| | | | |  | | By Danielle Muoio Dunn | | | |  Commuters ride in an uncrowded New York City subway in June 2020. | Seth Wenig/AP Photo | Elected officials are turning their attention to New York City's budget. More than 45 state lawmakers on Monday signed a letter asking Mayor Eric Adams to expand the city’s Fair Fares program, which provides discounted MetroCards to low-income New Yorkers. The push comes as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority prepares to hold public hearings later this month on its proposal to hike fares and tolls by 4 percent, increasing the cost of a subway and bus ticket from $2.75 to $2.90. The MTA has said the projected revenue is necessary to help close budget gaps caused from the increase in remote work. This year’s state budget included more than $1 billion in new tax revenue and $300 million in direct state aid for the public transit agency — but it wasn’t enough to freeze fares like progressive lawmakers wanted. With the city facing an escalating affordability crisis, state lawmakers want the program to serve families and individuals with incomes about twice the federal poverty line. It would allow an individual making $29,160 or a family of four earning $60,000 to qualify, cutting fares in half for an estimated 1.7 million people. Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist representing western Queens, said expanding the program would supplement the work done in Albany to keep the MTA afloat, and to provide new funds for a free bus pilot and increased subway service. “New Yorkers are being priced out of their own city," he said. "And while some of those costs are dictated by forces out of the control of city government, many of them are firmly within the powers and responsibility of City Hall." But how well City Hall will receive the push for expansion is... unclear. The Community Service Society of New York estimates allowing more people to access discounted fares would cost the city between $120 million and $150 million. A spokesperson for Adams didn’t return a request for comment. The mayor has largely called on agencies to reduce spending in response to concerns about high inflation and a surge in migrants. The City Council, which supports the expansion of Fair Fares, has decried Adams' proposed budget cuts. IT’S TUESDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? In Orange County and Albany, making an economic development announcement. WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City, appearing on NY1’s “Mornings on 1” and CBS News New York. Then, he will make a food-related announcement. Later, he will host a Caribbean community media roundtable and deliver remarks at Marco Polo Ristorante’s 40th Anniversary Celebration. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Make sure you write I’m laughing my ass off, because that’s a joke,” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) to City & State, reacting to Adams calling himself the “hip-hop mayor.”
| | A message from ConEd: The road to a cleaner New York starts now. A new transmission line will carry enough energy to power over 200,000 homes and enable the city to retire fossil fuel peaker plants in Queens. It's going to take all of us to make our clean energy future a reality and Con Edison is committed to doing its part. Learn more. | | | |  | ABOVE THE FOLD | |
“N.Y.P.D. Anti-Crime Units Still Stopping People Illegally, Report Shows,” by The New York Times’ Corey Kilgannon: “The New York Police Department’s anti-crime units are still stopping, frisking and searching too many people unlawfully — almost all of them people of color — despite assurances from Mayor Eric Adams that new policies and training would end the practice, according to a new report by a court-appointed monitor.
The monitor, Mylan L. Denerstein, filed a report in federal court in Manhattan on Monday detailing what she described as unlawful policing. Ms. Denerstein, whose position was created in 2013 after a court ruled the Police Department’s use of stop and frisk was unconstitutional, is assigned to oversee the units, which have a history of targeting Black and Hispanic people.” AP PUSH — State Sen. Iwen Chu introduced legislation to make it easier for students to afford exams for Advanced Placement classes — college-level classes where high school students can earn college credit. Under the legislation, the state Education Department would cover the cost of AP exams for all students. This saves them a large sum of money that adversely impacts students from low-income families, Chu said. Students in the United States, U.S. territories and Canada currently have to pay $97 per AP exam. The College Board, which administers AP courses, offers a $35 fee reduction per exam for need-qualifying students with reduced or free lunch. Schools are also expected to give up the rebate they get for administering tests for those in need, which comes out to $53 per exam. Chu said her bill will make it easier for students to access AP exams “without thinking about the hardship [they are] bringing to their parents.” She plans to continue pushing the bill forward next year if it doesn’t come to pass, with only a few days left in 2023's legislative session. Spokespeople for the state Education Department didn’t return a request for comment. — Madina Touré
