Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness<\/p>\n
Happening now: <\/span><\/p>\n First the New York City mayor, and now Gov. Kathy Hochul is headed to Rome. THE POPE AND HOCHUL: Gov. Kathy Hochul will be jetting away to Rome this week for a climate conference hosted by Pope Francis.<\/p>\n She\u2019ll be giving a 15-minute talk<\/a>, titled \u201cClimate Leadership in the Empire State: Building Resiliency for All,\u201d at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Vatican City time.<\/p>\n The pontiff will hold an audience with the governor and other world leaders shortly after Hochul\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s trip to the Vatican comes just days after Mayor Eric Adams<\/a> also visited the Holy See. (Adams and his team flew back from Rome today, after arriving on Friday).<\/p>\n The nearly back-to-back visits to the Vatican seem to be coincidental.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal for this trip is simple: strengthen international connections that will create economic opportunities for New Yorkers and a cleaner future for the next generation,\u201d Hochul said in a statement.<\/p>\n Hochul, unlike Adams, is Catholic, and she frequently talks about her faith<\/a> during public addresses.<\/p>\n The three-day summit will also be attended by California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey; the mayors of Boston, London, Rome, S\u00e3o Paulo, Paris, Athens and Venice; and other politicians and academics.<\/p>\n A main goal of the summit will be to create a \u201cPlanetary Climate Resilience protocol,\u201d fashioned in the likes of the Montreal Protocol, and all the global leaders will sign their names to it. The document will then be submitted to the United Nations.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a great opportunity for New York to discuss their climate bill<\/a> and all the actions going on right now to reduce our climate footprint,\u201d said Adrienne Esposito, executive director at Citizens Campaign for the Environment. \u201cThis is a critically important meeting that can hopefully inspire other leaders to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n It won\u2019t be the first time the governor and the pope are side by side. In 2015, then-Lt. Gov. Hochul visited the White House on behalf of her boss, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for the pontiff\u2019s first visit to the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me personally, as a Catholic, it was amazing to be in the presence of such a humble but inspirational individual,\u201d Hochul said at the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hochul spokesperson Avi Small said the trip is official business of the governor and will be bankrolled by the state.<\/p>\n \u201cClimate change is a critically important issue to the Holy Father, and we are pleased that Governor Hochul will have a chance to possibly meet him and discuss this pressing matter period,\u201d said Dennnis Proust, the executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference.<\/p>\n \u201cOur hope is it would be a moment of grace for her as a Catholic to meet Pope Francis.\u201d \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n BIG PAPI TO ALBANY: Famed Yankees beater David \u201cBig Papi\u201d Ortiz stopped by the state Capitol today to be honored for his charitable work.<\/p>\n \u201cMy career as an athlete and off the field with the community, this is what people really love about me as a person,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just me as an athlete who was out there doing my thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Luis Sepulveda \u2013 ironically a Bronx resident \u2013 invited the former Red Sox player to Albany and lauded his efforts with groups like the Maestro Cares Gala<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ortiz said he\u2019s always been a fan of the Empire State: \u201cNew York is a state that every Dominican has someone related to them here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only fans worldwide who stop me and say \u2018I love and respect you\u2019 are the Yankees fans. No Dodgers fans, no other team\u2019s fans, but the Yankees fans are the only ones who spread that to me.\u201d<\/p>\n While he said he\u2019s \u201cvery familiar with the Bronx,\u201d he hadn\u2019t been to Albany before. \u201cI drive by a lot,\u201d he said. The Capitol is \u201cbeautiful,\u201d he said. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n ADAMS ASK: Adams has another ask for Albany.<\/p>\n Officials with the mayor\u2019s administration were at the Capitol today to push for changes to procurement law to speed up construction of infrastructure and other projects.<\/p>\n \u201cThese tools, my colleagues in the rest of the country already have them,\u201d said Tom Foley, commissioner at the New York City Department of Design and Construction, which is responsible for public building projects. \u201cWe need these tools\u2026 to build better, faster and cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n The delegation also included Meera Joshi, deputy mayor for operations, and Michael Garner, chief business diversity officer.<\/p>\n Lawmakers supporting the mayor\u2019s agenda indicated they\u2019re willing to give Adams more latitude than previous officials.<\/p>\n State Sen. Jim Sanders also said it might seem late in session for a push, but that Adams was successful last year in a late effort for changes related to minority and women-owned businesses. The session ends the first week of June.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no waiting for another year, there\u2019s getting it done now,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n But some of the measures Adams\u2019 officials were pushing haven\u2019t even been introduced, including making the Department of Design and Construction into an authority and expanding design-build contracting ability. Two have been introduced: changes to the public hearing requirements (A8864\/S7833<\/a>) which has passed the Senate and changes to the New York State Insurance Fund (A7317\/S7975<\/a>). \u2014 Marie J. French<\/p>\n THERE FOR TRUMP: Rep. Nicole Malliotakis showed her support for former President Donald Trump today at his Manhattan criminal hush money trial, helping to slam key prosecution witness Michael Cohen because a gag order prohibits the former president from doing so.<\/p>\n The Staten Island Republican accompanied Trump in court and then stood alongside<\/a> Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall to challenge the credibility of Trump\u2019s one-time fixer.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a convicted, disbarred perjurer,\u201d Malliotakis told reporters of Cohen outside the courthouse during a break in his testimony.