| | | | |  | | By Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman | With help from Rich Mendez
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Mayor Eric Adams' City of Yes is facing an uphill battle, with a public hearing on the zoning plan scheduled today. | Richard Drew/AP | New York Minute: City of Yes is going to hear a lot of nos. The New York City Planning Commission is holding a public hearing today at 10 a.m. on the plan to change regulations to “build a little more housing in every neighborhood.” A Mayor Eric Adams' legacy project, the zoning blueprint has faced aggressive opposition. This is one step of a long process where New Yorkers can voice their grievances — and support. STRIVING FOR A BETTER … HOUSTON? A PAC run by Adams’ ally Al Cockfield raised $1.3 million with the mayor’s support — and now it’s making some curious out-of-state expenditures. Striving for a Better New York’s website says the PAC “seeks to actively support and contribute to candidates for New York State offices who give a voice to the issues that impact the lives of everyday New Yorkers.” But it has given $1,000 to a candidate for mayor of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, $1,000 to a candidate for county prosecutor in Kansas City, Missouri, and $2,500 to a candidate for controller in Houston, Texas. All told, the committee has donated $15,000 to 11 candidates running far outside New York over the last year and a half, according to the latest campaign finance filings with the state Board of Elections. The candidates ranged from Memphis mayor to U.S. Senate. All of them, like Cockfield, are Black. After an aggressive fundraising start in 2021, the PAC hasn’t raised a dime in more than two years and has been slowly spending down the haul. It had reported a balance of nearly $215,000 as of last month. “Generally, I support candidates both in New York and outside of New York,” Cockfield said in a brief phone call. “All politics is local.” The politically connected pastor, school leader and government consultant did not respond to a detailed list of questions about how he runs the PAC, and his relationship with Adams. Five campaign finance experts said Cockfield doesn’t seem to be violating any rules with the contributions. But the surprising donations raise further questions about a PAC that Cockfield has been accused of using as a vehicle to personally benefit himself. The PAC was scrutinized by the New York Times in 2022 for its generous payments to Cockfield himself, a $60,000 donation to a charter school he founded and runs, and money spent at trendy hotels and nightclubs. The state Board of Elections opened a case but closed it without penalizing him after Cockfield made some refunds. Since then, he’s greatly reduced the PAC’s non-political spending. Cockfield has not reported paying himself his previous $7,173-per-month salary since December 2022. Despite the out-of-state contributions, the vast majority of the Striving for a Better New York’s donations have gone to New York candidates — almost all of them Black incumbents, such as Rep. Greg Meeks, Attorney General Tish James and Assemblymembers Brian Cunningham, Stefani Zinerman and Nikki Lucas. Adams’ team has distanced the mayor from the PAC after he helped fundraise. “I 100 percent do not work with him,” mayoral political adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin told Playbook, adding she was “unaware” of the PAC’s spending. — Jeff Coltin HAPPY WEDNESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
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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. | | | | | WHERE’S KATHY? In New York City with no public schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Appearing in a pre-taped interview on 94.7 The Block’s “Jonesy in the Morning," then delivering remarks at the funeral service for DOC Officer Robert Boom. After that, he will make a parks-related announcement. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m with Joe.” — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, responding succinctly about where he stands on President Joe Biden’s candidacy three times in one news conference.
