| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman | With help from Irie Sentner
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Today Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg will become the first prosecutor to put an American president on trial. | Seth Wenig/AP | NEW YORK MINUTE: A budget framework has emerged: New York lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are on the verge of agreeing to a $235 billion spending plan more than two weeks past its due date. The Democratic conferences in the state Senate and Assembly are scheduled to meet privately later today with the goal of passing bills this week. There is disappointment from tenant advocates and small landlords over the details of the looming housing package. And there is a push to get more tax help for families. More on all that below. — Nick Reisman NOT ONE TO BRAGG: Just days before his criminal trial against former President Donald Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sat down for an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton in a hotel ballroom packed with fellow Democrats. Bragg didn’t mention Trump once. And Sharpton agreed not to ask. “I only talk about that matter in court filings and in the court. That’s what we do,” Bragg said in a brief interview with Playbook, where we tried, unsuccessfully, to get him to break that rule. Today, Bragg will become the first prosecutor to put an American president on trial, with jury selection set to begin in Manhattan Criminal Court. Bragg will become one of the biggest characters of the 2024 election — and a hero to many Democrats, regardless of the outcome of the trial. Yet he appears to be a reluctant participant in his own narrative, avoiding interviews and declining to discuss the Trump case in public settings. Let’s not fool ourselves: The decision to prosecute ANY case is political, and Bragg faced intense political pressure from his Democratic base to indict. More than a year after Bragg took office, he indicted Trump on charges of hiding hush money payments in false paperwork that could have affected the presidential election. And he’s defended the merits of the case. But Bragg hopes his relative silence on the eve of trial — no tweets, no pressers, no MSNBC sitdowns — will dull the criticism that he’s unfairly prosecuting the presumptive presidential nominee. His communications strategy is in sharp contrast with Attorney General Tish James. Her case against Trump was civil, so she had more leeway — but you haven’t seen Bragg quipping about Trump’s “Art of the Steal” like the Democratic Folk Hero-slash-AG James. Trump won’t be keeping his head down — he’s bringing the campaign to Manhattan. And diehard MAGA supporters like the New York Young Republican Club will get in front of the media circus set up in Collect Pond Park, too. It’ll be a presidential campaign story unprecedented in American history. And Bragg will be front and center. — Jeff Coltin HAPPY MONDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | 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. | | | | | DO WE HAVE A BUDGET YET? No. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Making a housing- and public safety-related announcement. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “County Executive Blakeman’s executive order is transphobic, and we have no room for hate in New York.” — Attorney General Tish James after winning the rejection of an order to end her case against Nassau County’s female transgender athlete ban.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | 
Westchester County moderate George Latimer, seeking to unseat Rep. Jamaal Bowman in a closely-watched Democratic primary, posted his staunch support for Israel on social media Saturday. | Mike Groll/AP | IRAN STRIKE RESPONSE: Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel late Saturday, escalating tensions in a region already on edge as the Israel-Hamas war rages on. Those anxieties were felt here at home, too, where some House races hinge on candidates’ positions on Israel and Gaza. In one of the nation’s most closely watched Democratic primaries, Westchester County moderate George Latimer posted his staunch support for Israel on social media Saturday, writing, “It is important that the U.S. stand with our ally and all the people of Israel.” Rep. Jamaal Bowman, the left-leaning incumbent and a critic of Israel who Latimer is seeking to unseat with AIPAC’s help, crafted a response Sunday focused on his call for a permanent cease-fire. “In this critical moment, we need to engage with peace, not weapons,” Bowman said in a statement and an X post. “It is more clear than ever that Benjamin Netanyahu’s warmongering is putting the lives of millions of civilians at risk, including that of the Israeli people.” U.S. forces helped Israel intercept more than 99 percent of Iran’s launches, which the Islamic State said were retaliation for