<\/p>\n Prosecutors have said Cohen\u2019s testimony can be corroborated with other evidence.<\/p>\n Malliotakis also assailed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Democrat who has become a frequent foil for Republicans. She said Bragg should be focused on \u201cactual crime.\u201d<\/p>\n NYPD statistics show shootings and homicides have been trending downward in Manhattan since Bragg took office. \u2014 Emily Ngo<\/p>\n \u2018SEEING US:\u2019 After a long public engagement campaign, the City of Buffalo and victims\u2019 families of the racially-motived mass-shooting in Buffalo in 2022 have come to a decision on how to honor the lives lost.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing Us\u201d will consist of 10 unique pillars inscribed with the names of the victims.<\/p>\n “As we approach the solemn two-year anniversary of when our neighbors were senselessly slaughtered solely because of the color of their skin, we rededicate ourselves in supporting the East Buffalo community, remembering those we lost, and supporting those who were injured,\u201d Hochul said in a statement.<\/p>\n Ten Black people were murdered in a Tops grocery store after a white 18-year-old drove over 200 miles from his hometown in Broome County to the predominantly-Black neighborhood.<\/p>\n Twenty designs were submitted to the 5\/14 Memorial Commission, which consisted of 11 members. Five were appointed by Hochul, five from local leadership and one agreed on by both. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n FAITH COMMUNITY SUPPORTS COLUMBIA STUDENTS: The Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York is creating a safe space for Columbia University students in the wake of recent pro-Palestinian protests on campus.<\/p>\n The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, the seat of the bishop, is providing room for a daily lunch for students currently banned from the university\u2019s dining halls, Bishop Matthew Heyd wrote in a newsletter to parishioners this morning.<\/p>\n The church is also hosting an alternative commencement for students next week.<\/p>\n Ryan Kuratko and Megan Sanders, college chaplains at Columbia and New York University, are also supporting their respective campuses.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Cathedral is providing safe and open space for everyone at a time when Columbia University is not safe,\u201d Heyd said, adding that all events at the cathedral \u201care open to everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n This comes as Columbia kicks off smaller graduation ceremonies in lieu of its university-wide commencement, which the institution canceled last week.<\/p>\n There have been no arrests at the cathedral so far, Heyd added, noting he instructed the church to not cooperate with the NYPD around the demonstrations.<\/p>\n The Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations \u2014 made up of committees that collaborate with representatives for the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities \u2014 is scheduled to meet this week. The General Convention, the governing body of the Episcopal Church that includes bishops, will also weigh resolutions related to the Israel-Gaza war this summer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my hope the Commission can facilitate a wider diocesan conversation about the Israel-Gaza war,\u201d Heyd said.<\/p>\n He, along with two other bishops \u2014 who have denounced Israel\u2019s deadly Oct. 7 attack on Hamas militants as well as the taking of hostages \u2014 called for a cease-fire in Gaza as well as access to humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n The bishop was scheduled to meet with young adults in the diocese who have expressed concerns about the church response to the war later this morning. \u2014 Madina Tour\u00e9<\/p>\n CHECK, PLEASE: The restaurant industry has a bot problem. And state lawmakers may try to crack down on it by the end of the legislative session June 6.<\/p>\n Assemblymember Alex Bores and state Sen. Nathalia Fernandez today pushed a measure that\u2019s meant to address websites that scoop up a restaurant\u2019s reservations and sell them to customers.<\/p>\n That\u2019s costing restaurants, especially those in high-demand in New York City, big when there\u2019s a no-show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot like ticket scalping, but it\u2019s even worse. Reservation being held by the bot system,\u201d New York State Restaurant Association President and CEO Melissa Fleischut told reporters. \u201cThey staff up, they order all the food, they think they\u2019re going to have a full restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n The measure backed by Bores is meant to differentiate between the legitimate online reservation services like Open Table and the websites \u2014 many using automated bots \u2014 that have no actual relationship with the eatery.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so important for us to be protecting not just consumers, but our small businesses and our restaurants,\u201d Bores said. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n LAWMAKERS SAY \u2018NEIGH\u2019 TO HORSE SLAUGHTER: One month after the nation\u2019s strictest anti-horse slaughtering law went into effect in New York, two equine protection groups honored five of the lawmakers that helped get it passed.<\/p>\n The two groups selected chair of the Senate\u2019s Racing and Wagering Committee Joseph Addabbo; Senate Agriculture Chair Michelle Hinchey; Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee Chair Gary Pretlow; Assembly Environmental Conservation Chair Deborah Glick; and Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Donna Lupardo were the five legislators honored.<\/p>\n The law banned the slaughter<\/a> of all horses for human and animal consumption.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter nearly 20 years of carrying this important bill, I am thrilled that New York has finally put an end to the horse slaughter pipeline that has run through our state,\u201d Glick, a Manhattan Democrat and bill sponsor, said in a statement. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n \u2014 An increasing number of school districts on Long Island are hiring armed guards. (Newsday<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 Two advocacy groups are suing the state claiming that inmates with disabilities were placed in solitary confinement. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 New York\u2019s biggest teachers union is celebrating record school aid funding and pension changes. (POLITICO Pro<\/a>)<\/p>\n
\n A \u2018Big\u2019 Hall of Famer visited the state Capitol.
\n The Adams administration was in Albany today to push for procurement changes.
\n Rep. Nicole Malliotakis showed up outside the trial of former President Donald Trump. <\/p>\nTRUMP ON TRIAL<\/h3>\n