| | | | |  | | By Jason Beeferman | | | Happening now:
- City officials prepare to implement Sammy’s Law and lower speed limits.
- Hochul builds housing on state land on Long Island.
- An NYPD Chief has social media beef, and lawmakers want him to stop.
|  Sammy's Law, which would give New York City the authority to lower speed limits to 20 mph, was passed as part of the state budget in April. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO | SAMMY’S LAW: Amy Cohen lost her son Sammy in October of 2013 when a white van struck him as he chased after a soccer ball that rolled into the street. Since that day, Cohen has pushed to make city streets safer, lobbying Albany to pass a measure allowing New York City to lower speed limits on almost all streets to 20 miles per hour. Now that Sammy’s Law finally made it into the state budget in April, Mayor Eric Adams has two options at his disposal for implementation: He can direct his Department of Transportation to change the speed limits on a street-by-street basis — an option that would still involve community input — or he can support a push in the City Council to lower the limits citywide. Each option would require speed limit signs, traffic signals and speed cameras to be adjusted. And if the council lowers the limit, drivers would receive a warning instead of a fine during the first six months of the speed limit change. Last May, the mayor and council Speaker Adrienne Adams passed a local message in support of Sammy’s Law, but the speaker’s office wouldn’t divulge her preference for how to actually accomplish lower speed limits. Some city legislators are ready to push for the measure anyway. Council member Lincoln Restler, for instance, told Playbook he is looking to lower speed limits to 20 mph through the City Council. Mayor Adams’ office and the DOT said they will announce their plan for implementing Sammy’s Law before it goes into effect June 19. “No family should have to suffer through the loss of a loved one due to traffic violence, and the Adams administration is grateful for Governor Hochul and legislative leaders providing New York City with another tool to keep everyone safe on our streets,” Nick Benson, the spokesperson for the city DOT, said in a statement. While the measure’s implementation is still being worked out, Cohen said she is “thrilled” to see the law finally passed. “This was not just about Sammy,” said Cohen, who co-founded the advocacy group Families for Safe Streets. “This is Ally's law for Amy Tam and Hsi-Pei Liao who lost their 3-year-old daughter two days before Sammy died. This is Giovanni's law. This is a measure for all of us in Families for Safe Streets who lost a loved one and this is a measure for all of the lives that we will save.” — Jason Beeferman | | | | 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.
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Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to build housing on state land on Long Island. | Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | HOCHUL IN THE SUBURBS: Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled plans to turn a 13-acre site in East Farmingdale, Long Island into a mixed-use residential development — the first state-owned property targeted for new housing. The site, which has been vacant since the 1990s, is currently owned by the state Department of Transportation as part of Republic Airport. The land was previously used for airplane manufacturing, but the structures on it are now empty and primed for demolition, officials said. “Leveraging state-owned land is a significant opportunity to increase housing supply and help New Yorkers find a place to call home,” Hochul said in a statement. The state’s economic development arm issued a request for proposals on Friday to redevelop the Suffolk County site — a move backed by local officials, including County Executive Ed Romaine, a Republican, and Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer. “The redevelopment of the state owned Conklin Street in East Farmingdale will transform this blighted area while providing much needed housing,” Romaine said in a statement. — Janaki Chadha
| | FROM CITY HALL | | | | 
Lawmakers are calling on NYPD Chief of Patrol Services John Chell to be disciplined for his social media posts. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | CHELL OUT, DUDE: NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell has taken his beef with Democratic Socialist Council Member Tiffany Cabán too far, more than three dozen elected officials said. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman and city Comptroller Brad Lander were among those who signed an open letter, first reported by the Daily News, arguing that Chell’s tweets prove he was engaging in political activity using city resources. Cabán “hates our city” Chell posted on X Thursday. He went on to urge like-minded people to “seek the change you want by getting involved.” He was more clear in April, tweeting at Cabán writing in part “If you want change, vote the change you seek.” Chell’s tweets seem to be avoiding explicit politicking, so it’s highly unlikely he actually violated the Conflicts of Interest section of the City Charter that the letter cites. But the posts are part of a pattern of aggressive, opinionated commentary from Chell and other NYPD leaders — and defended by the mayor. City Hall officials didn’t respond to a request for comment. Mayor Adams further escalated tensions with the council Friday by asking Speaker Adams to investigate Restler for, among other claims, disparaging mayoral friend and adviser Tim Pearson at a Thursday oversight hearing on sexual harassment. — Jeff Coltin
