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Presented by Healthcare Education Project: POLITICO's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers | | | | |  | | By Jason Beeferman, Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | Presented by Healthcare Education Project | | 
Mazi Pilip is a GOP favorite to replace George Santos in the third congressional district. But Pilip, a Republican twice elected to the Nassau County Legislature, is a registered Democrat. | Nassau County Gov. | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: It seems like New York’s 3rd Congressional district is destined for drama. Following the extraordinary saga surrounding George Santos, one of the top two GOP favorites to replace the recently-ousted representative is a registered Democrat — despite having twice been elected as a Republican to the Nassau County Legislature. Mazi Melesa Pilip, a pro-Israel, Black, Orthodox Jew who served in the IDF, is on the Nassau County GOP’s shortlist for the seat vacated after Santos’ expulsion. But public records uncovered by POLITICO show Pilip has enrolled as a Democrat since 2012. Pilip currently holds office as a Republican and ran on the GOP ticket for the Nassau County legislator in 2021 and 2023. Both Pilip and Joe Cairo, the county’s GOP chair, did not respond to numerous requests for comment, including through allies. But the Nassau County Board of Elections’ spokesperson called Playbook on Pilip’s behalf and confirmed she is an enrolled Democrat. Despite her party enrollment, Pilip has championed GOP-friendly causes like low property taxes and enhanced support for law enforcement during her time in office. She has also been staunchly opposed to housing development in her district on Long Island’s North Shore. Pilip, a firebrand and outspoken supporter of Israel, is a popular figure in Great Neck, where she lives with her seven children. Lawns across the heavily-Jewish bedroom community don signs with her name, and she boasts a large presence on community Instagram and Facebook pages. When asked about her ambitions to take Santos’ seat in September, Pilip told Playbook she is keen on following Cairo’s lead. “The chairman of the Nassau County Republican Party, he makes the decision,” Pilip told Playbook then. “We are waiting patiently, and if he’s going to ask me to run I will definitely consider that.” Pilip is not the only Congressional hopeful with an eyebrow-raising history. Mike Sapraicone, the other top contender for the Republican line, also has Democratic sympathies. He has donated over $39,000 to Tom Suozzi since 2017, Newsday first reported, including $27,500 to his 2022 campaign for governor alone. Suozzi is expected to be the Democratic nominee, so Sapraicone’s support raised eyebrows. “How can you run against somebody when they can tell you, ‘last year you gave me this much money?’” said Greg Hach, another Republican in the running. “I think that’s a tough thing to overcome in a special election.” As an NYPD detective, Sapraicone was also accused of coercing a false confession and ignoring exonerating evidence that kept a man wrongly imprisoned for two decades, Playbook first reported. The city settled a federal civil rights lawsuit over the incident for $3.3 million. And it so happens that the two potential GOP replacements for Santos come as the county’s GOP has already faced national scrutiny for failing to sufficiently vet Santos, who consistently misrepresented his own background in near-cinematic fashion. — Jason Beeferman IT’S WEDNESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project: Imagine. Less hospital staff. Services cut. Packed ERs. Well, it’s a reality for many in New York. If we don’t fix Medicaid underpayments to hospitals, the crisis will get worse – some hospitals may not survive. Medicaid underfunds hospital care by 30%, already causing deep cuts to mental health services and maternity care. All New Yorkers need equal access to quality healthcare, no matter their income or zip code. Tell Albany: End the Medicaid Funding Crisis. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City making an announcement about mental health and addiction treatment. WHERE’S ERIC? Making a health-related announcement; speaking at the New York Housing Conference’s ceremony; attending a Worker’s Justice Project rally; hosting a roundtable with the New York City Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus; addressing a roundtable with workers from Starbucks and 32BJ SEIU; appearing on “Noticias Univision 41” and participating in Univision’s tree lighting ceremony. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “He was so happy on skateboards and all cheery-faced. And all of a sudden people heard my message.” — Mayor Eric Adams discussing his victory over early leader Andrew Yang in the 2021 Democratic Primary and why he is not sweating 2025 challengers.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | 
