| | | | |  | | By Jason Beeferman | | | Happening now:
- Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were pleased that they achieved their budget goals, and it showed.
- A budget deal is on the horizon — or more likely during a sunrise this weekend.
- The deal to keep up open SUNY Downstate is in the budget, and the sides are happy.
- Rep. Jamaal Bowman came to the defense of pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia. And he's up with his first ad.
DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 19 (but not for long)
|  Mayor Eric Adams had his best year yet in Albany as Gov. Kathy Hochul clearly fought for Adams’ agenda. | Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul | Mayor Eric Adams had five key asks of Gov. Kathy Hochul for the state budget, and she delivered on all of them. It’s a departure from the days of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, where he and former Mayor Bill DeBlasio had battles over COVID, crime and often dueling press conferences. Today, Adams and Hochul stood side by side. And it was a love fest. “Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, (has) been an extraordinary partner in fighting crime wherever it rears its ugly head,” Hochul said. “I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for the City of New York,” Adams told Hochul. The two were there to announce they were finally putting the padlock (and they came with props) on the illegal cannabis shops in the city and across the state. The final budget will include a plan to empower the state to shut down the shops and keep them closed, even as appeal processes play out in court. Municipalities will also have the ability to opt-in and shut down the shops themselves. The governor is putting a version of a bill from state Sen. Jamaal Bailey and Assemblymember John Zaccaro in the budget to strip bodegas of their licenses to sell beer and lottery tickets if they are caught peddling illegal cannabis. Beyond cannabis shops, the two executives are chummy as ever after Adams had his best year yet in Albany as Hochul clearly fought for Adams’ agenda. What did Adams ask of Hochul?
- A housing package, please? Yes, there will be one, and as Queens Assemblymember David Weprin said, “No one's happy, which is generally a good sign of a consensus.”
- Mayoral control of city schools, perchance? Yep, that’ll be in the budget.
- Expanding the city’s borrowing ability, could you kindly? Check. After being rebuffed last year, the mayor will be able to borrow $12 billion over two years (with the city comptroller’s approval).
- Have more migrant funding, may we? Nowhere near the $6 billion Adams dreamed of, but Hochul allotted a healthy $2.4 billion for the issue, up $500 million from last year.
- Shutting down illegal pot shops, por favor? Indeed.
Adams knows it too.
“The governor just has really stood up and fought for the city, and I know at the beginning of session as we started the budget process, she made that commitment,” Adams said. “As the budget continues to unfold, you will see issue after issue was addressed.” — Jason Beeferman
| | | | 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. | | | | | |  | From the Capitol | | | | 
Lawmakers will be working through the night and into Saturday to pass a budget deal before a two-week break. | Hans Pennink/AP | WHERE THE BUDGET STANDS: Legislators resumed debate on the budget Friday afternoon, tackling subjects like health spending and artificial intelligence. The most contentious issue in the early hours of the day’s debate involved an overhaul of the state’s home care spending. It was the “least crappy version” of Hochul’s proposal on the subject that the Legislature could negotiate, Democratic state Sen. Gustavo Rivera said. “It sounds pretty crappy to me,” replied Republican state Sen. Pamela Helming. Both houses have plenty of work left to do. Two of the 10 budget bills haven’t been introduced yet. The Senate is currently planning to plow through everything and wrap up sometime before sunrise, while the Assembly will likely adjourn at some point tonight and reconvene for a long Saturday session. One major outstanding question is when the Education, Labor, Housing and Family Assistance bill — this year’s omnibus measure containing some of the budget’s most contentious issues — will be printed. “Hopefully later today,” Assembly Ways and Means Chair Helene Weinstein said. “Depending on when you think ‘today’ is.” — Bill Mahoney BUDGET DISAPPOINTS THE ELDERLY: The state’s final budget will rebuff a $42 million proposal from the Assembly that would have eliminated a backlog of services from the state’s Office For the Aging. Instead, the final budget will include $10 million more for the program than what the governor had proposed, lawmakers told POLITICO. But that will only be enough to fulfill about a quarter of the outstanding requests for home and community care services from the lower-and middle- income older adults who need them, advocates said. Assemblymember Ron Kim, chair of the Assembly’s Aging Committee, said the $10 million was still a victory for his office because it restored the $9.3 million in cuts to the program proposed by the governor. Kim said that while the funding will only alleviate 25 percent of the waitlist, the money will still lead to the generation of “hundreds of millions” of dollars in Medicaid savings. “When the executive is coming in cutting the program, naturally you end up having to compromise somewhere in the middle,” Kim said. — Jason Beeferman A DEAL FOR DOWNSTATE: The state’s final deal will include a plan to save SUNY Downstate through the work of an advisory panel, POLITICO reported today. The Brooklyn teaching hospital that has been at the center of a contentious fight between SUNY, lawmakers, and community and labor advocates. The deal on the table bars off any changes to the hospital until April 1. At that point, a report will be released with findings and recommendations outlining what the advisory board would like to see done with funding set aside. The legislation says the board can create a plan costing the state anywhere between $300 million to $750 million. The final deal will also include $100 million in funding to keep the hospital afloat in the meantime. SUNY Chancellor John King told POLITICO the deal is a win, noting that if they are to continue to maintain services within the same building, changes will need to be made to do it within the amount allocated and to create fiscal sustainability. “The reality is we are significantly under capacity in terms of our current inpatient population, so this investment will allow us — with the advisory board — to take a look at the various options within the building,” he said. — Katelyn Cordero
| | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | FROM CITY HALL | | | | 
