| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman | | Presented by |  | | | |  Mayor Eric Adams delivers his fourth State of the City address today. | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office | NEW YORK MINUTE: Gov. Andrew Cuomo is turning to a longtime ally to help build out a likely campaign for New York City mayor as he eyes a February launch, POLITICO reports this morning. Charlie King, a decades-long Cuomo confidant, is expected to be hired by the former governor’s potential comeback bid. A partner at the Manhattan-based consulting and lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs, King has been vetting other potential staff to work on the campaign. SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO: Mayor Eric Adams is giving his State of the City speech in Harlem at noon today, kicking off what could be his last year in office — as he faces a challenging reelection while fighting corruption charges and distancing himself from an inner circle beset by criminal investigations. His goal: prove he’s a serious mayor, who can still be trusted. One big idea he’ll share: building 100,000 new units of housing in Manhattan over the next decade. That would be a massive increase on the island of 900,000 homes — equivalent to building nine more Stuy Towns or creating a whole new Upper West Side, from 59th Street up to 96th. Dubbed “The Manhattan Plan,” it’s “an initiative to review and refresh zoning across the whole of Manhattan, unlock potential housing sites for development from Inwood to the Financial District,” according to a release shared exclusively with Playbook ahead of the speech. (You can read more about the idea from POLITICO’s Janaki Chadha here.) The “plan” is short on details and relatively unrealistic in scope. It may best be understood as the intention to put the administration’s pro-housing policies into action. That includes rezoning for denser housing in the “City of Yes,” easing office building conversions and reviving state tax breaks for affordable housing. It’ll include the Midtown South rezoning now underway, but City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick wouldn’t give up any other neighborhoods that could see big changes, just promising a “comprehensive engagement planning process” including community stakeholders and elected officials. No matter the neighborhood, intense community opposition can be expected in the borough that has successfully blocked affordable housing from the Elizabeth Street Garden for 12 years. Still, Garodnick was typically optimistic, saying there’s been a “sea change in the attitude for new housing.” Sure enough, City Council Member Erik Bottcher, who represents Manhattan’s West Side, is among the politicians calling themselves YIMBYs. Adams, too, has embraced housing construction as a way to drive down rents. And he’s said that includes the most expensive borough. “For too long, housing prices in Manhattan have gone up while working-class families have been pushed out,” the mayor said in a statement. “To meet our generational housing crisis head-on, we must use every tool to build more homes and every piece of land possible to deliver relief.” — Jeff Coltin HAPPY THURSDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from RHOAR NYC: Help Make NYC Homeownership Affordable. Pass Bill 1107 to restore short-term rental rights to small, neighborhood homeowners. NYC neighborhoods thrive through the stability of owner-occupied homes. Bill 1107 will restore short-term rental rights to one- and two-family homeowners who live in their homes and relied on short-term rental income to maintain and stay in their homes. Learn more at www.rhoar.org. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany and New York City with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering his State of the City address in Manhattan. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Despite earning more than $800,000 (and, prior to that, maintaining a $174,000 publicly-funded salary as a Congressman), Santos has claimed to the Probation Department that he has little more than $1,000 in liquid assets.” — federal prosecutors, writing to the judge who agreed to postpone sentencing for former Rep. George Santos, Newsday reported.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) reintroduced his SALT bill on Wednesday. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | FOOD FIGHT: The fight to reinstate — or at least raise the cap on — the state and local tax deduction really is becoming a salty one between parties, even if Republican and Democratic New Yorkers effectively want the same result. New York GOP House members who huddled Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol to discuss proposals ahead of their Saturday Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump slipped out without facing reporters’ questions on the details. But several jumped to attack Gov. Kathy Hochul when she slammed them on X over the SALT cap that was part of Trump’s 2017 tax cut package. Hochul said in her post “New York Republicans owe their constituents that money back. No excuses. No half measures. New Yorkers deserve a full repeal.” Rep. Mike Lawler, who’s weighing a challenge to Hochul and reintroduced his bill increasing the cap to $100,000 for single filers and $200,000 for married couples filing jointly, said, “Kathy — you are the worst Governor in America.” “New York leads the nation in outmigration because of reckless spending — up $61 billion in just 4 years — and the highest tax burden in the country,” he added. Rep. Nick LaLota piled on, responding, “New Yorkers have grown to rely on SALT because NYS Dems like you just spend and tax like crazy.” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis sniped, “You do realize that the reason New York needs SALT relief is because YOU keep taxing New Yorkers to death?” Hochul has been unveiling affordability measures ahead of her State of the State speech and had her defenders in the back and forth. State Sen. James Skoufis, a candidate for DNC chair, wrote of Lawler, “We all expect you to take your uninformed cheap shots, but calling her ‘Kathy’ while doing so is beneath a sitting congressman. Or, it should be.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Wednesday accused Republicans of being both arsonists and firefighters because they passed the tax legislation that capped the deduction in the first place. — Emily Ngo with Benjamin Guggenheim
