| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Jeff Coltin and Nick Reisman | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Irie Sentner
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The Adams administration is no longer required to shelter single adult migrants after their initial 30-day stays are up, and it can refuse shelter in the first place — but there are exceptions. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images | NEW YORK MINUTE: A City Council forecast last month estimated $3.3 billion more in revenues than Mayor Eric Adams had projected. But the lawmakers will identify even more resources they say show his repeated cuts were unnecessary when they respond today at City Hall to his $109.4 billion preliminary budget, Playbook has learned. SHELTER SHAKEUP: Reaching a settlement in the court fight over New York City’s unique “right to shelter” protocol is one thing. Adhering to it will be another. The Adams administration is no longer required to shelter single adult migrants after their initial 30-day stays are up, and it can refuse shelter in the first place — but there are exceptions. And there also are steps the city must take before turning people out. The public defenders who sued the city say they will be watching it closely. “There’s a concern that they’re going to get it wrong, that people will end up on the streets,” Kathryn Kliff, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society, told Playbook. “And the whole point of this stipulation was so people don’t end up on the streets.” The first notices of the changes began going out last week to single adults in shelter, Playbook has learned. And two weeks after a deal preserved the right to shelter but gave Adams more leeway in a time of crisis, part of the emergency shelter system is in limbo as the city works on how, in practice, it will assess the “extenuating circumstances” that migrants need to prove to qualify for a longer shelter placement. “What we have been doing is working on the staff that are going to be doing those assessments and training and making sure that all of the questions that we need to ask are in place and that we have consistency across the system,” Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom told reporters recently. Some nonprofits that have been helping migrants since the first buses began arriving from the southern border two years ago are taking proactive steps. “We’re getting doctors and social workers and therapists to get these people reasonable accommodation letters to prove that they need to stay in shelter, so they don’t end up on the streets,” Power Malu of Artists Athletes Activists told Playbook. “That’s what we’re worried about when this kicks in: How many people can we save from sleeping on the streets?” There have been some improvements post-settlement that the Legal Aid Society is applauding. The crowd waiting for shelter placements outside the St. Brigid “reticketing center” in the East Village has been smaller. Migrants, mostly young men of West African descent, told Playbook recently that they expect to get a bed placement in a day. The previous wait could stretch more than a week, requiring migrants to sleep on the street, subway or floor of “waiting rooms” that are now closed under the court settlement. — Emily Ngo IT’S MONDAY, APRIL 1. DON’T GET FOOLED. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Amazon: When Lisa-Jae and Kammy started 3 Moms Organics in their hometown of East Hampton, New York they turned to Amazon to help their business grow. “Amazon’s tools helped our small business tell our brand story and attract new customers,” they said. More than 60% of sales in Amazon’s store are from independent sellers, like 3 Moms Organics. See the impact. | | | DO WE HAVE A BUDGET YET? Yes, Hochul just signed it! (Just kidding — April Fools!) WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Making an economy- and jobs-related announcement, then meeting with Detective Jaja Goulbourne, the NYPD’s first African American forensic sketch artist. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m trying to stop discrimination against ethnic restaurants.” — Assemblymember Sam Pirozzolo, speaking to the New York Post about combating the requirement that restaurants with coal- and wood-fired ovens install air filtration systems.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | |  “For too long, we’ve spoken about the promise of congestion pricing as being something that could transform our public transit,” Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani told Playbook. | Courtesy of the Office of Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani | ON THE BUS: The push to secure $90 million in the final (late) state budget for expanded MTA bus service is backed by nearly every member of the city’s House delegation, according to a letter that’s first in Playbook. The federal lawmakers are lauding a fare-free bus pilot and write today to Gov. Kathy Hochul: “To bring these benefits to more communities, we ask you to support appropriations in the final state budget of $45 million to expand this crucial pilot and $45 million to expand bus service reliability and frequency.” The missive, circulated by Rep. Grace Meng, is signed by every Democratic House member in the city save for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who typically excludes himself from advocacy efforts as a party leader. Jeffries’ team said he is directly engaged with Hochul on bus improvements, which he supports, among many issues. “For too long, we’ve spoken about the promise of congestion pricing as being something that could transform our public transit,” Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani told Playbook. “We now need to deliver that from the first day.” Mamdani, who has long sought bus reforms, said he doesn’t expect resistance in the budget talks, touting the fare-free bus pilot as a success helping working-class New Yorkers. A Hochul spokesperson told Playbook the governor has championed improving and funding the MTA, including saving it from the “fiscal cliff” last year and standing firmly behind congestion pricing. — Emily Ngo
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
