| | | | |  | | By Anna Gronewold and Joseph Spector | Presented by Healthcare Education Project | More news from the GOP as the party counts down the days to its convention next week: Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin has picked Alison Esposito as his choice for lieutenant governor. Esposito is a deputy inspector in the New York Police Department and the commanding officer of a Brooklyn precinct. She's been on the force since around 1999, including a stint working undercover in Times Square. The pick is a sign that Zeldin is doubling down on his strategy of making crime and Democratic criminal justice policies such as bail reform the main focus of his gubernatorial campaign as he seeks an upset win in a blue state. Esposito's selection is "bad news for the criminals who think the streets belong to them," Zeldin said. Esposito would be the first major party lieutenant governor nominee with no prior elective experience since 2002, when Democrat Carl McCall ran with businessman Dennis Mehiel. BACKGROUND FILE: Esposito does have one discipline case in her NYPD personnel file. She was docked 20 vacation days in 2017 for failing to safeguard her firearm, ID and shield while off duty, according to public records. Brooklyn's 70th precinct, where Esposito is commanding officer, is one of the safest and wealthiest in the borough, encompassing Victorian Flatbush and historic Fiske Terrace Esposito's dad was also a cop who taught her how to have a thick skin on the job, warning that critics would call her a "pig" and criminals would see her as "the enemy," she told ABC News in 2020. She acknowledged to the news network that "you do become somewhat bitter and cynical over the years ... people who you are trying to help spit in your face." She has compared her NYPD colleagues to a family and said she learned from her parents to take pride in the job. Her reasons for running are basic GOP values, she says. "I'm just like you," she said at an introductory press conference in Manhattan today. "A lifelong New Yorker who is sick and tired of the attacks on our freedoms, our wallets and our safety. Ladies and gentlemen, this is as personal as it gets." — from Bill Mahoney and Julia Marsh | | | | 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. | | |
HAPPY WEDNESDAY: We're back with your 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. The Legislature is off this week.
|  | From City Hall | |
ANOTHER SIGN OF HOPE? — Mayor Eric Adams said today he plans to lift mask and vaccine rules for certain indoor spaces. "Yes, and I can't wait to get it done," Adams said when asked whether he would follow other cities like Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., which have already moved to phase out so-called vaccine passports. Adams said the city was "moving in the right direction" to ease mask requirements. Once that happens, the mayor told reporters, "I will know what you look like again." He didn't give a clear timeline for the anticipated moves or specific metrics he would consider, and he cautioned against lifting restrictions too soon. He said he's meeting with his health leadership daily but would not "get ahead of the science." "We're going to do it in a safe way because all of these experts will tell you one thing — we can't close down again," Adams said.
Adams also defended his decision to appoint two pastors who have opposed gay rights to roles in his administration, arguing that many Americans have evolved on the issue. "Everyone who fought for marriage, who fought for gender, who fought against the crimes against the LGBT community, many of us were alone, many Americans came later, President Obama, some of the elected officials you have today," Adams said at an unrelated press conference. "If we say everyone who did not get it then should be banished permanently, that's the wrong message. The goal is to convert, allow people to evolve, so that they can see the error of their ways." Adams hired former City Council Member Fernando Cabrera to be a faith adviser, and former mayoral candidate Erick Salgado to be an assistant commissioner for immigrant affairs; both have voiced anti-LGBTQ views. Adams also pointed to his own record on LGBTQ issues. "I say to my allies in the LGBTQ community, we're talking about Eric Adams, someone who has stood with you, fought with you, side by side, even at my political detriment," he said. Still, LGBTQ advocates and other elected officials have slammed the appointments, and some plan to protest at City Hall on Thursday. — Janaki Chadha SURPRISE! — The mayor crashed an interview this morning between Fox 5's Rosanna Scotto and Chris Redd, the comedian who portrayed Adams in a recent Saturday Night Live episode . While Adams said he was a fan, he noted Redd forgot to include a smoothie in the sketch, producing a cup of moss green liquid for effect. "I'm going to give you a lot of content, Chris," he said. "Trust me." Adams' sneak appearance, meant to surprise Redd in the middle of an impersonation, backfired after the comedian heard the mayor during a sound check. "I'm too swaggy for all that," Redd said. | | On the Beats | |
HEALTH: The New York City health and Covid-19 recovery and resilience committees held their first joint hearing Wednesday, which showcased a dearth of institutional knowledge among freshmen City Council members. Thirty-five of the body's 51 seats have been filled with new members, who were not aware of Covid data that has been regularly reported for nearly two years, including cases and vaccination rates by zip code. "Thank you Dr. Dave Chavitzki," said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse of Brooklyn, referring to city Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi. "I hope I didn't butcher your name." — Amanda Eisenberg
TRANSIT: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to install new platform doors at three subway stations, as state and city leaders face pressure to crack down on crime in the subway system. The doors will be piloted at Times Square, Third Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard-JFK stations for the 7, L and E lines. Local officials, like Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, have called for the MTA to test platform barriers after Michelle Go, a 40-year-old resident, was killed when she was pushed in front of a train. The MTA has been reluctant to embrace the idea, recently releasing a 3,000-page study on the engineering difficulties of installing the doors. It's a "complicated issue," MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said on NY1, that has become more pronounced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The agency is also testing new thermal technology to better detect when people are on the tracks and respond. This is the first week of Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adam's plan to have teams of mental health professionals and police patrol the system. — Danielle Muoio Dunn REAL ESTATE: Adams said today that the trend of companies increasingly moving toward hybrid work models can make way for new uses in empty office space, including housing. "Everything is on the table, we did it post-9/11, we changed the zoning and changed the ways we could do housing in office space and I think we should be open to do so," Adams said, referring to the transformation of Lower Manhattan in recent decades to a more mixed-use area. "Whatever it takes to get people back into our business district, and if it means conversions to housing, we need to think about those things and get it done in a real way." He also said firms scaling back their real estate footprints can open opportunities for smaller, early-stage companies that could not previously afford Manhattan office space. "I believe that this is going to really expand who is able to have a Manhattan address," he said. Still, he urged white-collar workers to get back to their desks, saying, "You can't stay home in your pajamas all day. … We have to have human interaction, it can't be done from home, and if we do that, then we're going to greatly impact low-wage workers," he said. — Janaki Chadha | | | |   | | |
| | AROUND NEW YORK | |
— The ex-president of the NYPD's Sergeants Benevolent Association, Ed Mullins — a constant critic of former Mayor BIll de Blasio's policing policies — is expected to be hit with federal criminal charges and was in FBI custody on Wednesday.
— Thousands of firefighters mourned the loss of the FDNY's Jesse Gerhard on Long Island on Wednesday. The 33-year-old died last week after fighting a two-alarm blaze in Queens. — Churchill Downs will purchase del Lago Resort & Casino in the Finger Lakes. — Unionization votes at three Starbucks stores in Western New York have been delayed. — The Mid-Hudson Bridge connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland (opened by Al Smith and Eleanor Roosevelt in 1930) is the latest span to convert to cashless tolling. — The Department of Environmental Conservation says last year was the safest hunting season in state history. | | | | 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. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
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