| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | |  It was all smiles from Speaker Adrienne Adams after "landing the plane" with the mayor on the budget. | John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit | ‘THEY PLAYED THEM:’ For the first time in the Adams and Adams era, the City Council had some leverage over Mayor Eric Adams in the budget process. And they used it. The council officially passed the budget in a 46-3 vote Sunday afternoon, hours before the deadline. It was all smiles from Speaker Adrienne Adams — who notably had fewer defectors than the last two years. She touted that all the council’s budget priorities negotiated with the mayor had been fulfilled, and funding restored. Libraries and cultural institutions got all their money back, composting services were un-cut, and preschool funding was partially restored. In addition, a working group was formed to deal with the logistics of connecting children with available prekindergarten seats. The council got rolled in its first budget with Adams in 2022, and the speaker was openly unhappy with last year’s. But this time, amid heightened tension with the mayor, the speaker’s team did well, one lobbyist who was privy to budget negotiations told Playbook. “They understood the cards that they had, and they played them.” While the mayor has big structural advantages over the lawmakers, he’s in a politically weakened state less than a year until the June 2025 mayoral primary. Federal investigators are probing his 2021 campaign and close allies, he’s overseeing a migrant crisis with no signs of abating and his across-the-board, deep budget cuts were dragging him down. All his potential challengers have pointed to library closures, and it’s clear why. Last month’s poll from Slingshot Strategies — which is planning to work on an opposing mayoral bid — showed 72 percent of registered Democrats disapproved of the cuts. So the mayor is trying to spin himself as the guy who saved the libraries, rather than the guy who cut them. Grateful library and cultural representatives stood behind him at a post-budget-deal rally Friday. He’s back at it today, with a funding photo-op at a library. Council leadership argued from the beginning the reductions were unnecessary, so Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala is rolling her eyes. “He continues to cut, and then he puts us up against the wall,” she said Friday. “We have to fight tooth and nail to restore his cuts, and then he wants to do a victory lap.” The mayor and his budget team have emphasized the cuts — the vast majority of which were enacted, and not reversed — were necessary to cover the cost of housing asylum seekers and attend to other fiscal challenges. And they think voters are going to get that, despite the council’s grumbles. “The general public, we believe that they know what we were faced with,” Adams’ chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin told Playbook. “And they know that we did our best.” — Jeff Coltin IT’S MONDAY. Happy new New York City fiscal year! Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | 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.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Appearing on PIX11, 1010 WINS, NY1 and FOX5, then delivering remarks at an event celebrating the new budget and funding for the city’s library systems. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If Trump is in jail, Republicans will vote for him. If Biden is in a nursing home, [the Democrats] are going to vote for him.” — Former Rep. Charlie Rangel on Thursday’s presidential debate, speaking on WABC radio.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
President Joe Biden needs a friend, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has been a reliable one for him. | Stephanie Keith/Getty Images | RIDIN’ WITH BIDEN: Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t abandoning President Joe Biden. The governor has remained a full-throated champion for Biden in the days since his stumbling debate performance raised fresh questions over his age, mental dexterity and ability to continue with the rigors of a presidential campaign. In an MSNBC interview Sunday, Hochul dismissed calls for her fellow Democrat to step aside as nothing but punditry obsession. “You tune out the chattering class, the inside, the Beltway — and I used to be in Congress, I know what this is all about — editorial boards, everybody pontificating that they know the answers,” she said. “I know the answers and Americans know the answer.” The stakes are high in New York, a reliably blue state that nevertheless is home to an estimated half-dozen swing House seats this year. Typically, down-ballot Democrats perform well in New York during presidential election years, but a weak candidate atop the ticket could complicate the party’s efforts to regain control of the House. Both Hochul and Biden have underwhelming approval numbers among voters in New York, especially among those not registered with a party. A Siena College poll released this month found her favorable rating at only 38 percent. Biden only leads Trump by 8 points in New York, a state he won by 23 points in 2020. Nevertheless, Hochul remains a reliable surrogate for Biden, giving him a vocal supporter from one of the nation’s most prominent governors who has ready access to national media in New York City (Biden also campaigned for Hochul in 2022 when polls suggested her race against Republican Lee Zeldin was becoming a surprisingly tight one). And Hochul has refused to show any daylight between her and the top of the party’s national ticket. She spoke with Biden on Friday during his visit to New York City, where they both appeared at the opening ceremony of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center. Biden was focused, alert and conversational when she met with him, Hochul said. “I've been in countless debates with the intense scrutiny of the toughest media market in the country,” she said. “You can have a rough night, you can have a bad night, but the morning after defines you.” — Nick Reisman