Spectrum News NY1 political anchor Errol Louis will describe the political rise of the late former Gov. Mario Cuomo in a three-episode series set to debut Thursday. | AP Photo/Louis Lanzano | MARIO IN RETROSPECT: The late former Gov. Mario Cuomo is getting the podcast treatment from Spectrum News NY1 political anchor Errol Louis. The three-episode “Mario Cuomo: The Last Liberal” is set to debut on major podcast platforms Thursday and will chronicle the Democrat’s rise from a working-class immigrant family to an era-defining elected official. Louis told Playbook he wanted the podcast to, in part, serve as an historical record in speaking with ex-Mario Cuomo government aides and campaign advisors. Cuomo died in January 2015 the same day his son, Andrew Cuomo, was sworn in for a second term. “There was a certain urgency to it,” Louis said of the podcast. “Some of these folks, we’re not going to have them around very long. There was a priority on the people who worked with him longest.” The story, in part, hasn’t been fully told due to Mario Cuomo’s own sense of humility, Louis said. He had initially declined a portrait in the Hall of Governors in the state Capitol. (The younger Cuomo commissioned one and unveiled it more than a decade ago.) Mario Cuomo’s tenure in office can be difficult to summarize, especially in an era of extreme political polarization. A public intellectual and voice of liberalism in the Reagan era, the three-term governor is often spoken of in terms of what he never did: run for president or take a seat on the Supreme Court. But that overlooks the impact Mario Cuomo had in the Democratic Party as a national and nuanced voice on contentious issues like abortion and the death penalty, Louis said. “We’re famously poor at paying attention to our own political lineages,” he said. “This is an important moment a lot of people didn’t know much about or frankly didn’t live through.” — Nick Reisman
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project:   | | | | | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | |  Mayor Eric Adams and his administration defended the need for emergency spending powers to deal with rising migrant costs during a Tuesday media availability session. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | Adams and his top aides pushed back Tuesday on City Comptroller Brad Lander’s revoking of the mayor’s emergency-contract powers, saying a recent surge in migrant arrivals necessitates flexibility. “This is an emergency that sometimes requires emergency spending,” Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy said at an unrelated news conference. Adams, whose relationship with Lander is frosty to say the least, also took a dig at the comptroller for taking too long to visit the nation’s capital and urge federal help for the city. “He went to D.C. 20 months later, and he came back with tying our hands,” Adams said, referencing Lander’s limiting of his authority. “That just sort of defies logic to me that we have to sort of make these quick decisions on dealing with these contracts and dealing with placing people in housing.” The mayor himself plans to return to Washington on Thursday after canceling meetings in the capital last month when the FBI raided the home of his political fundraiser in the first public act of an ongoing federal corruption probe. The requirement by Lander’s office that city agencies seek advance approval for emergency procurement on a case-by-case basis came after his examination of contracts showed a lack of transparency, including for the troubled vendor DocGo. “We concluded that the most prudent course for the city's fiscal health and integrity would be to require City Hall to seek prior approval,” a Lander spokesperson said. — Emily Ngo SAFETY FIRST: City Hall officials attempted to distance themselves Tuesday from a list of development projects prioritized for expedited fire safety inspections. The practice is being scrutinized in the wake of an FBI probe looking at the Turkish Consulate building in midtown, which received an FDNY inspection in 2021 after Adams, who had not yet taken office, texted the former fire commissioner to ask about the status of the site. (Neither Adams nor anyone else has been charged in the investigation.) During a tense exchange with a reporter at the mayor’s weekly press briefing, Adams said the fire department should have treated requests from City Hall the same as pleas from other elected officials or constituents. His chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, said the list of projects did not even belong to City Hall, but rather was maintained by the FDNY during the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio. She added there would be no reason for the FDNY to listen to Adams in 2021, when he was the Brooklyn borough president. There are a few problems with that logic. For starters, agencies are run by the mayor, and thus typically take City Hall requests more seriously than others from outside government. In addition, recent reporting showed the list was still being used by the FDNY — i.e. the Adams administration — in the early days of 2022. And lastly, Adams was not merely the borough president in September 2021, when he texted the former fire commissioner about the Turkish Consulate. By that time, Adams had won a competitive Democratic primary and was the odds-on favorite to win the general election and become the city’s next mayor the following January. — Joe Anuta More from the city: — The city saw a drop in shootings and overall crime in November, but hate crimes were still up year over year. (NY1) — Outgoing Correction Commissioner Louis Molina undermined mandated outside oversight of city jails in violation of federal court orders and city law, a court filing alleges. (Daily News) — … and Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, the first deputy commissioner under Molina, is expected to take over the department as he moves to a City Hall job. (The City) — A Republican-funded poll found Andrew Cuomo would beat Eric Adams among New York City Democrats. (New York Post)
| | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | | | 
