| | | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Mayor-elect Eric Adams named his new Department of Correction commissioner on Thursday. Then he dropped a bit of a bombshell: He plans to bring back solitary confinement at Rikers Island on his first day in office. Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio announced with some fanfare last year, during widespread protests over the killing of George Floyd, that the city would put an end to the practice in its jails. The devil was in the details, and the plan has been delayed and drawn its share of criticism , but it remained the official policy of New York City to scrap the controversial punishment, also known as punitive segregation. And the de Blasio administration says they're on track to do it by Dec. 31. Perhaps just for a day. "They better enjoy that one-day reprieve," Adams said after introducing his new jails boss , Louis Molina. "Because Jan. 1, they're going back into punitive segregation if they commit a violent act. That is unacceptable. You know, I'm not going to allow inmates and officers to be the victims of violent people." Adams has walked a careful line between tough-on-crime and pro-reform, and his support for solitary confinement is one of a number of issues where his views fall to the right of the current mayor. The correction officers union, which has opposed ending solitary saying it leaves their members with no protection against violent inmates, welcomes the change of course. But it drew quite a backlash , including from several incoming City Council members. Left-leaning pols had mostly been giving Adams a slight public honeymoon rather than spoiling for a fight before he takes office, but they were quick to pounce on this one. "The incoming mayors plan on Day 1? Bring back torture," said Tiffany Cabán. (The New Yorker spelled out that argument thoroughly in 2009.) The current Council considered, but did not ultimately take up at its last meeting, legislation that would force an end to solitary confinement, so that may be revived in the new year. And state Sen. Julia Salazar, who is behind a state law requiring sharp limits on solitary, says the state could sue the city or even attempt a takeover of Rikers. "Or the mayor could just follow the law and avoid those scenarios," she said. IT'S FRIDAY and the last New York Playbook of 2021. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: EDurkin@politico.com and agronewold@politico.com, or on Twitter: @erinmdurkin and @annagronewold WHERE'S KATHY? In Erie County with no public events scheduled. WHERE'S BILL? Appearing on WNYC's Brian Lehrer show. WHERE'S ERIC? No public events scheduled. ABOVE THE FOLD — Adrienne Adams picks up support in Council speaker race, by POLITICO's Sally Goldenberg and Joe Anuta: Two days after Queens Council members Adrienne Adams and Francisco Moya each declared victory in the race to lead the legislative body, their camps continued to feverishly whip votes on Thursday. By the late afternoon it appeared as though Adams was gaining support, as her team prepared to roll out names of at least 26 backers — the number necessary to win the in-house race to lead the 51-member body on Jan. 5. Meanwhile Mayor-Elect Eric Adams and his surrogates kept pushing for Moya, with the incoming mayor calling individual members on his behalf while maintaining publicly he is happy with either outcome. "I'm clear: I want a partner that is pro-public safety, that is pro-business and that is going to have our city recover," the mayor-elect said at an unrelated press conference Thursday. PROGRAMMING NOTE: New York Playbook won't publish from Monday, Dec. 20-Friday, Dec. 31. We'll be back on our normal schedule in January for Eric Adams' inauguration, Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State address, a new Legislative session, redistricting fights, and possibly a court appearance for Andrew Cuomo. … And Happy Holidays! Thanks for sharing another wild year in New York politics. We couldn't do New York Playbook without you opening your newsletter every morning and taking the time to chime in or alert us to typos. So let us know what you want to see from this briefing next year and if we should keep #UpstateAmerica or not. Without Playbook, you probably don't have any other good emails to open, so take some holiday time to unplug and be present with people and places that give you energy. You'll need it next year. See you in 2022! | | | | JOIN TODAY FOR A WOMEN RULE 2021 REWIND AND A LOOK AHEAD AT 2022: Congress is sprinting to get through a lengthy and challenging legislative to-do list before the end of the year that has major implications for women's rights. Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph and POLITICO journalists Laura Barrón-López, Eleanor Mueller, Elena Schneider and Elana Schor for a virtual roundtable that will explore the biggest legislative and policy shifts in 2021 affecting women and what lies ahead in 2022. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
