FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Fifty-six Democratic state lawmakers have backed the closure of Marcy Correctional Facility in a letter sent Monday to Hochul as the fallout from the killing of Robert Brooks continues. Brooks, an inmate, was seen on a video released by Attorney General Letitia James being beaten by corrections officers at the prison. He later died. The letter, obtained by Playbook, urged Hochul “to take steps to immediately close Marcy Correctional Facility” and pointed to last year’s state budget deal giving her the power to shutter the prison. “It should send the message to other facilities in the system that this kind of violence and depraved behavior toward anybody, including incarcerated individuals is unacceptable,” Sen. Julia Salazar, the top Democrat on the Senate committee overseeing prisons, told Playbook. Prison closures are often opposed by the rural communities that host the facility. Salazar pointed to nearby Midstate Correctional Facility that could soften the impact on the region’s economy. “There’s a compelling case to close the facility and that it can be done responsibly without having a negative impact on the local population, the community or any of the individuals incarcerated there or any of the staff who currently work at Marcy,” Salazar said. A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision did not return a message seeking comment. A push to close the prison has been growing among lawmakers since Brooks’ death in December. Hochul has pressed for changes at the prison in order to bolster inmate safety and removed the top official at the facility. Her administration has also been willing to continue the decades-long trend of closing state prisons. Lawmakers and Hochul last year agreed to a closure plan that ultimately led to the closure of two prisons. — Nick Reisman IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A PLANE, IT’S … A CDPAP AD: Home care advocates are launching their latest effort to get Hochul to change her mind on the contentious transition of the state’s home care — an aggressive pressure campaign from the skies on the most important day of the year for the governor. The Alliance to Protect Home Care is shelling out six figures to have an airplane circle The Egg in Albany — the performance venue where Hochul is set to give her speech — with a large banner flying behind it that says “SOS: Save CDPAP Stop PPL.” It’s the latest effort yet from the group which has spent millions to get Hochul to change her mind about the fate of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP. The program is currently orchestrated by over 600 fiscal intermediaries, companies that serve as Medicaid middlemen between the home care patient and the state. In a cost-cutting measure last year, Hochul ordered a single company, PPL, to act as the sole intermediary, putting the home care companies out of business. The plane will be in the air from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today. A digital billboard truck will also circle the Statehouse and the Executive Mansion, blaring a 30-second ad from the group. (There will also be billboards and TV ads from the group today.) "Whether it's a truck, billboard, or even an airplane, we are making sure Governor Hochul and all of Albany hear the testimonies of the elderly and disabled New Yorkers whose lives are at risk with PPL,” said Bryan O'Malley, the executive director of the alliance. Sam Spokony, a spokesperson for Hochul, blasted the group over its aerial ad. “These middlemen have already spent millions and millions on lobbyists and ad blitzes — and now they’re using taxpayer-funded profits on this stunt too?” Spokony said. “I thought they were supposed to be focused on home care! Something doesn’t quite add up there — but we’ll stay focused on advancing much-needed reforms that will protect CDPAP home care users and caregivers, while also protecting New York taxpayers from companies that spend money from Medicaid on airplanes and video trucks.” — Jason Beeferman DECONGESTANT: The MTA says it was right: charging people more to drive south of 60th Street in Manhattan is prompting fewer people to drive south of 60th Street. MTA officials said they are seeing about an 8 percent decrease in vehicles driving into Manhattan’s central business district, plus a staggering 20 to 40 percent decrease in travel times across bridges and tunnels that bring commuters in from Brooklyn, Queens and New Jersey. “It has been a very good week here in New York, just look out the window, there is less traffic, quieter streets — and I think everybody’s seen it,” Juliette Michaelson, the transit agency’s deputy chief of policy and external relations, said during a detailed briefing for reporters on Monday. The MTA compared traffic since the tolling began on Jan. 5 to typical traffic in past Januaries. They also found bus trip times have improved but there hasn’t been a meaningful uptick in crowding on buses or subways. Many unknowns remain and officials will keep collecting, slicing and dicing the data. — Ry Rivard WINE SOME MORE: A report commissioned by a group composed of business groups and grocery stores that want to sell wine found small liquor retailers wouldn’t be hurt by the change. The New York State of Wine Coalition’s report reviewed states where grocers are allowed to sell wine and found liquor stores there “continue to thrive.” It’s an argument grocery store owners will try to advance as they press for the long-sought measure this year at the state Capitol. The bill has struggled to gain traction for decades in Albany. But the latest effort for wine in grocery stores comes after the state recently approved consumer-friendly changes, like allowing to-go drinks from restaurants. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — The overwhelming majority of New York state residents back a law to ban mask-wearing in public during protests. (New York Post) — Hochul will propose a $400 million spending plan to give downtown Albany a facelift. (Times Union) — New York cannabis regulators have been hit with another injunction blocking warrantless searches of hemp businesses. (POLITICO Pro)
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