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams has had differences with Biden, but didn't call on him to step aside. | Alex Brandon/AP | SORT OF RIDIN’ WITH BIDEN: Adams, meanwhile, was more muted in his response to questions about the president’s dismal debate performance, though he predicted Biden would have a chance to redeem himself. “Those decisions are made by people that are over my food chain,” Adams said Sunday on CBS New York’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer,” when asked whether Biden should be replaced at the top of the ticket. Adams went on: “During the campaign, you get wounds. That’s part of campaigning. … And the question becomes your ability to recover. That’s what it’s about. Can you recover?” The mayor sought to point out where Biden has notched major wins for the country, including funding public safety but returned to the issue central to the rift between him and the president: the influx of migrants. Where Hochul is an effusive Biden surrogate, Adams has fallen out with him after chastising the federal government for leaving cities to bear the brunt of the migrant crisis. — Emily Ngo More from the city: — FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh told Attorney General Tish James in a text she’s trying to “fix” the behavior of the workforce she oversees. (New York Post) — The How Many Stops Act, which requires the NYPD to record race, age and gender of civilians during investigations, goes into effect today. (Newsday) — Correction officers at Rikers Island will not wear body-worn cameras through at least September due to a technical problem with the devices. (Gothamist)
| | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
The T in LGBTQ+ doesn't stand for trains ... but it could, with Hochul's style choices. | Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | GOV <3 MASS TRANSIT: Hochul wants New Yorkers to know she really, really loves the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The first day congestion pricing was supposed to be in effect until Hochul put the toll program on an indefinite pause, the governor attended the New York City Pride March wearing a t-shirt with the MTA’s logo set against a Pride-themed rainbow heart. “I love the MTA,” she told reporters on Sunday. “I mean, the MTA is alive today because I was able to put a bailout program in place.” It’s a not-so-subtle signal by the western New York native that she wants to find alternative funding for infrastructure projects to upgrade the region’s mass transit system. “There are multiple ways to fund the projects that I also believe are critical,” she told reporters. Money generated by the toll revenue was expected to be leveraged in order to raise $15 billion in municipal bonds that would have gone toward the MTA’s $55 billion capital plan. The MTA has halted multiple projects because of the toll plan being shelved by the governor — a move that was, in essence, sustained by the authority’s board last week. But while the move may be popular with voters who did not want to be dinged $15 when traveling by car into Manhattan, Hochul has faced a backlash. Transit activists have signaled they will hold her accountable, fairly or not, whenever there’s a train delay or bus breakdown. Hochul has been privately speaking with state lawmakers to devise a revenue plan even though the ideas raised so far — a payroll tax hike, a general fund sweep — fell flat with the Legislature. And the governor continued on Sunday to frame her decision as one that’s meant to alleviate the cost of living in the city. “This is a temporary pause in congestion pricing just to give every day New Yorkers a break — a break from $15 that would have been hitting right now,” she said. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Why have so many people left New York over the last four years? (Times Union) — A measure meant to help Buffalo borrow in time of emergency was opposed by a half-dozen western New York Republicans. (Buffalo News) — Lawmakers’ attempt to change the downstate casino bidding timeline was rebuffed by the state gaming commission. (POLITICO Pro)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | — “Generally, spending follows some important issue that motivates people,” George Latimer said in a Q&A, after his win in a primary with record-high spending. (City & State) — Allies of Rep. Jamaal Bowman are already buzzing about a possible 2026 comeback. (New York Post) — New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s defense attorneys are expected to call their own witnesses today and his Manhattan bribery trial is unlikely to end until mid-July. (POLITICO)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — The Pride March brought tens of thousands of people to Manhattan on Sunday and it was interrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. (New York Times) — After Utica police shot and killed 13-year-old Nyah Mway, who allegedly pointed a replica handgun at officers, James’ office is launching an investigation. (ABC News) — The Catholic Archdiocese of New York’s insurance company is all but accusing a survivors group of being in cahoots with the church in an ongoing legal fight to get sexual abuse claims paid. (Daily News) — A noisy bell has been relentlessly ringing at a Manhattan subway stop for nearly two weeks straight. (New York Post)
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Kay Sarlin Wright is now senior vice president of communications at REBNY. She was previously senior public affairs director at Audible. … Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani’s communications and outreach director, Emily Lemmerman, is joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in an organizing role. … … Kate Harris is now COO of Jain Global Fundamental Equities, a financial firm launching today. She most recently was COO of Skye Global Management and is an alum of the New York State Executive Chamber and the Obama administration. … Michaela Balderston has been promoted to be chief communications officer at Lead Edge Capital. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC’s Kristen Welker … Diane Ravitch … 504 Democratic Club’s Mike Schweinsburg … NYCHA’s Persephone Tan … former state Sen. Charles Fuschillo … Julie Shiroshi of Eleanor’s Legacy … Brett Zongker … Mike Czin of SKDK … Pierson Fowler … (WAS SUNDAY): Freelancers’ Rafael Espinal … former Assemblymember Dov Hikind … Tom Musich … Stuart Osnow … Kyle Plotkin … Darren Rovell ... Jordan Levine ... Noam Lustiger ... Abbey Taub … … (WAS SATURDAY): Jonah Allon … DCAS’ Matt Viggiano … Greenwich House’s Darren Bloch … POLITICO’s Garrett Ross … Matthew Weiner … CNN’s Evan Pérez … Laura Rozen … Christian Marrone of Standard Industries … The Hill’s Hanna Trudo … Samantha Seitz … Tamera Luzzatto … Gabriella Demczuk … Bob McBarton … (WAS FRIDAY): Moses M. Marx Missed Friday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here. | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
