| | | | |  | | By Joe Anuta, Nick Reisman, Jeff Coltin and Emily Ngo | | Presented by |  | | | |  Mayor Eric Adams has denied being the target of separate federal probes swirling around his administration and campaign. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images | New York Minute: It’s National Voter Registration Day. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably already registered. But for those who aren’t, the city-funded NYC Votes initiative is tabling across the city, including on the stadium concourse at the Mets-Nationals game tonight. … DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE IN THE CLEAR: After federal investigators raided the homes of several top administration officials earlier this month, private attorneys representing the erstwhile police commissioner, the schools chancellor and his brother hinted at their clients' innocence. “I have been told by my lawyers that I’m absolutely not a target in this investigation, and I’m going to do everything I can to cooperate,” Schools Chancellor David Banks said in an interview last week. “We have been assured by the government that Mr. Banks is not a target of this investigation,” said an attorney for the chancellor’s brother, Terence Banks, a former MTA supervisor who runs a consultancy being eyed by the feds. “We have been informed by the government that he is not a target of any investigation being conducted by the Southern District of New York, and he expects to cooperate fully with the government,” lawyers for former Police Commissioner Edward Caban said as he resigned last week. Even Mayor Eric Adams has denied being the target of separate federal probes swirling around his administration and campaign. But while these declarations have the aura of exoneration, they are largely meaningless. “It’s a good marketing strategy by their lawyers,” said Jennifer Beidel, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan who is now in the government investigations division at Dykema. In the parlance of the U.S. Department of Justice, according to Beidel, “target” has a very specific meaning: Investigators have so much evidence linking someone to a crime that they are treated almost like a de facto defendant and are likely to soon be indicted. But those connected with a probe, even if they aren’t targets, can still fall into two other categories. “Witnesses” are not connected to any alleged crimes at all and merely have information pertinent to the case. “Subjects” are everyone else. “Subject is definitely not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Beidel said. Indeed, to be a subject means there is a possibility of criminal culpability. None of the attorneys representing top city officials and their family members caught up in a wide-ranging federal dragnet clarified the status of their clients to Playbook. And a City Hall spokesperson did not comment on the mayor’s standing with investigators. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District — speaking at a press briefing for a separate city corruption investigation — declined Monday to delineate who is and isn’t a target in a pair of federal probes looking at possible corruption. “There are all sorts of things that people claim in all sorts of spaces, and I cannot respond one by one to that,” he said. “I speak when there's something to be said, and I don't have anything to say about that at this point.” And as another former federal prosecutor noted, the status of subjects and targets is constantly shifting. So what is true today may not be the case tomorrow. “If a lawyer says publicly: ‘I’ve been told my client is not a target,’ it doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t ultimately be charged,” Paul Tuchmann, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District who is now a partner at Wiggin and Dana LLP, said in an interview. “If they were told they were a subject of the investigation, then it could go in all kinds of directions.” — Joe Anuta and Jeff Coltin IT’S ONLY TUESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Uber: New York City Uber riders pay $700 Million in taxes and fees annually* That’s more than the entire budget for New York City Parks Department. *Based on trips originating from NYC in 2023. Learn more. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany and New York City with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City attending Schools Chancellor David Banks’ speech on the state of schools, holding his weekly media availability and hosting an Eastern European cultural celebration at Gracie Mansion in the evening. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Relentlessly following up and using creative, imaginative, evidence-based strategies, they’re going to drive that number down.” — Assistant Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker on resolving longer response times to 911 calls about a crime in progress, per the New York Post.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
