Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness<\/p>\n
DRINKS ON US \u2014 Come celebrate the end of session with POLITICO. We\u2019re hosting a happy hour on Wednesday, May 29, at the Albany War Room Tavern. Join fellow New York insiders for drinks and hors d’oeuvres, meet our editorial team and learn more about our coverage of politics, policy and power in Albany. You can RSVP here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Happening now:<\/span><\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul stressed repeatedly how well she\u2019s working with Mayor Eric Adams. But it\u2019s too early to endorse him, she said. A NON ENDORSEMENT: Gov. Kathy Hochul won\u2019t endorse Mayor Eric Adams for mayor \u2014 at least not yet.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not doing endorsements for elections even this November yet, other than my president,\u201d Hochul told reporters today while making a push for more restrictions on kids\u2019 social media feeds.<\/p>\n She added, \u201cRead into it all you want, but I’m not doing endorsements for an election that is a year and a half away.\u201d<\/p>\n The comments were made as a field of Adams\u2019 primary challengers is slowly starting to emerge. <\/p>\n State Sen. Zellnor Myrie launched his campaign<\/a> in a video two weeks ago where he called for \u201cserious, focused leadership.\u201d Scott Stringer announced in January, and more candidates will surely rise to the surface \u2014 like potentially City Comptroller Brad Lander or even Andrew Cuomo<\/a>.<\/p>\n An endorsement from the governor for mayor would be ahead of schedule. New York\u2019s stay-focused-no-distractions-and-grind mayor hasn\u2019t even officially launched his reelection campaign, even as a federal probe continues to swirl<\/a> around him.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s remember: Adams didn’t formally endorse Hochul in her 2022 primary until two weeks before the election, as our POLITICO colleague Jeff Coltin points out<\/a>.<\/p>\n When asked if she would endorse Adams, Hochul was full of praise for the mayor, with whom she has worked with well as she ends a run of bad relations between former mayors and governors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to assess everything, but I will tell you this, and you can read into it whatever you like \u2014 we are very strong allies and working together. I\u2019m not saying that about anybody else,\u201d Hochul said.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you heard me say it about anybody else right now?\u201d<\/p>\n There was no immediate comment from Myrie\u2019s office. Stringer didn\u2019t want to comment.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s non-endorsement \u2014 yet strong praise \u2014 for the mayor comes as the Hochul-Adams relationship has continued to blossom<\/a>.<\/p>\n The two have increasingly appeared side-by-side recently for a suite of public announcements, which include an investment into Brooklyn\u2019s waterfront, Sammy\u2019s Law to lower city speed limits and cracking down on illegal cannabis shops. And Hochul delivered for the mayor on virtually every measure in the state budget. \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n FREE SCHOOL FOR VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS: A bipartisan group of legislators want to use free tuition to incentivize more people to become volunteer firefighters.<\/p>\n And many of the lawmakers fighting for it are volunteers themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re going to leave their beds in the middle of night and leave their jobs in the middle of the day to go out to risk their own life and see nothing in return,\u201d Long Island Republican state Sen. Steven Rhoads, a volunteer firefighter, said. \u201cAnd that’s what makes this bill so special.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill,<\/a> sponsored by Rochester state Sen. Jeremy Cooney, a Democrat, would allow for volunteer firefighters, EMS service providers and auxiliary police officers to attend a SUNY, CUNY or community college without having to pay tuition.<\/p>\n The exact cost for the state is not yet known, but Rhoads noted that the state \u201cspends money on a lot worse.\u201d \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n IDAS AND YOU: The state\u2019s local industrial development agencies had a record high 4,320 active projects underway with a total value of $132 billion in 2022, according to a new report<\/a> from Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.<\/p>\n The projects are estimated to create nearly 214,000 jobs during their lifespan along with 36,000 construction jobs, the report said.<\/p>\n \u201cIDAs were created to help grow local economies, businesses and job markets,\u201d DiNapoli said in a statement. \u201cThe tax breaks they provide businesses can impact local tax collections, however, and New Yorkers should be mindful about weighing the benefits these projects bring to their communities against their cost.\u201d<\/p>\n The data in the report comes from the agencies\u2019 self-reporting through the Public Authorities Reporting Information System.<\/p>\n The IDAs have long been criticized<\/a> for their largesse to companies through tax breaks and other incentives, but supporters say the programs are needed to attract and retain new businesses. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n ALCOHOL-TO-YOU WORRIES: A dozen retired law enforcement officers are trying to stop a measure that would allow for the direct shipment of alcohol in New York.<\/p>\n They argued in a letter to top state leaders<\/a> and Hochul that the proposal would create an opening for criminals and encourage underage drinking. Similar arguments have been raised by wine and liquor stores, who have fretted about the impact of the measure if it\u2019s approved.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the absence of a thoughtful and vigilant enforcement strategy with significantly augmented, dedicated resources, direct alcohol shipping will create a windfall for violent criminal networks already exploiting these criminal supply chains in New York,\u201d they wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n State lawmakers are weighing the change, which would allow direct shipments<\/a> from manufacturers to consumers.<\/p>\n Supporters have contended it could aid small businesses that have sprung up in recent years, but are struggling financially. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n PRESCHOOL FUNDING FIGHT: Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is putting pressure on Adams to reverse cuts to the city\u2019s popular preschool program as they enter the final weeks of budget negotiations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe executive budget\u2019s more than $170 million cut to early childhood education programs directly contradicts the administration’s stated efforts to secure a seat for every child,\u201d the speaker said during a press conference at City Hall this morning alongside other city lawmakers, parents and advocates.