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Presented by Healthcare Education Project: POLITICO's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Nick Reisman, Emily Ngo and Jeff Coltin | Presented by Healthcare Education Project | With help from Jason Beeferman
|  The New York Court of Appeals typically meets in Albany, but the state's highest court is in Buffalo today to decide the fate of New York's House lines. | Hans Pennink/AP | Control of the House could be decided by what happens today in a Buffalo courtroom. New York’s top court, the Court of Appeals, is set to hear the Democratic-backed challenge to the House lines drawn a year ago by a special master. If the court tosses the current maps, the process is thrown to a redistricting commission. And if that panel deadlocks, the Democratic supermajorities in the state Legislature will get to draw the map. New York has an estimated six House seats in play; five are represented by freshman Republican lawmakers — making the stakes of the case high for the GOP keeping control of the narrowly divided chamber. So just how bad could it be for House Republicans if Democrats draw the lines? Estimates vary. Republican officials and political consultants have warned new lines could make it even harder for them to compete in a heavily Democratic state, setting back gains they have made in and around New York City after flipping four seats last year. Former Rep. John Faso expects yet another clash in court is possible if Democrats draw unfair lines. New lines, too, would create confusion for voters. “I think it’s very clear that if the court agrees with the Democrats, it will result in electoral chaos in our state,” said Faso, who has been the public face of the state GOP committee’s efforts in the redistricting case. “Voters won’t know who is representing them; candidates won’t know where they are running.” The potential electoral fallout from the redistricting case’s outcome will be closely watched. “The current districts give New York more competitive seats than any state in the nation,” Faso said in an interview with Playbook. “I think the court would have to twist itself into a constitutional pretzel.” Jeff Wice, a former staffer for Democrats in the state Senate and now a professor at New York Law School, believes Republicans wouldn’t be in such dire straits if the lines change again. The GOP has done increasingly well in recent election cycles in the New York City suburbs, including on Long Island and the Hudson Valley, where there are at least four House seats being targeted by Democrats. Republicans would likely still have made gains under a map initially drawn by Democrats in Albany last year that was ultimately tossed by the court. For example, the GOP won all four House seats on Long Island. “There are other factors at play other than simply how the districts are drawn,” Wice said in an interview. “I think the Republicans are overstating the situation a bit.” If Democrats end up drawing the lines, they should put together a map that is “strategic and limited” in order to avoid winding up in court again, Wice said. “A court is not going to reject a Democratic drawn map that follows the law,” he said. Legal experts and good-government organizations, meanwhile, are expected to develop ways of once again overhauling New York’s redistricting process with a constitutional amendment. That includes smoothing out how the redistricting commission approves lines and potentially eliminating ties. “The changes would try to avoid the traps, the pitfalls and the chaos that we saw in the last two years,” Wice said. – Nick Reisman IT’S WEDNESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project: Medicaid pays New York’s hospitals 30% less than the actual cost of their care. But hospitals give all of their patients 100%, each and every day. Medicaid underpayments have already meant cuts to mental health services and maternity care. Albany can fix this injustice: Stop Medicaid underpayments and help hospitals stay open. Tell Albany: Every New Yorker deserves healthcare, no matter their income or ZIP code. End the Medicaid funding crisis now. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Making an economic development announcement on Long island. WHERE’S ERIC? Making a health and technology related announcement, speaking at the groundbreaking for the East End Studios Sunnyside Campus, appearing live on “CBS2 News at 5PM,” speaking at the ribbon-cutting of Vistria’s Lower Manhattan offices and presenting a proclamation at the Hip-Hop Education Center. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “One year ago, I stood here on Diwali and said that I was going to do the impossible: I was going to make Diwali a school holiday in the city of New York, and today I am proud to stand before you and say we won” — Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s bill signing Tuesday.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
New York City chief counsel Lisa Zornberg intervened on the mayor's behalf during Tuesday's press conference to respond to questions about the FBI's inquiry into Adams's mayoral campaign. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | NOT A PROBE TARGET? Eric Adams’ chief counsel on Tuesday repeatedly intercepted questions meant for the mayor to send reporters a consistent message: Adams is fully cooperating with the federal probe and doesn’t want to impede the investigation. “There has been no indication that I’ve seen that the mayor is a target,” Lisa Zornberg added plainly, POLITICO reports. Zornberg, former chief of the criminal division at the Southern District of New York, was part of the Adams administration panel at his weekly news conference — the first since the public learned the FBI had seized his electronic devices. Adams has also retained a private attorney, one who could be paid in part with campaign donations. And he argued Tuesday that advocating on behalf of Turkish Brooklynites to the FDNY was just part of the job. “You don’t reach out to an agency to compel them to do anything, and I had no authority to do so because I was the borough president,” he said. “We reached out because I had the largest Turkish population outside of Paterson, N.J., in this country.” — Emily Ngo
