| | | | |  | | By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Irie Sentner
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Left-leaning Democrats have criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul's efforts to change the bail law, while Republicans are calling efforts to address subway safety a counterfeit approach. | Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | NEW YORK MINUTE: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump easily and predictably clinched their respective primaries here on Tuesday, with the Associated Press calling their races minutes after polls closed. Many people stayed home. Even in NY-12, an especially politically active swath of Manhattan, just 10 percent of active enrolled Democrats voted, unofficial results showed. — Emily Ngo CRIME CRUNCH: Paring back the state’s cashless bail law. Boosting funding for the State Police. Deploying the National Guard to the subways. Gov. Kathy Hochul has embraced all of these measures (and more) in a bid to assuage voters’ ongoing concerns about crime. It’s a stubborn problem for the governor to take on in a pivotal election cycle, two years after Republicans wielded the issue effectively to win key House races on her turf. The most recent Siena College poll in February found crime ranked alongside the migrant crisis and cost of living as issues voters want state officials to tackle this year, and a majority believed the problem has gotten worse. All this matters as Election Day approaches in November and Democrats push to flip House seats on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley and Central New York. And despite the high-profile efforts to address public safety, Hochul’s favorable rating has been largely static. Why has this sentiment been so difficult for Hochul to turn around, much less get any credit for? “A piece of it is just the divisive times we find ourselves in,” Siena poll spokesperson Steve Greenberg said. Hochul faces a multi-dimensional problem. Left-leaning members of her own party criticize efforts to change the state’s bail law or crack down on shoplifting by boosting penalties for assaulting a retail worker. Republicans, meanwhile, dismiss attempts to address subway safety as a counterfeit approach. “Kathy Hochul is kind of hard to categorize,” Democratic political consultant Chris Coffey said. “She’s sort of in the middle and often folks in the middle are hard to categorize and often unpredictable. Her lane is a little bit fuzzier. Her lane may be actually close to where most New Yorkers are.” Republicans scoff at the idea that Hochul is doing enough. Yes, they acknowledge, Democrats in the state Legislature don’t want a full repeal of the bail law. But governors have a lot of power to get what they want and Hochul hasn’t used it, GOP consultant Vince Casale said. “As the leader of the Democratic Party, go get your people and get them to vote,” he said. “Go back to every governor — George Pataki, Andrew Cuomo. If they wanted to get something passed, they went and got their members to vote.” Hochul is aware of how potent the crime issue can be statewide as she negotiates a budget this month. When she ran for a full term two years ago, her Republican opponent Lee Zeldin blasted her for the state’s bail law and came dangerously close to winning in a typically blue state. The murder of NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, meanwhile, once again put a spotlight on crime — and the politics of it. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, said after attending the wake of the officer that “we have to get back to law and order.” Changing the bail law again is not on the table as budget talks near their conclusion. But Hochul over the weekend sought to remind the public, and the press, that she has been trying to reverse the controversial legislative changes passed in 2019. “I think everyone knows my positions on the bail laws,” Hochul said Saturday. “I’m the one who’s been trying to make the changes to go back to where it was.” — Nick Reisman HAPPY WEDNESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Amazon: When Rachel Gutierrez-Aguirre was looking to take her handcrafted coffee beyond Brooklyn, she turned to Amazon because of the tools it offers sellers. “I’m thrilled to see Amazon providing this level of support to sellers,” she said. Amazon invests billions of dollars in people, resources, and tools that support local entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. Learn how Amazon innovates for sellers. | | | DO WE HAVE A BUDGET YET? No. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Meeting with faith leaders on Staten Island, launching his Five-Borough Multifaith Tour, then making a public safety-related announcement with NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, then appearing live on Fox5’s “The 6 O’Clock News.” QUOTE OF THE DAY: “When MapQuest first came out, there were so many kinks. It would tell people to make a right when they should make a left. Bad things were happening. But now MapQuest is almost perfected. Same thing.” — Chief adviser to the mayor Ingrid Lewis-Martin, on the city’s decision to keep its AI chatbot online, even though it frequently advises businesses to break the law, THE CITY and the Markup reported.