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S ENERGY SUMMIT: The future of energy faces a crossroads in 2024 as policymakers and industry leaders shape new rules, investments and technologies. Join POLITICO’s Energy Summit on June 5 as we convene top voices to examine the shifting global policy environment in a year of major elections in the U.S. and around the world. POLITICO will examine how governments are writing and rewriting new rules for the energy future and America’s own role as a major exporter. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | On the Beats | | |  Gov. Kathy Hochul was at Farmingdale State College on Friday morning to celebrate the expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program. | Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE BUDGET: Hochul took the podium on Friday to highlight higher education priorities included in the enacted state budget passed last month. The governor touted an expansion of the state’s Tuition Assistance Program and a mandate requiring schools to assist high school students in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Hochul also mentioned the $114 million increase in funding allocated to SUNY in the budget. On Thursday SUNY announced that a majority of that money will be used to help cover a $148 million overall increase in salaries for faculty members across the 64-campus system. The largest sum of money discussed on Friday was the Empire AI initiative, a $275 million investment for a super computer that will be housed in the University at Buffalo. The plan will include a consortium made up of public and private colleges, tech companies, and organizations. “We are taking significant steps to ensure all New York students have access to the financial support they need to continue their education and become the next generation of leaders in our state,” Hochul said in a statement. — Katelyn Cordero
| | |  Hope Hicks, a former aide to former president Donald Trump, testified in the criminal trial against him. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP | CONFIDANTE TAKES STAND: Trusted top Donald Trump aide Hope Hicks testified today in the former president’s hush money trial about the infamous “Access Hollywood” video released during his 2016 campaign. The video from 2005 depicts him vulgarly bragging about his sexual approach to women. Trump was involved in crafting a campaign response to the tape but wasn’t especially worried about the comments he made, which he viewed as “pretty standard stuff for two guys chatting with each other,” Hicks said from the stand. Hicks, who was Trump’s press secretary, later said Trump was “concerned how it would be viewed by his wife,” a sentiment boosting the defense’s case. She had also described the media storm and fallout from the tape as “intense” and damaging. Manhattan prosecutors seek to show that Trump conspired to influence the 2016 election by unlawfully falsifying business records. They allege the “Access Hollywood” tape going public motivated him to suppress other negative stories and pay an adult film actress to keep quiet. Trump this afternoon responded with an all-caps Truth Social post that in part charged that stories from eight years ago have “HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS FAKE CASE.” — Emily Ngo
| | |  A PAC behind Rep. Jamaal Bowman blasts his primary challenger for taking money from donors that Bowman supporters say are anti-abortion. | Justice Democrats PAC | CHECK YOUR MAILBOX: A new mailer from a progressive PAC backing Bowman is attacking his Democratic primary opponent George Latimer for taking money from donors who also support anti-abortion Republicans. The mailer highlights a January Latimer fundraiser hosted by Alex Dubitsky, an insurance executive who’s previously given to Trump and the RNC. And it says that AIPAC, a major backer of Latimer’s run, is “tied to anti-abortion extremism across America.” Bowman is one of the most progressive members of Congress, and Latimer’s right wing support has been the Squad member’s main line of attack against his challenger. It’s the second pro-Bowman mailer from Justice Democrats PAC, which is primarily funded by the Working Families Party, and progressive individual donors. Another mailer declared “Republican billionaires love George Latimer” over a photo of the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol. "These types of desperate lies are why voters know they can't trust Jamaal Bowman. George Latimer is 100% pro choice,” a Latimer spokesperson said in a statement responding to the mailer. Justice Dems spent about $46,000 on the mailer — a drop in the bucket compared to what outside groups are expected to spend supporting Latimer in NY-16. AIPAC-affiliated groups could spend up to $25 million in the race, The Intercept reported Friday. — Jeff Coltin
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A “hidden” $1.4 billion tax will make New York City water bills rise. (New York Times) — A NYPD officer ‘accidentally’ shot a gun during Tuesday’s raid of Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, the DA’s office confirmed. (THE CITY) — New York and five other states reached a $270 million settlement with opioid manufacturer Amneal Pharmaceuticals. (Newsday) | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
