By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman, Emily Ngo and Hajah Bah

City Hall is expected to hire externally, rather than promote from within, so Eric Adams' new spokesperson would be joining midseason. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

DRIVING THE DAY: Former President Donald Trump, the native New Yorker, was indicted late Monday along with 18 allies — including former Mayor Rudy Giuliani — in an attempt to corrupt the 2020 election by subverting Joe Biden’s victory in the state. It’s the latest legal trouble for Trump, which includes charges in New York for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up an affair with a porn star. Read more about the defendants here, and here you can read the indictment.

REPPING THE MAYOR: Who the heck would want to be Mayor Eric Adams’ press secretary?

“You brief the mayor ahead of time and pray that he sticks to the script,” said George Arzt, onetime press secretary to Mayor Ed Koch.

And given Adams’ penchant for going off-script? “I think that this mayor is probably very difficult for a press secretary.”

Adams is looking for a new spokesperson, after promoting Fabien Levy to deputy mayor for communications yesterday. He’s also looking for a new communications director, after Maxwell Young departed in July. Another top comms aide, Anthony Hogrebe, defected to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office this month.

It has been a tough summer for Adams, and City Hall is expected to hire externally, rather than promote from within, so the new spokesperson would be joining midseason.

Adams loves to talk about his work ethic. So he warned any job applicants at a press conference yesterday announcing Levy’s promotion: “I cannot say it enough — working for me is a grind. It’s a grind. It’s sunup to sundown.” For a press secretary, that means “not being with your family, not being able to enjoy holidays off. Having your family think you’re in a secret relationship because I’m texting you at 2 in the morning.”

Good thing he’s upfront about it, said Freddi Goldstein, former press secretary to Bill de Blasio. “I slept with my cell phone on loud next to my pillow every night so that if something happened it would wake me,” she said. “Burnout is certainly a factor.”

Stu Loeser, who held the gig for six-and-a-half years under Mike Bloomberg, recalled, “The easiest and best part of leaving [was], I don’t get an alert about there being a child dead.”

So who’d want to do that? 

A lot of folks. “It is one of the best jobs in public life. It is as good and very often better than the podium job in the White House,” Loeser said.

Goldstein called it “an amazing job.” Arzt, “incredibly great.” Bill Neidhardt, who also worked for de Blasio, said it was “world changing.”

You’re not just taking reporters’ calls all day, the formers all said, but you’re a top adviser, informing and dictating policy. Also, you make about $211,000. And you get a chauffeur.

HAPPY TUESDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.

WHERE’S KATHY? Making an economic development announcement in Utica.

WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at The Laborers' International Union of North America’s Leadership Conference and speaking at a flag-raising ceremony for India.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Defendant has failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required on these grounds,” Manhattan State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan wrote in rejecting former President Donald Trump’s call for his recusal.

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Republican Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick is introducing a measure aimed at stopping shoplifters. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo

STOP, THIEF! — Shoplifters, beware: A member of the state Legislature may try to thwart your plans.

Retail workers who try to foil thieves would not be at risk of losing their jobs or punished by their bosses under a measure to be introduced by Republican Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick.

Retailers, broadly, want employees to avoid confrontations with shoplifters over liability and safety concerns.

“Terminating someone for doing the right thing sends the wrong message to the criminal message,” he told Playbook in an interview. “And it shows someone is standing up for the retail employees.”

But Fitzpatrick knows first-hand about the issue: Hours after calling up the Assembly Republican counsel’s office to discuss the proposal, he witnessed a man trying to walk out of a Target with a cart full of unpaid merchandise.

Fitzpatrick said he blocked the man’s exit from the store, prompting the would-be shoplifter to ditch the cart and leave.

“He got away,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don’t know where he went.” —Nick Reisman

STATE’S MIGRANT RESPONSE DUE: The new counsel for Gov. Kathy Hochul in the “right to shelter” legal case said the state will respond today — as previously scheduled — to requests submitted by the city on how Albany can alleviate the migrant crisis.

An attorney with Selendy Gay Elsberg, however, asked that a hearing set for Wednesday be pushed one week because she’ll be out of the country and also needs to familiarize herself with the case, according to court filings.

