| | | | |  | | By Madina Touré, Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman | Presented by New York Communities for Care | With help from Irie Sentner
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City Council education chair Rita Joseph sounded the alarm on initiatives buttressed by sunsetting federal dollars. | New York City Council/Flickr | NEW YORK MINUTE: Trans celebrity Caitlyn Jenner will stand with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on Long Island today to support his ban on transgender women and girls playing women and girls’ sports at county-run facilities. “We don’t want unfair competition, and we don’t want safety issues,” Blakeman told Playbook. “This is to protect women and girls. It’s not anti-transgender and having Caitlyn come and attest to the fact … gives those who criticize pause to maybe rethink their position.” Jenner won Olympic decathlon gold, was featured in “Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and ran unsuccessfully as a GOP candidate for governor of California after her transition. The New York Civil Liberties Union is arguing in a lawsuit Blakeman’s executive order violates the state’s human and civil rights laws, Playbook has reported. — Emily Ngo ORAL EXAM: New York City lawmakers want answers on how Mayor Eric Adams’ education officials plan to save programs financed by soon-to-be-expired federal stimulus money. And they’re not letting up on his proposed rollbacks to prekindergarten. City Council education chair Rita Joseph — who’s holding a budget hearing this morning — sounded the alarm on initiatives buttressed by sunsetting federal dollars. There are many, but to name a few: preschool special education and 3K classes, 100 shelter-based community coordinators who help students living in shelters, 60 school psychologists, bilingual staff and 450 school social workers. (Some are also at risk of reductions due to the expiration of one-year city funding and more than $700 million in education budget cuts.) "I'm hoping to hear a plan on how do we make sure we don't go backwards on all of the progress we've made with some of these programs,” Joseph said in an interview. “If these programs don't exist, we go backwards." She also wants the administration to shed light on $170 million in cuts to 3K and prekindergarten. Last year, the DOE hired Accenture, a consulting firm, to figure out how many seats should be in each neighborhood. Joseph will press officials to release their report. “Parents rely on them so we have to find out what’s happening there,” Joseph added. Other issues Joseph intends to grill officials on: — The class size reduction mandate and school accessibility projects. (The School Construction Authority is also testifying.)
— The ballooning cost of Carter cases, when parents of students with disabilities sue the city for tuition reimbursement.
— How the Department of Education will tackle remote learning following a software meltdown during a snowstorm last month. Schools Chancellor David Banks and high-ranking agency officials Dan Weisberg, Emma Vadehra and Seritta Scott are set to testify, as is Michael Mulgrew, president of the city’s teachers union, which sued Adams to block education cuts. “Now that we know this administration’s practice of taking education money from the state and not sending it to the schools, we need the council to be our partners in making sure the money reaches the schools,” Mulgrew said in a statement. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams recently hinted at her priorities in forthcoming budget negotiations, which include 3K and early childhood education, and pushing the city and state to boost investments in federal stimulus-funded programs. Banks isn’t sharing the city’s contingency strategy yet. “I’m not prepared here to tell you even today just yet what final decisions will be because we are still engaged in a fight,” the chancellor told reporters last week. “The City Council are allies with us in fighting and calling for the state to put more funding in.” A DOE spokesperson referred Playbook to the chancellor’s remarks. The Emergency Coalition to Save Education Programs — comprised of 160-plus organizations — will rally on the City Hall steps before the hearing. Randi Levine of the nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York said: “We’re at risk of thousands and thousands of students losing important services and programs so this is the time for elected leaders to step up.” — Madina Touré IT’S MONDAY: 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 paying respects at planeside honors for New York’s fallen National Guard soldiers. WHERE’S ERIC? Calling in for a live interview on Q104.3’s “Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show,” making a climate- and education-related announcement, then delivering remarks at a Ramadan night prayer service on Staten Island. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Homeless shelters don't help homeless people, and we are not going to be silent about it.” — Assemblymember William Colton, who co-organized a massive rally Saturday against a proposed homeless shelter in southern Brooklyn, via Fox 5.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | 