“Now we are calling you and your ‘latte’ friends out on their garbage,” NYPD Chief of Department John Chell tweeted at journalist Harry Siegel. “Well get your popcorn ready, we have a strong platform too!” | Seth Wenig/AP | COURTESY, PROFESSIONALISM, RESPECT: Before and after the funeral of murdered NYPD officer Jonathan Diller Saturday, a few of the NYPD’s highest-ranking leaders got defensive on Twitter — in the latest round of a new media strategy that’s raised eyebrows, and complaints. NYPD Chief of Department John Chell — or somebody on his account — seemed to indirectly suggest New Yorkers should vote out Council Member Tiffany Cabán, challenged political commentator Olayemi Olurin to face him at the Diller funeral, and dogpiled on journalist Harry Siegel with Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry for getting a stat wrong in a subway safety column. The tone and method had NY1’s Errol Louis calling them “sadly unprofessional tantrums.” While consultant Chris Coffey — who’s no police hater, having previously represented the PBA — called the tweets “crazy” and “unhinged.” The NYPD communications office didn’t respond to a request for comment, and why would they? The tweeting brass has made it clear they know what they’re doing, and will keep doing it. “Now we are calling you and your ‘latte’ friends out on their garbage,” Chell tweeted at Siegel. “Well get your popcorn ready, we have a strong platform too!” — Jeff Coltin DYSLEXIC, ARRESTED, ENACTED: Younger detainees in city jails finally started getting screened for dyslexia in October, a Department of Correction spokesperson told Playbook, nearly two years after Adams took office promising a plan. Adams himself is dyslexic and has said that dyslexia screening would be his “signature issue,” like former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s universal pre-K. But even as Adams consistently mentioned that a high rate of people on Rikers Island had dyslexia, actually starting a program to get them services didn’t seem to be a top priority. Amid a contentious interview on “The Breakfast Club” on Friday, Adams mentioned he had dyslexia screening on Rikers, subtly pitching it as an anti-recidivism tactic so “we can catch people who are thrown overboard before they get thrown overboard.” Sure enough, the program quietly began in October — after a planned September start date, the Daily News reported — with optional screening for all people in custody aged 18 to 21. If they’re at risk for dyslexia, they’ll be referred to classes at East River Academy, the public school in the jail. Screening will have to expand to all people in custody before 2026 to comply with a law introduced by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and signed by Adams. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Life in the city has been especially grim for Latinos, a recent survey revealed, laying bare the compounding obstacles Adams faces in serving a key constituency. (POLITICO) — Tensions between Adams adviser Timothy Pearson and an NYPD chief backing a sergeant now accusing Pearson of sexual harassment were so heated in April 2023 that the mayor’s brother stepped in. (Daily News) — The first week of the city’s rollout of a controversial plan to give preloaded debit cards to migrant families went off without a hitch, officials say. (Gothamist)
| | | | A message from Amazon:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Over a dozen organizations are set to release a letter to top Albany leadership urging them to include a provision in the final budget agreement that would regulate AI in political speech. | Courtesy of the New York State Office of General Services | AI CONTROL: More than a half dozen civic groups and government accountability organizations today will make an urgent plea to top state officials: Now is the time to regulate artificial intelligence in political campaigns. The organizations are set to release a letter to Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to include a provision in the final budget agreement meant to regulate AI in political speech. Driving the anxiety over the use of AI is how the technology can be used to purposefully sew misinformation and confusion. Political figures from President Joe Biden to Manhattan Democratic Chair Keith Wright have all had their voices copied using AI in order to advance false claims or narratives. “Time is of the essence,” the groups wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Playbook. “We recognize that it is not feasible to address every aspect of the challenge posed by the latest advances in deceptive AI technology in time for the 2024 election, but that is no excuse for inaction.” Hochul has been supportive of efforts to crack down on AI usage through new disclosure requirements. Sen. Kristin Gonzalez, a Queens Democrat, has backed similar legislation that is expected to receive sponsorship from Assemblymember Steve Otis. Hochul last month told POLITICO’s Governors Summit she wanted stringent regulations to address the issue while also spending heavily to take advantage of AI’s economic possibilities. “Every politician can see this playing a major role in the next election,” she said. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Competitors of the overdose drug Narcan are lobbying the state government ahead of a contract expiration this August. (Times Union) — Mental health care needs have spiked in New York, but treatment capacity has fallen during that same time. (LoHud) — Hochul defended her decision to attend the wake of a slain NYPD officer. (POLITICO)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — A man who is accused of fatally shoving a stranger into the subway last week had been previously placed in specialized homeless shelters meant to help people with severe mental illness. (New York Times) — More government intervention is needed to assist local emergency medical services agencies contending with a drop in workers and inadequate funding, a state comptroller’s audit found. (Times Union) — Halfway into his term, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has struggled to make headway on major challenges that were at the center of his campaign. (Newsday)
| | | | A message from Amazon: Small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon, like 3 Moms Organics, employ more than 1.5 million Americans.
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Learn how Amazon supports independent sellers. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) … Rachel Maddow … NYT’s Michael Crowley … Julia Hahn … Sean Weppner … Max Segan … (WAS SUNDAY): MSNBC’s Ari Melber … Al Gore … NYT’s Astead Herndon … CNN’s Sara Murray … Ben White … Alan Zibel … Wellesley Daniels … former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) … Luke McGeeney … (WAS SATURDAY): Drew Maloney of the American Investment Council … NYT’s Alex Kingsbury … CBS’ Richard Escobedo … Joe Kildea of the Club for Growth … Suzy Khimm … Visa’s Jeremy Sturchio … Oded Balilty ... Leora Einleger … Robert Fishman … Paul Hoffman … (WAS FRIDAY): City Council Member Nantasha Williams … Stephen Feinberg … Nouriel Roubini … Peter Berkowsky MAKING MOVES: Community Voices Heard Director of Policy and Strategy Alison Wilkey has joined the Coalition for the Homeless as the director of government affairs and strategic campaigns. … Tali Benkoe, a social worker with the Met Council, has joined JQY as a trans and gender nonconforming support coordinator. … Dr. Richard Dal Col has become the new president of insurer MVP Health Care, he was previously enterprise chief medical officer at Emblem Health.
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