| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Jeff Coltin and Nick Reisman | Presented by Healthcare Education Project | With help from Jason Beeferman
|  Mayor Eric Adams at City Hall on Wednesday. A new poll suggests Eric Adams’ job approval rating is the worst of any New York City Mayor in decades. | Caroline Rubinstein-Willis/Mayoral Photography Office | Eric Adams’ job approval rating is under water, plunged to depths so deep that he earned the distinction of being the worst-polling New York City mayor since Quinnipiac University began surveying registered voters in 1996. A paltry 28 percent of voters approve of his leadership as he prepares to enter his third year in City Hall. And the issues that landed Adams in the gutter have critics on his left flank feeling validated. “Record low approval is what happens when you cut public schools, raise rents, give real estate donors special treatment and fail to protect New Yorkers in extreme weather,” said Jasmine Gripper, co-director of the New York Working Families Party. Poll respondents knocked the budget cuts Adams has proposed to city services — from NYPD to libraries to pre-K — to offset the cost of the migrant crisis and other obligations. More than eight in 10 respondents reported being concerned about service reductions impacting their daily lives. And perhaps more troubling for Adams: Affordable housing is now ranked on par with crime, with 25 percent labeling each their top concern. Adams, a retired NYPD captain, has aimed to prioritize crime reduction while skyrocketing housing costs become a potentially potent issue for his opponents. “It represents what we’ve been saying for a whole time,” liberal strategist Gabe Tobias said. “New Yorkers don’t want to see the city government be eviscerated, and they want to see investments in affordable housing.” Adams’ team took issue with the poll’s validity — despite Quinnipiac’s reputation as a well-regarded polling outfit. “Incorrect polls come out every day, but the real numbers cannot be questioned: Crime is down, jobs are up, and we continue to deliver billions of dollars into the pockets of working people,” Deputy Mayor Fabian Levy said in a statement. City Hall also rolled out a stream of supportive statements to counter the bleak news. "He leads from the front when others are afraid to do so,” said Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, who has long been on Adams’ side — sometimes quite literally at news conferences. Manny Pastreich, president of the influential building workers union, credited the mayor with “creating good-paying, union jobs, delivering a safer city and building the affordable housing working people deserve.” In another bit of bad news: The survey’s crosstabs show Adams performing worst among Hispanic respondents whom he has relied upon for his multiracial coalition, with 65 percent disapproving of his job performance. Rep. Adriano Espaillat — a prominent backer in the 2021 mayoral primary — came to the mayor’s defense, calling him “a champion for all New Yorkers, especially our Latino communities.” And political analyst J.C. Polanco said, ”Nationally and more locally, Latinos are becoming more independent voters.” But state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a progressive weighing a challenge against Adams in 2025, explained his poor showing among Latinos with a quip: “We know what’s good for us.” — Emily Ngo, Jeff Coltin and Joe Anuta IT’S THURSDAY. 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? Making an appearance on the “Today” show; visiting Syracuse for an education announcement; speaking at the New York Building Congress Industry Recognition Gala; and then serving as a guest on NY1’s “Crossing Borders: Inside the Migrant Crisis.” WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at the 5Boro Institute’s inaugural annual fundraiser; traveling to Washington to discuss the migrant crisis with White House officials; meeting separately with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries; holding a media availability in Washington; and then attending a White House holiday party to discuss the city’s migrant surge. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Instead of helping our communities with flooding and infrastructure, he put his own personal politics ahead of progress” — Westchester County Executive George Latimer on his Democratic primary challenger Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Former NYPD detective Mike Sapraicone, a GOP favorite to run in New York's third congressional district, said in April that he found someone to be scary because that person was Black during an arrest he made in the 1970s. | Sapraicone for Congress | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: We’re on a vetting tear here at Playbook when it comes to the race to fill George Santos’ vacated House seat. Mike Sapraicone, a frontrunner for the GOP nomination, remarked in April that he once found someone to be scary because that person was Black. “All of a sudden there’s a big, huge, Black police officer, and I say ‘Black’ because I was afraid.” Sapraicone said on his “Street Smart” podcast, recounting an arrest in the 1970s. “I had never been stopped by anybody. I grew up in a really, a white middle-class neighborhood.” Sapraicone went on: “Even when I went to high school, I probably didn’t know any Black people. … This big, tall, Black gentleman stands in the middle of the road, and he was so huge, we just pulled over.” A campaign spokesperson responded that the interaction Sapraicone had as a young man led the candidate to a career with the NYPD, where he worked with “diverse communities, knowing how important it is for groups of people to understand one another — and Mike isn’t ashamed to admit that.” The statement didn’t explain why Sapraicone used the phrasing he did just last April. And yes, Playbook checked to see whether Sapraicone is an enrolled Republican (he is) after we reported that another top 3rd Congressional District contender, Mazi Melesa Pilip, was elected to the Nassau County Legislature as a Republican but remained a Democrat in the voter rolls. Others under consideration by the Nassau GOP for the Feb. 13 special election are Jack Martins, Kellen Curry and Greg Hach. The Democratic designee is expected to be former Rep. Tom Suozzi. More below on what to expect from him today. — Emily Ngo
| | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING | | | 