Rabbi Rachel Timoner spoke about “standing unequivocally” with Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack but has resumed her pre-war stance of railing against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative government. | Courtesy of Congregation Beth Elohim | FROM HER LIPS TO CHUCK’S EARS: We reached out to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s rabbi after he shifted his vocal pro-Israel stance with a scathing speech criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. And Rachel Timoner — senior rabbi of the reform Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, near Schumer’s home — was beaming. “In this speech, he said what most of us think,” she said in an interview with POLITICO. “There’s been a real fear in the American Jewish community of criticizing Israel. … He did something so great in breaking that silence.” Timoner herself spoke about “standing unequivocally” with Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. But as Israel’s war in Gaza continued, she soon resumed her pre-war stance of railing against Netanyahu’s conservative government. Orthodox Jewish groups in New York largely expressed disappointment with the self-appointed Chuck “Shomer,” the guardian of the Jewish people. Their response highlighted the political divides among New York Jews. Timoner has argued that politicians, including the mayor, ignore the more liberal “silent majority” of New York Jews and focus on more conservative Orthodox communities. She organized a meeting with Adams and fellow women rabbis early in his term, and last year criticized the make-up of his Jewish Advisory Council. On Friday, Timoner told POLITICO nothing has changed. “I have been disappointed at the way that the mayor has interacted with the Jewish community,” she said. “He has not meaningfully represented or interacted with the majority of New York's Jews.” — Jeff Coltin
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams delivered remarks at a Ramadan night prayer service at the Assafa Islamic Center in Manhattan as part of his 5 Borough Ramadan Tour. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office | FAST — AND FURIOUS: Adams shot back at the Muslim leaders who have called to boycott the mayor during the holy month of Ramadan because he hasn’t called for a cease-fire in Gaza. “To those who want to politicize Ramadan, who want to use Ramadan for their own wishes, I say to them, go look at the meaning of Ramadan,” Adams said before joining an Iftar meal Friday night at the Assafa Islamic Center in Manhattan. Adams, who’s Christian, said he had a long record of standing with Muslim groups, traveling to Muslim-majority countries like Saudi Arabia, and claimed he was “consistent about innocent people should not die” in global conflicts. Council Member Shahana Hanif, a Muslim progressive, has called on mosques not to invite Adams in, and the nonprofit Council on American-Islamic Relations has backed a boycott of Adams’ own Iftar event planned for Tuesday. “The genocide’s impact on the Muslim community is palpable,” Hanif said about Gaza. “Instead of comforting us through our grief, (Adams) is taking a political hit on the only Muslim woman in office.” Another Muslim council member, Yusef Salaam, joined Adams Friday. Assafa President Ahmed Jashim said he invited the mayor himself after seeing him at an event at 1 Police Plaza, and brushed off the boycott, telling Playbook, “Many men, many minds.” — Jeff Coltin FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The dozens of immigrant, labor, faith and voting rights groups that make up the “Our City, Our Vote” coalition are intensifying their push for an appeal of the February court decision that overturned the city law granting municipal voting rights to non-citizens. “We believe that this lawsuit was filed as a means of continuing a national trend of voter suppression, particularly of Black and Brown people,” they wrote in a letter that will be sent today to the mayor and council speaker, urging that the elected leaders appeal with the New York State Court of Appeals. Local Law 11 allows New Yorkers with green cards or work authorizations to vote in city elections. “We believe in the principle that those who live, work, raise families and pay taxes in New York City should have a say in how their city is governed,” reads the letter signed by the New York Immigration Coalition, African Communities Together, YMCA of Greater New York and others. The speaker’s office declined to comment. The mayor’s office didn’t respond to a Playbook request. — Emily Ngo FINEST ARE FASTEST: The NYPD won the Commissioner’s Cup at the NYC Half marathon on Sunday, led by a blazing 1 hour, 12 minutes, 19 seconds time from Officer Anthony Morales. That means the three fastest runners from the agency beat out others from the transportation and fire departments, the mayor’s office and more. Higher-ups like Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella ran, too, in the Prospect Park-to-Central Park 13-miler organized by the New York Road Runners. The NYPD got 55th place in a SWAT competition in the UAE last month but did better with a home-field advantage. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — A nearly five-minute recording of a fight on the A train shows New York’s gravest problems, like illegal guns and mental illness, distilled in a single subway car. (New York Times) — The Legal Aid Society, the Coalition for the Homeless and the Adams administration settled their right to shelter court fight, establishing temporary limits on shelter stays. (POLITICO) — The City Council is expected to approve the final phase of the $780 million soccer stadium next to Citi Field in the coming weeks. (Gothamist)
