Start separating your leaves from your trash

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May 31, 2023 View in browser   By Danielle Muoio Dunn and Zachary Schermele Presented by Compost soil used at a community farm in the Bronx is shown in October 2010. | AP Photo/Frank Franklin II Composting is coming back to New York City. The Adams administration on Wednesday will publish a rule requiring residents to separate their leaf and yard waste from trash. The rule — which will go into effect June 30 — is the first time the city has required that compostable material be separated like bottles and cans. Officials plan to roll out a curbside collection program for organic materials to the entire city by the end of 2024, the largest of its kind in the nation. New York once offered a similar program to certain neighborhoods across the five boroughs, but there were significant barriers to participation and it was cut at the height of the pandemic. Since then, the city has restarted the service in Queens and plans to bring it to Brooklyn in October. The new leaf waste rule would start fines at $50 for the first offense. It's a small step that will likely reinforce existing practices that homeowners in outer boroughs already take when tending their yards during peak foliage. Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that level of familiarity was the point: Get people accustomed to the concept that organic material should have its own bin. “People naturally separate it, it doesn’t come inside the home and then need to go back out, it doesn’t require a new behavior, it’s not gross,” Tisch said in a statement to POLITICO, adding that successful compost programs in other major cities had an “early focus on leaf and yard waste.” Still, many lawmakers want to see the Adams administration do more to ensure residents actually change their ways by mandating they also separate their food scraps. A bill that would require the city to take this step has enough sponsors to override a mayoral veto. It's slated for a vote next week, along with other “zero waste” legislation to make it easier for residents to repurpose their food and yard scraps, said City Council Member Sandy Nurse, chair of the sanitation committee. “It becomes harder to guarantee high participation if we’re not creating both a carrot and a stick,” she said in an interview. IT’S WEDNESDAY.  WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany and New York City, delivering remarks at the 2023 SUNY State of the University Address and announcing investments to expand child care access. WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City, delivering remarks at the Department for the Aging’s National Older Adult Health and Fitness Day and hosting a Gun Violence Prevention Task Force youth town hall. Later, he will host a reception celebrating Jewish Heritage Month and deliver remarks at an Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration. A message from Uber: Uber riders have already paid $629 Million in Congestion Pricing fees while personal cars and Amazon trucks haven’t paid a cent. Even all electric Uber Green cars are charged for Congestion Pricing while gas trucks pay nothing. 14,500 Uber riders have opposed increasing fees on Ubers. Learn More.   WHAT CITY HALL IS READING “Legal Aid gears up for potential fight as Mayor Adams seeks to curb right-to-shelter rules,” by WNYC’s Elizabeth Kim: “In a letter to Judge Erika Edwards in Manhattan state Supreme Court, Legal Aid staff attorney Joshua Goldfein argued that in contrast to the mayor’s contention, the city has ‘both resources and alternatives that it should deploy to address the homelessness crisis in New York City.’” “NYC jails commissioner Louis Molina pleaded with federal monitor not to release damning report on possible coverups of five serious incidents,” by Daily News’ Graham Rayman: “Molina claimed Friday in emails the report would ‘cause great harm to the department when we are making great strides.’ He added disclosure will ‘fuel the flames of those who believe we cannot govern ourselves,’ according to the monitoring report released later on Friday.” “Who’s lobbying for each New York City casino bid?” by Crain’s New York’s Nick Garber: “What do a gay rights activist, a Brooklyn pastor, and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s father have in common? They’re all lobbying for the real estate giants and gambling companies seeking to win a downstate casino license.” “Migrants get appointments nearly a decade away to meet with federal officials,” by Spectrum News’ Eric Feldman “Maria Torres-Springer appointed deputy mayor of housing, economic development, workforce,” by amNY’s Dean Moses & Ethan Stark-Miller   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 ALBANY'S READING “Emails suggest ex-NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched COVID-19 memoir project in March 2020,” by New York Post’s Patrick Reilly: “Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s staff reportedly shared emails about drafting his bombastic $5.1 million COVID-19 response memoir as early as March 2020, just weeks before the first deadly wave of the pandemic tore through the Empire State. Cuomo speechwriters Jamie Malanowski and Tom Topousis began drafting a ‘preface’ on March 30 and chapter titles for a ‘book’ on March 31, according to a number of emails obtained by the conservative Empire Center for Public Policy.” “'Is this a story they want?:' Albany County asks NYC for migrant coordination,” by Times Union’s Steve Hughes: “Mayor Kathy Sheehan said Tuesday the city does not expect to receive additional buses of migrants from New York City over the next few days, while Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said the county might sue New York City to stop additional buses from arriving if Mayor Eric Adams’ administration refuses to coordinate its efforts with Albany County.” “Unclear if asylum-seekers will come to Erie County, Gov. Kathy Hochul says,” by Buffalo News’ Matt Glynn   A message from Uber:   AROUND NEW YORK — The lawyer who brought the landmark case that created the city’s “right to shelter” decree said undoing aspects of it would “return us to the status quo of 1979.” — A poultry distributor who sells meat to New York food carts admitted to selling uninspected products. — Lawmakers want to hike taxes on out-of-state health insurance firms. — An ex-NYPD sergeant accused of acting as an unlawful agent of China will be in court in Brooklyn. — Brooklyn nurses are warning they'll strike in the latest example of health care labor organizing in New York.   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.     SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Juli Weiner … Commerce’s Charlie Meisch ... Michael O’Connor of Williams & Connolly … CNN’s Sara Sidner … Lauren Passalacqua … Kelsey Kats … Zofia Rawner … (was Tuesday): Larry A. Silverstein ... Ike Sorkin ... Daphne Merkin ... Scott Hertz (h/ts Jewish Insider) … Mercury’s Matt Coleman  WHAT WALL STREET IS READING — “Goldman Sachs Executive Dina Powell McCormick to Depart for Merchant Bank,” by WSJ’s Miriam Gottfried and AnnaMaria Andriotis: “Powell McCormick, one of the most senior women on Wall Street and a former U.S. government official, is leaving Goldman Sachs to join an investment and advisory firm run by former partners at the Wall Street giant. Powell McCormick will assume the newly created roles of vice chairman and president of global client services at BDT & MSD Partners.” MAKING MOVES — Claire Riddick, formerly an account coordinator for BerlinRosen's cities division, has joined Revel as their new government affairs associate. … Rob Todaro is now comms director for Data for Progress. He previously was a senior comms manager for The Trevor Project. A message from Uber: If you own a townhouse on the Upper West Side, you don’t pay any Congestion Pricing. If you’re a renter in the Bronx you already pay $2.75 in Congestion Pricing on every Uber trip into Manhattan’s congestion zone. Over 165,000 Uber trips start in outer borough low income neighborhoods and end in Manhattan. 14,500 Uber riders have opposed increasing fees on Ubers. Learn More.   Real Estate “City Planning looks to use cellphone data to assess economic impact of hybrid work,” by Crain’s Mario Marroquin: “The New York Metropolitan Council, which is the link between local and federal transportation officials, says the cellphone data can be used to analyze how, when and where consumers are spending their dollars as they continue to shy away from office districts. Cellphone data is more precise in this kind of tracking than other data.” “Las Vegas Sands to seek IDA tax breaks for casino project, rep says,” by Newsday’s James T. Madore   Follow us on Twitter Danielle Muoio Dunn @muoiod   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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