The first day session vibes are 'impeccable'

Jan 08, 2025

Democratic Socialist lawmakers sit on a green couch outside the Senate chambers.

Lawmakers were back in the Capitol for the first day of session, including Democratic Socialists Sarahana Shrestha, Emily Gallagher, Julia Salazar, Claire Valdez and Marcela Mitaynes seen here chilling on the couch, with Jabari Brisport and Zohran Mamdani standing behind them. | Jason Beeferman/POLITICO

WELCOME BACK: It’s the first day of the 2025 legislative session. And lawmakers are back — this time with their kids in tow — for a new year in Albany.

“It’s like the first day of school,” said Assemblymember David Weprin, who is entering the 16th grade in Albany. “I feel good.”

On the agenda for the Albany lawmakers: solving the newly reopened $2 billion revenue hole for the MTA, preventing Trump from becoming the main character again in Albany, enjoying all the sweet legislative opportunity that comes with not being on the ballot this year (unless you’re one of 10 state lawmakers seeking a NYC office), and saying the word “affordability” as much as humanly possible.

And, this year, there are a lot of kindergarten — or freshmen — lawmakers walking the hallowed halls of the Capitol for the first time.

“I just want to be the best new member I can be and soak everything up,” said Harlem Assemblymember Jordan Wright, "and learn as much as I can from my colleagues.”

Our colleague Bill Mahoney counted them. In total, there are 24 newbies in the Capitol this year waiting to get lost in the underground concourse.

They are … Sens. Siela Bynoe, Stephen Chan, Chris Ryan and April McCants-Baskin and Assemblymembers Tommy John Schiavoni, Rebecca Kassay, Kwani O’Pharrow, Daniel Norber, Noah Burroughs, Larinda Hooks, Claire Valdez, Kalman Yeger, Micah Lasher, Jordan Wight, Emerita Torres, Patrick Carroll, Aron Wieder, Paula Kay, Gabriella Romero, Andrea Bailey, Pat Chludzinski, Paul Bologna, Joe Sempolinski and Andrew Molitor.

And the old-timers have some advice for them.

“Talk to everybody and learn from everyone, especially the people that have been here a long time, like the sergeant-at-arms,” said Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, who is running for city comptroller. “They know everything.”

“Bring your own coffee mug from home, it makes you feel good,” Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato said. “In the hotel room, it makes me homesick sometimes. You have to do something to remind you of home.”

"Advice for the freshman? Avoid Jason Beeferman,” Assemblymember Emily Gallagher said. "You write mean things about us, we don't like you." (Gallagher, whose liberal parking habits graced the pages of this newsletter last session, underscored that point by walking away from Playbook’s other questions.)

“Though options up here are more limited than downstate, there are really good restaurants up here to explore,” said Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose home borough boasts some of the best international cuisine in New York. .

Many lawmakers agreed with Rajkumar — just talk to everybody.

Today’s first day of session kicked off with Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie simultaneously setting the tone.

“To our returning colleges and to our newest members, I would like to congratulate all of you on your recent election,” Heastie said. “I look forward to working with you to make New York a better, more affordable place for families.”

“There is no question that we are entering a year defined by enormous challenges,” said Stewart-Cousins, his fellow Democrat.

The legislative leaders had catered buffets for all the lobbyists, lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul. (Stewart-Cousins’ catered spread of sandwiches and pasta was far superior to Heastie’s scrambled eggs and soft scones served on paper plates.)

The first day also marked 31 session days before the state budget is due. Less than three months away from April 1, how are lawmakers feeling?

“Eternal optimism,” Manhattan Assemblymember Tony Simone said.

“Tired. I’m a very busy assemblyperson,” said Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, one of Mayor Eric Adams’ few loyal Albany allies and chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.

“The vibes are impeccable,” state Sen. Julia Salazar said.

“I’m feeling hopeful,” Assemblymember Pamela Hunter said.

“I’m excited and raring to go,” Brooklyn state Sen. Jabari Brisport said.

“We have a lot of work to do,” said Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, still glowing from his SNL homage.

Heastie, who held his first gaggle with reporters of the session, wasted no time in bristling with a Buffalo News reporter Robert Gavin, who wanted to know why the speaker had rolled back press access to the chamber.

“Can I get a substantive question?” he demanded.

Shortly after, he told Playbook, “I feel great.” — Jason Beeferman

From the Capitol

Gov. Kathy Hochul appears at a news conference.

Gov. Kathy Hochul is urging Congress to issue a full repeal of the cap on state and local tax deductions. | Don Pollard/Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul

SALTY POLITICS: An emerging deal to raise the cap on state and local tax deductions between New York, New Jersey and California House Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump has become fodder for Democrats.

POLITICO reported Tuesday evening the proposal includes lifting the cap from a $10,000 limit to allow married couples to deduct $20,000 from their federal taxes. A group of GOP lawmakers will meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday.

The long-standing issue over what’s known as SALT cap dates back to late 2017, when a signature tax package backed by Trump during his first term limited how much can be deducted in state and local taxes. The move hit suburban homeowners in high-tax (and mostly blue) states especially hard, and there has been a bipartisan push to alter the provision.

House Republicans, especially vulnerable lawmakers from swing seats in the New York City region, have considered a SALT deal vital. But the legislation has struggled to gain traction in Congress over the last seven years.

Democrats, however, do not think House Republicans should be handed any credit for the potential change.

Hochul in a statement called for a full repeal of the cap.

