| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin | With help from Irie Sentner DRINKS ON US — Come celebrate the end of session with POLITICO. We’re hosting a happy hour on Wednesday, May 29, at the Albany War Room Tavern. Join fellow New York insiders for drinks and hors d'oeuvres, meet our editorial team and learn more about our coverage of politics, policy and power in Albany. You can RSVP here.
| | Happening now:
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is pushing a state bill that would limit aid to Israel.
- Attorney General Tish James announced a major settlement against cryptocurrency companies.
- Mayor Eric Adams said the NYPD handled a pro-Palestinian protest well over the weekend.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a deal with SUNY as she continues her time in Ireland.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is supporting a bill called “Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli settler violence Act.” | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO | NOT ON HER DIME: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw her political weight behind a New York state bill that would strip tax-exempt status from charities that help fund Israeli settlements or include any potentially illegal actions by Israeli troops. “It’s one of the many ways in which U.S. and New York taxpayers and our taxpayer funds are going to violence abroad, instead of investing here, back home,” Ocasio-Cortez said at a press conference by her Bronx office this morning, flanked by a dozen progressive New York lawmakers and representatives from the union UAW Region 9A. The bill, called the “Not on our dime!: Ending New York funding of Israeli Settler Violence Act” is a priority of the Democratic Socialists of America and is sponsored by DSA-aligned lawmakers — Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and state Sen. Jabari Brisport. First introduced last year, the bill was amended this week to include charities “aiding and abetting activity by the Israeli armed forces,” the government or citizens found illegal by the International Criminal Court. The ICC today said it is seeking the arrest of both Israel and Hamas leaders, accusing them of committing war crimes. It also picked up new sponsors, including state Sens. Robert Jackson and Julia Salazar. Still, the bill has failed to gain traction in Albany and faces stringent opposition from many Jewish groups, which consider the bill antisemitic for focusing only on Israel. “The Not On Our Dime Act is an attempt by the DSA far left to force the New York legal system to dictate private Jewish charities,” Sara Forman, executive director of the pro-Israel New York Solidarity Network, said in a statement. Supporters counter that there are specific New York-based charities that should not be given government support, like the Long Island-based One Israel Fund, which has bought aerial surveillance drones for Israel settlements. “There are so many incredible Jewish charities and organizations in the state of New York,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And so it is important to draw a very strong line, and to ensure that we're not mincing words that settler violence does not have to do with the funding of Jewish charitable organizations. And that these two things are separate.” Amid increasing mainstream Democratic opposition to Israeli government actions in Gaza, Ocasio-Cortez sought to portray herself, and the bill, as aligned with President Joe Biden and U.S. foreign policy more broadly. Her role as a member of Congress is aiming to “cease U.S. funding for human rights abuses, war crimes and violations abroad,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “More specifically, when President Biden draws a red line at Rafah, it needs to be a red line at Rafah. And that red line means that U.S. resources should not go to violating US red lines.” The bill doesn’t have support from legislative leaders or the governor. Mamdani said they’re working on building support. A high-profile endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez is getting the bill more attention, and she said it was important for her to get involved, given the intense opposition. “It is politically perilous to do something like this,” she said. “And I believe that when people, especially elected officials, when they stick their necks out, when they risk their careers in order to stand up for human rights, then they deserve to be supported.” — Jeff Coltin
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Three bankrupt crypto firms are paying up $2 billion to Attorney General Tish James to establish a defrauded investors victims fund. | Alex Kent/AFP via Getty Images | A MAJOR SETTLEMENT: Three crypto firms are paying up $2 billion to Attorney General Tish James after going bankrupt. It’s the largest settlement from cryptocurrency companies in the state’s history, she said today. Genesis Global Capital, Genesis Asia Pacific LTD and Genesis Global Holdco declared bankruptcy and were also found to have defrauded their investors, James said. The money will be used to establish a defrauded investors victims fund. At least 29,000 New Yorkers and hundreds of thousands nationwide contributed over $1 billion to Genesis. “This historic settlement is a major step toward ensuring the victims who invested in Genesis have a semblance of justice,” James said in a statement. “Once again, we see the real-world consequences and detrimental losses that can happen because of a lack of oversight and regulation within the cryptocurrency industry.” The victims fund will also get whatever money Genesis has left after it is done making its investors whole. If the creditors do not get the money, the fund will get up to $2 billion of Genesis’ remaining assets, James explained. — Shawn Ness
