Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers
Erin Durkin and Anna Gronewold's must-read briefing informing the daily conversation among knowledgeable New Yorkers
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By SALLY GOLDENBERG, ANNA GRONEWOLD and ELEONORA FRANCICA
Presented by Rebuild NY NOW
Times Square. | Diego Torres Silvestre
Casino operators are staffing up as they jockey for a prized license to run New York City’s first full gaming facility — and one prominent contender is leaving little to chance.
SL Green, the city’s largest commercial landlord, has tapped Mayor Eric Adams’ recently departed chief of staff as it bids to open a Times Square casino with Caesars Entertainment and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Frank Carone inked the yet-to-be-reported contract with the project’s law firm, Greenberg Traurig. In a statement, Carone said he will “help create a diversified community engagement hiring plan as part of the proposal for a Times Square gaming destination.” Carone also pledged not to lobby — something city law temporarily bars him from doing with his former employer anyway. (He is arguably more valuable providing insight into City Hall’s inner workings, and previously left open the possibility his staff would lobby city officials when his ban expires.)
The move by SL Green — whose vice president recently apologized for lambasting a competing Queens project — further underscores the company’s relationship with Adams. As a candidate, he praised SL Green’s famed One Vanderbilt skyscraper, and as mayor he rolled out his bid to host the Democratic National Convention from the tower’s Instagrammable summit, even though the convention itself would be held across town. Adams and Carone have run staff meetings out of One Vanderbilt, the mayor has partied with celebrities there and SL Green’s employees showered him with campaign donations.
Winning over Adams is just one goal for casino operators and developers, who need support from Gov. Kathy Hochul, borough presidents and city and state lawmakers with appointments to advisory committees. The state is granting three downstate licenses, and two are expected to be awarded to existing “racinos” in Queens and Yonkers.
“We are very excited to be working with Frank to ensure that Caesars Palace Times Square maximizes job opportunities for under-represented communities across all five boroughs of New York City,” bid representative Jeremy Soffin of BerlinRosen said in a statement.
IT’S TUESDAY. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: [email protected] and [email protected] or on Twitter: @annagronewold and @sallygold
WHERE’S KATHY? In White Plains, talking about her budget.
WHERE’S ERIC? In New York City, holding a public hearing and signing Intros, delivering remarks at United Sherpa Association's Losar celebration, and making a public safety-related announcement.
A message from Rebuild NY NOW:
Rebuild NY NOW! Despite an historic federal infrastructure bill last year, the State of New York has not invested what is needed to overcome high inflation to fix our deteriorating roads and bridges. This lack of investment in our crumbling infrastructure causes severe traffic delays and increases the cost of repairs and lost economic productivity. Albany’s investments need to match the inflation realities. Tell Albany it’s time to Rebuild New York NOW! Read more here.
“DeSantis team fires back at Eric Adams after he offers to teach Florida governor about NYC 'values,'” by Fox News’ Houston Keene: “Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ team fired back at New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, after the mayor offered to teach the Florida governor about the crime-ridden city's 'values.' Adams took a shot at DeSantis as the Florida governor kicked off his pro-police tour through Democrat-run cities in the City that Never Sleeps on Monday. ‘Welcome to NYC, [DeSantis], a place where we don’t ban books, discriminate against our LGBTQ+ neighbors, use asylum seekers as props, or let the government stand between a woman and health care,’ Adams wrote on Monday.”
“NYC Mayor Adams, hotel workers union make TV ad to bring Democratic National Convention to city,” by Daily News’ Michael Gartland: “Mayor Adams and the union that represents New York City’s hotel workers are bringing their pitch to host the Democratic National Convention to Washington, D.C., this week in a television ad that’s set to start airing Tuesday. The ad, slated to run on CNN and MSNBC in the capital city, features Adams and members of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council touting the Big Apple’s diversity and labor-friendly bona fides. It is intended to get the attention of President Biden and members of the Democratic National Committee, who will ultimately decide where the 2024 convention is held.”
“Adams and Largest Municipal Union Reach Tentative Agreement, With 16.21% Raises Through 2026,” by THE CITY’s Claudia Irizarry Aponte: “The deal, which still needs to be ratified by the union’s approximately 100,000 members, guarantees 16.21% in wage increases by 2026. According to DC37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, it will include a trial run for remote work and flexible hours — pandemic-era arrangements that many union members were eager to preserve.”
“Inside the Medical Examiner’s Office, Where Opioids Fuel Surge in Deaths,” by The New York Times Sharon Otterman: “Since 2018, homicides are up. People are dying from health issues that went unaddressed in the pandemic, as well as from Covid-19, and, probably, the still uncertain long-term health effects of the disease. But by far the largest factor in the increased work at the medical examiner’s office — which investigates all the city’s sudden, unusual and suspicious deaths — is a sustained jump in accidental drug overdoses, mostly from the opioid fentanyl.”
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“Gov. Hochul’s NYC security detail under investigation for faking work records,” by New York Post’s Larry Celona and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon: “State Police investigators are probing whether troopers in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s security detail have been cheating taxpayers by claiming they’re on the clock when they’re actually blowing off their shifts, The Post has learned. The probe is focused on members of the governor’s detail stationed in New York City — and those troopers under scrutiny have already been removed from their post and could face disciplinary action if the allegations are confirmed, officials and law-enforcement sources told The Post on Monday.”
“Buffalo's blizzard led to a patchwork of driving bans. Could Hochul have closed local roads?” by Buffalo News’ Chris Bragg: “But Jackie Bray, commissioner of the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, responded that the Hochul administration had not had the legal authority to shut down local roads in Erie County. ‘Those decisions are brutally tough decisions,’ Bray testified before a joint Assembly and Senate budget committee. ‘And obviously, in this state, they're delegated to the counties and the localities. So the state, we don't have decisional authority there.’ Yet officials from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration say Bray’s position is demonstrably false. On 14 occasions, Cuomo granted himself authority to take control of local roads during emergencies.”