“In a nutshell, it’s a power grab by a mayor who doesn’t want any checks on his power, particularly from the City Council,” said Mark Winston Griffith, spokesperson for No Power Grab NYC. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO | UNGRAB THE VOTE: A new PAC is telling New York City to vote no on the city charter revisions on the ballot this November, arguing the proposals are anti-democratic. “In a nutshell, it’s a power grab by a mayor who doesn’t want any checks on his power, particularly from the City Council,” said Mark Winston Griffith, spokesperson for No Power Grab NYC. Dozens of the usual progressive organizations critical of Adams, from Make the Road and VOCAL-NY to the NYCLU and The Arc of Justice, are banding together launching the campaign in a noon rally today outside the Tweed Courthouse. Adams’ Charter Revision Commission blocked the council from getting its own question onto the ballot, about expanding its say over the mayor’s top appointments, onto the ballot. Some of the commission’s proposals would add steps to the legislative process, giving the mayoral administration slightly more influence. The changes aren’t dramatic, but it’s the principal of the thing since they were “put together in bad faith,” Winston Griffith said. “We as voters should not be complicit in Adams’ latest attempt to do things his way.” The effort is going through a new PAC New Yorkers Defending Democracy, filed last month. It hasn’t reported any contributions yet, and Winston Griffith emphasized that it’s a grassroots effort. There’s no sign of pro-charter spending yet, but supporters are feeling confident voters will naturally lean to yes. The five charter proposals make up questions 2 through 6 in New York City — while number 1, known as the Equal Rights Amendment, will be on ballots statewide. That’s popular among progressives, and Winston Griffith admitted it was a concern that telling people to vote no on 2 to 6 could hurt 1 as well. “It’s a tricky needle to thread,” he said. “We’re hoping that voters are sophisticated.” — Jeff Coltin
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
"Eric, deservedly so, has a lot of supporters in the Jewish community, now he needs to activate them," Developer Bruce Teitelbaum told Playbook. | Courtesy of Bruce Teitelbaum | YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND: “Mayor Adams is a friend who’s earned our support,” reads a new ad running in the Flatbush Jewish Journal starting today — urging loyalty to the mayor amid a tough couple weeks, since “he has always stood with us without hesitation or qualification in good times and in bad.” Developer Bruce Teitelbaum designed and funded the ad and told Playbook, “Eric, deservedly so, has a lot of supporters in the Jewish community, now he needs to activate them.” Teitelbaum did this before, in January, praising Adams’ support for Jews after Oct. 7. He’s not disinterested. Teitelbaum has real estate projects where he needs city support that has stalled under Adams, and he’s married to uber-lobbyist Suri Kasirer. But Teitelbaum said he didn’t coordinate with anyone, adding, “When people are going through tough times, it’s important they know that they have friends.” — Jeff Coltin EDUCATORS SOUND THE ALARM: The city’s powerful teachers union could support a cellphone ban in public schools — but with conditions. United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew said he’s on board if the burden isn’t on educators to enforce it and if the Department of Education foots the bill. He also called for consistent enforcement, and emergency contact lines for parents. “We don’t want a ban that wastes more instructional time by having individual educators asked to collect every class’s cellphones, or has school communities having to choose between buying new lab equipment or cellphone pouches and lockers,” Mulgrew said Monday. “Parents need to be brought into the discussion, so they feel comfortable with any changes.” Schools Chancellor Banks — who has flip-flopped on the issue — encouraged schools to implement restrictions on smartphone use. That followed Mayor Adams’ decision to pump the brakes on a citywide ban. Roughly 63 percent of instructors support a systemwide policy, according to a survey of teachers and other UFT members in July and early August. The union received 3,685 responses from 1,175 schools. About 31 percent were opposed, and six percent were neutral. — Madina Touré More from the city: — It’s not just Lisa Zornberg. Several advisers to Adams have encouraged him to oust Tim Pearson, one of his key aides and longtime friends, who is ensnared in a mushrooming corruption scandal. (POLITICO) — Two FDNY chiefs were arrested on bribery charges (POLITICO) … and hours later, the Southern District of New York arrested entertainer Sean Combs in a sex trafficking case. (The New York Times) — In a neighborhood where many people can’t afford basic needs, four people — including an NYPD officer — were shot by police responding to a man who allegedly skipped the turnstile. (Gothamist) — The city's free condom program has run out of supplies. The Department of Health points to a disruption in federal funding. (Hell Gate)