<\/p>\n This comes as more than 2,000 families were denied 3K seats \u2014 about 6 percent of 43,000 applicants, Department of Education officials told the Council last week. A City Hall spokesperson attributed the rejections to guidance the DOE sent<\/a> to families that did not \u201cfully convey\u201d all of the available seats.<\/p>\n Officials have declined to elucidate the number of early childhood seats the school system stands to lose as a result of the reductions, which Adams\u2019 political opponents have seized on<\/a> to build a case against his reelection next year.<\/p>\n The mayor vowed to provide all families with a seat. \u201cEvery child that wants a seat is going to have a seat,\u201d Adams told NY1 earlier this week. \u2014 Madina Tour\u00e9<\/p>\n LABOR SPENDS ON BENEDETTO: Assemblymember Michael Benedetto\u2019s reelection effort against a DSA-backed challenger is getting a $75,000 boost from the New York State Laborers’ Union.<\/p>\n First in Playbook, the Build New York Fund, an independent expenditure committee funded by the trade union, plans to spend up to that much on a mail and digital campaign backing Benedetto in his East Bronx District.<\/p>\n \u201cBenedetto has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to advocating for labor rights, fair wages, and safe working conditions,\u201d the fund said in an unsigned statement. It\u2019s the only primary the super PAC expects to spend in, but may get involved in general elections.<\/p>\n Money often comes to incumbents when they\u2019re challenged by Democratic Socialist candidates like, in this case, by Jonathan Soto, a former organizer for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and an official in former Mayor Bill de Blasio\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n Soto has been outraising Benedetto and qualified for public matching funds this week, while Benedetto did not. The pair faced off two years ago, however, and Benedetto handily won by 20 points. \u2014 Jeff Coltin<\/p>\n SCHOOL BUDGETS PASS: Ninety-seven percent of school budgets in New York passed on Tuesday, and union-backed school board candidates also fared well.<\/p>\n The New York State United Teachers union said 84 percent of its endorsed candidates won their elections to school boards.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce again, voters have shown they know strong public schools mean strong communities,\u201d NYSUT president Melinda Person said in a statement. \u201cInvestments in our school budgets and dedication in our school boards are vital to the future of our state. Tuesday\u2019s results show that voters agree.\u201d<\/p>\n Nineteen school districts were successful in overriding the tax cap<\/a> to raise the property taxes, which required approval of 60 percent of voters at the polls. Ten budgets failed, and two were still pending.<\/p>\n Districts whose budgets were not approved will hold a second round of votes June 18. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n SUNY STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY: SUNY Chancellor John King today gave his annual address<\/a> on the state of the 64-campus system and his vision for it<\/p>\n His message was well received by the crowd at The Egg in Empire State Plaza. Assembly Education Chair Pat Fahy said King struck the right message for the state to continue increasing aid for SUNY and CUNY.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to make the investment; we know that investments work,\u201d she said to POLITICO.<\/p>\n \u201cI love that the chancellor focused so much on upward mobility, but upward mobility is not there if we don\u2019t make it affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul took the stage to discuss her budget wins in higher education this year, particularly touting initiatives such as the expansion of the state\u2019s Tuition Assistance Program; making the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program universal for high school students; and her artificial intelligence initiative that will be spearheaded by SUNY.<\/p>\n Missing in the crowd was United University Professions president Fred Kowal. His absence was by design: a stance against the lack of assistance for campuses that the union has deemed to be financially distressed.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe his speech cynically avoided the reality that SUNY is not strong because of the decisions made by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and now the decisions of Chancellor John King,\u201d Kowal said to Playbook.<\/p>\n \u201cI fear the message he\u2019s been delivering for well over a year is that financially strapped campuses are on their own and somehow supposed to find their own way through these deficits.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, King touted SUNY\u2019s growth and new initiatives to attract new students and strengthen the system.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, SUNY is on the move. Our quest for excellence rests on four pillars: student success; research and scholarship; diversity, equity and inclusion; and economic development and upward mobility,\u201d he said. \u2014 Katelyn Cordero\u00a0<\/p>\n TOWN POPULATION DECREASING: Eighty percent of New York\u2019s towns and cities have been decreasing since 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>.<\/p>\n The fastest growing town: Palm Tree in Orange County, which is coterminous with Kiryas Joel, the orthodox Jewish enclave, the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank, reported today<\/a>. The town\u2019s population grew by nearly 9,000 residents, a 27 percent increase. \u2014 Shawn Ness<\/p>\n \u2014 New York City began evicting migrants from its shelters as part of its new shelter time limit rules. (The New York Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 New Yorkers favor a ceasefire in Gaza and peaceful pro-Palestinian protests, but also support the police breaking up those that go too far, a Siena College poll found. (Newsday<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 New York\u2019s Department of Environmental Conservation issued a ground-level ozone warning for the lower Hudson Valley. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\nNew from New York<\/h3>\n
\n Lawmakers are pressing for a bill to encourage more New Yorkers to become firefighters.
\n The City Council wants Adams to reverse cuts to its preschool program.
\n Assemblymember Michael Benedetto is getting some labor help in his reelection bid. <\/p>\n