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Assemblymember Jaime Williams, a Brooklyn Democrat, filed to run for reelection on both the Republican and Conservative lines. | Shawn Ness/POLITICO | THE PARTY LINE: Is Assemblymember Jaime Williams proving the haters right with her petition filings? The Brooklyn Democrat filed to run for reelection on both the Republican and Conservative lines this week. That’s months after Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman both called her a Republican on Twitter — apparently accidentally — after she testified her opposition to sheltering migrants in her district. Republicans like Council Member Inna Vernikov pounced, tweeting, “Assemblywoman Williams is a Democrat, genius!” But Williams allied herself with Republicans in her staunch opposition to hosting migrants at Floyd Bennett Field, in her district, and apparently won the party over. She’s expected to run unopposed on the Democrat, Republican and Conservative Party lines. Williams didn’t respond with a comment, but a spokesperson for Brooklyn Dems leader Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn made it clear she’s still supporting her fellow assemblymember, noting that “it’s fairly common for slightly right-leaning/centrist Democrats to do this in conservative districts.” Williams’ Canarsie and Bergen Beach district isn’t exactly conservative — Biden won it by 50 points in 2020 — and Williams actually ran on the Democratic and Working Families Party line in 2022. But it’s true that Brooklyn Democrats have a record of getting so-called Wilson-Pakula authorizations to run on the Republican line. Council Member Kalman Yeger, who won reelection on the Democratic, Republican and Conservative lines last year, is now running to replace Assemblymember Helene Weinstein and filed for the Democratic and Conservative lines — and for Democratic district leader and judicial delegate, too, for good measure. — Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Speaker Adrienne Adams and Association of Legislative Employees president Daniel Kroop both called the first-ever labor union contract “historic.” | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO | UNION DEAL: City Council members and their staff have reached a tentative agreement on their first-ever labor union contract, one that covers nearly 400 aides and other workers and comes after two years of bargaining. The deal that both Speaker Adrienne Adams and Association of Legislative Employees President Daniel Kroop called “historic” follows the pattern set by the municipal employees’ District Council 37. The raises over five years and ratification bonus have been accounted for in the city’s labor reserve. — Emily Ngo More from the city: — The Adams administration took its payroll website partially offline for the last nine days in response to a recent phishing scheme targeting city employees. (POLITICO) — The mayor defended NYPD social media posts that called out reporters and critics and also criticized the timing of a column focused on transit crime. (POLITICO) — Dwayne Montgomery, who was friendly with Adams, was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for his ringleader role in a straw donor scheme to boost Adams’ campaign. (Daily News) — Adams says his brother’s involvement in senior adviser Tim Pearson’s spat with an NYPD chief is “part of a review” following sexual harassment allegations against Pearson. (Daily News)
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  After the Adult Survivors Act expired last year, the Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation is accusing the Archdiocese of New York of shirking its responsibility to care for and pay out the victims of child sex crimes who were abused on their campuses. | Julia Nikhinson/AP | CHUBB PUSHES BACK: CHUBB, the massive insurance company that posted Trump’s $91.6 million bond in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case, is now defending itself in a dispute involving New York’s Child Victims Act, the Archdiocese of New York and an advocacy group for child sex abuse victims. About two months ago, Playbook reported the Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation, which represents survivors of child sexual abuse, was calling on CHUBB to pay the massive outstanding claims owed to child sex abuse victims under the New York law. Now the insurance company is firing back with a letter of its own, accusing the Archdiocese of New York of shirking its responsibility to care for and pay out the victims of child sex crimes who were abused on their campuses. “It is offensive that CJCC even suggests that anyone other than the [Archdiocese of New York] bears the moral responsibility for the sexual abuse perpetuated in its churches and schools,” the insurance group wrote in the letter, shared first with Playbook. The group maintains that CJCC’s attention is directed at the wrong party. “The fact that the ADNY paid insurance premiums to cover accidents doesn't change this reality — you can't buy insurance for what the ADNY has admitted: concealing, tolerating and abetting the acts of criminal pedophiles.” CJCC, which is led in part by GOP consultant Dave Catalfamo, said CHUBB’s letter didn’t deserve to be taken seriously. “Instead of attempting to