| | | | |  | | By Nick Reisman, Emily Ngo and Jeff Coltin | With help from Shawn Ness
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Gov. Kathy Hochul has come to a "conceptual" budget agreement with the leaders in the Legislature. | Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | Gov. Kathy Hochul happily let everyone on Monday know they were wrong about the state budget this year. She got her housing package that includes a mix of incentives for New York City developers to build new apartments, local governments to receive millions of dollars to construct new homes and labor to bolster wages. A plan to combat retail theft — including increasing penalties for multiple robberies and assault workers — was included over the objections of some skeptical fellow Democrats. And she is on the verge of extending Mayor Eric Adams’ control of New York City public schools for the next two years while also adding an additional $500 million for migrant-related aid. Taken together, it’s a budget that will: keep Adams happy, keep labor happy and address crime, a persistent concern for voters. Check. Check. Check. “We accomplished all of this without raising any taxes on New Yorkers,” Hochul told reporters at a Capitol news conference announcing the deal. There are some caveats here. It’s not yet clear when the budget bills themselves will be printed and voted on by the Legislature. This was a “conceptual” agreement Hochul announced late Monday afternoon, and Democrats in the Legislature insisted they were still trying to work through details on issues like Medicaid. Assemblymember Kenny Burgos quipped on X that he had “the parameters of a conceptual budget” too: it’s called Hochul’s executive budget and the two one-houses. Even Hochul’s top budget advisor Blake Washington acknowledged more work was needed to iron out the specifics of chipping away at the Tier 6 pension by making it more generous to public workers – a move that could cost taxpayers up to $400 million a year. But the pension change was heavily favored by unions, including powerful public worker labor organizations that lobbied for it. Building trades groups were also able to claim victory in the housing package with a wage deal that helped pave the way for the broader agreement. “The goal here is for people who are building these buildings can actually live in these buildings as well,” state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat, said. “If labor feels that the deal they’ve struck allows them to do that and allows them to build in New York, that’s a win.” But the housing plan has not been fully embraced by some left-leaning lawmakers and tenant advocates, who argue it lacks sufficient tenant protections. “It’s hard to quantify, but the proposal deliberately carves out too many families and people who deserve these protections,” state Sen. Julia Salazar, a Brooklyn Democrat, who sponsored the initial Good Cause Eviction bill, told Playbook. This is Hochul’s third budget, and it’s a spending plan that will be more than two weeks late and one that is expected to add $4 billion in additional spending beyond her initial proposal. It’s not easy to get a budget in Albany, a capricious Capitol where ambitious legislative programs can wither on the vine – as Hochul herself can attest since taking office nearly three years ago and with some stumbles along the way. But the final product this year is expected to be one that underscores how Hochul is finding leverage with lawmakers, pivoting to labor and backing the New York City mayor along the way. — Nick Reisman HAPPY TUESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | DO WE HAVE A BUDGET YET? Hochul thinks so, but no budget bills yet. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Speaking at the Association for a Better New York’s breakfast, holding his weekly press briefing, participating in the Partnership for New York City’s business leaders town hall, appearing on Soul City Network’s “Urbanology,” delivering closing remarks in the General Assembly Hall during a United Nations event and then hosting an Interfaith Passover Seder. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “They saw him as a threat, and my job was to try and kill him.” — Consultant Stu Loeser, on being an oppo researcher in the 2001 mayoral race, in City & State’s story on the political dark arts. HANG OUT WITH US WEDNESDAY! Have you always wanted to meet and greet your favorite POLITICO New York reporter? You’ll have your chance to hang out with us this Wednesday at 6 p.m. at City Beer Hall in Albany. We hope to see you there! RSVP here.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