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | | | What City Hall's reading | | “NYC Child Welfare Agency Says It Supports ‘Miranda Warning’ Bill for Parents. But It’s Quietly Lobbying to Weaken It,” ProPublica’s Eli Hager: “And the state Senate’s Democratic majority leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, has repeatedly blocked the popular proposal (it has dozens of co-sponsors), throwing into question whether it will get a full vote before the legislative session ends on Friday.” “Mayor Adams Declared NYC ‘Destroyed’ by Migrants, but Economics Tell a Different Story,” THE CITY’s Greg David: “While the immediate challenges are real, immigrants historically have been the key to the city’s growth and have rescued the city from crises in the past. This time, they could hold the key to recovery from the pandemic.” “Armed Guard Is Charged With Raping a Migrant at a Federal Building,” The New York Times’ Maria Cramer “More than 10,000 preschool kids missed required education services this year,” WNYC’s Jessica Gould “50 NYC houses of worship to start sheltering migrants: Mayor Adams,” New York Post’s Bernadette Hogan and Emily Crane
| | | | A message from ConEd:   | | | | | WHAT ALBANY'S READING | | |  Employees of NY State Solar, a residential and commercial photovoltaic systems company, install an array of solar panels on a roof, Aug. 11, 2022, in the Long Island hamlet of Massapequa, N.Y. | John Minchillo/AP Photo | Renewable developers, pinched by inflation, to ask for increased subsidies, POLITICO’s Marie J. French: Developers of new renewable energy projects in New York are poised to request bigger payouts for already-contracted projects the state is counting on to hit its climate targets. A formal petition to the state’s utility regulator, the Public Service Commission, is expected in the coming days from the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, which represents the industry, two officials familiar with the plan told POLITICO. “Buffalo Bills break ground on new stadium as Gov. Hochul hails unpopular $1.5B project,” New York Daily News’ Tim Balk: “Hochul said the plan — which appears even more unpopular upstate than downstate — would prove a long-term boon to the Buffalo region, driving economic development. ‘I was not going to be the first governor in the State of New York to lose a team: the Buffalo Bills,’ Hochul, a Buffalo native and avid Bills fan, said at the celebratory groundbreaking.” “Lawmakers scramble to fix NY’s struggling rollout of retail cannabis,” by Times Union’s Brendan J. Lyons “New York businesses slam amended packaging reduction bill,” Spectrum News’ Kate Lisa
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | |
“George Santos trying to keep identity of people who bailed him out secret, court filing shows,” Newsday’s Grant Parpan
| | TRUMP'S NEW YORK | | “Trump Asks Judge to Stop Carroll’s Second Defamation Suit,” The New York Times’ Benjamin Weiser: “Former President Donald J. Trump told a judge Monday night that he could not have defamed E. Jean Carroll by denying her decades-old rape accusation because a jury had found him liable only for sexually abusing her.”
| | | AROUND NEW YORK | | |
— A Supreme Court judge said the Rockland hotel at the center of a standoff between the county and New York City over sheltering migrants can reopen to guests.
— Drivers are unhappy with the new rest areas along the Thruway. — The city will hold two contested primaries this year in the Bronx and Queens for district attorney. — State troopers are replacing park police this summer. — State lawmakers passed a bill that would make it easier to track the number of lead service lines. — Wildfire smoke from Canada continues to affect the city’s air quality.
| | A message from ConEd: Con Edison is preparing today for a cleaner tomorrow. New York's energy future will require modernizing the city's infrastructure to keep up with demand and ensure reliability. That's why Con Edison is upgrading substations, building new transmission lines, and creating clean energy hubs, helping to deliver renewable energy citywide for years to come. Learn More. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN | |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CBS’ Weijia Jiang and Natalie Morales … Bloomberg’s Justin Sink … ABC’s Katherine Faulders ... CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Ariel Edwards-Levy … Rolling Stone’s Waiss Aramesh … Abby Ginzberg … Sarah Gadsden … Anja Crowder Morice … Anna Epstein … Donna Fenn … (was Monday): Suze Orman ... Andrea Peyser
MAKING MOVES — Jay Olson, the former assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget, has become the deputy comptroller for public finance in the city comptroller’s office. … Nick Giordano is now DEI manager at Allen & Overy. He most recently was manager of DEI at Milbank LLP. ... Jana Simon is now director of DEI at Milbank LLP. She most recently was chief DEI officer at Wiggin and Dana LLP. WEDDING — Rohan Gheewala, an orthopedic surgery resident at Albany Medical Center, and Nicole Lifson, an ophthalmology resident at Brown University, got married May 20th at Leonard's Palazzo in Great Neck, N.Y., with a reception at Hendrick's Tavern. The couple met and started dating during their first year of Medical School at SUNY Upstate in Syracuse. Pic ... Another pic | | Real Estate | |
“The Mob Is Making a Comeback in Construction as Demand for New Housing Grows in NYC,” by THE CITY’s Tom Robbins and Greg B. Smith: "The evidence of [the mob's] renewed involvement has quietly unspooled in a series of recent corruption prosecutions across the city involving significant affordable housing and high-rise hotel projects. Another case ended with the conviction of the head of the powerful state building trades council, who admitted taking $100,000 in bribes and was caught on tape consorting with mobsters.”
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