Israel’s deadly strike earlier this month on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria. The war is expected to be a top issue for general election races, too, including the Hudson Valley face-off between GOP Rep. Mike Lawler and Democratic former Rep. Mondaire Jones, who both reiterated they back Israel and its right to defend itself. State Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs, a centrist, told Playbook he believed the November elections, especially the presidential race, would be about establishment Democrats’ views on Israel. “I would just say that voters need to look at what President Biden is saying and doing, what Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is saying and doing and Leader Jeffries in the House,” he said. “I think that that is where the Democratic Party’s policies lie.” — Emily Ngo and Joe Anuta Breaking news: Two police officers were killed Sunday night in a shootout on a suburban street in Salina outside Syracuse. (Syracuse.com)
| | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
An agreement for housing in the state budget is emerging, but few interest groups are especially pleased with the details. | Hans Pennink/AP | HOUSING BACKLASH: Few interest groups are especially pleased with the details of the emerging agreement for housing in the state budget. Advocates contend the parameters of tenant protections known as Good Cause eviction were essentially gutted. Small and mid-sized landlords, meanwhile, argue it “united everyone in outrage.” “It is a breathtaking failure to address vital and pressing issues, not a situation where ‘every stakeholder is unhappy, so it must be a good compromise,’” the landlord group Homeowners for an Affordable New York said. And left-leaning tenant advocates in particular are worried the housing package doesn’t have a sufficient monitoring mechanism in place when landlords evict renters in order to perform a renovation or move an apartment off the market. Advocates wanted, at minimum, a safeguard that ensures the renovation work was performed or the apartment remains off the market. Housing Justice for All also estimates the version of Good Cause in the budget framework would exclude more than 2.8 million renters or 71 percent of the people the original bill was designed to cover. As for labor, unions ended up with a wage deal in the new development tax incentive that is based on a prevailing wage schedule — a framework that is meant to protect individual trades, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The final agreement also includes enforcement measures “with real teeth” to prevent wage theft, the person said. — Nick Reisman MAYORAL CONTROL BRIEFLY BACK: Hochul renewed a push to extend mayoral control for New York City schools by four years in the state budget, according to people familiar with negotiations. But lawmakers are insisting it’s an after-budget issue. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins previously said the measure was off the table, but that was before the state Education Department released a scathing report recommending the state create a commission to study potential changes to the city public schools’ governing system. Hochul, who has largely backed Mayor Eric Adams’ Albany agenda, called for a four-year extension in her executive budget, but lawmakers say it’s an issue that should be handled outside of budget talks. The push from Hochul comes as Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks vocalize their dismay over the report. The city Department of Education last week shared plans to return to Albany with the hopes of securing a four-year extension. — Katelyn Cordero CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE: Democratic state lawmakers and advocates are trying to get a last-minute addition to the state budget: the Working Families Tax Credit. The New York Immigration Coalition is making a final push to get some version of the tax credit in the final budget agreement, including for immigrant families who file taxes using an individual taxpayer identification number. Those filers are excluded from many tax credits. “We’re not going to see the entire credit that we want to see,” Liza Schwartzwald, the group’s director of economic justice and family empowerment, said. “But I think especially the proposal in the Senate would be an incredible step in that direction.” Lawmakers in the state Senate this year initially proposed a $550 credit per child to single taxpayers who earn less than $75,000 and married taxpayers who file jointly who earn less than $130,000. Assembly members proposed an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to include a wider income range, with the benefit phased out for single filers with one child who earns $56,067 – a rise from the current $49,084. And joint filers with three or more children would have the benefit phased out after $78,976. — Nick Reisman LAWSUIT