Rajkumar differs with Adams on key priority

Feb 07, 2025

Eric Adams (left) joins David Banks and Jenifer Rajkumar (right) to celebrate Diwali becoming a public school holiday.

Queens Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar is promoting her ”Empire State of Mind Act.” | Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

VOLUNTARILY COMMITTED TO THE EMPIRE STATE OF MIND: Mayor Eric Adams’ fiercest ally is is going in a different direction than him on one of his Albany priorities.

Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar is proposing a bill to tackle the issue of street homelessness by focusing on mental health care rather than public safety. Rajkumar wants local homeless service and behavioral health providers in charge of moving homeless people into hospitals, while under Adams' standing policy, police officers conduct the majority of those moves.

Adams aligned with Gov. Kathy Hochul to finally include a version of the Supportive Interventions Act in the governor’s budget proposal. The measure — which the pro-law-enforcement mayor had been pushing for years — would allow hospitals to involuntarily commit the seriously mentally ill, and often homeless, into their care.

But legislation being pushed by Rajkumar, a candidate for New York City public advocate, offers a different solution than Adams — and she knows it.

“I've always been willing to make waves, my entire career,” Rajkumar told Playbook.

The assemblymember, known for her trademark red dress, has made a name for herself by consistently — and sometimes curiously — standing by Adams’ side at an impressive number of mayoral announcements, even if they appear to have little to do with her own district.

But make no assumptions: She’s bold enough to stand up when an issue needs fixing — no matter if the G.S.D. mayor is proposing something else to tackle the issue.

“I am never afraid of putting forth ideas that I think are going to help New Yorkers,” she told us.

So what’s her idea?

It’s only the “most transformative mental health bill in over 60 years," her office says.

And it shares its name with the iconic hip-hop song Adams uses as walk-up music for many of his events.

Rajkumar’s Empire State of Mind Act will “reshape the public health, criminal justice, correctional and shelter systems by ensuring that every New Yorker can receive the support that they deserve,” she said.

It’s 20 pages, and includes creating “EmPath” centers in every state county to serve as a “voluntary, holistic alternative to crisis care.”

It also mandates mental health screenings for all individuals entering correctional facilities and would provide treatment plans to individuals discharged from the hospital.

The catchy name is on brand for Rajkumar, whose previous bills include the SMOKEOUT Act (dealing with illegal cannabis shops) and the Ghostbuster Act (targeting “ghost” cars).

“It's a song that everyone knows and loves,” she said of the bill’s title. “So I think this will resonate with everybody.”

Rajkumar said she isn’t against involuntary commitment, as long as it’s done right, while cautioning “it’s also only one part of the solution.”

She added she would be supportive of the Adams-Hochul proposal on the condition it be “narrowly tailored and crafted to ensure the rights of the individual being apprehended.”

Adams’ office told Playbook that “the assemblymember's bill complements — not competes with — the Supportive Interventions Act, and we look forward to discussing our efforts further with all of our state partners to improve mental health care and public safety for New Yorkers.”

Rajkumar said she’s already told the mayor about her proposal.

“And after you, I will be sending him the legislation personally,” she told your correspondent. “I find that my colleagues, including the mayor, are very open to hearing what I think about issues and what solutions I believe are necessary.” — Jason Beeferman

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From the Capitol

A man in a suit and blue shirt poses behind a grey leather chair

New York Republicans have a favorable view of Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres. | Courtesy of the Congressional Office of Rep. Ritchie Torres

RITCHIE TORRES’ GOP APPEAL: Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres has fans in the Grand Ol’ Party.

A recent Manhattan Institute poll found the Bronx elected had higher support among New York City Republicans than Democrats — a notable stat as he considers challenging Hochul for reelection next year.

Forty-eight percent of Republicans in the poll had a favorable view of Torres, outpacing the 41 percent of Democrats with the same view.

And it’s not a huge surprise: Torres, who identified as a progressive at the start of his political career a decade ago, is relentlessly pro-Israel and openly criticizes the left on public safety and immigration. He also gets frequent and mostly positive coverage in the influential, right-leaning New York Post.

Torres’ team spun his Republican support as key to him winning a governor’s race if he clears the primary.

“The bipartisan breadth of the Congressman’s appeal is not a weakness but a strength,” his spokesperson Benny Stanislawski told us in a statement. “Unlike Governor Kathy Hochul, who is in grave danger of losing a general election to a Republican, Congressman Torres has sufficiently broad bipartisan appeal to win a general election.”

The poll had a relatively-small sample size of 618 voters and a margin of error of about 4 percent. High levels of support from Republicans would be helpful for any Democrat running hoping to be governor after Hochul’s showing in 2022.

During that year, Hochul just narrowly won reelection, eking out a six-point victory over Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin.

