| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | Presented by Healthcare Education Project | With help from Shawn Ness
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A New York Times article questions where Mayor Eric Adams got the money for all of his nice suits. | Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office | Pulling a thread on Mayor Eric Adams’ clothing can cause things to unravel. Friends and foes alike jumped to accuse the New York Times of a racist focus on the second Black mayor’s personal style following Sarah Maslin Nir’s article “Inside the Mayor’s Closet.” “I’m old enough to remember when David Dinkins was called a ‘fancy schvartze’ because he dressed too well. History repeats,” read an X post by Howard Wolfson, a longtime top aide to former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who’s friendly with Adams. “Schvartze” is a Yiddish racial slur, notoriously used against the city’s first Black mayor by the comedian and Rudy Giuliani ally Jackie Mason. The Times story investigates a question others have raised in private conversations: How can Adams afford so many bespoke suits? The simple answer, in some 1,460 words, is he has money, and it’s not that expensive. "The Times has a long history of covering the fashion and style choices of the city’s elected officials,” a Times spokesperson said to Playbook in a statement. “The point of fashion ‘is to send a message’ as the mayor’s spokesperson notes in a comment for the story.” The story sent a message, too, some thought. “This was a cheap attack that had disturbing racial overtones. I can’t believe that this got past editors,” said Patrick Gaspard, who is Black, and worked under Dinkins and President Barack Obama. Gaspard is no friend of Adams; he advised Maya Wiley as a mayoral candidate in 2021 after many years offering counsel to the schlumpy former Mayor Bill de Blasio. But he responded to Wolfson’s post in agreement, and followed up with Playbook about the story, calling it “full of innuendos about his personal finances, alleged corruption, his personal relationships — without a single fact.” “Public sartorial choices are powerful and intentional ways that Black people have traditionally upended notions of who wields authority,” Gaspard says, referencing the work of “Black Ivy” author Jason Jules — and he said the piece didn’t reflect that. Maslin Nir acknowledged the tension in the story, writing that Adams himself has said the focus on his clothing was racially motivated and reminiscent of criticism Dinkins got. Adams’ aides and allies are quick to call out racism where they see it, as they did here by retweeting Wolfson. They’ve also criticized investigations into Adams by Black prosecutors with higher-class backgrounds than the mayor. And there’s a particular obsession with the Times, which “continues to focus on silly stories,” Adams spokesperson Fabien Levy told Playbook. Even Times darling Brad Lander couldn’t help but pause from lambasting Adams’ record to jump and side with him. “If I were going to do an audit of his wardrobe,” the comptroller posted, “it would just be to get style tips.” — Jeff Coltin PROGRAMMING NOTE: There will be no New York Playbook on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thank you for reading as always! We’ll be back in your inboxes on Tuesday, budget day. HAPPY FRIDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | 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. Medicaid underpayments have already caused deep cuts to mental health services and maternity care. It’s an injustice. Families just want care and fear that this crisis could force their hospital to close. Albany: It’s time to step up and end the Medicaid funding crisis. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Delivering remarks at the 100 Days in Captivity Demonstration and speaking at Temple Beth-El’s Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Erev Shabbat Service. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at the Department of Correction graduation ceremony. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “No decent, rational, credible individual, particularly folks who were here on Jan. 6 … should claim that the violent insurrectionists who attacked and brutally beat police officers are ‘hostages.’” — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, responding to Rep. Elise Stefanik’s comment.