Politics
What to expect when you’re expecting a budget
DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 41
SPENDING SPECIFICS: Crucial state budget details — including aid for New York City, the structure of a surcharge on high-value second homes and the contours of major pension changes — are yet to be fully ironed out.
Gov. Kathy Hochul last week announced a “general agreement” for a $268 billion spending plan — but without specifics on many items. The closed-door discussions remain underway in Albany and none of the nine remaining budget bills have been printed.
The state budget is now destined to be at least six weeks past its March 31 due date. Yet Hochul is counting on voters to appreciate her policy wins and not focus on what has been an at-times messy process.
Hammering out these final specifics won’t make or break a final deal. But the fine print will matter for how much New York plans for its massive tax-and-spend plan — impacting some 19 million people.
Here’s what’s to still expect when you’re expecting a budget.
New York City aid: More help for the Big Apple is on the way from Albany. Lawmakers and Hochul are discussing additional foundation aid, potentially changing the formula for how public education spending is determined, and more cash for homeless students. At the same time, enabling legislation for pension amortization is being considered.
Those measures are designed to help New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani close what’s left of a $5.4 billion budget gap. And they come on top of the additional $1.5 billion Hochul agreed to earlier this year.
The governor told reporters Monday morning her office has been working well with the Mamdani administration to fix the city’s budget woes.
“There’s quite a bit that needs to be OK’d by New York state,” she said. “I spent last night talking to the mayor, Friday night talking to the mayor. It’s been a great level of cooperation.”
Pied-à-terre structure: Lawmakers are yet to see any detailed budget language for Hochul’s proposed surcharge on non-primary second residences worth $5 million and above. How that surcharge is structured — including how much it will rely on a home’s assessed value — will matter for how many residences are actually captured by the tax.
Overhauling Tier 6: Overhauling the Tier 6 pension category is a potentially costly endeavor. Hochul and lawmakers are now considering what’s being called a “skinny” version of a plan originally pushed by unions, according to two people familiar with the talks.
The change would lower the retirement age for teachers to 58 after 30 years of service, but it would not alter how much they contribute from their paychecks. For the rest of the public workforce, contributions of no lower than 3 percent of a worker’s take-home pay is under consideration, but no change would be made to their retirement age.
The move is expected to cost $500 million combined for the state, local governments and school districts. That’s far less than the $1.5 billion proposal advanced earlier this year by the New York State AFL-CIO.
Buffer zones: As POLITICO Pro reported earlier, lawmakers and Hochul have weighed a 50-foot protest buffer zone that would allow local officials to expand it as they see fit. Having those zones around houses of worship is largely agreed to, but working through the specifics remains a sticking point. — Nick Reisman
From the Capitol
HANTAVIRUS IN NEW YORK: Three New Yorkers were aboard a cruise ship at the center of an international hantavirus outbreak, state Health Commissioner James McDonald said in a statement this afternoon. The three passengers were sent to the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where they are expected to be subject to a 42-day monitoring period, according to McDonald.
“While the Department is working in close coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health departments to gather information, at this point it is unclear how long they will stay in Nebraska and whether, or when those individuals intend to return to New York,” McDonald said.
“At this point, it is important to emphasize that there is no immediate risk to the public. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed,” he added.
When asked about the threat of the virus to New Yorkers, Hochul said the state health agency is working with the CDC, and she is monitoring the federal government to make sure officials have the capacity to handle any potential outbreak.
“I want to make sure that the CDC is capable of handling something that could be larger than they are predicting, and I say that because I know that over a year ago, there were significant cuts to the CDC,” Hochul said. “We have outstanding resources here in the state of New York…so I’ve activated them to start preparing New York for worst-case scenarios and hope they do not come.”
She noted that the state is putting together a plan to address any spread of the virus, but she does not believe it will turn into another coronavirus pandemic. She said she will begin doing briefings if it spreads beyond the three individuals flown in from the ship. — Katelyn Cordero
GOV’S SOCIAL ACCOUNT GETS PLAUDITS: The state government’s eyebrow-raising, joke-telling, irreverent social media accounts were honored with a Webby Awards “Honoree” award last week, Hochul’s office told Playbook.