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams said New Yorkers will soon have to endure painful budget cuts to pay for the ballooning migrant crisis costs. | Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office | DEEP CUTS TO COME: An updated city budget is set to be released Thursday and New Yorkers can expect it to be … brutal. “It’s going to hurt a lot,” Adams said Tuesday of the modification called the November financial plan, adding, “It’s going to be extremely painful for New Yorkers, and that is why we continue to say we need help.” The city has had to make cuts, the administration says, to compensate for the cost of supporting migrants and other obligations, dropping a class of school safety officers and asking agencies for 5 percent cuts by this month. Adams shed few new details, but the Citizens Budget Commission in a briefing Tuesday said that even after the savings from the November Program to Eliminate the Gap, or PEG, “the city will have to close a fiscal year 2025 budget gap of $11.3 billion.” — Emily Ngo More from the city: — A group of nonprofits are already banding together to oppose Adams’s upcoming budget cuts. (Crain’s New York Business) — Adams, who says he has visited Turkey at least six times, has longstanding ties to the Turkish community. (New York Times) — Every recent NYC mayoral administration has been investigated, but no mayor has been charged. (The City)
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project:   | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | 
Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration wants to make sustaining minimum wage increases for home care workers a priority in the upcoming budget. | AP Photo/Tim Roske | BUDGET MEETUP: As budget season approaches, Hochul and her administration are signaling her early priorities. One of those includes sustaining a minimum wage increase for home care workers in New York. “We’re going to maintain that,” Budget Director Blake Washington told reporters on Tuesday. “That, in our view, is a principle we’re going to keep.” Washington presided over a public “quick start” budget meeting on Tuesday in Albany with top finance officials in the Legislature. It was a pro-forma event, but one that drew plaudits from good-government advocates who have pushed for heightened transparency surrounding the budget process. In the long term, state lawmakers and Hochul will have to figure out how to close a $4.1 billion budget gap when the spending plan comes due by April 1. Advocates are already pushing for increased taxes on wealthy New Yorkers to offset any lost revenue, pointing to support for shoring up state programs by doing so. One hope is to avoid spending cuts, Washington said. “We want to make sure we preserve all the things that we care about and New Yorkers have come to expect,” he said. — Nick Reisman COMMISSION APPROVAL: More than a dozen state lawmakers signed onto a letter to push Hochul to sign legislation that would create a commission on issues facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New York. Hochul vetoed a similar measure a year ago. But lawmakers hope this time around will be different after attaching funding to the creation of the panel, a key issue Hochul cited when she rejected the bill in 2022. If approved, the commission would review issues like safety, health and economic well-being. “This historic AAPI Commission will bridge the gap between our government and our emerging Asian-American community,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. — Nick Reisman PREVENTING DEED THEFT: New York is cracking down on deed theft under legislation Hochul signed Tuesday. The practice involves scammers stealing the title to a person’s home, often Black and Latino homeowners, through forgery — like faking a homeowner’s signature on a deed, or fraud — when the deed is unwittingly signed over. Hochul and other officials decried the practice as robbing New Yorkers, particular people of color, of the generational wealth built through homeownership. There have been at least 3,500 deed theft complaints filed in New York City in the past 10 years, per the New York City Sheriff’s Office, but only a handful of convictions, Hochul said. Under the new law, the attorney general, who helped draft the measure, and other law enforcement investigating deed theft can move to stay legal proceedings like foreclosures and evictions while the investigations are ongoing. Prosecutors can also flag properties where deed theft may have occurred to prevent further transactions. “The idea that someone can steal your wealth, all with the stroke of a pen, it’s unconscionable and will no longer stand,” Hochul said. “That’s why today, with a stroke of a pen, we’ll sign legislation that will protect homeowners from this heinous crime.” — Janaki Chadha More from Albany: — Amtrak disruptions between New York and Albany are being investigated by Hochul’s office. (Spectrum News) — New York state continues to spend tax dollars on a much-derided Tesla plant in South Buffalo. (Investigative Post)
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project: All New Yorkers deserve equal access to quality healthcare, no matter their income or ZIP code. Yet today, Medicaid pays New York’s hospitals 30% less than the actual cost of care for the low-income individuals the program covers, including children, the disabled, and seniors. But hospitals give all of their patients 100%, each and every day. Medicaid underpayments have already meant cuts to mental health services and maternity care.
