| | | | |  | | By Joseph Spector | Presented by Healthcare Education Project | | 
As the sun dips beneath the horizon a recreational fisherman pulls a fluke out of the water while fishing at Jones Beach State Park, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017, in Wantagh, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) | Julie Jacobson/AP Photo | New York has the oldest parks system in the nation, and people are increasingly flocking to it. The state’s 250 parks, historic sites, trails and boat launches had record attendance in 2022 with 79.5 million visitors, a 1.2 percent increase from 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday. The parks system is a crown jewel of New York, but it fell into some disrepair several decades ago. That changed when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo took office and pledged $1 billion in upgrades by 2020. Hochul has picked up that mantle and is proposing another $200 million in capital funding in her budget plan to continue upgrades and power park facilities with renewable energy by 2030. "From Niagara Falls to Bear Mountain to Jones Beach, New York's State Parks offer residents and visitors the opportunity to reconnect with the environment, breath in the fresh air, and find solace in their natural surroundings," Hochul said in a statement. Attendance at the state’s public parks has been steadily climbing for more than a decade, rising nearly 43 percent since 2008. The most visited remains Niagara Falls State Park at 9.4 million visits, followed by Jones Beach on Long Island at 8.5 million. | 
Here are the most visited state parks in New York last year and in 2021. | New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation | IT’S WEDNESDAY: Stay with us each afternoon as we keep you updated on the latest New York news in Albany, City Hall and beyond. New York Playbook PM will not publish on Monday in observance of Presidents Day. We'll be back on Tuesday.
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project: Time to Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap. Despite COVID-19 and rising healthcare costs, there has been no significant increase to New York’s Medicaid reimbursement rate for years. As a result, pediatricians are forced to turn away low-income children, seniors face dangerously long wait times for care, and a growing mental health crisis is threatening our hospitals and putting communities at risk. Governor Hochul and the Legislature must Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap. Learn more. | | | | | | WHAT NOW? Yesterday’s rejection of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pick for chief judge has opened up uncharted territory about what comes next. The New York Times’ Luis Ferré-Sadurní reports that the embarrassing rebuke of Hector LaSalle — the first time the Legislature has rejected a governor’s top judge pick — has left Albany experts scratching their heads. Senate Democrats, for example, believe the process should start from scratch with a new nomination and vetting process. Others, however, wonder whether Hochul will try to pick someone from the slate that had already been interviewed by the special commission driving the process. Stay tuned. — Joe Anuta ROLL CALL: If you want to see the full roll call from the LaSalle vote on Wednesday, here it is. With the 39-20 vote defeat, Long Island Sen. Monica Martinez was the only Democrat to vote in favor of his nomination because two other Democrats who supported him – Kevin Thomas and Luis Sepúlveda – were absent. — Joseph Spector HOCHUL AND WEED: Asked by WAMC host Alan Chartock today if she has smoked marijuana as New York looks to grow its number of dispensaries, the 64-year-old Democratic governor offered this response: “I have to say, despite going to school in the 70s, it's nothing I ever partook in. But I'm not done living yet, so you never know, Alan. You never know.” — Joseph Spector | | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project:   | | | |  | From City Hall | | | 
Some candidates for New York City Council received the backing of the influential Working Families Party. | Mark Lennihan/AP Photo | BIG BROTHER IS PROTECTING YOU: Mayor Eric Adams has made no secret of his desire to expand technology in governance. That’s a problem when it comes to artificial intelligence, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in an audit released this morning. DiNapoli warned the mayor has not installed enough guardrails to ensure the technology is being properly deployed in classrooms, NYPD station houses, the offices of the Administration for Children's Services and even in building inspections. AI, particularly facial recognition, has been found to produce racially biased results, as Albert Fox Cahn, the head of a tech watchdog group, told us after the audit dropped. “New York City’s AI has been discriminating against communities of color for years, putting BIPOC New Yorkers at heightened risk of wrongful arrest and the loss of parental rights,” he said via text. The mayor’s office said much of the audit focused on practices of the last administration and that officials are in the process of drafting a more robust set of guidelines. — Joe Anuta WFP WEIGHS IN: The Working Families Party released its list of