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes is introducing legislation that would rezone land owned by faith-based organizations to allow housing as-of-right. | Hans Pennink/AP | YES IN GOD’S BACKYARD: Generally churches and other houses of worship have land and need money. And housing developers have money and need land. So state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Brian Cunningham are introducing the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act. The bill would rezone land owned by faith-based organizations to allow housing as-of-right, while mandating affordable housing in all projects under the new zoning. It would also train religious organizations on how to take part. This has been a focus of Adams going back to his days as Brooklyn borough president, when Gounardes was his counsel. The bill is already backed by religious and housing groups. Housing will be a leading issue in next year’s state legislative session, particularly as Gov. Kathy Hochul has given up her push for construction mandates. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — The mayor will be one of many at a Biden holiday party in Washington today, but he won’t have a presidential meeting at the White House. (New York Post) — Adams’ 2021 campaign didn’t report a 2019 fundraising event with a Brooklyn-based construction company, despite official requirements. (Gothamist) — City delays migrant family shelter evictions meant to take place Christmas week. (The City)
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project:   | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | |  Assemblymember Inez Dickens from Harlem is currently in the hospital after breaking two ribs during a fall. | William Alatriste for the New York City Council | DICKENS RECOVERING: Assemblymember Inez Dickens is recovering in the hospital with two broken ribs after a fall, three people close to her told Playbook. We wish her well. But uptown Manhattan politics is tough, and the 74-year-old’s convalescence has even political allies hoping she’ll step aside. “There’s a consensus in Harlem that it’s time for her to surrender the seat,” a person who has worked on campaigns in the neighborhood told Playbook. “She needs to take care of her health. Let’s finish out this last cycle and preserve her legacy.” Dickens had a kidney transplant just a month before her 2022 primary, which she won by 30 points. But when she tried to switch chambers, she got creamed in this year’s City Council primary against Yusef Salaam. Now members of the Harlem establishment are hoping she steps aside. “Every political operative in Harlem is having the same discussion,” said one of them. Isn’t that crass? “Politics doesn’t allow for feelings. That’s what government is for,” the operative said. “It is up to her when she wants to retire,” said Tyquana Henderson-Rivers, a consultant for Dickens. “No one is going to push Inez Dickens to do anything that she is not ready to do.” The 70th District primary could be hot with or without her. Four experienced candidates have already declared: Joshua Clennon, Shana Harmongoff, Alpheaus Marcus and Maria Ordonez. — Jeff Coltin HELLO HERBIE’S: McDonald’s, a long time staple of the Empire State Plaza concourse’s food court, is giving way to Herbie’s Burgers. The Office of General Services announced Wednesday the burger joint would replace McDonald’s. The restaurant has agreed to a one-year permit with the state in order to “have time to understand the customer base” in the plaza. (Vendors cater largely to state workers and, during the legislative session, lobbyists and visitors). The hope is Herbie’s will eventually agree to a three-year lease. “In order to engage a new vendor at the Plaza, OGS Leasing Services reached out to a number of local and national food vendors,” the agency said in a statement, calling Herbie’s “a good fit for the Plaza.” — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — SUNY Fredonia is cutting 13 programs due to dropping enrollment and a $10 million deficit. (POLITICO Pro) — Critics charge Hochul is dragging her feet on a contracting transparency bill. (NY1) — State agencies have been asked to fast-track production approval after the SAG-AFTRA ratification vote. (Deadline)
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | | | 
Former Rep. Tom Suozzi will be officially announced as the Democratic Party’s pick for the state's 3rd Congressional District today. | AP | TIME FOR SUOZZI: Former Rep. Tom Suozzi will be formally announced as the Democratic Party’s pick for the 3rd Congressional District late this afternoon via press release. The nod comes after Hochul extracted an apology from Suozzi for the tenor of his campaign challenge to her last year. “It was in his interest to make sure that conversation went well,” she said Wednesday. Suozzi can present his experience as a three-term Congress member. But if the Feb. 13 election doesn’t go his way, he can always sell personalized videos on Cameo, like his predecessor. — Jeff Coltin More from the delegation: — Josh Eisen, a businessman who’s been accused of stalking, harassment and racism, is running against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as a Republican. (WXXI) — Rep. Dan Goldman didn’t pay rent on his $45,000-a-month apartment, his landlord claimed in court filings, which Goldman denies. (Crain’s New York)
| | | | 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 | | — Rep. Elise Stefanik’s tough questioning of college presidents over not vehemently condemning antisemitism led even Democrats to support her. (POLITICO) — The Belmont Stakes is officially coming to Saratoga. (Times Union) — It’s time for the public to comment on congestion pricing. (POLITICO Pro)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | MAKING MOVES: Association for a Better New York CEO Melva Miller is leaving to finish PhD at CUNY. ABNY Vice President Chad Purkey will take over as interim executive director. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: POLITICO’s Sam Sutton … Mike Klein, founder of Urban Strategies … ABC’s Kathryn McQuade … Bloomberg’s Bennett Roth … NYT’s Dean Chang … Sarah Mucha … Jaime Leiman … Hannah Fastov … Ashley Killough (WAS WEDNESDAY): David L. Spector ... Jon Ostrower ... Dan Levitan
| | Real Estate | | — Leila Bozorg is Adams’ new executive director of housing, effectively replacing Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz who left the administration over the summer. (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 | | | | |
