Source: Politics<\/p>\n
RISING FROM HIS GRAVE: Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 State of the City address had a blaring message: I\u2019m not just here \u2014 I\u2019m thriving.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven dark moments are not burials, they\u2019re plantings,\u201d Adams said. \u201cAllow your planting to happen and you’ll see the fruits of your labor. Mommy did it, and that’s why I’m mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first New York City mayor in modern history to be indicted on criminal charges wants the world to know that the federal corruption indictment, the sinking poll numbers and the flurry of federal raids and mass resignations hasn\u2019t chipped his self-belief one bit \u2014 lest there had been any doubt.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon’t let anyone fool you,\u201d he said. \u201cDon’t listen to the noise, don’t listen to the rhetoric. New York City, the state of our city is strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ultimate measure of a man or woman is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenges and controversy,\u201d he also said, paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr. as he thanked the members of his staff who hadn\u2019t resigned.<\/p>\n
He delivered the hourlong message of defiance after a brief 54 minutes of introduction that included a Christian prayer, a Muslim prayer, a Hindu prayer, a Sikh prayer, a Buddhist prayer, a Jewish prayer, the National anthem, God Bless America, the Black national anthem, two promotional videos, a youth drum line performance and some waiting.<\/p>\n
The address, like all State of the City speeches, highlighted accomplishments \u2014 the City of Yes housing plan, the (partial) year-over-year drop in crime, the expansion of early childhood programs and the slowing of the city\u2019s once unrelenting migrant crisis.<\/p>\n
He also put two priorities for the upcoming legislative session in Albany front and center.<\/p>\n
He wants fellow Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul to adopt his version of a bill that would allow chronically homeless individuals suffering from mental illness to be involuntarily removed from the streets. (She is set to announce her own plan on involuntary removals, but has also signaled she will work with him on it.) <\/p>\n
He needs the Legislature to back him in completely eliminating city income taxes for families making up to 150 percent of the federal poverty line. The \u201cAxe the Tax\u201d plan has the backing of Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who praised Adams in a pre-speech video. (Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie signaled Wednesday<\/a> he might look to end state income taxes for lower-income New Yorkers.) <\/p>\n For the city, the mayor unveiled some key proposals:<\/p>\n He laid out his extremely ambitious plan to build 100,000 new homes in Manhattan, though the idea so far lacks some much-needed specifics. (We wrote about it this morning in New York Playbook<\/a>.)\u00a0 <\/p>\n He pledged $650 million to combat homelessness, including a facility<\/a> to serve as a shelter and treatment center for the vulnerable population. <\/p>\n He is opening schoolyards as community parks on weekends and summers for over 10,000 New Yorkers, and he\u2019s adding more cleaning shifts to city parks. <\/p>\n He\u2019s expanding free internet for low-income homes in Upper Manhattan and all of the Bronx. <\/p>\n He\u2019s adding a financial literacy teacher in every school district by 2030. <\/p>\n He\u2019s clearing student loan debt for city employees and their families. <\/p>\n He\u2019s allowing rent payments from thousands of low-income New Yorkers to count toward building up their credit score. <\/p>\n And he continued to thank Hochul for their simpatico relationship \u2014 even featuring her in his promotional video. ZELLNOR-CODED: Brooklyn state senator and mayoral candidate Zellnor Myrie has been tapped to lead the Senate Codes committee \u2014 a well-timed appointment.<\/p>\n As he prepares for the June primary and begins his seventh year in Albany, Myrie will have a key role in shaping criminal justice policy in Albany while he and his challengers attempt to prove their preparedness on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n An October Siena poll<\/a> found likely New York City voters identified crime as their biggest concern. Adams has already signaled public safety will again be the crux of his mayoral campaign and he\u2019s likely to call out any left-of-center opponents for prior votes he views as soft on crime.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m grateful the leader has entrusted me to chair this committee, particularly at a time where public safety is on the minds of every New Yorker,\u201d Myrie told Playbook. \u201cAs someone who is from New York City, who takes our subways and our buses, who talks to neighbors, I can say confidently this is an issue that is prominent in their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n Myrie most recently helmed the Elections Committee, and his new spot leading Codes \u2014 which deals with all things criminal justice \u2014 has traditionally been viewed as the third most-powerful committee chair in the Senate. Nevertheless, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins \u2014 who has a cool relationship with Adams \u2014 still wields near absolute power in the chamber, deciding with leadership what bills make it to the floor.