The accounts, which go under the handle @NYGov on Instagram and X, are separate from the “Governor Hochul Press Office” account, which drew the ire of Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy last week when it mocked him for his age.
@NYGov, also known as “State of New York” on X, most recently posted messages like “it’s hole filling season” to spread the word about the state’s pothole reporting hotline on X, or “UNALIVE THOSE FLYS” as an Instagram PSA on the invasive spotted lantern fly.
“I’ve always believed that government is for the people, and in order to reach people, we need to communicate like them,” said Milly Czerwinski, a digital content strategist who works in Hochul’s comms shop and runs the account. “NYGov’s oddity and authenticity has broken down the traditional bureaucratic barriers to reach millions of people. Being weird works — this award is proof of that.” — Jason Beeferman
FROM CITY HALL
CCR-CHI COMPLAINT: City Councilmember Chi Ossé filed a misconduct complaint today against an NYPD officer who arrested him, advancing a case that stands to drive a further wedge between the police department and Mayor Mamdani.
The complaint, which Ossé shared with Blue Light News, alleges the officer used excessive force during the April 22 arrest in Brooklyn, where the Council member and others were protesting the planned eviction of a woman who claims she’s the victim of deed theft.
The Civilian Complaint Review Board, which investigates and prosecutes cases of police misconduct, has received Ossé’s claim and is reviewing it, a spokesperson confirmed.
Ossé, a democratic socialist and ally of Mamdani, told Blue Light News he believes the arresting officer violated his civil rights. “My rights were violated, but more importantly, my responsibility to my community and constituents demands a fact-finding,” said Ossé, who claims he suffered a concussion from being slammed to the ground.
The NYPD previously said Ossé and three other protesters were only arrested after refusing verbal commands to stop blocking access to the property where the eviction was set to be executed.
A spokesperson for Mamdani — who called video of Ossé’s arrest “incredibly concerning” last month — said in response to the Council member’s complaint that “the mayor respects the independence of the CCRB and will allow the disciplinary process to play out based on the evidence, established procedures, and the NYPD’s disciplinary matrix.”
Mamdani, a longtime NYPD critic, faces a fraught situation in responding to Ossé’s complaint.
If he doesn’t back up his fellow democratic socialist, Mamdani is likely to anger his allies on the left. On the flipside, if he condemns the arresting officer, he risks drawing the ire of NYPD leaders, including Commissioner Jessica Tisch, as well as the department’s rank-and-file cops.
Read more about the CCRB and Ossé from Chris Sommerfeldt in Blue Light News.
CASE CLOSED: Council member Vickie Paladino has reached a settlement with the City Council to resolve disciplinary charges focused on her controversial social media posts.
The takeaway? The Council has withdrawn its disciplinary charges, and Paladino is dropping her lawsuit challenging the proceedings.
The agreement, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, effectively dismisses the charges and cancels an ethics hearing that could have led to censure, fines or expulsion. As part of the settlement, Paladino must delete three posts cited in the case. She must also remove “Council Woman” from her personal X account display name within 48 hours of court approval to communicate to the public a clearer separation between her official posts, which are subject to some of the Council’s rules and regulations, and her personal opinions, one member familiar with the parameters of the settlement told Playbook.
The case stemmed from a string of inflammatory posts starting in December where, in a deleted post, she called for the “expulsion of Muslims from western nations,” prompting the committee to look into her conduct.
In February, she posted that New York was under “foreign occupation” following Mamdani’s appointment of a top immigration official. Paladino questioned whether the administration included “one single actual American” and later described a photo of Muslim sanitation workers praying as part of an “Islamic conquest.”
The Council’s Rules and Ethics Committee had charged Paladino with disorderly conduct and violations of its anti-harassment and discrimination policy in March.
Paladino sued to block the proceedings, arguing she was being targeted for her conservative views and that the discipline violated her First Amendment rights.