“‘Constitutional crisis’: Suffolk County justice shows interest on Court of Appeals issue,” by Times Union’s Joshua Solomon: “State Senate Democrats’ efforts to short-circuit a Republican lawsuit concerning whether a Court of Appeals nominee should have received a vote by the full chamber faced stiff questioning from state Supreme Court Justice Thomas F. Whelan during a hearing Friday afternoon. ‘Now normally when the executive branch and the legislative branch has a conflict, the judicial branch just grabs a box of popcorn and sits back and watch,’ Whelan said from the bench in his Suffolk County courtroom. ‘However, when one (branch) creates a constitutional logjam — that is in reality a constitutional crisis — it is the duty and the obligation of the judiciary to rule on the constitutional solution.’”
— ANALYSIS: “The architects of the state's Court of Appeals nominating process wanted Senate vote,” by Times Union’s Joshua Solomon
“How Public Money Goes to Support a Hasidic Village’s Private Schools,” by The New York Times’ Jay Root: “Based on thousands of pages of public records, the review showed that the small public school district is now paying more than $2.4 million a year — about 5 percent of its annual budget — to companies affiliated with the private school organization, the United Talmudical Academy of Kiryas Joel, a nonprofit that wields enormous influence in the cloistered community in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.”
#UpstateAmerica: Henrietta might get the first Upstate Shake Shack. How convenient for one prominent Upstate native and Shake Shack fan.
A message from Rebuild NY NOW:
— The oversight program aimed at preventing abuse and neglect in nursing homes failed to inspect more than half of the state’s long-term care facilities in the past year.
— Policeare investigating as a possible hate crime a fire that was started in a SoHo restaurant when a woman ignited a pride flag.
— Lithium-ion batteries caused so many fires last year that the city’s Sanitation Department ran out of room to store the hazardous residue.
— A Bronx public administrator for the “widows and orphans” court has spent more than half of a woman’s inheritance, but the woman hasn’t received any money yet.
— Hudson Valley Democratic Sen. James Skoufis is joining the push to get the Cuomo name off the former Tappan Zee bridge.
— Columbia University administrators are under fire amid allegations of a toxic work environment in the school’s public safety department.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Jordan Zaslav … Jeremy Gaines … Holland & Knight’s Beth Viola … Reuters’ Ross Colvin … David Wessel … (was Monday): Trevor Noah … Doug Mills … David Corn … Bob Davis … Vox’s Dylan Matthews … Michael Clemente … Chris Cillizza … (was Sunday): Andrew Ross Sorkin … Howard Stringer … Tamara Hinton … The New Yorker’s Sarah Stillman … former Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) … Paxton Butler … Alicia Rose … Samantha Zalaznick …
… (was Saturday): Keith Urbahn … FT’s Janan Ganesh … CBS’ Rebecca Kaplan … former Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) … Commerce’s Ayodele Okeowo … Angela Chiappetta … Rabbi Hershel Reichman ... Michael Janofsky ... Scott Liebman ... Nancy Goroff ... DylanSandler … (was Friday): Saul Katz ... Ivan A. Schlager ... Adam Fox
MAKING MOVES — Dave Weinstein is now global CISO of Standard Industries. He is the former CISO and CTO for the State of New Jersey. (h/t Morning Cybersecurity) … Lauren Homeyer is now scheduler for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.). She most recently was scheduler for Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas). … George Sweeting, former deputy and acting director at the New York City Independent Budget Office, has joined the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School as senior fellow for fiscal policy.
MEDIAWATCH — “Buffalo News plans to close downtown production facility, move printing to Cleveland,” by Buffalo News’ Michael Petro: “Approximately 160 positions across eight different unions associated with the printing and distribution of The Buffalo News and other products printed at the press building on Scott Street would be affected by the proposed move. The Buffalo News began notifying affected employees of the planned changes in production Monday morning. It intends to move its print operations to the Plain Dealer printing facility in Cleveland pending resolution of all details.”
CONING ATTRACTIONS — Global Citizen NOW is announcing its thought leadership summit in NYC that is taking place on April 27 and 28. Speakers include Chris Martin, Hugh Jackman, Ursula von der Leyen, Mia Mottley, Nana Akufo-Addo, Erna Solberg, Dr. Rajiv Shah, Mark Malloch Brown and Darren Walker.
ENGAGED — Jock Gilchrist, senior associate for sustainability at JPMorgan Chase, this weekend proposed to Lucy Vernasco, senior consultant for the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office. Pic
A message from Rebuild NY NOW:
Welcome to Moon York. Why Moon York? Because driving around this state is like driving on the face of the moon. Except instead of craters we have potholes. Everywhere. From Buffalo to Brookhaven. Rochester to Rye. Syracuse to Staten Island. And despite this and a historic federal infrastructure bill last year, the State of New York has not invested what is needed to overcome high inflation and fix our roads and bridges. Enough Moon York. Tell your legislators it’s time to Rebuild New York NOW.
“Sister of George Santos to pay $19,000 to settle Queens eviction case,” by Newsday’s Scott Eidler: “A Queens judge on Friday approved a settlement allowing Tiffany Santos, the sister of Rep. George Santos and founder of a political action committee that aided his 2022 campaign, to pay more than $19,000 to resolve an eviction claim against her. Tiffany Lee Devolder Santos, 26, agreed to pay $19,525 in monthly installments of $1,000 to settle claims made by her former landlord, a New Jersey based limited liability company. Tiffany Santos will have to make the payments to the company, 90-02 Queens Holding II LLC, beginning March 31, according to Queens County Civil Court documents.”