| | | | |  | | By Erin Durkin, Anna Gronewold and Deanna Garcia | Presented by Healthcare Education Project | If Gov. Kathy Hochul gets her way, New York's ban on new casinos would end this year, putting three licenses up for grabs downstate. But two of those three might already be partially claimed if the state is looking to fast-track the lucrative industry. Genting's Resorts World New York City in Queens and MGM Empire City Casino in Yonkers already have more slot machine-like devices than any Las Vegas gaming hall. So some top lawmakers are eyeing those facilities for quick conversions to full-scale casinos, Joe Spector reports this morning. Assembly Racing and Wagering Chair Gary Pretlow said if Hochul's up for that arrangement "then it's a slam dunk for Genting and MGM." Of course, it's not really up to them. If the timeline for new licenses that Hochul included in her budget is approved by the Legislature, the state Gaming Commission would be the entity to establish a review and bidding process for the applicants. But it doesn't hurt to have powerful friends in high places, including Senate Racing and Wagering Chair Joseph Addabbo of Queens, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers, both of whom said they'll root for the economic boons for their districts. One of the remaining issues is that if two of the licenses end up in Queens and Yonkers, a welcome spot for the third could be hard to find. There are folks like Senate Finance Chair Liz Krueger who isn't a fan of expanded gambling in New York City. But if it's happening, she said she wants to make sure that any bidding has community support and "they cannot bigfoot any specific neighborhood to take a casino that they don't wish to have there." Her gut tells her that probably isn't happening in Manhattan. Upstate casinos, at least, apparently are rooting for whoever wins. They were assured in a 2014 law that they would have five years of operations without downstate competition or would be given a lump sum if the moratorium was lifted early. So… "Del Lago Resort & Casino is strongly supportive of expanding downstate gaming. As a whole, we believe it is good for the state," said Brent Stevens, chair of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, which owns the Finger Lakes casino. IT'S THURSDAY. 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 New York City with no public events scheduled. WHERE'S ERIC? Hosting a ceremony to honor New York City's Hunger Heroes, meeting with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union 202, giving an economic development speech in Hunts Point, and speaking at the launch of the NYC-Israel Chamber of Commerce.
| | | | 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. | | | |  | What City Hall's reading | | Adams staffer pressed Council members to delete tweets in campaign to influence obscure Brooklyn race, by POLITICO's Joe Anuta and Sally Goldenberg: The Adams administration is doubling down on its efforts to oust a 28-year-old Brooklyn district leader and replace him with a City Hall staffer — an unusually minor foray into local politics for a government facing serious citywide issues. Menashe Shapiro, deputy chief of staff at City Hall, pressed several City Council members Tuesday to delete tweets supporting David Schwartz, a district leader in Borough Park who has been on opposite sides of several political skirmishes, five sources with knowledge of the calls told POLITICO. Schwartz endorsed a competitor, Andrew Yang, in the mayoral primary last year and backed a candidate for Council speaker who was running against City Hall's pick. "A look inside the 1st 'safe injection sites' in the US," by The Associated Press' Jennifer Peltz: "Jose Collado settled in at a clean white table in a sunlit room, sang a few bars and injected himself with heroin. After years of shooting up on streets and rooftops, he was in one of the first two facilities in the country where local officials are allowing illegal drug use in order to make it less deadly. Equipped and staffed to reverse overdoses, New York City's new, privately run 'overdose prevention centers' are a bold and contested response to a storm tide of opioid overdose deaths nationwide." " Cities and States Are Easing Covid Rules. Should the Arts Follow?" by The New York Times' Matt Stevens: "When music fans walked beneath the familiar piano-shaped awning and into the dark embrace of the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village this week, a late-pandemic fixture was missing: No one was checking proof of vaccination and photo IDs. A special guest visited to herald the change. 'Good to be back out,' Mayor Eric Adams of New York told the overwhelmingly maskless audience Monday, the day the city stopped requiring proof of vaccination at restaurants and entertainment venues. 'I consider myself the nightlife mayor, so I'm going to assess the product every night.'" — A Greenwich Village seafood restaurant that opted to keep a vaccine mandate in place faced a protest from a mob of anti-vaxxers. "Schools chancellor will not make last-minute changes to high school admissions process ," by NY1's Jillian Jorgensen: "Schools Chancellor David Banks said he will not make any last-minute changes to the high school admissions process, with just days to go until the Friday deadline for students to submit their applications … Following outcry from some families who felt this year's process for applying to the city's 'screened' high schools — those that use measures like grades or auditions — were too much of a lottery, Banks said last week during a hearing with Albany lawmakers that he was considering changes to the process." "Vaccination rates vary for students attending NYC's public schools," by WNYC's Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky: "At P.S. 321 William Penn in Park Slope, close to 90% of the 1,200-plus eligible elementary schoolers are vaccinated. On the other side of Prospect Park, at P.S. 092 Adrian Hegeman in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, just 13% of students reported the same. Recently released data from the New York City Department of Education showed wide variations in student vaccination rates from school to school, leaving many children unprotected against future outbreaks." FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The City Council posted its internal budget Wednesday, and body's spending is set to increase by 24 percent compared to last year. The bump is well beyond the single-digit rise in overall city spending proposed by Mayor Eric Adams, and stands in contrast to his order that most agencies trim their budgets by 3 percent. The biggest increase in the Council's plan came from personnel costs. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams added several staffers to the administrative part of the body along with central staff departments such as the finance division. ... "The Council is a co-equal, separate branch of government, and investing in its professional staff is key to ensuring it is strong to deliver results for New Yorkers," spokesperson Mandela Jones said in a statement. "This upcoming budget reflects this priority by promoting staff leadership, allowing the Council to provide adequate compensation to the hardworking public servants who help the body oversee agencies and support members to represent their districts." For the first time, the overall spending plan for the body also absorbed rent costs for district offices leased by members. — Joe Anuta
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | "New Yorkers With Marijuana Convictions Will Get First Retail Licenses," by The New York Times' Jesse McKinley and Grace Ashford: "New York State will soon announce plans to usher in its first outlets for retail sales of marijuana by the end of the year, giving applicants access to stockpiles of the drug grown by local farmers and offering sweeteners like new storefronts leased by the state. The only catch? To be one of the state's first licensed retailers, you or a member of your family must have been convicted of a marijuana-related offense. The policy, to be announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday, is part of a concerted push to assure that early business owners in the state's projected billion-dollar marijuana industry will be members of communities that have been affected by the nation's decades-long war on drugs." "Amid skyrocketing costs, Cuomo's utility watchdog mostly just watched," by Gothamist's Janon Fisher: "The double whammy caused bills to double or even triple last month, leading to a chorus of outrage from utility customers over the megawatt hole the state utility companies had blown in their budgets. Elected officials, including the governor and state attorney general, promised to hold the utility accountable. But one voice was conspicuously silent: Special Counsel for Ratepayer Protection Rory Lancman, a former state and city lawmaker who was tapped by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in October of 2020 to be the first in-house watchdog for utility customers." — NY1: "Sources say the Assembly expected to include $500 Million for utility customers in one house budget" Protests at state Capitol returning to pre-pandemic levels as budget deadline nears, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: At the same moment on Tuesday that a fleet of buses carrying environmental protesters started to prep for a march to the Executive Mansion, VOCAL-NY kicked off a rally on the third floor of the Capitol in support of a proposal to fund post-conviction appeals. … As the Capitol has taken steps to returning to something resembling normalcy in recent weeks as more lawmakers return in person, the presence of advocacy groups has also started to climb. And all evidence is that the hallways will grow more and more crowded as the March 31 budget deadline gets closer. When the Strong Economy for All Coalition organizer Charles Khan was in Albany a few weeks ago, it "felt like a desert in some ways." "Bill Would Let Police Hide Body Cam Videos," by DCReport's David Cay Johnston: "Senate Bill S7734 would undo a reform law enacted last summer, and that took effect just weeks ago, to increase police accountability and protect citizens from excessive use of force by making it hard for police to withhold body-cam and dash-cam video and evidence documenting police interactions with citizens. The theory is that such videos are the best evidence of police actions and can help the public understand whether officer's acted reasonably and lawfully or were out of control.The bill on Hochul's desk law was passed under the guise of making routine 'technical corrections.'" — "Lighter Covid-19 Caseload Brings Little Relief to One New York Hospital," Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind TRUE CRIME NEW YORK: " A young teacher was found dead 33 years ago. Why did police reopen the case?" from USA Today Network's Jon Campbell, Peter D. Kramer and Georgie Silvarole #UpstateAmerica: Little Farmhouse Flowers in the Adirondacks sold all its tulips to raise $10,000 for Ukraine.
| | | |   | | | | | Biden and the Boroughs | | New York temporarily loses status as donor state to Washington. Here's how much it got back, by POLITICO's Bill Mahoney: Ever since former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan began raising the issue in the 1970s, New York elected officials have bemoaned their state's status as one that perennially sends more money to Washington that it gets back. But New York now seems to have shed its status as a donor state — for a brief time, at least — thanks to the massive federal spending programs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The state directly benefited from $1.59 in federal spending in fiscal year 2020 for every $1 in federal taxes its residents paid in 2020, according to a report released by Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on Wednesday. That's up from 91 cents the prior year.