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Three state Senate Republican hopefuls are set to receive more email and social media spotlights in an effort to generate enthusiasm for women and people of color running on the GOP line. | Bill Mahoney/POLITICO | STATE SENATE WATCH: A national Republican organization gave a boost Monday to a trio of GOP state Senate candidates with an eye toward diversifying the party. The Republican State Leadership Committee announced it will spotlight GOP state Senate hopefuls Theresa Bryant in her bid against Democratic state Sen. Monica Martinez on Long Island, Dorey Houle opposite state Sen. James Skoufis and Tricia Lindsay, running to unseat state Sen. Shelley Mayer. The candidates will get an email spotlight and social media push as the organization is trying to generate enthusiasm for women and people of color running on the GOP line. “In order to combat the failed policies of the Biden-Harris Administration in the states, we need diverse candidates who represent the values of their communities and will bring a commonsense approach to legislative chambers nationwide,” the group’s president Dee Duncan said. It’s a designation, however, that does not come with any money attached to it, though the committee isn’t ruling out providing financial support in the coming weeks. Republicans running for state legislative seats are facing an uphill climb this election. Democrats hold supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly — making Republicans’ path to power in either chamber nearly impossible in a single election cycle. The state Senate had a razor-thin divide between the two parties for nearly a decade. But that changed after 2018, a backlash year for the GOP. Since then, Democrats have held seats in key suburban swing districts on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley. A spokesperson for the conference’s campaign arm did not return a message seeking comment. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — A business-backed coalition wants Hochul to veto a proposed plan to force companies to pay for climate change. (Times Union) — Hundreds of judges allowed evidence that was later deemed to be illegal, a judicial accountability report found. (Gothamist) — An insurer for the Archdiocese of New York is suing the state attorney general’s office as part of a broader fight over compensation for sex abuse victims. (Daily News)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | |  John Avlon still has yet to be added to DCCC’s prestigious Red to Blue program. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images | RED TO BLUE BLUES: House Democratic candidate John Avlon will be getting help from the DCCC in the final 50 days before Election Day — just not the same organizational and fundraising support its most competitive contenders get. Avlon, a former CNN host, still has yet to be added to DCCC’s prestigious Red to Blue program as he faces Rep. Nick LaLota on eastern Long Island. By contrast, in New York, challengers Laura Gillen, Mondaire Jones, Josh Riley and John Mannion are Red to Blue members and Reps. Pat Ryan and Tom Suozzi are in the DCCC’s Frontline program. “John Avlon is doing a great job,” DCCC chair Suzan DelBene said at a news conference Monday. “We continue to be engaged with him and his team on this race, and it’s another opportunity.” A LaLota spokesperson said the campaign and the DCCC agree on one thing: that the freshman Republican is on track for reelection. An Avlon spokesperson did not immediately respond with comment. Democrats and Republicans both claim to have the edge 50 days out. “Our message of safety, security and opportunity is in direct contrast to the open border, rising crime and economic chaos that Democrats are offering the American people,” NRCC spokesperson Savannah Viar said. DelBene said of Republicans, “The House majority has put tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, a national abortion ban and never-ending chaos and dysfunction over-delivering for working families.” — Emily Ngo
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Fewer than half of students in grades 3 and 8 were deemed proficient in English. (Newsday) — State and local officials insist the Long Island Trump rally will be safe following an apparent assassination attempt on Sunday. (State of Politics) — Micron Technologies’ expansion in central New York is drawing criticism from federal agencies over the potential environmental impact. (Post-Standard)
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Learn more. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: The city’s BQE Central project to fix the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in Brooklyn Heights is hiring Jamey Barbas as project manager:. She was previously project director on the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, and will be working for Parsons, the managing partner in the project with AECOM. — Raul Pintos, chief of staff to former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, filed for retirement on Friday within days of the FBI confiscating his phone. (THE CITY) MEDIAWATCH: Per Semafor’s Max Tani: “The Wall Street Journal is bringing on John Cook as its new deputy investigations editor, Semafor has learned. As we previously reported, Cook recently left his job leading Business Insider’s investigative team, which published numerous scoops during his tenure — including plagiarism allegations against Neri Oxman, the wife of billionaire businessman Bill Ackman. … Cook also famously helped edit Gawker’s reporting on Hulk Hogan.” HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Don Baer (7-0) … Actum’s Terence Cullen … Assemblymember Didi Barrett … Geto & de Milly’s Sam Weinberger … David Litt … Richard Wolffe … Anthony Coley … Bloomberg’s Emily Birnbaum … Sarah Selip of 917 Strategies … NBC’s Henry Gomez ... Marin Cogan … Sergio Rodriguera Jr. … Deanna Rosenberg … (WAS MONDAY): Rachel Louise Ensign ... Rubie Schron Missed Monday’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 | | | | |