LENDING: A coalition of business organizations and left-leaning advocacy groups want state officials to address the lawsuit lending industry in New York. The groups — which include a collection of unusual bedfellows like The Business Council of New York and the left-leaning Alliance for Quality Education — pressed the attorney general in a letter this month to take on the lawsuit lending sector. “You have been assiduous in cracking down on predatory lenders who unlawfully take advantage of unsuspecting individuals and small businesses,” the groups wrote to James in the letter obtained by Playbook. “Now, these same groups are being systematically targeted by the equally insidious lawsuit lending industry.” Lawsuit lending provides cash advances against future legal settlements to cover expenses like medical bills. Business groups have argued the practice drives up insurance rates; community organizations worry the industry takes advantage of low-income people of color. Efforts to address lawsuit lending have been going on for the last several years in Albany. The industry uses high-interest rate loans that opponents contend take advantage of what amount to loopholes in the current lending regulations meant to protect consumers. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — The State Police are being accused of concealing child sexual abuse by one of their own years ago. (Times Union) — Heat pumps in New York, explained. (New York Times)
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Nearly 20 percent of school-age kids have had their education disrupted mid-year as a result of the 60-day shelter stay limit, according to City Council Data. | John Minchillo/AP | MIGRANT STUDENTS STRUGGLE: Adams has long promised that a 60-day shelter stay limit for migrant families with children will not result in school disruptions. But as of early March, nearly one in five school-age kids have had their education disrupted mid-year as a result of the directive, according to data the City Council received from the administration in late March provided to Playbook. The data, which covers up to March 3, shows that most of the 5,700 pupils in kindergarten through 12th grade affected by the notice — 82 percent — are still enrolled in the same school. But 1,026 students no longer attend the same school. “This policy not only undermines our own investments in services, but it also pulls the rug out from underneath families who are finally beginning to stabilize,” Council immigration chair Alexa Avilés said in a statement. “We seem fixated on ensuring overinflated, no-bid contracts are in place while placing the [need to find] savings on children and families and nonprofit providers,” Avilés added. “This policy is as horrific as it is embarrassing.” Nearly 680 students are no longer in the school system and about 302 transferred schools and shelters. Less than 4 percent — roughly 40 pupils — transferred schools but not shelters. A mayoral spokesperson questioned the council analysis, arguing it is misleading to assume all 1,000 students did not remain enrolled in school due to notices expiring. The spokesperson also said it is erroneous to presume they are all still in the city given many left on their own or accepted tickets out of the city. — Madina Touré More from the city: — No internal discipline will be taken against the two cops involved in the fatal shooting of Kawaski Trawick five years after his death in his Bronx home. (Associated Press) — Council members have serious concerns about Adams’ latest “City of Yes” zoning reform and may require significant modifications. (New York Post)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Long Island Democrat Laura Gillen raised more than $550,000 in the first three months of the year. | Courtesy of the Gillen campaign | GILLEN’S WAR CHEST: Long Island Democrat Laura Gillen will file her best fundraising figures of the cycle as she challenges GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, Playbook is first to report. Gillen raised more than $550,000 in the first three months of the year, spent $180,000 and had $900,000 in cash on hand, her campaign said. The former Hempstead town supervisor is a recent addition to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program. “It’s clear that New Yorkers want leaders in Washington who will prioritize results and solutions instead of fear mongering and finger pointing,” Gillen said in a statement. D’Esposito’s campaign declined to comment or provide their first quarter numbers for contrast, but federal campaign records show the freshman Republican in the final quarter of 2023 had $290,000 in fundraising, spent $167,000 and had $1.2 million in cash on hand. The former NYPD detective’s haul may pick up in Nassau County as House Speaker Mike Johnson finds his footing in the fundraising world that his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, had navigated