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Rep. Marc Molinaro announced he is running for a second term for his Hudson Valley seat. In an ad released by his campaign, he called for "less arguing, more doing." | Hans Pennink/AP | MARC IT DOWN, HE’S RUNNING: Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) will announce he’s running for a second term to a key Hudson Valley House seat, according to an ad that his campaign will release later today. In the ad, obtained by Playbook, Molinaro calls for “less arguing, more doing,” and says: “While Washington and Albany argue, our communities strive for safety and prosperity.” The spot will run on digital platforms, and the Molinaro campaign did not divulge how much money it's putting behind it. Molinaro, a former Dutchess County executive, was first elected to the House in 2022, representing a battleground district that Democrats are targeting this year — running Josh Riley, who unsuccessfully challenged Molinaro last time. Riley’s campaign on Thursday announced it had $696,556 as of the most recent fundraising quarter, City & State reported. The Hudson Valley district is one of an estimated six New York House seats expected to be competitive as Democrats fight to win control in 2025. Republicans are defending freshmen Reps. Mike Lawler, Anthony D’Esposito, Nick LaLota and Molinaro. The GOP expects to contend in just one seat, competing for the district held by Democratic freshman Pat Ryan. — Nick Reisman
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Adams paying tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. Adams is planning to spend MLK day advocating for his own version of the Fair Housing Act. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office | MLK AND MAYOR A: Adams will spend Martin Luther King Jr. weekend honoring the trailblazer’s advocacy for the Fair Housing Act by linking it to his own blueprint to create more housing in each borough, Playbook has learned. With stops at churches Sunday and events Monday celebrating MLK’s legacy, the mayor will tout his City of Yes for Housing Opportunity vision — a proposed citywide zoning overhaul — and urge Albany to take action on housing this legislative session. Adams faces challenges on legal and budgetary fronts, but retains support among those in his base. His message on equity and wealth-building may be especially resonant with predominantly Black audiences. The mayor seeks, among other proposals, to convert unused office space into residences and allow houses of worship to use their properties to build homes. Adams is expected to play up how he advanced supportive housing, the Public Housing Preservation Trust and the rental assistance voucher known as CityFHEPS. (He’s unlikely to mention that he may face litigation from both the Legal Aid Society and the City Council if he doesn’t implement laws expanding CityFHEPS.) — Emily Ngo FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The New York Working Families Party and its allies are pushing back on the outcry over this week’s evacuation of migrants from the Floyd Bennett Field tent complex to James Madison High School, where students learned remotely for one day as a result. The left-leaning third party, Make the Road New York, VOCAL-NY, New York Communities for Change and Housing Justice for All accused right-wing elected officials of hateful speech and fear-mongering. “Their rhetoric also flies in the face of basic facts: for example, the fact that students at the school where asylum seekers took shelter were more than happy to welcome them,” the groups said in a statement shared with Playbook, adding, “The willingness of children to open their arms to new arrivals should be a lesson for adults.” While some detractors framed the incident as Democrats prioritizing migrants over citizens, others noted that players on both the left and right believe a former airfield prone to flooding shouldn’t serve as a shelter. Curtis Sliwa, a former Republican candidate for mayor, staged a protest in Brooklyn on Thursday, saying of Adams, “He’s the only person left who wants the migrants to stay in Floyd Bennett Field.” — Emily Ngo STEP UP 2: THE STEPS: The City Hall steps are opening up again next Wednesday, according to an email sent to council members. They’ve been under renovation — and the main entrance to City Hall has been closed — since last March. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — A city-backed measure that would allow casinos to bypass the local land-use review process is facing opposition. (The City) — City Hall is “definitely” considering instituting curfews at all migrant shelters amid complaints that some go to nearby neighborhoods at night to panhandle. (Daily News)
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Immigration advocates are protesting Adams' rule limiting migrants to 60 days in city shelters. New data reveals that immigration can boost economies by millions of dollars. | Seth Wenig/AP | IMMIGRANT CONTRIBUTIONS: Newly arrived immigrants boost New York local economies by millions of dollars, according to new data revealing trends that researchers say could be replicated by migrants coming here more recently from the southern border. “If we broaden our vision, we can do for asylum-seekers what we’ve done for refugees,” David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Immigration Research Initiative, told Playbook. His group released the research with the Ellis Island Initiative. North of Putnam and Rockland counties, the data shows, state and local tax revenues increase by nearly $2 million per 1,000 newly arrived migrants in the first year, the report showed. The same group yields $3.4 million in public