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POLITICO's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | With help from Jason Beeferman
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Rep. George Santos leaves federal court on Friday. Some New York Republicans hoping to distance themselves from Santos employed the same campaign treasurer as the disgraced NY-03 congressman. | Stefan Jeremiah/AP | Even as Rep. George Santos’ fellow New York GOP freshmen push to expel him tonight (in a likely doomed vote), tentacles of the Santos scandals are grabbing at the other representatives’ legs. Remember the accountant who said Santos wrongly listed him as treasurer back in January? The Daily Beast reported last week that he actually did the work for Santos’ campaign for four months but hid that potentially embarrassing fact by listing the name of his buddy from high school on official paperwork. And the lawyer for campaign treasurer Thomas Datwyler just rescinded his January statements that claimed Datwyler had been played by Santos, the Daily Beast reported, saying that actually, it looks like Datwyler had played the Federal Election Commission. And the public. Datwyler isn’t some fringe character desperate for a paycheck. He’s also the campaign treasurer for Reps. Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota, two Long Island Republican first-year members who’ve been eager to distance themselves from Santos. Datwyler is the treasurer for New York Majority Makers too, a joint fundraising committee for all the non-Santos swing seat freshmen: Reps. D'Esposito, LaLota, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams, Playbook has learned. LaLota’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment, and neither did Datwyler. D’Esposito campaign spokesperson Matthew Capp declined to comment on their treasurer’s alleged pattern of lying to the FEC. Capp confirmed that the campaign has not severed its relationship with Datwyler after the Daily Beast’s reporting, however. And said that D’Esposito did not recommend or refer his treasurer to Santos. By the time Datwyler started working for Santos around Jan. 25, D’Esposito had already publicly rejected Santos and called on him to resign. D’Esposito, LaLota and the rest of them sharing an ex-campaign treasurer with Santos hasn’t been previously reported. But it’s just another example of the reason why D’Esposito introduced the privileged resolution to expel Santos: The dark cloud of their 23-count-indicted colleague is casting a shadow over the rest of the New York GOP. Two-thirds of the House would have to vote yes to boot Santos. But that’s unlikely to pass, since the new Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested he’s aligned with the previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, who didn’t want to eject Santos because he hadn’t been convicted of anything yet. “We’ve had some Republican offices signal that they’ll support it as well,” Capp from D’Esposito’s office told Playbook. But he couldn’t say if they’d be able to flip the approximately 77 Republican votes it would need to pass. “We don’t have a whip count or anything.” – Jeff Coltin IT’S WEDNESDAY. Happy November. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | | | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Providing a public safety update in Rochester. WHERE’S ERIC? Speaking at a ribbon cutting for the Civic Hall technology hub, making a health-related announcement, then speaking with the Partnership for New York City and finally on WNBC’s “News 4 NY at 6.” QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Rodneyse should be careful she doesn't end up getting sued for libel and slander.” – Justin Brannan campaign spokesperson Ian Brown, via City & State, in response to Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn’s latest public criticism of her fellow Democrat amid his City Council reelection battle.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
A multi-million dollar ad campaign aims to boost the state’s Medicaid reimbursement plan in the next state budget. | AP | BEGUN, THE BUDGET ADS HAVE: An influential labor union and New York hospitals are launching an 8-figure ad campaign on today meant to encourage state officials to boost Medicaid reimbursements. The New York Alliance for Healthcare Justice — the latest iteration of a longtime team up that has consisted of 1199SEIU and the Greater New York Hospital Association — is launching the effort and is focusing on Medicaid “underpayments” for hospitals, urging Albany to boost support in order to also get more federal dollars. It’s the first salvo in the coming budget fight that will begin early next year. The governor is expected to unveil her proposed spending plan by Jan. 16. It’s a potentially big ask to increase Medicaid, the costliest portion of the state budget, after lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul in the most recent spending plan hiked reimbursement rates for hospitals and nursing homes. Hochul’s top budget advisor this week announced New York’s spending gap has been revised downward from $9.1 billion to $4.3 billion due to slower-than-expected spending and a federal rule change in the Medicaid program. Still, Hochul wants to close the remaining gap without raising taxes, a pledge that also comes as revenue from the personal income tax has slowed significantly over the last year. – Nick Reisman
| | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that Governor Kathy Hochul has not spoken to him about plans to limit state spending on the migrant crisis. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | PAYING FOR HOTEL STAYS: One day after Hochul said the state “cannot pay unlimited hotel rooms” for the city’s migrants, Mayor Eric Adams is asking the state for more, not less, investment toward migrant care. The mayor twice said he “didn’t understand” Hochul’s comments and that he has not gotten any word from Albany about a need to rein in the state’s migrant care spending. “She didn’t say anything directly to me that they’re going to move away from the commitments that they made,” Adams said. “And so I'm hoping that everyone understands that New York City has done more than its share.” In June, the city had contracts with over 140 hotels to house migrants, but tens of thousands of more migrants have arrived since. The cost of migrant care has reached $394 per migrant per day in New York City, despite hopes the price would drop to $320. State government spending is also approaching $2 billion, double what was initially allocated, the governor said. There are currently over 65,000 migrants in the city’s care, and over 600 migrants are arriving in New York City each day, a recent count estimates. “I’m happy she made a commitment to give us a billion dollars this fiscal year and to fight to get a billion next [year],” Adams said of the governor Tuesday. “We need far more than that.” – Jason Beeferman LIFE GOALS: The Adams administration wants New Yorkers to live longer. The city will