endorsements for upcoming council primaries this summer, and the names closely track lawmakers who survived a culling of the Council’s Progressive Caucus last week. The 34-person group was whittled down to 19 lawmakers who signed a pledge that included the goal of reducing the size and scope of the NYPD, a divisive issue that caused much of the exodus. (Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who did not sign the pledge, serves as an ex-officio member.) On Thursday, WFP’s endorsement list included all of those members with the exception of Council Member Chris Marte, who has hedged his commitment to the pledge, and Brooklyn lawmaker Charles Barron. “Our endorsed candidates have worked in authentic partnership with grassroots communities, taken principled stands on working people’s issues, and are committed to representing the interests of all New Yorkers, not just the wealthy few,” Syed Ali, the party’s Brooklyn chapter leader, said in a statement. Four members who got the nod from WFP in 2021 — Felicia Singh, Mercedes Narcisse, Justin Brannon and Marjorie Velázquez, all of whom left the Progressive Caucus — did not make the cut this time around. WFP spokesperson Ravi Mangla said the party began its interview process in January, before the fissure in the Progressive Caucus, and that any overlap has to do with shared values. “We share a lot of the same goals around housing, health care, and having a multi-strategy approach to public safety,” he said via email. “It's also important to us that electeds are willing to work in partnership and collaborate with grassroots groups in an ongoing way.” — Joe Anuta IN THE MAIL: U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman sent a joint letter to Adams asking the city to cough up a full accounting of what the Giuliani administration knew in the aftermath of 9/11 regarding toxic materials at the site. “It is long past time for full disclosure of the City’s records,” the duo wrote. “While more than 20 years have passed, we still do not know the full impact of that day and the aftermath on the health of thousands of New Yorkers, and the full extent of what the City knew at the time.” — Joe Anuta | | On the Beats | | PARKS — Adams has appointed Ya-Ting Liu as chief public realm officer, a newly created position to help drive the city’s economic recovery through greater investment in parks and plazas. Liu will oversee the reconstruction of Fifth Avenue and the city’s recent $375 million commitment in public spaces across the five boroughs. She will also work with the City Council on the creation of an Open Restaurants program. Liu most recently served as a chief strategy officer to Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, a title she will continue to hold. She has also held policy positions at the rideshare company Via, the New York League of Conservation Voters and Transportation Alternatives. She will be paid $195,000 annually, Gothamist reports. — Danielle Muoio Dunn HEALTH CARE — During a hearing Thursday on the proposed mental hygiene budget for the upcoming fiscal year, state lawmakers grilled Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, commissioner of the state Office of Addiction Supports and Services Commissioner, on the slow distribution of New York’s roughly $2 billion in opioid settlement dollars — even though initial funding was appropriated last year. Cunningham said the office was waiting for the state’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Board to issue its recommendations, which were released Nov. 1, and has doled out $120 million since then. An additional $11 million will be made available before the end of this month, she said. — Maya Kaufman
| | | | A message from Healthcare Education Project: The Medicaid Coverage Gap is making New York’s mental health crisis worse and putting our most vulnerable communities at risk. It’s time to close it.
Medicaid provides essential health coverage to millions of vulnerable New Yorkers. Yet, despite the ravages of COVID-19 and rising healthcare costs, there has been no significant increase in New York’s Medicaid reimbursement rate for years. Because of the Medicaid Coverage Gap, pediatricians are forced to turn away low-income children, seniors face dangerously long wait times for care, and a growing mental health crisis is threatening our hospitals and putting communities at risk.
To actually address this crisis, Governor Hochul and the Legislature must Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap and raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate by at least 10 percent. Closing the Medicaid Coverage Gap will help address our mental health crisis and protect our most vulnerable communities. Learn how. | | | | | | — Renewable projects are slow to develop amid New York’s climate goals. (POLITICO) — The Panel for Educational Policy approved a $78 million school door locking system project. Not everyone is happy with this costly plan. (Daily News) — Today, New York City is experiencing record-high temperatures amid an unusual warm winter. (Gothamist) — Not New York City news, but Biden divulged information about those UFOs. (The New York Times) | | | | 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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