| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman | | Presented by |  | | | With Timmy Facciola
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“Well, cancel me,” Mayor Eric Adams said, “because I'm going to protect the people of the city.” | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office. | Given that he criticized cancel culture, embraced Elon Musk, boosted Bitcoin and fawned over Fox News, it’s no wonder Mayor Eric Adams impressed conservative Colorado talk radio host Jeff Hunt of the Jeff and Bill Show. “Denver Mayor Mike Johnston — TAKE NOTES!!!” the cowboy hat-clad pundit posted on X, over a video of Adams. At his weekly press conference Tuesday, Adams repeated his position of repealing sanctuary city laws to help deport undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of violent crimes — but with a new twist. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama thought the same thing, the mayor said, but “in the era of cancel culture” Democrats are afraid to say it. “Well, cancel me,” Adams said, “because I'm going to protect the people of the city.” Adams’ statement took MAGA World by storm and was boosted on Musk’s social media platform by Musk’s America PAC and by Musk himself. Despite being a Democrat, Adams dislikes sanctimonious liberals a lot more than he does conservatives – and the right has long looked to him as an ally on immigration. But a series of comments Tuesday show just how far he’s gone in embracing aspects of Donald Trump’s worldview — even as he looks toward reelection in the Democratic primary against a handful of candidates running to his left. — Adams praised Musk again for focusing on government efficiency — saying Musk “can take us to Mars, then he can also finally have an educational system that is not denying poor people in this city.” — Adams bragged his Bitcoin paychecks have more than doubled in value after the price spiked following crypto-friendly Trump’s win. — Adams talked about his eagerness to sit down with Trump border czar Tom Homan — noting that Homan said the same on “one of my favorite stations,” Fox News. — And the mayor, who’s facing a federal indictment, reiterated his argument that he’s being prosecuted for political reasons — though this time pointing to President Joe Biden’s own words after pardoning his son, as POLITICO reported. The mayor predicted he’d get “canceled” for his immigration comments Tuesday — which also included a slideshow about where the city could have added funding if it hadn’t spent $6.4 million on housing and other services for migrants over the last three years — and he was right. The New York Immigration Coalition slammed Adams after he asserted undocumented immigrants don’t share the same constitutional rights he does as a citizen. “Mayor Adams is wrong. He is ripping a page from Trump’s playbook, stoking fear and spreading disinformation,” NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh said in a statement. “Simply for his own self interest, you would think Mayor Adams would be the biggest proponent of due process.” — Jeff Coltin
| | | | A message from Uber: Study Reveals Uber Drivers Make More than EMTs: NYC Uber drivers now earn an average of $52,900 annually after expenses, outpacing the salaries of many essential city employees, including EMTs and sanitation workers. Despite delivering vital services, these workers struggle with stagnant wages while Uber drivers have benefited from five TLC-mandated pay hikes since 2020. Read more on the wage disparity impacting NYC’s workforce. Learn More. | | | HAPPY WEDNESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City with no publicly scheduled events. WHERE’S ERIC? In the city making an affordability-related announcement, attending a ground-breaking ceremony and attending Rockefeller Center's Christmas tree lighting. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The idea of a casino is to trap people inside for hours at a time.” — State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who is still skeptical about a proposed Queens casino’s economic benefit to her district ahead of a public hearing Thursday, via Gothamist.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
As state Sen. James Skoufis launched his DNC bid, he struck a moderate tone, urging Democrats to stop using words like “Latinx." | Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Media Assets, Inc. | SKOU-MENTUM: Democratic socialist Julia Salazar and moderate state party Chair Jay Jacobs don’t have much in common — save for a mutual respect for state Sen. James Skoufis. The Hudson Valley lawmaker has mounted a long-shot bid for Democratic National Committee chair, a job that will require him to knit together vastly different wings of the party if he wins the leadership race. And Salazar and Jacobs are very much on opposite sides of the party’s spectrum. Jacobs, a Long Islander, has urged Democrats to take a centrist approach in order to be competitive with Republicans in battleground districts. He’s also feuded with lefty advocates within the party who’ve sought his ouster. Salazar, a left-leaning Brooklyn lawmaker, was elected the same year Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez swept into office after defeating incumbent Joe Crowley. As Skoufis launched his