| | | | |  | | By Jason Beeferman | | Presented by |  | | | |  New York City Mayor Eric Adams saw his top official resign and the release of an unfortunate poll today, capping off a seven-day stretch marked by very bad news for the mayor. | AFP via Getty Images | WHAT A WAY TO END THE WEEK: It’s been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for Mayor Eric Adams — and an even lousier week. Today, Adams woke up to a new Marist poll showing a clear majority of New Yorkers want him out of office. A majority of Black voters, who make up the most crucial part of his base, want him gone too. But that news was eclipsed just hours later after it became clear First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright — the highest-ranking member of the Adams administration — is now set to resign. “She was forced out,” a person familiar with the situation told POLITICO. Her exit, which had been the subject of ongoing rumors for days, was due to existing tensions between Wright and the mayor, sources said — on top of the obviously damaging news of the feds seizing her phone. Remember, it was just seven days ago that Adams was arraigned in federal court on charges of bribery, wire fraud and other crimes of corruption. Since then, he’s seen the departure of his right-hand man Tim Pearson, the now-expedited exit of schools chancellor David Banks, the news that it’s “likely” others will be charged in connection with his alleged corruption — and more charges against Adams could be coming, too. Now, a top deputy mayor is out the door, and there’s a dreadful poll to boot. On top of all that, the feds raided the home of his “sister” and chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin and seized the phones of longtime ally Jesse Hamilton — which all happened in the last seven days, too. Despite it all, Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Adams, disagreed with the idea that the mayor’s had a bad week. “If you look at what City Hall is actually doing every day, including this week, we continue to deliver for New Yorkers on the issues they care about,” she said. She referenced accomplishments in the last seven days, including wide recognition of the city’s standing as financially healthy, new administration appointments, infrastructure improvements and the transition to renewable diesel for city vehicles. That Marist poll, by the way, showed 74 percent of New Yorkers — and 61 percent of Black New Yorkers — disapproving of Adams' job as mayor. When asked if he should resign, 59 percent of Black voters and 69 percent of all voters said he should. Eighty-nine percent of Black respondents also said the mayor did something either illegal or unethical. “We have not fully been able to tell our side of the conversation,” Adams said this morning when asked about the poll after leaving a Friday morning fish fry (more on that below). “Anytime you see what happened last week, there’s going to be a natural reaction,” he said. “I’ve been in this city a long time. And so let the process play out. Let New Yorkers see our response to this whole matter.” — Jason Beeferman
| | | | 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. | | | |  | From the Capitol | | |  Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs was arrested Thursday in Harlem. | Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for The Children's Place, Inc. | GIBBS EXPLAINS HIMSELF: Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs saw the cops pull over his older brother for having a brake light out on Thursday afternoon. Gibbs ended up in cuffs — and the rumors started flying. “Most of my constituents and family members thought I was caught up in the Eric Adams thing,” an apologetic Gibbs said in an interview Friday with Playbook. The East Harlem Democrat is a close ally of the mayor under fire, but the reality was much more pedestrian. Gibbs got in a heated argument with the cops, who arrested him and, in the end, gave him a summons for disorderly conduct. No pushing or biting though — that was a bad rumor too. “I wouldn’t be talking to you right now,” if that were the case, Gibbs said with a laugh. “I’d be on Rikers somewhere.” Gibbs took full responsibility for letting his emotions get the best of him. And he might have only been brought in because he didn’t pull rank. “I was the cause. And I didn’t identify myself because I don’t want to invoke the state or the speaker or anybody else in a personal matter,” he said. “That’s not what I do, I’m not trying to get out of a ticket. … No one is above the law.” Gibbs said he hasn’t talked to Adams about it but got a surprising call from Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a heated political rival who backed a candidate trying to unseat Gibbs this year. “I was crying when he called because he was so supportive,” Gibbs said. “He was really concerned.” — Jeff Coltin HOCHUL WARS WITH PBA: The governor issued her first veto of the year today, outside of some line items in this year’s budget. It’s the earliest date she has ever vetoed a bill — typically, governors wait until after Election Day to upset people. It was for a bill to lower the retirement age for members of the PBA of New York State from 25 years on the job to 20. “This bill has been vetoed four times over the past five years because this pension enhancement would impose substantial unbudgeted costs on the State,” she wrote in a brief message. The veto notably comes two days after the PBA announced it would start running billboards proclaiming “Help Wanted! Our streets are less safe today. New Governor needed” in an attempt to pressure her into approving the measure. The unique timing of the veto was to send a message, a source familiar with her thinking said. Hochul “reviews every bill on the merits. But when you start lying about public safety as part of a pressure campaign, that crosses a big red line.” — Bill Mahoney EARLY CAMPAIGN FINANCE NUMBERS: Filings for state-level committees involved in November’s elections are due at the end of the day today. So far, a few have trickled in. Top fundraisers among the first batch of filers included Republican Sen. Mario Mattera ($140,000 in contributions since mid-July) and Democratic Sen. Pete Harckham ($113,000). Paul Bologna — a Republican who launched his campaign in late August after Assemblymember Mike Norris dropped out when he was nominated for a judgeship — brought in $104,000. The anti-ERA Coalition to Protect Kids has raised $94,000 and has $46,000 in the bank. — Bill Mahoney
