| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo | Presented by Soloviev Group | With help from Shawn Ness
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AI-generated audio of Manhattan Democratic boss and former Assemblymember Keith Wright talking about Assemblymember Inez Dickens has been circulating throughout the Harlem political scene. | Mike Groll/AP | That’s not Wright! And it’s wrong. AI-generated audio of Manhattan Democratic boss Keith Wright talking smack about Assemblymember Inez Dickens went mini-viral among Harlem political players on Sunday. It’s the first instance — at least that Playbook is aware of — of somebody using an artificial intelligence voice for nefarious purposes in New York politics. (Mayor Eric Adams did mislead New Yorkers by using AI to fake his own voice speaking Spanish and Yiddish.) But it won’t be the last time. An AI-generated robocall impersonating President Joe Biden this weekend told people not to vote in the New Hampshire primary. The 10-second clip of the Manhattan leader was linked on audio-sharing site SndUp with the title “Harlem NY politics exposed” and shared with Playbook. It claimed Wright was “caught on hot mic.” “Yeah, she’s not running, she’s done. I dug her grave and she rolled into it,” the profanity-laced clip said. “Lazy, incompetent — if it wasn’t for her, I’d be in Congress.” Wright said it wasn’t real. “In an attempt to divide Harlem, someone created AI generated audio that was misogynist and disrespectful to the legacy of our esteemed Assemblywoman,” Wright posted on Facebook Sunday afternoon. “At a time where over 200,000 Black people have been forced to leave the City, we refuse to let outsiders fracture the unity we’ve built for generations. I renounce these lies and any other attempts to use my legacy to disrespect a daughter of Harlem.” Listeners noticed the audio sounded off. “I’ve known Keith most of my life and he doesn’t talk that fast,” Harlem political operative Londel Davis told Playbook. But it was believable enough to fool some people, especially since Wright doesn’t shy from cursing and has had political battles with Dickens. “It’s fake audio of what Keith is really thinking,” quipped a consultant. “We’re at a whole different reality with misinformation and having to question the provenance of stuff,” former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito told Playbook. But when the Manhattan Democrat first got the audio in a group text Sunday, “that’s not what came to mind. I was like ‘oh shit.’ I thought it was real.” It isn’t clear who made the clip. But it spread at a pivotal moment. Dickens announced Monday she isn’t seeking reelection as she continues to struggle with her health. Keith’s son Jordan Wright is running for the open seat. And while both Wrights helped City Councilmember Yusef Salaam crush Dickens in last year’s City Council primary, she is expected to back the younger Wright for her seat. Meanwhile, in an effort to continue growing his influence, Rep. Adriano Espaillat is planning a meeting Sunday to decide what he and his “Squadriano” should do about the open seat. Which is all to say — Harlem politics will stay hot. “I’ve heard Tupac and Biggie doing Drake songs,” Davis said. “This AI thing is amazing. And I think it’s going to cause a lot of problems in the future.” — Jeff Coltin IT’S TUESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | A message from Soloviev Group: Optimally located on Manhattan’s east side, Freedom Plaza by Soloviev will emerge as an entertainment district with a first-class hotel, a casino by Mohegan, and the world’s first Democracy Museum. From improving overall quality of life by creating sustainable public green spaces to new affordable housing in a post-pandemic NYC suffering from a housing crisis, we envision innovative components that will introduce economic and social benefits to our East Side neighborhoods and New York City. | | | WHERE’S KATHY? Making an announcement about economic development in Mt. Van Hoevenberg. WHERE’S ERIC? Hosting an in-person media availability, delivering remarks to kick off the 2024 HOPE Count. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m low-key serving here.” — City Councilmember Chi Ossé, indicating jokingly that he likes the photo the New York Post chose of him for its cover about bills requiring the NYPD to give info on lower-level stops.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | 