DNC bid, he struck a moderate tone, urging Democrats to stop using words like “Latinx” and to work to win back working-class voters. Despite their differences, Salazar believes Skoufis can be an effective leader for the national party. “I’ve worked with Sen. Skoufis as a colleague for six years now and found him to be really thoughtful and care deeply about defeating the opposition and fighting the far right,” she told Playbook. Salazar pointed to Skoufis’ fundraising success as well as his ability to work with moderates and left-leaning lawmakers in Albany. “He agrees with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s assessment that the party has failed. The election results are the most consequential example of that,” she said. “We need new blood and new leadership.” Jacobs has not endorsed any of the DNC candidates. But in an interview with Playbook, he spoke well of Skoufis, who lacks a national profile. “I’ve worked with James Skoufis and I like him,” Jacobs said. “Whether or not he gets our support in this particular race – that remains to be seen. I have only good things to say about him.” — Nick Reisman
| | | | REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss. | | | | | | | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams has declined to publicly detail how his administration is preparing for Trump to make good on his campaign promise to remove undocumented immigrants wholesale. | Chase Sutton/POLITICO | SOME WORRY, ADAMS BRAGS: Adams did not echo state elected officials and immigrant advocates’ call Tuesday for more funding to combat Trump’s mass deportation agenda, instead lauding the city’s existing effort to get newcomers legal status and work authorization as enough. “We have a nation-leading asylum application help center,” the mayor told reporters. “National leaders … visited the city, they looked at what we were doing and they stated no one is doing what you’re doing in the country. And so those national advocates that don’t try to play the politics of it locally, they came in and did a walkthrough.” Adams was responding to a question about the relaunched CARE for Immigrant Families campaign’s demand for $165 million in state funding for legal services and instruction for those facing deportation, as Playbook reported. At a rally just blocks from City Hall, the coalition detailed the pressure it seeks to apply at the state level and drew attention to what the city will do when Trump takes office. Adams has declined to publicly detail how his administration is preparing for Trump to make good on his campaign promise to remove undocumented immigrants wholesale, saying he wants to work with Trump and his pick for border czar. Others are drawing attention to New York’s vulnerabilities. “There are parts around the state that don’t have the building capacity for additional attorneys, for social workers, for even the space to make sure they can meet with their clients,” Assemblymember Catalina Cruz of Queens said at the CARE coalition’s rally. — Emily Ngo More from the city: — State Sen. Simcha Felder has filed to run for the City Council seat that Kalman Yeger is leaving to go to the Assembly. (BoroPark24) — Mayoral candidates hit Adams on failed promises to boost the city’s bus service. (Gothamist) — Adams said he won’t veto the Council bill to free renters from paying broker fees. (amNY)
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
“I know Allen Roskoff, are you here?” Gov. Kathy Hochul said while scanning the audience. “This was one of your ideas.” | Don Pollard/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | THE FEUD: When Gov. Kathy Hochul appeared at the groundbreaking of the American LGBTQ+ Museum on Tuesday, she made sure to name-check a longtime activist who’s become a thorn in the side of a potential primary opponent. The governor praised Allen Roskoff, the leader of the left-leaning Jim Owles Democratic Club, as well as other advocates as “champions” for their push for a New York City gay bill of rights. “I know Allen Roskoff, are you here?” Hochul said while scanning the audience. “This was one of your ideas.” Hochul added, “All of you who stood up and said, ‘Let's enshrine this into a law. Let's not just say we're going to give them rights, let's make sure it really becomes reality.’” Roskoff has been locked in a feud with Rep. Ritchie Torres as he weighs a run for governor. Torres, a Bronx Democrat, took left-leaning positions in a questionnaire from Roskoff’s organization in 2022 and has since disavowed his answers. The questionnaire, first reported by The New York Post, ignited a bitter back and forth between the former allies. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — A group of New Yorkers suing over congestion pricing urged a federal judge to block the $9 toll. (New York Post) — A lawsuit claims New York Medicaid plans are responsible for wage theft. (NYS Focus) — Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office warned that a scammer is targeting the public retirement system. (Times Union)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Dem, is prepping for another Congress in the minority but with a narrower margin. | Kent Nishimura/Getty Images | FINAL SPRINT: The 118th Congress is entering its final three weeks, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (D-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ top priorities are must-pass bills to keep the government open and set defense policy and spending, both due Dec. 20. Jeffries, a Brooklyn Dem, is prepping for another Congress in the minority but with a narrower margin, which he says will allow his party to retain an edge. How he negotiates with Johnson on the government funding legislation and the National Defense Authorization Act could foreshadow how they’ll work together next year, when Republicans will also control the Senate and the White House. “My prediction is that House Democrats under Leader Jeffries are going to be the most powerful minority that we’ve seen in recent history because the Republican margin of control is so vanishingly small,” Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres told Playbook. “It’s the numbers and the dysfunction and incompetence of House Republicans.” Torres said he has known Jeffries and Johnson to work well together, but Johnson remains at the mercy of the hard-right faction of the House GOP. Jeffries recently referenced the same Republican rebels known to throw negotiations into disarray. The government funding bill needs to be “consistent with the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act that Democrats and Republicans supported last year,” and the defense legislation should be passed — “as has been the case for decades, in a bipartisan manner, free of extreme, right-wing policy riders,” he told reporters. — Emily Ngo ANOTHER TRIFECTA: New York City Democrats are poised to lead three influential House caucuses after internal votes on Capitol Hill today. Queens Rep. Grace Meng is set to chair the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Brooklyn Rep. Yvette Clarke will lead the Congressional Black Caucus, which will have a record 62 members next year. Both groups will meet today. Manhattan Rep. Adriano Espaillat was voted in before the Thanksgiving holiday as chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, vowing that, “We will face the challenges ahead as a united front to prioritize protections for immigrant communities and ensure policies that are humane and reflective of our nation’s values.” — Emily Ngo More from Congress: — AOC is interested in being the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee. (POLITICO) — Chuck Schumer was reelected as the Senate’s Democratic leader in a closed-door caucus meeting. (POLITICO) — Jeffries called on Biden to pardon working-class Americans on a case-by-case basis. (POLITICO)
| | | | Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — New York’s minimum wage is set to increase again at the start of the new year. (Post-Standard) — Families earning $800,000 could qualify for financial aid at an elite New York City school. (New York Times) — The former workers of a shuttered western New York rubber plant are flocking to a jobs fair. (Buffalo News)
| | | | A message from Uber: Study Shows Uber Drivers making over $52k while NYC Heroes Get Left Behind
A new study reveals a growing wage divide in New York City: Uber drivers are making an average of $52,900 a year after expenses, while city employees like EMTs and sanitation workers starting salaries are below $44,000. Since 2020, rideshare drivers have received five pay increases through TLC mandates while many frontline city workers face stagnant wages amid rising living costs. This gap underscores an evolving dynamic in NYC’s workforce, where gig workers see consistent earnings growth while essential city roles lag behind. This pay disparity is raising questions about the city’s priorities and the need for equitable wages in public service amidst the affordability crisis.
Read the full story to see how gig work earnings are reshaping NYC’s labor landscape. Learn More. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MAKING MOVES: Weeks after a staffing shakeup, Jessica Ramos’ mayoral campaign has hired New Blue Interactive for her digital fundraising. MEDIAWATCH: WNYC Community Partnerships and Training Editor George Bodarky has joined NPR as a reporting trainer. OUT AND ABOUT: Karen Persichilli Keogh, secretary to Hochul, spoke at Tuesday's The Inside Scoop with GSG, hosted by Global Strategy Group. SPOTTED: two former secretaries to New York governors, Educational Alliance’s Rich Baum and Blackstone’s Bill Mulrow; National Grid NY president Sally Librera; MTA CEO Janno Lieber; Assemblymember-elect Emerita Torres; Friends of the High Line’s Alan van Capelle; Regional Plan Association’s Tom Wright; Warburg Pincus’ Jake Siewart; Albany Strategic Advisors’ Dan Cain; Joni Yoswein, founder of Yoswein New York; and Rebecca Karp, founder of Karp Strategies. SPOTTED: At Anthony Scaramucci’s book party for “The Little Book of Bitcoin:” potential mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and former mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, per new mayoral candidate Whitney Tilson. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Judith Enck … Connective Strategies’ Tyquana Henderson-Rivers … Marissa Espinoza Icochea … Jackie Kucinich … Suzanne Malveaux … Al Hunt … (WAS TUESDAY): Joshua M. Karlip ... Josh Brooks Missed Tuesday’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 | | | | |