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | "NYC man accused of shoving officer off ledge during Capitol riot," by New York Post's Priscilla DeGregory: "A Queens man was arrested for allegedly fighting officers and even shoving one over a ledge during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, officials announced Wednesday. Ralph Joseph Celentano III was allegedly caught on video on the west terrace of the US Capitol pushing an officer 'from behind in a "football-type tackle"' causing him to fall from a ledge onto the terrace below, according to court papers filed with a criminal complaint."
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | "Malliotakis 'mad as hell' Biden admin. wants to 2 close NYC VA hospitals," by New York Post's Carl Campanile and Jon Levine: "The Biden administration plans to close two of the Veterans Administration hospitals in New York City — in Brooklyn and Manhattan, The Post has learned. The VA would close those two hospitals and contract with private medical providers as part of a 'strategic collaboration' to treat vets. The plan sparked immediate rebuke from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island)."
| | | | DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | AROUND NEW YORK | | — A Bronx judge ruled that a teenage drill rapper should be tried as a juvenile on charges of shooting a police officer, criticizing unreliable testimony from the cop who arrested him. — City child welfare officials will stop collecting Social Security checks from children in foster care and using that money to cover the costs of their care, and will place the money in a savings account for the kids. — Asthma Alley Bronx residents want the state to shut down peaker plants. — A couple charged with sex trafficking young women from the foster care system exploited a loophole in the vetting process. — The city completed $50 million worth of sewer upgrades in Rochdale, Queens, to relieve persistent flooding in the area. — The city is running a pilot program at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx using an advanced weapon detection system, which Adams hopes to expand to schools. — Most of the city's homeless shelters don't offer mental health services. — State senators based in New York City want to halt Hochul's Penn Station redevelopment area. — A signal problem at the West 4th Street Square station derailed commutes for many New Yorkers, causing delays and rerouted trains across the system. — Two new murals honoring Notorious B.I.G. were unveiled in Brooklyn on the 25th anniversary of his murder.
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CNN's Jim Sciutto and Mike Callahan … POLITICO's Brad Dayspring … Jon Haber of Cascade Strategy … NYT's Danny Hakim … David Lau … Murong Yang … Alina Cho … Cari Lutkins MAKING MOVES — Julia Savel is joining the city Department of Social Services as deputy commissioner for press and communications. She was senior spokesperson for Maya Wiley's mayoral campaign. … Brandon Shaw has been hired as a VP for Hulu's publicity team. He currently is a VP for corporate communications at WME. MEDIAWATCH — Per a Times release: "Writer, sociologist and cultural critic Tressie McMillan Cottom is joining The New York Times staff as an Opinion columnist." SPOTTED at a party Wednesday for Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer, at the Top of the Hay, where Pfizer's Sally Susman introduced Bourla who wrote "Moonshot: Inside Pfizer's Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible" ($20.99): House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Irish Amb. Daniel Mulhall, Israeli Amb. Michael Herzog, Greek Amb. Alexandra Papadopoulou, Chinese Amb. Qin Gang, John McCarthy, Heather Podesta, Susan Fleischmann, Adrienne Elrod, Kim Sajet, Amy Dacey, Tammy Haddad, Steve Elmendorf, Alan Fleischmann and Dafna Tapiero, Melissa Moss, Holly Page and Juleanna Glover.
| | | | 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. | | | | | Real Estate | | "Tenants threatened with eviction face housing court without lawyers," by Gothamist's Chau Lam: "Nearly two months after New York's statewide moratorium on evictions expired, a shortage of attorneys and a housing court system determined to clear its backlog of cases are leaving some New Yorkers to face eviction from their homes without legal representation — undermining a city program that provides free legal services, according to attorneys and tenant advocates. The staffing crunch came to a head in Bronx Housing Court last week." — Tenants rights advocates want to extend right to counsel to people above the current income cutoff. "Bronx building where 17 died in fire didn't get inspection due to COVID reassignment," by New York Daily News' Michael Gartland: "A Bronx building that became a towering inferno in January, leaving 17 dead, was scheduled to be examined by an FDNY fire inspector several months beforehand — but it didn't happen because the inspector was reassigned to conduct COVID restaurant inspections. The troubling account came from Oren Barzilay, president of the union that represents paramedics and fire inspectors who testified Wednesday at a hearing held by the City Council's Fire and Emergency Management Committee." | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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