As part of the settlement, Paladino must issue a statement saying she did not intend to make colleagues or staff feel “unwelcomed or unsafe.” Council member Sandra Ung, who chairs the ethics committee, issued her own statement Monday afternoon saying the resolution “strikes the balance” between protecting staff and lawmakers’ free speech rights.
Both sides agreed to issue limited public statements and refrain from further comment. — Gelila Negesse
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
EYES ON AI: Rep. Pat Ryan is backing state Assemblymember Alex Bores to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, making him the latest member of the New York delegation to weigh in on one of the state’s most competitive primary elections.
In making his endorsement, the Hudson Valley Democrat cited the high-profile AI fight that’s become a central theme of the race as a key reason for backing Bores.
“He’s going to be the next member of Congress for the New York 12th District,” Ryan said at an event in Midtown with Bores today. “If you have any doubt, you don’t have to take my word for it — follow the money. Look at the incredible unprecedented amount … It’s because these tech billionaires are terrified, they’re terrified of Alex specifically.”
The millions of dollars in spending by a pro-artificial intelligence super PAC against Bores — an alum-turned-critic of data analytics company Palantir and a sponsor of the AI safety RAISE Act in the state Legislature — has also drawn an influx of money from regulation-friendly AI and tech-affiliated groups to boost him.
Bores’ campaign said that both he and Ryan “share a belief that the next Congress must take decisive action to regulate artificial intelligence before this transformative technology outpaces the rules meant to govern it” — a debate that continues to rage on in Washington and globally.
Bores is viewed as one of the top contenders for the 12th District, which covers a large swath of Manhattan. He’s up against Assemblymember Micah Lasher, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and anti-Trump commentator George Conway, as well as a handful of lesser-known challengers. Public polling has been sparse in the race, and internal polls from earlier this year don’t show a clear front-runner. — Madison Fernandez
IN OTHER NEWS
— CLOCK’S TICKING: Mamdani has less than a month to fill two longstanding vacancies on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board — and the appointments could be key for his mission to make the city’s buses “fast and free.” (THE CITY)
— NECK AND NECK: Hochul made a joint campaign appearance with Rep. Dan Goldman who’s running for reelection in New York’s 10th congressional district, with a primary challenge from Mamdani-backed Brad Lander. (Gothamist)
— SARCONE DOGGED: The top prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York is accused of misconduct, according to the watchdog organization Campaign for Accountability. (POLITICO Pro)
Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
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VERY SUPERSTITIOUS: For the first three quarters, it looked like the San Antonio Spurs were going to cream the Knicks in last night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
But in an epic comeback, the Knicks overcame the Spurs’ 29-point lead — a new record in an NBA Finals game — and beat San Antonio 107-106, putting the hometown team just one win away from claiming its first championship in over five decades.
In New York political circles, there was an almost singular explanation for the unbelievable come-from-behind victory: The Trump curse had been lifted.
“THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO BLESSED MSG TODAY TO GET THE STANK VIBES OUT,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X just before midnight. “YOUR SERVICE IS APPRECIATED.”
The progressive lawmaker’s all-caps missive was a reference to superstitious Knicks fans burning sage outside Madison Square Garden to cleanse it of what they saw as the bad juju President Donald Trump cast over the team by attending Monday’s Game 3 (which the Spurs won 115-111).
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards suggested Staten Island’s own Wu-Tang Clan — which performed last night’s halftime show at MSG — had a hand in rooting out the bad vibes. “Wu-Tang is for the children!!!” Richards wrote on X in response to a video of the rap group’s performance captioned: “Wu-Tang Clan have broken Donald Trump’s curse on the Knicks.”
No matter what brand of superstition is at play, it’s unmistakable that the Knicks’ playoff prowess has led New Yorkers to search for otherworldly explanations — and it seems to be the only thing local politicians can talk about.
In an Instagram video posted late last night, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested there was a more cerebral catalyst for the Knicks’ latest win.