More than $500 million in city and state funding is going to educational programs, Mayor Eric Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said. | Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit | CITY ED BUDGET: Over $500 million in city and state funding for educational programs will be included in Adams’ executive budget, he and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced today. The city will protect $514 million in DOE programs previously funded with stimulus dollars, a win the mayor attributed to “strong fiscal management and a booming economy.” “We inherited programs [for which] the dollars were allocated using stimulus dollars, which we knew were going to sunset,” Mayor Adams said. “We had to find a way that we could ensure we could keep these programs in place.” The funding also includes a new $5 million 3-K and Pre-K outreach effort; $25 million for special education classes for Pre-K students and $8 million for a portal to make it easier for New Yorkers to apply for subsidized child care. “These are much needed investments, and New York City’s families deserve our full support,” Speaker Adams said. “So as we move forward with the continued budget process, the Council will prioritize securing the resources of our children and students because we need them to thrive.” — Irie Sentner MAYOR UNDER WATER: A new poll from the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, showed 24 percent of likely voters in New York City approve of the job the mayor is doing. The results broadly track a separate Quinnipiac poll from December showing the mayor with a 28 job approval rating. Forty-three percent of likely voters had an unfavorable impression of Adams himself — including 43 percent of Hispanic voters — which was two points worse than Donald Trump, the survey found. The top issue for New Yorkers, regardless of political party, was crime and public safety — a finding that spells trouble for the mayor. While crime rate overall ticked up slightly in 2023 compared with the previous year, several categories of major felonies like shootings, murders and rapes have decreased, according to the latest statistics from the NYPD. However, felony assaults and robberies are trending in the opposite direction. And headline-grabbing attacks on the transit system have put New Yorkers on edge. The survey found most New Yorkers want more police officers. And while housing was the second most concerning issue for Democrats, migrants and immigration took the No. 2 slot for independents and Republicans. — Joe Anuta
| | FROM THE DELEGATION | | | | 
Rep. Jamaal Bowman spoke in favor of the protestors to the Israel-Hamas war at Columbia University as he runs in a tough Democratic primary in June. | Mary Altaffer/AP | DEMOCRATS SEIZE ON COLUMBIA ARRESTS: Democrats rushed to condemn Columbia University for cracking down on free speech following the arrests of over 100 pro-Palestinian protesters — with Squad member Jamaal Bowman jumping into the cauldron today, POLITICO reports. “I’m very concerned with some of Columbia’s actions,” Bowman said, joining six Columbia professors similarly appalled by the arrests during a virtual press conference. “They seem to be folding to pressure from a right wing Congress’ weaponizing of the unfolding events in the Middle East as a means to suppress fundamental freedoms of expression.” Fellow Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who called Israel’s bombardment of Gaza a “genocide” last month, took to X on Thursday to bash Columbia and its affiliate school Barnard College for suspending Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), whom the NYPD confirmed was later arrested with the other Columbia protesters. “What merits asymmetric crackdowns on Palestinian human rights protests?” Ocasio-Cortez asked. Bowman and Ocasio-Cortez’s entrance into the Columbia strife — which spilled into public view Thursday with the mass arrests — underscored the political significance of this moment in higher education. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican who chairs the education committee, said in a statement she was “glad President Shafik has taken the long overdue step of inviting the New York Police Department to clear this radical, unauthorized encampment.” The right-leaning New York Post printed on its cover Friday a photo of a protester wearing a keffiyeh being carried by their arms and legs off campus by police. The headline: “EVICT-ORY!” — Irie Sentner
| | On the Beats | | | | 
Rep. Jamaal Bowman will release his first TV ad of his reelection bid in a tough primary this weekend during the Knicks game. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | AIR BOWMAN: Bowman’s campaign, meanwhile, is set to launch a 7-figure ad buy as he faces a hotly contested party primary, a person familiar with the plan told Playbook. The first ad will air Saturday on ESPN and MSG, when the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers play game one of the first round of the NBA playoffs. It’s part of an effort to target a set of viewers who likely lean left and could be persuaded to vote for Bowman in the Democratic primary. Bowman, first elected in 2020, is facing a heated primary challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer this June. The ad itself highlights the support Latimer has received from the pro-Israel group AIPAC and re-introduces voters to Bowman as “a principal” and “a leader.” Bowman’s ad launch comes after Latimer’s campaign began airing its first TV ads of the race earlier this month. — Nick Reisman HOSPITAL BILLS: Hospitals will be required to waive all charges for patients who earn 200 percent or less of the federal poverty level, under a landmark new financial assistance policy in the soon-to-be-approved state budget. The new policy also caps the amount that hospitals may charge patients earning between 200 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level at a specified percentage of the Medicaid rate for that service. Patients who are eligible will be able to apply for financial assistance at any time during the collections process, and monthly payment plans will be limited to no more than 5 percent of patients’ gross monthly income. New York hospitals are already required to provide financial aid to patients whose incomes fall below 300 percent of the federal poverty level, but the exact discounts tend to vary by facility because the current law lacks a standardized fee schedule. “It’s a long overdue reform,” Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president of health initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York, said in an interview. “I think we’re going to have the best law in the country.” — Maya Kaufman
| | AROUND NEW YORK | | — All six alternates have been seated for former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial, completing jury selection. (POLITICO) — An assistant state attorney general redoubled her efforts to accuse prosecutors of unethical conduct after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor vandalism charge. (Times Union) — A man set himself on fire near the Manhattan courthouse hosting the trial. (POLITICO) | | | | 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 | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment