| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Irie Sentner
| 
As he’s facing poor polling a year out from reelection, Mayor Eric Adams and a top adviser, Frank Carone, seem to be stretching the truth to use the Democratic Socialists of America as an opponent. | Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office | NEW YORK MINUTE: Former President Donald Trump’s sixth day in court begins this morning in Manhattan with the judge considering whether the former president violated a gag order prohibiting him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others in his hush money case, POLITICO reports. Prosecutors have cited 10 alleged violations and want Trump held in contempt. The defense has said Trump’s statements and social media posts are lawful. — Emily Ngo ADAMS VERSUS THE DSA: The Democratic Socialists of America are a convenient foil for Mayor Eric Adams. So as he’s facing poor polling a year out from reelection, Adams and a top adviser, Frank Carone, seem to be stretching the truth to use them as an opponent. At a Sunday fundraiser in Miami, Adams stood up and said that “the left extremes, some of the socialist party,” met in Washington a few months ago. “And they said we’re going to ignore all the races in 2025 in the country. We’re only going to focus on one race. We’re going to focus on beating Eric Adams,” he said in a video from the event reviewed by Playbook. Adams was in South Florida for the Concordia business summit. “Folks, we’re capitalists. We didn’t sign up for communism and socialism,” Adams added, chuckling. So he didn’t know what happened, that now “we’re almost embarrassed to say that a person should be a waiter and hope to own a series of restaurants.” It wasn’t clear what socialist event Adams was talking about. DSA — the only socialist group of political consequence in the city — hosted elected officials from across the country last year in D.C. But “I haven’t heard of anything like that discussed at last summer’s conference,” Sunshine Royanian Ludder, deputy director of the DSA Fund, told Playbook. DSA didn’t run, or endorse a candidate against Adams in 2021, and “we don’t currently have any plans to run anyone for mayor,” in 2025 said NYC-DSA Candidate Recruitment Chair Grace Mausser. “However, we look forward to Eric Adams no longer being there.” Adams’ former chief of staff and current political booster Carone was with him in Florida and underscored his focus on the socialists. “The last person standing between chaos and civility of radical DSA types is Mayor Adams,” Carone said to Playbook. Carone himself posted a graphic on X Sunday purporting to show, as he put it, “the socialist terrorists” attacking Adams for his Zionist beliefs. But critics were quick to point out it seemed like a fake since it called for donations to “Democratic Socialist Party” and “In Our Lifetime” — possible mistaken references to DSA and the pro-Palestinian activist group Within Our Lifetime. “Did I do a forensic audit? No,” Carone said but added the graphic was sent to him and it was good enough for “the tweet universe” amid the protests at Columbia University. The socialists are “a fringe radical group and the only reason they exist is the poor voter turnout,” Carone said. “My message is do not be silenced: vote.” — Jeff Coltin IT’S TUESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Uber: Drivers with Uber are leading EV adoption. Key fact to know this Earth Month: Drivers with Uber are switching to electric cars seven times faster than everyday drivers. That progress has multiplier impact because when one Uber driver starts using an EV, they deliver up to four times the emissions benefits compared to regular motorists. Learn more about this trend. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City and Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Holding an in-person media availability. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Donald Trump is in a bind because he knows that abortion will hurt him across the country, and especially in the suburbs.” — Republican strategist Susan Del Percio, speaking to Newsday.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
As the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" entered its sixth day at Columbia, some students, faculty and lawmakers called for the university's president, Minouche Shafik, to resign. | Irie Sentner/POLITICO | CAMPUS UNREST: Divergent voices in the intensifying chaos over a pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University have found some common cause: They want the school’s president gone, POLITICO reports. New York House Republicans have all called for President Minouche Shafik to step down, saying the school has been too soft on incidents of antisemitism. Some students and faculty protesting the university’s relationship to Israel and the devastation in Gaza have also sought Shafik’s ouster, though because they say the school was wrong to call in the NYPD last Thursday to detain protesters and quash free speech. “Thursday, April 18, 2024, will be remembered as a shameful day in Columbia’s history,” Christopher Brown, a professor in the history department, said Monday to cheers from the crowd. He was among the hundreds of faculty members who rallied for the reversal of the participating students’ suspensions. Also Monday, a handful of Republican elected officials held a news conference near the school. “Every single one of these college and university presidents who refuse to take action should immediately resign in disgrace and if they don’t resign, [they] should be thrown out,” Hudson Valley Rep. Mike Lawler said. “President Shafik is focused on deescalating the rancor on Columbia’s campus,” a Columbia spokesperson said in a statement to POLITICO. “She is working across campus with members of the faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees, and with state, city, and community leaders, and appreciates their support.” And while Democrats including Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman have also condemned antisemitic incidents and an environment that leaves some Jewish students on edge, as of Monday evening, they had yet to call for Shafik to resign. (Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has joined the call though.) Meanwhile, at the encampment, students hosted a Passover Seder, satirizing the Haggadah story of the “Four Children” with Columbia administrators. Later Monday evening, police swarmed another encampment at New York University, arresting dozens, and Columbia Provost Angela V. Olinto announced that all classes would go hybrid for the rest of the semester. — Madina Touré and Irie Sentner
