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

Pat Ryan insisted Abortion will continue to be a top-of-mind issue for voters heading into 2024. | Hans Pennink/AP Photo

DRIVING THE DAY: Gov. Kathy Hochul will deliver an address on the migrant crisis at noon. The speech is expected to include calls for additional federal aid, according to people familiar with the plans.

The speech comes as Hochul’s administration has been under pressure from Mayor Eric Adams over the response to the influx of migrants who have arrived in New York in the last year, and they are both pressing the White House for more help.

A Siena College poll this week showed most voters called the migrant situation a serious problem and were critical of officials’ response.

CAMPAIGN THEME: Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan’s plan to win reelection in a closely watched House race next year will include the same approach that won him a critical special election a year ago: trumpeting his support for abortion rights.

Ryan won the special election to a Hudson Valley district in a bellwether race that was the first in the nation after the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade a month earlier.

Now Ryan will again be targeted by Republicans in a key swing district as voters are contending with inflation. Democrats’ response to the influx of migrants is being panned.

But Ryan insisted abortion will continue to be a top-of-mind issue for voters heading into 2024.

“MAGA Republicans offer chaos and are anti-freedom; myself and the Democratic Party’s agenda is about protecting freedom,” he told Playbook.

Ryan bristled a bit when it was noted New York has some of the strongest abortion laws in the country.

He pointed to House Republican sponsorship of a bill to restrict funding for abortion as well as efforts to curtail abortion access for members of the military.

“This is a national issue that includes New York,” Ryan said. “I do believe that New Yorkers and all Americans see this attempt to take away reproductive freedom.”

Ryan’s race next year will be key for both parties as they fight for control of the House.

New York Democrats at the state and federal levels have previously unveiled a plan to focus heavily on abortion rights in 2024. And a proposed state constitutional amendment meant to enshrine abortion rights will be put to voters next year in a referendum, which could help drive turnout.

Republicans, of course, see it differently. The House GOP’s campaign this week unveiled a billboard campaign knocking Ryan for high gas prices.

Conservative Party Chair Gerry Kassar expects the abortion issue will likely be subsumed by voter concerns over crime and the migrant issue, particularly in the New York City suburbs.

“I think the Democrats lost control of the issue agenda, and frankly I think their only issue to talk about is abortion,” Kassar said.

Ryan dismissed the criticism. He’s called for a state of emergency to address migrants and wants more funding for police.

“There isn’t some choice here between having safety and having freedom,” he said. “We can do both.”

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

WHERE’S KATHY? Delivering an announcement to New Yorkers on the asylum seeker crisis.

WHERE’S ERIC? Returning from Israel and holding a reception on Arab heritage at Gracie Mansion.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I know you're wanting me to churn out some puns on this one. They want me to say, ‘You butter believe it,’ but I won't say you butter believe it. But I am on a roll here” — Hochul as she opened the New York State Fair and lauded a main attraction: the 800-pound butter sculpture of a cow conducting a train (PICS).

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UNLIKELY ALLIES IN MIGRANT FIGHT: The Legal Aid Society can be counted on to condemn Adams’ policies spanning from housing to Rikers Island.

But the public defenders’ group and mayor now find themselves aligned on one key argument in the migrant crisis.

Both contend, including in court where they are technically on opposing sides, that Hochul should help newcomers settle outside the city.

“It’s argued that the best way for this to go is for the governor to take charge of the process, to have one set of rules that applies statewide and to direct where people should go based on need,” Legal Aid staff attorney Josh Goldfein said Wednesday after a hearing on how the right to shelter should be applied.

City Hall has reupped a similar request, according to a letter obtained by Playbook.

“The City also wishes to reiterate the importance of issuing a State Executive Order to preempt attempts by certain localities to stymie the City’s efforts to place New Arrivals in accommodations outside the City,” an attorney for Adams wrote.

Hochul has said some migrants prefer to stay in New York City.

“Let’s be very clear: You cannot involuntarily take people from the city and send them all over the state of New York,” the governor told NY1 last week. — Emily Ngo

WE LISTENED FOR NEW YORK REFERENCES SO YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO: The Fox News moderators at the Republican presidential debate last night boldly declared that “American cities are in decline,” citing the 30 percent increase in murders in New York City from 2019 to 2022, and an increase in homelessness too.

