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POLITICO's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Joe Anuta, Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Jason Beeferman | |  Mayor Eric Adams in Washington D.C last year. Adams will visit the nation's capital with other U.S. mayors in a plea for more federal aid for the city's growing migrant crisis. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office | Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Mayor Eric Adams will head to Washington today to request federal assistance with the migrant crisis. The mayor’s last trip was over the summer, and the Biden administration has yet to fulfill many of the outspoken Democrat’s asks. This time, however, may be different. (And no it has nothing to do with George Santos’ woes. See below on him.) Adams will be with an entourage that is expected to include the mayors of Denver and Chicago. They hope their collective voice will be more effective in persuading federal officials. “This is not sustainable, what you’re seeing in Chicago, where children are sleeping in precincts. It’s not sustainable what we are attempting to do in Floyd Bennett Field,” the mayor said in a TV interview Wednesday night, referring to a new tent facility erected in Brooklyn. “We need to have the same voice.” Adams, however, won’t be leading the pack. Back in January, the mayor vowed to recruit his colleagues from around the country for just this purpose. Today’s delegation, however, is being led by Denver Mayor Michael Johnston, a newly elected Democrat who has a far less contentious relationship with the White House compared to his New York City counterpart. Johnston spearheaded a letter to Biden also signed by the mayors of Los Angeles and Houston. A once-warm rapport between Biden and Adams has been reduced to tatters over the mayor’s past condemnation of the president, specifically for his lack of support for cities struggling with the migrant crisis. And while the group is expected to meet with officials overseeing various parts of the immigration process — whom they will ask for funding and work authorization — it has not specified whether the mayors will talk with President Joe Biden. If Adams does get face time with the president, it’ll be their first conversation since January in New York City. The trip comes as New York leaders are growing increasingly restive about the impact of the crisis. More than 40 members of the state Senate, Assembly and City Council are jointly urging Biden to expand Temporary Protected Status for several more countries, according to a letter to him shared exclusively with Playbook. Designating, redesignating and renewing TPS for 17 countries as he did for Venezuela in September would provide desperately needed relief and work permits for migrants in New York, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas and her colleagues write to the president. The countries include Ecuador and Colombia, as well as Mauritania and Senegal. “New arrivals are eager to work in industries that desperately are seeking a workforce, from our farms, healthcare, and other workplaces and employers are eager to hire them, but they need the authorization to do so,” the legislators write. – Joe Anuta and Emily Ngo IT’S THURSDAY. 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? Appearing as a guest on “JM in the AM” in New York City. WHERE’S ERIC? Traveling to Washington, D.C., meeting with senior White House officials along with other mayors, holding a joint press conference on the meeting, meeting with members of the U.S. House of Representatives, meeting with members of the U.S. Senate, speaking at U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s “Asian American & Pacific Islander Summit,” traveling back to New York, appearing on Telemundo 47 and, finally, hosting the first-ever Día de Muertos reception in Gracie Mansion. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The rampant anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic sentiment we’re witnessing in our City, and across the country, is fueling violence against our neighbors. This hate, and the hate against our Jewish neighbors, has no place in our City.” – City Councilmember Shahana Hanif in response to a sign in a Manhattan window that calls for Gaza to be made “flat.”
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | 
Rideshare companies Lyft and Uber are being forced to pay a combined $328 million after an investigation by the state's attorney general concluded the companies withheld pay and benefits from its drivers. | Getty Images | GIG LABOR DEAL: Ride hailing apps Uber and Lyft will pay a combined $328 million after a multiyear investigation found the firms withheld pay and benefits from drivers, Attorney General Tish James’ office announced today. James’ office determined the withheld pay resulted in drivers not being able to unlock benefits that would have otherwise been available to them under state labor laws. Lyft will pay $38 million; Uber will be required to pay $290 million, James said. James’ settlement with the ride hailing firms is the latest effort by state officials to address the so-called “gig economy” which has come under criticism from labor advocates and unions for excluding workers from some benefits available to full-time workers. “These drivers overwhelmingly come from immigrant communities and rely on these jobs to provide for their families,” James said in a statement. “This settlement will ensure they finally get what they have rightfully earned and are owed under the law.” The settlements include back pay to drivers and the institution of an “earnings floor” for drivers as well as guaranteed paid sick leave and earnings notices. – Nick Reisman
| | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | 
The inside of a living space, meant for a family of six, in one of Floyd Bennett Field's "semi-congregate" shelter tents that is set to welcome migrants later this week. | Jason Beeferman/POLITICO | FLOYD BENNETT FUHGETTABOUTIT: Concerns about a dearth of transit options and hazardous living conditions at the Floyd Bennett Field migrant shelter have advocacy groups calling on Adams to abandon the site. Migrants have yet to move in, but much of the blowback revolves around children staying in the “semi-congregate” setting. “The City must abandon its misguided effort to use Floyd Bennett Field as an option to shelter families with children, and we fear the worst should City Hall continue with this fraught, cruel and patently dangerous plan.” said Adriene Holder, a Legal Aid Society attorney. “Enormous tents filled with tiny cubicles in what feels like the middle of nowhere is not in any way an appropriate setting for families with kids,” said Dave Giffen, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless. The two groups and others say the sprawling Brooklyn site’s once-every-90-minutes shuttle is unacceptable for children getting to and from school, its ceiling-less living “pods” pose severe security issues and a lack of computers makes doing homework almost impossible. Floyd Bennett Field has already faced protests