| | | | |  | | By Emily Ngo, Nick Reisman and Jeff Coltin | | Presented by |  | | | With hep from Shawn Ness 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.
|  Former President Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial will come to a close today. | Yuki Iwamura/AP | The prosecution and defense in former President Donald Trump’s historic hush-money trial are slated to deliver their closing arguments today in lower Manhattan. And verdict watch is set to begin as soon as Wednesday. New York City elected and police officials say they’re ready for whatever comes next as the jury deliberates whether Trump falsified business records as a means of election interference, attempting during his 2016 campaign to bury a story about his alleged affair with an adult film star. So what does come next? It is hard to say when a verdict will be delivered, what that verdict will be and how the public — including pro- and anti-Trump protesters — will react. But there are clues to follow. POLITICO reporters who’ve been inside the courthouse for the trial’s four-plus weeks break down the key moments here. Despite questions about the credibility of key prosecution witness Michael Cohen, “the basic facts of what happened are going to be pretty well established in terms of who has paid what amounts and when,” senior legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein noted. However, establishing the former president’s guilt on felony charges requires persuading “all 12 of the jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified records with the intent to conceal ‘another crime,’ such as breaking election laws,” POLITICO Magazine senior writer Ankush Khardori stressed in a separate analysis. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for 2024, has had a parade of loyalists at his side in court in the last couple of weeks, including elected officials from around the country vying to be his running mate. But day to day, outside the courthouse, his rallying supporters have been small in number, even if they are deeply devoted. “It’s very disappointing,” Brooklyn resident Dion Cini (a Trump swag hawker, natch) told Playbook recently, comparing the paltry crowd to the masses who gather for campaign rallies. “Thankfully, I’m un-cancelable; you can’t cancel me. But most MAGA people are afraid just to have their picture taken and lose their job.” Still, the police barricades went up around Collect Pond Park in anticipation of demonstrations ahead of April 15, when jury selection began, and they’ve stayed there since — along with a visible presence of NYPD and court officers. (“We will continue to be prepared for any situation that may arise,” a police spokesperson told Playbook on Monday.) President Joe Biden is making plans to respond to whether Trump is convicted, acquitted or there’s a hung jury, after staying mum on his criminal trials, POLITICO reported. And expect Trump to deliver remarks, too, likely attacking judges and prosecutors involved in his criminal and civil trials, if his Memorial Day wishes on Truth Social “to ALL, including the Human Scum” are any indication. — Emily Ngo HAPPY FIRST TUESDAY OF SUMMER: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Some of New York’s wealthiest nonprofit hospitals are taking advantage of a program that is supposed to help vulnerable patients more affordably access medicines – it’s padding hospital bottom lines instead. Let’s stand up for New York patients and hold these hospitals accountable. Learn more. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Meeting with youth mental health advocates in Albany. WHERE’S ERIC? Hosting a breakfast with the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York, then a media availability, and then a community conversation in Queens. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s no secret what we are up against: A concerted effort to put corporate profits over the well-being of millions of young people.” — Gov. Kathy Hochul, calling for the approval of a pair of bills to regulate social media in a New York Post op-ed.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Liquor stores are looking to halt the bill that would allow the shipment of alcohol. | Hans Pennink/AP | THINK OF THE CHILDREN: Liquor stores are trying to put a cork in an Albany proposal to allow the direct shipment of spirits from manufacturers to consumers’ homes — and they’re stepping up their pressure by warning of the measure’s potential effect on kids. Flyers are popping up at liquor stores across the state depicting a delivery person bringing a box of booze to a minor. The proposal is one of a handful of high-profile measures in play as the state's annual legislative session draws to a close over the next two weeks. If Hochul’s past actions are any indication, this bill stands a decent chance of becoming law if it clears the Legislature. (The governor has been willing to tackle the state’s decades-old alcohol and beverage control laws, allowing for to-go drinks and expanding the hours liquor stores can stay open.) In the meantime, the debate persists. “There are consumers who are concerned, there are liquor store owners who are concerned,” Michael Correra, a Brooklyn liquor store owner and the executive director of a statewide industry organization, told Playbook. “Look what’s happening with the marijuana business. This is a good business. It’s a control product, but we have a system that’s in place. But if you want to loosen up regulations, who knows what happens.” It’s a scenario that sponsors of the bill insist isn’t possible for a variety of reasons, including the need for a person over the age of 21 to accept any liquor shipment. “Instead of arguing on the merits, and they know they’re losing on the merits, they are turning to falsehoods,” state Sen. James Skoufis told reporters at a news conference earlier this month. Skoufis and Assemblymember Donna Lupardo point to the existing law permitting wine shipments to homes as well as a pandemic-era provision that allowed distillers to send their wares to consumers. “There is not a shred of evidence that underage drinking was an issue,” he said. — Nick Reisman
