — This 1848 home in East Rockaway could be yours for $699,000. (Newsday) — Meet the robot realtors of NYC. (New York Post) — The Hells Angels’ former East Village HQ has been transformed into 22 apartments. (Daily News) | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
