| | Oct 18, 2023 | View in browser |
| | Â | | | | By Nick Reisman, Emily Ngo and Jeff Coltin | With help from Jason Beeferman
| | Gov. Kathy Hochul marches in the Israel Day Parade in New York City in June. The governor will be in Israel until Friday. | Darren McGee/ Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul | Gov. Kathy Hochul is making a wartime visit to Israel today, part of a solidarity trip that will coincide with President Joe Biden's arrival there. The details of Hochul’s visit have been kept under wraps in large part due to security concerns. She could not tell reporters on Tuesday who she would be meeting with or where she would specifically visit. Hochul is taking a limited number of staff with her, she said. Hochul also did not answer a question of how she is paying for the trip. The visit comes after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli communities on Oct. 7 and killed more than 1,000 people. New York officials from parties have lined up in support of Israel in the days since. The state is home to more Jewish residents than anywhere outside of Israel. “The attacks halfway across the world feel deeply personal to New Yorkers, which is why as the leader of the state I feel compelled to go to Israel,†she said. It’s her first trip out of the country since she took office in 2021. Solidarity trips are nothing new for sitting governors of New York. Andrew Cuomo made several trips to Israel while in office, making his first trip abroad as governor there in 2014. This time, Hochul is going as Israel is preparing for a potential ground invasion of Gaza and as Biden’s trip to Jordan was scuttled after an explosion at a Gaza City hospital killed hundreds of people. Hochul said in a statement Tuesday night that “New York mourns the loss of even more innocent lives.†She added, “We await further information from the White House on the cause of this explosion, but we continue to call for the protection of civilians and the provision of humanitarian aid for all those impacted by this conflict.†Mayor Eric Adams, who commended Hochul’s trip, also expressed sympathy on Tuesday with “the innocent people of Gaza†who are in harm’s way. “Hamas’ terrorists’ despicable actions have endangered the lives of innocent people,†Adams told reporters. Hochul, in a video conference call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, also said she hoped civilian casualties would be minimized without aiding Hamas in the process. But she added, “We acknowledge Israel has a right to defend itself.†Before leaving, Hochul was among the 17 governors from both parties who urged Congress to act on filling key diplomatic posts in the Middle East as well as provide sustained support for Israel. The letter, backed by the Republican governors of Vermont and Utah, also sought additional federal resources to help states bolster security at houses of worship and schools. Hochul will return to New York on Friday. — Nick Reisman WHERE’S KATHY? Traveling to Israel. WHERE’S ERIC? Speaking at the New York Building Congress’ Annual October Construction Industry Breakfast, meeting with the new head of the FBI New York Field Office, holding public hearings and bill signings for various pieces of city legislation, making an announcement regarding sustainability and transportation, speaking at a ribbon cutting event for the renaming of a nonprofit’s building, speaking at an anti-poverty organization’s comedy night and delivering remarks at the Queens Community House Annual Gala. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The move to reduce the use of temporary nurses is a welcome one for patients and for H+H’s budget†— state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli responding to a POLITICO article on the hospital system’s effort to lower its roster of more than 1,800 temporary nurses.