“Wemby tried to taunt the Knicks when they were up by about 29, suggesting that he was in our heads,” Jeffries said in a video, referring to Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. “No. Actually Wemby, we were in your head.”
For his part, Mayor Zohran Mamdani turned to God for guidance about the Knicks.
“Knicks in five — inshallah, baby, let’s go,” he practically shouted on Hot 97 radio this morning, using the Arabic term for “God willing.”
Game 5 of the Finals is Saturday in San Antonio. If the Knicks win, they will claim the championship trophy for the first time since 1973.
Not everything has been peaches and cream in the Big Apple when it comes to the Knickerbockers, though.
An NYPD spokesperson said 56 Knicks fans were taken into custody last night after massive and destructive crowds converged near The Garden to “celebrate” the victory.
According to the spokesperson, 10 officers were injured in the rampage, including one who got hit in the head with a glass bottle as the crowds jumped on top of moving vehicles, tried to flip over a parked cab and set off fireworks.
“This demonstrates exactly why the NYPD has increased our presence in and around Madison Square Garden,” the police spokesperson said.
The chaos unfolded after Knicks owner James Dolan canceled last night’s ticketed watch party outside MSG because he was angry with Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch for blocking unauthorized pedestrian traffic in a large swath of Midtown around the arena due to security concerns. — Chris Sommerfeldt
From the Capitol
MESSAGE RECEIVED: Gov. Kathy Hochul responded today to White House border czar Tom Homan’s threat of an ICE surge into the Empire State.
“It’s not how we do things in New York,” Hochul said at an event in Queens. “Maybe Washington is a different breed there, and they think that intimidation and creating fear is a way to govern, and we’re just rejecting that here in the state of New York. That’s not who we are, never has been, never will be.”
Homan’s threats come after Hochul and state lawmakers sealed a deal on a package of measures meant to protect undocumented immigrants, following ICE’s deportation operation in Minneapolis. The bills would limit civil deportation warrants from being executed in sensitive locations and prevent law enforcement, including ICE agents, from wearing masks.
Homan blamed Hochul for the threatened surge after she signed legislation ending so-called 287(g) agreements that enable local law enforcement to share resources with federal authorities.
Hochul said such a surge would be “contrary” to what Trump previously told her. The governor also mentioned that Homan’s reasoning does not apply since only nine counties in New York previously participated in the 287(g) program — and none of those include any of New York City’s five counties.
“New York City, where we’re predicting he’ll send the agents to, has never had a 287(g) agreement. They’ve never been allowed to use the jails. Never been allowed to use local police enforcement,” the governor said. “It is irrational. It shows that they do not comprehend what is happening in the state of New York.” — Leah Clark
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS: A federal judge found former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander not guilty of misdemeanor obstruction Thursday for blocking an elevator while protesting last year outside an immigrant holding area.
Lander was hit with the obstruction charge in September while demonstrating in support of detained immigrants at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan. He was offered a deal to drop the charge but opted instead for a trial to draw attention to the federal government’s immigration policies.
Lander said he was there with state legislators to view the facility’s conditions, not to purposefully block an elevator — and that he would have moved if asked. In reading his findings, Judge Henry Ricardo described Lander’s testimony as consistent with video evidence, noting that his movements didn’t suggest he was purposefully trying to block the elevator and that Lander appeared “tired and a bit resigned.”
“No offense to Mr. Lander,” the judge said.
Lander — who entered the courtroom in good spirits and holding a Knicks hat — told reporters after the verdict: “I didn’t feel tired.”
“I felt an urgency to show up that day and try to fight what ICE is doing,” he said.
After a month’s delay, Lander finally had his first day in court Wednesday — less than two weeks before the primary election — bringing immigration even more to the forefront in the waning days of his campaign against Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman.
Goldman, who often highlights his oversight visits at immigrant detention centers and his “triage center” to support detainees near 26 Federal Plaza, has repeatedly criticized Lander for his approach to immigration. On Wednesday, he referred to Lander’s case as “performative” and “self-promoting.” At a debate last week, Goldman chided him for the rhetorical refrain that he puts his “body on the line” for immigrants and for fundraising off of it.
“While Brad never did get the information he sought from ICE, I have all of that information from my weekly oversight visits and would be happy to brief him,” Goldman said in a statement.
Read more from Madison Fernandez in Blue Light News.
POLL POSITION: The race between Rep. Adriano Espaillat and primary challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier is close in the final stretch of the campaign, according to a pro-Avila Chevalier poll.
The survey, conducted by Data for Progress for Justice Democrats, the progressive group that recruited the challenger, found Avila Chevalier with 39 percent of support compared to Espaillat’s 35 percent. Twenty-two percent of respondents were undecided.
The poll was conducted among 319 likely Democratic primary voters from June 3 to 9, after Mamdani endorsed Avila Chevalier — and as pro-Espaillat entities bombarded the airwaves with negative attacks against her. It has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 5 percentage points.
The survey also shows that 86 percent of respondents in the district either have a very favorable or somewhat favorable view of the mayor. Avila Chevalier is leaning heavily into Mamdani’s endorsement.
There’s no public polling in the race, though it’s evident Espaillat’s allies are anticipating a tight battle, considering the millions of dollars being poured into the race on his behalf in the homestretch. — Madison Fernandez
FROM CITY HALL
2029 VISION: Most political players in New York are focused on this month’s primary elections — but Mamdani is already looking well beyond them.
In a text message blast this afternoon, the mayor asked supporters to donate “any amount” they can to his 2029 reelection campaign, telling them he needs to start fundraising now because the opposition will “be better funded, better organized and ready to spend earlier than before.”
“Their fundraising is constant and prolific,” he wrote in the text obtained by Playbook. “In closed-door meetings, wealthy donors and insider operatives consider how to influence our politics year-round. That’s how our opponents secured the resources to spend $83 million against our movement last year … That’s why we’re making investments in our movement starting right now.”
Mamdani’s missive did not identify the individuals behind the opposition he described.
But a group called NYC Common Sense, spearheaded by former independent mayoral candidate Jim Walden and political consultant Phil Singer, launched last month with a stated goal of fighting his agenda with ads, policy papers and lawsuits. The group, whose formation was first reported by The New York Times, has already raised $1 million from as-of-yet unidentified donors.
Mamdani’s pivot to 2029 fundraising indicates he’s taking the nascent opposition to his democratic socialist project seriously. Trip Yang, a longtime Democratic strategist, acknowledged it’s relatively early to fundraise for 2029. Still, he said it’s a smart move.
“A strong early fundraising number is important to show the reelection is well-positioned,” Yang said.
Read more from Chris Sommerfeldt in Blue Light News.
STILL LOADING: City Council Speaker Julie Menin exuded confidence today over the newly introduced protest buffer zone bill around education facilities, which has the backing of 35 council members, a veto-proof super majority.
“I did speak with the mayor about the bill. We had a brief conversation about it,” Menin said at a press conference. “I think the new bill really addresses some concerns that we had heard.”
Menin said the revised measure would still achieve the original proposal’s goals but more narrowly defines which types of locations are included. Universities, which were flash points for some of the country’s most heated demonstrations, have been excluded from the new bill.
The original measure was vetoed by Mamdani in April after he raised concerns about its broad definition of educational facilities and the potential impacts on protests tied to ICE, fossil fuel divestment and Palestinian rights.
He allowed a similar bill to become law in April while voicing opposition to both buffer-zone bills’ framing of “all protest as a security concern.”
A spokesperson for the mayor said the administration is still “reviewing the new version of the legislation.” — Gelila Negesse
IN OTHER NEWS
— BAIT AND SWITCH: A year after New York City banned broker fees, renters say the charges never really left. (Gothamist)
— COURT-ORDERED VISITS: New York will begin to require judges to make recurring visits to prisons after years of a long-neglected oversight rule not being met. (The City Reporter)
— STRAPPED FOR CASH: The Mamdani administration is considering invoking a fiscal exception to delay required payments to nonprofits, citing cash constraints. (NBC New York)
Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
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