<\/p>\n Sen. Jessica Ramos, another mayoral candidate, will remain chair of the Labor Committee. Zohran Mamdani, the other state lawmaker vying to lead City Hall, was not assigned a leadership position in the Assembly.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re at a time where people are going to be using public safety as a political conversation, and I think that there needs to be a seriousness and sobriety in how we talk about actual solutions to this problem,\u201d Myrie added, saying the committee will \u201cbe squarely focused on having actual solutions to city problems.\u201d \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS ARE IN: Beyond Myrie, the Senate and Assembly announced all the other new committee leadership positions today, and that came with a host of changes, our colleague Bill Mahoney reported earlier in POLITICO Pro<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Assembly<\/p>\n Gary Pretlow will replace the retired Helene Weinstein as chair of the Ways and Means Committee. <\/p>\n Carrie Woerner replaces Pretlow to lead the Racing and Wagering Committee. <\/p>\n Marianne Buttenschon succeeds Woerner as chair of the Small Business Committee. <\/p>\n Ron Kim will succeed the retired Daniel O\u2019Donnell as Tourism chair.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Rebecca Seawright will take Kim\u2019s place as chair of the Aging Committee.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Angelo Santabarbara will succeed Seawright on the People With Disabilities Committee. <\/p>\n Bobby Carroll will become chair of Libraries and Education Technology, replacing Santabarbara. <\/p>\n Pamela Hunter is succeeding Jeff Aubry as speaker pro tempore.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Clyde Vanel will replace Hunter as chair of the Banks Committee. <\/p>\n Jonathan Jacobson will replace Vanel on Oversight, Analysis and Investigations. <\/p>\n Ed Braunstein will become chair of Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, replacing the retired Ken Zebrowski.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Pat Burke will take over the Cities Committee, succeeding Braunstein. <\/p>\n Jo Anne Simon will become Mental Health chair, following the retirement of Aileen Gunther.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Karen McMahon will take Simon\u2019s place on Ethics & Guidance. <\/p>\n Billy Jones will replace the retired Fred Thiele on Local Governments.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Steve Stern will succeed the retired Kimberly Jean-Pierre on Veterans Affairs.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Alicia Hyndman will become chair of Higher Education, after previous chair Pat Fahy was elected to the Senate. <\/p>\n The Senate<\/p>\n Jamaal Bailey will take over retired Neil Breslin\u2019s leadership of the Insurance Committee <\/p>\n Zellnor Myrie will replace Bailey on the Codes Committee\u00a0 <\/p>\n Kristen Gonzalez will take over for Myrie on the Elections Committee and remain chair of the Internet and Technology Committee. <\/p>\n Rachel May will lead the Consumer Protection Committee, which was vacated by Kevin Thomas.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Freshman Christopher Ryan will succeed May as chair of Cities II, a recently added committee that deals with cities north of the Bronx. <\/p>\n Freshman Pat Fahy will chair Disabilities, formerly helmed by\u00a0John Mannion. <\/p>\n Freshman Siela Bynoe will lead Libraries, which had been chaired by Iwen Chu. <\/p>\n THE WINNOWING: GOP leaders in the North Country House seat being vacated by Rep. Elise Stefanik will narrow the field of potential candidates by the end of the weekend, state party spokesperson David Laska said.<\/p>\n As Playbook reported<\/a> this morning, Republican county chairs in the sprawling district met over Zoom with a dozen possible nominees. GOP officials expect to winnow that field of some 12 people to less than 10. Those preferred candidates will then advance to another round of vetting by Republican leaders.<\/p>\n Jockeying to replace Stefanik, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as United Nations ambassador, has been underway for the past two months. A Republican candidate is expected to be heavily favored in a special election \u2014 likely to be scheduled for mid-April \u2014 given the party\u2019s enrollment advantage in the largely rural seat. \u2014 Nick Reisman\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 SALT SLOWDOWN: Members of New York\u2019s GOP delegation, once promising a full repeal of the cap on State and Local Tax Deductions, are now tempering expectations as they signal a full repeal is unlikely. (NY1<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 THE WHEELS ON THE TRAIN GO ROUND AND ROUND \u2026 EXCRUCIATINGLY: There\u2019s a mysterious defect on the subway tracks of lettered train lines that\u2019s causing subway wheels to be worn down more quickly than ever. (Daily News<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 TOP NY COURT BUCKS TRUMP: The Court of Appeals denied a request to delay Trump\u2019s sentencing in the \u201chush money\u201d case. (Times Union<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some who said, \u2018Step down,\u2019\u201d Adams said. \u201cI said, \u2018No, I’m gonna step up. I’m gonna step up. That’s what life presents you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n