Adams’ migrant plans move forward despite dissent

Presented by NY Renews, a project of Tides Advocacy

New York City Mayor Eric Adams late Wednesday night signed an executive order suspending portions of the city’s right-to-shelter law, undoing a decades-old policy that has long served as “the foundation for the city’s homeless shelter system,” the New York Daily News reports.

It’s a significant step in Adams’ effort to decrease the number of migrants entering the city’s shelter system with the Title 42 border policy set to expire tonight. The city is bracing for thousands of migrants to arrive in the days ahead, and Adams also plans to redirect some to nearby suburbs.

The mayor has been outspoken that he believes New York and other major cities should get more federal support to address the surge in asylum seekers, recently faulting the federal government for not providing more funds.

But his public criticism is starting to cost him needed allies at a critical moment.

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign dropped Adams as a national surrogate, our Joe Anuta reports. The campaign declined to give a reason for the change. But an aide to different Biden surrogate said the public critiques were likely the reason, noting, “the relationship has soured.”

The city also temporarily backed off its plan to send city charters to the Hudson Valley, after both Orange and Rockland counties issued states of emergency aimed at shutting down any hotel operation that allows for the migrants’ relocation.

A city spokesperson told POLITICO the first bus of migrants that was expected to arrive in Newburgh last night never did.

“We’re discussing legal and safety concerns with our state partners, and while we have paused tonight, our plans have not changed,” said Fabien Levy, a city spokesperson.

IT’S THURSDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: [email protected] or on Twitter: @annagronewold

WHERE’S KATHY? In Mount Vernon to discuss water infrastructure.

WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City, delivering remarks at a board meeting of the Partnership for New York City and signing legislation to provide training to police officers interacting with individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

WHAT CITY HALL IS READING

Adams says Jordan Neely’s death proves need for forced hospitalizations, by POLITICO’s Joe Anuta: While many elected officials have denounced Penny — who said he acted in self-defense and has not been charged — as a vigilante, Adams said the encounter was a tragic example of what can happen when the government lets someone slip through the social safety net. “I want to say upfront that there were many people who tried to help Jordan get the support he needed,” Adams said. “But the tragic reality of severe mental illness is that some who suffer from it are at times unaware of their own need for care.”

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: A coalition of progressive groups including the New York Working Families Party, NYC Democratic Socialist of America, VOCAL-NY and Citizen Action of New York, said in a joint statement that Adams’ position is “shameless indifference to brutal vigilantism.” “Time after time, the Mayor criminalizes poor and working class New Yorkers,” the groups said. “His anti-homeless rhetoric and slashing of critical social services has created the conditions in our city where a vigilante felt empowered to murder a young Black man in cold blood, and in broad daylight. It’s unacceptable that it took nine days for the Mayor to address Jordan Neely’s murder and unacceptable that he is calling for cuts to services designed to help New Yorkers like Jordan. … The Mayor’s own policies — the constant privileging of the rich and demonizing of the poor — led to Jordan Neely’s murder.”

“MTA Gets Rolling on Hunt for Pee-Sniffing Tech for Subway Elevators,” by THE CITY’s Jose Martinez: “Transit officials are looking to sniff out a tech wiz that can sound the alarm on subway soakers who urinate in station elevators. The MTA is pooling input from companies that have successfully installed elevator car urine detection systems in large transit systems, airports or institutions, according to a request for information the agency issued last month.”

OH, OK: “Andy King is off the ballot again, after appeal,” by City & State’s Jeff Coltin

HBD BILL: “Bill de Blasio is getting the band back together. The former New York City mayor, following his 62nd birthday on Monday, is gathering up his old staff Thursday night for what’s billed as ‘The de Blasio Administration 2023 Reunion,’ according to an invitation.” from City & State’s Ralph R. Ortega

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

“Gov. Hochul is tapped for Biden 2024 campaign squad; NYC Mayor Adams is left off,” by Daily News’ Tim Balk: “President Biden’s reelection campaign on Wednesday finalized a team of 50 Democrats, including Gov. Hochul and Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, who are set to stump and fund-raise for the president during the 2024 White House race. But in a surprising development, the roster for the high-profile surrogate squad did not include Mayor Adams, who was previously said to be a part of the team despite his frequent criticism of Biden’s immigration policies.”

“‘Discontent and despair’: NY cannabis entrepreneurs fed up with state’s problematic industry rollout,” by Syracuse.com’s Brad Racino: “Tensions are rising among New York’s recently licensed cannabis entrepreneurs. A group of Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licensees have documented in a letter an ‘alarming and unacceptable’ lack of communication and transparency among state cannabis regulators.”