and opposition from Republicans like City Councilmember Joann Ariola, who is suing to shut down the facility. Three of the four tents are still being completed, each holding 128 families, but they are in the middle of a 1,300-acre expanse of marshland, law enforcement training facilities and abandoned jet runways. – Jason Beeferman HELPING THOSE WHO SERVED: City Council members unveiled new measures Wednesday aimed at improving access to mental health care for veterans. Speaker Adrienne Adams, along with Mental Health Chair Linda Lee, Veterans Chair Robert Holden and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, announced three bills focused on expanding veterans’ awareness to mental health care. The effort made up the “Stop 2: Veteran Mental Health” initiative, part of the council’s “Mental Health Road Map” project. Williams is sponsoring legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Services to create an informational pamphlet about the city’s mental health options for veterans. Another one would require city agencies to collect additional demographic data on veterans, while a separate measure would mandate the agency advertise mental health offerings. – Jason Beeferman TRAVEL ALERT: Adams may be attending the Combat Antisemitism Movement’s summit in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 15-16. He went to last year’s conference in Athens, Greece, too, but since then the organization was criticized by some other Jewish groups for blaming the rise in antisemitism on progressives and “woke-ism.” The conference said he’s attending, but City Hall says the trip is “not confirmed, at this point.” – Jeff Coltin More from the city: — More than 100,000 city public school students were homeless last school year. (POLITICO Pro) — Fort Lee officials sued New York City over congestion pricing, saying it will lead to pollution in New Jersey. (NJ.com)
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | | 
The Haven apartments, Bronx, N.Y., which provides supportive housing. Groups advocating for supportive housing are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to address what they see as a state "funding disparity" with the units. | AP | SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PUSH: Hochul is being pushed to address what dozens of nonprofit groups call a “funding disparity” for supportive housing units in New York. The groups will release a letter today raising concerns with 9,000 units of housing funded by the state Supportive Housing Program. The letter points to a lack of a significant funding increase for the program since it was created more than three decades ago and does not have dedicated rental assistance for most of its tenants. The groups propose converting the housing units to the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, which provides more money per unit and covers social services as well as rental assistance. “As the state struggles with affordable housing, mental health, opioid, and homelessness crises, along with an influx of migrants, the loss of even a single unit of supportive housing is something we simply cannot afford,” said Pascale Leone, the executive director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York. – Nick Reisman HIGHWAY MONEY SURGE DOESN’T MATERIALIZE: A big boost in federal money for infrastructure projects hasn’t resulted in an accompanying surge in how much New York is spending on the projects, a report to be released by the Long Island Contractors Association today concludes. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was signed in late 2021 provides the state with $4.5 billion in additional highway funding. But the state’s capital plan for roads has only gone up by $2 billion. “Everyone in the industry and probably the general public anticipated after the passage of the federal infrastructure bill, there would be a large increase in funding,” said LICA Executive Director Marc Herbst. “And in New York, that hasn’t materialized.” Herbst compared the modest increase to the way gambling revenue has been allocated over the decades. While that money might be earmarked for education, elected officials have often used it to simply offset money that would have been spent on schools with or without gambling. “This certainly is a shell game,” he said. – Bill Mahoney More from Albany: — More about the Cornell student from Pittsford in Monroe County charged with threatening Jewish students. (Democrat and Chronicle) — A California-based company is expected to bring 400 jobs to the Syracuse area. (Post-Standard) — Hochul reported progress addressing shootings and car thefts. (Spectrum News)
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | | | 
Rep. George Santos easily avoided a GOP-led effort to expel him from Congress on Wednesday. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | SANTOS SURVIVES … FOR NOW: Fellow New York first-year Republicans’ resolution to expel Rep. George Santos from Congress for — uh, for everything — failed last night. And even 31 Democrats joined the majority of Republicans voting against it. “If you come for me, you best not miss,” Santos wrote in a now-deleted post on X. But one of the sponsors, Rep. Marc Molinaro, predicted they’ll just have to do it again in a couple weeks. The House Ethics Committee said ahead of the vote that it would be making an announcement on its investigation into Santos on or before Nov. 17. “It's going to be clear that he should be removed from Congress,” Molinaro said after the failed vote, “and we likely would have to take another vote.” – Jeff Coltin More from the delegation: — Santos came to the defense of the Democrat running for Suffolk County executive after a mailer was viewed as antisemitic. (New York Post) — The House also voted down efforts to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib. (POLITICO)
| | | | PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Westchester County Executive George Latimer boasts that crime is down, but some say his math is fuzzy. (LoHud) — The annual Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center has been chosen, and she’s a beauty. (New York Post) — $11 million worth of fentanyl and guns was discovered in a Queens home by an unsuspecting contractor. (New York Daily News)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | IN MEMORIAM: Ady Barkan, a health care activist, lawyer, and organizer with the Center for Popular Democracy, who POLITICO once called “the most powerful activist in America,” died Wednesday from complications of ALS. (Huff Post) HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Assemblymember Alex Bores ... the District Council of Carpenters’ Megan Wylie … MAKING MOVES — Abbie Sorrendino is now a principal at Public Strategies Washington. She most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) and is a Chuck Schumer alum.
| | | Real Estate | | | — A Hudson Valley house where Billy Joel once stayed is up for sale. (LoHud) — WeWork’s expected bankruptcy could put many of New York’s landlords in a world of hurt. (Crain’s New York Business) | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
