| | | | |  | | By Janaki Chadha, Danielle Muoio Dunn and Zachary Schermele | | | | 
New York City Hall. | Momos via Wikicommons | The widespread staffing shortage across New York City agencies has been a regular concern in City Council budget hearings this last month. There are almost 24,000 vacancies, and four agencies have more than 20 percent of positions sitting empty, according to March 2023 figures from City Hall. Now, Council members are looking to force the Adams administration to make data on vacancies public and trackable with more urgency. Council Member Lincoln Restler is introducing legislation Thursday that would require the administration to maintain a public tracker of staffing levels at each city agency, updating it every two weeks. Council members Keith Powers, Carmen De La Rosa and Sandra Ung have signed onto the bill. “Food stamp processing is way behind, tree installation is way behind, housing production is not where it needs to be, and it all ties back to the same problem — we don’t have enough staff,” Restler told POLITICO. “We have been pushing and pushing in the City Council for real accountability on hiring, and the data we’re getting is inadequate.” “We need real-time data to understand that agencies are making this a real priority,” he added. Restler is also calling on the administration to make other changes to speed up hiring, including expanding hybrid work and giving agencies the authority to hire their budgeted headcount without additional approvals from the Office of Management and Budget. A March report from City Comptroller Brad Lander found several of the agencies with high vacancy rates — including the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development — were falling behind on indicators they self-identified as “critical” in the mayor’s management report. The new bill comes as both the Council and City Hall prepare to ramp up budget negotiations in the coming weeks ahead of the July 1 deadline. Mayoral spokesperson Jonah Allon said City Hall will review the legislation. “Despite the nationwide labor shortage faced by both the public and private sectors, the administration has taken aggressive steps to recruit and retain top talent more expeditiously,” he said in a statement. IT’S THURSDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City, delivering the keynote address at New York Law School's 131st Commencement. WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City, calling into WABC and hosting the annual Fleet Week kick-off breakfast. Then, he will deliver remarks at the funeral of former state Sen. Bill Perkins. Afterwards, he will sign legislation to conduct games of chance at sporting venues for charitable purposes and host a Gun Violence Prevention Task Force youth town hall. Lastly, Adams will deliver remarks at the African Union Day Foundation’s “Destination Africa” event and Long Island University’s annual gala. QUOTE OF THE DAY: Public comment on the city budget dragged on for more than 13 hours Wednesday. Still sitting in the Council chambers until almost midnight holding down the fort was Justin Brannan, the Council's finance chair. When asked at almost 11 p.m. how many cups of coffee he had, he tweeted: "No comment at this time."
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New York Republicans call Dems deceitful for bussing migrants to suburbs, by POLITICO’s Joseph Spector: The battle is a microcosm of the immigration fight across the nation, and it is also testing the strong relationship between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who local leaders are pressing to take a larger role in trying to intervene in the bussing of migrants outside the city.
Local leaders accused Hochul of doing little to try to stop Adams, a fellow moderate Democrat, from sending hundreds of migrants to other parts of the state, which they said has created confusion and a lack of a cohesive plan statewide. “What I told her is that he’s acting like he’s the president of New York state,” Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican, said he told Hochul in a private call recently. “I didn’t want to be insulting to her, but he needs to have his wings clipped because he has created the problem. He has made it impossible for us to work together.”
| | | | A message from the Seneca Nation: Safe, affordable housing for all is a priority issue in New York. Using gaming revenues, the Seneca Nation has improved housing stock and programs on its territories. More than 300 Nation-funded mortgages have given Seneca individuals and families the opportunity to live among family, friends, and community. A fair and equitable gaming Compact is critical to continue meeting the Nation’s growing housing needs. Let New York’s leaders know that you #StandWithSeneca. Visit StandWithSeneca.com today. | | | TEACHERS PUSH FOR CONTRACT — Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers — the city’s teachers union — rallied Wednesday alongside hundreds of educators to put pressure on Adams for a contract amid ongoing negotiations. “We will always take care of things but the city has to wake up,” Mulgrew said during a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall. “Workers have always, always had to fight constantly. You would think coming out of the pandemic, they would be there to do the right thing but they are not. So here we go again, we gotta raise a ruckus.” Mulgrew previously pointed to a survey of educators that found that 87 percent of individuals surveyed reported administrative tasks interfere with students' learning. — Madina Touré | | What City Hall's reading | |
“Speaker Adrienne Adams Blasts Mayor’s ‘Panic Mode’ in Migrant Crisis,” The CITY’s Hasani Gittens: “As Mayor Eric Adams and his team scramble to respond to a surge of migrants from Central and South America, the City Council has been shut out of most of the planning, says Speaker Adrienne Adams, who added the executive branch is in ‘panic mode,’ which has stymied any collaboration between the two sides of government.”