| | | | A message from New York Communities for Care:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  The General Budget Conference Committee, composed of the top Democratic and Republican leadership in the state Senate and Assembly, will gather today to kick off the next phase of the state budget process. | Hans Pennink/AP | MOTHERSHIP LANDS: The state’s legislative leadership will gather today at noon to kick off the next phase of the state budget process in Albany now that the one-house budget resolutions are approved. The formal title for the gathering is the General Budget Conference Committee, composed of the top Democratic and Republican leadership in the state Senate and Assembly. In Albany parlance, it’s the “mothership.” The clock’s ticking. A spending plan is due to pass by April 1, the start of the fiscal year. But March 28 could be the real date for getting a plan in place before Easter Sunday on March 31. — Nick Reisman HOSTAGE SPOTLIGHT: The family of Omer Neutra isn’t giving up. Later today, Ronen and Orna Neutra will be in Albany for an afternoon news conference with Queens Democratic Assemblymember Nily Rozic as they continue to push for their son’s release from Hamas. Omer Neutra was among the people taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks last year. Neutra, who grew up on Long Island and was planning to attend SUNY Binghamton, has been cited frequently by state officials. “Over 150 days after their son, New York native Omer Neutra was kidnapped and taken hostage in Gaza, Ronen and Orna Neutra continue to advocate for his release,” Rozic’s office said in a statement. "As Americans and New Yorkers, they deserve their government to do everything possible to ensure Omer’s release. It is only fitting that state leaders meet with them and hear their story.” Hochul last month in an interview at the POLITICO Governors Summit decried how the hostages’ plight has been lost in the ongoing debate over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. “No one would ever question our right after 9/11 to go in and find the attackers and take them out,” Hochul said. But the family’s visit to Albany also comes as Democratic officials more broadly are growing concerned with the conflict. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “obstacle to peace” and called for new elections. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — The commissioner of the Division of Human Rights was dismissed over performance reasons. (Times Union) — Hochul is sticking to her National Guard deployment plan after a shooting last week on an A train. (New York Post) — The budget process in Albany is once again highlighting the secretive nature of the negotiations. (Spectrum News)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Hochul ordered a review of the way New York state licenses cannabis businesses. (New York Times) — Manhattan realtors have a new pitch for selling property uptown: “Avoid congestion pricing.” (New York Post) — Staten Island’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday marked the first time all five New York City boroughs hosted St. Patrick’s Day parades allowing LGBTQ+ groups. (New York Times) — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has come out in favor of a potential TikTok ban — increasing pressure on Schumer to bring the bill for a vote. (New York Post)
| | | | 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 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: New York City Council Member Chi Ossé … Chris Boyle, director of communications to the Nassau County executive … USTR Katherine Tai … CNN’s Zachary Cohen … former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe … POLITICO’s Nick Niedzwiadek … Fox News’ Jessica Curry and Karrah Kaplan … Errin Haines of The 19th … Bloomberg’s Kate Hunter … MSNBC’s Haylie Reichner and Tucker Wilson … Emily Guthrie … (WAS SUNDAY): Tim Burger … Mark Paustenbach … Laurel Strategies’ Alan Fleischmann … CNN’s Kate Sullivan … NBC’s Sally Bronston Katz … Carl Leubsdorf … NRDC’s Mark Drajem … Eileen O’Connor of the Rockefeller Foundation … Yahoo’s Dylan Stableford … Andrew Weissmann ... Emily Cohen ... Jackie Fishman … James Flexner … Scott Schwaitzberg … Erin Murray Manning … Troi Lughod … (WAS SATURDAY): former Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) … Sandy Weill … AP’s Julie Pace … MSNBC’s Amy Shuster … Stuart A. Smith ... Andy Lewin … NYT’s Neil Vigdor and Brian Rosenthal … Patrick Appel … Alexandra Stabler … Mary Deren ... (WAS FRIDAY): Mark Green MAKING MOVES: SKDK will announce a spate of promotions today: Stephanie Reichin to managing director; Daniel Barash, Cameron French and Mariel Sáez to executive vice president; Paige Hill to senior vice president and chief of staff in Washington; Jason Novak to chief of staff in New York City; Kyle Schnoebelen to senior vice president; Alaina Berner, Rachel Feder, John Kim, Alexandra Macfarlane, Ralph Mays, Camille Meekins and Ryan Peters to vice president; Anna Elsasser, Johanna Hernandez, Sophie Partridge-Hicks, Christian Rodriguez Hernandez and Molly Salter to director; Mara Kaplan, Jade Klain, Katia Lockwood-Shabat, Nolan Lyons, Arianna Morgan, Silvana Portillo, Jack Sullivan, and Hannah Vail to senior associate.
| | YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY | | | | 6,242 Number of firearms seized by the NYPD between July 2020 and December 2021, according to a report obtained by Gothamist that reveals new details. | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