intimidate advocates and child sexual abuse survivors, CHUBB should honor its obligations under the CVA,” CJCC said. The archdiocese, for its part, issued a lengthy statement of its own to Playbook slamming CHUBB. “At every juncture Chubb has refused to engage in good faith claims adjustment and resolution," said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for the archdiocese. “... Unfortunately, Chubb engages in delay and obfuscation tactics as a way to protect its financial resources rather than help the victims of sexual abuse.” — Jason Beeferman TECH ANXIETY: Businesses are worried state officials will turn into robocops when it comes to regulating emerging technologies and companies. A new report released this week by the American Edge Project warned venture capital-backed business formation and research, including in Albany and Buffalo, could be stifled if efforts to reign in the private sector go too far. “To maintain our global leadership in technology and innovation, policymakers must not import restrictive foreign regulatory regimes to our shores nor allow them to spread globally,” the group wrote. The report comes as lawmakers and Hochul are debating a budget that could include new regulations for artificial intelligence and as lawmakers seek to address monopolistic practices in businesses. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — A childcare task force has been lost into the ‘ether of state government.’ (Capitol Pressroom)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Democratic Majority for Israel's DMFI PAC is endorsing Westchester County Executive George Latimer for Congress, the latest pro-Israel group to line up against Rep. Jamaal Bowman. | Mike Groll/AP | AP Photo | BY GEORGE!: DMFI PAC, an arm of advocacy organization Democratic Majority for Israel, is endorsing Westchester County Executive George Latimer over Rep. Jamaal Bowman for Congress. The backing isn’t a surprise — pro-Israel groups have been lining up against Bowman, a long-time critic of Israeli government policy and more recently of its response to Hamas. DMFI is also endorsing other New York Democrats for Congress: Laura Gillen, Tim Kennedy, Josh Riley and Rep. Tom Suozzi. With Black voters expected to play a key role in the race, Latimer is also getting endorsed by the state’s first Black governor, David Paterson. The two are appearing at an event together in Co-op City today. — Jeff Coltin RYAN RAISES: Freshman Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan raised more than $900,000 in the most recent fundraising quarter, his campaign will announce later today. Ryan, a Hudson Valley lawmaker, has raised more than $4 million this election cycle. Ryan’s district is the only one held by a freshman Democrat in New York being targeted by House Republicans this year. But he is a prodigious fundraiser: Ryan was the top-raising Democrat in a swing district in 2023. — Nick Reisman More from Congress: — As the New York State Police expands its use of surveillance tech, privacy advocates hope congressional action could stop it. (New York Focus and the Intercept)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — A Queens judgeship, which offers a valuable source of patronage for local Democrats, is up for grabs — and it could send shockwaves through Democratic politics. (POLITICO) — The FBI, State Police and NYPD descended Tuesday on two Orange County horse farms raided last year as part of a probe into the Gambino crime family. (Times Union) — New York inmates are suing the state over its plan to lockdown prisons during the solar eclipse. (Washington Post)
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Learn how Amazon breaks down barriers to growth. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon is the new president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York, following the one year term of Erie County DA John Flynn … Anthony Cannataro, an associate judge on the state Court of Appeals, will also serve as an adjunct professor at New York Law School. SPOTTED … on Tuesday at the state Capitol was former GOP NY-03 candidate Mazi Melesa Pilip speaking at a rally for the release of the hostages in Gaza. It’s been a few months since her defeat to Suozzi, but it appears Pilip is maintaining her media strategy of not speaking to reporters. The Nassau County legislator dodged Playbook’s persistent efforts to ask her about what’s next for her in her career. — Jason Beeferman OUT & ABOUT: The Adams administration sent off deputy press secretary Charles Kretchmer Lutvak, who’s going to work for the Biden campaign, at Blue Haven in lower Manhattan on Tuesday night. SPOTTED: Camille Joseph Varlack, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Maria Torres-Springer, Fred Kreizman, Diane Savino, Menashe Shapiro, Fabien Levy, Ryan Birchmeier, Molly Schaeffer, Kayla Mamelak, Liz Garcia, Ivette Dávila-Richards, Kate Smart, Brad Weekes, Angela Banks, William Fowler, John DeSio, Rachel Atcheson, Jessica Carrano, Connor Martinez, Emma Pfohman, Bill Heinzen, Frank Dwyer, Erika Tannor, Ilana Maier, Jonah Allon and reporters Joe Anuta, Katie Honan, Matthew Chayes, Emma Fitzsimmons, Nick Garber, Nolan Hicks, Tim Balk, Ethan Stark-Miller and Jake Offenhartz.
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