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
The Independent Budget Office says Mayor Eric Adams' migrant budget numbers do not reflect the reality. | Mary Altaffer/AP | STILL AIN’T MATHIN’: Adams overestimated how much the city would spend on asylum-seekers — and didn’t update the budget to reflect actual spending and trends — even as fewer migrants came to New York City, POLITICO Pro reports. That finding from an Independent Budget Office report released Wednesday supports complaints by the New York City Council as well as other outside budget watchdogs who argued the Adams administration was exaggerating migrant spending for political reasons instead of reflecting reality. “The Administration increased its cost estimates even as the number of new arrivals declined,” the IBO said. “In other words, the Administration did not update its budget for services with changing arrival trends or actual spending figures as the information became available.” An Adams’ spokesperson responded in a statement that the administration has been “fiscally responsible in our cost estimates during this entire process.” “Underestimating unpredictable costs — as some monitors did — would have severely strained our city's budget, further impacting New Yorkers in a negative manner,” the spokesperson added. — Jeff Coltin MONEY MAMDANI: Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani is still $53,000 short of qualifying for public matching funds for his mayoral campaign, with the next deadline to qualify coming Saturday. He made a plea on stage from his fundraiser concert at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn on Wednesday night, just after Kareem Rahma & Tiny Gun performed the song “Really Rich Parents.” “Can you donate to this campaign so that when that filing comes out, people will look… and say this is a campaign that is telling people they can actually hope again?” Mamdani said to the sold-out crowd of about 300 people. Mamdani’s campaign spokesperson Andrew Epstein declined to say exactly how much the campaign had raised but explained the campaign’s target included a buffer over the minimum threshold since some percentage of matching claims are inevitably denied. Mamdani’s cutting it close, so he made a video asking donors to check their email for a form to make minor corrections so their contributions could be matched. Mayoral candidates need $250,000 in matchable claims from 1,000 qualifying New York City residents to unlock the city’s 8-to-1 matching fund program. So far, just Scott Stringer has gotten the funds, but Brad Lander expects to get a payment next week. Adams was denied. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Independent candidate for mayor Jim Walden filed a challenge against X for “deceptive trade practices.” (His X post) — The NYPD still hasn’t laid down the law on how an elected official like the mayor can use the cops assigned to their security detail. (Daily News) — New York faced a 53 percent spike in homelessness last year, thanks largely to the influx of migrants housed in city shelters, according to HUD. (New York Post)
| | | | A message from RHOAR NYC:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will propose a tax relief plan for those at or just above the poverty line. | Mike Groll/AP | THE TAX MEN: Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie wants to offer some tax relief by ending the state income tax for low-income New Yorkers. Heastie did not reveal specifics for his proposal, which he announced Wednesday as lawmakers gathered for the first day of the six-month legislative session. “We have some ideas. We haven’t really discussed it in great detail with members,” Heastie told reporters. ”But we want to deal with people who are in and around the poverty line, or somewhere above that.” The idea represents a scaled-up version of what Mayor Eric Adams has already proposed: Ending the city income tax for families who earn less than $46,350 – a move that would have to be approved in Albany. The Brooklynite Adams isn’t considered especially close with Heastie of the Bronx. But the mayor, who faces a tough reelection year as he also fights corruption charges, could use any help he can find in Albany. Adams’ spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus in a statement said the administration is “thrilled that Speaker Heastie joins us in our affordability push for the state to pass ‘Axe the Tax for the Working Class’” and that the mayor is “using every tool in the toolbox to put money back in New Yorkers’ pockets.” — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Pledges to address the cost of living in New York dominated the first day of the legislative session. (POLITICO Pro) — A new tax on managed care organizations could result in billions of dollars for the Medicaid program. (POLITICO Pro) — Hochul is expected to announce a universal school meals plan in her State of the State. (Spectrum News)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