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | | | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Randy Mastro's yet-to-be-announced nomination as corporation counsel already faces pushback from the City Council. | Brendan McDermid/AP | MASTRO’S TURKEY TIES: While Adams is caught up in a federal investigation reportedly involving Turkish government influence, the attorney Adams wants to hire to lead his Law Department works at a firm that has represented the government of Turkey in recent high-profile cases. Randy Mastro — whose yet-to-be-announced nomination as corporation counsel already faces pushback from the City Council — joined King & Spalding in 2022 as a partner in the International Arbitration and Litigation practice, which has represented President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government in several cases over the years. There’s no indication Mastro himself worked on any cases for Turkey. But King & Spalding bragged last month in a press release about its “series of wins for Turkey,” including an oil export dispute with Iraq and the dismissal of three major investment disputes. Through 2017, the firm was registered as a foreign agent for Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A representative for the firm declined to comment on Mastro’s involvement, and Mastro did not respond to a request for comment. City Hall spokesperson Fabien Levy declined to confirm Mastro would be nominated as corporation counsel. Neither Adams nor anybody in his orbit has been accused of wrongdoing. But if the Law Department were to become involved in the case down the road and Erdoğan’s government also became embroiled in any sort of prosecution, Mastro’s connections could prove valuable. “No other U.S. firm has ties so close to Turkey, which makes Randy a preferred choice,” an international defense lawyer at a top firm told Playbook. “If the mayor is indicted, Randy will have relationships with all the guys at K&S representing Turkey.” “The informal relationships will be invaluable as the mayor attempts to defend himself with help from Brendan McGuire and the WilmerHale team,” the lawyer added, referring to the lawyers Adams hired amid the federal probe. But the benefit may be limited to Adams. A source familiar with Mastro’s thinking said he would recuse himself from any matters his firm worked on. — Jeff Coltin STORM TEAM: Are YOU New York City’s Extreme Weather Coordinator, Playbook asked back in October? Turns out, there wasn’t one at the time, according to an investigation into the city’s emergency storm response by Comptroller Brad Lander’s office. City Hall weirdly made it a news story last year by not giving reporters a clear answer on who held the job, and which office they worked in. But Lander’s report said City Hall told him in March that the position is now held by Adams chief of staff Camille Joseph Varlack. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Adams’ defense trust returned $22,000 in improper donations from a corporate entity and 10 individuals with city government business interests. (Daily News) — For three years running, Adams has looked at the negotiated state budget and declared the city has emerged, for the most part, with a record of wins. (City & State)
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Upstate New York has struggled with retaining people for more than a generation now, and the problem has only accelerated statewide after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. | Heather Ainsworth/AP | BIZ MARQUEE: For the most part, upstate business organizations had a quiet legislative session. No one’s ox was really gored in a budget that focused on housing, retail theft and cracking down on illegal cannabis sales. But Upstate United Executive Director Justin Wilcox is worried the status quo won’t be good enough for the region, especially when it comes to nation-leading outmigration. “We do need a much more robust approach to reinvigorate upstate rather than a budget that could have been worse,” he told Playbook. “What we really need is Albany leaders to realize the magnitude of the problem." Upstate New York has struggled with retaining people for more than a generation now. And the problem has only accelerated statewide after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hochul has pointed to population loss as a pressing concern facing the state and argued her push to expand housing would address the cost-of-living issues cited by so many ex-New Yorkers. She successfully won $600 million in new spending for local governments to expand their infrastructure in order to accommodate more home building. But Wilcox believes the final budget, which included the sweeping housing package, won’t move the needle for addressing the cost of building. “We don’t truly see policies to embrace or reduce costs in New York state or make New York any more competitive with other states,” Wilcox said. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Hochul has approved a measure that’s meant to make it easier for police to respond to squatting cases. (ABC7)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — The Democratic primary between Rep. Jamaal Bowman and George Latimer is one of the nastiest, most expensive political campaigns in the country. (Bloomberg) — There are 10 Republican candidates of East Asian descent running for office in the city, as more Asian New Yorkers vote Republican. (New York Post) — Biden is heading to the Syracuse area this week to tout Micron’s expansion. (Spectrum News)
| | | | A message from Uber: Uber Drivers Accelerate Electric Vehicle Shift
As Earth Month spotlights sustainability, a noteworthy trend emerges: Uber drivers are adopting electric vehicles seven times faster than the average driver. For every driver on the Uber platform who switches to an EV, the emissions savings are quadrupled compared to what typical drivers would achieve.
This shift didn’t just happen. It’s part of Uber’s commitment to ensuring that, by 2030, 100% of trips on its platform in the US are in zero-emission vehicles or through micromobility and public transport. Now drivers with Uber are leading the way in advancing clean energy transportation.
Discover more about how Uber is going green. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman IN MEMORIAM: Ronald Shafran, a longtime government relations consultant, advertising executive, author and former deputy commissioner in Mayor Ed Koch’s administration, died suddenly on Sunday. MAKING MOVES: Former Kivvit managing partner and Andrew Cuomo campaign manager Maggie Moran is launching national public affairs firm Moxie Strategies as founder and CEO. Jeannine Frisby LaRue, Pearl Gabel, Hira Shaikh, Joe Libutti, Tara Franco and Amy Hackett are all working at Moxie. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: John Oliver … Clarine Nardi Riddle of Kasowitz Benson Torres … Alex Lupica … David Falkenstein … Paula Dwyer … Alexis Kleinman WELCOME TO THE WORLD: Katy Feinberg, Senior Vice President in Rubenstein’s Issues Management and Corporate Reputation group, and Billy Bagnell, Business Development Officer at LEAF Commercial Capital, an M&T Bank subsidiary, welcomed Beatrice (Bea) Bagnell.
| | | YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY | | | | | 30 The number of days an alleged squatter is no longer subject to tenant protections under a new state law. | | | | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