LONG READ: “A Year After Buffalo: ‘There’s No Forgiveness for That. Ever’,” by The New York Times Magazine’s Jazmine Hughes: “If Barbara Massey-Mapps had her way, she would kill the man who murdered her sister herself. Her desire is neither secret nor shameful — she’ll tell anybody who asks. Some days, she thinks about gluing his eyes open and putting him in front of a mirror, so that her face is the last thing he sees when she shoots him in the back of the head. Other days, she wants him to be sentenced to the electric chair, his death broadcast live on TV. Sitting in court, she thinks to herself: How can I get past the cops guarding him before they catch me? She daydreams about clasping her hands — the same hands that weeded her sister’s garden, that painted her sister’s bedroom walls — around the killer’s neck so tightly that she leaves fingerprints in his skin, branding him with her rage.”

#UpstateAmerica: Albany Empire’s minority owners — who really just wanted to grow the team’s presence — say “It’s been pretty horrendous” since Antonio Brown took over majority ownership last month.

TRUMP'S NEW YORK

“In Trump’s Trial, a Secret Fight Over a Juror’s Right-Wing News Source,” by The New York Times’ Lola Fadulu: “During the trial of E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump, lawyers fought a behind-the-scenes battle over whether to dismiss a juror who listened to an extreme right-wing podcast, court papers that were unsealed on Wednesday revealed.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

George Santos is facing new charges. Here’s a look at some of his biggest scandals, by POLITICO’s Kierra Frazier: Embattled Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty to 13 federal counts Wednesday, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying to the U.S. House. The New York Republican pioneered a new kind of political scandal by fabricating almost his entire campaign biography.

— “Santos could become a target of an unemployment fraud bill he co-sponsored,” by The New York Times’ Michael Gold: “Mr. Santos, a Republican of New York, was accused of carrying out a scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits made available during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Mr. Santos, who has not commented publicly on the charges against him, is currently one of 35 co-sponsors on a House bill that would help states recover fraudulent pandemic unemployment payments.”

AROUND NEW YORK

— Brooklyn is getting a robot coffee barista.

— The third day of the limo crash trial of Nauman Hussain brought dramatic testimony in Schoharie.

— AG Tish James has settled for $615,000 in penalties from three companies accused of fabricating millions of public comments in 2017 in support of rolling back net neutrality rules.

— The New York Times will get roughly $100 million from Google’s parent company over three years as part of a broad deal that allows Alphabet to feature Times content on some of its platforms, according to the Wall Street Journal.

SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: WSJ’s Daniel Nasaw … Jo Ling Kent … Time’s Olivia Waxman … Doug Graham … Ian Gray … Loren Robinson Abebe

FOR YOUR RADAR — CROWLEY’S CONFLICT — The musicFIRST coalition is parting ways with Chairman Joe Crowley and his firm Dentons after the former House Democratic Caucus chairman registered as a lobbyist for TikTok, two people familiar with the matter told Daniel Lippman.

The coalition viewed Dentons’ work for TikTok as a conflict of interest given that its members have tangled with the app and other tech companies over fair compensation for the use of music on their platforms, according to the same two people.

Crowley, a longtime singer and guitarist who became known for serenading his House colleagues, became chairman of the coalition of artists, labels and other recording industry interests almost two years ago and was part of a team at Dentons that billed the group $90,000 last quarter. Earlier this year, Crowley registered on behalf of TikTok with two other Dentons colleagues, reporting $70,000 in Q1 billings.

In a statement, the coalition thanked Crowley for “his lifetime of leadership and fierce advocacy on behalf of artists” and said he had led them “to unprecedented heights and significant legislative progress.” Crowley, in turn, told Playbook in a text message that the parting “wasn’t a bad break up” and noted that he’d “delivered some pretty big wins for the group.”

He added, “If you know me, and know my passion for music and musicians’ rights, you’ll know this isn’t the end of my work on these issues.”

The coalition has selected two new co-chairmen: former Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Will Moschella, a former Bush DOJ and House Judiciary Committee official, who both now work at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

MEDIAWATCH — “Why Didn’t Politico’s Historic Roe v. Wade Scoop Win a Pulitzer?” by Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein: “Journalists have been buzzing since Monday’s stunner, and even trading theories. A computer glitch? Wrong category? For the ‘most important journalism prizes to not recognize this story,’ said a Times reporter, ‘it’s just awful.’”

— Oma Seddiq, a POLITICO alum, is now a tech reporter at Bloomberg Government. She most recently was a politics reporter at Business Insider.

SPOTTED at a Churchill Tommy Gun Society dinner with special guest Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel last night, hosted by Jamie Weinstein and Michelle Fields: Abby Phillip, Olivia Nuzzi, Ryan Lizza and Daniel Lippman.

Real Estate


“The Economy Is Recovering. New York City’s Office Market Is Not,” by THE CITY’s Greg David: “Even as New York City nears regaining all the jobs lost in the pandemic, its crucial office market is not recovering with the economy. Rather, it is weakening, as remote and hybrid work arrangements keep offices only partly filled and as fears of a recession make companies cautious about making any real estate commitments even if their leases are near expiration.”