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|  | | GO INSIDE THE CAPITOL DOME: From the outset, POLITICO has been your eyes and ears on Capitol Hill, providing the most thorough Congress coverage — from political characters and emerging leaders to leadership squabbles and policy nuggets during committee markups and hearings. We're stepping up our game to ensure you’re fully informed on every key detail inside the Capitol Dome, all day, every day. Start your day with Playbook AM, refuel at midday with our Playbook PM halftime report and enrich your evening discussions with Huddle. Plus, stay updated with real-time buzz all day through our brand new Inside Congress Live feature. Learn more and subscribe here. | |  | |  | | | | | | Reps. Nick LaLota (left) and Anthony D'Esposito (right) both voted to install Rep. Lee Zeldin as House speaker on Tuesday. | Alex Brandon/AP | LEE OVER JIM: Centrist Republicans facing tough reelection fights are avoiding association with conservative House Rep. Jim Jordan for as long as they can, POLITICO reports. New York swing-district House members accounted for four of Tuesday’s 20 GOP votes against Jordan for House speaker in the first round of ballots, with jockeying expected to carry on until at least today. Rep. Mike Lawler of the Hudson Valley voted instead for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Reps. Anthony D’Esposito, Andrew Garbarino and Nick LaLota of Long Island voted for former Rep. Lee Zeldin, citing the SALT cap, 9/11 health care funding and other suburban New York priorities as their reasons. Zeldin, the former GOP nominee for governor, definitely knows their region, but almost definitely doesn’t have a shot at becoming speaker. Indicted Rep. George Santos broke from the group in casting his first-round ballot for Jordan. — Emily Ngo
| | WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
| | | Mayor Eric Adams chastised critics of his plan to limit migrant shelter stays to 60 days during a Tuesday news conference. | Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office | OFF THE SIDELINES: Adams posed a question Tuesday to critics of his policy to limit shelter stays for migrants with children to 60 days: What’s your plan then? “I’m really calling on Legal Aid and others, come up with some tangible ideas,†the mayor said at a news conference. “Criticism is not an idea.†Turns out they’ve offered up alternatives. And they accused him of being disingenuous about it. “We’ve detailed our proposals ad nauseam, in private meetings, in court, and publicly in numerous press releases, statements, media interviews, press conferences, social media posts and everywhere possible,†the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless said in a statement. “The mayor can live in whatever reality he wants…†They fired back with the list of 13 proposals they say they’ve offered to the administration. At the top? Connecting migrants to existing immigration relief to get them on the path to employment and assisting them in getting work permits, jobs and public benefits enabling them to exit shelters. The groups have called the denial of shelter to migrants “devoid of any humanity.â€Â — Emily Ngo More from the city: — Fewer than half of the migrants forced to reapply for housing under the city’s 60-day limit have returned to the shelter system. (New York Post) — Moms for Liberty, the conservative group flipping school boards and challenging books nationwide, has quietly opened its first chapter in New York City. (The 74) — City Department of Correction officials snubbed a meeting with the Board of Correction, which provides oversight of the jails. (Gothamist)
| | | | | A beloved McDonalds that proudly served the Empire State Plaza’s politicians, government officials and other creatures of Albany will be closing next Friday. | Nick Reisman/POLITICO | SUN SETS ON GOLDEN ARCHES: It’s the end of an era for fast food options at the Empire State Plaza concourse: The McDonald’s location will serve its last Big Mac on Oct. 27. A longtime tenant at the concourse, the McDonald’s franchisee did not renew its lease with the state, the Office of General Services confirmed to Playbook. A new vendor is expected to take the place of the McDonald’s. Meanwhile, OGS officials are also in discussions for vendors to take the spaces on the concourse once used by Auntie Anne’s and Bombers Burrito Bar. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Former Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa details in her new book inappropriate behavior by a New York Times reporter. (The Washington Post) — Taxpayers are footing a $20 million bill for Cuomo-related investigations. (Times Union) — Black clergy members are urging a Queens member of the Assembly to sever ties with the DSA. (New York Post)
| | | | | In the race to take Rep. George Santos' NY-3 congressional seat, two candidates have already raised over $500,000. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | ON TOP IN NY-3: Updated campaign finance filings show Democrat Zak Malamed and Republican Mike Sapraicone as the new leaders in the cash race for Santos’ seat in Nassau County and Queens. Malamed, co-founder of a national fundraising platform, reported $530,000 in cash on hand for the last quarter, while Sapraicone, a retired NYPD detective, reported $520,000. Sapraicone loaned his campaign much of that total, according to filings. Their statements on their fundraising appeared to look to the general election, though, and Democratic former Rep. Tom Suozzi’s entry into the race complicates the math. “This show of support is just the latest demonstration that our campaign is far and away the best choice to flip this district blue,†Malamed said. Sapraicone said, “I am being offered the type of encouragement that redoubles my commitment to serve the residents of New York’s 3rd Congressional District who want a Republican on Capitol Hill to represent them.†— Emily Ngo