The Republican State Leadership Committee Chair Steve Crisafulli and the rest of the committee want to entrench themselves in deep blue parts of New York. | Steve Cannon/AP | IF YOU CAN MAKE IT HERE: National Republicans hope to make inroads in deep blue New York this year. The state Legislature is a possible target for their party’s expansion. The Republican State Leadership Committee hopes New York, along with other Democratic-heavy states like California and Illinois, can be opportunities for growth this election cycle. The group helps elect Republicans running in state legislative races across the country. A memo from the group obtained by Playbook pointed to President Joe Biden’s potential weakness leading the ticket. “Joe Biden’s popularity continues to dwindle, and with Republicans carrying every Biden +9% or less districts in Virginia in 2023, a state carried by Biden by 10 points in 2020, there are some opportunities to grow our party and work to chip away at Democrat majorities,” the group wrote in its memo. A Siena College poll released Monday underscores the problems facing Biden in New York, a state he won handily in 2020: Only 43 percent of New York voters approve of the job he’s doing and he leads former President Donald Trump by only 9 points. Yet the Democratic majorities in the state Senate and Assembly face no immediate threats: Democrats hold 101 seats in the 150-member Assembly and 42 of the 63 Senate seats. Republicans last controlled the Assembly in the pre-Watergate era. Democrats gained full control of the state Senate after the 2018 elections and then cemented their supermajority in 2020. Democrats are confident that Trump’s expected nomination will turn out their base, ultimately hurting Republicans in closely contested districts and boosting their party’s candidates down the ballot. The memo doesn’t make any money commitments to New York races, for now. New York Democrats in both chambers, too, have been adept at handily outraising the GOP conferences. The Assembly Democrats’ campaign arm this month reported a record amount raised in an election year. — Nick Reisman
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams has spoken out against Mayor Eric Adams, most recently on the 30- or 60-day limits he imposes on migrant shelter stays. | John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit | SPEAKING OUT: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is standing taller against Mayor Eric Adams, most recently on the 30- or 60-day limits he imposes on migrant shelter stays. “Our goal should always be to minimize harm, but the mayor’s police activity and this action actively hurt people,” the speaker said Monday, saying the shelter notices are “uprooting youth and families with children, forcing them to navigate an unnecessarily burdensome and bureaucratic process to receive a new shelter placement.” The speaker has denounced the mayor’s campaign against legislation requiring police documentation of low-level stops and banning solitary confinement at jails. On Monday, she didn’t just make the migrant remarks off-handedly at City Hall, she led a rally at Metro Baptist Church in midtown Manhattan with several of her members, migrants, clergy leaders and immigration advocates. Councilmember Diana Ayala at the event called the mayor a “slumlord.” The mayor responded to the criticism at a Bronx town hall later Monday, saying 168,000 migrants have come through the city and no children have slept on the street. “And we have the audacity to tell people within 30 days with intense support, ‘You have to be self-sustaining because we can’t carry with you forever,’” Adams said. “And you have the loud noises of those who never navigated this process telling us we’re inhumane.” — Emily Ngo More from the city: — Fewer city residents will get preference for newly constructed affordable housing in their neighborhoods, according to a court order. (POLITICO Pro) — A doctor with city business dealings and his wife gave $10,000 to Adams’ defense trust, which prompted a refund. (Daily News) — The city unveiled a plan to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia in public schools after an uptick in bias-related incidents. (POLITICO Pro)
| | | | A message from Soloviev Group:   | | | | | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | |  Gov. Kathy Hochul included the NY HEAT ACT in her $233 billion budget proposal to transition to cleaner and more renewable energy. | Yuki Iwamura/AP | TURNING UP THE HEAT: Advocates are set to rally later today for a measure that is meant to align New York’s climate goals with state utility regulations. The NY HEAT Act is a key priority for advocates this year as the state seeks to transition to cleaner and more renewable forms of energy in the coming years. Gov. Kathy Hochul included the provision in her $233 billion budget proposal this year, though the bill has stalled over the last several years in Albany. Climate advocates have sought to frame the measure as one that will help save utility ratepayers money. “Our work is not done,” Jessica Azulay, the program director of the Alliance for a Green Economy, said. “Families facing high energy costs, the