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | FROM THE CAPITOL | | |  New York City Mayor Eric Adams compared himself to Jesus Christ during a Brooklyn church visit Friday. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | NYC’S JESUS MAYOR: Adams was at the Antioch Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant to speak at the church’s Friday morning fish fry — and he compared himself to Jesus Christ, again, with a rich analogy. “What did he do? He turned the table over,” Adams told congregants. The reference — to the story of Jesus chasing money-changers out of the temple after flipping over their tables for turning it into a “den of thieves” — is one he’s made before. “We should not be looking two years [and] nine months later and be surprised at my turning over the table of government,” he said. In the Gospels, the money-changers were responsible for converting foreign coins from visiting worshippers into the local currency that could be donated — and they charged a fee for doing so. Another group, dove-sellers, were also chased out of the temple by Jesus for preying on poor worshipers looking for inexpensive animals to sacrifice. As Adams compares himself to a righteous prophet chastising greedy fee collectors, he is being charged with taking illegal donations and has seen top brass from his own administration chased out of City Hall. It wasn’t the first time Adams referenced a biblical story. He also compared himself to Job last month. "Every morning when I wake up and do my prayers, I say 'God forgive me for any wrongdoing I may have done to my fellow New Yorker, to my family member,” Adams also said today. “I'm in a constant state of asking God to shape me into the person he wants me to be." — Timmy Facciola TRAVEL-GATE: Tracey Collins — Mayor Eric Adams’ partner and a top education adviser — failed to report travel perks connected to luxury trips, which federal prosecutors say she took with him. Collins accompanied Adams on international trips worth tens of thousands of dollars, according to a 57-page indictment against the mayor. Prosecutors alleged that Adams received upgraded travel on Turkish Airlines and hotel rooms valued at over $100,000. Collins did not disclose relevant benefits she received to the city Conflict of Interest Board, 2018 and 2019 financial disclosures obtained by POLITICO show — in violation of agency rules. Adams himself neglected to report the discounts to COIB in 2018, the indictment states. The document refers to Collins — who recently became a senior adviser to incoming schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos — as Adams’ “domestic partner.” She has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. But she’s facing allegations that she hasn’t shown up to work.— Madina Touré
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Learn more. | | | | | IN OTHER NEWS... | | — SCANNING FOR CORRUPTION: The city’s Department of Investigation is probing the mayor’s effort to outfit subway stations with weapon scanners, according to a new report in the Daily News. “The NYPD entered into a memorandum of understanding with Evolv for a free 30-day program to evaluate their technology,” said a spokesperson for the NYPD. “At this time the department is still evaluating the outcome of the pilot and has not entered into any contract or commitments with the vendor.” DOI has been looking into the administration’s vetting process for the company since at least August, according to the tabloid. The move to outfit subway stations with Evolv weapon scanners drew intense pushback from transit and civil rights advocates this summer, after the city initiated a no-cost pilot program. — Timmy Facciola — THREAT PREP: New York law enforcement officials are on high alert for threats against houses of worship. Hochul this morning said multiple bomb threats reported at New York synagogues were determined to be not credible following “a comprehensive investigation.” But the governor’s office is nevertheless concerned about possible violence or threats ahead of the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. “These threats are horrific and unacceptable — and targeting houses of worship on one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar is particularly craven,” Hochul said in a statement. “We will not tolerate acts of antisemitism or attempts to incite fear. New Yorkers stand united against all forms of hate and violence.” An increase in reported hate crimes since 2019 has alarmed state officials; Hochul and state lawmakers earlier this year agreed to expand hate crimes statutes in order to address the problem. — Nick Reisman — EMBATTLED TOKYO GETAWAY: Jesse Hamilton, Adams' close ally, went on a trip to Japan with Adam Clayton Powell IV, a lobbyist who lobbied him earlier this year. (THE CITY) — THAT’S CLASSIFIED: Prosecutors are slated to introduce evidence in the Adams corruption case that is top secret, requiring additional evidentiary protocols. (New York Times) — TURKISH CULTURAL CENTER WAS GHOSTED: A Turkish cultural center in Brooklyn connected with a movement hostile to the Turkish government saw their relationship with Adams sour, and now they know why. (THE CITY) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here. | | | | 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 | | | | |