| | FROM CITY HALL | | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams has been a staunch defender of the NYPD during his time in office. | John Minchillo/AP Photo | ADAMS DEFENDS NYPD: New York City Mayor Eric Adams backed his police force today after viral footage Saturday of officers attacking pro-Palestinian demonstrators. “What you don’t have the right to do is ride on top of buses. You don’t have a right to spit in the faces of police officers, to destroy property, to resist arrest [and] to try to take a person under control of police … back,” the mayor, a retired police captain, said during a radio interview. “Those police officers did a commendable job under very difficult circumstances.” Democrats across the ideological spectrum were critical of the tactics captured on video, such as officers punching several people while taking them into custody, shoving another person against a signpost and grabbing and arresting someone who was filming a group of officers walking down the street. The unrest unfolded at an annual event in Bay Ridge — a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Palestinian population — to commemorate the Nakba, a term Palestinians use to refer to their flight and expulsion before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The mayor said he would review what he referred to as an “isolated incident.” — Joe Anuta
| | On the Beats | | | | 
The “Fair College Admissions Act" would prohibit colleges from considering alumni relations as a factor in admissions decisions. | Columbia University | DOWN WITH LEGACY ADMISSIONS: High school students in the NYCLU's Teen Activist Project took to the state Capitol today to call on the state to ban legacy admissions in New York college campuses. The bill, known as the “Fair College Admissions Act,” sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Gournardes, would prohibit colleges from considering alumni relations as a factor in admissions decisions. If colleges don’t comply, they would face a penalty based on a calculation of student enrollment, as well as tuition and fees. The money the state receives from the penalties would be doled out to state tuition assistance awards for college students. If passed, the legislation would go into effect on July 1. The bill has a longshot of getting a vote in the Senate and Assembly with only 10 days left of the legislative session. It is still in committee in the Senate and has yet to move in the Assembly. “These legacy admissions favor wealthy, predominantly white families, leading — what we like to call — affirmative action for the privileged,” Gournardes said to the crowd of supporters. “The data that we have makes clear that legacy preference undermines racial and economic diversity and undercuts the very basic fair notion of what is right.” — Katelyn Cordero IRISH INTERCONNECTION: The SUNY system will be partnering with University College Cork, a part of the National University of Ireland system, to further her artificial intelligence push that was part of the budget. Hochul, continuing her tour of Ireland, said today that SUNY’s Collaborative Online International Learning Center will partner with the institution. The partnership aims to pioneer artificial intelligence research opportunities for SUNY students. “New York State is inviting University College Cork to become a partner through this program to encourage collaboration between faculty in Ireland and New York while expanding opportunities for SUNY students who are pioneering research in AI and other emerging fields right here in our state,” Hochul said in a statement. SUNY Oneonta, as the home of the learning center, will also play a role. They will dedicate resources towards the research. This comes on the heels of a $275 million investment in AI secured in the enacted budget to fund research and scholarship within the SUNY system. — Shawn Ness POST PRISON PAY PUSH: Advocates are promoting a new bill to significantly increase the amount of money people receive upon being released from New York’s prisons. Currently, freed inmates are given $40, a set of clothing and a bus ticket. The proposed “Gate Money Program” would raise it to $2,550. “It’s about offering dignity, a chance to rebuild and a step to a successful rehabilitation,” Assembly sponsor Eddie Gibbs, the only legislator who has spent time in prison, said at a Capitol rally. “With the appropriate financial assistance, this would empower people to focus on needs such as food, housing, securing employment, court related debts, and more, making a smoother transition back into society.” — Bill Mahoney
| | | | JOIN 5/22 FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF TAXATION: With Trump-era tax breaks set to expire in 2025, whoever wins control of Congress, and the White House will have the ability to revamp the tax code and with it reshape the landscape for business and social policy. Join POLITICO on May 22 for an exploration of what is at stake in the November elections with our panel dissecting the ways presidential candidates and congressional leaders are proposing to reshape our tax rates and incentives. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — More New Yorkers are turning on Adams, and some prominent Democrats are joining the pile-on. (The New York Times) — Michael Cohen admitted he stole from the Trump Organization at court today. (POLITICO) — Schenectady County Legislator Josh Cuomo called a Pride flag “obviously satanic” and is being slammed by county Democrats. (Times Union) | | | | 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 | | | | |