The numbers were accurate, but Adams’ office rightfully saw it as a political attack and had a gif ready to go on Twitter. “Crime is down in New York City in 2023,” noting that murders, shootings and more are trending downward from last year.

New York also got mentioned twice by candidates as a state with strong abortion rights — which they didn’t like. Said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum: “What’s gonna work in New York will never work in North Dakota and vice versa." — Jeff Coltin

The Mayor’s Office of Innovation and Emerging Markets vets private-sector pitches to the administration as a “first level of a smell test” before passing some on to city agencies, Adams said at an unrelated news conference. | Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo

VETTING AN OFFICE THAT VETS: An Adams-launched office flying so far under the radar that its creation was never announced is indeed getting stuff done, the mayor said Wednesday.

Asked to explain the Mayor’s Office of Innovation and Emerging Markets, Adams said, “I wanted a separate entity to focus on those who bring technology and innovation to us.”

The office vets private sector pitches to the administration as a “first level of a smell test” before passing some on to city agencies, Adams said at an unrelated news conference.

Crain’s New York first spotlighted the bureau, describing its two staff members as “a longtime Adams loyalist and an active police lieutenant.”

The mayor didn’t specify any projects the office has worked on.

An Adams spokesperson similarly couldn’t tell Crain’s if the office has had success negotiating any contracts or purchasing any products. — Emily Ngo

More from the city:

— A longtime patient who fought against a consolidation plan involving Montefiore’s Family Health Center in the Bronx died in a stairwell to the facility last week, but wasn’t discovered until five days later (POLITICO)

— According to a new report, NYC could save $3 billion a year by pulling asylum-seekers out of temporary emergency shelters. (Gothamist)

— Correction officers failed to respond to a detainees’ pleas for medical assistance before he died Tuesday on Rikers Island, according to two people detained in the same housing unit (City & State)

Kathy Hochul's cordial meeting with Onondaga Nation leaders is in contrast to her current standing with the Seneca Nation in her home of Western New York. | Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul/Flickr.com

ONONDAGA CONVERSATION: After visiting the State Fair to launch its annual opening, Hochul made a publicly unannounced visit to the nearby Onondaga Longhouse to meet with Onondaga Nation leaders, including its leader Sid Hill.

Hochul and the Central New York tribe said it was the first time in a half century that a governor has visited, and it comes after the state last year gave back 1,000 acres of land to it.

“During a productive and meaningful conversation, we discussed the unique concerns facing the Onondaga Nation and ways in which our two governments can collaborate, including through investments in education and health care. We committed to continued dialogue around these critical issues and further respectful collaboration in the years to come,” Hochul said in a statement.

The cordial meeting is in contrast to Hochul’s current standing with the Seneca Nation in her home of Western New York. The tribe’s gaming compact ends at year’s end, and it and the state have had unsteady negotiations after Assembly members balked at passing a bill in June to authorize talks after POLITICO first reported a new deal was set to include a Rochester casino.

As for the Onondaga Nation, it said it appreciated Hochul’s attention to its needs.

"We hope this is the beginning of a long fruitful dialogue towards restoring peace and justice on our lands,” Hill said in a statement. — Joseph Spector

More from Albany:

— The head of the state Gaming Commission denied the agency has a toxic workplace environment (Times Union)

— The state may have to consider a new garbage fee as landfills literally pile up. (New York Focus)

— Floyd Bennett Field set to house over 2,000 migrants.(Queen Daily Eagle)

AROUND NEW YORK

— There’s 30 marijuana licensees who are exempt from the latest injunction that blocks new ones (Gothamist)

— The Adams administration waived numerous shelter regulations for adult migrants. (City Limits)

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WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Molly Dektar, editorial director for Jain Family Institute and a novelist, and Trisha Baga, an artist, on Aug. 12 welcomed Homer Dektar Baga. Pic

MAKING MOVES — Stephen Simonetti has been promoted to be deputy chief of staff for Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.). He most recently was senior adviser for Tenney.

CLICKER — “New York’s 15 Most Anticipated Restaurants for Fall,” by Bloomberg’s Kat Odell

— New York’s LLC transparency measure would reveal wealthy owners of LLCs (Fast Company)

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