| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman and Jeff Coltin | Presented by New York Communities for Care | With help from Irie Sentner
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A campaign to get the New York Equal Rights Amendment passed in November will today intensify its efforts by kicking off 25 “day of action” events around the state. | Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP | NEW YORK MINUTE: After marathon city budget hearings for Education and Criminal Justice this week, today it’s Parks’ turn. (Plus Health and Mental Health, and Land Use. It’s a busy time.) Green space advocates are calling on Mayor Eric Adams to devote 1 percent of the city budget to the Parks Department like he pledged while running — but since that $500 million ask isn’t happening, they’d be happy with reversing the $55 million in proposed cuts. — Jeff Coltin ERA ACTION: A safe haven for abortion access. A battleground for abortion access. New York is both this election year as abortion protections crumble in other states in the wake of the Dobbs decision, and as a ballot measure enshrining reproductive rights here goes before voters. And today, a campaign to get the New York Equal Rights Amendment passed in November will intensify its efforts by kicking off 25 “day of action” events around the state, Playbook has learned. “It’s critical that we, the voters, guarantee our own rights and freedoms in our state constitution so that they are permanently protected — and not left up to the whims of politicians,” New Yorkers for Equal Rights campaign director Sasha Ahuja said in a statement. The campaign promises to be one of the biggest investments ever made in a New York ballot initiative, though organizers are not yet divulging a planned cost. They plan to gather more than 1,000 supporters from Buffalo to Long Island to organize and educate voters. Members include local chapters of the League of Women Voters and Planned Parenthood, 1199 SEIU, the ACLU, NAACP and immigrant advocacy groups. They’re ramping up the pressure in a state where six swing seats could decide which party controls the House next year. Democrats seek to make abortion rights a top election issue while some swing-district Republicans vow to stand up to their party on a nationwide abortion ban. It nevertheless remains an imminent threat, Democrats insist. “If the Republicans are in the majority of the House and the Senate, and Donald Trump is the president, they will — I guarantee it — they will pass a national abortion ban,” Rep. Dan Goldman told Playbook this week. He introduced legislation to combat abortion misinformation. Similarly, potential “changing political winds” are cited by the New Yorkers for Equal Rights campaign as a reason to back the ERA. Far more predictable than the outcome of November’s elections is the fact that Democrats will keep seizing every opportunity to slam the GOP on reproductive rights. “Enacting abortion bans in as little as two weeks, restricting access to medication abortion, and, of course, why not go after IVF as well?” Gov. Kathy Hochul said this week when green-lighting contraceptives without a prescription. Some vulnerable Republicans are trying to carve paths separate from others in their party. Hudson Valley Reps. Marc Molinaro and Mike Lawler this past week became the first Republicans to cosponsor legislation providing federal IVF protections. “I heard it from my constituents,” Molinaro told CBS News. Nationally, Democrats are warning that the Supreme Court may further erode care. Justices begin hearing oral arguments Tuesday on the abortion pill mifepristone. Locally, the ERA campaign has been less about elected officials and more about grassroots organizing warning that the expansive protections must pass this fall. Ahuja said, “No New Yorker should ever be discriminated against by the government.” — Emily Ngo HAPPY THURSDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from New York Communities for Care: THANK YOU GOVERNOR HOCHUL for pushing to expand affordable healthcare access for New York families! Your proposal to eliminate insulin copays will help 1.6 million New Yorkers who struggle to afford the treatment. And by unlocking federal funding for local care, you’ll help families access care regardless of where they live. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at the opening of a new NYC Health + Hospitals lifestyle medicine clinic, hosting an older adult town hall, then speaking at the United Negro College Fund’s 80th Anniversary Annual Awards Gala. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Child, they draggin’ you for fi‑hi‑hilth.” — 94.7 The Block radio host Tarsha Jones, interviewing Adams about the sexual assault lawsuit against him.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
New York has shuttered 24 prisons over the last decade, and a plan to close at least five prisons was included in Hochul’s budget plan. | Bebeto Matthews/AP | PRISON POLITICS: Closing an additional five prisons without a plan for the host communities is creating worries among Democratic state lawmakers. New York has shuttered 24 prisons over the last decade as the overall corrections population has declined. But the vacant facilities dotted across largely rural areas of New York have been mostly left to rot. “There’s no property tax revenue coming in,” state Sen. James Skoufis told Playbook. “It’s a blight on the community. Obviously there are no jobs there.” Skoufis is fretting over the potential closure of Otisville Correctional Facility in the Catskills; the facility is the largest municipal water customer for the nearby village. A list of potential prison closures has not been made public. “Everyone else’s water bill in this tiny village would increase not by hundreds, but thousands of dollars annually if it closes,” Skoufis said. A plan to close at least five prisons was included in Hochul’s budget plan. The movement to close the facilities began under her predecessor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who both saved money and won plaudits from advocates for reforming the criminal justice system. So lawmakers are trying to figure out how to encourage development at the former prisons. A tax credit to encourage developers to build at the sites has gone unused. In the Senate, Democratic lawmakers want to double the amount of time that elapses between when a prison is formally notified for closure and when it shuts down from 90 days to 180. But there are also discussions over how to cushion the blow for communities. The unused tax credit for developing the former prisons is being eyed for an overhaul as are other programs meant to spur building at the sites. “Prisons should not be a jobs program, but the reality is in a lot of localities, the prison is maybe the largest employer,” Senate Corrections Chair Julia Salazar said. There needs to be “a more comprehensive plan beyond this to include workforce development, economic development in communities that are relying too much on prisons,” she said. Still, Democratic lawmakers also expect a prison closure plan to be approved in some form once the budget, due April 1, is completed. It’s not clear how much money would ultimately be saved. — Nick Reisman
