Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness<\/p>\n
BOO$T FOR BOWMAN: AIPAC\u2019s attack ads seem to have been a boon for Rep. Jamaal Bowman \u2014 at least when it comes to fundraising, Playbook has learned.<\/p>\n
The endangered progressive\u2019s May haul was more than $1 million \u2014 triple what he raised in April \u2014 with $770,000 of the contributions coming after anti-Bowman TV spots hit the air, according to his campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe backlash to AIPAC\u2019s attack ads began immediately, as our campaign set new records for grassroots fundraising and volunteer mobilization,\u201d Bowman campaign manager Gabe Tobias told Playbook in a statement. \u201cOur beautiful, diverse community has Jamaal\u2019s back because he\u2019s always had theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team Bowman highlighted its fundraising bump just as AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, planned $1.7 million more in ads for the week ahead, according to an AdImpact alert today. The new spending brings the pro-Israel lobbying group\u2019s total to about $10 million thus far in the Westchester County and Bronx contest.<\/p>\n
Bowman is locked in a brutal primary<\/a> against Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a more moderate challenger with the benefit of both deep ties to local government and deep-pocketed donors\u2019 support.<\/p>\n Bowman is a chief target<\/a> this year for AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, as a Squad member and vocal critic of U.S. financing of the Israel-Hamas war who has kept his focus on destruction in Gaza.<\/p>\n Asked about Bowman\u2019s fundraising spike, United Democracy Project spokesperson Patrick Dorton told Playbook, \u201cNo amount of funds can hide Jamaal Bowman\u2019s anti-Israel record, disagreements with President Biden and trafficking in conspiracy theories.\u201d<\/p>\n A newer anti-Bowman ad<\/a> from the group is voiced by Elisha Wiesel, whose father is Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel.<\/p>\n \u201cJamaal Bowman repeated Hamas lies, denying that women were raped,\u201d the younger Wiesel says, a reference to POLITICO\u2019s reporting<\/a> that led the House member to later release a statement reading in part, \u201cThe UN confirmed that Hamas committed rape and sexual violence, a reprehensible fact that I condemn entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n Bowman\u2019s campaign said his May numbers included more than 10,000 unique donors and 83 percent of the donations were $50 or less. They did not say how much he spent these past two months.<\/p>\n The Latimer campaign declined to release its April and May numbers.<\/p>\n It had been outraising Bowman\u2019s campaign as of the end of March, according to the candidates\u2019 most recent FEC filings, which showed Latimer with $3 million cash on hand versus Bowman with less than $1.5 million.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s received over 90 percent of his money from outside the district,\u201d Latimer told Playbook recently of Bowman, referencing the incumbent\u2019s last two quarters of fundraising.<\/p>\n \u201cAIPAC has endorsed me, and I\u2019ve also been endorsed by CSEA, TWU, all these other entities,\u201d Latimer added. \u201cThey don\u2019t own me and AIPAC does not own me.\u201d \u2014 Emily Ngo<\/p>\n GAMING THE CASINO TIMELINE: A push from the Legislature\u2019s gaming chairs to speed up the bidding process for the three available downstate casino licenses is being considered in the final days of Legislative session.<\/p>\n And that could spell doom for two bidders who need more time: entertainment giant Bally\u2019s and Mets owner Steve Cohen, whose proposals require state approval to alienate parkland.<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill is about a process, let\u2019s start the process,\u201d said Queens state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, who chairs the gaming commission and whose district includes Resorts World New York City, considered a favorite to earn one of the lucrative gaming licenses. \u201cRemember, all of these entities \u2014 and they’re all good, they’re all credible \u2014 they’ve had two years already trying to figure this stuff out. And we’re giving them another session year to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo there will be some sites that are just unattainable,\u201d he added. \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, we gotta move on.\u201d<\/p>\n One potential last-minute change to the licensing timeline being mulled by legislative leadership would threaten to dramatically shake up the process \u2014 and likely cut out Bally\u2019s and Cohen, while giving an edge to two others regarded as shoe-ins, Yonkers\u2019 Empire City and Resorts World NYC.<\/p>\n Five people familiar with discussions in the Legislature say lawmakers are considering accelerating the licensing process to mid-year 2025 in a way that would threaten Cohen\u2019s Citi Field-area project and Bally\u2019s vision for a former Trump-managed golf course in the Bronx. It could also affect a bid for a Long Island proposal from the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which is tied up in a legal dispute from neighboring Hofstra University.<\/p>\n The measure being considered would ensure that casino bids from Empire City and Resorts World would have an even easier path toward procuring a license as the two sites already are approved for their existing gaming activities.<\/p>\n Downstate casino licenses are expected to be doled out by the end of 2025<\/a>, after a March announcement from the state\u2019s Gaming Commission where the agency\u2019s executive director insisted the process was \u201cahead of schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n Talks around changing that remain ongoing.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are conversations with the governor\u2019s office, the Assembly and Senate,\u201d Pretlow told Playbook Sunday.