| | | |  | | By Ry Rivard | | 
MTA CEO Janno Lieber is ready to be the state's most vociferous defender of congestion pricing. | Marc A. Hermann / MTA | DEFENDING CP: MTA CEO Janno Lieber is emerging as the public face of opposition to any efforts by President Donald Trump to halt congestion pricing. Trump, who promised during the campaign to “terminate” the controversial New York City toll program soon after he took office, spoke with Gov. Kathy Hochul about it this week and is weighing plans to rescind federal approval of the tolls. Hochul declined Friday to discuss her conversation with Trump. But Lieber said he thought it positive that the president indicated any hesitation. Trump and Hochul are expected to talk again next week. In the meantime, Lieber employed new arguments to defend the tolls. The MTA chief has been trying out Trump-tailored points since shortly after Trump won. “There are reasons for them to move carefully on this front,” Lieber told reporters after a Citizens Budget Commission breakfast Friday morning. First, Lieber said it could spook bond buyers in red states, like Florida and Texas, where tolling programs depend on the same kind of federal approval congestion pricing does. “If the bondholders think that this might be taken apart on a moment’s notice, they are going to charge a hell of a lot more when those states or localities go to bond,” Lieber said. Second, he took aim at the specific legal route New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has suggested Trump take to congestion pricing — a more extensive environmental review. That seems like it could fly in the face of Trump’s own attempts to speed up permitting for other projects. “The principal argument from opponents is, oh, you should have done more environmental studies, 4,000 pages in four years is not enough,” Lieber said, referring to the length the environmental assessment congestion pricing has already gone through. “Well, it’s not a secret that Trump Administration One was trying to shorten and contract the complex federal environmental process.” Previously, Lieber has appealed to Trump as a New York real estate owner whose tenants will have better commutes to work. And the politics around congestion pricing are potentially changing, as anecdotes and data show it’s slashing commute times, perhaps giving even some voters who pay the tolls a reason to cheer for them. Hochul, for her part, used a separate appearance on Friday to warn House Republicans about that. “You oppose this? Your constituents are getting to work sooner, but you don’t seem to care,” she said, a thinly veiled jab at Rep. Mike Lawler, who is opposing congestion pricing and looking to challenge Hochul for reelection next year. Hochul is expected to speak today with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a conversation Jeffries said would be about the “dynamics around congestion pricing.” — Ry Rivard
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Democrats are condemning President Donald Trump for blaming the recent plane crash on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | DEMS’ DEI SPLIT SCREEN: Jeffries and Yvette Clarke — two leading Black Democrats representing Brooklyn in Congress — said on Friday that Trump's policies during his first weeks back in office have been dangerous. Jeffries’ condemnation of Trump for blaming the fatal Washington aircraft collision on diversity-centric hiring practices was somewhat cursory, while Clarke’s was fiery. The contrast reflected the roles they play in the Democratic Party as it scrambles to respond to Trump’s flood of sweeping directives. Jeffries, the House minority leader, focused broadly on economic impact and the now-halted funding freeze. “House Republicans are ripping off the American people,” he said, using a phrase some of his members have begun picking up, as Playbook reported. “They are trying to steal taxpayer money from vital initiatives that serve the community.” He called Trump’s remarks on DEI “inappropriate” and “shameful.” Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, went much further. Trump “chose to capitalize on this tragedy by furthering his racist, insane agenda against America’s diverse employees,” Clarke said, alleging the president addressed “a nation in mourning with only fiction and white supremacist ideologies.” Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it “weak, disgusting, and reckless” in an X post. Asked Thursday how he knew diversity played a role in the crash, Trump had answered, “Because I have common sense, OK? … We want brilliant people doing this.” On Friday, Jeffries and Clarke were more closely aligned when asked about Mayor Eric Adams’ legal case and ties to Trump. Both said they believe he’s owed due process, with Clarke citing confidence in City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and her members as the mayor faces “challenging times.” — Emily Ngo
| | FROM THE CAPITOL | | | 