Jury selection started on Monday for former President Donald Trump's criminal trial. Fifty potential jurors were dismissed for not being able to remain impartial. | Pool photo by Jabin Botsford | A SLEEPY START: Jury selection began Monday in former President Donald Trump’s first criminal trial, and it was slow-going. Inside the lower Manhattan courthouse, where Trump is being tried on 43 felony counts of falsifying business records, more than 50 prospective jurors were dismissed and a hearing date was set on prosecutors' request to hold him in contempt for violating a gag order. And Trump appeared, perhaps, possibly, potentially, to doze off for a very brief spell. Outside, a rally where his supporters echoed that the trial is a “scam” took on its own sleepy quality. Attendees were in the low dozens at the peak, continuously outnumbered by members of the news media. If it was a circus (yes, there were people in costume), it was a small one. “It’s 9 a.m. on a Monday in New York City, and you’re asking Republicans to show up, mostly people who generally work,” Vish Burra, executive secretary of the New York Young Republican Club, told Playbook. The highest-profile backers there were far-right activist Laura Loomer and Andrew Giuliani, son of the former mayor, who referenced the requirement that Trump be in court for the trial set to last six weeks or longer. “In some ways, for four days a week,” Giuliani told Playbook, “this is where the campaign has to be stationed.” — Emily Ngo
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
Mayor Eric Adams brought in over $500,000 in the first quarter of the year. It will likely go towards paying for lawyers. | Peter K. Afriyie/AP | PLAYING DEFENSE: The mayor’s legal defense fund raised just over $500,000 during the first quarter of this year, according to filings with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. The cash will go toward paying for Adams’ attorney fees related to a federal probe into his 2021 campaign. The mayor, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, is being represented by WilmerHale attorney Brendan McGuire, who was formerly Adams’ chief counsel in City Hall. To that end, the trust has spent about $650,000 of its roughly $1.2 million haul on legal fees, fundraising costs and vetting services to ensure donations meet COIB guidelines. That leaves Adams with about $600,000 on hand. “The Legal Defense Trust continues to receive significant support from New Yorkers as the mayor’s legal team seeks a timely and just conclusion to the federal inquiry,” Vito Pitta, the campaign’s compliance attorney and counsel to the trust, said in a statement. Among the donors this time around were Gerald Caliendo, an architect and fixture at the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals who gave $2,500, and NBA legend Patrick Ewing of Knicks renown, who gave double that amount. — Joe Anuta NYPD RUSE: Cops said they got a report of somebody screaming, as an apparent excuse to check on Adams campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs’ home the night before the FBI raid in November. “We just received a call of someone screaming, we just wanted to make sure everything was OK,” an officer said on body camera footage of the Nov. 1 incident obtained by reporter Ben Feuerherd through a Freedom of Information Law request. It seems the officers may have been bluffing. After Feuerherd broke the story of the NYPD wellness check, the mayor and his staff said they didn’t know it was happening, but that the FBI sometimes asks the NYPD for help before a raid. “There are various ruses that authorities can use to just confirm in a recent time period who's at a particular address,” Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg said. The “ruse,” in this case, seemed to be that report of somebody screaming. The video shows two officers confirming Suggs’ name, age, and where she lived with another resident of the building, while briefly walking through the home, including Suggs’ ground-floor apartment. She was not there at the time, and the officers left within minutes. City Hall and the NYPD didn’t respond to requests for comment. Suggs’ lawyer declined to comment. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — Adams celebrated his 60th birthday in 2020 at the luxe pad of Chinese billionaire Hui Qin who recently pleaded guilty to orchestrating an illegal straw donor scheme. (Daily News) — The NYPD is “evading accountability” for Kawaski Trawick’s killing, activists and lawmakers said at a news conference outside City Hall. (Gothamist) — The MTA may be violating city Human Rights Law by requiring people with disabilities to book Access-A-Ride trips by 5 p.m. the day before travel. (THE CITY)
| | NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY | | | 
Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said the state has more cash than expected. | Seth Wenig/AP | CASH RULES: There’s a coda to Hochul’s budget announcement. New York is flush with a bit more cash than initially expected. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on Monday announced tax revenue for the fiscal year that ended March 31 reached $106.4 billion — $2 billion more than initially expected by the governor’s budget office. But it’s not all rosy news. Tax collections in the last 12 months were $5.2 billion less than the prior year due to a decline in revenue from the personal income tax. “With an economy that performed better than expected, the state’s tax collections outpaced forecasts,” DiNapoli said. “The pace of inflation and Federal Reserve Board interest rate decisions will continue to impact economic growth in the coming fiscal year.” — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — School aid will increase by $1.3 billion, but changes are coming to the foundation formula. (POLITICO Pro) — A measure that would have placed restrictions on AI-generated deepfakes will not be in the budget. (Bloomberg Government) — The budget deal will crack down on an increasingly popular home care program. (POLITICO PRO)
| | KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION | | | 
Rep. Ritchie Torres showed his support for One City Rising in a video on X, the group then took it down after backlash. | Al Drago/Getty Images | TALE OF TWO CITIES: A new anti-progressive organization pulled down a Twitter video of Rep. Ritchie Torres’ endorsement, saying it was meant only for a private event. Torres shared his support for One City Rising, saying one of the advocacy organization’s leaders, Jason Curtis Anderson, “has been fearless in confronting the Democratic Socialist industrial complex.” The Bronx Democrat has made clear his hatred for the DSA, but elicited surprise and criticism for backing the anti-bail reform, anti-congestion pricing organization made up of some of the people known for posting about how New York City crime is out of control. “omg u guys the absolute most vile twitter trolls in the game have started their own little political org,” Council Member Justin Brannan posted in response to One City Rising’s first fundraiser last week, with a photo of the cantina from Star Wars. The group’s positions seemed to conflict with Torres’ own record and statements, which he acknowledged in a statement to Playbook, saying that support for his friend Anderson “does not mean I sign off on the personal politics of every member of the organization's board, and to imply so is disingenuous.” One City Rising Executive Director Maria Danzilo said the sold-out event last week brought together a bipartisan group “who support putting our communities ahead of party.” — Jeff Coltin ON THE HUDSON: Two Hudson Valley House lawmakers want more PCB-laden muck taken out of the Hudson River. Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan and GOP Rep. Marc Molinaro today will urge the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a “not protective” determination for the cleanup of the river. The Hudson River cleanup is part of a large-scale effort to remove PCBs discharged by two General Electric manufacturing plants. “For decades, General Electric discharged toxic PCBs into our precious River, putting their profit ahead of the health and safety of Hudson Valley families, including the more than 100,000 people who rely on the river for drinking water,” Ryan said in a statement obtained by Playbook. “We can’t let GE off the hook — clean-up must continue until these toxins are completely removed from the Hudson.” The review is needed every five years to examine how efforts at EPA Superfund sites are proceeding. The push to further clean up the river has been backed by 16 members of the House delegations from New York and New Jersey. “Prior to coming to Congress, I was proud to lead efforts to press for a total clean up,” Molinaro said. “Today, we are both again calling on the EPA to take all action necessary to protect drinking water, our environment, and ecosystems.” — Nick Reisman
| | | | Join POLITICO on Wednesday, April 17 at 6:00 p.m. ET for networking over cocktails and passed hors d'oeuvres. Don't miss your chance to meet POLITICO's New York editorial team and learn more about their coverage of current affairs in Albany. RSVP here. | | | | | | | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — On patrol with rat czar Kathleen Corradi, who isn’t really the city’s first rat czar, and may have competition for the title within the Adams administration. (NY Mag) — And a walk around Flatbush with activist Olayemi Olurin, who channeled a whole city’s frustration to grill the mayor on morning radio. (The Cut) — Your taxpayer-funded Buffalo Bills stadium is starting to rise from the ground. (Buffalo News)
| | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman MEDIAWATCH: Barry Diller Bets on Media Veterans to Turn Around The Daily Beast. (New York Times) — Jennifer Forsyth is joining the NYT as investigations editor in Washington. She previously was deputy chief of investigations at the WSJ. MAKING MOVES – Tara Burchmore, a TechCongress fellow, is joining Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) office as an economic policy fellow. She previously ran Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ (R-Wyo.) Financial Innovation Caucus. … Daniel B. Besikof is now a partner in the bankruptcy and restructuring practice at Lowenstein Sandler LLP. He most recently was a partner at Loeb & Loeb. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reuters’ Andy Sullivan … AP’s Ted Anthony … CNN’s Mary Grace Lucas … Matt Saunders … Sally-Shannon Birkel of the U.S. Chamber … Deborah Zabarenko … S&P Global’s Josh Goldstein … (WAS MONDAY): Carly Zakin ... Mark Treyger … Deborah R. Liebman ... Avital Ronell.
| | YOUR NEW YORK NUMBER OF THE DAY | | | | –$20,773 Net contributions reported by former Rep. George Santos’ campaign in the first three months of the year after $21,000 in refunds. | | | | | | 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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