Albany can fix this injustice: Stop Medicaid underpayments and help hospitals stay open. The federal government will pay half the cost of closing the Medicaid funding gap, it’s a huge savings for New York. Tell Albany: End the Medicaid funding crisis now. | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | |  State Sen. Tim Kennedy will run to fill the congressional seat soon to be abandoned by Rep. Brian Higgins. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo | HE’S RUNNING: State Sen. Tim Kennedy formally declared he will seek the House seat being vacated by Rep. Brian Higgins in the Buffalo area. Kennedy has a somewhat larger profile in the Legislature given his role as Senate Transportation Committee chair. “I’m running for Congress because I want my children, and all of our children, to have the opportunity to stay here and build a future for themselves and their families,” Kennedy said in a statement. “I’ll fight every day in Washington for our shared values and against the extremist Republican agenda that seeks to take away our rights.” The seat in heavily Democratic Buffalo is a likely hold for the party. Higgins is expected to resign in February to take a job at a performing arts center. Hochul is expected to call a special election. — Nick Reisman FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Public Employees Federation is endorsing state Sen. Kevin Thomas, who’s running for the 4th Congressional District on Long Island in a Democratic primary against Laura Gillen. — Jeff Coltin More from the delegation: — A former fundraiser for Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal wire fraud charge, admitting he impersonated an aide to Rep. Kevin McCarthy. (Associated Press) — An Ethics Committee report expected Friday could provide the votes to officially sever Santos from the House. (POLITICO)
| | | | GET A BACKSTAGE PASS TO COP28 WITH GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Get insider access to the conference that sets the tone of the global climate agenda with POLITICO's Global Playbook newsletter. Authored by Suzanne Lynch, Global Playbook delivers exclusive, daily insights and comprehensive coverage that will keep you informed about the most crucial climate summit of the year. Dive deep into the critical discussions and developments at COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A Westchester town supervisor vying for reelection is suing a write-in challenger and former supervisor to prevent him from taking office should he win the race. (LoHud) — Consuming a serving of applesauce for just one day might send the doctor your way, after this recall of New York applesauce pouches. (Democrat & Chronicle) — Electric air taxis are poised to become a reality in Manhattan. (Crain’s New York Business)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | MAKING MOVES: Gibson Dunn has promoted a number of its New York-based lawyers to partner: Lee Crain, Robert Giannattasio, Evan Gusler, Meghan Hungate, Alex Meirowitz, Jennifer Sabin, Tina Samanta, Phillip Sander and Connor Sullivan. MEDIAWATCH: Eva Lee will be director of newsroom operations at POLITICO. She previously was head of operations at BuzzFeed News. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Fox News’ John Roberts ... AP’s Zeke Miller … Robert Draper … Economic Innovation Group’s August Benzow … CFPB’s Joe Valenti … Asha Rangappa … McKinsey’s Emily Schlichting Demres … Lee Cochran … Alexandra Lippman (WAS TUESDAY): Steven H. Cymbrowitz ... Mike Katz ... Vanessa Bayer
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