The firm is representing the state after Attorney General Letitia James recused herself.

The city’s requests to the state have not yet been made public. — Emily Ngo 

More from the city:

— Hundreds of NYC shelter beds remain available while migrants slept outside the Roosevelt Hotel (Daily News)

— Five myths about the city budget (Citizens Budget Commission)

— Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Mayor Adams’ top adviser, personally halted DOT’s plan to put a protected bike lane in Downtown Brooklyn (Streetsblog)

Speaker Carl Heastie spoke about the need for assistance from Washington on covering the cost of migrant needs. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo

FEDERAL HELP WANTED — New York won’t be able to cover the cost of migrant needs by itself and will require federal help, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters yesterday during a stop in Glens Falls.

“The state writes little checks; the federal government writes big checks,” Heastie said. “It’s going to be virtually impossible for the state of New York, in addition to the city of New York, to cover this. We absolutely need federal intervention.”

Heastie spoke over the weekend with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer about the need for assistance from Washington.

So far, New York state has kicked in $1 billion for New York City to address the influx of migrants.

State lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul are expected to include more in next year’s budget, but the spending plan won’t pass until April at the earliest. — Nick Reisman

More from Albany:

— A former ethics commissioner’s defamation lawsuit against ex-Gov. Cuomo’s attorney was dismissed. (Times Union)

— Cannabis advocates are giving Hochul’s administration poor grades for the rollout of the legal cannabis marketplace. (New York Post)

— Advocates are urging Hochul to force towns outside of New York City to take migrants. (Daily News)

— Yusef Salaam remained hopeful during his time running for the New York City Council. (City&State)

— A Florida-based company gets a $18 million dollar contract to provide shower trailers to NYC migrants. (Gothamist)

— Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s son was hired as a press officer for the Buffalo Sewer Authority. (Investigative Post)

— Rudy Giuliani, who pioneered the use of RICO when he was a U.S. attorney, just got indicted on RICO charges (Insider)

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ANOTHER SANTOS CHALLENGER: A U.S. Air Force veteran and personal injury attorney is the latest challenger running to replace indicted Rep. George Santos in New York’s 3rd District.

Greg Hach, a Republican, is expected to announce his bid this morning.

“Lies, lies and more lies,” Hach opens in a campaign video, drawing himself as a principled contrast to Santos while also denouncing “woke, liberal policies of inaction.”

Nine challengers to Santos — the majority of them Democrats — have filed with the Federal Election Commission. — Emily Ngo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Karen Finney ... Devin O’Malley … NBC’s Richard Hudock ... Kevin Hall … Dentons’ Eric Tanenblatt … ABC’s Mariam Khan ... AP’s Juliet Linderman … Larry Cohen of Point Source Youth … (was Monday): David Samson ... Carol Levin ... Charles Lavine ... Ester Fuchs ... Raphaela Neihausen (h/ts Jewish Insider)

MEDIAWATCH — CNN has announced a fresh programming lineup, including new anchors for the network’s morning, dayside, primetime and weekend programs and a swath of new shows. Some key moves: Abby Phillip will anchor a new primetime show out of New York, Laura Coates will anchor a new primetime show for CNN out of D.C., Kasie Hunt will anchor “Early Start” and Phil Mattingly will join “CNN This Morning” as a co-anchor. Read the full announcement 

 — Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews has been named president of CBS News, where she had been executive vice president for newsgathering. … Gabe Gutierrez is now a senior White House correspondent for NBC. He previously was a national correspondent based in New York. … Shantel Destra, previously an Albany reporter for City & State, has moved to the PBS public affairs show New York NOW.

ENGAGED — Peter Sterne, editor at City & State, and Emily Joshu, health reporter at the Daily Mail, got engaged on a Coney Island mini golf course Sunday. 

WHAT THE HAMPTONS IS READING — “Tom Ford Is the Buyer of $52 Million Hamptons Estate Where Jackie O Summered,” by WSJ’s Katherine Clarke: “The deal for the East Hampton property is the latest major real-estate deal made by the fashion mogul.”

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