<\/p>\n The discussions around speeding up the timeline come about two weeks after Addabbo and Pretlow introduced a bill to dramatically speed up<\/a> the casino timeline. That bill would have granted conditional licenses and allowed bids to finalize zoning and land use after being awarded a license. \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n ICYMI: THE POL WITH 46 TRAFFIC TICKETS. Assemblymember Emily Gallagher is alleging the New York Post has been \u201cdesperately trying to dig up dirt\u201d on her after the tabloid published a piece on the lawmaker\u2019s two-and-a-half year period of prolific parking penalties.<\/p>\n In a lengthy Friday thread on X<\/a>, Gallagher slammed The Post for pursuing a \u201cnasty hit little piece [sic]\u201d ahead of the story\u2019s publication. The missive was written after Gallagher said she arrived home from Albany to find one of the Post\u2019s tabloid photographers staked outside the following morning.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal here is to make me and other progressive politicians hate our jobs, to feel bad and scared, to try and shut us up,\u201d she wrote on X. \u201cAnd truthfully, it is unnerving to have a photographer camped out in front of your home! But the intimidation simply will not work on me or my community.\u201d<\/p>\n The tabloid\u2019s piece did run over the weekend<\/a>, and it shows safe-street advocate Gallagher\u2019s relationship with parking rules to be a little more colorful than she had let on. Gallagher has been fined over $4,000 in the past two-and-a-half years in unpaid tickets, the Post\u2019s story claims. That includes violations for parking in front of a fire hydrant at least six times.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t have speeding or school zone violations. Just some parking tickets I’ve paid,\u201d she wrote Friday.<\/p>\n In a statement to Playbook, Gallagher said, \u201cSince my first run for office, the Post has been desperately trying to dig up dirt on me. Their latest investigative triumph: I have parking tickets. In a neighborhood with constant construction, film shoots and alternate side parking, it\u2019s not hard to get a couple tickets a month \u2014 especially when I refuse to abuse my placard. We should implement a residential parking permit system. Until then, I\u2019m happy to contribute to the city coffers!\u201d \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n YIMBY MONEY: Build-more-housing advocacy group Open New York announced another round of endorsements<\/a> this year \u2014 and its associated YIMBY super PAC Abundant New York is planning to spend \u201csix figures\u201d on Assemblymember Demond Meeks in Rochester and Gabriella Romero who is running for the open Albany seat.<\/p>\n Other endorsements include Gallagher; Yi Andy Chen, who\u2019s challenging Assemblymember Ron Kim in Queens; and Yvette Vald\u00e9s Smith, who\u2019s taking on Republican state Sen. Rob Rolison in the Hudson Valley. Abundant New York also plans to spend on Smith in the general.<\/p>\n The independent expenditure committee is already boosting Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha\u2019s primary, with mailers saying she\u2019s \u201ccommitted to fighting for tenants and the housing abundance that we deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n In that race, Open New York is breaking with some other real estate industry players, who are funding a Hudson Valley Voters super PAC<\/a> to support Shrestha\u2019s primary challenger, Gabi Madden. \u2014 Jeff Coltin<\/p>\n SOCIAL NETWORK: Count the Real Estate Board of New York among those in favor of bills to regulate social media platforms \u2014 a key priority for Gov. Kathy Hochul as the session draws to a close.<\/p>\n Lawmakers are weighing a measure that would end algorithmic feeds on social media platforms for child users in a bid to cut off what critics have alleged helps fuel depression and addiction. They also want new data protections for kids on social media as well.<\/p>\n \u201cREBNY strongly supports legislation advanced by the Governor and Attorney General to combat the challenges that social media platforms pose to children’s mental health,\u201d James Whelan, the group\u2019s president, said in a statement to Playbook.<\/p>\n \u201cExcessive social media use poses a significant threat to young New Yorkers. The New York Child Data Privacy Act and SAFE For Kids Act are common sense measures that will help families and put our state on stronger footing.\u201d<\/p>\n The group\u2019s endorsement of the bills is purportedly aimed at making New York a more attractive city for families. But it also comes after a bruising housing negotiation in which Hochul largely got what she wanted in the state budget and has cemented herself as a powerbroker. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n SARATOGA SPRINGS AND HOMELESSNESS: The New York Civil Liberties Union has issued a statement condemning the police department of Saratoga Springs for its \u201creported arrests and detention of homeless individuals\u201d ahead of the historic Belmont Stakes race Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Saratoga Springs Police Department\u2019s reported crackdown is a shameful attempt to shuffle them away from public sight and cover up the city\u2019s housing problems,\u201d the NYCLU\u2019s regional Director for the Capital Region, Melanie Trimble, said in a statement. \u201cIn doing so, Saratoga Springs is ripping a page from the books of other cities that have swept homeless people and so-called encampments before major sporting and entertainment events.\u201d<\/p>\n The police department did not respond to a request for comment. \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n \u2014 ON THEIR RADAR: The first week of June has been dubbed \u201cSpeed Week\u201d by Hochul\u2019s office. Drivers should expect to see more police cars \u2014 both marked and unmarked \u2014 to ramp up speeding enforcement. (State of Politics<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 SCOOTER SCOFFLAWS: Two NYPD officers were shot by a migrant while he fled on an electric scooter. The case is renewing focus on the staggering number of crimes involving the electric vehicles. (Daily News<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 FIRST COME FIRST SERVE: After 15 years, a 128,000 family-long list for affordable housing reopened. But the housing landscape has changed drastically since the list closed in 2009 as New York City\u2019s rental vacancies have hit a 50 year low. (The New York Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n