POLITICO New York Playbook PM: Adams accentuates the positive during Albany visit

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Feb 14, 2022 View in browser   By Joseph Spector and Anna Gronewold Presented by Healthcare Education Project MR. ADAMS RETURNS TO ALBANY: Last week, it was virtual; this week, it was in-person. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who made his Tin Cup Day plea remotely last week, traveled north this morning for his first trip to the state Capitol since taking office to meet with Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. — Today's meeting was critical for all sides: Adams is seenas widely popular in the city, and he's using that wave of support during his honeymoon period to push legislative leaders to back his agenda. — What does he want? Adams is looking to strengthen the state's bail laws to give judges more discretion on whether to require bail, but so far Albany has resisted the idea. Instead, Adams, Heastie and Stewart-Cousins said they are all on the page when it comes to fighting crime in the city and state, and they stayed clear of making bail reform a line in the sand. They talked more broadly about addressing gun violence. "We walked away with that we're not going to fall into the trap of saying we can't have justice and safety," Adams told reporters as he was flanked by the leaders at the state Capitol. "We can have the justice we deserve and the safety we need. I say that over and over again." The leaders echoed his comments. "We all want to deal with the issue of guns. I think we all have the same goal, and we just said we want to continue to have those conversations," Heastie said. There are risks and rewards on both sides, of course. If the Legislature doesn't address bail reform, it would likely draw the ire of Adams and Republicans during an election year when Gov. Kathy Hochul and all state legislators are on the ballot. On the other hand, if they do make changes to the bail law, it would anger progressives and groups that advocate for criminal justice reform. And either way, it will be a campaign issue this year, particularly in the battleground suburbs. HAPPY MONDAY AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY: Welcome back to the second annual installment of PM Playbook, an afternoon check-in to spill the day's tea — as we know it thus far — during one of the busiest seasons in New York politics. STILL TO COME: Adams planned to talk to reporters later this afternoon about his day in the Capitol. He said it was his first visit since he left the state Senate in 2013, when he was elected Brooklyn borough president. "I'm excited about that I feel I have partners that want to help, not only New York City but the whole state," he told reporters in the morning.   A message from Healthcare Education Project: When COVID-19 hit New York, frontline healthcare workers answered the call. But as the system was stretched to the limit and New Yorkers struggled to find care, greedy health insurers pocketed billions. Despite these record profits, insurers are back squeezing hospitals for more. Doctors and caregivers can no longer survive on razor thin margins. Join us and help stop for-profit insurers from getting between doctors and their patients. Learn more.   From the 3rd Floor Gov. Kathy Hochul was a late scratch at the New York Conference of Mayors' winter legislative meeting in Albany this morning, instead sticking with a 1:15 p.m. event in neighboring Troy. There, she announced the creation of the Office of the Chief Disability Officer, which has been long sought by advocates. The job went to Kimberly T. Hill, who was chair of the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities. Sen. James Skoufis, a Hudson Valley Democrat, said that Hochul has done more to help the disability community in six months than was done in the prior 11 years (meaning when Andrew Cuomo was governor). "My administration is committed to protecting the right of all New Yorkers to live and work in our state free from the fear of discrimination," Hochul said. COMMITTEE WORK: Lawmakers are looking at a four-day work week in Albany as they look to wrap up some of their legislative work before they're off next week for mid-winter break. Bill Mahoney hasmore on the week ahead. Senate Republicans say they will try to force a vote on the floor today to end the mask mandates in New York. It will surely fail. "I am proud to stand alongside my fellow Republicans today to force our Democrat colleagues to explain where they stand. It's time to end the mandates now," Senate Republican Leader Robert Ortt said in a statement. COVID UPDATE: Just days after Hochul dropped an indoor mask mandate, New York's Covid-19 rates continue to drop. On Saturday, the seven-day positivity rate fell to 3.2 percent — the lowest since mid-November. But the rates varied by region: The highest was 8 percent in the North Country; the lowest was 2 percent in New York City. "I am so proud of the hard work New Yorkers have put in this winter to get us past the Omicron surge and put us on the pathway to normalcy," Hochul said in a statement on Sunday. But masks are still required in school —for now GOING HYBRID: New York City Public Advocate and gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams announced that his office — which went fully remote during the Omicron surge — will be returning to a hybrid model in two weeks. Part of Williams' campaign pitch is that a new normal should not be a return to the old way of doing things, and workplaces should encourage flexibility in workspaces and hours. He said in a statement he wants other government agencies "to set an example of responsible workforce leadership by adopting hybrid models wherever possible." FEELIN' 22: Democrats endorsing Democrats. Hochul picked up the endorsement of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, while Adams backed fellow Brooklynite Letitia James, the state attorney general. It comes ahead of the Democratic convention in Manhattan on Thursday. And it's unclear how many — or how long — some of the challengers to the party's pickswill get to speak before delegates. RADIO DAYS: One of the Assembly's first actions in today's session was to pass a resolution honoring radio, sponsored by Assemblymember Nader Sayegh (D-Yonkers). "Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum," Sayegh's resolution notes. "On July 21, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong used radio communication to transmit a message from the surface of Earth's moon." The resolution was unanimously approved.     On the Beats — New York hit nearly $2 billion in the first 30 days of legal mobile sports betting. That's a record — and it didn't include wagers on the Super Bowl. — Less choppy waters? A new Staten Island ferryboat is coming. It's been a while. — Now you know where those used batteries go: And it's not great. Firesare breaking out at New York recycling facilities because of lithium-ion batteries. It's a national problem, and one that's especially troubling in the city.   A message from Healthcare Education Project: Whether it's increasing out-of-pocket expenses, denying claims, or excluding hospitals and caregivers from their networks, greedy, for-profit insurance companies have been profiting off of hardworking New Yorkers for too long. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, heroic frontline healthcare workers stepped up, saved lives, and kept families healthy. But the pandemic devastated our entire healthcare system and pushed it to the brink. Even as New Yorkers struggled to find care and healthcare workers made gut-wrenching sacrifices to fight the pandemic, insurers put profits ahead of patients - muscling the doctors and hospitals that saved lives during COVID-19. Last year the top 10 health insurers pocketed more than $40 billion. Join our movement to demand NYS lawmakers put patients before profits. Learn more.   AROUND NEW YORK — Hochul wants to overhaul New York's highways to address systemic racism:Here's what is being proposed — Super Bowl halftime critique: The one from Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthyisn't going over well . — With Covid cases declining, all hospitals in Western New York are resuming elective surgeries. — The Seneca Park Zoo Society in Rochester is now taking donations in cryptocurrency to support various conservation efforts. — A "harmful, indigestible substance" may be circulating among studentsin Riverhead High School on Long Island.   Follow us on Twitter Anna Gronewold @annagronewold David Giambusso @giambusso   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

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