$\"New$ <\/p>\n

MAJOR SHIFT:<\/b> Last week\u2019s conclusion of Albany\u2019s legislative session left Democratic state lawmakers poised for the biggest shakeup in their ranks since they assumed one-party control in 2019.<\/p>\n

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes is retiring at the end of the year, opening up the No. 2 job for only the second time since Carl Heastie became speaker 11 years ago.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Mike Gianaris is on his way out too. His departure will leave open the role of Democratic Senate Campaign Committee chair, which he\u2019s held since he was a senator-elect in 2010. It will also pave the way for a new floor leader and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins\u2019 deputy.<\/p>\n

On top of that, Senate Democrats are about to become the first conference in state history to bump up against term limits.<\/p>\n

Rules enacted in 2009 imposed eight-year caps on the majority leader and committee chairs. No party has remained in power long enough to be impacted since then, but the rules will soon apply to Stewart-Cousins and up to a dozen of her members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d probably have to,\u201d state Sen. Liz Krueger said when asked if she\u2019d vote to scrap the term limits. \u201cBecause it would mean Andrea couldn\u2019t remain leader. And I do not actually accept the concept where Andrea doesn\u2019t remain leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Krueger is one of seven impacted chairs surveyed in recent months who unanimously said they want Stewart-Cousins to remain. But Democrats haven\u2019t yet settled on what should happen to other top jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really a question of \u2018do you change all the term limits for everybody while you\u2019re changing them for leadership, or do you allow for some new opportunities at the committee level?\u2019\u201d Investigations and Government Operations Committee Chair James Skoufis said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where I land on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level of expertise I\u2019ve developed, it\u2019s not because I\u2019m better or smarter than anyone else, I\u2019ve just been in it longer,\u201d state Sen. Gustavo Rivera said of the \u201cdeep and dark and mysterious\u201d realm of policy he oversees as Health Committee Chair. \u201cI would be hard pressed to find somebody in the Senate who would be able to do the job on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gianaris\u2019 departure might lead to widespread shuffling, regardless. And while Krueger is running again, she missed the conclusion of this year\u2019s session after an April stroke. It remains to be seen whether she\u2019ll return to the grueling job of being the top Democrat on the Finance Committee as she\u2019s been since 2011 \u2014 possibly leading to more musical chairs at the top.<\/p>\n

Stewart-Cousins said she\u2019s looking for a deputy \u201cwho can bring the same types of talents and skills that Sen. Gianaris has brought.\u201d Names that came up in surveys of legislators and lobbyists include state Sens. Jamaal Bailey, Andrew Gounardes and Shelley Mayer. Still, there isn\u2019t a widespread consensus.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more agreement over who might replace Peoples-Stokes. Upstaters have held the job since 1979, providing some balance to speakers from New York City over the years. The pick will need to be somebody who can work well with Heastie, and conventional wisdom holds they should have a good amount of tenure. Over a dozen insiders mentioned the same three names as fitting each of those criteria: Syracuse\u2019s Pamela Hunter, Rochester\u2019s Harry Bronson and Albany\u2019s John McDonald.<\/p>\n

Heastie, however, isn\u2019t making a firm commitment to tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe requirement that the majority leader comes from upstate, that\u2019s more of a y\u2019all thing,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cI inherited a great majority leader who happened to be upstate in Joe Morelle, one of my closest friends. And then Crystal was somebody I knew even before I was elected, and she\u2019s been amazing. But I don\u2019t know if I feel limited to if it\u2019d have to be somebody from upstate. It could be Long Island, it could be the Hudson Valley \u2014 I haven\u2019t even really thought about it.\u201d \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