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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been making his website more New York City-centric. | Richard Drew/AP | EASIER THAN WRITING ANOTHER BOOK: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been updating his political website — in some cases, making it more NYC-centric — in just the latest move to stoke speculation he’s preparing to run for office again. References to the Second Avenue Subway and the Kosciuszko Bridge were added to a rundown of infrastructure projects mentioning the airports and the Mario Cuomo Bridge. A line about Upstate New York “no longer treated as the forgotten stepchild of Albany” was removed. And Cuomo’s time serving as an assistant district attorney in “New York” was updated to specify “Manhattan.” The changes and dozens of other tweaks come as Cuomo has been pitching himself to politically influential labor leaders as a potential candidate for either mayor — more likely if Mayor Eric Adams doesn’t run — or governor, the Daily News reported Sunday. Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi called the site updates “routine maintenance to reflect not only his decade-plus as governor but also his 40-some-odd years of public service.” He noted that Cuomo has been more active lately, giving speeches and writing op-eds, and his team has been linking to all of them on the site. “It’s humorous that there are certain tipsters that keep a close eye on this stuff,” Azzopardi added. “With all the failures of the federal government on down to provide affordable housing, it still shocks me to know that Andrew Cuomo lives rent-free in some people’s heads.” Cuomo’s “About Andrew” page was clearly due for an update. Until this month it said, “Cuomo is the 56th governor of New York State.” Now, nearly three years after he resigned under pressure, it finally says Cuomo “served as” the governor. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — The Adams administration has been working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to work around the city’s sanctuary city policies — in a change from the de Blasio era. (New York Post) — A new deal with the city lifeguard union modifies some physical job qualifications and wrests some control of training from the union back to the Parks Department. (THE CITY) — Recent graduates of city schools could soon be patrolling the halls under a new effort to boost the ranks of school safety agents. (Gothamist)
| | | | A message from PhRMA:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget office is predicting the state's budget gaps are shrinking. | Hans Pennink/AP | MIND THE GAP: Future year state budget gaps are shrinking, but still total billions of dollars, according to an updated financial plan from Hochul’s budget office. The gaps between expected revenue and anticipated spending are pegged at $2.3 billion next year and $7.3 within three years. An analysis by the Fiscal Policy Institute found the new projected gaps at “historically low” levels. “These gaps are largely driven by very conservative revenue projections for future years. If revenue simply keeps pace with inflation in future years, as is typical outside of severe recessions, the gaps will disappear without further policy action,” the left-of-center think tank concluded. All this comes as the state’s Division of Budget acknowledges a range of economic uncertainties facing New York for the rest of the decade, including the post-pandemic aftershocks on population growth and the real estate sector. But as the Citizens Budget Commission — which advocates for fiscal restraint — points out, New York has $21.1 billion in its rainy day fund after the state added $1.5 billion to its savings as part of the budget agreement. Hochul has pointed to the beefed-up rainy day fund as a potential bulwark against any economic downturn. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — New York lawmakers are moving to expand the number of state Supreme Court justices in order to address a backlog. (Times Union) — Allowing people to vote while in prison will likely fall short this year. (Gothamist) — Opposition to even-year elections is expanding to include more towns on Long Island. (Newsday)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — About one-fifth of state court reporter jobs are empty, and it could hamper the daily functioning of the system, which is already facing a backlog. (Gothamist) — The Bowman-Latimer proxy war over Gaza masks their differences over how they’d serve NY-16. (The Hudson Independent) — Trump endorsed Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in a race that is widely viewed as a “must-win” for Republicans. (5 Towns Jewish Times)
| | | | A message from PhRMA: The 340B drug pricing program was designed to help vulnerable patients more affordably access medicines at qualifying hospitals and clinics. But a lack of accountability has led to large hospitals, chain pharmacies and other middlemen, like PBMs, profiting from a program that should be benefiting patients. Let’s hold these groups accountable and stand up for New York patients. Learn more. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: First Deputy Public Advocate Nick Smith is leaving Jumaane Williams’ office to become executive director of a housing legal services organization. MEDIAWATCH: Times Union legal affairs reporter Robert Gavin is joining The Buffalo News as Albany bureau chief. … Bryn McCarthy is heading to NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert” to be the show’s senior booking producer. She most recently was booking producer for Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier.” WEDDING — Melissa Frydman, director of integrated content development at CNN, on May 18 married Sebastian Strauss, the global macro senior analyst in the office of the president at Eurasia Group and a Brookings alum. The couple met in D.C. on a dating app five years ago and wed at Oheka Castle in Huntington, N.Y. Pic ... Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rudy Giuliani … Edelman’s Chris Donahoe … Uber’s Josh Gold … Isabella Moschen Storey … Michelle Fawbush Donnelly … Coleen Jose … Kim Ton-That. … (WAS MONDAY): NYT’s Campbell Robertson, Noam Scheiber and Randy Lemmerman … Andrew Harnik … Benny Johnson … Thalia Assuras … Cynthia McFadden … Katharine Galaxy (Gallogly) … (WAS SUNDAY): Mike Harney … Devon Spurgeon … NBC’s Tom Ranzweiler … Vox’s Noel King … Cheryl Cohen Effron … Sabrina Correa … Derek Wallbank … Gwen Rocco … (WAS SATURDAY): David Sacks … Anna Palmer … Greg Bluestein … Kate Ackley Zeller of Bloomberg Government … Katie (Allen) Bruce … CBS’ Stefan Becket … ABC’s Jay O’Brien … Edelman’s Amy Fox … Micha Tomkiewicz ... Doron Ben-Atar … (WAS FRIDAY): Bob Dylan ... Michael Chabon ... Herbert Wachtell ... David Adelman.
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