“Republicans have drained billions directly from the pockets of their own constituents, and now it’s time for them to deliver,” she said. “No excuses. No half measures. It's all or nothing — New Yorkers deserve a full repeal.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at a news conference added, “The Republicans burned the House down and now want to pretend that they are firefighters."

Rep. Mike Lawler, one of the GOP lawmakers attending the Mar-a-Lago meeting and a potential candidate for governor, ripped Hochul over New York taxes.

“Gov. Hochul has done nothing to lower New York’s first-in-the-nation state and local tax burden during her time in office and in fact has increased state spending by $61 billion the last four years,” he said. “While she’s busy playing politics, we’re fighting to provide immediate and real tax relief for New Yorkers struggling with the ever-growing cost of living under her disastrous leadership.” — Nick Reisman

CDPAP PUT ON PAUSE: Hochul’s effort to consolidate Medicaid’s $9 billion consumer-directed personal assistance program, or CDPAP, hit a new snag today after her Department of Health was hit with a temporary restraining order over a data-sharing requirement to facilitate the contentious transition, POLITICO Pro reports.

The order by a Livingston County judge stems from a petition filed Monday by All-American Homecare, a Rochester-based fiscal intermediary, which accuses the Health Department of violating health privacy laws by requiring companies like theirs to hand over data on the CDPAP consumers they serve and the personal assistants who care for them. The CDPAP program allows certain Medicaid enrollees to hire their own in-home caregivers.

The Health Department set a Jan. 15 deadline for fiscal intermediaries to provide their data to the state- and Medicaid-managed care plans.

The state’s request is part of efforts to transition the program’s approximately 240,000 consumers to Public Partnerships LLC, the single fiscal intermediary chosen by the Hochul administration to take over the program’s back-end work. Over 600 fiscal intermediaries currently handle payroll and other administrative tasks for the program.

State health officials say the move to a single fiscal intermediary, which was approved in the 2024-2025 state budget, will save Medicaid $500 million per year once it's fully in place.

A spokesperson for Hochul said the order does not have a “significant impact” on the state’s transition effort, which must be completed by April 1. Meanwhile ...

THEY’RE PLAYING DEFENSE, FINALLY: The state today announced a first-of-its-kind response to the interminable, virulent stream of attack ads against Hochul on the CDPAP transition.

State Health Commissioner James McDonald released a 60-second TV and digital ad that fires back at claims from home care groups that changes to CDPAP will jeopardize care for homebound New Yorkers. McDonald said the groups are spreading a “misinformation campaign.”

The response comes after the home care groups have spent the last six months broadcasting ads that attack Hochul on her CDPAP changes, which have largely gone unanswered.

Meanwhile, the governor has continued to slump in public opinion polls over the last year.

Bryan O’Malley, executive director of the advocacy group Alliance to Protect Home Care, called the state’s ad campaign a waste of taxpayer money. “Hundreds of Democrats, Republicans, and disability advocates across New York oppose Hochul’s plan,” O’Malley said in a statement. “It's only a matter of time before New Yorkers are faced with disrupted care, failed home care worker payments, and our state becomes another PPL disaster." — Katelyn Cordero, Maya Kaufman and Jason Beeferman

FROM CITY HALL

Melissa Aviles-Ramos speaks from a podium with Eric Adams and others behind her.

Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos started elections for the city’s school boards today. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

PARENTS VIE FOR SEATS: Election season has begun for the city’s school boards, amid calls to improve the process.

Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos kicked off the elections today, which occur every two years. Parents can apply to run for a seat on one of 32 parent councils starting on Jan. 13. Campaigning will run from late February through April, and voting will take place from late April through May 13.

The Department of Education is facing additional scrutiny this year, following criticism over its handling of the 2023 race.

Two citywide parent groups called for a vote recount and an independent audit. Candidates endorsed by the controversial parent group PLACE NYC — which advocates for selective admissions policies in public schools — won nearly 40 percent of seats on parent councils.

In a recent investigation, City Comptroller Brad Lander pointed to an “urgent need for improved clarity, better and consistent complaint handling processes, and transparency.”

Last year, former schools chief David Banks removed two parent leaders, including Maud Maron — a Republican Manhattan district attorney candidate and the lead sponsor for a resolution targeting transgender students in girls’ sports. Maron was reinstated.

Cristina Meléndez, deputy chancellor for the Division of Family, Community and Student Empowerment — which includes the Office of Family and Community Empowerment that oversees the elections —said FACE is working with schools and districts to ensure parents who run and get elected feel supported in the position.

Aviles-Ramos said the agency has “zero tolerance for hate,” but that parent leaders who were removed can apply again. She declined to weigh in on Lander’s audit.

“It’s OK to disagree but then how do we disagree and still move an agenda forward,” she said. — Madina Touré

IN OTHER NEWS...

— HOCHUL FOR FREE SCHOOL MEALS: The governor is expected to announce her support for funding of universal school meals in her state of the state. (Spectrum News)

— TURKISH CONSULATE SOMEHOW OPERATING: The Turkish consulate at the center of Mayor Eric Adams' corruption indictment still hasn’t been approved to operate due to safety violations, yet it has been open for months. (New York Post)

— TRUMP’S EDNY PICK’S NASSAU GOP TIES: Joseph Nocella Jr., who presided under smaller cases like drunk driving incidents and family court, likely saw a boost from the Nassau Republican Party he knows well in order to win the president-elect’s nomination. (New York Times)

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