Torres also saw his highest numbers of support in the reliably red borough of Staten Island.

Forty-three percent of respondents said they were unsure about him, which is consistent with previous polls showing his limited name recognition in the state.

Hochul's favorability rating stood at 49-48. — Jason Beeferman

NOT A DERRY GIRLS SEQUEL: Rep. Mike Lawler is not poised to become the envoy to Northern Ireland as reported recently by a Belfast publication.

Lawler, who is openly considering a bid for governor, was at the Irish Echo Law & Order Awards amid “speculation” he would be up for the diplomatic post, according to belfastmedia.com.

The report raised eyebrows in New York political circles, given Lawler’s well-known statewide ambitions and the fact he represents a battleground Hudson Valley seat and vacating it would trigger a heated and costly special election.

But a person familiar with the event — who requested anonymity to relay the details of a private event — said the confusion over Lawler’s envoy appointment stemmed from a joke made that evening. There’s no truth to the Republican lawmaker heading to the Emerald Isle, the person said. — Nick Reisman

CONGESTION TALKS: A staff-level conversation was held Thursday between the White House and Hochul’s office to share information on the congestion pricing toll program, a spokesperson for the governor’s office confirmed to Playbook.

President Donald Trump is considering ending federal approval for the tolls in a bid to scrap the controversial program.

“Our team shared some data and other information,” Hochul spokesperson Anthony Hogrebe said. “The next step is internal discussions within the Trump administration.”

The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The Democratic governor spoke with Trump last week about the toll program and plans to discuss it with him again.

The long-sought tolls — which Hochul reduced from $15 to $9 after pausing the program’s implementation last June — began Jan. 5. MTA officials plan to raise $1 billion that would be leveraged for a $15 billion bond in order to shore up the region’s troubled mass transit infrastructure.

Hochul told NY1 on Thursday the program is having the intended effect of reducing traffic below 60th Street in Manhattan. And she hedged on whether Trump would act.

“He has a lot of people trying to influence him to eliminate it. He does have enormous power,” she said. “Of course, he’s the president. There’s different ways to do this, but I have to be able to convince him, and I’ll do my best.” — Nick Reisman

From City Hall

Mohamed Bahi exits Manhattan Federal Court.

Mohamed Bahi, a former Muslim liaison to Adams, has struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors involving the mayor’s corruption case. | Yuki Iwamura/AP

ADAMS AIDE TO PLEAD GUILTY: Federal prosecutors plan to charge an ex-aide to the mayor Adams with collecting illegal straw donations for the Adams’ 2021 campaign — a signal that the mayor’s case is continuing, even as federal lawyers reportedly consider dropping charges against Adams, POLITICO reports.

Mohamed Bahi will face a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He intends to plead guilty, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon wrote in a letter Friday to a pair of federal judges overseeing the proceedings.

Bahi resigned as a liaison in the mayor’s community affairs unit in October after federal prosecutors charged him with witness tampering and destruction of evidence, alleging he urged a campaign donor to lie to federal investigators.

Bahi has been in plea deal discussions with prosecutors for months. Adams has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer has said there is no evidence Adams was aware of the straw donor scheme. — Jeff Coltin

IRISH LEGISLATORS UNITE: In these hyper partisan times, one issue still unites Albany lawmakers of all political stripes – having the Buffalo Bills play a game in Dublin next year.

"As a native Western New Yorker, you are undoubtedly aware of the prevalent Irish American population and cultural roots in this region," Assemblymember Pat Burke wrote in a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, which was first reported by the Buffalo News. Goodell is a member of a Chautauqua County family that includes a former United States senator and a recent assemblymember.

The letter was signed by six other members of the Irish Legislators Society, including ones as politically and geographically disparate as Suffolk County Republican Michael Fitzpatrick.

Burke, who represents the heavily Irish population in South Buffalo, acknowledges that the “NFL’s a uniquely powerful organization” and might not consider the requests of a group of state lawmakers as they determine who will play against Pittsburgh in its first game in Ireland next season. But, he said, “if it’s not this time, maybe the next time in Ireland they would really consider the Bills.” — Bill Mahoney

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IN OTHER NEWS

— ‘DEI’ ERASURE: Montefiore’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine is quietly scrubbing references to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from its website. (POLITICO Pro)

— COUNCIL GOP TRIES AGAIN: The New York City Council Republican caucus put to rest several weeks of turmoil by electing Joann Ariola as minority leader. (City & State)

— MOM WANTS NYU STUDENTS DEPORTED: The Manhattan lawyer who serves as the founder of the Mothers Against College Antisemitism Facebook group is encouraging other university parents to report Hamas-supporting foreign students for deportation. (The New York Times)

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