Jeffrion Aubry, a Democratic Assemblymember from Queens, will retire next year. | AP | VOICE OF THE ASSEMBLY RETIRES: Queens Democratic Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry will retire next year. Aubry, a staunch supporter of criminal justice law changes, has for years been the unofficial voice of the state Assembly, serving as the speaker pro tempore in the chamber and moderating the occasionally contentious debates. He was first elected in 1992. Aubry on Tuesday endorsed Democratic District Leader Larinda Hooks for his seat. “Larinda has been a leader and vocal advocate on issues impacting our youth, our seniors, and our quality-of-life for decades,” Aubry said in a statement. He added, “I’ve worked closely with her to deliver for our communities and I can promise you that she is the most honest, experienced, and qualified candidate in this race. She is the only Democrat I trust to fight for our values, unite our diverse communities, and deliver for working families.” — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Gov. Kathy Hochul made Tom Suozzi drive to Albany to grovel for her approval before he gets the Democratic line for the NY-03 special election. (The New York Times) — Taxpayer outmigration from New York accelerated at the start of the pandemic. (POLITICO Pro) — Five convicted murderers and a parolee are suing New York over their treatment at a North Country prison following an infamous escape. (Times Union)
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | | | 
Westchester County Executive George Latimer will launch a primary challenge against Rep. Jamaal Bowman in June. | Tania Savanna/The Journal News via AP | LATIMER TO CHALLENGE BOWMAN: Westchester County Executive George Latimer will announce his run today to challenge Rep. Jamaal Bowman in a Democratic primary in June, POLITICO reports. Latimer, the former state senator who has been local politics for decades, presents a formidable challenge to the second-term Bowman and sets up a key battle over the Israel-Hamas war in one of the most Jewish districts in the nation. Latimer is staunchly pro-Israel, and Bowman, a member of the liberal Squad, has largely supported pro-Palestinian stances. And pro-Israel groups are making no secret who they will support. “Rather than standing with President Biden and the overwhelming pro-Israel Democratic majority, Representative Bowman has aligned with the anti-Israel extremist fringe,” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said. “Democrats in this district deserve a representative who stands by the mainstream view, which supports the US-Israel relationship.” More from the delegation: — Rep. Elise Stefanik ripped Harvard’s president during a House committee hearing on the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. (Fox News) — The date to replace former Rep. George Santos was set by Hochul. (POLITICO) — House Democrats, led by New York’s own Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, are launching a task force on lawmakers' security in response to a rise in threats against members of Congress. (Axios)
| | | | 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 provides 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 and caregivers give all of their patients 100%, each and every day. Medicaid underpayments have already meant cuts to mental health services and maternity care. If we don’t fix Medicaid underpayments to hospitals, the crisis will get worse – some hospitals may not survive.
Albany can end this injustice: Stop Medicaid underpayments and help hospitals stay open. The federal government will pay half the cost of closing the Medicaid funding gap, so it’s a savings for New York. Tell Albany: End the Medicaid funding crisis now. | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — More millionaires are flocking to New York state, while lower- and middle-income residents are leaving, a new report finds. (New York Times) — The Ossining police chief is resigning after a series of scandals have rocked his department. (LoHud) — A soccer stadium is coming to Willets Point, Queens. (Gothamist)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | OUT AND ABOUT — Campbell Brown hosted a fundraiser at her Manhattan apartment on Monday night for Nikki Haley, which raised more than $500,000. Forty people had initially RSVPd when the invite was sent out last month, but over 125 attended and donated, according to a participant. Most of the questions during the Q&A were about Israel, Hamas and America’s response to the war, the person said. “In remarks at the event, Brown said that over the past few weeks a large number of people went from sitting on the sidelines to wanting to get involved,” the person said. “Oct. 7 felt like a wake-up call, leading to donors wanting to back a candidate that is serious and engaged in foreign policy. Nikki is definitely tapping into that.” MEDIAWATCH — “Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes’ exes Andrew Shue and Marilee Fiebig are dating after bonding over traumatic cheating experience,” by N.Y. Post’s Carlos Greer and Mara Siegler — Hamed Aleaziz is joining the NYT to cover immigration and DHS. He previously covered immigration for the L.A. Times. … Michael Williams is now a White House writer covering the administration and the campaign for CNN. He previously was a breaking news reporter for The Dallas Morning News. MAKING MOVES — Alyssa Erdel is joining the House GOP Conference as member services director for Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). She previously was member services director for House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas) … Ben Max has been appointed the Center for New York City Law’s executive editor and program director. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Evelyn Farkas … Justin Melvin of the American Bankers Association … USTR’s Angelica Annino … Natalie Johnson … Dana Brisbane
| | Real Estate | | — The return-to-office rate has reached 70 percent, new data shows, but other numbers paint a less-rosy picture. (Crain’s New York Business) — StreetEasy, a Zillow-owned platform which posts New York City area rental listings, will now charge agents $7 per day to post listings. (The Real Deal) | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