devastating impacts of climate change, and the bad air quality caused by burning gas in our homes need relief now.” — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Nine governors, led by Hochul, asked the White House and Congress for “a serious commitment” to overhauling the immigration system. (New York Times) — Democrats approved abortion legislation that could help galvanize voters this fall. (City & State) — Chris Cuomo spoke about his second chance with NewsNation after he was fired from CNN. (Washington Post)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Tom Suozzi and Mazi Melesa Pilip each want to set the record straight on their hot button issues amid the intensifying mud-slinging. | Cheriss May/Getty Images | PRESSING HOT BUTTONS: Mazi Melesa Pilip and Tom Suozzi, rivals in the Feb. 13 special election in Nassau County and Queens, each want to set the record straight amid the intensifying mud-slinging. For Suozzi, the Democratic former representative, it’s on immigration. “See Tom’s 2018 FOX interview when he was one of only eighteen Democrats in Congress to vote to support ICE,” reads a post on his social media account. Another post links to his record on immigration enforcement. For Pilip, the GOP pick and Nassau County legislator, it’s on abortion rights. A post on her social media account reads: “Despite my opponent’s lies, I will NEVER do anything to hinder access to abortion in New York.” Suozzi is targeted in several attack ads as lax on illegal immigration. The DCCC, meanwhile, has noted that Pilip identifies as “pro-life.” — Emily Ngo ABORTION AND NY-18: Hudson Valley GOP House candidate Alison Esposito said the U.S. Supreme Court “did the absolute right thing” in reversing Dobbs v. Jackson, applauding leaving abortion rights in states’ hands in an WAMC interview last October. She also answered yes when asked if she’d support legislation “to protect innocent human life from conception to natural death,” according to an L.I. Coalition for Life questionnaire she completed as a lieutenant governor candidate in 2022. Her 2024 rival, Democratic incumbent Rep. Pat Ryan, sees an opening. (After all, he won his 2022 special election championing reproductive rights.) “Alison’s record is clear: she’s anti-choice and anti-freedom,” Ryan responded in a statement to Playbook, saying that she “pledged to defund Planned Parenthood and supports Trump and his far-right campaign to rip away reproductive rights across the country.” But Esposito, who was Lee Zeldin’s running mate in 2022, says abortion is not a top concern in New York, where it’s codified, though illegal immigration and the economy are. She also effectively has called Ryan desperate, saying he accused her of backing a nationwide abortion ban when she has not. Her campaign spokesperson said in response to a Playbook query: “Pat Ryan advocates for only one option for women who find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy. In stark contrast, Alison believes in empowering women and babies.” — Emily Ngo
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stopped by a hospital in Orchard Park to discuss a shortage of RSV vaccines, putting pediatricians in the area in a tough position. (Buffalo News) — A coalition of different counties, farmers, unions and business associations wrote a letter to Hochul asking for increased funding for roads and bridges. (State of Politics) — Hochul wants to start taxing hotels and Airbnb the same way in an attempt to “level the playing field.” (Times Union)
| | | | A message from Soloviev Group: Each year, 2% of net profits generated from the proposed gaming component of Freedom Plaza will be directly reinvested into the community through a contribution to a 501(c)3 that is registered to and solely operated by the community. The guiding mission of this project is a commitment to finding out what our neighbors need, listening to concerns, and encouraging our community to consider the many benefits a truly collaborative plan can deliver. Our goal is a win-win development that enhances the community and contributes positively to the economic and cultural life of New York City. | | | | | SOCIAL DATA | | MAKING MOVES — Rob Calarco, the former Suffolk County presiding officer, is now assistant secretary of intergovernmental affairs on Long Island for Hochul. Stevens Martinez has been promoted to be deputy director of intergovernmental affairs on Long Island for Hochul. He most recently was Nassau County regional representative for her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Norah O’Donnell (5-0) … POLITICO’s Joe Anuta … Eric Koch … CNN’s Aaron Pellish … Edelman Global Advisory’s Daniel Workman … Kelsey Sutton … (WAS MONDAY): Sami Gayle ... Gilbert Levine ... Mark Appel
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