|  | WHAT CITY HALL'S READING | | Omicron prompts emergency measures in NYC, by POLITICO's Erin Durkin: The Covid-19 Omicron variant has hit New York City at "full force," leading to a major spike in infections and a series of new emergency measures announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday. The city will step up enforcement of vaccine and mask mandates and increase testing across the five boroughs as lines have wrapped around the block ahead of the holiday season, the mayor and health officials said. ... Coronavirus cases have tripled in the past month, and hospitalizations are on the rise, said Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi. — The city had shut down 20 testing sites ahead of the surge. — City schools have seen a record number of virus cases and classrooms closed due to outbreaks. — Holiday parties led to Covid outbreaks at both the Staten Island and Manhattan DA's offices. — Public Advocate Jumaane Williams announced late Thursday night that he has tested positive for Covid-19. — "As Virus Cases Surge, New Yorkers Feel a Familiar Anxiety" "Bill de Blasio Did What New Yorkers Wanted. Yet as the mayor prepares to leave office, he remains stubbornly unpopular," by New York Magazine's David Freedlander: "He should have been a contender. As backbenchers and prattling senators piled into the 2020 race for president, Bill de Blasio entered as the manager of the nation's largest city, overseeing a police force the size of a small army, a school system that had more children in it than the entire population of seven different states, and the successful response to not one but two infectious-disease outbreaks." "Does Scott Stringer deserve a second chance? " by Crain's Brian Pascus: "Towers of cardboard boxes run along the windows in a historic office building close to City Hall, suggesting moving trucks are not far away. Near a conference room where officials once debated solutions to the 1970s fiscal crisis, an executive desk sits empty. On a nearby shelf is a framed photo of a woman and two children. Despite the appearance of a closed shop, city Comptroller Scott Stringer and his squad of 600 budgetary watchdogs have continued to take mayor Bill de Blasio's administration to task." " Bronx Mother Of Student With Autism Says It's Time New York City Move Forward With GPS School Bus Tracking," by CBS New York's Lisa Rozner: "Silvia Guerrero tracks her son, Aaden Acevedo, who is on the autism spectrum. Every day he is supposed to be picked up in the Allerton section of the of the borough at around 6:55 a.m. and arrive at his East Harlem school by 8:20 a.m. That's 1 hour and 25 minutes without delays. But for the first half of the school year, "There was a 17-minute late arrival, there was also a 30-something-minute late arrival," Guerrero said. "And now, instead of getting academic instruction, he's sitting on the bus. And even 10 minutes a day, that's 50 minutes a week." Recently, the Office of Pupil Transportation did adjust the route and removed one stop, but Guerrero said it didn't change much." | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "Attorney general cites problems with ethics panel's order to Cuomo," by Times Union's Brendan J. Lyons: "The state attorney general's office sent a letter to New York's ethics commission on Thursday contending the panel did not issue a valid order this week when it voted to have former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo surrender the $5.1 million that he was paid to write a book last year about his administration's early handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The 12-1 vote by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics had directed the governor to turn over the proceeds of his publishing deal to the attorney general's office, which the panel said could then redistribute the funds according to law — including potentially returning the money to the publisher. But Larry Schimmel, a general counsel for Attorney General Letitia James, said in his two-page letter to Sanford Berland, the commission's executive director, that 'there are procedural steps that the commission must take before the (attorney general's) Civil Recoveries Bureau can take any action.'" "As frustration mounts, Hochul urges masks and vaccines, warns of 'rough ride' with Covid," by Buffalo News' Tom Precious: "With Covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday tried a new approach to get New Yorkers to get vaccinated and mask up: anger. A frustrated Hochul on Thursday slammed 'outliers' who won't wear masks in public places and those businesses that won't help enforce the new mandate." — "New York officials announce Omicron strategies, including at-home tests by mail," by The New York Times' Grace Ashford and Sharon Otterman Hochul hints at new policies for admittance to the Capitol by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Gov. Kathy Hochul teased the possibility of new restrictions for people entering the Capitol when session starts next month, and also suggested that her State of the State address will be somewhat low-key. The annual message to the Legislature will "be much more scaled back because of this pandemic," she said at a press briefing after she held a virtual cabinet meeting on Thursday. ... "We hoped it would be a different dynamic, but just as I was disappointed not to be able to have my Cabinet meeting in person to have everybody get to know each other better, we'll also have to suspend the normal activities around the State of the State," Hochul said. — More than 50 state legislators asked that Hochul include the New York Build Public Renewables Act in her agenda for 2022. — State legislators and immigration advocates want to make the Excluded Workers Fund a permanent part of the state budget. — "Advocates Hope Hochul Delivers on Clemency Where Cuomo Failed" — Hochul's reelection campaign was endorsed by four state lawmakers in Manhattan. "Gun makers challenge New York law allowing lawsuits against industry," by Reuters' Nate Raymond: "A group of gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a New York law that allows the state and people affected by gun violence to sue the industry. The National Shooting Sports Foundation and gun manufacturers, including Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co, said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Syracuse that the state was impermissibly trying to regulate out-of-state gun sales. The trade group and the 14 companies said the state is doing so through a novel measure that former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law in July that seeks to overcome legal hurdles that have largely prevented such lawsuits. Other gun manufacturers suing include Glock Inc and Beretta USA." #UpstateAmerica: Bills fans raised over $20,000 for charity Vision Impairment Advancement "to tease 'blind' officials from Buccaneers game." (CBS Sports reports that "most of the donations came via $17 increments to represent the jersey number of Bills quarterback Josh Allen.) | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | |
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "DA's last big decision: Whether to charge Trump," by The Associated Press' Michael R. Sisak: "After a dozen years in office, one piece of unfinished business remains for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. before he retires at the end of the month: Will the prosecutor known for his caution go out with a bang by bringing criminal charges against Donald Trump? Vance, who has spent more than two years investigating the former president, has been coy about whether he'll seek Trump's indictment or leave the decision to the next district attorney, Alvin Bragg, a fellow Democrat who takes over Jan. 1." " GOP agrees to pay up to $1.6 million of Trump's legal bills in N.Y. probes," by Washington Post's Josh Dawsey and David A. Fahrenthold: "The Republican Party has agreed to pay up to $1.6 million in legal bills for former president Donald Trump to help him fight investigations into his business practices in New York, according to Republican National Committee members and others briefed on the decision. The party's executive committee overwhelmingly approved the payments at a meeting this summer in Nashville, according to four members and others with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private meeting of the executive committee." | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — Former New York City Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff will devote himself to promoting A.L.S. research after learning he likely has the disease, and is stepping down as CEO of Sidewalk Labs. — The city will spend $40 million to make improvements to Prospect Park's northeast corner, known as the Vale. — A third teenager pleaded guilty in the Morningside Park murder of Barnard student Tessa Majors. — A Long Island pet store was sued by the state attorney general for allegedly selling numerous sick or injured puppies to unaware consumers. — Several Capital Region school districts are on heightened alert after TikTok messages apparently encouraged gun violence today. — Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said it's fine with him if the new Bills stadium is in Orchard Park. — The Office of Cannabis Management announced that more than 350 municipalities have opted out of New York's recreational marijuana program. — TikTokers who attended New York City's recent SantaCon say they've since tested positive for Covid-19. — A new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found enrollment in the state's Medicaid program surged during the Covid-19 pandemic. — Hochul said she'll make it a priority to make voting by mail permanent. — The attorney general is investigating the death of a 29-year-old man who was shot by police with a stun gun in Catskill after dousing himself with hand sanitizer during an altercation. | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Aryeh Bourkoff ... Sarah Doolin Roy … Kelli Arena of the NSA … Eli Pariser of New_ Public … Noah Rothman of Commentary and MSNBC is 4-0 … Danny Ayalon … Peter L. Harris ... Paulette Mandelbaum ... Elisheva Carlebach Jofen ... Richard Plepler ... Emily Jane Fox (h/ts Jewish Insider) MAKING MOVES — Amy Varghese is joining energyRe as VP for external affairs. She was formerly communications director for city Comptroller Scott Stringer. … Chi Nguyễn is the new managing director of strategic communications at Bronx Defenders. She was previously assistant deputy director for marketing and communications at the Mayor's Office of Climate and Sustainability and a senior adviser at the NYC Racial Justice Commission. … Kevin McCarthy is now VP for corporate strategy, integration, and growth at HarrisX, a Stagwell Inc. company. He most recently was a principal consultant at Capco. MEDIAWATCH — Nikita Stewart will be The New York Times' new real estate editor. She has been an assistant Metro editor and a reporter covering City Hall and social services. | | REAL ESTATE | | "'Worst Landlord' Watchlist Highlights Manhattan Investment Firm, With NYCHA Dishonorable Mention," by The City's Claudia Irizarry Aponte: "A former rep for a Manhattan real estate investment firm tops this year's 'worst landlords' list, to be released Thursday by New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. The public advocate's office annually ranks buildings' managing agents based on their property holdings' number of serious, unresolved housing code violations logged by city inspectors. David Schorr managed 330 apartments across 17 buildings on behalf of Sugar Hill Capital Partners. In a monthly sampling between December 2020 and November 2021, those buildings together racked up an average of 1,442 open housing code violations, 418 of which were Type C violations — or deemed 'immediately hazardous' by city inspectors." "In New Maritime Freight Plan, NYC Hopes To Distribute Packages By Boat Instead Of 18-Wheelers," by Gothamist's Sophia Chang: "In the city's quest to handle increasing volumes of freight pouring into the five boroughs while preserving the aging infrastructure, Mayor Bill de Blasio has a plan: look to the water. In his 'Delivering Green' program unveiled Wednesday, de Blasio said New York City will make maritime shipping a bigger part of what's called 'last-mile' services — where packages are delivered to consumers' doorsteps — by building a distribution network using boats, cargo bikes, micro-trucks and rail and removing more 18-wheelers from city streets."
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