North Country GOP leaders are interviewing contenders to fill Rep. Elise Stefanik's seat in a special election. | Paul Sancya/AP | THE AUDITION: GOP leaders interviewed a dozen potential Republican candidates this week as the party weighs who should succeed Rep. Elise Stefanik, the pending Trump nominee for United Nations ambassador. Three candidates are widely viewed as frontrunners for the Republican nod: Assemblymember Chris Tague, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and state Sen. Dan Stec, three people familiar with the discussions said. The meetings were held over Zoom on Tuesday and Wednesday. Stec told Playbook his interview lasted about 30 minutes. “The more experience you have, the easier those questions are to answer,” he said. The discussions come as the race to replace Stefanik in the House is yet to be called. Stefanik’s hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled for Jan. 16 — and she could be confirmed for the post before the end of the month. The vacancy would trigger a special election to be scheduled by Hochul, and the governor would likely call a vote in the sprawling North Country district by mid-April. Stefanik has represented the deep red district for the last decade. Republicans are expected to retain the seat. Democratic Assemblymember Billy Jones announced recently he would not run. — Nick Reisman More from the delegation: — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats would support renaming the Gulf of Mexico if Trump works with them to lower costs. (Business Insider) — Schumer privately opened the door to Senate Democrats negotiating amendments after the House passed the Laken Riley Act. (Axios) — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hammered Trump for his “obsession” with the idea of the U.S. taking over Greenland. (The Hill)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — In the first days of congestion pricing, New Yorkers see signs of reduced gridlock. (Gothamist) — Trump is asking the Supreme Court to halt his Friday sentencing for his hush money criminal conviction after a New York appeals court judge declined to intervene. (POLITICO) — A watchdog group is accusing RFK Jr. of voter fraud over an address he used to vote in New York. (POLITICO)
| | | | A message from RHOAR NYC: When New York City passed and began enforcing its overly strict short-term rental law, many hard-working families who relied on income from sharing their homes were financially devastated. After a year of advocacy and thousands of letters into City Hall from homeowners across NYC’s five boroughs, the New York City Council recently introduced Bill 1107 to restore short-term rental rights to registered one- and two-family homeowners who live in their homes. Passing Bill 1107 will mean increasing the economic tools available to everyday New Yorkers to maintain and stay in their homes, creating stability for the city’s most vulnerable homeowners and the local communities and businesses that depend on them. Learn more at www.rhoar.org. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman WELCOME TO THE WORLD: New York City Council Member Lincoln Restler and Anna Poe Kest, vice president of strategy and programs at WorkMoney, welcomed Elliott Poe Restler-Kest on Dec. 30. ISAY TO ORCHESTRA: Co-founder and former SKDK CEO Josh Isay will join the communications firm Orchestra as a partner. He begins on Jan. 13. Isay is expected to advise Orchestra’s leadership and focus on scaling the firm’s advisory practice. He ran Chuck Schumer’s first Senate race and was his first chief staff following the 1998 election. While at SKDK, the firm worked for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden as well as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Isay left SKDK in 2022, seven years after the firm was acquired by The Stagwell Group. He’s worked on efforts like the 10/7 Project and consulted for the Democratic National Committee. — Nick Reisman MAKING MOVES: Ryan P. Delgado has been named director of state government relations for New York for National Grid. He was previously chief of staff for the New York State AFL-CIO … JT Ennis is now campaign manager for City Council Member Keith Powers’ run for Manhattan borough president. He recently managed Kim Keiserman’s state Senate campaign and is a Hayes Initiative and Global Strategy Group alum … Hannah Vattikonda has joined The Martin Group and will serve as senior public affairs manager in their Albany office. She most recently worked at the Life Insurance Council of New York. — The Parkside Group announced a series of hires: Alex Elmasri, who led the New York State Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, is now vice president of operations and growth … Alexia Holden, who was with the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, joined as vice president … Liz Robins, who was regulatory and legislative counsel at the state Department of Labor, also joined as vice president … Grismely Tejada Taveras, previously with the State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, joined as a policy associate … and Tess McRae, the group’s vice president of communications, was promoted to chief operating officer. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: New York City Council Member Francisco Moya … Elizabeth Caputo … City Hall MWBE Czar Michael J. Garner … Linda Greenhouse … Brooke Brower … New York Public Radio’s Kenya Young … Colin Campbell of Yahoo News … Charles Passy … Lauren Fritts … Zubin Sharma … (WAS WEDNESDAY): Rich Pzena ... Brent Novoselsky ... Ross Friedman ... Skylar Brandt Missed Wednesday’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 | | | | |
