| | | | |  | | By Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Shawn Ness
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Gov. Kathy Hochul left Albany in chaos after unexpectedly pulling support for congestion pricing plan. | Mary Altaffer/AP | Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to drop her support for congestion pricing lit Albany’s collective hair on fire just as state lawmakers were planning a sleepy end to the legislative session. The abrupt move by the governor plunged the state Capitol into chaos over the political and financial implications of the decision to pull back from a controversial tolling plan that was due to take effect on June 30. “I’ve been here 24 years between the two houses,” Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris told Playbook. “In a place that’s seen its share of unexpected developments, this was particularly unexpected.” Today looks to be the final day of the legislative session. And lawmakers will likely be eager to put this week behind them. The penultimate session day was spent trying to triage the revenue problem created by the indefinite shelving of congestion pricing by Hochul, a move that has left her fellow Democrats flabbergasted. “We’ve had to scramble to deal with the rapidly developing situation,” Gianaris said. Senate and Assembly lawmakers inside an increasingly humid Capitol building on Thursday huddled over a proposed business payroll tax increase for the MTA to cover the expense of projects. The tax idea was quickly rejected, with many lawmakers mindful of a payroll tax debacle from more than a decade ago that was blamed on Democrats losing the majority in the state Senate. The tax plan’s rejection forced a new plan: Dipping into the state’s general fund to provide $1 billion a year as a guarantee against a bond (hitting it big at this weekend’s Belmont Stakes in Saratoga Springs had not been floated, at least as far as Playbook was told). Republicans, powerless in Albany, were able to chortle at the dysfunction. “It turned this place into a Dumpster fire,” Republican Assemblymember Matt Slater said of Hochul’s reversal. “I’m having a blast, are you kidding me? I love it.” Hochul herself is yet to take questions about one of the most consequential policy decisions she’s made since taking office. Tortured revenue proposals are nothing new in Albany. But the lack of an immediate plan B after Hochul’s decision to yank her support for congestion pricing only served to highlight the haphazard approach to such a complex issue. “Someone should have thought of this before they pulled the plug,” state Sen. Peter Harckham said. “Let’s put it that way.” The hurried rollout of the announcement on Wednesday by Hochul after POLITICO broke the news also made for maladroit interactions with congestion pricing opponents. Hochul’s team reached out to the Trucking Association of New York following her announcement to request a validator quote in support. The organization, which filed a federal lawsuit to halt the plan, told the governor’s office in a statement that its suit was still on. Afterall, the group told Playbook Thursday, no formal suspension of the program has actually been made by the MTA. — Nick Reisman HAPPY FRIDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Amazon: When Rachel Gutierrez-Aguirre was looking to take her handcrafted coffee beyond Brooklyn, she turned to Amazon because of the tools it offers sellers. “I’m thrilled to see Amazon providing this level of dedicated support to sellers.” she said. Amazon invests billions of dollars in people, resources, and tools that support local entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. See the impact. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule and still no scheduled press events since she made her video announcement to cut congestion pricing Wednesday morning. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at NYREC’s 2024 Emerging Leaders and Markets Conference, then at DOC Recruit Graduation and Promotion Ceremony and hosting a roundtable discussion with the Nepali community. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The address provided by Kennedy on his petition … fails to meet the residency requirement of the New York State Election Law by any measure of the definition.” — Clear Choice Action super PAC in a legal challenge to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential ballot access in the state. Kennedy’s campaign did not immediately respond.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | 
The Working Families Party is providing a tool for voters to see where AIPAC's money is going in the NY-16 Congressional race. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | TRACKING AIPAC: To keep voters’ eyes on the outsized role AIPAC is playing in the bitter Jamaal Bowman-George Latimer primary, the New York Working Families Party has launched a website devoted to tracking spending in the race by the pro-Israel lobbying group, Playbook has learned. AIPAC’s United Democracy Project has spent or reserved more than 80 percent of the $13 million in ad buys in the Westchester County and Bronx district, according to AdImpact. “Voters in NY-16 deserve to know who’s behind the barrage of misinformation and attack ads,” said state WFP co-director Jasmine Gripper, knocking AIPAC’s “Republican mega-donors.” The state of the race has been AIPAC fundraising off of Bowman’s fundraising off of AIPAC. AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, continues to condemn the House member as too far left for his district. “We proudly stand with pro-Israel progressive George Latimer in contrast to his opponent who is aligned with the anti-Israel extremist fringe,” AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said in response to the WFP website. Latimer has noted that he’s endorsed by labor groups in addition to AIPAC and told Playbook, “They don’t own me and AIPAC does not own me.” Thus far ahead of the June 25 primary, UDP has spent $10.6 million in ads, Bowman $1.2 million, Latimer $967,000 and the Working Families Party $169,000. — Emily Ngo