unveil a plan today to extend the average lifespan to 83 years by 2030 — an effort to tackle a historic, 4.6-year decline in city residents’ life expectancy triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and an ongoing opioid overdose crisis. The new campaign, HealthyNYC, will organize existing city initiatives around targets for reducing the greatest drivers of early death: chronic diseases, overdoses, suicide, maternal mortality, violence and Covid. It’ll take years of work. As of 2020, New Yorkers’ average life expectancy was 78 years. For Black and Hispanic New Yorkers, it’s even shorter. — Maya Kaufman More from the city: — Correction Commissioner Louis Molina is leaving the department, but he’s staying with the Adams administration to work under Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks. (POLITICO Pro) — The NYPD pulled out at the last minute from a City Council hearing on the racial impact of high-technology surveillance — for the third time in five weeks. (The City) — The last operating prison ship in the United States — the 800-bed Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center in the South Bronx — is finally closing down. (The Associated Press)
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | |  A report from New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams urges the MTA to do more to make public transit more accessible for people with disabilities. | AP | MTA ACCESSIBILITY: The city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, is urging MTA to speed up its work to make mass transit accessible to people with disabilities. He plans to release a report today on the matter. While the MTA is working to repair and add elevators, that work isn’t expected to be finished for several more decades and stairs aren’t the only issue people with disabilities must face. “For many, steep stairs, narrow walkways, confusing station layouts, and unintelligible loudspeaker announcements make navigating the subway challenging and stressful,” the advocate and his staff found in a report to be released today. "Public transportation must be equitably accessible to the entire public, and we cannot accept delays in services to the disabled community" Williams said in a statement to POLITICO. Among other things, Williams said the agency should work on “simple, low-cost improvements that will aid New Yorkers much more than spending on aesthetic or cosmetic changes,” citing hundreds of millions being spent on things like new tiles on the walls, LED lighting and screens, and new benches. The MTA has spoken regularly about the challenges and costs of making accessibility upgrades. For instance, adding an elevator seems simple, but could involve moving buried underground utilities or upending sidewalks. The agency has said it is spending nearly $6 billion on subway station accessibility as a part of its 2020-2024 capital program, including $600 million for elevator upgrades at dozens of stations to improve reliability and safety. "We're balancing moving over 5 million people daily, while also retrofitting and rebuilding a system that's over 118 years old. By the end of the 2020-2024 capital program, no customer should be more than two stations away from an accessible train station, and that is huge," MTA's Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo said in a statement. – Ry Rivard HEY KIDS, WANNA JOIN A UNION? You can never be too young to learn how to collectively bargain. That’s the hope of some Democrats in the state Legislature who are backing a bill to create a “workplace readiness” week in New York schools to teach kids about worker rights. The measure comes as some (mostly Republican-led) states have made it easier for kids to work. But also as support for organized labor has increased, especially among younger people. “This bill aims to help young people in New York gain a strong understanding of their rights as workers and to learn about their right to join or organize a union in their workplace as early as possible,” lawmakers wrote in support of the legislation. – Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Hochul outlined steps New York is taking to address a rise in antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war. (POLITICO Pro) — Private investigators working for ex-Democratic powerbroker Steve Pigeon were accused of harassing witnesses in his rape case. (Buffalo News) — Five takeaways from New York’s marathon marijuana hearing. (POLITICO Pro)
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Rep. Pat Ryan is calling for a federal investigation into TV sports blackouts. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo | STREAMING SPORTS FOUL: Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan is tossing a red flag on sports blackouts. Ryan, a Hudson Valley representative, wants federal officials and the heads of the major sports leagues to investigate blackouts of games on TV amid the proliferation of streaming services that have increasingly turned to live sports. Ryan wants the Government Accountability Office to conduct the investigation that would review the effect TV blackouts for sporting events have on consumers and what actions federal agencies can take to reduce them. “At the end of a long day, all we want to do is watch the Yankees and Knicks with our families,” Ryan said in a statement. “Whether you’re a senior in Kingston or a parent in Newburgh, you shouldn’t have to buy 6 streaming services just to find out the game is blacked out. The leagues make more than enough money — let’s put power back where it belongs: with the fans.” – Nick Reisman More from the delegation:
— Rep. Jamaal Bowman has not retreated to safer political ground, after facing blowback from Jewish leaders in his district for bucking his party’s stance on Israel. (The New York Times)
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Singapore, London and Stockholm have congestion pricing, and experts there have advice for New York City as it rolls out its own version. (Gothamist) — The politics of putting up Israeli “kidnapped” posters — and of tearing them down. (The New York Times) — The MTA is now funding pickleball courts, snowblowers and “Welcome to…” signs as part of a strategy to win over support from transit-averse local governments. (Newsday)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | MAKING MOVES: Former New York City Chief Counsel to the Mayor and City Hall Brendan McGuire is returning to WilmerHale, where he’ll advise clients with business before the city. (Bloomberg) HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NYT’s Carlos Lozada … Business Roundtable’s Liz Dougherty … CNN’s Marshall Cohen … Alex Byers … Ram Sivalingam
| | Real Estate | | — The mayor’s housing plan will likely encourage less-dense parts of the city to build more housing. (Crain’s New York Business) — Attorney General Tish James’s new housing report highlights severe racial disparities around homeownership in the state. (POLITICO Pro) | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