deftly. — Emily Ngo MIKE’S MONEY: GOP Rep. Mike Lawler is set to report raising $826,000 in the most recent fundraising quarter this year, his campaign told Playbook exclusively. Lawler, a freshman Hudson Valley lawmaker who is expected to face Democratic former Rep. Mondaire Jones, will report more than $3 million in cash on hand. “Congressman Lawler continues to be one of the strongest freshmen Republican fundraisers in the country, with over $4.1 million raised since the beginning of his term,” spokesperson Chris Russell said. “With over $3 million cash-on-hand heading into Q2, Congressman Lawler is strongly positioned to win re-election in the Hudson Valley.” Jones’ campaign previously announced raising $1.75 million during the first three months of the year and has more than $3 million in cash. — Nick Reisman More from Congress — GOP candidate Alison Esposito said she’d vote for an abortion ban in 2022, but now that she’s running against Rep. Pat Ryan, says she’s against a national ban. (CNN) — Rep. Elise Stefanik grew up in a wealthy family, despite her suggesting otherwise. (Daily Beast)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | | 
Democratic Westchester DA contender Judge Susan Cacace held a campaign fundraiser in the “Second Amendment law firm” office of Peter Tilem, a registered Republican. | Cacace for DA | STRAIGHT SHOOTER?: A suburban Republican who defends gun owners as “New York's Top Firearms Attorney” hosted a fundraiser last month for Democratic Westchester DA contender Susan Cacace — which her critics plan to use to question her commitment to getting guns off the street. Cacace held a campaign fundraiser in the “Second Amendment law firm” office of Peter Tilem, a registered Republican who sells a pre-paid legal plan to fight Extreme Risk Protection Order cases where guns are taken from people considered to be a threat. Cacace, a retired county court judge, is running for the open seat and has called gun trafficking a top issue. “As a lifelong Democrat, Susan will have a zero tolerance policy for gun violence and will aggressively prosecute gun cases and seek and enforce ERPO's,” campaign spokesperson Doug Forand told Playbook, defending Tilem’s fundraiser. “She is proud of the broad coalition she is building for this campaign and recognizes that not every donor will share every view, but that has no impact on her views or how she will oversee this vital office.” Tilem said he’s appeared before Cacace in court and knows her as “smart,” “fair” and “fairly tough on crime.” They may disagree on guns, but “this is Westchester County, New York. We’re not getting an NRA A-rated candidate on the ballot here.” — Jeff Coltin — Cacace accused opponent William Wagstaff of petition fraud in the race, while he claims the accusation is an effort to disenfranchise Black voters. (LoHud)
| | | | Join POLITICO on Wednesday, April 17 at 6:00 p.m. ET for networking over cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres. Don't miss your chance to meet POLITICO's New York editorial team and learn more about their coverage of current affairs in Albany. RSVP here. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES – Ben Griffith is now a political officer for the British Consulate-General New York. He was previously the external engagement and communications manager for the Welsh Government in North America. … John Chartier is now director of media relations at NJ Transit. He most recently was director for Prudential communications/content and creative at Prudential Financial. WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Kenan Kurt, director of legislative affairs in Hochul’s office, and Ilyssa Meyer, senior manager of government relations at Zocdoc, on April 3 welcomed Solomon Edward Meyer-Kurt. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sarah Bloom Raskin … Tom Rosenstiel … NYSUT’s Anna Gronewold … Goldman Sachs’ John F.W. Rogers … SEC Newgate’s Cara Rich … Max Neuberger … Visa’s Cheyenne Hopkins … (WAS SUNDAY): NBC’s Garrett Haake … Shari Redstone … Sasha Issenberg … Nick Merrill … CNN’s Adam Levine … NYT’s Eileen Sullivan … Micah Fergenson … Elisse B. Walter … the Daily News’ Chris Sommerfeldt … (WAS SATURDAY): Kevin Warsh … NBC’s Justice Gilpin-Green … CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn … Treasury’s Rachel McCleery … Edelman’s Sujata Mitra … Velocity Partners’s Kate Meissner … Bloomberg’s Jeannie Baumann … AP’s Ayanna Alexander … SKDK’s Mia Motley … Bob Hormats ... Max Weinberg ... Alex Lam … Erin Dunne Cavataro … Marlo Paventi … Glenn Dubin ... Morgan Hitzig … (WAS FRIDAY): Stuart Tauber ... Judge Paul A. Engelmayer
| | YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY | | | | $1.2 billion The amount paid out in legal settlements by the NYPD over a decade that went unreported to the City Council, despite a law seeking accountability, per City & State. | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