“New York City’s Housing Chief Is Resigning Amid a Homelessness Crisis,” by The New York Times’ Mihir Zaveri and Jeffery C. Mays: “The architect of Mayor Eric Adams’s housing plan is resigning, the mayor’s office confirmed on Wednesday, a key departure that underscores the administration’s struggles in dealing with the city’s intensifying affordability and homelessness crisis." “Top Uniformed NYPD Cop’s Misconduct Case Headed for Internal Trial,” by THE CITY’s Yoav Gonen: “Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey is facing a penalty for abuse of authority that would typically be meted out by the police commissioner. The case is going to a hearing instead.” “Why isn’t the GOP trying to unseat the remaining Democrats on Staten Island?” by City & State’s Jeff Coltin: “Not a single Republican has filed to run for district attorney. No other Democrat, either, so McMahon will avoid a primary. He’s on track to get reelected to another four-year term in November without breaking a sweat, even in the city’s reddest borough.” “A Day Without Human Services': Nonprofits to Protest Lack of City Funding,” by Ethan Geringer-Sameth for Gotham Gazette
| | | | A message from the Seneca Nation:   | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | |
"Hudson Valley hotels sue counties, towns across NY for blocking migrants sent from NYC," by Journal News' Chris McKenna
“New York health officials to end COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health workers,” by Spectrum News’ Nick Reisman: “New York state health officials signaled Wednesday a requirement that health care workers receive the COVID-19 vaccination will end as pandemic-era rules more broadly are expiring. The announcement comes after years of legal challenges to the vaccine requirement, which resulted in health care workers who refused to receive the vaccine losing their jobs as a result.” “Capital Region receives $13 million for 11 local development projects,” by Times Union’s Melissa Manno: “Dilapidated buildings and blighted properties statewide will be transformed into hubs for economic growth thanks to funds from the Restore New York Communities Initiative. Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said $112.9 million has been awarded to 70 projects throughout New York with the goal of reinvigorating neighborhoods affected by urban blight. The funding is administered by Empire State Development.” “Suffolk’s continued states of emergency getting pushback, months after cyberattack,” by Newsday’s Mark Harrington: “Three months after declaring ‘Suffolk County is back online,’ Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has issued a ninth emergency declaration tied to the September ransomware attack, prompting legislative action to end the practice. Bellone’s office on Tuesday confirmed it issued another emergency declaration on May 9, nine months after cyber hackers encrypted county networks and demanded a ransom of $2.5 million. The state of emergency empowers Bellone to issue no-bid contracts and hire personnel without the endorsement of the Suffolk County Legislature.” “NY Gov. Hochul tells MTA board meeting that agency’s success is ‘not negotiable,’” by Daily News’ Evan Simko-Bednarski: “Hochul made a rare gubernatorial appearance at the MTA’s board meeting Wednesday — the first gathering of the agency’s leadership since state lawmakers fully funded the MTA in their April budget.” #UpstateAmerica: Rochester is bracing for a future of sweltering summers.
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | | | 
Former President Donald Trump (left on screen) and his attorney, Todd Blanche (right on screen), appear by video before a hearing begins in Manhattan criminal court in New York on May 23, 2023. | Pool photo by Curtis Means | Trump’s latest liability: Refusing to remain silent, POLITICO’s Erica Orden: Donald Trump’s next big legal test is whether the famously loud-mouthed former president can keep quiet. In recent days, he has subjected himself to new legal troubles by repeatedly vilifying the writer E. Jean Carroll even after a jury found that he defamed her. And in his criminal case involving hush money payments to a porn star, Trump is under a judge’s strict order to avoid talking publicly about certain evidence. If he violates that order, he could be held in contempt. | | AROUND NEW YORK | |
— Efforts are underway to decertify Starbucks’ unions.
— Rapper Fetty Wap was sentenced to six years for his involvement in a drug trafficking ring. — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted an NYPD officer for knocking someone unconscious and breaking their nose in November 2021. — Medical groups oppose efforts by lawmakers to expand the state’s wrongful death law. — Cannabis farmers have a ton of supply — but have been unable to sell it due to the program’s slow rollout. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Greg Bluestein … Kate Ackley Zeller of Bloomberg Government … CBS’ Stefan Becket … Edelman’s Amy Fox … Katie Bruce … Hamasa Ebadi
MAKING MOVES – Howie Wachtel has joined Microsoft as a senior director and head of UN and international organizations policy in New York. He most recently was a senior director and head of global sanctions policy at PayPal, and spent the previous decade in various roles at the NSC, State Department and the U.S. mission to the UN.
| | | | A message from the Seneca Nation: Safe, affordable housing for all is a priority issue in New York. For generations of Senecas, the dream of owning their own home was kept beyond their reach because banks would not grant traditional mortgages on the Seneca Nation’s sovereign territory. This left most Seneca families virtually no path to buying houses on the lands they call home. The Seneca Nation helped remove this barrier and made the dream of home ownership a reality. Using gaming revenues, the Seneca Nation created a Nation-funded mortgage program. Since 2005, more than 300 mortgages have given Seneca individuals and families the opportunity to live among family, friends, and community. Along with the mortgage program, the Nation has improved housing stock and programs on its territories. A fair and equitable gaming Compact is critical to continue meeting the Nation’s growing housing needs. Let New York’s leaders know that you #StandWithSeneca. Visit StandWithSeneca.com today. | | | | | Real Estate | |
“Building owners race to meet Local Law 97 requirements,” by Crain’s New York’s Caroline Spivack: “In the bowels of a red brick apartment building in the northwest Bronx, Jac Zadrima stood in an empty space where a hulking steam boiler once sat. The massive equipment had crowded the room, filling it with a racket of clanging that disturbed tenants upstairs.”
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