revenue per year after being in the country for five years. Upstate New York, especially, has had goals of reversing population declines. There are, of course, government expenses associated with providing services like public school seats and getting newcomers on their feet. “But,” Kallick said, “in the long run — we’ve seen this over and over again that immigrants add to the economy and add to the local tax base — those upfront costs are worth it.” — Emily Ngo CRIME VICTIM SUPPORT: Noncitizens who are victims of crimes like human trafficking, domestic violence and torture would be eligible for temporary government assistance under new legislation by two state lawmakers. If approved, the measure would allow crime victims to access safety net and medical assistance as well as block grant programs regardless of their citizenship status. Backed by Democrats Sen. Cordell Cleare and Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, the bill comes as New York has contended with more than 470,000 migrants arriving in New York since 2019. “Noncitizens are among the most vulnerable human beings in the entire Empire State, and they deserve every single measure of our protection and support,” Cleare said in a statement. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Longtime opponent of congestion pricing Rep. Josh Gottheimer said the MTA will “raise too much money,” but his math was wrong. (Streetsblog NYC) — Not many communities are taking up Hochul’s offer for housing incentives. (Times Union) — Syracuse Democratic Sen. Rachel May has a Republican challenger. (State of Politics)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | |  Pilip is under fire after a newly released financial disclosure revealed she has up to $250,000 in income tax debt. Her campaign said that the debt has been paid off. | Adam Gray/Getty Images | HOW TAXING: Republican House candidate Mazi Melesa Pilip’s newly filed financial disclosure reveals between $100,001 and $250,000 of income tax debt. Her campaign says she and her husband owed that at the time the report was due and have since paid it off. “Ms. Pilip and her husband jointly file income taxes, and they are on a quarterly schedule for estimated tax payments,” a campaign spokesperson said. “Their earnings were beyond anticipated amounts, requiring them to make additional payments, which they have done.” The spokesperson provided Playbook with an IRS account screenshot as proof of the $0 balance. Tom Suozzi, Pilip’s Democratic opponent in the Feb. 13 special election to fill the Nassau County and Queen seat vacated by George Santos, is expected to file his financial disclosure report today. Pilip’s disclosure additionally revealed Bitcoin investments totaling between $30,002 and $150,000. It also shows the financial stake she has in her husband’s medical practice, which is being sued for $70,000 in back rent plus $500,000 for the reminder of the lease, Playbook first reported. Pilip herself has been subpoenaed to testify in the case, City & State reports. — Emily Ngo
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Nassau County police responded to a swatting incident at the home of the judge presiding over Donald Trump’s fraud trial. (Newsday) — Tim Kennedy was selected by Erie County Democrats to be their designated candidate in the upcoming special election for the 26th Congressional District. (State of Politics) — A peek behind the curtain of casino lobbying, with the team behind the Citi Field bid saying they’ll talk to Hofstra University about opposing the Nassau Coliseum bid. (Newsday)
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project: Mental health services closed. Maternity wards shut. It’s happening across New York, and one of the reasons is that Medicaid underfunds hospital care by 30%. Hospitals and caregivers give all of their patients 100%, each and every day. But if Albany doesn’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 more than half the cost of closing the Medicaid funding gap, so it’s a savings for New York. Albany: It’s time to step up and end the Medicaid funding crisis now. All New Yorkers need equal access to quality healthcare, no matter their income or ZIP code. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | MEDIA WATCH: The City senior reporter George Joseph is leaving to join The Guardian as an investigative reporter. Former BuzzFeed News investigative reporter Melissa Segura is also joining The Guardian as a senior investigative reporter. … Per Talking Biz News: “The Hollywood Reporter has hired The Daily Beast editor at large Lachlan Cartwright to cover the intersection of media, entertainment and politics and launch a new newsletter.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Doug Thornell of SKDK … Christiane Amanpour … Howard Stern (7-0) … Krisstofer Marchena … Eliza Hanson … (IS SATURDAY): Sophie Krichevsky, associate editor at the Queens Chronicle … (IS MONDAY): Joseph G. Leary, senior vice president of the New York Power Authority.
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