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Council Member Susan Zhuang marked Jay Brown as dead in a voter database, Brown said. Zhuang denied doing so, but Brown is calling it political retribution. | Courtesy of Office of Assemblymember William Colton | COUNCIL MEMBER, UNDERTAKER: The VP of a political club says Council Member Susan Zhuang marked him as dead in a voter database, in a petty act of political retribution — though she denies doing it. Jay Brown and the Bay Ridge Democrats supported Zhuang’s opponent in the 2023 primary. Then on Aug. 12 last year, he called out Zhuang on X for blocking a critic on Twitter: “You don't shut anyone out, as if they don't matter or exist.” Three days later, records show that “Zhuang, S.” marked Brown “deceased” on VAN, the Democrat’s internal database for canvassing voters. “Reports of my demise have been highly exaggerated,” Brown, who is alive, told Playbook. Data isn’t shared with the Board of Elections, so Brown can still vote. The only consequence is he’ll probably get fewer political mailers, texts and canvassers. “I don’t exist to anyone in the Democratic Party right now,” Brown said. “I want people knocking on my door!” Zhuang told Playbook she didn’t know anything about it, even when shown a screenshot, and chalked it up to the tense political division among southern Brooklyn Democrats. “I know Jay Brown. He’s a good person,” she said. “Right now, there’s a lot of fake news. Because I’m doing something some people don’t like, against their political agenda. So I’m going to get attacked no matter what.” — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — One of the 17 Texas charter bus companies sued by New York agreed to pause transporting migrants while the case plays out. (POLITICO) — The huge demand for free preschool seats outpaces supply in nearly half the city’s zip codes — despite hundreds of the 3K spots remaining vacant in other stretches. (New York Post) — NYCHA can’t blame money woes for everything, since many of its problems are self-inflicted due to incompetence, the outgoing federal monitor wrote in his last report. (THE CITY)
| | | | A message from New York Communities for Care:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Attorney General Tish James appeared at the state Capitol to support two bills targeting social media platforms. | Brittainy Newman/AP | TISH TALKS AT CAPITOL: Attorney General Tish James made a public appearance Wednesday at the state Capitol. But instead of talking about former President Donald Trump and her willingness to seize his properties, she was there supporting two bills targeting social media platforms. “We have a responsibility to respond to crisis in the state of New York,” James said, voicing support for the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act and The New York Child Data Protection Act. “We want our children protected online, not monetized, not commoditized and not at the expense of their mental health.” If passed, the SAFE Act would ban social media platforms from offering addictive feeds to minors. Instead, feeds would only include content from accounts followed by the young users, and it would have to be presented in chronological order. The other measure, the New York Child Data Protection Act, aims to restrict online sites from collecting and selling children’s personal data. But social media companies are lobbying hard to put both bills on ice. “By banning algorithms, this bill would actually make social media worse for teenagers,” said Adam Kovacevich, the CEO of Chamber of Progress, a tech policy coalition lobbying against the bill. “Platforms use algorithms to downrank hate speech, misinformation, and clickbait, and to highlight age-appropriate content. We know from research that chronological feeds result in fewer meaningful interactions and more ads for teens.” — Jason Beeferman GAMBLING’S IMPACT: The industry group Sports Betting Alliance today will release a study that seeks to assuage brick-and-mortar casinos' concerns over iGaming, which state lawmakers are considering legalizing in New York. The measure would allow for gambling-based games on digital platforms. The topline: Casino revenue growth is on average 46 percent higher in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan and Connecticut a year after iGaming was implemented. The report also found that “the majority” of consumers polled who gamble through iGaming have not decreased their casino usage. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — NYSUT and state education officials are pushing a new teacher evaluation system. (POLITICO Pro) — Utility National Grid is making a big upgrade in upstate New York. (Times Union) — The shuttering of the Indian Point nuclear plant raises awkward climate crisis questions as gas — not renewables — fills the gap in power generation. (The Guardian)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — A massive eligibility scandal is shaking the basketball league for the city’s public high schools. (Gothamist) — As power use soars amid ongoing energy concerns stemming from supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine, a top energy executive and state regulators said larger and more resilient grids will need to be a top priority. (Times Union) — Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said the school funding changes Hochul is proposing would be detrimental to districts. (POLITICO Pro)
| | | | A message from New York Communities for Care: New Yorkers from all backgrounds have seen the impact of Governor Hochul’s policies to reduce healthcare costs and increase access to care in low-income communities. The Governor has proposed record funding to expand affordable healthcare access for New York families.
- Eliminating insulin copays, which would help 1.6 million New Yorkers who struggle to afford the treatment.
- Supporting new moms with expanded paid leave during pregnancy.
- Securing $6 billion from the Federal government to invest in healthcare access for low-income New Yorkers.
New Yorkers deserve healthcare they can trust. Thank you Governor Hochul for having our backs.
Paid for by NY Communities for Care. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MEDIAWATCH — Katherine Bell is joining Bloomberg as executive editor of the digital weekend team. She most recently was editor-in-chief at Goldman Sachs and is a Quartz and Barrons alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CNN’s John Berman … The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur … Stephen Marche … Keith Rabin … Cole Zucker … Alex Wilkes … Matt House … (WAS WEDNESDAY): Alex Edelman ... Rabbi Arthur Schneier ... AJ Jacobs
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