|  | ABOVE THE FOLD | | | | 
After being called out by his Republican opponent, Mondaire Jones broke his silence and expressed lukewarm support for President Joe Biden's reelection. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | SORTA RIDIN’ WITH BIDEN: It took him 12 days, but former Rep. Mondaire Jones has finally weighed in publicly on whether Biden is best suited to lead his party’s ticket. Jones’ support is lukewarm at best. “If President Biden is the nominee, I’ll be voting for him,” the Hudson Valley Democrat said in a statement. “Meanwhile, Mike Lawler is supporting a convicted felon and insurrectionist who wants to punish women for having an abortion.” Lawler and Jones are facing off in a high-stakes, high-dollar race in one of the state’s most crucial House battlegrounds. Lawler, a Republican freshman, has yet to formally endorse former President Donald Trump this year but did serve as a Republican National Committee delegate for Trump in 2016 and has acknowledged voting for him in the April GOP primary. Jones is a Democratic National Committee delegate this year. And he drew a $123,000 salary from Biden’s PAC, Future Forward USA Action, according to his 2023 financial disclosure. And despite those connections to Biden, he had not responded until Tuesday to multiple requests for comment on the president’s disastrous debate performance that fueled skepticism about his mental acuity. The uncertainty is expected to hurt down-ballot Democrats. Jones’ statement came the same day Lawler attacked him for staying mum. “By this point, it should surprise absolutely no one that Mondaire Jones is willing to stab President Biden in the back to try and save his own skin,” Lawler campaign spokesperson Chris Russell said in an apparent reference to Jones’ endorsement against his progressive former colleague Rep. Jamaal Bowman. The move left Jones on the outs with the New York Working Families Party. And Jones lost the WFP line to an alleged Republican saboteur in last month’s primary. — Emily Ngo
| | CITY HALL: THE LATEST | | | | 
“I’m thankful to be marked safe from her support," Council Member Justin Brannan quipped after his potential borough president foe Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn said he doesn't have enough of a diverse cultural backing. | William Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit | WHO ELSE? Tongues are still wagging about who might run for what seat in 2025 if city Comptroller Brad Lander starts a domino effect by leaving his post to run for mayor, as Playbook reported Tuesday. First-term Assemblymember Alex Bores is making phone calls about a run for Manhattan borough president — only if current beep Mark Levine creates an opening by running for comptroller, of course. That could set up an east-side white guy showdown with City Council Member Keith Powers, whose potential run earned support from Queens colleagues Selvena Brooks-Powers and Lynn Schulman after Playbook’s report. Across the East River, Brooklyn Democratic Leader Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn weighed in on the potential borough president run of her political foe, Council Member Justin Brannan. “Brannan has the finance chops and experience as current Council Finance Chair, but may lack the diverse cultural support and roots needed to win over all Brooklynites,” she said in a statement to Playbook. “Nobody has done more for Republicans in Brooklyn than Rodneyse,” Brannan responded. “I’m thankful to be marked safe from her support.” Bichotte Hermelyn was complimentary toward other potential candidates. Council Member Chi Ossé is a “young rising star.” Deputy BP Kim Council “has deep insider experience” and “support in our church communities.” And cannabis executive Khari Edwards, who lost his Brooklyn BP bid in 2021, “knows a lot of the issue areas intimately.” — Jeff Coltin ADAMS ALL IN: Adams was among the 200 Democratic mayors who dialed in Tuesday evening to a call with Biden, who sought to reassure his party that he’s in the election to win it. Some on the call said the president took responsibility for his troubling debate performance last month, and there were no dissenting voices. Biden laid out his plans for his next term in the virtual meeting. And Adams, though effectively estranged from the president he once bonded with, said he could picture it. “It was great to hear President Biden articulate his vision for the next four months and for the future of our country,” the mayor said in a statement. “The president has a strong record to run on and I look forward to continuing to support him in this race.” — Emily Ngo RIKERS UPDATE: Protesters gathered outside the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday, where Judge Laura Taylor Swain presided over a hearing on whether to force the Adams administration to relinquish control of Rikers Island to a federal receiver. Rally attendees held signs listing the names of people who died while incarcerated at the notoriously violent jail complex and chanted, “Shut it down!” “A federal receivership is not going to solve the problem that is Rikers Island, but like I said before, somebody needs to be at the helm and it cannot be this mayor, it cannot be this administration,” City Council Member Tiffany Cabán, whose district includes Rikers Island, said at the rally. Cabán also ran for Queens district attorney on a platform of overhauling the criminal justice system. Most speakers at the rally recognized the federal receivership as a temporary solution and said decarceration is their goal. A plan to shutter Rikers Island and replace it with smaller facilities across the city — begun under former Mayor Bill de Blasio — is delayed. Adams has voiced concerns about it, arguing the jail population isn’t small enough to follow the original timeline. When asked where Judge Swain seemed to be leaning after today’s hearing, Yonah Zeitz of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice told Playbook, “The Department of Correction has deep-rooted issues that no one in the administration, no one commissioner has been able to fix ... she’s clear that something more drastic needs to be done to actually force the city to get into compliance.” Adams, who is up for reelection next year, has consistently spoken against federal receivership. On Tuesday he said he would respect the court’s decision but cautioned federal prisons are “definitely not a model of what prisons should look like.” “This is a huge city, and if someone believes they can do Rikers better, trust me, I have so many other items that I can do in this city,” he added, speaking at his weekly press conference. The plaintiffs and the defense are due back in the courtroom on Sept. 25. for oral arguments. — Rich Mendez More from the city: — After opposing but then declining to veto the City Council’s advice-and-consent legislation, Adams appeared to change his message slightly, framing the bill as a distraction. (Daily News) — Kara Ahmed, a top official who oversees the city’s early childhood education system, will become president of the Educare Network, a national network of 25 schools that offer early childhood programs to 4,000 children, this September. — The NYPD is spending $1,390 per vehicle to replace the slogan "Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect" with "Fighting crime, protecting the public,” less than a year after their last update. (Gothamist)