From the Capitol<\/h3>\n
$\"The$ <\/p>\n
MONSERRATE LEADS PACK: <\/b>The state\u2019s Public Campaign Finance Board issued $1.96 million in matching funds payments Tuesday, marking the final day such outlays will be issued before the June 23 primary.<\/p>\n
The scandal-plagued Hiram Monserrate was the state\u2019s top beneficiary of public funds this week.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s running to return to the state Senate against the incumbent state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas. Monserrate is the only sitting legislator to be removed by his colleagues in the past century, following his 2009 misdemeanor conviction arising from a domestic violence incident. Since then, this is his ninth comeback bid.<\/p>\n
Overall, his haul trails the $348,000 in matching funds that Gonzalez-Rojas has received to date. Ramos has taken in $128,000 in recent months.<\/p>\n
Read more from Blue Light News Pro\u2019s Bill Mahoney here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
FROM CITY HALL<\/h3>\n
$\"New$ <\/p>\n
BROKEN PROMISES?<\/b>: Transit advocates are intensifying their pressure on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to set aside more money to lower bus and subway fares. Groups of straphangers, like Riders Alliance, are now portraying the mayor as a promise breaker if he doesn\u2019t support an expansion of the Fair Fares program, which offers discounts to low-income New Yorkers.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Yorkers are hurting, especially low-income commuters whose work we all depend on, and this is the mayor’s last chance to lower costs for transit this year, after emphasizing the importance of affordable public transit for his entire career,\u201d Riders Alliance spokesperson Danny Pearlstein said in a text message.<\/p>\n
Free buses was one of Mamdani\u2019s three most prominent campaign pledges \u2014 alongside child care for all and a rent freeze \u2014 but the one he\u2019s seemed to make the least headway on.<\/p>\n
Riders Alliance, along with City Council members Tiffany Caban, Shahana Hanif and others, is holding a rally at noon tomorrow outside City Hall to \u201cdemand\u201d the mayor \u201ckeep his promise to lower costs\u201d \u2014 more pointed language than advocates have used publicly in the past.<\/p>\n
While Mamdani\u2019s free bus plan is on hold in large part because Albany isn\u2019t on board, the City Council has backed more money for Fair Fares. The mayor, however, is reluctant to take that path because he generally doesn\u2019t support policies where access is based on how much money people make. \u2014 Ry Rivard<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
WORKING THE REFS:<\/b> Mamdani has a bone to pick about the officiating at Monday\u2019s NBA finals game, which the Knicks lost to the Spurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrime is going down in New York City, but what we saw the other night did feel criminal,\u201d Mamdani quipped to reporters today. \u201cYou just look at the disparity on fouls that were being called. I think many New Yorkers came away from that game with a very clear reflection of the absence of fair refereeing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the mayor\u2019s fandom, Madison Square Garden, the home of the Knicks, released a statement Tuesday<\/a> calling Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch \u201cparty poopers\u201d for instituting tighter security for a watch party outside the arena tonight.<\/p>\n
Asked about it, Mamdani said the level of security planned is \u201cin line with the measures that the NYPD uses for gatherings of this size, whether it be July 4 or New Year’s Eve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis team has brought an extraordinary amount of energy, pride, excitement to every corner of our city,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cWe want this to be a memorable night for all the right reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
A watch party scheduled outside MSG for Game 3 on Monday night was moved to Bryant Park thanks to President Trump attending the game.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he holds Trump responsible for the Knicks\u2019 loss, Mamdani laughed \u2014 but declined to blame the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve made clear my complaints about the refs,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cI’m hopeful tonight we’re going to see a different game.\u201d \u2014 Janaki Chadha<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL<\/h3>\n
$\"Mayor$ <\/p>\n
WHAT TWEETS?:<\/b> Darializa Avila Chevalier, Mamdani\u2019s pick to unseat Rep. Adriano Espaillat, has come under plenty of fire for her old social media posts.<\/p>\n
Mamdani claims he hasn\u2019t seen them.<\/p>\n
The posts in question include tweets<\/a> where Chevalier wrote \u201cF\u2014k Kamala Harris,\u201d criticized black and Arab men for \u201cfetishizing ugly colonizer women,\u201d and described wiping her hand on the American flag. They\u2019re the subject of an Espaillat ad in which a narrator says, \u201cMeet the real Darializa, the one she tried to delete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about her social media imprint, Mamdani told reporters, \u201cNo, I have not seen those tweets.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I’ve heard from her, and what I know a lot of others in the district have heard from her, is that her views have evolved, and that the campaign that she’s running on is reflective of what she’s going to be fighting for,\u201d Mamdani said.<\/p>\n
The mayor has opted against endorsing in other races, including the one for the Manhattan congressional seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.<\/p>\n
Gracie Mansion is in that district, and while Mamdani said he plans to vote in the Democratic primary, he has not yet decided on who he\u2019ll back. The candidates include Assemblymembers Micah Lasher and Alex Bores, Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg and Trump critic George Conway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m one of those classic yet-to-make-a-decision voters that frustrate campaigns so dearly,\u201d the mayor said. \u2014 Janaki Chadha<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
IN OTHER NEWS<\/h3>\n\u2014 THERE’S NO \u2018I\u2019 IN TEAM: <\/b>Brad Lander says he is not endorsing fellow congressional challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier, despite putting out a joint \u201cMamdani\u2019s team\u201d ad with her. (Jewish Insider<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\u2014 DIY BALLOT LINE: <\/b>Shut out of major third party endorsements, candidates for NY-21 Republican Anthony Constantino and Democrat Blake Gendebien are battling in court over the validity of their made up ballot line names. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\u2014 NO EASY EXIT: <\/b>Uber is suing New York City to block a new driver protection law, arguing it would force the company to keep dangerous drivers on the road. (Reuters<\/a>)<\/p>\n
Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. <\/b>Read it here<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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