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New York City's Department of Education is seeking to teach parents how to safely store guns to better protect children. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | GUN SAFETY: In the wake of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that chipped away at New York City firearm restrictions, the Department of Education is equipping New York City parents with additional gun safety resources. At a Thursday press briefing at City Hall, the mayor, two Congress members and advocates announced the DOE would be sharing a new, three-page letter with New York households offering suggestions on how to safely store guns, including information on types of gun locks. “A simple letter, a simple notification will make parents who have guns in their homes think differently,” Mayor Eric Adams said. The list originally emanated from the Biden administration and was recommended to the Adams administration by Rep. Dan Goldman, who has co-sponsored federal legislation requiring gun owners to secure firearms away from minors. Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, Congress’ first Gen Z member and longtime activist, joined Adams and Goldman at City Hall in welcoming the move as a step toward curtailing gun violence against children. The announcement comes after a 12-year-old accidentally shot and killed his 14-year-old cousin in Brooklyn last weekend. — Isa Farfan and Jillian Peprah-Frimpong A CONGESTION PRICING CRITIC REJOICES: Adams’ top aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin has been a proud, open and on-the-record hater of congestion pricing for years — contrasting with the mayor, who’s kept a tone of vague support while raising concerns. In a magazine profile, Lewis-Martin even took credit for killing then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing proposal in 2008, when she was working for Adams in the state Senate. That’s in stark contrast with admin players like Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi and Planning Commissioner Dan Garodnick who both publicly questioned Hochul’s decision to delay it indefinitely. But Lewis-Martin’s thoughts on this week’s news? “God answered my prayers,” she told Playbook. “By way of Kathy Hochul.” — Jeff Coltin ROOM 9 POLICY: Adams’ office plans to cut news outlets’ desks in the City Hall press room, limiting assigned space to just one per company, in response to complaints from LittleAfrica News and the New York City Association of Local and Ethnic Media. Outlets including POLITICO, the Post and the Daily News are each assigned multiple desks, while other outlets, such as El Diario and the Staten Island Advance, have one each. Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy announced Thursday the new policy is meant to free up space for more outlets to work from the room. Currently, reporters from outlets like amNew York and City & State aren’t officially assigned space but frequently work out of Room 9 sitting at any one of the room’s 19 desks, which are often empty. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — A top Adams aide, Tim Pearson, was named in a third lawsuit for allegedly retaliating against a staffer — who was also approached by the FBI regarding Pearson. (POLITICO Pro) — Adams aide Rana Abbasova, who’s cooperating with federal investigators, flew to Turkey for free as part of her government duties. (Daily News) — The Council overwhelmingly passed legislation to give itself greater oversight of top mayoral appointments — a major step in a longer process that’s expected to include a veto from Adams. (POLITICO)
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A state super PAC is throwing their cash behind two incumbents in key Assembly races in New York City. | Hans Pennink/AP | PACS PLAYING BIG IN ASSEMBLY RACES: A new state super PAC with hedge fund money is pledging to spend more than $100,000 to boost moderate Democrats running against socialists in three Assembly primaries. First in Playbook, Stand Up PAC is planning to run digital ads and pay canvassers to support Assemblymember Michael Benedetto in the East Bronx, Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman in Central Brooklyn and Jordan Wright, who’s running for an open seat in Upper Manhattan. The independent expenditure committee’s biggest donors are hedge funders John Petry and Daniel Loeb, who are also on the board of the Success Academy charter school network. Stand Up NY was founded by Democratic fundraisers Zak Malamed and Lily Patricof and consultant Alexander Freedman, who said in a release that “for far too long, the seeds of extremism have been sown in New York’s political landscape.” Those three candidates are also getting thousands of dollars directed to them through Solidarity PAC, a new pro-Israel group that’s becoming a force in Assembly races. New York Focus reported that the PAC drove at least $300,000 to nine candidates — making up more than half of some candidates’ contributions over the last two months. — Jeff Coltin More from Albany: — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says he'll vote 'yes' on the Medical Aid in Dying Act, but the state Senate is a stumbling block to passage. (Spectrum) — A new bill would set deadlines on the casino bidding process, thereby accelerating the dates for required community input. (POLITICO Pro) — When reporters tried to look into the state Senate’s secretive Working Rules committee, they didn’t get far. (New York Focus)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | — The NY WFP is pulling its funding and ground support for Mondaire Jones over he backed Latimer over Bowman. (Gothamist) — Then-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney offered to pull out of NY-17 and let Jones run, but he turned him down because he preferred to run in a different district. (City & State) — A Democratic challenger to Rep. Elise Stefanik suggested MAGA supporters should attend a “re-education camp.” (Fox News) — Bowman and Latimer will debate Wednesday night in a faceoff moderated by NY1 anchors Errol Louis and Susan Arbetter. (NY1)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — The Nassau County legislature intends to pass a law to reinstate a ban on transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports at county facilities. (New York Post) — Convicting former President Donald Trump made Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg a star, so what’s next? (USA Today) — A smoke shop in Bay Ridge had a parrot living inside it for three months after the NYPD shut it down. (Brooklyn Paper)
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Learn how Amazon supports small businesses. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: David Greenberg has been named CFO at Vibrant Emotional Health. He most recently was deputy budget director for Mayor Adams’ administration. ... Tanbir Chowdhury is now director of public affairs for Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: WSJ’s Catherine Lucey … SKDK’s Stephanie Reichin … Jessie D’Angelo ... Vox’s Christina Animashaun … FGS Global’s Lars Anderson (5-0) … CNN’s Javier de Diego … Kaitlin Kirshner … Kevin Peraino … Sulome Anderson … Sema Emiroglu … (WAS THURSDAY): Boaz Weinstein ... Frederic Block ... Daniel Rosenthal Missed Thursday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
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