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Tech companies have threatened legal action after Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature agreed on measures to block algorithmic feeds for kids. | Chris McGrath/Getty Images | FEED FIGHT CONTINUED: Lawmakers and tech firms have vastly different takeaways from a Supreme Court ruling last month that addressed how governments can regulate social media content. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature agreed in June to measures to block child users from being exposed to algorithmic feeds, which supporters say exacerbate mental health problems. Social media companies responded by raising the possibility of a legal challenge. The nation’s top court last week added a potential twist to the debate. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Moody v. Netchoice extended First Amendment protections to how social media companies moderate their content. The Chamber of Progress, a consortium of social media firms that includes Facebook parent Meta, said in a statement the court has set a high bar for how governments can regulate their businesses. “Again and again, the majority in this opinion reaffirms what we already knew: content moderation is protected squarely by the First Amendment,” the group’s legal director, Jess Miers, said. But state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat and one of the authors of the legislation in New York, said the court ruling is much more nuanced than the tech firms suggest. “New York’s laws don’t regulate viewpoint or speech at all; they merely prohibit social media platforms from using algorithms to tailor content to specific users, sending them down a rabbit hole of addiction, doom scrolling and potentially harmful content,” Gounardes said. So far, a legal challenge to New York’s latest efforts to regulate social media platforms is yet to be filed. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — State lawmakers are once again considering whether to lower the legal threshold for driving while under the influence of alcohol. (Newsday) — Efforts to privatize some health care plans for retired people have been kept at bay. (NYS Focus) — RIP former Assembly Majority Leader Jim Tallon. (WRGB)
| | NEW YORK STATE OF MIND | | — Rep. Elise Stefanik said she’s raised a personal record $7.3 million this quarter, bringing the House Republican Conference chair’s total this cycle to $27 million. (NY Post) — Onondaga County plans to spend up to $1 billion to treat wastewater from the new Micron complex and the community growth is expected to follow. (Syracuse.com) — A hot dog-eating contestant in Brooklyn’s famous event is accused of stealing plates to inflate his score to join the elite class of eaters. (NY Post)
| | SOCIAL DATA | | Edited by Daniel Lippman CLICKER — “Exclusive Ivy League Social Clubs Are Desperate for Members: As the clubs lose popularity, some are implementing looser dress codes, discounted dues and speed dating to boost membership The Penn Club in Manhattan,” by WSJ’s Neil Mehta: “The Yale Club changed its admission process to accept members without an affiliation to the university. Most anyone can now apply to the club if she or he has the endorsement of at least two members, according to a club document.” MAKING MOVES — Democratic Assemblymember Ken Zebrowski, who isn’t seeking reelection, has apparently resigned and is joining lobbying firm Brown & Weinraub as senior adviser and partner … Communities Resist, a housing nonprofit, has named Nick E. Smith, executive director. He most recently was first deputy public advocate to Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. It has also promoted Angela Piguave to deputy executive director, Christian Barbato to policy and communications coordinator, and Michelle Perez to HR generalist. … Jared Kaplan has joined Lowenstein Sandler as its chief innovation and information officer, while Maureen Naughton will be its chief administrative officer. Kaplan most recently was chief technology officer for Teneo and Naughton previously was global head of legal operations at ADP. … … Nicky S. Rooz is now a partner at the law firm Withers, where she heads up a new New York-based international family law team. She most recently was at Salzano Ettinger Lampert & Wilson LLP. … Morrison Cohen has launched a multidisciplinary luxury brands practice that is led by Keith Markel, Andrew Bank and Karim Momin. MEDIAWATCH: Olivia Nuzzi will host a Bloomberg interview series (Variety) … Epicenter NYC, a multiplatform community journalism organization, launched the Epicenter Foundation, a nonprofit organization that will advance critical efforts in support of diverse communities. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Eliza Collins, a national political reporter for the Wall Street Journal and an alum of POLITICO and USA Today, and Michael Levenson, director of client development at NP/PA Engage and a Targeted Victory alum, on June 18 welcomed Esme Rose. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sam Stein … former Comptroller Bill Thompson … Mercury’s Jeff Klein … MTA’s Kevin Call … Patricia Reilly … Insider’s Catherine Boudreau … CBS’ Shawna Thomas … MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin … Morgan Ortagus … Stephonn Alcorn … WSJ’s Heather Haddon … Kayla M. Sanders … Owen Karrel … Elie Jacobs … Phil Hedayatnia … Rena Shapiro … Tamarack Garlow … (WAS TUESDAY): Jordan Belfort ... Lori Rothman Missed Tuesday’s New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here. | | | | 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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