A self-described good government group is launching a campaign to blame Gov. Kathy Hochul for the apartments that are in need of repairs and sit vacant. | HouchulHousing.com | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A new campaign backed by a group of small property owners is taking aim at Hochul for not providing landlords the relief necessary to repair the unlivable apartments that sit vacant amid a severe housing crisis. One City Rising, a group made up of small property owners and political junkies often set on bashing the city’s most progressive pols, is launching a “Hochul Housing” website and a five-figure digital campaign today. The Albany push is an effort to bring attention to — and blame the governor for — city apartments that sit vacant because the landlords can’t afford repairs. But city data shows the issue might not be as severe as the group makes it out to be. “The unfortunate reality is that there are thousands of units like this; I’ve seen and experienced it myself firsthand as an owner,” Aaron Weber, a Manhattan property owner with the group, said in a statement. “In cases where you have a tenant living in a unit in a rent-subsidized apartment for years, and they turn it over — often the cost of repairs to just make it habitable and put it back on the market is in the realm of tens and tens of thousands of dollars, far beyond what a typical owner can afford or even hope to make back on the low rent,” Weber added. “And so, the units get caught in limbo, and everyone loses." Some units are dilapidated, others infested with cockroaches and even more with utility, plumbing or electrical problems. Rent stabilization rates prevent the owners from recouping the cost of the repairs, One City Rising says. Hochul has laid off any serious housing proposals this year. Last year’s housing deal included modest adjustments to landlords’ abilities to make Individual Apartment Improvements, or IAIs, the cost of which is often passed on to the renter. But tenant advocates have opposed changes to IAI regulations, questioning landlords' assessment that they can't afford repairs and arguing that the lease increases they want would stretch New Yorkers renting in an increasingly expensive city. "In the middle of an unprecedented housing crisis, the only solution the real estate industry has is to raise our rents,” Cea Weaver, the coalition director of tenant rights group Housing Justice for All said in a statement. “Landlords are fear-mongering about housing vacant apartments but reality is that every year the number of warehoused apartments drops. This is nothing but a transparent attempt by the real estate industry to raise rents on rent-stabilized tenants.” The city’s vacancy rate stands at 1.4 percent, the lowest since City Hall began tracking it. The city also contends there are just 1,700 rental units — or about 0.17 percent of the rent stabilized stock — that have sat vacant for over a year because they need repairs. “Last year, Governor Hochul fought to create new tools to get vacant units back on the market — and she got it done, as part of the most significant housing package in three generations,” Hochul spokesperson Kassie White said in a statement. “We’re aware there are plenty of well-paid lobbyists in the Capitol advocating for their clients, but we’re staying focused on what really matters: building more housing and making New York more affordable.” — Jason Beeferman | | | | New Year. New Washington. New Playbook. With intensified congressional coverage and even faster delivery of policy scoops, POLITICO’s reimagined Playbook Newsletter ensures you’re always ahead of the conversation. Sign up today. | | | | |
HOCHUL WON’T PONDER ADAMS ‘HYPOTHETICALS’: Adams’ open courting of Trump isn’t weighing on the mind of Hochul, she told reporters today.
The mayor, who is fighting corruption charges, attended the president’s inauguration and sat for an interview with Tucker Carlson, a MAGA media ally. Hochul, however, is not alarmed by Adams’ recent maneuvering within Trump’s influence sphere — and whether that would lead to a pardon or an end to the federal case. “My focus is on real-life solutions,” Hochul told reporters after an unrelated event. “I’m not just going down hypotheticals related to the mayor.” And the governor insisted she has only spoken with the mayor about issues that face the city — like crime. “We talk to each other about public safety,” she said. “My last conversation was saying, ‘Let’s work together and I will support you financially getting two police officers on every train overnight.’” Adams’ office did not respond to a message seeking comment. — Nick Reisman
| | IN OTHER NEWS... | | — ADAMS’ CASE: The mayor’s lawyer is in Washington today meeting with Justice department lawyers to discuss dropping the corruption case against him. (The New York Times) — SPECIAL ELECTION REVAMP: The state Senate and Assembly are considering changing the timing of special elections. (Capitol Pressroom) — HOW TO PAY THE MTA: The MTA needs money from the Legislature, and here are five ways that could happen. (Gothamist) — NY-21 NEWS: If Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino doesn’t get nominated to fill Rep. Elise Stefanik’s seat, he will launch a Republican primary challenge next year, he says. (NNY360) 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 | | | |