| | | | | Terp Bros, a new marijuana dispensary in Astoria, Queens, opened to the public Tuesday after a court blocked its launch in August. | Mona Zhang/POLITICO | LEGAL WEED IN QUEENS: Jeremy Rivera, a cannabis licensee who was prevented from opening his dispensary in August by a court order, finally opened Terp Bros to the public on Tuesday in Astoria. “I don’t think it’s really hit me yet,†he said in an interview. “It’ll probably hit me tonight when I take a shower and I’m crying my eyes out.†Rivera, who sunk his life savings into his dispensary, estimates he lost out on at least $15,000 a day in revenues when he couldn’t open his dispensary as planned. He was also worried about his staff, who had expected to start working in August. Muhammad Khan, 25, was elated to be working behind the cash register. Four months had passed from when Khan found out he got the job to when he actually started working. Like Rivera, Khan now wants to create his own cannabis brand, and Rivera is looking forward to mentoring others. “Somebody mentored me. … You got to pass it along,†Rivera said. ALSO HAPPENED: Across the East River, the New York Cannabis Control Board met Tuesday. The board extended the new license application window by two weeks. Certain retail and micro-business licensees now have until Nov. 17 instead of Nov. 3 to apply. All other applicants saw the deadline pushed back from Dec. 4 to Dec. 18. AND LEAVING: Reuben McDaniel left DASNY for a gig at the Alice L. Walton Foundation. Still, a dispensary that is participating in a DASNY program to pair entrepreneurs with real estate and financing is slated to open up shop today. Gotham Buds will become Harlem’s first regulated dispensary and will open for public sales at 2 p.m. On Thursday, CONBUD will open up shop in the Lower East Side — a neighborhood that is rife with unlicensed dispensaries. — Mona Zhang
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|  | | PLAYBOOK IS GOING GLOBAL! We’re excited to introduce Global Playbook, POLITICO’s premier newsletter that brings you inside the most important conversations at the most influential events in the world. From the buzzy echoes emanating from the snowy peaks at the WEF in Davos to the discussions and personalities at Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to the heart of diplomacy at UNGA in New York City – author Suzanne Lynch brings it all to your fingertips. Experience the elite. Witness the influential. And never miss a global beat. BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | |  | |  | | | | — A veteran architect of New York City’s Parks Department is retiring after a career designing many of the city’s playgrounds. (The New York Times) — A NYC emergency room doctor was fired for making inflammatory statements on Instagram about the Israel-Hamas war. (New York Post) — Six weekends in a row of rain in New York City has angered New Yorkers. (The New York Times)
| | SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN |
| MAKING MOVES: Elise Flick is now executive director for marketing and communications for the creative services agency R/GA. She was global communications director for VICE News. — Nairka Treviño Müller is now director of Hispanic media for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. She was communications director for Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.). WEDDINGS: Julia Schechter, a PR manager at Apple and an alum of SKDK and POLITICO, recently married Sam Isaac, head of finance at Tome. They both went to Tufts and met through mutual friends in New York playing on a rec soccer team called the Lambs. They got married in Kingston, N.Y. Pic — Julia Thompson, a film director/producer and ceramicist, on Oct. 7 married Menemsha Milnor, a psychotherapist who is training to be a psychoanalyst. The rehearsal dinner was held with close family and friends at Artshack community art space in Bed-Stuy with a reception at Light and Design Studio in Greenpoint. The ceremony was officiated by their close friend E Gueron, with live music by Lee-Ann Curren, Maïa Ibar and Teeny Lieberson. The couple met on Hinge in 2020 with their first date at LunÃtico in Bed-Stuy, where they currently live. Pic by Sophie Finkelstein HAPPY BIRTHDAY: SEC Chair Gary Gensler … Puck’s Julia Ioffe … Brunswick Group’s Michael Krempasky … NYT’s Annie Karni … Bloomberg’s Matt Shirley … Memmi Rasmussen … Alex Miehls … Kiki Francesca Reginato … Austin Schindel … Edelman’s Trisch Smith … Jon Decker … Jennie Frishtick WAS TUESDAY: Rabbi Mayer E. Twersk ... Jeremy Stein ... Cliff Asness ... Ariel LevyÂ
| | | — Celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz is selling her Upper West Side co-op at a $2.7 million loss. (New York Post) — Reggaeton star Bad Bunny pays a whopping $150,000 a month for this Chelsea penthouse. (House Beautiful) | |
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